The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1852-07-16
GENERAL PIERCE'S NEGATIVE
STRENGTHn

regard 10 WnaL tney call very humOrOuSly the
negative strength" of their Presidential can.
didate. This seems to us very much as il
we should praise woman for her ''ncgative
beauty"-or II tradesman for his ''negativc
honesty" And yet there is curious felicity
in this phrase as applied to General Pierce
His whole career, civil and political, is made
up Of negatives Of the most extraordinary
character; and its strength, therefore, if it is
not negative, is nothing
| Mr. Pierce is very clever gentleman, but
what he has done in this world to occupy
eight mortal columns Of the newspapers, with
broad columns and small type, his best friends
will be the most puzzled to answer. We
have read the whole eight columns, rs they
appeared originally in the Boston Post, and
have been copied into the Washington Union.
| We have read them with amazement. His
worst enemies could not have wished for a
more opportune or fatal publication.
! Three columns of the eight are devoted to
the connexion of General Pierce with the
Mexican war. This is simply udicrous. We
had hoped for the sake of an amiable man
that his friends would not seek to make a
hero or soldier of him. General Pierce
knows as well as any one how little he de-
moment he landed in Mexico, General Pierce
relied entirely on the advice and directions of
the young officers of the regular army, who
were in his staff, or within his reach. lie
never hesitated to avow his entire ignorance
Of military affairs, and his absolute untitness
for his new employment, and in this he
! showed much more good sense than his
friends do in claiming military character for
! him. We have no doubt that he is u brave
man, but he possesses no military aptitude;
and he resigned his commission the first mo-
mcnt he could do it with propricty, avowing
| that he had mistaken his vocation. 1t NAV
well be that he would have distinguished
! himself by his galantry, if he had been
favored with IN OCCASION; but succession of
accidents and mistOrtuncs withdrew him from
the field on several critical moments, Just as
the time arrived for winning laurels.
But the difficulty in General Picrcc's case
is more deeply seated than this. 1t is not
merely that his military character is one of
exclusively "negative strength" but his civil
career is equally remarkable in this regard.
He was some years in the New Hampshire
Legislature, and it is not pretended that he
accomplished anything worthy Of mention in
that interesting assembly.
AS member of the House Of Representa-
tives of the United States in June, 1886, he
voted against the bill ''maklng additional
appropriations for the Delaware breakwater,
and for certain harbors, and removing obstruc-
tiOns in and at the mouths of certain rivers,
and for other purposes, for the year 1896"
1t cannot be claimed that he rendered any
particular service BY this vote, for The bill
! 4 rn,,, oct IL
ceived the signature of General Jackson.
AT the same session MIR. Pierce voted
against the bill "making appropriations for
the improvement of certain harbors therein
mentioned" This was negative" but not
a very effective one for this bill, in spite OF
Mr.. Pierce's negation, passed both Houses of
Congress, and was signed by General Jackson.
At the same session he voted against "the
bill to continue the Cumberland road in the
States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois," This
vote, too, was of us little consequence us any
thing that ever happened to Mr.. Toots. The
bill received majority of votes in both
branches of the Legislature, and received the
signature of General Jackson.
These are the prominent points IF his
career in the House. As far as the country
is concerned, it was certainly of no "conse-
quence." We do not think that these votes
call very loudly on the American people to
make him President.
We next find him in the Senate: In the
session of lS37-'3S, he voted against Har-
Dor and River bill that was voted for by Mr..
Wright and Mr. Buchanan. But in this case,
also, his vote was of no sort of "cOnsequcnce.' "
i At the same session he voted, in a minority
of sir, against bill for the benefit of the
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Railroad
Company; which was a measure of such a
character that even Mr. Calhoun and Mr..
Grundy voted for it; in such minority, OF
cOulse, his vote was of as little consequence
as usual.
At the same session bill was before the
Senate for the "benetit Of the Mount Carmel
and New Albany Railroad Company, in the
State of Indiana" providing for grant OF
alternate sections along the road, the compa-
ny contracting to carry The mail for t'centy
years withom charge to the Government;
which would pay the Government ut the rate
of one dollar and six cents for each acre
granted. Mr.. Clay and Mr.. Webster voted
for this bill. Mr.. Pierce, true to his anti.
Improvement interests, voted with the mi
nority against it.
Whilst in the Senate, he voted and made
a speech against the bill for the relief of the
widow of the lamented General Harrison.
But here, too, the vote of Mr.. Pierce was
entirely inconsequential. The bill became a
law; and the widow received the poor pit
tance which Mr. Pierce would have withheld,
and which was but a slight token Of nat on's
gratitude for the services of one Of her most
Il illustriOus sons.
i Here it was, too, that he took part against
the bill for the relief of the heirs of Robert
Fulton; a bill that was afterwards passed by
u Democratic Congress, and was approved
without hesitation by President Polk.
Here it was, too, that he voted in minori-
ty of four Senators against the Fertilization
bill.
II Nor should we omit to mention, that dur
ing his Congressional career no made speech
against the West Point Academy, though il
is true that after the Mexican war he retracted
his opinions, and testified to the great i'm
portance of that institution in enabling US to
achieve our Mexican victories.
Subsequently to all this he resigned his
scat in the Senate. We do not seek to de-
prive him of all the 1negativo strength" be