The true Democrat., 1857-03-24
i,istration of Franklin Pierce,

F. rhnc
 nave well nigh run out. The drama
 6sen performed. The curtain is about to i @ snd inc actors and their deeds will soon dpl nc part of the history of the country.
 wears ago, amid the greeting of his lV", V".,rmep-with the blessings of the great
 c0a '!o3 resting upon him, and their prayers
 sn' 7I;rs to Heaven for his success in the stu
 ,as work which lay before him--Gen. in inc presence of the assembled mul-
 Ff gF ,o,s the oath of office--vowed his ti9el-
 uu ,ba constitutions, and enuuciated the
 " .los by which his administration would E PIT P3 s3 Atthe bidding of his countrvmen.
 ,;ore,ted with the highest honors of the |
 s .I;r lie stepped upon pedestal which |
 he birb. high above the rotten thrones of |
 heads; and now by the workings of |
 z" .annblIcau system of government, he puts |
 ou inc robes of the office--descends from
 ,'sr omnence, and takes his position with the
 of bls countrymen, without patronage
 1,sbout the power to bestow or deprive, to
 'rbe down or elevate.
 pI, bs administration is rart of the histo. i
 J of the country--an important part-one
 'shcb those who have stood by him through
 ,eoJ and through evil report, may well be
 erud of as a triumphant, Il-powerful vindca- i
 do of thelr course.
 When Gen. Pierce was elected to the Presi. |
 depcy, the expectations of the country were
 hrL; and not without cause. His entrance rrop the discharge of his difficult duties were osdaiulv replete with promise to the Republic. i Hb career as public man had proven him faitbful and uns"ervng disciple of Thomas Jeferson. He thoroughly comprehended the frue lheory of our government, as expounded by the immortal sage of Monticello, and under no force of surrounding circumstances-under TO pressure of local or sectional lnfuence-.bad he ever swerved from its maintenance. Never whe member of either branch of Congress did he utter sentiment, nor cast a vote in vio- lahru of the doctrine of State rights.
 Blaming for the federal government the full
 ueS,are of the powers allotted to it bv the corsttution, he at the same time held it a rel. gous duty to contine it strictly to the exercise of those powers. Hence, when auti-slayerv denago oSueS and enthusiasts, with view to the |pnchcal enforcement of the abolition heresy sSrmed for the government powers over south sra Institutions not granted 10 it by the consti. tut n--and sought to establish line of policy |l0ob lg to the degradation of the slave State. |-hey found in hun decided and uncompro- nhng foe to all their movements. And inc pne rule ot strict construction was invariably Mled oy him to all measures of public poll Uniting to orthodox views like these A ma- Ee and vigorous intellect-a well balanced bnd-and unbending giutegrity-he necessarily hspred he confidence of the country. and pye It promise that so far as the executive m had power to save the constitution it Fuuld be protected during his administration hpn the vandal assaults of its enemies.
 Io these nigh hoPeS-to these glorious pro- nses-lt affords Us pleasure to say in the iulI. ness ol our gratitude-Gen. Pierce has been tue
 kL; southern men read his messages. if they Nuld behold the courage with which he has &oi by their rights and the success with (hifh he has vlndicated them.
 Ne would not draw an invidous distinction &xeen Gen. Pierce and others who have ure- Ssded hlm, but It Is not unjust nor mproper to ay that though for twenty years the sappers nm muers oi abolition have been at work for aeoestructlon of the rights of the south--he iole ot our Presidents, has rebuked them in hsFSonus language of bitter censure, and of unsn n>"erable argument. The anti-slaverv crr,. sadss may succeed. The south may submit Nal ther demands (which God forbd.) Her llsllt utionS may pass away, and with chem every sssilse ot her prosperity and her honor. but ppon me archieves af the nation. written as gth pen ot iron, the truth announced by Ffap .-n Pierce, amid the howlings and calum- res oi remorSeleSs tanaticism will live for yer afIeaIlng eloquent!y 10 other times. and xila how cruel were her wrongs, aud how nde served her fate
 Ad those truths were recorded under cir- pnStances speaking powerfully for the mag- lanlInty and patriotism, as well as heroisn of helnan. 1t was after the convention of 1856 nn nmade Its nomination. It was after Virgin under influences which we will not pause ee to dlscuSS,-Frginia, the flag ship of the vuah-f rglnia to whose principles he had N so true--hT discarded him as her first acice and proclaimed her higher con dence in nother. Others endowed b, less noble attrj- ases might after that blow have been induced efa ter n devotion to her cause. But in the mre and patriotic heart of Franklin Pierce no IVY impulse dnds place. Looking alone to fNciPLE guided alone by TRUTH and PArRl- nisA-to his everlasting honor be it written. EplFSued the tenor Of his way, treating with hs sane sublime indifference the ingratj. | Ede and treachery of friends, and the curses hs -rS and the threats of enemies. Notwithstanding he became the target of tbe mpacabIe foes of southern rights and the con | tAa' 'ii-aitho0sh against his tall head trai psand fanatics directed their poisoned shafts i, TIE dld lat bow before the storm. The man hhh9t rise up and say that President Pierce i
 Mfot met with unyielding courage every o5 | Mat and braveiy overcome it. He has felt l Ae teacherous dagger of false friends, as well ! he sharp javeLn of open, infuriated ene- nse put lie has not swered from the path of Vle ol hlS earliest acts was to force obcdi- 1 E~ 70 The fugitive slave law, which under E1 tame I0lcy of his predecessor had be- paae mere mockery. He brought the arm Executive power to bear upon its r,sisters
 a they were forced to yield to the just re- dMRentS ot the law. Aud so salutary was the EEss" which he taught them, that for the last Eau years ot h's administration, its execution ssAfcaFeeIy been interrupted by murmur of m rse tent even in the strong holds of black re- aoleansm. ile repeal of the Missouri restriction is a .1@ witness of hls hrmness and his devotion te constitution. For thirty years it had r0a upon the statute book, badge of south M cshonor, and wanton violation of the 'oml act which was designed to establish the 9aaliy ot the States. Black republicanism leaad a useful and sacred thing when jt 'srved the purpose of excluding the south from 'e'Faory north of the line of 36 30, but un- nsai ng and imperative when brought into squsiIlon for her protection south of that Af Pierce threw the weight of bis admin aasl on in favor of its repeal that justice aghi be done all seclions--that the constitu- a'a might be yindicated--ard that the govern usni might be brought back to the teachings V nat hall0wed instrument.
 IT the management of our foreign relations
 N aas been more or less successful. Taking MiS sulce the sublime apothegm of Gen. sSks'I, $ to ask nothing but what is right aud ~ ssu to nothing that is wrong" he placed in " ~ bands of his successor the national flag sa saa 10 stan of hs honor resting upon its fair .ssh .'s h the Orient where the wild Arab re- 1 asa amt the ruin of splendid cities, or on the sss ss 'steS of the Pacific t has fioated, and af- ,s1 ,s'st PTotectlon to the citizens of that coun- -s \ nose glorious ensign It Is.
 InrnI this s1 mi ,f;str,.;.,, -. ...- f Il