been greater had Massachusetts made an attempt to secede from the Union. Clay at once introduced a resolution in the Senate calling upon the President for what official information he had of the occurrence, and to inquire what measures he had taken concerning the matter, and whether any further legislation was required. Feeling as if he had staked his character upon the healing effects of the measure, Clay was greatly disturbed. He confessed himself “shocked” and “distressed,” even beyond his power of expression, at the “sacrilegious hands” which had “seized the sword of justice.” The President issued a formal proclamation, commanding all officers of the government, civil as well as military, and requesting all good citizens, to rally round the law of the land, and to aid in securing its enforcement. He also sent a message to the Senate, communicating the information called for, assuring Congress that he would exert all the powers of the government to enforce the law, and recommending that he be given larger facilities in calling out the militia of the states in case of resistance to the lawful authorities.
The speech with which Clay received that message proved that his wrath at the liberators of Shadrach had been mainly roused by his anxiety lest the occurrence at Boston should rekindle the dangerous excitement at the South which the compromise had just, to some extent, succeeded in quieting. He did, indeed, not spare the abolitionists who aimed at disunion and incited law-
