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Rh successful issue of Connecticut from her difficulty concerning the fort erected at Saybrook on one side and the Dutch encroachments on the other was largely due to his skill and wisdom. — His descend- ant, Gideon, secretary of the navy, b. in Glaston- bury, Conn., 1 July, 1802 ; d. in Hartford, Conn., 11 Feb., 1878, entered Norwich university, Vt, but, without being graduated, began to study law. In 1826 he became editor and part owner of the Hartford"Times," with which he re- mained connect- ed till 1854, though he retired from the responsible editorship in 1836. He made his pa- per the chief or- gan of the Demo- cratic party in the state. It was the first to advocate the election of Andrew Jackson to the presiden- cy, and earnestly upheld his ad- ministration. Mr. Welles was a mem- ber of the legis- lature in 1827-35, and both in that body and in his journal at- tacked with severity the proposed measure to exclude from the courts witnesses that did not believe in a future state of rewards and punish- ments. He also labored for years to secure the abolition of imprisonment for debt, opposed spe- cial and private legislation, and secured the pas- sage of general laws for the organization of finan- cial corporations. He began an agitation for low postage before the subject had begun to attract general attention. He was chosen comptroller of the state by the legislature in 1835, and elected to that office by popular vote in 1842 and 1843, serv- ing as postmaster of Hartford in the intervening years. From 1846 till 1849 he was chief of the bureau of provisions and clothing in the navy de- partment at Washington. Mr. Welles had always opposed the extension of slavery. He identified himself with the newly formed Republican party in 1855, and in 1856 was its candidate for gover- nor of Connecticut. In 1860 he labored earnestly for the election of Abraham Lincoln, and on the latter's election Mr. Welles was given the portfolio of the navy in his cabinet. Here his executive ability compensated for his previous lack of special knowledge, and though many of his acts were bitterly criticised, his administration was popular with the navy and with the country at large. His facility as a writer made his state papers more interesting than such documents usually are. In his first report, dated 4 July, 1861, he announced the increase of the effective naval force from forty- two to eighty-two vessels. This and the subse- quent increase in a few months to more than 500 vessels was largely due to his energy. In the report that has just been mentioned he also recommended investigations to secure the best iron-clads, and this class of vessels was introduced under his adminis- tration. In the cabinet Mr. Welles opposed all arbitrary measures, and objected to the declara- tion of a blockade of southern ports, holding that this was a virtual acknowledgment of belligerent rights, and that the preferable course would be to close our ports to foreign commerce by proclama- tion. By request of the president, he presented his ideas in writing ; but the cabinet finally yield- ed to the views of Sec. Seward. Early in the war, on 25 Sept., 1861, he ordered that the negro refu- gees that found their way to U. S. vessels should be enlisted in the navy. He held his post till the close of President Johnson's administration in 1869. In 1872 he acted with the Liberal Repub- licans, and in 1876 he advocated the election of Samuel J. Tilden, afterward taking strong grounds against the electoral commission and its decision. After his retirement from office he contributed freely to current literature on the political and other events of the civil war, and provoked hostile criticism by what many thought his harsh strict- ures on official conduct. In 1872 he published an elaborate paper to show that the capture of New Orleans in 1862 was due entirely to the navy, and in 1873 a volume entitled " Lincoln and Seward."

WELLING, James Clarke, educator, b. in Trenton, N. J., 14 July, 1825. He was graduated at Princeton in 1844, and, after studying law, renounced that profession in 1848 to become associate principal of the New York collegiate school. In 1850 he was secured by Joseph Gales and William W. Seaton as literary editor of the " National Intelligencer" at Washington, and he was afterward associated with them in the political conduct of that journal, becoming charged in 1856 with its chief management, for which post he was qualified by his accurate scholarship, his facility in writing, and his judicial temperament. His editorship continued through the crisis of the civil war. Adhering to the old-line Whigs as against the Republican and the Democratic parties, he supported the Bell-Everett ticket for president and vice-president in 1860. Steadfastly resisting the disunion movement at the south in all its phases, he gave to the war for the Union his loyal support. He advocated Lincoln's proposition of emancipation with compensation to loyal owners, the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and its abolition throughout the Union by constitutional amendment ; but he questioned the validity of the emancipation proclamation, and strenuously opposed the constitutionality of military commissions for the trial of citizens in loyal states, which practice was subsequently condemned by the supreme court. The discussions of the " Intelligencer " during this period often took the form of elaborate papers on questions of constitutional or international law, and exercised an acknowledged influence on public opinion. Some of them have been republished, and are still cited in works of history and jurisprudence. Dr. Welling withdrew from journalism in 1865, and spent the following year travelling in Europe for health and study. He had been previously appointed a clerk of the U. S. court of claims, and served in that office till 1867, when he was chosen president of St. John's college, Annapolis, Md. During his presidency the number of students advanced from 90 to 250. In 1868 he received the honorary degree of LL. D. from Columbian college, Washington. In 1870 he was appointed professor of belles-lettres in Princeton, but he resigned the post in the following year to accept the presidency of Columbian college (now university). Under his administration that institution has been enlarged, has received a new charter from congress, erected a building in the heart of Washington (see illustration), added new professional schools, and laid the foundation of a free endowment. At the same time he has been connected with many literary, historical, and scientific societies. As president of the board of trustees of the Corcoran gal-