Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/338

 BLAINE.

BLAIR.

measure, with others formulated and partially o|>erated by Secretary Blaine, was nullified by thechan;;e of iH)lic-y of his successor. Of these measures, one was his deputing; William H. Tres- cott to otfer the friendly intervention of the United States in securing terms of peace be- tween Chili and Peru, and the other his corres- pondence with CJreat Britain with a view to obtaining the abrogation of certain clauses in the Clayttni Bulwer treaty, l)ecause they were not in harmony with later agreements made by the United States with Columbia. The British gov- ernment replied that the treaty should be re- spected and maintained, and Mr. Blaine's further ctmtention that " it is the intention of the United States to consider the istlmius canal question as an American question to be dealt with and decided by the American governments '' became a dead issue with his departure from office. For almost a quarter of a century Mr. Blaine had served his jmrty and his country with unswerv- ing fidelity, and for the first time found leisure in 1881 to transcribe a work which had long been in his mind, "Twenty Years of Congress,"' an historical resumd of the chief political events in the early history of the country, followed by an exhaustive and analytical accoimt of the two decades, 1860 to 1880. In 1883 he was chosen to pronounce the eulogy on Garfield before the 47th Congress, Feb. 27, 1882. In 1884 he was nominated for President by the Republican national convention; the Democratic candidate being Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Blaine's popularity made him a very strong can- didate, and the campaign was noted for its bitter and acrimonioiLs character. Mr. Blaine sjx)ke almost entirely upon industrial questions, chiefly those connected with protection, and delivered a numl>er of remarkably strong addre.sses, and on his defeat reiterated his often uttered opinion in previous years — that in the ' 'solid south" the Re- publican vote had been suppressed by the Demo- crats. He resumed work upon his " Twenty Years in Congress," the second volume of which ap[)eared in 1886. He was actively prominent in the ixditical canva,ss in Maine in 1886, and spent the years 1887 and '88 in Europe. His name was use<i at the national Republican convention which met at Chicago in 1888. He promptly sent a conrmiunication to that body refusing to accept a nomination and urging the protection policy as the l«asis of the Republican platform. President Harrisf.n made him secretary of state and he re- turned to the United States. His foreign prjlicy was much the same as that of his previous .sec- retaryship. A conference of twenty-six nations was held at Washington to establish a uniform system of marine signals and to determine on various matters of maritime interest; represen-

tatives of all the independent governments on the two American continents also met at Washing- ton, and took a forty daj's' trip through the more important manufacturing states to view the in- dustries of the United States; reciprocal treaties, at Mr. Blaine's instigation, were made with Germany, France, Austro-Hungary, Saint Do- mingo, Costa Rica, Spain on belialf of Cuba, Brazil, British Guiana, and the British West In- dies. His measures in regard to the seal fisheries disputes were attended with a measure of success and he jirepared the demand of the United States, which was laid before the arbitration commis- sion, which met by consent of the nations to effect a settlement of the questions at issue. On the fourth of June, 1892, Mr. Blaine resigned his portfolio, assigning as his reason a desire for rest. At the national Republican convention, which met three days after this resignation, his name was freely used as a candidate. Heavy domestic sorrows pressed upon him and doubtless ac- celerated the termination of a fatal malady from which he had long suffered. President Harrison called upon Congress to honor his obsequies ; but the people whom he had so long served needed no such call. Several biographies of him have been written: notably, "Life of James G. Blaine,"' by H. J. Ranisdell; "Biography of James G. Blaine," by Wolcott Balestier; and a "Life of James G. Blaine," by Gail Hamilton. He died in Washington, D. C, Jan. 27, 1893.

BLAIR, Austin, governor of Michigan, was born at Caroline, Tompkins county, N. Y., Feb. 8, 1818; son of George Blair, who was among the first settlers of Tompkins county. He was pre- pared for college at Cazenovia academy and matriculated at Hamilton, but in his junior year transferred himself to Union college, where he was graduated in 1839, and was admitted to the bar in 1841. He then went to Eaton Rapids, Mich., and was elected county clerk. In 1844 he re- moved to Jackson, and two years later was elected to the state legislature. He was a member of the judiciary committee, helped to revise the stat- utes, was active in securing the abolition of capital punishment, and opposed the color dis- tinction in the exercise of the elective franchise, which lost him his .seat in the succeeding legis- lature. The same year he joined the " free soil "' movement, and was a member of the Buffalo con- vention in 1848, which nominated Martin Van Buren for the presidency. In 1854 he was active in the formation of the Republican party at Jack- son, being u])on the platform committee. This was two years before it l)ecamea national organ- ization at the Philadelphia convention of June, 1856. In 1852 he was elected prosecuting attor- ney of Jackson county, and in 1854 a member of the state senate. He was a member of the