PIERCE, FRANKLIN. 



PORTUGAL. 



571 



of certain public works, and a bill appro- 

 priating 10,000,000 acres of public lands to the 

 States for the relief of the indigent insane ; in 

 1855 he vetoed a bill for the payment of the 

 French spoliation claims, and a bill increasing 

 the" annual appropriation for the Collins line 

 of steamers. Before the adjournment of Con- 

 gress, in August, 1856, the House amended the 

 army appropriation bill so as to provide that 

 no part of the army should be employed to 

 enforce laws passed by the Territorial Legisla- 

 ture of Kansas, until Congress should have de- 

 cided it to be a valid legislative body. The 

 Senate refused to concur in the amendment, 

 and Congress then adjourned. The President 

 immediately issued a proclamation, calling an 

 extra session of Congress to convene on 

 August 21st, when the bill was passed without 

 any proviso. Congress came together again 

 in December. The President's message was 

 chiefly devoted to the Kansas troubles, taking 

 strong grounds against the Free-State party. 

 His administration ended March 4, 1857. 



Of his political course as President, which 

 at the time drew down upon him such severe 

 censures from those who differed from him in 

 opinion, perhaps the best, certainly the most 

 charitable, explanation is to be found in the 

 language of his intimate friend and biographer, 

 Nathaniel Hawthorne, who, in his life of Presi- 

 dent Pierce, said : 



When the series of measures known under the col- 

 lective term of the Compromise were passed by Con- 

 gress, in 1850, and put to so searching a test, here at 

 the North, the reverence of the people for the Con- 

 stitution, and their attachment to the Union, General 

 Pierce was true to the principles which he had long 

 ago avowed. At an early period of his Congressional 

 service, he had made known, with the perfect frank- 

 ness of his character, those opinions upon the 

 slavery question which ne has never since seen occa- 

 sion to change in the slightest degree. There is an 

 unbroken consistency in his action with regard to 

 this matter. It is entirely of a piece, from his first 

 entrance upon public life until the moment when he 

 came forward, while many were faltering, to throw 

 the great weight of his character and influence into 

 the scale in favor of those measures through which 

 it was intended to redeem the-pledges of the Consti- 

 tution, and to preserve and renew the old love and 

 harmony among the sisterhood of States. His appro- 

 val embraced the whole series of those acts, as well 

 those which bore hard upon Northern views and 

 sentiments, as those in which the South deeded 

 itself to have made more than reciprocal concessions. 

 No friend nor enemy that knew Franklin Pierce 

 would have expected him to act otherwise, with his 

 view of the whole subject. Whether looking at it 

 through the medium of his conscience, his feelings, 

 or his intellect, it was impossible for him not to take 

 his stand as the unshaken advocate of union, and of 

 the mutual steps of compromise which that great ob- 

 ject unquestionably demanded. 



At the Democratic National Convention of 

 1856, at Cincinnati, Mr. Pierce, though a can- 

 didate, did not unite the suffrages of his party, 

 and, after numerous ballotings, Mr. Buchanan 

 was made the nominee. Soon after the close 

 of his term of office, President Pierce sailed 

 for Europe with his wife, whose health had 

 been seriously impared since the death of their 



last surviving son in 1853, by a railroad acci- 

 dent, just before her husband's inauguration. 

 They visited Madeira, and made a protracted 

 tour of Europe, returning home in 1860. The 

 journey was an interesting one, but the be- 

 reaved mother could not rally from her great 

 affliction, and died in 1863. During the war 

 of 1861-'65, ex-President Pierce remained in 

 retirement, taking no active part in the strife, 

 though, in accordance with his lifelong views, 

 his sympathies were understood to be with the 

 South. The death of his wife, to whom he 

 was tenderly attached, saddened him greatly, 

 and that of his intimate friend, Hawthorne, 

 added to his depression. For two or three 

 years past his health had been very feeble, and 

 he had had several severe attacks of illness. 



In private life, General Pierce was greatly 

 esteemed and loved; of amiable and winning 

 manners, a faithful friend, a tender and devoted 

 husband, a kind and cordial neighbor, and a de- 

 vout Christian, his death saddened many hearts 

 who knew little and cared less for his political 

 career or his views on national subjects. 



PORTUGAL, a kingdom in Europe. King, 

 Luiz I., born October 31, 1838 ; succeeded his 

 brother, King Pedro V., November 11, 1861. 

 Heir-apparent, Carlos, born September 28, 

 1863. A new ministry was formed on the llth 

 of August, 1869, composed as follows : Duke 

 of Louie, President and Minister of the Inte- 

 rior ; J. L. de Castro Pereira Corte Real, Min- 

 ister of Justice ; A. J. Braamcamp, Minister 

 of Finance ; General Maldonado d'Ega, Minis- 

 ter of War ; L. A. Rebello da Silva, Minister 

 of Marine ; J. T. Lobo de Avala, Minister of 

 Public Works; Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 Mendez Leal. Area, 36,510 square miles; 

 population in 1864, 3,984,045 ; with the Azores 

 and Madeira (in 1864), 4,347,441. The popu- 

 lation of the Portuguese colonies in Africa and 

 Asia is given (in the OotJia Almanac for 1870) 

 as 3,-872,959, of whom 2,000,000 are set down 

 for Angola, Ambriz, Benguela, Mosammedes.* 

 The revenue in the budget for 1869-'70 was 

 estimated at 15,616,096 milreis, and the expen- 

 ditures at 21,109,960. Public debt in June, 

 1868, 196,562,673 milreis. The strength of the 

 army in the kingdom was in May, 1868, 1,567 

 officers and 23,092 soldiers; in the colonies, 

 1st line, 9,453 ; 2d line, 21,411. The fleet, in 

 1868, consisted of 30 armed and 12 non-armed 

 vessels ; total, 42 vessels, with 366 guns. The 

 imports of Portugal, in 1866, amounted to 26,- 

 410,000 milreis ; the exports to 17,290,000 ms. 

 The movement of shipping in 1867 was as fol- 

 lows: 



Flag. Vessels entered. Vessels cleared. 



Portuguese 6,424 6,511 



Foreign 3,920 4,252 



Total 10,344 10,763 



The railroads in operation amounted, in 1869, 

 to 96.5 geographical miles. 



Portugal, in 1869, suffered from serious finan- 



* For a list of Portuguese colonies in Asia and Africa, 

 see AMEBICAN ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA for 1866. 



