LYMAN HALL,
GEORGE WALTON.
APPENDIX.
XVII. ZACHARY TAYLOR, PRESIDENT,
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 756.)
Congress assembled on the 3d of December. But the organization of the
House of Representatives was delayed for twenty days, that period
being consumed in voting for a Speaker, before a choice was effected.
The ballotings reached the number of sixty-three. So nearly balanced
were the two great political parties, that a few members, constituting
the "Free Soil Party," so called, had it in their power for this long
time to prevent a choice, and that power they exercised with an
obstinacy of purpose, which excited the marvel of the nation. Nor, at
the last, was a choice effected but by the adoption of a novel
resolution, viz., that after voting _viva voce_ three times, if no
speaker is elected, the vote shall be called again, and the member
having the highest vote, provided it be a majority of a quorum, shall
be declared elected. Under this rule the choice finally fell upon the
candidate of the democratic party.
To the people of the country, such a contest was regarded with deep
regret, and even with indignation. The feelings of members became
excited and exasperated; political jealousies and animosities were
kindled, sectional differences were magnified to unwonted importance,
and sectional interests advocated and insisted upon, all giving
premonition of the long and stormy session which followed.
Fortunately, the President and Senate awaited the issue with a calm
and dignified bearing; and, on the organization of the House, the
former communicated his annual Message. It was more brief than such
documents have usually been; but clear, able, and remarkably
practical. It recommended among other matters of various moment, an
alteration of the Tariff--improvements in rivers and harbors--strict
neutrality of the nation in foreign quarrels--and the immediate
admission of California with the Constitution which she had already
formed. The message concluded by urging the preservation of the Union,
in terms as noble in sentiment, as beautiful in expression. The
President said: "Attachment to the Union of the States, should be
habitually fostered in every American heart. For more than half a
century, during which kingdoms and empires have fallen, this Union has
stood unshaken. The patriots who formed it, have long since descended
to the grave; yet still it remains, the proudest monument to their
memory, and the object of affection and admiration with every one,
worthy to bear the American name. In my judgment, its dissolution
would be the greatest of calamities; and to avert that, should be the
study of every American. Upon its preservation must depend our own
happiness, and that of countless generations to come. What ever
dangers may threaten it, I shall stand by it, and maintain it in its
integrity to the full extent of the obligations imposed, and the power
conferred upon me by the Constitution."
_Proceedings in Congress._--For years the subject of slavery has been,
as is well known, a fruitful theme of controversy, and a source of
jealousy and agitation, between parties in the southern and northern
states. The great territorial acquisitions of the United States,
consequent upon the war with Mexico, and the question whether slavery
should or should not obtain in those territories, had served to
increase that jealousy and that agitation. Moreover, California had
already adopted a Constitution, by which slavery was excluded, and was
making application for admission into the Union. Other states were
soon expected to follow her lead. To the South, these anti-slavery
tendencies were not only unexpected, but most unwelcome, as with the
hope, and, probably, with the design of extending the area of slavery,
they had ardently enlisted in the Mexican war. On the other hand, the
people of the North generally, were for preventing the further
extension of slavery, and even desired to curtail the system by all
constitutional measures within their power.
It was in this sensitive and excited state of the country that Congress
assembled. The members themselves participated more or less in these
jealous and antagonistical feelings, which were rather increased than
allayed by the unfortunate contest attendant upon the election of a
speaker. Indeed, that a storm was approaching was too evident to be
concealed. A crisis had come which must be met. Questions of the deepest
importance could no longer be postponed. It was fortunate for the
nation, that the Senate at this time embodied men of great political
sagacity, and firm and patriotic resolution. Among these may be
mentioned, by way of pre-eminence, Mr. Clay, who had once more returned
to the councils of the nation, and upon whom more than any other man, it
seemed to devolve, to mediate between parties holding a hostile
attitude, and to suggest some measures, if such were possible, by which
great and daily increasing difficulties might be compromised.
Accordingly, towards the close of January, Mr. Clay introduced his
celebrated resolutions to the consideration of the Senate, "by which,
taken together, he proposed an amicable arrangement of all the questions
in controversy between free and slave states, growing out of the subject
of the institution of Slavery." These resolutions were as follows.
The first of these related to the admission of California, when she
should apply, without providing for the introduction or exclusion of
Slavery within her boundaries. The second declared that Slavery does not
exist, and is not likely to be introduced into the territories acquired
from the republic of Mexico; and that no legislation should be had in
reference to its introduction or exclusion therefrom. The third
established the western boundary in the state of Texas. The fourth
provided for the payment of the public debt of the State of Texas, she
relinquishing to the United States all her claims for any part of New
Mexico. The fifth asserted the inexpediency of abolishing slavery in the
District of Columbia, without the consent of Maryland, without the
consent of the people of the district, and without just compensation to
the owners of the slaves within the district. The sixth expressed the
expediency of prohibiting the slave-trade in the District of Columbia.
The seventh related to the restitution and delivery of fugitive slaves.
The eighth denied the power to Congress, to prohibit or obstruct the
slave-trade between the slaveholding states.
These resolutions were subsequently supported by Mr. Clay in a speech
of great power, and in which the great pacificator stood before the
Senate and the world as the firm and fast friend of the country--the
whole country, in whose service, for whose prosperity, and for the
preservation of whose Union, he had labored with untiring assiduity
during the greater part of his life. In view of the dangers which were
thickening around the country and the prospect of disunion, and
possibly civil war growing out of these unsettled questions, between
the North and South, Mr. Clay in conclusion, most eloquently said,
"Sir, I implore gentlemen, I adjure them, whether from the South or
the North, by all they hold dear in this world--by all their love of
liberty--by all their veneration for their ancestors--by all their
gratitude to Him, who has bestowed on them such unnumbered and
countless blessings--by all the duties which they owe to mankind--and
by all the duties which they owe to themselves, to pause, solemnly to
pause at the edge of the precipice, before the fatal and dangerous
leap is taken into the yawning abyss below, from which none who ever
take it, shall return in safety."
From this time for months, these resolutions occupied the
consideration of the Senate--speech following speech--often embodying
the most profound views--exciting the deepest feelings, and giving
birth ofttime to eloquence the most powerful and patriotic.
_Death of Mr. Calhoun._--During the pendency of these great questions
which were agitating the country to its remotest ends, and the
discussion of which seemed to increase rather than allay the already
excited storm, an event occurred calculated to show the folly of all
such sectional strife, as that in which the Representatives of the
nation were engaged. This was the death of that able and distinguished
statesman, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, who died at Washington,
while a member of the Senate, on the 6th of April. Among the great men
of the day, few had occupied a more commanding station than he, and
but few had been longer engaged in the public service of his country.
As early as 1810, Mr. Calhoun took his seat in the House of
Representatives of the United States. The period was pregnant with
portentous events. Europe was involved in war, nor was it improbable
that the United States would long escape its calamities. Mr. Calhoun
felt, and enforced the necessity of immediate preparation for such a
state. The first tones of his voice in public life might be considered
war-like, yet no man loved peace better, or deemed it more likely to
be secured than by being well prepared for hostilities. In subsequent
years, he occupied various important offices. During the
administration of the younger Adams, and the first term of Gen.
Jackson, he held the office of Vice President. During a part of the
Tyler Administration, he was Secretary of State. For many years he had
a seat in the Senate. In all these stations he showed himself to be a
man of pre-eminent talents and incorruptible integrity. He was
strongly southern in his feelings, and perhaps his sectional
prejudices sometimes led him to the advocacy of some measures, and
opposition to others, which with other feelings he would have avoided.
Yet, no one could doubt his patriotism or his firmness in the cause of
right, as he understood it. His speeches displayed great logical
acumen, and were often characterized for great power and brilliancy,
which commanded the admiration of his strongest political opponents.
In the great questions which were agitating the national representatives
at the time of his death, Mr. Calhoun had taken the deepest possible
interest. He was solemnly impressed with the critical juncture of
affairs, and thought he foresaw in the measures which were likely to be
adopted, the precursors of a shock fatal to the integrity of the
National Union. Though borne down with a disease which in the sequel
must prove fatal, he enlisted himself strongly--too strongly for his
physical strength, to avert impending calamities, as he deemed them, and
by so doing, hastened the termination of his mortal existence.
His departure was a national loss. Even those who had long differed
from him in regard to political doctrines and political measures,
lamented his death. A committee of the Senate accompanied his remains
to his native state, where it is believed he was held in honor and
affection almost unequaled in the history of public men.
The funeral obsequies of Mr. Calhoun having been solemnized, Congress
resumed its deliberations, and, shortly after, a resolution introduced
by Mr. Foote, referring the subject matters in debate to a select
committee, consisting of thirteen, was adopted. Of this committee, Mr.
Clay was chairman. To this committee were referred the following
subjects upon which to report:
1st. The admission of California as she presents herself. 2d.
Governments for territories without any anti-slavery proviso. 3d.
Settlement of the boundary question between Texas and New Mexico, and
the purchase of the territory of Texas. 4th. The ultimate admission of
other states, formed from the territory of Texas. Besides these, the
committee were permitted to take into consideration or not, at their
discretion, the subject of fugitive slaves, and Slavery in the
District of Columbia.
On the 8th of May, Mr. Clay presented the majority report of the
Committee of thirteen, denominated the compromise or omnibus bill,
which after a protracted discussion failed; but its provisions were
subsequently passed, as we shall have occasion to notice in a
subsequent page.
_Invasion of Cuba._--On the 25th of April, and the 2d of May, an
expedition, three hundred in number, left New Orleans, under command
of Gen. Lopez, for the secret purpose of invading Cuba. This force had
been collected, armed, and officered in the United States. So secretly
had the affair been conducted, that neither the Spanish Consuls in our
larger ports, nor the government of the United States had been
apprised of it. The invaders consisted in part of old Mexican
soldiers, some of whom were informed of the object in view, while not
a few enlisted under the expectation that the expedition was bound to
California. On the morning of the 19th of May, a landing was effected
at Cardenas. A brief struggle ensued between the invaders and the
troops, in which the latter were repulsed, the Governor captured, his
palace plundered, and a large quantity of public money seized. The
invaders had counted upon accessions to their ranks in the Spanish
army, and from the disaffected inhabitants. In this, however, they
were disappointed, and Lopez re-embarked on board the steamer, and
with a few of his followers made his escape to the United States,
leaving the great body of his adherents to the tender mercies of the
authorities of Cuba. As soon as the sailing of the expedition was
known, the American executive despatched armed vessels to prevent its
landing in Cuba. In this, however, they failed. Lopez was arrested in
New Orleans, and held for trial. It seems that a Spanish steamer
captured two vessels in the Mexican waters, laden with men whom they
suspected of having intended to join the invading expedition, and took
them into Havanna. The release of these was peremptorily demanded by
the President, and subsequently they were so released. But three, it
is believed, of all who participated in the invasion, were condemned,
and these three were sent to the galleys.
_Convention with Great Britain._--This Convention had reference to the
Nicaragua treaty, so called, which was ratified by the governments of
the United States and Great Britain, and promulgated at Washington,
the 4th of July, 1850. This treaty provided for the establishment of a
communication between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, by means of a
ship canal, to be constructed by way of the river San Juan de
Nicaragua, and either or both of the lakes of Nicaragua or Maragua, to
any port or place on the Pacific Ocean.
_Death of Gen. Taylor._--The administration of Gen. Taylor was
suddenly brought to a close, on the 9th of July, by his demise, on the
evening of that day. His illness was brief, and occasioned by exposure
and fatigue, while attending the celebration of the 4th of July. His
funeral was attended by a large military display, by the officers of
government and the representatives of foreign nations, and by an
immense concourse of his fellow citizens.
This event was unexpected, and the more so, from the well known vigor of
health always enjoyed by the President. It came upon the nation, as in
the case of the death of the lamented Harrison, like the voice of an
earthquake. Few could credit it; none were prepared for it. That he, who
"had passed through severe military duties in the swamps of Florida, and
on the plains of Mexico, unharmed by bullet or pestilence, should be
struck down in the midst of his friends, and in the high station to
which his country had raised him--it was thought passing strange."
In a former part of this work we have had occasion to sketch a portion
of the military service rendered by Gen. Taylor, while in the
employment of the Government. We have seen with what courage, skill,
and bravery he bore himself at Palo Alto, Buena Vista, and on other
fields, where victories were achieved which would have done credit to
a Napoleon or a Wellington. During his entire military life, in the
midst of his most brilliant victories, in the flush of all his
military prosperity, he seems to have maintained an unaffected
simplicity of character, a remarkable plainness of manners, an
unbending integrity of soul, combined with kindness, moderation, and
benevolence, calculated to win the admiration and confidence of all to
whom he stood related.
"Returning, laurel-crowned and victorious, from a foreign war," as a
writer remarks, "he was hailed from his first landing on his native
strand, as the future President. With what unaffected modesty he
received these new honors--how scrupulously he abstained from any and
every step that might look like seeking this high office--how calmly and
how simply, when installed as President, he bore his honors, we need not
attempt to recite." From the day of his inauguration, to the day of his
death, it is believed that he endeavored, as he expressed himself on his
dying pillow, to do his duty. No one, perhaps, ever suspected him of
"pursuing any crooked path in politics," or "having been actuated by
sinister views and purposes." His administration was brief--only one
year and four months--too brief to decide upon the policy which he might
have deemed it his duty to pursue, in the difficult and trying times
upon which the government had fallen, and amidst the perplexing
questions which it was called to decide. It was fortunate for his
reputation, perhaps, that he was removed at the precise juncture at
which God called him to resign his exalted station. He had committed no
error. He stood before the nation and the world, as the man of
integrity--brilliant in his former military exploits--firm and patriotic
in his brief civil career. He enjoyed the confidence of friends--he
commanded the respect and admiration of political opponents. He died
mourned and lamented by all. To what higher honors could a man wish to
attain? What reputation more exalted, or more enviable, could he wish to
leave behind him? _Fortunate Senex_!
XVIII. MILLARD FILLMORE, PRESIDENT.
[Illustration]
ASSUMED THE GOVERNMENT JULY 10, 1850.
[Immediately upon the death of President Taylor, the members of his
Cabinet tendered their resignation to President Fillmore, but at his
request, and for the safety of the public service, they retained their
offices for a few days. On the 15th, the new Cabinet was formed.]
Daniel Webster, Massachusetts, July 15, Secretary of
State.
Thomas Corwin, Ohio, July 15, Secretary of
Treasury.
Alexander H. H. Stuart, Secretary of
the Interior.[90]
Charles M. Conrad,[91] Secretary of
War.
William A. Graham, North Carolina, July 15, Secretary of
the Navy.
John J. Crittenden, Kentucky, July 15, Attorney
General.
Nathan K. Hall, New York, July 15, Postmaster
General.
It is a most admirable feature of the Constitution of the United
States, that it provides, in case of the death of a President, for the
ready and quiet transfer of all his powers to the Vice President, as
his constitutional successor. And a most interesting hour was that
when, on the day following the death of Gen. Taylor, and while his
remains were still reposing in the national mansion, Mr. Fillmore took
the oath of the Presidential office in the presence of both Houses of
Congress. It was a service occupying but a brief space; but in that
short time a transfer of all executive power was quietly effected, and
the machinery of government, which had paused for only a few hours, if
it may be said to have been suspended at all, was again in motion, and
was proceeding with its accustomed regularity and harmonious action.
How unlike to scenes in other nations of the world, when the demise of
a sovereign is nearly sure to be followed by turmoil and confusion,
and the transfer of his power is effected only, perhaps, by strife and
bloodshed. But here, at the bidding of God, the President one hour
puts off the mantle of his power and authority, and the next his
successor assumes it, and not one wave of commotion is observed. Who
will not say of such a Constitution,--_Esto perpetua_?
_The Compromise Bill._--The death of Gen. Taylor, and the funeral
obsequies consequent thereupon, suspended for a brief time all other
Congressional proceedings of the National Council. When, at length,
action was resumed, it was natural to expect that an event so
providential and so monitory would have its due influence in
mitigating the acerbity of party spirit, and of infusing into the
minds of legislators a deeper sense of the importance of harmony and
mutual kindness. But it proved otherwise. Scarcely had the grave
closed upon the remains of the great and good man, ere the same heated
contest was renewed, and the same sectional jealousies indulged.
It would impart no pleasure to enter into the details of the Senate's
action, day after day, upon the Compromise bill, the one great measure
which had absorbed its dissensions nearly the whole of the session.
Suffice it to say, that in consequence of various amendments, the
bill, at length, contained nothing but the sections relating to the
territory of Utah, and in that shape it was passed by a vote of 32 to
18. Thus a series of measures, which had been under discussion for
months, which the powerful eloquence of Clay, Cass, and others had
advocated, and which by them and others was deemed almost essential to
the peace and integrity of the Union, was lost, and for the time any
adequate substitute seemed hopeless. Clouds of deeper intensity than
ever seemed to be gathering, and anarchy and discord were ready to
extend their baleful influence to the nation at large.
Happily, however, a conservative spirit at length prevailed. Men
perceived the necessity of doing something to save the nation and the
Union, and under this conviction, a movement was made to revive, in
another form and in distinct bills, the measures which had been
previously combined into one, and been lost. We shall attempt to state
little more than results.
First, the bill for the admission of California was taken up, and
after a warm discussion, during which amendment after amendment was
offered and rejected, it was passed by the Senate, 34 to 18. To this
bill a formal and spirited protest was presented by several southern
Senators, but its registration on the journal was refused.
Next, followed a bill making proposals to Texas for the settlement of
her western boundary, and proposing to pay her ten millions of
dollars, provided she should relinquish all claim to the United States
for territory beyond the boundaries prescribed. The bill was debated
for several days, and on the 9th of September, received its final
passage. Yeas 30, nays 20.
On the 14th, the bill providing for a territorial government for New
Mexico, was taken up and finally passed.
The above several bills were sent of course to the House of
Representatives, and by that body were passed with amendments with
regard to some of them, but only after as warm and even heated debate,
as was ever, perhaps, known on the floor of Congress.
Two other important bills received also the sanction of a majority of
both houses; the first was a bill to facilitate the recovery of
fugitive slaves; and the second, a bill abolishing the slave trade in
the District of Columbia.