Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/40

20 labors in the senate were incessant, and his success was remarkable. He maintained amicable relations with all parties, and his hospitable mansion became a neutral ground, where the leaders of rival factions met on social terms. On his return to California, in 1851, the legislature tendered him the thanks of the state for his services. In the following session he was a member of the finance committee and chairman of that on naval affairs. He secured the establishment of a mint in California, the survey of the Pacific coast, a navy-yard and station, with large appropriations, and carried through the sen- ate a bill providing for a line of steamers between San Francisco, China, and Japan, by way of the Sandwich islands. He was re-elected, and served till 3 March, 1861. At the beginning of the civil war he was arrested on accusation of disloyalty and imprisoned till 1863, when he went to Paris, where he became interested in a scheme to colonize So- nora with southerners. Dr. Gwin was invited to meet the emperor in private audiences, and in- terested him in the project. It is said that, on the invitation of the minister of foreign affairs, he drew up a plan for the colony, which was approved by Napoleon, and then submitted to Maximilian. The latter, who was at that time in Paris, requested Dr. Gwin's attendance at the Tuileries, and, after full inquiry, signified his approbation. Within two weeks after the departure of Maximilian for Mexi- co, Dr. Gwin also left, for that country, bearing an autograph letter from the emperor to Marshal Ba- zaine. The latter gave no encouragement to the colonization plan, nor did Dr. Gwin succeed in se- curing from Maximilian any satisfactory assurances of support. He returned to France in January, 1865, and in an audience with the emperor frankly exposed the condition of affairs in Mexico. Napo- leon urged his immediate return to Mexico, with a peremptory order to Marshal Bazaine to supply the troops necessary to the full accomplishment of his scheme. This advice was taken, but Dr. Gwin still met with no success, and, demanding an escort to take him out of the country, which was promptly furnished, returned to his home in California. He continued to take an active part in politics, and engaged with energy in the canvass for the presi- dency in 1876 in the interest of Samuel J. Tilden. Dr. Gwin's personal appearance was impressive; he was tall, finely proportioned, with a massive head, and a face full of animation.

GWINNETT, Button, signer of the Declara- tion of Independence, b. in England about 1732 ; d. in Georgia, 27 May, 1777. He received a good education, and after engaging in mercantile pur- suits for a time in Bristol, he emigrated to Charles- ton, S. C. and then removed to Savannah, Ga., where in 1765 he was established as a general trader. In 1770 he purchased a plantation on St. Catherine's island, Ga., and gave his attention to agriculture. Previous to 1775 Mr. Gwinnett had not taken an active part in politics, but the subsequent enthusi- asm with which he maintained the colonial rights early attracted the attention of his fellow-citizens. At the meeting of the provincial assembly, held fn Savannah, 20 Jan., 1776, he was appointed a repre- sentative in congress, signed the Declaration of Independence on 4 July, and in October, 1776, was re-elected for the ensuing year. In February, 1777, he was appointed a member of the state gov- ernment, and is said to have furnished the basis of the constitution that was afterward adopted. Af- ter the death of Mr. Bullock, president of the pro- vincial council, Mr. Gwinnett was appointed to the vacant office, 4 March, 1777, and in May. 1777, was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of the state. During the Revolution, Mr. Gwinnett's property was totally destroyed by the British. At the time that he represented Geor- gia in congress he became a candi- date for the com- mission of briga- dier-general of the continental bri- gade to be levied in Georgia, in opposi- tion to Gen. Lach- lan Mcintosh, but was unsuccessful. This so embittered his feelings against his successful op- ponent that he seems to have re- garded him as an enemy ever afterward. Various circumstances in- tensified his feeling of animosity, until finally Mr. Gwinnett challenged Gen. Mcintosh to a duel, which was fought on 15 May, 1777. Both contest- ants were wounded, the former so seriously as to result in his death. In 1886 a granite monument in commemoration of the memory of Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton, the Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence, was placed in front of the city hall, Augusta, Ga.

GWYNNE, John Wellington, Canadian jurist, b. in Castle Knock, County Dublin, Ireland, 30 March, 1814. He was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, and came to Canada in 1832. He studied law in Kingston, and was admitted to the bar of Upper Canada in 1837. From 1845 till 1852 he devoted himself to the formation and maintenance of a company for the construction, as part of a scheme of colonization, of a railway from Toronto to Lake Huron. He was an unsuccessful can- didate for the legislative assembly of Canada in 1847, and was appointed a judge of the court of common pleas of Ontario in November, 1868. He declined appointment as one of the permanent judges of the court of appeal of Ontario in May, 1874, and was appointed a justice of the supreme court in January, 1879. He was a member of the law-reform commission in 1871, and of the senate of the University of Toronto in 1873.

GZOWSKIE, Casimir Stanislaus (jov-ske), Canadian engineer, b. in St. Petersburg, Russia, in March, 1813. He is a son of a Polish noble, an officer of the Imperial guard. The son entered the military college in Kremenetz, in the province of Volhynia, when nine years of age, and was graduated there in 1830. In consequence of his connection with the Polish insurrection of 1830-2 he was exiled to the United States, arriving there in the latter year. He supported himself as a teacher of French and German in New York for a time, and subsequently removed to Pittsfield, Mass., where he studied law, and was admitted afterward to the bar of Pennsylvania. In 1841 he arrived in Toronto and became connected with the department of public works of Upper Canada. He has been identified with all the important engineering projects of Canada in railway construction, in river and railway bridge building, and in similar enterprises. The International bridge spanning the Niagara river, which is regarded as a fine specimen of engineering skill, was constructed by Col. Gzowskie and Sir David L. Macpherson. He has been president of the Dominion rifle association, and in 1879 was appointed aide-de-camp to the queen.