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 The Supreme Court of Indiana. v. Currie (1 Ad. & E. s. s. 43) it had been decided that an indorsement was a contract which was governed by the law of the place where the note is payable, without regard to the place where the indorsement was actually made. This remained the law for fourteen years, when the case was in principle over ruled in Hunt v. Standart (15 Ind. 33). In 1824 Blackford was an elector on the

Adams ticket; in 1832 he voted for Clay; but in 1836 he voted for Van Buren, and ever afterward was a Demo crat. So long, how ever, as he remained on the bench he took no part in the political campaigns, nor in any way interested himself in party management. He was regarded as an eminently fair man, free from all entan gling alliances, — one who was stronger than his party. Such a man is often taken up to op pose a ring candidate; and so was Blackford taken up in 1825 as an opponent to James Ray, who was unpop ROBERT C. ular, for the office of Governor. Blackford was not consulted. He received 10,418 votes to Ray's 13,040. After this Blackford was taken up as a candidate for the United States Senate, in the winter of 1825-26, and was defeated by one vote only, — the successful candidate being William Hen dricks. It was owing to his personal pop ularity that Governor Ray, although his opponent in the gubernatorial race, re appointed him in 1830, declining, how ever, to reappoint his associates, Holman and Scott. In later life Blackford lost his popular hold upon the people, especially

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after his retirement from the bench. After the reorganization of the court by the adop tion of the new Constitution in 1852, he desired to be retained on the bench, but was defeated by Judge Perkins. He even failed to get the nomination for Supreme Court Reporter. In 1852 Thomas A. Hendricks defeated him for the nomination for Con gress; and afterwards becoming the Demo cratic nominee for State Senator, he was beaten by the Peo ple's Party. His displacement from the bench was a severe blow to his pride. He privately declared that he would prefer to remain with out pay than to with draw after so long a term of service; but the cry for " new blood on the bench " was ir resistible. After heretired from the bench, he opened an office for the practice of the law, but utterly failed It was noticeable that he was unfamiliar with the rules of evidence and practice, and fre GREGORY quently omitted from his papers important matters. He spoke hesitatingly, and under evident embarrassment. Tyros at the bar were often more than his match; and after a few attempts he refused to appear in court, confining himself to office work. In 1855 he again reascended the bench, but in a different forum. The United States Court of Claims had just been created, and President Pierce appointed him judge of that court, saying that he knew of no man in the party better fitted to aid in its organization. This office he held until his death, Dec. 31, 1859, — the last day of the year, the