Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-10
DEATH OF EX-PRESIDENT FILL
MORE

MORE.
The telegraph records the death of
Willard Fillmore at his residence in
Buffalo, New York, on the evening of
Sunday, the Sth inst. He was born
with the century, and his political ca
reer was identified with many of the
mosting exciting episodes of the ante
bellum period. Born Jan. :, 1900. in
what is now Summerhill, Cayuga coun-
", New York, then a wilderness, his
early education was limited, not seeing
a grammar or geography till the age of
nineteen, when he began the study
of the law. Intense application
however, made up for the deficiencies
of early training, and after his admis-
sion to practice in 1898 he rapidly
achieved brilliant reputation in the
profession. In 1923 he was elected
Representative IN the New York Gen
eral Assembly by the anti-Masonic
party. Being reelected twice, he dis
tinguished himself by advocating the
abolition of Imprisonment for debt, a
measure which passed in 1881. The
next year he was elected to Con-
gress on the anti-Jackson ticket
In 1886, 1888 and 1910 he
reappeared in Congress as a Wing. He
was never a warm friend of the old
National Bank, but thoroughly sympa-
thized with his party on the questions
of internal improvements and the pro-
tective tariff. He opposed the Gnnexa-
ton of Texas as slaveholding State,
and took an active part in the famous
case of the New Jersey members IN
IS39-40. The new tariff of 1912 was
mainly the work of his hand and head.
In I644 he was. nominated candidate
for the ice-Presidency, but Sc
lected to run for the Governor
ship OF New York, in which
his party was beaten by the Democrats
under Silas Wright. In 1917 he was
elected State Comptroller of New York.
The next year he was placed on the
Zahariah Taylor ticket and elected,
with his chieftain, to the Office of Vice
President. He was called to preside
over most stormy Senate. Increased
population had long since given the
free States a preponderance in the low
er House. Now the demand of Cali
fornia for admission to the Union, gave
them preponderance IN the Senate,
upsetting that last refuge Of equih-
brium between the two Sc ctions.
In 1926 John c. Calhoun, aiv-
ed the right OF the chair
to call members to order, on the
ground that Senator's were presumed
to have enough self-respect to preserve
decorum. The debates of 1850, how
ever, became so stormy that Mr.. Fill
more was obliged to abandon the line
of precedent, and declare his deter
mination to enforce order. President
Taylor dying July 9 of that year,
Fillmore was sworn in as his sue
cessOr on the 10th. The most nOta-
BILE act Of his administration was
the signature Of the fugitive slave
law. This measure was odious to
large and increasing class IN the North
and his enforcement of it had much TO
do with his subsequent retiracy from
the political field. Toward the close of
his term he found himself with a
minority in Congress, and little atten-
ton was paid to his recommendations.
In the Wing convention of 1852, al
though his policy was endorsed by a
vote of 227 against go, he
could not command 20 voters
from the free States. After
vacating the Presidency March 4, 1853,
he returned to Buffalo, and his re
naming years were mainly devoted TO
law and literature. In 1854 he made
an extensive tour through the South
and subsequently went to Europe. 1t
was in Rome that he received intelli-
cence in 1856 of his nomination for
President by the Native American
party, with Andrew J. Donelson, of
Tennessee, for Vice President. Before
the campaign closed it became so evil
dent that the real struggle lay
between the Democrats and Repubh-
cans that many of his friends scattered
their votes between Buchanan and
Fremont, Maryland alone giving ITS
electoral vote to Fillmore Since then
he resided in Buffalo, devoted to study
and the society of friends, and enjoying
the warm esteem of the community.
We believe he leaves a widow and
single son, a lawyer of that city. HIS
death leaves but one ex-Presldent
among the living-Andrew Johnson,
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