TAYLOR 



5722 



TEA 



I do not hesitate to avow -before this House 

 and the country, and in the presence of the liv- 

 ing God, that if by your legislation you seek to 

 drive us from the territories of California and 

 New Mexico, purchased by the common blood 

 and treasure of the whole people, and to abolish 

 slavery in this district, thereby attempting to fix 

 a national degradation upon half the states of 

 this Confederacy, I am for disunion. 



In this grave crisis Henry Clay appeared in 

 the Senate for the last magnificent effort of his 

 career. On January 29, 1850, he introduced 

 into the Senate eight resolutions, which, with 

 some amendments, stand in history as the Com- 

 promise of 1850. Clay's great speech in support 

 of the resolution was made on February 5 and 

 6. Calhoun's reply came on March 4. It was 

 read by Senator James Murray Mason of Vir- 

 ginia, for Calhoun was at the grave's edge and 

 too weak to deliver it, but the veteran sat 

 bravely in his seat. It was Calhoun's last pub- 

 lic work; he died on March 31. Three days 

 after Calhoun's speech, Webster delivered the 

 Seventh of March speech, and in later weeks 

 William H. Seward and Salmon P. Chase, new- 

 comers in the Senate, were heard. 



In April the resolutions were referred to a 

 committee of which Clay was chairman, and on 

 May 8 the committee reported two bills which 

 would accomplish all that Clay wanted. One 

 of these measures, the "Omnibus Bill," pro- 

 vided for the admission of California, for the 

 organization of New Mexico and Utah as terri- 

 tories, for a Texas boundary which would ex- 

 clude any territory claimed by that state in 

 New Mexico. The second bill provided for the 

 suppression of the slave trade in the District 

 of Columbia and for a more effective enforce- 

 ment of the Fugitive Slave Law. Before much 

 progress was made with these bills, Taylor died 

 suddenly, on July 9, 1850, after an illness of 

 four days. His remains were placed in the 

 family cemetery near Louisville, Ky. 



The two bills as drafted by Clay met little 

 favor in Congress, but their substance was 

 finally recognized as the necessary compromise. 

 Special bills on each feature of the compromise 

 were passed, in most cases by a large majority. 

 Thus the final decision was postponed for an- 

 other decade, when the fires which had flamed 

 fitfully from time to time became a steady 

 blaze. In that greater conflict President Tay- 

 lor's only son, Richard (1826-1879), played a 

 conspicuous part as a Confederate general. His 

 son-in-law, the husband of Sarah Taylor, was 

 Jefferson Davis. 



Consult O. O. Howard's Zachary Taylor. 



TAYLOR, PA., a borough in Lackawan 

 County, in the northeastern part of the sta 

 four miles southwest of Scranton. The Cent 

 of New Jersey and the Delaware, Lackawan 

 & Western railways provide railway transpon 

 tion, and interurban lines operate in all dir< 

 tions from the city. Taylor is located in t 

 Lackawanna Valley, famous for its yield of g 

 thracite coal, and the mining and shipping 

 this product is the chief industry. The mar 

 facture of silk is also important. In 1910 t 

 population was 9,060 ; in 1916 this had increas 

 to 12,077 (Federal estimate). 



TCHAD, chahd, LAKE, another and more 

 cient spelling for CHAD, an African lake in t 

 Sahara region, under which title a descripti 

 is given. 



TEA, a beverage brewed from the leaves 

 an Oriental evergreen tree, in popularity yie 

 ing only to coffee among unfermented drin 

 Millions of people in all parts of the world i 

 it daily, and it can almost be called the r 

 tional beverage of Japan, of China and 

 England. For centuries it has been the custc 

 of the English to stop all business in the m 

 die of the afternoon while every one partal 

 of a social cup of tea, but it is said that tl 

 delightful custom was discontinued during t 

 War of the Nations. When Japan and Rus: 

 contended for supremacy in Asia, in 1904-19 

 the Japanese effectually warded off disease 

 drinking tea instead of water, for on the bat 

 field it is difficult to obtain the latter in a pi 

 condition. Tea, on the other hand, is a ste 

 lized drink. In Japan itself social tea drinki 

 is a ceremony having definite rules of etiquet 



Tea is associated with much that is delight! 

 in life, but, like many other good things, 

 should be enjoyed in moderation. Its t 1 

 principal constituents are caffeine and tann 

 The former is mildly stimulating in sm 

 amounts, but produces injurious effects on t 

 nervous system when taken in large quantit 

 (see CAFFEINE). Tannin is a poisonous pr: 

 ciple, and it is not soluble in water except wh 

 boiling is carried on for a long time. If o 

 pours boiling water on the leaves and th 

 pours out the tea as soon as it has acquir 

 the desired strength and flavor, the bevera 

 will not have the bitter taste that reveals t 

 presence of tannin. When tea is properly ma 

 and is not drunk to excess it is harmless i 

 most people. 



The Tea Plant. Under cultivation, the \ 

 plant, which belongs to the same family as t 

 camellia, is a branching shrub from two to i 



