sellor of the supreme court of the state. In 1830 he removed to Buffalo, where he continued in the practice of his profession until 1847, with more. or less interruption because of the public duties that devolved upon him.

The popular and successful lawyer in those days was of necessity somewhat of a politician, and Mr. Fillmore was hardly entered upon the practice of his profession before he heard a call to public duty. In 1828, while still located at Aurora, he was elected as the representative of Erie county to the legislature of the state, by the anti-Masonic party. He served in this capacity for three successive terms, retiring in 1831. He made his mark on the legislation of the day, distinguishing himself especially by the advocacy of the act to abolish imprisonment for debt, which was mainly drafted by him, and which was passed in 1831. Of his private and business life in those days, it has been said by one who was intimately acquainted with him:

"It was a bold enterprise for Mr. Fillmore to come to Buffalo, where he must stand with men who had enjoyed the best opportunities. But he maintained himself as a lawyer and advocate, and his firm was held in respect, among the best in western New York, By temperate living, when intemperance was most common and was destroying many brilliant men, and by hard study and the closest application to business, he won honorable eminence. Others might have more genius, more eloquence, but he was sure to be thoroughly informed in regard to law and fact; and the logic of facts gave him his triumphs. His firm was generally on one side or the other of every important case. By integrity, large intelligence, close study and indefatigable application, he earned confidence and won respect."

His promotion was rapid and certain. In the autumn of 1832 he was elected to congress on the anti-Jackson or anti-Administration ticket. After the service of one term he retired until 1836, when he was returned to Washington by the Whigs. He was again chosen in 1838 and once more in 1840; but in 1842 declined a further reelection. When first sent to this important labor he was but thirty-three years of age, twenty of which had been spent in the rough training of the forest in pioneer times, yet such was his native force that he held a position of recognized influence from his first entry on public life. During the early part of his congressional service the subject of a national bank was one of the questions before congress and the public, and its discussion was carried on with great vigor and no small share of excitement. It was in the beginning of the second term of President Jackson's administration-a period of conflict which was to test to the uttermost the party strength of that great chieftain. Mr. Fillmore was never warm in his friendship for the bank, and took no part in the discussions thereon. He was, however, an earnest Whig, and did all that lay in his power to advance the question of internal

improvements and a protective policy. His course was such in these early days of national legislation as to win for him the respect of his associates and confidence of his constituents, without attracting to him any share of general public attention. In his second term, after his election in 1836, he was placed at the head of the committee on elections, which threw into his hands the management of the famous New Jersey case. The seats of five out of the six members from that state were contested, and the decision of the case was one that needed not only caution but wisdom as well. The claimants who held the certificates from the governor were Whigs. So evenly were the parties in congress divided at that time that if these gentlemen were admitted to their seats the party to which they belonged would control the organization; while the entrance of their opponents meant the throwing of power into the hands of the Democrats. It was claimed on the part of the Whigs that the authenticated certificates of the governor must be taken as the presumptive right of those holding them to take their seats; that they should participate in the organization of the house, and that the contests should then be taken up in the ordinary course of business. The Democrats, on the other hand, declared that this question of admission must be taken up and decided by the house before the election of a speaker. Two weeks were consumed in heated. and sharp debate, and at its conclusion a resolution of admission was lost by a tie vote. The house on December 16, elected a speaker, when the discussion was once more resumed. Mr. Fillmore's position at this time was one of extreme responsibility, because of his place on the election committee. He gave his whole time and attention during three months to the untying of this difficult legislative knot. He canvassed the entire vote of New Jersey. A majority report was made by the Democratic members of the committee to the effect that the Democratic claimants were entitled to their seats. The minority were satisfied that at least three of the Whig claimants should be given seats. On March 6, while Mr. Fillmore was maintaining this view of the case on the floor of the house, he was, by a strict party vote, declared out of order, and further proceedings on that case virtually prohibited. Four days later the Democratic contestants were admitted to their seats, their title to them being confirmed by a like party vote on July 16. By his course in this matter, Mr. Fillmore became one of the strong men of his party, and added materially to his reputation the country over.

No man in those days could advance even one step in public life without giving some kind of a definition of his opinions on slavery. During the life of the Twenty fifth congress, of which body Mr. Fillmore was a member, great excitement was occasioned by the question whether petitions for the abolition of slavery should even be received. Mr. Fillmore, standing by the side of Henry Clay in that respect, was in favor of

their reception and proper reference to a committee for report. He could readily see that the refusal was a mistake even from a southern standpoint, as many people who might not favor the object asked for in these appeals, would not brook for a moment any curtailment of their right to petition, which they regarded as sacred in the extreme; and that from a passive view, numbers by such refusal might be moved to open opposition. Mr. Fillmore voted in every case for the right he believed to belong to the people, but as he went no farther and was silent in debate, several of those among his constituents who favored abolition sought to obtain from him a distinct expression of his views. They therefore addressed him a letter of enquiry during his campaign for reëlection in 1838, to which he made the following reply:

BUFFALO, October 17, 1838.

SIR-Your communication of the fifteenth inst. as chairman of a committee appointed by the anti-slavery society of the county of Erie, has just come to hand. You solicit my answer to the following interrogatories:

I. Do you believe that petitions to congress on the subject of slavery and the slave trade ought to be received, read, and carefully considered by the representatives of the people?

2. Are you opposed to the annexation of Texas to this Union under any circumstances, so long as slaves are held therein?

3. Are you in favor of congress exercising all the constitutional power it possesses to abolish the internal slave trade between the states? Are you in favor of immediate legislation for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia?

4.

I am much engaged and have no time to enter into an argument or to explain at length my reasons for my opinions. I shall, therefore, content myself for the present by answering all your interrogatories in the affirmative, and leave for some future occasion a more extended discussion of the subject. I would, however, take this occasion to say that in thus frankly giving my opinion, I would not have it understood in the nature of a pledge; at the same time that I seek no disguises, but freely give my sentiments on any subject of interest to those for whose suffrages I am a candidate, I am opposed to giving any pledges that shall deprive me hereafter of all discretionary power. My own character must be the guarantee for the general correctness of my legislative deportment. On every important subject I am bound to deliberate before I act, and especially as a legislator, to possess myself of all the information, and listen to every argument, that can be adduced by my associates, before I give a final vote. If I stand pledged to a particular course of action, I cease to be a responsible agent, but I become a mere machine. . I am aware that you have not asked any pledge, and I believe I know your sound judgment

and good sense too well to think you desire any such thing. It was, however, to prevent any misrepresentations on the part of others that I have felt it my duty to say thus much on the subject.

I am, respectfully,

Your most obedient servant,
MILLARD FILLMORE.

Mr. Fillmore also took a prominent part in the debates that arose over the burning of the steamer Caroline by British troops on the Niagara frontier in December, 1837. In 1841 the Whigs were in a majority of the house, and for the first time in his congressional career Mr. Fillmore found himself in a position where his views could be made effective through the action of the house. He had come to be looked upon as one of the leading men in congress, and that fact was emphasized by his appointment as chairman of that important body, the committee on ways and means. The time was one of importance in legislative matters, and of extreme responsibility to the party which should carry the burden of such action. as might be taken. A new tariff and a new financial system were to be devised and put in operation. The session lasted nine months, during which time Mr. Fillmore was not absent one hour from the house, although compelled to give a large amount of time to his committee, which, under the circumstances, was the most important one of the list. The preparation of the new tariff bill alone occupied much time and required much labor, involving as it did the examination, digestion and arrangement of an immense mass of figures and statistics. While Mr. Fillmore never pretended to be the discoverer of an original system of revenue, it is but just to say that the tariff of 1842 was a new creation, and that he has the right to be honored as its author. During this same period he gave considerable labor to a digest of the law authorizing all appropriations reported by him to the house as chairman of the committee of ways and means, so that on the instant he could produce the legal authority for every expenditure he had recommended. So great a safeguard did he regard this, that he procured the passage of a resolution requiring the departments, when they might submit estimates of expense, to accompany them with a reference to the laws that gave authority for the demand. Another practical form in which Mr. Fillmore made his usefulness felt was in the carrying through, against fierce opposition, of an appropriation of thirty thousand dollars for the first trial of the Morse telegraph—a step which had much to do with making a success of that great invention and in giving it to the practical use of the world.

In July, 1842, Mr. Fillmore addressed a letter to his many friends in Erie county, declining a renomination to congress, which they were determined should again be tend ed him. In the course thereof he explained his reasons as follows:

"The chief causes which have brought me to this resolution, being mostly of a personal character, are unimportant, and would be uninteresting to you or the public. It is sufficient to say that I am not prompted to this course by anything in the present aspect of political affairs. Many of you know that I desired to withdraw before the last congressional election, but owing to the importance of the contest, the desire for unanimity, and the hope that if the administration were changed I might render some essential local service to my district and those generous friends who had so nobly sustained our cause, I was induced to stand another canvass. But how sadly have I been disappointed! How has that sun which rose in such joyous brightness to millions, been shrouded in gloom and sorrow! The lamented Harrison, around whom clustered a nation's prayers and blessings, is no more. For reasons inscrutable to us, and known only to an all-wise Providence, he was cut down in a moment of triumph, and in his grave lie buried the long cherished hopes of a suffering nation."

On his withdrawal from congress, Mr. Fillmore made his home in Buffalo, where a large and lucrative practice in the higher courts gave him. a constant and congenial occupation. In this manner he passed several busy years, enjoying the esteem of his friends and respect of the public, and laying the foundations of a competency which should enable him to live in ease and comfort on his final retirement from public life. But there was no intention on the part of his friends and admirers that he should be lost to the public at a time when his services were of the most value and the country in the greatest need of his trained statesmanship. During the summer of 1843, his name was often mentioned in connection with the vicepresidency, and his claims urged by a large number of leading Whig newspapers. By the general expression of the Whig party, Henry Clay was settled upon as candidate for the Presidency in advance of the convention, which sentiment was unanimously endorsed on the assembling of that body on May 1, 1844. There was a division of opinion as to the second place on the ticket, and no choice was made until the third ballot. John Davis of Massachusetts was supported by the delegates from the eastern states; Mr. Fillmore by those from New York and several of the western states; while Theodore Frelinghuysen had those of New Jersey and other states. On the third ballot the last named had a majority of the votes and was declared nominated.

As soon as the result of this convention was announced, there was a general expression among the Whigs of New York in favor of making Mr. Fillmore the candidate for governor. The feeling became so strong, at last, in his favor that it was feared that the party might be embarrassed if he declined to run. The state convention met on September 11, and on the presentation of his name, a ballot was declared unnecessary, and he was nominated by acclamation.