Wl ^-^^ 'oW* Q 4> . ^"^ ^^ C ,0 ..s^ •^^-^ ■;^$^ ^'- J"': "<^, ■.7(J- -^ ^''W^, <^ "" -^^ ... ^^ '••'- ^\ ^^ -^^^^ ,'>^!^te '^„c'^ / .0^ A' c°^ .\^^; ^-- '.^- c- .^^ ■.'. ;^ V -*-_ .V ;c. V 'N' .■^^■*' ^^km-j^^^-^^. _9^ THE LAST PORTRAIT OF MR. ELAINE. Presented to the Publishers of this Book w graph signature. Mr. Blaine remarked at the time, " I lett my house, stood tor the picture, and was back in eighi Memorial ^littion* Life and Work OF James G. 5'^^^^ AN ACCOUNT OF HIS BOYHOOD HIS YOUTH IN SCHOOL AND COLLEGE . . THE INITIAL PERIOD OF HIS PUBLIC CAREER ' . HIS SERVICES IN CONGRESS AND IN TWO CABINETS HIS GREAT SPEECHES HIS CONTESTS FOR THE PRESIDENCY .... HIS INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY HIS LITERARY PRODUCTIONS HIS POLICIES AND STATESHANSHIP, AND . AN ESTIMATE OF HIS GENIUS BY JOHN CLARK RIDPATH, LL. D., General SELDEN CONNOR, Ex-Governor of Maine, and other eminent friends of Mr. Blaine. • Sl 3iational ffiaUcrtj of pictures anJi portraits. philadelphia : ^■'- Historical Publishing Company. ^ 1893. i Copyright, 189;,, by H. S. vSMITH. (AI.I, RIGHTS RKSHRVED.) ^*^ Many of the illustrations in this work are from original drawings by our own artists and fully protected by copyright, their reproduction is unlawful, and notice is hereby given that persons guilty of infringing the copyright thereof will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. E do not conceal from ourselves or the public the hesitation which we feel in attempting to ^i) portray the life and work of James G. Blaine. It is a life so unique, a work so great, that the writers may well pause before beginning the delineation of the one and the estimation of the other. Public interest, however, is so deeply rooted in the character of Blaine that much will be over- looked and much more forgiven in the case of an honest attempt to transcribe that character to the printed page. The people of the United States will, at the present juncture, read with sympathy the essays and deductions of many authors. A great volume of matter, much of it transient and a certain part permanent in value, will be given forth in the current year. It were not beyond the range of probability that the personal life and public career of Blaine will be more discussed and written about than that of any other American of the present age, with the possible exception of General Grant. These facts may excuse such faults and imperfections in the following work as are incident to the nature of the subject and to the occasion. The occasion certainly exists. The shadow of a great eclipse has passed over the American landscape, The shadow has been as broad as the borders of our country, and the penumbra of it has extended northward to the frozen seas and southward to the pampas. American history of the current age has been rich in great men ; but it has not been so rich as to spare any. Of these death has been claiming from time to time a rich harvest. The shaft has struck here and there, in m iv PREFACE. places far and near. Our distinguished generals are all gone or going. They who were developed to so high a degree of character and action in the epoch of our national trial have passed off one by one — " To join The innumerable caravan wlTich moves To that mysterious realm where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death." Grant and Lee, Sherman and Johnston have lain down together. McClellan and Sheridan, Hancock and Logan have gone away to the far country whose landscape no earthly witness has described. In like manner the great civilians of the age have passed from the arena of the world. Where, alas I are those stately figures that filled the walks of public life during the last quarter of a century? Silent all! Two great Presidents dead by violence 1 Two other Presidents gone away — the greatest sleeping at Riverside. Vice-Presidents and aspirants fallen ! Senators, diplo- matists, ministers, publicists — a legion departed into silence ! Ere long all the great relics of the heroic days will be seen no more in the gloom and shine of this planet. So also the intellectually great are going. Our authors, poets, men of letters, have disappeared until the thinned ranks are reduced to a spectral array, among whom contentions and rivalries are almost vain from paucity of numbers. it would appear that the world cannot well spare its great men. They are not so plentiful in any age or under any condition as to be wastefully put out of sight. The world loses by their going, it is not certain that our planet has any intrinsic value ; but its extrinsic or related value as the abode of human activity is great. It is men and the deeds of men that confer upon this scene its interest and importance. Nevertheless, our estimate of harm from the loss of the great is doubtless overdrawn. if, indeed, men — individuals — were, as the poorest school of thinking would have us believe, the creators of history, then the world — the progress of events — might seem to be put out of place by the departure of great actors from the arena. But the world is fortunately not so disturbed by the loss of any, however great. History is able to care for herself. She pro- duces according to her exigencies. If the exigencies be great, then history is a great mother. If the exigency be small, then the mother is correspondingly parsimonious in her offspring. Sometimes, for a while, she brings forth nothing at all — not, perhaps, because she cannot, but because she thinks the occasion does not demand the exercise of the full powers of her sublime maternity! PREFACE. V James G. Blaine has now been transferred from this to another scene. He has gone to Garfield I What that other estate is, we shall not presump- tuously venture to declare. Certainly they are with the immortals, where- soever it be. May be it is in Lyra ; may be in Altair ! May be the glories of the sun have taken them both back to the embrace of fire. Let us at any rate hope that they live, and think, and enjoy, and know 1 The day was when these two walked down side by side, on the early July morning, and entered the Chesapeake Station together. Eighteen years before they had entered Congress together. Both had risen to rank and fame. One had the greater success; the other had the greater genius, it would seem that they were friends. Crash goes the assassin's bullet 1 One is down, and the other goes on through contention and battle for a season. He, too, has now made his exit through that narrow door which has opened and closed for every son of man. What a strange scene is this ! Can any fathom life ? What is this action for ? What are all these senses, this intellect, this perception, this will, this consciousness and soul — what is life intended to subserve and accomplish ? It is still the day of deep sympathy for the exit of James G. Blaine from the mortal scene. We do not doubt that the faculties of all Americans are for the present moved by the event, and that the logical estimate of the dead is disturbed a little by affection and the sense of loss. That Blaine has occupied a conspicuous place in the thought and in the heart of his countrymen for many years cannot be denied or doubted. He was the friend of many men, and many were friends of him. In his life he said brilliant things and enacted a striking part in the drama of the age. This is said of his part in the pjiblic life of the American nation. We all know that an exaggerated estimate is placed upon our public life and upon the actors in it. The public life of the people is not its real life ; but only its spectacular existence. The real life is the life of the masses. It is measured by their every-day thoughts and feelings and hopes. As these rise and fall civilization ascends or descends to corresponding altitudes and depressions. Certainly we do not deny that the public life has its greatness and value. We simply insist that this public life is not the true one — that it is only exponential of a greater life resident in the breast of the people. In the arena of governmental affairs — necessarily a great arena in a democratic and republican country — leaders have a remarkable ascendancy over the minds of the people. It is well that it should be so. The people, looking to their leaders, remember that they are leaders because they are chosen to be such. Therefore, the people glory in themselves because of the vi PREFACE. leadership which they themselves have created. There are, however, leaders and leaders. James G. Blaine was one of the leaders. He led, not only by sufferance, not only because he was chosen with the full consent of a free people to lead, but because he had in him the inherent capacity to be a leader and the genius to vindicate his claim by many conspicuous and useful policies and works. As to method it is often a matter of doubt with a writer what is best to be chosen. The method varies with the subject. In the case of public men a biography is necessarily deduced most largely from public affairs. It is drawn from those records which the given character has written or helped to record in the annals of his age. In the case of literary men the narrative is deduced mostly from their writings and to a considerable extent from the personal habits and lives of the authors. There is a strong disposition in our day to separate the public man into two parts, and to pass over the personal half with little notice or concern. It has been openly avowed in recent American biography as a canon of the art that the personal life of the public man has nothing to do with the case. Public interest, however, includes both the individual and the civil life of the actor. This is true, if we mistake not, as a principle to be observed in the biography of Blaine. He had a large personality^ as well as a large public career. We shall attempt to delineate both in the following pages, though the subject will lead us to dwell more particularly on the civic and public parts than on the personal. In a country like the United States, where families are not established, where the genealogical tree is less esteemed than any tree of the forest, it must needs be that a personal and family history will be brief — this for the reason that no record is made of the career of American boys and youths. It cannot be known in advance that a given boy, in a republican democracy like our own, will rise to distinction. The rule is, indeed, that our great men proceed from obscurity. The obscurity is sometimes so dense that it is almost impossible to discover anything about the early life, associations and dispo- sitions of the character in question. Life in the United States does not go by families, but by achievement. We have seen in late years how difficult it is to construct a biography of Lincoln or of Garfield. The beginnings of their lives and the whole period of youth were so obscure that the bio- grapher is scarcely able to find a point of light or interest. In America men emerge. They come not of old family stocks— not out of baronial manors and feudal castles— but out of the undiscovered fountains of the humble homes of the people. The American youth is properly the son PREFACE. vii of the people. The fact is emphasized by cross-marriage, which is the rule in American society, No doubt the principle of marriage by the preference and desire of the parties has its drawbacks and disadvantages ; but it is, at any rate, based on affection and choice, and these must, in the long run, work out better results than any marriage method contrived by the interest and selfishness of parents. The American youth, having in his veins the cross-currents of many stocks, becomes composite in the highest degree ; but, at the same time, he becomes strong. The old method of preparing the metal for axles and pistons was to gather from indescribable sources the scrap-iron debris of everything, and to throw the same together upon a sheet of the same metal, which was folded up around the miscellaneous mass. The ball thus prepared was cast into the furnace, and thence taken at white heat to be kneaded and pounded and rolled into the required form. Thus was greatest strength secured, and thus, by mixture of fiber, a density and endurance of the whole obtained, which could not be reached in any other way. in the alchemy of human life there is something like it ; that is, in the alchemy of American life, where every son born of our democratic family is a sort of son of man. These reflections have a measure of application to Blaine. True, his family descent was highly reputable. But his ancestors were not so con- spicuous or so much concerned about the prospects of their descendants as to record the events — if such they may be called—of the juvenile career of our subject. In fact, James G. Blaine began life as other boys to make his way in the world, and it was some time before he was able to demonstrate the difference between his own powers and promise and the like facts in his fellows. After the beginning of his public career the light is turned upon him, and in course of time there is a full blaze. in his latter years Blaine has been watched and recorded at every step. Hardly any other character in the whole history of the American people has been written about and made of record so fully as has been the subject of the biography which we here attempt to present. In the preparation of this volume we shall first aim to give an account of the ancestry and early life of Blaine, passing thence to the collegiate and trial epoch of his youth, and thence to his first appearance in public. From his editorial career we shall follow him into Congress, and note with admiration his rise and distinction. Already at the age of thirty-five he was a noted man. A number of such cases are seen in the epoch under consideration. In 1 86^ the young men of the great free States had become suddenly viii PREFACF. conspicuous. They had espoused the Republican cause ; voted for Fremont ; gone in on the wave that carried Lincoln to the presidency, and soon began to reap the fruits of leadership. Oliver P. Morton was War Governor of Indiana at the age of thirty-seven. Blaine was a leader at a still more precocious period of his life. From the notice of his career at this epoch we shall go forward to the still wider career upon which he entered in the after years of his service in the House and in the Senate. Then we shall see him as Secretary of State and aspirant for the presidency. It will be our purpose to adorn this volume with copious extracts from Blaine's great speeches ; also to add from his other literary works to the extent of illustrating his capacities as a man of letters. Finally, we shall attempt to give an adequate estimate of the genius and career of Blaine viewed as facts in American history. We solicit for the work here presented to the public a fair measure of attention and appreciation. It has been our desire to make it in some degree worthy of the subject and of the- occasion which now calls forth the publi- cation. In common with our countrymen we share the admiration which they have entertained for James G. Blaine, and shall have a keen regret for any failure to portray his life and work in such manner as to merit the approbation of that great and not undiscerning public to whom we surrender this work with mingled pleasure and regret. J. C. R. New York, 1893. S. C. Preface, Introduction— Typical men — Sentiment of Lavater — Paucity of great names — Charle- magne's place in Middle-Age history — Other mediaeval heroes — Washington as a type — Webster and Clay — Hamilton and Marshall — Lincoln's place in history — A Virginian's opinion of the emancipator — Henry Clay — Militarj' and civic fame — Virtue of American patriotism — Blaine's appearance as a statesman — His character and work — Singleness of his career — Sympathy and admiration of his countrymen — Illusions of the present hour — Interest in Blaine's life and work, xxv-xxxu CHAPTER I. Concerning Birthplaces — The point of origin a matter of indifference — The man makes his own birthplace — Descent determines character — Birthplace of Blaine — Sketch of the epoch of his appearance — Setting of events for that day — The Blaine family^ Colonel Ephraim Blaine — His descendants — Ephraim L,. Blaine in particular — The home in Cumberland Valley — Maria Gillespie — The religious question in the family — Removal of Ephraim L. Blaine to Western Pennsylvania — His resources and char- acter — Condition of the country — Education and dispositions of the elder Blaine — First training of James Gillespie — Indian Hill Farm — Present condition of the old house and surroundings — Captain Van Hook and his traditions — Narrative of J. E. Adams — Blaine's early aptitudes — Home training of the bo}' — Celtic influences — Early impressions and culture — Mother's influence — First connection with the Ewings — Blaine and Thomas Ewing, Jr. — James' earliest ambitions — Paternal policy respecting him — Blaine in school at Lancaster — The two youths select their colleges — Lyons chosen as a tutor — He prepares the boys for collegiate training — Traditions of Blaine's school days at West Brownsville — What might have been and what not — Story of the boy's readiness — Jefferson College and Washington and JeSerson College — Story of the founding of these institutions — College life and tradition — Gow's account of Blaine in his college days — Fallacy of the classmate — Blaine's superiority as a student — His preferences in study^Plutarch in particular — Mathe- matical aptitude — A bom debater — The College Literary Society— Usurpation of the Greek fraternity — Blaine's superioritj' in forensics — Story of Hamilton — Appearance of young Blaine in youth — His rank at graduation — Condition of affairs at date of graduation — Opinions and events of the day — The Mexican question in particular — Beginning of slavery' propagandism — Close of the j-outhful period, 33~4-9 (ix) X CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. INITIAL PASSAGES. Evolution of Individual Character — Blaine a possible teacher — Influence of instructors in determining pnrsuits — Choice of Kentuck}- as a scene of action — The Western Military Institute — Personnel and character of the school — Prevalence of such insti- tutions in the South — Blaine makes the acquaintance of Harriet Stanwood — His character as a teacher — His relations with the students — He contemplates another profession — Death of his father — He marries Miss Stanwood — The Stanwood family — Further career at Blue Lick Springs — Resigns his position and goes to Philadelphia — Begins the study of law — Enters the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind — Doctor Chapin's narrative of Blaine's entrance into the school — Character of that institution — Early beginning of Blaine in manly work — His success as an instructor in Philadelphia— Sketch of the Pennsylvania Institution — Blaine's journal of the school— Extracts therefrom — Excellent character of the record— Michael Williams and his narratives regarding Blaine— Habits of Blaine and his wife in their intercourse with the students — Blaine's personal methods — Notice of David Wood — Note of Mr. Frank Battles — Blaine continues his legal studies — He resigns from the institution — Letter of George Edward Reed — Question of pennanent location — Blaine chooses Augusta — His preferences for writing — He becomes an editor in Maine — Philosophy of location as affecting the careers of public men — Advantages and dis- advantages of various States — The doubtful States and the certain— The position of Maine considered — Character of the old leadership in the LTnited States— Deaths of Clay and Webster — Blaine advantaged and disadvantaged in his location — He becomes editor of the Kennebec Journal — The firm of Baker and Blaine — Legal life and editorial life — Blaine a natural politician — His equipment for a public career — Political character of the epoch— Death of the Whig party — Anarchy in politics — Know-nothingism — Domination of negro slavery— The year 1854— "Tom's Cabin" and Helper's "Crisis" — Intellectual warfare — Voice of the AboHtionist — Birth of a new pohtical party— The political animal — How he ranks himself— Natural attitudes of parties — Blaine one of the insurgents— In at the birth of the Republican party- Free Kansas — Blaine's manner and method as an editor — Intelligence of the Maine folk — The old editorial and the new — Files of the Keimebec foiinial—V^TLXx'^cX.s there- from — Blaine's article on Hannibal Hamlin — His praise of that .statesman for his attitude on the Kansas question — Article on the Topeka Constitution — Controversy with the Age newspaper respecting that instrument — Editorial on Border Ruffianism in Maine — Criticism of the Southern leaders — Blaine's antagonism to the slave trade — The flag with eighteen stars — Editorial on the State election of 1856 — Review of national questions — Forecast of Fremont's election — Appeal to Maine to speak for liberty — Review of the situation in Massachusetts— Political predictions of the result of the presidential election — Editorial on the contest in Peimsylvania — Shrewd cal- culations in regard to results in that State— Blaine's letters from the contested field — Communication from Pittsburgh— His enthusiastic predictions in favor of the Union party — Sharp editorial comments on political conditions— The Philadelphia letter of October — The candidates and issues handled, with estimates of strength and .summary of results — Predictions as to divisions in the electoral college — Editorial of August in reply to an attack made by the Age — Editorial work leads to political aspirations — Blaine's timidity — His first experience as a leader — His address on returning from the National Convention of 1856— His manner and success — Philosophy of the maiden effort — His hot work in the Kennebec Joimial—E'OxXy beginning for a statesman — Breakers ahead — Blaine sells his new.spaper interest — Becomes editor of the Portland Daily Advertiser — Is chosen to the Maine Legislature — His manner as a speaker — CONTENTS. xi PAGE Begins to assert himself in leadership — Twice re-elected to the House of Representa- tives — Is made Speaker — The daj' of trausfonnation — Kansas war — The Dred Scott decision — John Brown, of Ossawattomie — The disunion drama opens — The Union must preser^'e itself — Questions before the Maine Legislature — Resolutions in support of the Government — Opposition of Gould, of Thomaston — Blaine's speech in reph' — He discusses the war power of the nation — Interprets the Constitution — Sup- premacy claimed for Congress — That bodj' compared with the House of Commons — Citation from Vattel — The Government maj- rightfully make war on seceded States — Maj- take back her ports — Sumner's position upheld in argument — Able summarj-, with citations from American statesmen — Blaine a rising man — His power of study and investigation — Is appointed Prison Commissioner and State printer — In the Republican National Convention of i860 — Supports Lincoln — Circumstances hedge his waj' — Is elected to Congress in 1862 — Condition of the countr}' at that time, . . 50-98 CHAPTER HI. I.IFE IN CONGRESS — FIRST PERIOD. Comments on the "New Member" — Opening of the Thirty-eighth Congress — Per- sonnel of that body — Blaine's appearance and manner — Remarks of others respecting him — How he regarded himself — Difficulties in beginning a congressional career — Blaine and Garfield — Both have the habit of work — Little speaking at first — Blaine begins to emerge — Crisis of the Civil War — Questions that came with it — Money and tariff — Blaine's speech in answer to Sunset Cox — He becomes a sharp debater — Pro- gress of political events — McClellan a candidate for the Presidencj' — Paradox of the Democratic position — Re-election of Lincoln — Blaine renominated for Congress — His letter of acceptance — He discusses national questions therein — Stands strongly by the Government, and advocates the presentation of the Union by force — In the Thirty- ninth Congress — End of the war — Old basis of representation — The negro shall be counted — Blaine's speech on the new basis — Political complexion of affairs — Leader- ship of Henr\' Winter Davis — Competitors for his cloak — Notice of Roscoe Conkling — His rivalry with Blaine — The break of 1866 — Altercation in Congress — Account of the great battle between the leaders — Narrative of S. S. Cox — Blaine's sarcasm — ■ The abyss opens between him and Conkling — Measures advocated bj^ the former in Congress — The money issue in particular — He takes a middle ground — Account of the struggle between paper money and coin — Interests of the debtor and creditor classes — Blaine advocates the honest dollar — He seeks to promote commerce — His studies, readings and conclusions — Travels abroad — Comments of the Rockland Dejnocrat on his renomination to Congress — Blaine becomes popular at Washington — His fame blown abroad — Makes no mistakes — Measures in which he interested him- self — His success in the Fortieth Congress — Re-elected in 1S68 — Chosen to the Speakership — Review of his career and rise to distinction 99-114 CHAPTER IV. IN THE SPEAKERSHIP. Significance of an Election to the Speakership — Temper of the House with respect thereto — Comparison of Clay, Colfax and Blaine — Elements of superiority in the latter — Balancing of merits between him and Clay — Popularitj^ of each — So-called personal magnetism — Warmth of great leaders — Contrast of the Speaker and President Grant — Respective influence of the two officers — Conkling's relations to both — His ascendancy over the President — Originating power of the Speaker — Fine qualities exhibited by Blaine — Life of a congressman — Duties of the Speaker — How they may be met — Blaine's temperance and industry — Condition of affairs in the South — The xii CONTENTS. I PAGE "Act to strengthen the pubhc credit" — Blaine's influence in relation thereto — He- upholds the dominant policy — Republicanism inherits the negro — Failure of the latter to be transformed by freedom — The symposium on the disfranchisement of the blacks — Should suffrage be universal ? — Increase of Blaine's reputation — Rivals and rivalries — The credit mobilier — Republican party on the defensive — Resolution of endorsement at close of Blaine's first term — He is re-elected Speaker — His contest with B. F. Butler — Question at issue and Blaine's speech — Resolutions of confidence — Political reaction of 1874 — A Democratic majority in the House — Blaine's speech on retiring from the Speakership — His comments on the ofiice — He is returned to Congress — The Presidency rises on the view 115-126 CHAPTER V. CONTESTS FOR THE PRESIDENCY. Elaine in the Forty-fourth Congress— The House and the Senate as arenas of political ambition — Condition of affairs in the South — Return of the Confederates to Con- gress — Blaine makes himself champion of Republican sentiment — His debate with Hill on the proposed amnesty of Jefferson Davis — He charges the Confederate Presi- dent with responsibility for the horrors of Andersonville — Blaine's name mentioned for the Presidency — Question of the railroad bonds was raised — Disposition of the times to kill off public men with charges of corruption — Blaine's defence of him- self—His connection with the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad — History of the transaction — Blaine denies complicity, and speaks on the subject in Congress — Spec- tacle of the Mulligan letter day — Blaine a candidate before the National Convention of 1S76 — Organization of that body — Competitors for the prize — Roscoe Conkling — Benjamin H. Bristow — Oliver P. Morton — Rutherford B. Hayes — Story of the Con- vention — Ingersoll's nominating speech — Result of the Convention — Nomination of Hayes — Blaine's telegram — He participates in the canvass — The disputed Presi- dency — The Electoral Commission — Blaine's health — He is appointed to the Senate of the United States — His letter to his constituents — An aspirant for the Presidency — Changed and changing political conditions — Project for the re-election of General Grant — Discussion of the third-term question — Grant's relations thereto — Assembling of the Republican Convention of 1880 — Marshaling of forces — Blaine the favorite— His competitors — The break for Garfield — Nomination of the latter for the Presi- dency — Blaine supports him, and he is chosen — ^The former appointed Secretary of State — Friendship of himself and the President — The assassination and its results — • Blaine resigns from the Cabinet — Return of the Presidential year — The field for 18S4 — Sherman, Arthur and Blaine — The Chicago Convention — List of the con- testants — Blaine carries the day — Enthusiasm over the result — Telegram from Mrs. Garfield — Blaine's address accepting the nomination — Campaign of 1884 — Upheaval of scandals — Blaine's visit to New York City — The Burchard incident and its effects — Defeat of the Republican candidate — Blaine's retiracy to private life — His resi- dences in Washington and Maine — Devotes himself to literary pursuits — Value of his historical productions — Anecdote of General Grant — Blaine's speech after his defeat — He takes part in the campaign of 18S6 — Moderation of his views on the tariff ques- tion—Will he again stand for the Presidency ? — The spell of his name — Story of the Florence letter— Presidential contest of 1 888— Candidates before the Republican Convention — Nomination of Harrison — Break in Blaine's vitality — His reasons for not appearing in the contest of 1888— He is again appointed Secretary of State — Retires from the position — Embarrassing conditions of 1S92 — The last eclipse — Defeat of the favorite at Minneapolis — His weakened condition — Fame follows him into private life 127-156 CONTENTS. xiii PAGE CHAPTER VI. IN SENATE AND CABINET. Condition of Affairs on Blaine's Entrance into the Senate — Character of that body — Comparison of the two Houses — "No mercy here" — Quiet of the Senate chamber — Preparation for service in the Upper House — Blaine's qualifications — His temper with respect to senatorial service — His relation to the Tilden- Hayes contest — Views of the statesman on the remonetization of silver — History of that question — Struggle between the fund-holding and producing classes — Exposition of the dollar — Omission of the American dollar from the list of coins — Blaine's thesis on the ques- tion — His interest on other topics — The commerce of the United States — He favors the restoration of American commerce — Summary of his position on the subject — Wherein he may be praised — The Halifax fishery award — Strange provision of the Treaty of Washington — Provision for the appointment of the umpire — Delfosse's position in the court — He decides against the United States — The principle of arbi- tration upheld — Apparition of the solid South — Question of troops at the polls — Issue of Chinese immigration — Character of the Chinese — History of the relations between the United States and China — The Chinese labor trade — Danger of an invasion — Abrogation of the Burlingame Treaty — Formation of a new international compact — Blaine's distinguished place in the Senate — His letter to Garfield accepting a place in the Cabinet — Admirable temper of the communication — Foreign policy of the Garfield administration as explained by Blaine — Project of a Peace Congress — Inter- val between the first and second service in the Cabinet — Harrison reappoints him Secretary of State — He renews his policies — Extent of his international correspond- ence — Death of his children, Walker and Alice — Anecdote b}' Bishop Hurst — Break in Blaine's health — His personal appearance and habit — Will he again stand for the Presidency ? — Vexatious relations with the administration — Blaine retires from the Cabinet — Failure in Minneapolis, 157-172 CHAPTER VII. THE INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN CONFERENCE. A Peace Congress of the American States — It is held under Blaine's auspices — His address of welcome — His summary of the nations represented — Hope of establishing confidence and friendship among them — Theory that the American nations ought to abide in sympathy — Outline of beliefs and sentiments — Subjects to be presented at ^ the Conference — The address the highest expression of Blaine's statesmanship — Nations represented, and list of delegates — Blaine chosen President of the Confer- ence — The committees appointed — Extent and variety of the subjects discussed — Report of Committee on Weights and Measures — Amendment to the same — Report ^ of Committee on Inter-Continental Railwaj-s — Reports of Committee on Customs Unions — Conflict among the nations on the question of free trade — Obscurity of the subject — The question one of advantage — Debate thereon in the Conference — Report of Committee on Conmiunication on the Atlantic — Outline of its provisions — Similar report from Committee on Communication on the Pacific — Appendix thereto by Estee, of California — Second report on the same subject — Recommendations from Committee on Harbor Fees and Regulations — Report of Committee on Patents and Trade Marks — Committee on Extradition of Criminals makes its report — The question of an inter- national monetary union — Nature of that issue explained — The bottom contest between the debtor and the creditor — Debate on the subject — Recommendations of the committee — Ambiguity of the measures proposed — Travesty on the question — Report of Com- mittee on International American Bank — Recommendations from Committee on Private International Law — Also from Committee on Plan of Arbitration — Close of the sessions of the Conference — Blaine's farewell address — The event the acme of his career, . . 173-188 xiv CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER VIII. EPISODE OF THE PARIS LETTER. Circumstances that Led to the Writing of the Paris Letter— Tariff message of President Cleveland — Comments thereon by the public — Sensational features of the document — Blaine undertakes an answer — His residence in Paris — Form in which the letter appeared — Henry W. Knight's narrative of its production — He recites Blaine's own account of the writing of the paper — Extraordinary feat of work — Blaine's exhaustion afterwards — Mr. Knight's relations with the statesman— Text of the Paris letter — Mr. Smalley's report of his inter\'iew with Blaine — The latter gives his views on the tariff— He proposes a repeal of the tobacco tax — Favors the retention of the tax on whisky — Coast defences should be paid for from this revenue— In time of peace prepare for war — Houses and farms pay too much tax — Wool-growers must be pro- tected — Vital importance of the labor question — What will become of the farmers? — Tariff of 1864 and its results — How Blaine would reduce the revenue — Possible effects of Cleveland's policy — An American market for the American people — Unlimited free trade at home — Need of a new political economy — The South should demand pro- tection — Fallacy of admitting raw materials — A full and fair contest on the free trade issue demanded, 189-201 CHAPTER IX. PERSONALITY, HOME TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. Quotation from Cellini — Famous autobiographies — Interest of self-revelations — Notes of Washington and Grant — Why the public would know its heroes — Gradual growth favors public interest — Blaine's conspicuous and continuous career — Elements of popularity — His person described — A knight without reproach — Industries of Maine described — Blaine's own district — His editorial profession— Residence in Augusta — Addition to the house — Story of the officious driver — The Augusta home — The family — Pohtical life in the commonwealth— Blaine as a spellbinder — His manner as a campaigner— Receptions at the Blaine house — A soiree dansante — Blaine's manner on such occasions — His methods as chairman of the committee — His tactics as a politician — His acquaintance with friends, public and private — Popularity of the leader among his followers — A good giver — Meetings with original characters — Blaine's charm in conversation — His methods in conversing — Courtesy and the desire to please — Anecdote of Friend William — Blaine's fondness for %valking and driving — • Speaking as an exercLse — Attractions of Maine as a summer resort — Blaine in the campaign wagon — His ner^^e as a driver — California incident — The statesman walks much and communes with Nature — Anecdote of Choate — Blaine's rhetoric — Subject- matter of his speeches— His libran,' facilities — His study of men— Anecdote of the organ-grinder before the Seward House — Organization of Blaine in mind and body— His superstitions — Notions about his health — His resources and business methods — His religious belief and habits— The Blaine family enumerated — Walker Blaine in particular — Alice— Emmons— Margaret— Harriet and James G., Jr.— Life in the Augusta home— Historical interest about the place where dwelt the Man from Maine, 202-216 CHAPTER X. RETIRACV AND LAST DAYS. Great Men Seek an Interval of Repose— Some die in the harness— Blaine's temper favorable to fighting out the battle — Circumstances limit preference — His retirement from the Cabinets of Garfield and Harrison result from historical conditions — Blaine's residence on Lafayette Park — His home in Augusta — His summer home at Bar Harbor— Tradition of Mount Desert Island— Description of the Blaine villa— The CONTENTS. XV PAGE Washington House in Fifteenth Street — The Dupont Circle mansion — Traditions of the Seward House — Blaine an assiduous worker — His literarj- aspirations — He writes much— His residence in Washington and his travels abroad — Evidences of breaking health — Sorrow for the death of his children — His last public speech — Nature of the disease with which he was prostrated — Story of his decline — Death comes suddenly — Report of the physicians on his ailments — Incidents of the last day — The death- chamber — Impression produced on the public mind — Proclamation of the President — Congress adjourns — Tone of the newspaper press— Subject-matter of criticisms and eulogies — Preparations for the funeral — Oak Hill Cemetery chosen for sepulture^ Public expectation — Pageants and private funerals compared — Blaine chose the latter — L,ist of the pallbearers — Church and clergymen — Ceremonies of the occa- sion — Casket and inscription — Religious question again — A Catholic and Protestant household — The Georgetown Cemeter\-— The funeral proper — Tributes and flowers — Ceremonies at the residence — Services at the Church of the Covenant — The address and the music — The procession — Crowds en route — Scenes in the cemetery — The burial-place — Graphic account of the visit of Mrs. • Blaine to the grave of her husband — Rcquicscat in pace 217-233 CHAPTER XI. SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES — FIRST PERIOD. Early Passion of Blaine for Public Speech— His address announcing the nomination of Fremont — He reviews the slavery question in the United States — Right of the Government to regulate the institution in the Territories — Reviews the proceedings in the first Republican Convention— Caustic comments on Buchanan— The speaker appeals to the Republicans of Maine— Urges the candidacy of Hamlin — Result of the Presidential election of 1856 — Blaine's Farmington speech — He discusses the issues of i860 — National questions handled in a masterly way — He antagonizes slavery — Reviews the Dred Scott decision — Shows the fallacy of the pro-slavery position — Cries out for restriction — Comments on the events of the past four years — Shows the hope- less division of the Democratic party — Predicts the election of Lincoln — Praises Hamlin — Indicates a protective policy for the Government — Shows the causes of fluctuation in the value of commodities — Tide of prosperity turned against the United States — Discusses the financial crisis of 1857— Shows the antagonism of slavery to free industry and high wages — Reviews the political contest of the past twenty years — Exhorts the people of Maine to stand by the Republican policy — Peculiar interest of the address in the light of subsequent developments 234-244 CHAPTER XII. SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES — CONGRESSIONAL. Blaine Aspires to Congress — His speech on the confiscation of rebel property — He reviews the course of the war, and argues in favor of prosecuting it to the end — Enters Congress — Speaks on the financial condition of the countrj- — Also on the futility of attempting to equalize coin and paper money — Comments on the provisions of the Stevens Bill — Shows the condition of affairs should the same become a law — Cites English histor>' against the measure — Advocates the adoption of English methods in preser\dng the national credit— Question of a new basis of representa- tion — Blaine's speech on that subject — Shows the advantage which the seceded States had enjoyed in congressional representation — Severe- strictures on the current appor- tionment—Evokes the Constitution against it — Urges the adoption of a new basis according to population — Speaks in Maine on the same subject — Question of recon- struction arises — Blaine's address on the restoration of the late insurgents to ci\al xvi CONTENTS. TAGE power — Unfairness of Southern election — Proposes amendment to the Constitution covering basis of representation and principles for reorganizing the Union — Attacks the principle of counting negroes when they are disfranchised— Shows the unjust influence of the old Southern States in the electoral college— Appeals to the late elections in favor of reform— Duties of the Government to protect all its citizens in equal right before the Constitution and the laws— Question of the payment of the public debt— Blaine shows that the national honor is involved in full payment of the obligations imposed by the war— He attacks the new doctrine of the payment of the debt in paper money — Considers the character and true significance of the national bonds — Advocates payment of both principal and interest in coin — Even the five- twenty bonds are redeemable in metallic money— Controverts the views of Pendleton — Urges that the bonds, by terms of their negotiation, were payable in coin— Shows that Stevens had changed his position— Nature of the ten-forty bonds — Method of sale of the Government securities— Supplementary Loan Bill of 1864— The seven- thirty bonds- History of the bill for the issuance of the coin bonds— Extracts from Secretary' Chase's letter— Argument that the bonded debt is rightfully payable in coin — Review of the course of Chase, Fessenden and McCulloch — Fessenden's decla- ration relative to the five-twenties — McCulloch's letter to Morton and Company — Proposition to pay the five-twenties in greenbacks discussed — Question of taxing the Government bonds— Blaine's speech of June, 1868— He opposes the project to tax the Government's securities — Shows where such taxation would fall - Indicates the corporations by which the national bonds were held — Demonstrates the infeasibility of the proposed measure— Question of local and general taxation of the securities discussed— The project to tax a matter of bad faith — Advancement in Blaine's career — He is appointed to a seat in the Senate, 245-270 CHAPTER Xni. SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES — SENATORIAL. The Senate Not so Well Suited as the House to Blaine's Genius— His age and character on entering the senatorial body— Question of the remonetization of silver - Blaine's speech on that subject— The power of Congress over the coinage discussed — Histor>' of the question in other countries — Difficulties of bi-metallism considered — The real question before Congress —What would follow if free coinage of silver were permitted — Dangers of a depreciated dollar— Anecdote of Vanderbilt — The hard- money argument in cxtcnso — -Blaine not a mono-metallist — Impossibility of striking out silver from the coinage — Citations from Hamilton— Position of Stanley Matthews controverted— The bonds payable in standard coin of July 14, 1870— Bad grace of the demand for payment in gold onh — Blaine discerned that gold had risen in the market — He proposes an augmented silver dollar— The bill offered by Blaine as a substitute — He foresees the failure of his measure— Denounces cheap money— Advo- cates the maintenance of parity between the two money metals— Question of the Halifax aw^ard arises— Blaine speaks on the question— Explains the character of the commission — Antecedents of the transaction— Absurdity of allowing an Austrian minister to appoint the umpire — Blaine concedes honorable intentions to Sir Edward Thornton and M. Delfosse— Animadverts upon the character of the award— Position of the American commissioner discussed — Citation from Redman on "Arbitration and Award"— Other authorities quoted— Shall the Government accept the decision of the commission ? — Remarks by Hannibal Hamlin— Blaine's response— He con- tinues the discussion in a second speech — Describes the efforts of Lord Granville to secure the appointment of Delfosse as umpire — Qtiotation from the London Times — Attitude of the Canadian ministry discussed — Injustice of the award — Blaine's policy of extending the influence of the United States— Anecdote of Macaulay— Question of CONTENTS. xvii PAGE Chinese immigration again — Blaine leads in an effort to secure restriction — His speech of February, 1879 — Urges the abrogation of the Burlingame Treat}- — Reviews the position of Stanley Matthews — Shows that the Chinese have violated their con- tract — Demonstrates that immigration can only be permitted when it is voluntar>- — Remarks of Mr. Matthews — Continuance of Blaine's address — Shows that the Bur- lingame Treaty is peculiar — Necessity of demanding its abrogation — Further contro- versy with Senator Matthews — Analogies drawn from our relations with other countries — History of the controversj- relative to immigration — Can the Chinese become citizens ? Number of the Orientals come into the United States — Easiness of a Chinese invasion — Necessitj- that the Mongolians should be excluded — Question of enfranchising the Chinese — Blaine accuses Senators of desiring to shirk their responsibilities — Response of Hamlin — A senatorial coUoquj^ — The race question not to be lightly put aside — Difficulty of dealing with Chinese immigrants — Imminent danger to the society and industries of California — Blaiue regrets the hard treatment to which the Chinese have been subjected — Their cheap labor not desirable in com- petition with that of America — Summary of the question at issue — The Chinese issue goes to the countr\- — Blaine speaks on the subject a second time in the Senate — Urges the importance of restriction — Replies to the Senator from Louisiana — Quotation from Lincoln — Blaine discu.sses the difference between the Chinese question and the ques- tion of negro enfranchisement — Cites the record of Hannibal Hamlin against him- self — Qualities of Blaine's mind as exhibited in the discussion — His brilliancy as a congressional debater, 271-306 CHAPTER XIY. INTERNATIONAL SPIRIT AND DIPLOMACY. Blaine's Mind Essentially Diplomatical — Statesmanship tends to intemationality — Blaine gives himself up to the spirit of the age — He adopts a policy as Secretary of State — His friendliness to the Irish cause — His State paper on the Cla}-ton-Bulwer Treaty and interoceanic canals — Contends for the right of the United States to control the highways across the Isthmus of Panama — Citations from the existing treaties — Attitude of the Government on the question — Advises the American Minister to notifj^ Lord Granville of the existing provision and treaty stipulations on the question — Sets forth the purposes and commercial policies of the LInited States — Treaty of 1846 — Rela- tions of the United States and Colombia — Extension of the railwaj- system of Mexico and Central America — Importance of the canal as a means of transit horn sea to sea — The friendly intentions of the United States declared — European policies cannot be adopted in America — The powers of Europe have frequently guaranteed neutralit}- and independence — Advises Lowell to let be known the views of the American Govern- ment — Citation of the President's inaugural — Continuance of the discussion in Novem- ber, 1881 — Quotation from existing agreement respecting the interoceanic canal — Great interest of the United vStates in maintaining American prerogative — Small interest of Great Britain — Blaine plants himself on the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty — Urges modification of existing agreement — Shows the polic}^ of Great Britain at Gibraltar and Suez — Vastness of the American interest at stake— The Pacific Coast especially concerned — Impracticability of making the Isthmian canals except under supervision of the United States — The question of war considered — Necessity for abrogating or amending the treaty — Great Britain's promise to aid in the construction of the Nicaraguan canal — Summary of principles demanded for the Government of the United States — Pledge that the latter will act in harmony with the other American republics — The canal intended as an agent of peaceful commerce — Reasons for dis- cussing the question at that juncture — Lowell urged to communicate Blaine's views to Lord Granville — Third State paper on the same subject — Original opposition to the ii CONTENTS. Clayton-Bulwer Treat}' in our country — Views of the two nations irreconcilable under the treaty — Failure of the Clarendon-Dallas Treaty — Quotation from Lord Napier — Cass' note of 1857 — Napier predicts the abrogation of the treaty — Further complica- tions of the question— Communication of Cass to Lord Napier — Sir William Ouseley's mission — Citation from Buchanan's message to Congress — The triple deadlock of 1857 — Instructions of Lord Clarendon to Napier in the following year — Further official papers on the subject of the treaty — Napier's dispatch of March, 1858 — Review of the history of the treaty from its enactment to the current date — Reasons why it can no longer hold as an agreement between the United States and Great Britain — Blaine's paper on arbitrary arrests in Ireland — The case of Michael P. Boyton — Expectation that justice will be done under the law — The Secretary continues the subject in June, 188 1 — Discussion of the Protection Act of Parliament — The case of Joseph B. Walsh — Principles by which the American Government will be guided in the case of accused Irishmen claiming citizenship — The Jewish question comes to the fore — Blaine's paper on the oppression of the Hebrews in Russia — Nature of the American interest in the Russian Jews — Citation of certain cases — Blaine's desire that harmony might be reached in Russia's treatment of the Israelites — The rights of moral freedom in foreign lands discussed — Condition of the Hebrews in Russia presented — Blaine seeks to employ the influence of Great Britain for the betterment of the Russian Hebrews — Breaking out of the Peru-Chilian war — Interest of the United States in the South American republics — Blaine's dispatches to the' American Minister — He seeks to restore peace among the Southern republics — His paper on the existing war — He dis- cusses the progress of events and urges peace — Citation from Christiancy's correspond- ence — Proposition to recognize the Calderon Government — Letter of Mr. Osborne from Santiago — Instruction to General Kilpatrick — Reports of that officer on the South American situation — Blaine summarizes the actions of our Government in the premises — Discussion of Chili's change of policj' — Cause of offence to the Government of the United f^tates — Complication respecting General Hurlbut — Difficulty of deter- mining the true state of affairs — Possible intervention of other powers — Proposition to indemnify Chili for expenses of the war — Protest against the extinction of Peru- Instructions to the American Minister with respect to his negotiations — Hope that the United States might be chosen as umpire to settle the controversy — Our relations with Mexico — Diplomatical paper of Blaine to the American Minister — He discusses the question of commerce and mutual interests between the two countries — General rela- tions of amity advocated — Disclaimer of desire to increase our territories — Expressions of gratification at Mexican prosperity — Hope that the Mexican people may adopt improved industrial methods and increase their domestic prosperity — Paper of detailed instructions — Good-will of the United States towards Mexican administration — Appeal of Guatemala to our country to arbitrate the difficulties with Mexico — Desire of Blaine to act as peace-maker between the neighboring republics — The territorial claim of the two countries — The United States an impartial friend — Mexico reminded of her own policy and principles in the past — Continuance of the correspondence relative to the broken relations of Mexico and Guatemala — Blaine discusses the question at issue between them — Mexico urged to stand by her own pretensions in favor of justice and equity — Wish of the United States that both republics may possess a permanent and efficient government — Instructions to be coiftmunicated to the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs — Continuation of the subject in the state paper of November, 1881 — The United States unwiUing that hostilities shall exist between the neighboring republics — Mexico urged to refrain from war — Question of the boundary- of Chiapas — Concession that Mexico may act as she pleases — The Mexican Minister reminded of his own statements — Concerning General Barrios — Advocacy of a Central- American union — Reproof of Mexico for her opposition to federalism — Assassination of Czar CONTENTS. 4-. xix PAGS Alexander — Blaine's paper on the subject to the American Minister — Expressions of sympath}- for the Russian ruler and his predecessor — A reminder of Russia's attitude towards our country in the Civil War — The Czar to be informed of the sentiments of the American Government — Question of a peace-congress considered — Sending out of invitations to the American republics to entertain the project — Reasons why such a congress should be promoted — The year 1882 selected for the meeting — Arguments in favor of universal peace — Disclaimer of interference on the part of the United States — The Argentine Republic first invited — Death of Garfield annuls the enterprise — Response of the South-American republics — Blaine retires from the Garfield Cabinet, 307-362 CHAPTER XV. INTERNATIOXAL SPIRIT AND DIPLOMACY- SECOND PERIOD. Fascination of the American mind for the great Secretary — Blindness of history — Necessity of Blaine's retirement from the Garfield ministry — He is recalled under Harrison — A clear field before him — The Samoan imbroglio — Blaine's paper of instruction to the American Embassy to Germany — Citations from a paper by Secre- tary Bayard — Review of the Samoan complication — Report of special agent Bates — - Reason for peaceable settlement of the difiiculty — Bismarck's statement to Mr. Pendleton — The latter is instructed by Bayard — Antecedents of the proposed confer- ence — The course of the German Government reprehended — The removal of Malietoa discussed — The United States protests against the course of the Imperial Govern- ment — Urges the restoration of the status in quo — Second quotation from Bayard's correspondence — Desire of the United States to co-operate in securing justice in Samoa — Summary of the German propositions on the subject — Objections of the United States to the proposed plan — Obligations of the American Government to protect American rights in the South Pacific — Further reasons why the United States cannot accept the German scheme of settlement — Outline of the American plan for settling the existing trouble — Quotation fi-om special agent Bates on the subject — Summary of the proposed condition of peace — Wish of the Government that the status in quo may be restored — Blaine objects to submitting citizens of the United States to foreign police inspection — Satisfactory- settlement of the difficult}^ — The '\. question of importing American pork products into France — Diplomacy- of the swine — "Blaine's paper of June, 1S89, to Minister Reid — He protests against the exclusion of American pork and shows the innocence of commerce in that article — Encloses paper from the Chicago Board of Trade — Outline of the document— Minister Reid author- ized to secure the opening of French ports to the interdicted articles — Success of the negotiation — Blaine's circular on the importation of foreign laborers — Original act restricting the importation of aliens — Masters of vessels to be held responsible for violation of the law — Exception in favor of skilled labor — The amendatory act — Secretary of the Treasury charged with the duty of executing the statute — Persons violating the prohibition to be sent back to their homes — Provision for examination and tabular statement — Method of retuniing prohibited immigrants — Report respect- ing oifenders and ofiending vessels — Blai^ie seeks to encourage trade with Mexico — Appointment of Rusk as Secretary' of Agriculture — Paper of the Beet Producers' Asso- ciation — Question of contagious diseases amongj^ttle — Report of Mr. Coleman from the Bureau of Animal Industry — Difficulty of preventing the spread of animal dis- eases along the Mexican border — Views of Secretary Rusk — The interests of the United States and Mexico mutual — Apparition of the Behring Sea controversy — Blaine's paper of January, 1890, to Sir Julian Pauncefote — Nature of the question between our Government and that of Great Britain — Are the sealing seas open or .shut? — -Danger of killing seals in open waters — Claim of the United States to special rights in the seal fisheries of Alaska — Ru.ssia formerly enjoyed a monopoly CONTENTS. tl^ere— Such right transferred to the United States — Canadian ships invade the seahng waters— Danger of exterminating the seal — Analogy of the sealing and cod fisheries — The two cases not parallel— Blaine deprecates lawlessness in Behring Sea— The United States will give and take— Difficulty of maintaining the position of the Amer- ican Secretary— Paper of May, 1890, to the British Government — Further protest against the conduct of the British sealers — Minister Phelps' conmiunication on the subject— Lord Salisbury's position — Negotiations on the subject in London— Propo- sition for a seal convention — Outline of the arrangement — Hope of the United States that the difficulty would be settled— An order of Parliament necessary— Further account of the controversy — Second paper from Minister Phelps — Blaine outlines the things necessary for a settlement— Proposition for an open season and a closed season — Necessity of protecting the rookeries — Great Britain charged with changing her policy — Review of the circumstances which led to the difficulty— Blaine vindi- cates his abilities as a diplomatist — His paper to Pauncefote of December, 1890 — Meaning of the northwest coast discussed — Views of Great Britain controverted — Bancroft's map of the disputed land and seas— Provisions of the treaty between the United States and Russia — Contention of Lord Salisbury — His position refuted — Proof from authentic map — What was the sea of Kamschatka?— Difference between Behring Sea and the Pacific Ocean — Fur companies and their value — Further citations from Bancroft's history of Alaska— History of the fur companies — Impolicy of opening all ports to free hunting — The Russian- American Company in particular— Former freedom of Behring Sea from the fur hunter— The Russian title to those waters transferred to the United States— The historical argument on the question — The United States enjoyed undisputed rights for a decade — Adams' instructions to the American Minister— The United States must maintain her claim to such rights as were pur- chased from Russia — Middleton's memorandum to Count Nesselrode— Further cita- tions from the same author — Blaine demonstrates his own consistency — Refutation of Salisbury's argument — Further historical citations— Incipiency of the fur industry in Behring Sea— True sense of the Russo-American treat}- — Question of the marine league limit — True method of preserving the seal fisheries — What may rightfully be done by the contending governments — The Pribylov Islands— Great Britain's propo- sition to arbitrate — Reasons for dechning the offer — America will arbitrate on certain conditions — What they are — The American Government does not demand that Behring Sea shall be mare clausum — Voluminousness of Blaine's diplomatical corre- spondence — His papers on the Halifax award — Third year of the Harrison adminis- tration—Rise of the Italian imbroglio — The affair at New Orleans— Attitude of the newspaper press — Temperate tone of Blaine's correspondence on the subject — Slow- ness of the American Government to act — Blaine's paper of March 15, 1891 — Desire of the United States to deal justly with Italy— Intemperance of Governor Nicholls — Blaine's second official note — He replies to Humbert's demand for reparation — Baron Fava changes his language — Difficult position of the United States — The President cannot give assurance in advance — Discussion of Baron Fava's demands — Promise that the New Orleans tragedy shall be investigated — Blaine's dispatch to Imperiali — Demands of the Marquis Rudini — Public opinion in Italy — Blaine shows the impolicy of Rudini' s position— The United States will stand by her treaties— Historical prece- dents on the question— Webster and the Spanish claim for indemnity— Quotation from Webster — The right of judicial remedy — Provisions of the Louisiana code in cases of mob violence — Difference between the mob of 1891 and that of 1851 — The United States does not insure the lives and property of Italian subjects — Nature of the treaty stipulations between the two countries — Victims of the mob — Constitutional weakness of our system in such cases — The Chilian complication — Blaine's paper of January, 1892 — Account of the violence done to American rights in Valparaiso — The CONTENTS. xxi PAGE Government will insist on the administration of justice — What rules should charac- terize diplomacj- and international intercourse — Ministers Montt and Matta — Note from the latter — Imminence of war — The danger passes — Apology from the Chilian Gov- ernment — The same is accepted by the United States — Resume of the policies and diplomatical measures of Blaine — His genius was that of action and contest, . . . 363-440 CHAPTER XVI. BLAINE'S EULOGIES. The Greeks Invent the Eulogy — ^Iodern eulogistic methods — History a eulogy — Blaine's address on Zachariah Chandler — An account of his ancestry — His rise to eminence in Michigan — His influence in forming the Republican party — Governor of Michigan — An anti-slavery agitator — Chandler in Congress — Condition of affairs on his entrance into the Senate — He becomes a leader — Comparison with his col- leagues — A national character — His career in the Senate — Enlargement of his fame — Minister of the Interior under Grant — Chandler's faults — Review of his character — Traged}' of Garfield's death — Burial of the President — Blaine chosen his eulogist — The address — Garfield's ancestry — Laws of descent and results of great parentage — The childhood and 3'outh of Garfield — What Webster said of himself — Garfield's frontier life — His honorable independence — Early struggles and formation of char- acter — Opportunities of education — Garfield in the army — His service in Eastern Kentucky — Success of his campaign — Further military career — He rises to official rank — Ser^'es under Buell — Becomes chief of staff to General Rosecrans — Helps to reorganize the army of the Cumberland — His preference for military sendee — Is elected to the House of Representatives — Accepts the place — Character of his dis- trict — Hard ordeal of the House of Representatives — Youth of Garfield on entering the arena — His growth to influence — His reser\'ation of strength — His long and suc- cessful career as Congressman — Garfield as a lawyer — As an orator and debater — His genius for work — Rapiditj' and skill of his employments — Not a great parliamentary leader — Comparison with English and American parliamentarians — Pre-eminence of Cla}- — Illustrious names of the American House — How Garfield differed from them — Industry of the latter — His speeches and policies — His adherence to principles — Likeness to Lord George Bentinck — Garfield is nominated and elected to the Presi- dency — His self-possession — Danger to candidates of writing and speaking — Men prepare their own defeat — Garfield's seventy speeches of 1880 — In the Presidency — The annoyances of office — His application to duty — His Cabinet meetings — His effort to restore harmony between the North and the South — His ambition for success — The break in the Republican party — The assassination — Religious element in Gar- field's character — His liberality — His scientific sympathies — Simplicity of his faith — Tolerance — The last da^'S of his life — Breaking of household ties — His complacency at the end — Greatness of the eulogy — Blaine's memorial address on General Grant — Nature of hero-worship — Who the hero is — The monopoly of fame — The immortality of Grant — Basis of his fame — Providence over human affairs — Grant's military supremacy and how it was earned — Rare qtialities of the man — Courage for the unexpected — Grant's readiness and self-possession — His career in civil office — The flag of truce — Summary' of Blaine's qualities as a eulogist 441-476 CHAPTER XVII. BLAINE AS A MAN OF LETTERS. Disappearance of the Literary Habit from Public Life^Disadvantages of Con- gressmen in the matter of compo.sition — Blaine's pre-eminence in this particular — His historj' of the National Congress — His ability to deduce the true historical value of events — His .skill in estimating men's lives — His dispassion — His ability to discuss ii CONTENTS. PAGE national questions and depict results — Limitations of his work subject to the second volume — His views on reconstruction and on the policy of Johnson — His justice to Garfield — Review of the Johnsonian vetoes and the impeachment — The work illus- trates the author's capacities as a man of letters — He was himself a part of his book — He contributes to "Columbus and Columbia" his thesis on "The Progress and Development of the Western World" — He shows the conditions prevalent in anti- quity — General survey of the marvels of ancient times — The omission of the common man from Old World history — Gradual emergence of the individual — Men gaifl freedom — Authority' is held to account — The trance of the Dark Ages — Man revives and democracy is triumphant — Invention of printing — Epoch at which the invention came — Nature of the Renaissance — First making of paper — Other coincident dis- coveries — Excellence of mediaeval art — House of the Medici — Intellectual activity in Florence — Pre-eminence of L,orenzo — His patriotism and generosity — No republic yet — Foreshadowings of a higher form of government — Example of the Italian free cities — The old order changeth^Coming of Columbus — His nativity and early life — • His aspirations and ambitions — Tribute to his name and memory — He did not come by chance — Europe was prepared for the event by vicissitude and by culture — Colum- bus was the principal actor in a great drama — Swanns of discoverers — Partition of the New World — Transfer of maritime power — Spain obtains the lead — France and the other powers follow after — Early plantage in America — Four centuries of change and development — Evolution of the great Republic — The Old World had failed in the experiment of government — Gold cannot buy freedom — Our war of independence — The Republic weak at first — The cradle and early nurture of Liberty — Comments on Napoleon — Results of the French Revolution — Rise of the people — Royalty towards its duty — Napoleon's estimate of kings — He failed to trust the people — The restora- tion — The Corsican's comment on the English Government — Destruction of the Divine right — Europe will be Cossack or Republican — Our Government in its first one hundred years — Incompatibility of freedom and slavery — All nations march towards Liberty — The great leaders looked to the dawn — Bourbonism only a shadow — "The House of Braganga has ceased to reign " — English monarchy no more than a shadow — America belongs to Americans — There shall be liberty and the pursuit of happiness — Rejoicing for material comfort and peace— The world but the abode of spirit — The scene of spiritual activity — Our countn,^ must be pure and purified — Foreignism must not overwhelm us — Pauperism must not crush us — Libert)^ is the first law — America is for the living — Our continent is for humanity — America uplifts the individual — The Republic hails man — The brotherhood of humanity — A corner- stone of religion — None shall abuse freedom — The American woman shall preserve her fame and that of the Republic — Blaine's life and spirit best revealed in his writings 477-504 James G. Blaine Frontispiece. Blaine' s Birthplace Blaine's Famih' Group ". Scene at Vallej- Forge Scene in Cumberland Valle}- Washing-ton and Jefferson College Alexander Hamilton The Old Blaine Bur^'ing Ground, Augusta, Me .' Stanwood Residence at Augusta Michael M. Williams Fac-simile Letter of Resignation Kennebec Journal Building Blaine's Editorial Desk Fremont on the Rockies View of Portland Blaine at twenty-eight \Varfare on Kansas Border John Brown's Fort and Harper's Ferrj-.... View of the Capitol at Augusta, Me Monitor and Blockade Runner View of Augusta Attack on Fort Sumter Charge at Gettysburg George B. McCiellan Roscoe Conkl i ng Surrender of Lee James G. Blaine in the Speakership A. H. Stephens Thomas A. Hendricks Blaine Refating the Mulligan Letters General Selden Connor General Grant's Home in Galena Chester A. Arthur From Canal Boy to the Presidency Blaine's Washington Home Chicago Convention Striking Incidents in Blaine's Career 34 37 36 38 45 48 52 53 57 59 64 67 79 82 83 84 85 87 92 95 96 97 103 loS 106 116 120 140 142 143 144 145 147 (xxiii) Blaine's Contest for the Presidency 149 John A. Logan 150 Blaine in 1884 icj Benjamin Harrison jcc Bird's-eye View of Washington 159 The State Dining Room — White House... 163 Mr.Blaine During Pan-American Congress, 175 East Room Executive Mansion lyy Blue Room — White House 181 Grover Cleveland igi H. W. Knight 192 Blaine Writing Paris Letter 195 Blaine's Summer Home at Bar Harbor 218 Homes and Birthplaces of Great Americans, 219 Steamer City of New York 221 Thomas B. Reed, of Maine 222 J. W. Foster, Secretary of State 224 Stephen B. Elkins, Secretary of War 225 Joseph H. Manley, of Maine 226 Senator W. P. Frye, of Maine 227 Charles Foster, Secretarj- of Treasurj' 230 John W. Noble, Secretary of Interior 232 Blaine's Residence at Augusta, Me 204 The South Pari.sh Congregational Church, Augusta, Me 213 State Capitol, Augusta, Me 215 Millard Fillmore 236 James Buchanan 238 Hannibal Hamlin 240 James K. Polk 243 George B. McCiellan 246 Thaddeus Stevens 247 Wall Street, New York 24S General Butler 256 Salmon P. Chase 259 William P. Fessenden 263 Hugh McCulloch 264 Treasury Building, Washington, D. C 275 ILLUSTRATIONS. State, War and Navy Departments' Build- ing, Washington, U. C Panama Canal Ferd. de Lesseps View in Colon— Terminus Panama Canal, Matachin Excavator at Work James Russell Lowell Lord Greenville Earl of Clarendon Lord Napier Expulsion of Jews from Village of Tedolsk, Russia Chili-Peruvian War — Defeat of Peruvians at Tacna Chili-Peruvian War — Chilians Capturing Pisagua General Kilpatrick President Calderon, of Peru President Diaz, of Mexico Don Matios Romero, Mexican Minister.... Gen. M. L- Barellas, President of Guatemala, Seiior Ignacio Mariscai, Mexican Secre- tary of State View of Guatemala M. Herrara, Guatemalan Minister General F. Rufino Barrios, late President of Guatemala Hon. J.W. Foster, U. S. Minister to Russia, V. G. Quisada, Argentine Minister to the United States Government House and Post Office, Buenos Ayres, Argentine Republic. . . . M. G. Celman, President of Argentine Republic Hon. F. T. Frelinghuysen, ex-Secretary of State '. Patent Office, Washington, D. C Blaine's Samoan Diplomacy Thomas F. Bayard, ex-vSecretary of State, Hon. George H. Pendleton, U. S. Minis- ter to Berlin German Gunboats Shelling the Samoans at Pago Pago Whitelaw Reid Importation of Contract Labor into the United States Hon. C. S. Fairchild, Secretan- of the Treasury Hon. J. M. Rusk, Secretarj-of Agriculture, Cattle Ranch of Texas Border Norman J. Colman, Commissioner of Agriculture 283 309 309 311 312 314 320 322 325 333 336 337 339 341 344 345 347 349 351 354 355 357 358 359 360 362 366 368 370 372 374 378 381 386 387 388 389 The Capitol, Wa.shington, D. C United States Revenue Cutter "Rush " in the Bay of Sitka Aleutian Islands, Behring Sea Marquis of Salisbury Hon. E. J. Phelps, United States Minister to Great Britain Natives Spearing a Drive of Seals Interior of Hut of Well-to-do Native Fort Wrangell, Alaska The Seal Fisheries of Alaska — Scenes on the Island of St. Paul Naval Battle at Sea Marquis A. di Rudini, Italian Premier Governor F. T. Nichols, of Louisiana Baron Saveno Fava, Italian Minister Fac-si mile of I^udini ' s Telegram The Parish Prison, New Orleans Victims of the Mob, New Orleans U. S. Cruiser ' ' Baltimore " City of Valparaiso Hon. Patrick Egan, U. S. Minister to Chili, Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield Zachariah Chandler General Cass Charles Sumner James A. Garfield The Pilgrim Fathers Garfield's Birthplace Garfield on the Canal Garfield Checking Humphrey Marshall's Advance General Rosecrans General Thomas Blaine Reading Messages of Sympath)' to Mrs. Garfield Lawnfield — the Home of President Gar- field, at Mentor Henry Clay John Quincy Adams Horace Greeley Garfield at Chicamauga Assassination of Garfield Last Look at the Sea Grant's Tomb at Riverside Grant's Tomb (interior) U. S. Grant Blaine and Arthur at Garfield's Casket Distinguished Union Anny and Navy Officers Distinguished Confederate Generals The Last Scenes 391 393 397 399 401 403 406 409 417 424 425 426 427 429 432 434 436 437 438 439 442 442 445 448 450 451 452 454 455 456 457 458 460 462 463 465 471 472 473 475 481 487 493 BLAINE-A TYPE. I VERY age has produced its typical men. Every country has had them and has profited by them. The type- men stand higher than the multitude. They are to the masses what the composite photograph is to the many faces that give it character. The philosophy of the photograph is this : it expresses the common and, therefore, the perfected humanity of all. It pre- sents the average humanit}', and at the same time the higlicst. He who has given close attention to the character of the composite will be surprised to find in it the existence of all^ and to note, what is much more important, namely, the sublimation of all into spirituality and beauty. It is possible to take a large group of persons and to transform their faces into one^ so that that one shall be at once beautiful and spiritual — suggesting the fine faces of the old masters. It is thus in the type-man of a given period. He is its average expression, and at the same time its highest expression. In the nature of the case he must be one of many. There is a curious sentiment of Lavater, that the proportion of genius to the vulgar is like one to a million ; but genius without tyranny, without pretension, that genius which judges the weak with equity, the superior with humanity, and equals ^vith justice, is like one to ten millions! Certain it is that we cannot look upon a really great man without adv^an- tage to ourselves. The more we study him the greater will be our profit from (xxv) xxvi INTRODUCTION. observation and knowledge of his methods, deeds and thoughts. For us the man of the epoch is a living light-fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be near; a light which lightens the dark places of the world and the gloom of human hearts ; and this, not as a kindled lamp only, but rather as a natural luminary, shining by the grace of the spirit ; a brilliant source of native, original inspira- tion, of manhood, and heroism, in whose radiance all minds are cheered and ennobled. In the world's records the typical men are not too plentiful. The history of some is interleaved with the annals of those times called barbaric, and of the dark ages back of barbarism ; but even then they sowed the seeds of that civilization which has fructified and flourished in the liberal enlightenment of the present day. From the earliest ages of human history the type-men have appeared here and there. They have come according to the demands of the given age. Some- times they have appeared in the midst of sorrows, wars and pestilence. Some- times they have come as the redressers of wrong. In one age the type-man is Alexander or Socrates. Sometimes the type-man is a conqueror, and sometimes a martyr for truth. Sometimes he lives and flourishes, and anon he dies. In all cases his life enters into the life of the epoch and is transmitted to after ages. Far back in the centuries the type-men appear as the topmost points of light in the landscape of the world. In such ages the deeds and lives of the type- men are substantially the history of the times in which they live. What they accomplished becomes the most instructive part of human annals. How much interest, for example, would the history of the eighth centur}- possess for the reader of to-day were the achievements of Charlemagne omitted ? He it was whose master-mind laid the first solid foundation for a permanent system of government and institutions in an age of doubt and darkness. He was the author of many of the best laws of mediseval Europe. He was the promoter of the best elements of civilization. Succeeding to an empire torn by intestine feuds, he checked its turbulence with vigor and address ; compelled the recog- nition of national law ; inspired the wide circuit of Europe with a common interest and common objects, and led men to pursue these interests and to maintain these objects with collective counsel as well as with united efforts. This great Middle-Age type-man founded the original of all royal societies and academies, and was the first to combine in one militarj' monarch}- a feudal nobility, a somewhat free commons and a kind of constitutional assembh^ of States. He maj' be regarded as the father of the modern State S3^stem of Europe. He has claims, which are universally acknowledged, to the regard and venera- tion of the ages which have benefited from his doings and his life. The world INTRODUCTION. - xxvii dates a new era from his wise and beneficent reign. Insensibly it may be, but surely, his spirit pervades the thoughts and politics of all modern nations, teaching them, by precept and example which cannot be too highly esteemed, how best to pursue the gradual paths of an aspiring change. It were possible to select example after example of the typical life among the various peoples who have risen and flourished in Western Europe. France, Germany, England, Italy have abounded in characters of this kind. From the day of Godfrey to the day of Count Cavour ; from Richelieu to Gambetta ; from Cromwell to Wellington ; from Barbarossa to Bismarck, we find such characters standing here and there, lifted somewhat above their age, but expressing its common hope as well as its loftiest purpose. In like manner the history of our own country has been adorned with the names of type-men as great as the greatest. The student of American annals need not seek far to find such names and to share the common glory which they have diffused in the Western Hemisphere, and indeed throughout the world. It was our good fortune to begin our active governmental life as a people under the influence and guidance of one such a man. Washington was in every sense the expression of the common hope of our colonial Americans, and at the same time the expression of the highest honor, loyalty and patriot- ism of that period in history. He was a man whose judgment was ripened by the most arduous experience in the struggle for his country's independence ; whose intelligence was comprehensive and admirably adapted to the exigencies of his administration. Every word of high encomium yet applied to man belongs to him; for in his eyes duty was the law of correct life; duty, the upholding principle through which the weakest become strong ; without which all strength is unstable as water. Washington believed that the conviction of duty implies the soundest reason, the strongest obligation of which our nature is susceptible, and while " he stood firm before the thunder, he yet worshiped the still, small voice." Duty he regarded as the prompting of conscience. Washington was a conscientious man ; and his intelligence directed conceptions of duty to heroic deeds. An auspicious occasion assisted him; but any occasion for the exercise of heroism would have proved equally auspicious. Patriotism, nobility and soldiership are all synonyms of duty, and these qualities culminated in his life. He was the man of the eighteenth century, as was Charlemagne of the eighth— not so much by force of his genius as by his purity and trustworthiness. He was faithful in small things as well as in great. Every talent conferred upon him was put to the best possible use. He followed the dictates of conscience whatever way they led. " Honest, truthful, diligent," were the catch-words of his creed. His xxviii INTRODUCTION. best products, as are those of all deliberate men, were happy and sanctifying thoughts, which, when once formed and put into practice, are capable of extending their fertilizing influence from generation to generation for thousands of years. The life of Washington has been so often written that it is unnecessary in this place to refer to it further than to point out the thorough conscien- tiousness, the self-sacrificing spirit, the purity of motive with which he entered upon and carried to completion the liberation and independence of his country. No man could be more pure, no man more self-denying. In victory he was self-controlled ; in defeat, unshaken. Throughout he was magnanimous and pure. In his life it is difficult to learn which to admire most ardently, the nobility of his character, the firmness of his patriotism, or the purity of his conduct ; but the combination made him a man of divine temper, and " take him for all in all," it is not to be expected that we shall look upon his like again. The intermediate period in our country's history is not wanting in men worthy to be the successors of the great archetypes of the revolutionary age. It would appear that statesmanship in America at length succeeded to the sword. The violence of our first age was succeeded by the intellectual contests of the second period. The first age had been the age of the making of the constitu- tion. The second age was the period of the interpretation and application of the constitution. It was an age of adjustments and adaptations. The institu- tions of the coiintry had been formed theoretically in expectation of national wants and conditions. At length the genius of America arose and must be fitted to the work of the fathers. That work had to be interpreted for the American mind, and adjusted to the facts which had arisen spontaneously in the second quarter of our centur3^ The interpreters were the type-men of that age. They were great in their kind. The fame of Webster and Clay, of Calhoun and Benton was well earned in the contentions of a great arena. They were the successors of Hamilton and Marshall. They filled up a large part of the public histories of our country for a considerable section of time. They shone with peculiar lustre through all the domains of the expanding Republic, and were seen from remote distance across the seas. Already the American name had been recognized for a half century or more in the highest circles of European thought and purpose. Franklin had made us great, not only in France, but throughout Western Europe. Just as the type-men of the fourth and fifth decades took the character of pub- licists, jurists and orators — turning as it were the reverse civil side of American life to the obverse side of war — so the obverse side came again \vith the epoch of disunion. Then arose a new class of statesmen and public men. Just as INTRODUCTION. xxix the old style of literary production had given place to new creative methods, conforming more strictly to the American genius, and less assimilated to British models, so a new type of men arose, stricth^ American, great in stature, patri- otic and powerful. Of this kind was the immortal Lincoln. His greatness, both intellectual and moral, was as gigantic as it was inexplicable. "E'en to the dullest peasant standing by, Who fasten' d still on him a wondering eye, He seemed the master-spirit of the land." He was incomparable, and his character and achievements more difficult of analysis than those of any American in history. The great charms of the man were his honesty, geniality and faithfulness, and these will always remain the pre-eminent charms of our poor humanity. But we must not forget that Lincoln encountered obstacles, assumed duties, and cast out impediments which were entirely unknown to American citizenship previous to his time. Difficulties and calamities sharpened his apprehension, and called into activity all the faculties of his powerful intellect. His mind was brightest in disaster — most alert under defeat. It has been said that Madame de Maintenon would never have approached a throne had not her cradle been rocked in a prison. So with hundreds who have risen to greatness. There was needed something in their path before they could rise to the gaze of the world. Difficulties are a mere stimulus to men like Lincoln, supplying the discipline which greatly assists their onward and upward course. He, like thousands of great men before him, was a disciple of Plato, but, perhaps, unconsciously so ; at any rate he followed the advice of that wonderful philosopher, " Let men of all ranks, whether they are successful or unsuccessful, rest satisfied." But the qualities of Lincoln most difficult of analysis were those which compelled the admiration and respect of the civilized world ; which conquered the prejudices of political opponents, and commanded the love of all who knew him personally. Said a Virginian who had called upon him at the prompting of idle curiosity : "I believe he is the greatest man in the world. When I went there I expected to find a fcllozv to make fun of; but I am the one to laitgh at ! He knows more about my State than I do, and I was born in ' Old Virginia,' and thought I knew all about her." The incident appears simple in the reading, but it illustrates the power of Lincoln over every mind with which he came in contact. And this is the power no one has yet attempted to analyze, although some observers call it XXX INTRODUCTION. " personal magnetism," and seem content to pass it without attempting explana- tion. It was possessed in a large degree by Henry Clay, and attracted the people toward him like the obedient steel which turns forever to the pole. Garfield had the same power in a degree which remains a wonder to his friends ; and Blaine was endowed with it almost beyond precedent or example. It is the magnetism — if that is the proper term — of intellectual supremacy ; the regality of mind which is apparent to the world, but of which the possessor is unconscious; which cannot result from instruction, but is self-born and springs up in the midst of disadvantages. It works its solitary but irresistible way through all obstacles, while nature seems to delight in disappointing the assiduities with which art seeks to convert dullness to brilliancy. Nature scatters the seeds of genius to the winds ; and though some may perish among the stony places of the world, and some may be choked by the thorns and brambles of early adversity, yet others will now and then strike root even in the clefts of the rock, struggle bravely up into the sunshine, and spread over their sterile birthplace all the beauties of vegetation. Although genius may be conscious of its advantages in minds like those referred to, it is rarely aware of its superiority to associate minds ; its achievements which others celebrate are frequently but its ordinary performances. One of the highest forms of human force is that which combines military genius with statesmanship. It is as it were the union of physical agencies with thought — the combination of body and spirit. This form of force was exemplified in many of our type-men in the epoch under consideration. A few were statesmen pure and simple. A still larger number were military leaders quite innocent of civic abilities. But many have the combination of both powers. Such men are at once the glorj^ and the menace of their country. When history presents a character combining in itself the genius of the military captain with the genius of statesmanship, and the union is inflamed with ambi- tion, the resultant personage is likely to be the pride and the danger of his age. This is true in particular of democracies and repiiblics. Fortunately, however, if the republic be one of intelligence and virtue, if it be dominated bj'- the aristocracy of patriotism, the danger from such source is reduced to a minimum. Many of our statesmen of the civil war period might have been successful generals in the field. Some successful generals showed themselves to be also men of the cabinet. Not a few had great ambitions ; but it does not appear that a single one had the ambition or desire — to say nothing of the power — to subvert his countr3^ It was in this great group of tj^pe-men that James G. Blaine made his appearance. He came in the guise of a statesman. He appeared as a type of INTRODUCTION. xxxi the American statesman's life and character. We shall have occasion in another part to dwell npon the fact that Blaine was distinctively a man of civil propen- sities. We call such a civilian, to distinguish him from the military leader. It is clear that Blaine did not possess military talents ; or if he possessed any gift in that direction, it was not conspicuous. His was the genius for civil affairs. He had the instincts and biases of the political and popular leader. He was the type-man of the hustings and the House. Let us dwell upon and emphasize this truth as it is fundamental to the consideration of Blaine's character and worth. It is well to begin a biography with the discovery and exposition of the dominant fact in the life of the personage under consideration. A man's life begins with his spirit, his purpose, his passion rather than with his birth. We should seize, first of all, the leading trait of the man, and allow all the rest to form itself around this central nerve of will and personality. Blaine was a civilian — a great civilian. That is the key to his character and work. He was a man of civil affairs. For this work he had a genius and passion. This element of action and desire expressed itself in the first movements of his youthful career and continued to inspire him until, in his last days, he saw the lingering sunset reflected from the dome of the Capitol. Not only is this the fundamental characteristic of Blaine's personality and place in history, but it is the essential of the type which he represents. American life is largely — perhaps too largely — civil and political. It were well if the political passion were not so strong upon us. But it remains true that our sixty-five millions sway and bend and fluctuate under the passions and motions of the political life. It is thus not far from true to regard the politician as the typical American. If thus much be conceded, then James G. Blaine may almost be regarded as the highest type of American citizen and leader. This is to say, that he has expressed in his life and activities a larger part of the common life and the common activities of his countr3anen than almost any other. Mark the single- ness of his career. Though that career has been multifarious, though it has run deviously, it has nevertheless been as single as it is singular. Blaine would be a great statesman. He would rise to the rank of first statesman of the age. However much his ship may have been tossed on stormy seas, how- ever much the skies may at times have been draped with thick and impene- trable clouds, he nevertheless kept ever his eye to the North Star, or to that part of his heavens where he thought the North Star was hidden. We thus find in the great type-character of which we are to speak in the following pages a singular unity as well as persistency of purpose. I [ yf. ' I If ^^ -'■M ^ WALKEE ELAINE. EMMONS BLAINE. FAMILY GROUP. MRS. .JAMES G. BLAINE. MR. BLAINE'S MOTHER. OLD BLAINE HOMESTEAD. JAMES Q. BLAINE, JR. MRS. DAME030H. 38 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the elder Blaine, that is, Ephraim L., was one of those unfortunates in whom generosity contends with what the world calls " business sense " for the mastery ; and worse still — according to our standards — the generosity prevailed. His habit of good deeds and much giving sapped his moderate means, and it is not SCENli IN CUMBKRI,AND VALLEY. improbable that he sought to repair his fortunes bj' establishing himself in a more quiet part of the Quaker Commonwealth. There he has left behind him among old friends and neighbors, some of whom still survive, the tradition of a life and character in which singular integrity and simple manners are LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. 39 celebrated with the fondness which the children have for the memory of the older men of the communit}-. Let us not forget the mother. Her maiden name was Maria Gillespie. She was of Scotch-Irish parentage ; daughter of a Catholic family that had established itself in the Cumberland Valley. There Ephraim Blaine found her, and, notwithstanding the break between his own Presbj^terianism and her Catholicism, took her in marriage. It would appear that there was an agree- ment between them of mutual toleration on the religious question. At an}- rate, the difference in faiths seems never to have distressed the famil}^, though it was well calculated to do so. It ma}' be agreed that the union was, religiously considered, of a kind to introduce cross-currents in the domestic estate, and more particularly in the descendants of the marriage. How subtle and profound are the elements of Avhich human life and character are compounded ! Maria Gillespie, mother of our statesman, bore the reputation of great intel- ligence, commanding beauty and quick observation. To these she added other sterling qualities of head and heart. Without doubt it is to her that James G. Blaine is most indebted for his native powers, as also for the early training which laid in his intellectual and moral nature the foundations of his pre- eminence among his countrymen. It is always so. The moral and ps3^cho- logical formulae under which we begin our lives are obscure enough, but it remains that the genius of each son of man is transmitted from his mother. It is the glory of her estate to build up the glory of the world by contributing to it a light and splendor of which mere fatherhood is incapable ! The home of Blaine's father continued to be in the Cumberland Vallc}', where his ancestors had lived, until the 3-ear iSi8, when, as we have said, he removed to Washington County, which might then be regarded as in that indefinite place called the West. In that year Illinois was admitted into the Union ; two years previously, Indiana ; one year afterwards, Alabama. We were spreading out territorially towards the Father of Waters and the mountains. In two years the question of Maine and Missouri will be on. The issue of American slavery will thrust itself into the arena, and the great forces will begin to be adjusted which, after the lapse of forty years, shall unmake the Union, but make it again more glorious than before. The Blaine family had been well-to-do in worldly resources. Ephraim L. Blaine had a considerable fortune, existing mostly in large possessions of wild lands in Western Pennsj^lvania. At that epoch such possessions were of com- paratively small value. The country was broken, and the enormous resoiirces in iron and coal had hardly been discovered, to say nothing of development. It would appear that the father of the statesman had diminished his properties before his removal to Washington County, and that he had difficulty in the latter place in creating an estate. He was not a man of large or read}' means, and a growing famil}- put him in worse and still worse condition as it respected money and property. 40 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Perhaps the training of the elder Blaine was not favorable to great busi- ness success. His education, which was liberal, had looked to the law. In his earlier years he had improved his information and faculties by traveling in Europe and in South America. It is possible that this discipline, while it had improved the man, had not developed business capacity. In Western Pennsyl- vania he was a farmer and a man of business affairs in the smaller sense, and also a notary and county clerk. It appears that the home of Ephraim L. Blaine, at Brownsville, was above the average in comfort and intellectual attraction. The surviving neighbors have given this reputation to the family. The Blaines, while not especially well- to-do, were liberal and enlightened folks, and had enough. The head of the family was a man who applied himself industriously to his tasks, but, if we mistake not, his mind ran to intellectual pursuits more than to such vocations as the frontier afforded. It seems that there was intellectual sympathj? between the father and mother of James G. Blaine. The father was not superior in ability or spirit to the wife, but had much larger attainments in scholarship. Both have been dead for years. Their graves are in the church3?ard at Brownsville, near the ancestral home of the statesman. To them, after his rise to influence and reputation, he erected the monument which now marks their resting place. \Ve here touch the boyhood development of James G. Blaine. As we have said above, the youth of all men is alike barren of annals. For a period of perhaps ten years — most important though it be — the youth goes on his way, leaving, as it were, no trace of his thoughts or deeds. As a matter of course, his thoughts are but the prefigurements of thought, and his deeds onl}^ tenta- tive. The interest of the period is in this, that we may discover aptitudes and the outlines of promise. Even the boj'hood of Napoleon had no more than this. The boyhood of Frederick the Great must be summed up in a few lines or paragraphs. So of all the rest, great and small, whose lives and activities have made up the warp and woof of histor}-. One of the premonitory signs of the lasting fame of Blaine is the fact that tradition and story telling have become rife in the last days, in and around "Indian Hill Farm," at West Browmsville. The old "place" has now, in great measure, gone to decaj-. The agricultural interest has virtually dis- appeared in the neighborhood before the mining interest. Coal diggers have planted themselves where the country squire formerly rode on horseback from his home to the neighboring mill or village. " Indian Hill Farm " looks to the river. The house itself, in which Blaine w^as born, has become a relic. The alleged veranda has careened towards a topple and the final oblivion of dust. There are cracks and rents in the dwelling, and the outside wooden steps are fast becoming a reminiscence of the aspiring feet that aforetime made them patter. As we have said, a few of the antique inhabitants still remain. One is a certain Captain \^an Hook, who is rising to the octogenarian. The Captain was LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 41 a relative of Maria Gillespie. He remembers Jimmy Blaine with the fond and patronizing memory of old age. He represents the boy to have been a reader of books, who permitted his brothers to do the work. The old gentleman alleges that his wife was the original discoverer of Jimmy Blaine — that is, the dis- coverer of his promise. She knew him when he skipped about the door yard. The Captain was a friend and neighbor of Ephraim L. Blaine, though con- siderably his junior. He says that the elder Blaine never knew how much a dollar was worth and that he kept open house the year around. He relates also something of the manners which prevailed in the old home. The frontier American was, in his day, great in politics. Ephraim L. Blaine was a Whig of the Whigs. At his house there were the usual neighborhood political debates, and it is said that the bo}^ James used to sit at nights and listen to the endless discussions and personalities of the contention — this, while his brothers went to bed. Another resident of West Brownsville, who has good cause to remember the boy Blaine, is J. E. Adams, who was a schoolmate of young James. He claims that the future Secretary of State was not a verj^ studious lad, but that he learned his lessons with extraordinary facility. The memory of IMr. Adams teems with recollections of his vivacious playfellow. He gives this story of a certain contest in which he himself was worsted : — "Jimmy and his brother Eph, and another boy and mj^self were down on the river bank. The Blaine boys had been forbidden by their father to go in swimming, but Eph and we three wanted to break over and go any- how. Jimmy would not go in, nor would he promise not to tell. Had he promised it would have been square, as his word was good. Eph and he went off a bit talking, and then seemed to engage in a quarrel. Eph called me to come and lick Jimmy, but I told him to do it himself Then he said he would lick me, too, so I went back to see the trouble. Eph and I presently squared up and went at it to his disadvantage. Presently he got even and brought me up with a chunk of clay that hit me under the chin. Jimmy Blaine and I became firm friends from that altercation. He himself was a pretty fair fighter. He was an awkward, thickset boy and not nice to handle. But he did not like to fight. In that he was just opposite to Eph. Jimmy would not be crowded and when he was crowded he would fight." More interesting than this is Mr. Adams' verification of what we shall presently refer to, and that is, the boy Blaine's aptitude for mathematics. Numbers seem never to have been a puzzle to him. The tradition is also verified of the boy's great memory, particularh' his memory of faces. It is said that after his rise to reputation he returned, on a certain occasion, to the old home, and though thirt}'- years had elapsed, was able to recognize his old neighbors. One thing in the case of the bo}- Blaine we may note with interest, and that is, that his education was undertaken by his parents at home. Whatever 42 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. we may say of our schools it cannot be doubted that a home education, when it is ample and well directed, is the most efficient in the development of character. Buckle owed his training wholly to his mother. Of the schools, other than that one school, he knew nothing except what he learned by after observation ; and for them he cared as little as he knew. But he had facility in eleven languages, and laid at least the foundation of one of the greatest historical works of the century. The task of educating James G. Blaine in his childhood was assumed by his mother. It appears that the father also lent a hand. Whatever may be said of the narrowness and prejudice of the Scotch-Presbyterian character, it must be allowed that it was a character to educate withal. The old half-Celts who settled the Virginia and Pennsylvania valleys were given to books — such books as they were — and these they taught to their children with an intensity as hot as the channel in which it flowed was narrow. Blaine's early training was home-training. The foundations were laid deep in the affections and inspira- tions of the hearthstone. We do not doubt that Blaine's fine manners were planted here also. The world knows his great accomplishments, his preeminence in this particular. It is doubtful whether, as a man, debonair and cultured, having the suavitcr in iiiodo as well as the utile in re, he has had any superior in the public or private life of our country. One thing is certain — Blaine was a gentleman. He was so by nature and certainly so by training. His manners were as easy and perfect as they were superior. They combined easily and naturally with the enthusiasm of his character, and constituted the elegant dress in which his strong personality moved among his compeers and was seen of the people. The foundation of all this was laid by his mother and father in the childhood home. Such culture is never acquired — or not easily acquired — after a youth has reached his later teens. This essential and strong development in boyhood culture continued until he had reached the beginning of his twelfth year. It was early in 1S41 that the first foreign movement of the youth is discovered. Hon. Thomas Ewing, of Lancaster, Ohio, at that time Secretary of the Treasury under Tyler, was a near kinsman by marriage of Ephraim L. Blaine. This relation was the origin of a visit, in the year referred to, of James G. Blaine to the home of Ewing at Lancaster. It is certain that Blaine was a vivacious, promising and handsome boy. The Ewings were delighted with him and a hearty com- panionship sprang up, with the readiness of youthful affection, between the visitor and his cousin, Thomas Ewing, Jr., who was destined to reach the Congress of the United States. Young Ewing was half a year older than Blaine, having been bom in August of 1829. The two lads went to school together at the Lancaster Academy, and in this profitable way a considerable part of the following two ^ears were passed. Already the spontaneous forces in Blaine were beginning to LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 43 act We may discover in this early period of his boyhood the first flutter of ambitious wiugs within him. Between his twelfth and fourteenth years he began to think and to act for himself. If we mistake not, the father and mother had the discernment to allow their promising boy to follow the bent and suggestion of his own nature. Half the boys of the world are spoiled, and three-fourths of the other half injured by the unthinking but loving oppression of fatherhood and motherhood upon them. This is not to say that fatherhood and motherhood can be spared as a developing and directing force over the super- fluous energies of boyhood and youth, but only to aflErm that he who comes to aught must do so by growing in the direction of his own purpose tind aspira- ration rather than in the direction which an over-fond and anxious father ma}' think he ought to take. We believe that Blaine was, at an early day, freed from this trammel, and the result has been that the name of Blaine has covered with a halo not only his own career but that of his famil}', his ancestors, and let us hope his descendants. It was during his stay at Lancaster that he and Thomas Ewing, Jr., both boys of thirteen, formed the plan of a collegiate education. They would both go to college, become scholars and be men of distinction. Herein is the glorj^ of American life. The rest we may omit from the count. America does give to the young man, to the boy, a chance. Blessed be the gift of a chance! It may be that our country does not now concede the chance as fully and freely as she did in the middle of the century. If so, why so much the worse for her! Let not the Republic, if she would survive and be glorious, trammel up the chance of any of her boys. The aspiration of the youthful heart must still glow and find a waj-, if we would keep our liberty and hold our rank among the nations. As for Blaine, he chose to go, after his experience at Lancaster, to Wash- ington College, in his native county. Young Ewing, his friend and playmate, went to Brown University, where he was educated, and from which he received his degree, to become, in 1849-50, private secretary to President Taylor. It is probable that the limitation of young Blaine's resources determined the choice of a home college rather than a more expensive and renowned college at a distance. It would seem the college project was well developed by the youth during his stay at Lancaster. It is not clear who thought out the methods, but we are inclined to give that praise to Thomas Ewing, Sr. That statesman discov- ered in his own son and in his son's companion the aptitudes which thej^ possessed, and encouraged and directed somewhat their boyish counsels in the matter of a more complete education. It was to this end that a competent instructor was provided for both youths at Lancaster. He was a tutor, well trained for his work, and was none other than William Lyons, brother of that Lord Lyons, the Englishman, who was destined to make a conspicuous appearance at a subsequent period in the 44 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. diplomacy of our country aud liis own. Lyons taught the two ambitious youths aud prepared them for entrance into college. Perhaps the requirements for such entrance, at least into Washington College, were not severe in the early part of the fifth decade. At any rate, the boy Blaine was easily fitted b}'^ his tutor for entrance into the superior institution. This academic and private training extended over the years 1841-42. In 1843, young Blaine, though only in the beginning of his fourteenth year, was thought to be ready for college. It proved to be so, and he was admitted to the freshman class of Washington, in the fall of the year referred to. This .event constituted the border-line of the first period of Blaine's development. There is no crisis more distinct in the life of a 3'oung man than that which marks his entrance into college. From that daj^ the boyhood home begins to fall back into the shadows. From that day the blessed face of the mother is seen less distinctly, though not less lovingl}^, in the distance. From that day the world begins to open with vision and prospect. The horizon falls back ; the earth broadens, and the sky is so lifted as to reveal the planets and stars. It is the first day of a new life, which the boy, going forth on his pilgrimage, may know once^ but never know again. Before speaking of Blaine's career at college, we ma}^ note with particu- larity^ one or two things about the preliminary period of his life. It is said that in the village school at West Brownsville (such is the tradition of the neighbors) he showed remarkable aptitude for learning, a strong memory and a great liking for biography and such history as he was able to grasp. These symptoms were in him, as they are in all, the earnest of a strong and com- prehensive development. It is said also that his tastes and habits in school were dashed with many touches of practicality and ready adaptation to conditions. Another peculiarity of his mind was his aptitude for mathematical study, in which he is said to have surpassed. This combination of talents and disposi- tions was peculiarly promising and potential of much that has come to pass in the future development of our subject. It was also noted that Blaine in his boyhood had an unusual readiness — a quickness of perception — which fore- tokened his remarkable power in spontaneous debate. Had it been foreseen at West Brownsville what the boy Blaine would come to, no doubt all gossips and mj^th-makers would have been busy with the anomaly. But the gossips and myth-makers did not know the lad or his future, and thiis lost their opportunity. Had they possessed the prescience, some of them might have become immortal by swinging traditionally to the skirts of one of the foremost American statesman of the nineteenth century. As it is, there is silence, or semi-silence, about the boj^ of West Browns\alle. One old friend of the family, however, tells this story : At the close of a school term, when Blaine was a mere lad of nine or ten years, he, among others, was called upon for a declamation, or, as it was called, to " speak a piece." He pleaded lack of preparation ; but the teacher replied that he must stand up and LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 45 repeat sovict/inig^ no matter what. Arising from his seat, the boy declaimed, with wonderful gestures and proper emphasis, the Apostles'' Creed., which he remembered from hearing it repeated a few times by a schoolmate. It answered the emergency. In the fall of 1S43 James G. Blaine, in his fourteenth year, is a freshman at Washington College. The institution was situated at Washington, the county seat of his native county, about thirty miles from Pittsburgh. The popiilation at that time was not more than 2000. The place, however, was the seat of the institution referred to above. Jefferson College was located at Can- onsburg, about ten miles away, in the same county. These two were subse- quently, in 1865, united to form the Washington and Jefferson College. It is evident that the spirit of education has always prevailed about the place and WASHINGTON AND JEKFERSON COI,I,EGE. through the county. As early as 1791 the Academy of Canonsburg was opened, and this became, nine years afterwards, Jefferson College. Washington Col- lege had existed previously to 1806, and as far back as 1787 was known under the name of Washington Academy. In 1S06 the institution was chartered as a college, and had been conducted as such for thirty-seven years Avhen Blaine became a student there. It was under the patronage and direction of the Pres- byterian Church — another circumstance which may have contributed to the choice of this place for the formal education of Blaine. The father was not likely to forego or neglect the opportunity to impress upon his son, in the formative period of his career, that axistere but thorough-going religion which he him- self had willingly inherited from his ancestors. 46 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. The college life of a young man is likely to leave a tradition, but hardly a history. His name appears in the catalogue from year to year, and the records of the college show his class standing and rank at graduation. But, beyond this, there is not much that is trustworthy. The rest is a matter of opinion rather than of fact. The vision of students is magnified and colored with all manner of optical illusions. Very few of our sedate and mature citizens, in public or in private life, are able to recite without all of the prejudice, animation and passion of boj'hood, the events of their college days. No sooner do they begin, than they are in the swim again. The landscape is suddenly transformed ; the old halo comes back and rests on the campus. The sunshine of vanished years flashes among the trees, and the aurora borealis flames up by night. Out of such conditions there may spring a whole cycle of poetry, love, art, tradition, mytholog}- — but hardly anj^ history ! One man, a certain Mr. Gow, editor of a Penns^-lvauia newspaper, has left his opinion of Blaine on record. They two were classmates, and Mr. Gow has this to say about the school days of his distinguished fellow: " Blaine was graduated in the class of 1847, when he was only seventeen years old. I was graduated in the same class. We were thrown a great deal together, not only in school but in society. He was a great favorite in the best social circles in the town. He was not noted as a leader in his class. He could learn his lessons too easily. He had the most remarkable memory of any boy in school, and could commit and retain his lessons without difiicult3\ He never demonstrated in his youth, except by his wonderful memor}^ any of the great powers as a debater and thinker that he has since given evidence of" One of the peculiarities about the foregoing comments is the illustration which they afford of a common trait in human character. Students, grown to manhood and reputation, are rarely able to recognize the great differences which appear among them by a development subsequent to their college days. One is not able to perceive that another has so far outgrown himself. It may be noted that where classmates have been subsequently associated with classmates as their subordinates in oflEcial station or as their secretaries, the latter have rarely been able to perceive that those who were formerly their familiars and equals have now become of such vastly greater stature than themselves. This trait is strikingly manifested in the recently published Memoirs of Bourienne, private secretary to Napoleon from the Italian campaign down to Elba. It would seem that Bourienne has not been able in any place to perceive that his former classmate had become not only the first man in France, but the leading figure of European history, and one of the two or three greatest warriors of the world. We may accept ]\Ir. Gow's testimony as to the promise of 3^oung Blaine at college. But we must also remember what, if we were writing a new work on logic, we should designate as the " Fallacy of the Classmate." It is in evidence that Blaine distinguished himself, at least in a measure, as a student at Washington College. His superiority ran in two or three LIFE AND WORK OF JAIMES G. BLAINE. 47 directions. He had a fondness for historical and literarj' studies. In these he reached unusual attainments while still a youth. The tradition goes that even in boyhood he was an expert amid the glories of Plutarch's Lives. He reveled in the highl3^-colored and half-authentic stories which the Greek biographer has transmitted to the youth of all civilized nations. After all it does not so much matter, in such cases, how much is truth and how much fiction. Plutarch is Plutarch anyhow, and the invented example is almost as good as the other. Let us be thankful for Plutarch! How dark and dismal would be the intel- lectual world of radiant boyhood if it were not for Plutarch! He is the prose Shakespeare of all nations — the father of the heroic in literature, whose pictured pages have been transferred to the warm leaves of boyish intelligence among a score of the greatest races of men. Let it be as it has been. Blaine caught, we do not doubt, from the Plutarch gallery, much of the high-colored and heroic strain. It were not impossible to discover the remains of the early glow and fiction, in the life and thought of the statesman, as far on as the Senate Chamber and the foreign ofiRce under two administrations. We have already spoken of Blaine's aptitude in mathematical study. This may be wondered at and admired ; for the mathematical faculty does not usually co-exist, even in great minds, with the excursive and imaginative faculty which Blaine possessed in so high a measure of activity. Without doubt, the possession of mathematical ability is of high value to a public man, particularh' if he be destined to deal with economic questions. The exact spirit of the age requires truth in the political economist, and will have proof as well as assertion. The economist must be a statistician, and to be such demands a large measure, not indeed of mathematical attainment, but of mathematical aptitude and talent. This is as much of a requisite in the political economist of our times as mathe- matical formulae are requisite in bridge-building and surveying. We do not any longer depend upon theorizing and unwarranted generalizations in the matter of economics, but on the exact results of statistics and the doctrine of averages. In Blaine the aptitude for numbers entered into easy and subordinate combination with the higher faculties of ideality and the rapid excursions of generalization. In another particular, Blaine is said to have been eminent as a college student. This was in forensics. He was a bom debater. His passion in this direction was not exactly a litigious instinct, but a disposition for abstract debate. It was not a war of facts, but a war of questions and policies in which he delighted from a bo\\ The college of Blaine's day had, as one of its strongest adjuncts, the open debating societ3\ College fraternities had not as yet thrust themselves into the arena as the chief facts for which young men exist. The Greek-letter societies came on in the West in the fourth and fifth decades ; some of them later. But the old legitimate debating society was a great fact in the primitive and middle age college of the West. It is not clear that the loss of this open arena in our institutions of learning has been at all compensated by the inrush of the Greek fraternity. 48 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. The latter is, no doubt, as splendid as it is unknowable. But the old open society was both splendid and knowable. It was free. The college neophyte walked into it with the air of one about to conquer. He gave his essay, his oration, his declamation, in particular his debate, as one might do who was convinced of the necessity of himself to the equilibrium of nature. His view on this question, after the delivery of his part, was frequently modified and toned down by the distinct opinions of his fellows ! But it was a great arena. The tradition exists at Washington College that young Blaine was the first man of his age in the matter of forensics. He was a natural speaker, took delight in preparation and in delivery, sought opportunity to speak much, spoke well and gained applause, and, what is unusual in such cases, is said to have debated the question. Generally, in such societies, it is not the question, but something else, that is debated \ Young Alexander Hamilton, in a place called " the Fields," near Columbia Col- lege, attended a patriot meeting in 1774. There were several speeches. The strip- ling said to one of his companions, " The speakers have fire and enthu- siasm, but they don't debate the ques- tion.'''' As a rule, the man who debates the question is a coming man. Beyond what is here sketched, little or nothing is known of Blaine's career at college. Two additional facts may be cited and these are, first, Blaine's remarkable social qualities. These were in the bloom at the epoch of his college life. None were his superiors in the societ}' of the county town where he flourished for four 3'ears. His presence was already distinguished. He was a handsome j'oung man, of full height, manners the most genial, a fascinating address, readiness of utterance, wit not a little, repartee by nature, companionable traits, and, indeed, every quality and qualification likely to attract to himself the admiring gaze and affection of both young and old. The second fact is that he was, notwithstanding the testimon\' of his class- mate Gow, first in his class. At any rate, he is said to have been graduated with the first rank. This was in the summer of 1847. Abroad, things were preparing themselves at that date for the great events of the following year. The combustibles of revolution are already smoking in Berlin and Vienna. The throne of the Citizen King is beginning to rock. General Scott is on the way from Perote to the City of the IMontezumas. It was a fair day ALEXANDER HAMILTON. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 49 in which a young man about to devote his genius to statesmanship snould be graduated " with the iirst place in his class." Before concluding this initial chapter of the biography of Blaine, we should note a circumstance most important to the life of every one ; namely, the public opinion and drift of events round about the forming character. It was during the college da3-s of Blaine that the whole Mexican question, involving excitement, diplomacy and war, rose to the surface, whirled for a year or two along the horizon, and began to subside with the invasion and conquest of the enemj^'s country. When Blaine entered college, the question of the annexation of Texas was full}- on. The situation had been alread}^ contrived. The political opinion of the country was strongly divided on that issue. The Whig party, having in its breast the potency of the anti-slavery sentiment, w^hich was soon to express itself in universal disruption, opposed the annexation scheme, not so much, indeed, because of the injustice which was to be done ultimately to a sister Republic, as because the area of human slavery was to be enlarged by the addition of an empire for that purpose. The propagandists of the peculiar institution, on the other hand, favored an annexation for the counter reason that thereby their social and domestic system might be extended to the Rio Grande and finally to the Pacific. Should Texas be acquired, territory enough would be thus secured to add five States to the Union. All of these would be slave States. Each would have two Senators of the United States in the Capitol. These would be ten Senators in all. The equipoise would thus be kept against the overgrowth of the North. The South w^ould continue tc) reign as she had reigned for many 3-ears. Shall we annex or shall we not annex ? Shall we fight and conquer Mexico, or shall we refrain from fighting and conquest ? Such were the dominant questions of the daj-, so far as public policies were concerned ; and these w-ere the questions which, without doubt, were hotly debated in the literary society of Washington College. There young Blaine stood up and made his maiden speeches on the very issues which were discussed with so much heat in Congress, and Cabinet, and country hall, even to the cabins of Iowa, IMissouri and Arkansas. Now, the day of boy debate is ended. The young man is graduated wath fair auspices around him, and high ambition in his heart. What will he do hereafter ? 4 CHAPTER II. INITIAL PASSAGES. 'T may be taken as true that an aspiring young man, who has been graduated from a reputable college, may, with that event, begin to have a history. Hitherto the •f^im^ stellar evolution of character has gone on slowly out of the iire-mist of boyhood. Now the same process must proceed more rapidly until personality and individuality are attained. The first vision of a personal career with James G. Blaine seems to have been that of a teacher. The tendency to form such a decision on the part of young men in college is strong. There the professors are teachers ; and not a few young men, while in contact with their professors, falla- ciously suppose them to be great. The seriousness of this mistake is at length discovered, but in many cases the young men have already chosen for themselves the like pursuit with their instructors. It cannot be known whether 3foung Blaine, just graduated from Washington College, purposed to teach during his career, or only for a season. It is probable that the phantom of something a/^c/- that already danced before his imagination as he went out with his parchment and turned his face to Kentucky. That commonwealth was chosen as his first scene of operations. The motives of his going thither are not known, but the autumn of 1847 found him at Blue Lick vSprings, Ky. At that place there was a military academy, and James G. Blaine, then only in his eighteenth year, was chosen as one of the tutors. It was an early beginning. The school in which he found a situation was called the Western Military Institute. It was one of many such institutions which sprang up about this time in different parts of the New West. The plan of educating the sexes separately was then universal. Only boys were educated at the Blue Lick Springs Academy, and of such, young Professor Blaine took charge, while still three years within his majority The Western Military Institute was efficiently managed and well patronized. The principal was Colonel Thornton F. Johnson, a man of capacity and character. At that time, there were about four hundred and fifty pupils in attendance. Such schools were popular, especially in the South. In that section of the Union the military spirit has always prevailed to a greater degree than in the North. At the time of the outbreak of the Civil War, thirteen years after the period of 150) LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 51 which we speak, the South was dotted with military institutes, at which the greater number of the sons of the upper classes spent some time in studying" and training. General Sherman was principal of such a school when the drama of secession was begitn. The educational system of the time divided itself everywhere into schools for boys and schools for girls. Frequently the institutes for the two sexes were not far apart. The Kentucky plan had generally this character. In some cases the management of the schools for young men and those for }oung women \\as common. In the case of the academy at Blue Lick Springs there was an arrangement of this kind. The wife of Colonel Johnson had charge of a seminar^' for young ladies at Millersburg, twenty miles awa}-. That institution also was prosperous, and not a few girls and young ladies from beyond the borders of Kentucky were gathered there for education. Among those who catme thus from a distance was Miss Harriet Stanwood, of Augusta, Me. She went to Millersburg to live with her sister there, and presently became a teacher in the seminary. It was thus that the foundation was laid for the usual romance between the young professor at Blue Lick and the preceptress at Millersburg. Tradition is rife with stories of Blaine's career as a teacher in the academy. ■ He is said to have been a rather tall and, at that time, a slender man, active, vivacious, quick in thought and decision, enthusiastic even beyond the limits of judgment. These qualities were well calculated to make him friends and to gain for him the admiration of his pupils. The Southern boys have always been hot-blooded, quick to take fire, ready alike for exploit and battle. He who has seen them in the institutions of the North will have noticed the striking difference in the temperament of the Northern and Southern youth. There was much that was common in the Blaine character with the hot- blooded temper of his students. The concord between the parties was of a kind to beget strong attachment, but dangerous in the breaking. It is said that Blaine, for his part, managed his classes with success, and that he was adroit in discipline, being quick to find out the foibles of the boys and to penetrate their disguises. He is said to have had a strong sense of right and wrong, and to have administered discipline with a more -even hand than might have been expected. With his pupils he was familiar. His popularit}^ was great. He knew them by name and was wont to address them by their given names, and to bear them along in their studies and recitations with a warmth and affection which might well go far to win their partiality, while it conduced to their mental improvement. In fact, if Blaine's disposition had been satisfied with such a life, it can hardly be doubted that he would have risen to reputation in the professorial ranks. It is said, however, that already he began to look be3-ond the rather narrow limitations of such a life and to hunger for the activities of the competitive professions. It is probable that while still at Blue Lick Springs he began the study of the rudiments of law. His first two years (1848-50) went 52 LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. by in this manner, and the young professor approached his majority. He began to grow more manly and to exhibit greater strength of intellect and more pronounced qualities of character. His relations with the old homestead were kept up with correspondence and occasional visits. The father had now become decrepit, though not from old age. After a residence of thirty-twcj years at West Brownsville, Ephraim L. Blaine died, on the twenty-eighth of June, 1850. Professor Blaine went home from the academy on that occasion and was present at the funeral. The stroke seems to have aroused him, and, in a sense, to have transformed him. The neighbors remarked his change of THli llLAINli BL i- manner and bearing. Though he was not quite of age, he, nevertheless, had become a man. His beard had grown somewhat, and his form was of full stature and proportion. On the occasion of his father's death, the religious sympathies of the mother prevailed, and the burial was had in the old Catholic churchyard, the service being in the manner of the Mother Church. After a brief sojourn at his old home, thus desolated, Blaine returned in the fall of 1850, and resumed his duties in the academv. Already, however, he had begun that acquaintance which was to end in his partnership for life. The fact that Colonel Thornton and his wife were principal and preceptress respectively of the schools at Blue Lick Springs and Millersburg made the communication of the teachers of the two institutions easy aud frequent. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 53 It was in this way that Mr. Blaine obtained the first introduction to Miss Harriet Stanwood, his future wife. The acqiiaintance grew at once into friend- ship, and then into courtship and marriage. This took place just after Blaine reached his majority, and in the city of Pittsburgh, in March of 1851, where the couple stopped for their wedding — which was private — on their wa}' to the East. The young wife was from an old and well-known New England family. The Stanwoods had their residence in Augusta, and it was the wish of the bride to carrj^ her young husba;id back to that city for a residence. It appears that Blaine himself had not intended to remain permanently as far THK STANWOOD KESIDliNCK AT AUGUSTA. west as Kentucky ; but for the time being the question of a permanent residence was undecided. Young Mrs. Blaine gave up her place as teacher in the Millersburg Academy and visited, for a season, with her parents at home. Blaine continued his work at the academy and held a place of growing influence in the institution until early in 1S52, when he made up his mind to seek a larger field of prospect and ambition. He was not yet prepared, however, to swing loose entirely from the teaching profession. Though he had set his heart on the law, his financial condition and other motives prevailed to keep him at the desk for a time. Nevertheless, he made up his mind to leave 54 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Kentucky, and in 1852, at the beginning of summer, he resigned his instructor- ship and -went to Philadelphia. Here, at least, he would find a wider arena. At first he associated himself with the law office of Theodore Cuyler and began the acquisition of legal lore in such spare hoi:rs as he could snatch from other work. It was at this time that, still in search for a place, he noticed an advertisement which had been inserted by the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind. This he answered in person, and called at the office of Dr. William Chapiu, the principal of the institution, and though there were about forty applicants who had come to seek the place, Blaine carried oft' the palm. ' Dr. Chapin has borne witness that the applicant's " manner was so winning, and he possessed so many manifestly valuable qualities that I closed an engagement with him at once. He was married, and his wife and little son, Stanwood, came there with him. His qualities, which impressed me most deeply, were his culture, the thoroughness of his education and his unfailing self-possession. He was also a man of very decided will, and was very much disposed to argument. He was very yoiing then — only twenty-two — and was rather impulsive, leaping to a conclusion very quickly. But he was always read}' to defend his conclusions, however sviddenly he seemed to have reached them. We had many a familiar discussion, and his arguments always astonished me by the knowledge they displayed of facts in history and politics. His memory was remarkable, and seemed to retain details which ordinary men would forget." The institution to which Blaine was chosen was for the instruction of blind children and youth. The pupils were divided, on the line of sex, into two departments. Blaine was elected principal of the boys' department and taugjit the youth in literature and science. The reader will not have failed to note the variety and extent of the young professor's accomplishments. It was an all-around development. He seemed to be able to teach any of the branches which he himself had pursued at college. Another note to be made is that of the early beginning or, as we should say, the early send-off" of James G. Blaine. He already had a mature man's work when he reached his majorit3^ It is clear that he was precocious as well as active, and ambitious to a degree. His work in the Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind extended over two years. This was no great period of time, but it was sufficient for Blaine to leave a marked impression on the school and an enviable tradition with the management. His success here, if we mistake not, was much more full and satisfactory than at the Blue Lick Springs Academy. Dr. Chapin, who continued to be president of the institution for thirty years after the time here referred to, bore unequivocal testimony to the popularity of Blaine and the loss to the school on his retire- ment from it. He has left on record the statement that the personal force and influence which the young professor exerted survived in and around the school for an average lifetime. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 55 Since the rise of Blaine to national fame, the memory of him has been admiringly evoked and preserved at the school where he taught. The building stands at Twentieth and Race streets, and the institution is conducted, to the present day, in much the old-time manner. The authorities have gone back to the years of Blaine (1852-54) and have found many evidences of his successful activity in the school. Among the rest, they have evoked from the rubbish of old archives a most interesting manuscript volume in Blaine's own hand, pro- duced by him during his incumbency as principal. We may note, in the work, the activity of his mind — that restlessness for action and accomplishment which must needs express itself in this form or the other. It seems that the young principal determined to produce a sort of record of the institution, which should possess a permanent value. Perhaps it is not the first time that a man, so seeking, has made a record of himself^ rather than of the thing he was writing about. Blaine's manuscript volume is still extant and is not likely to be lost. The title page, elegantly done in the author's handwriting, is as follows : — JOURNAL OF THE Prnnsvlvania Institution FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF THE BLIND, from its foundation to Compiled From Official Records, BY JAMES G. BLAINE. The reader will note that the author of the manuscript leaves a space after the word " to," in order to complete the date when he should retire from the institution or cease to keep the record. On the next page is the following entry : — " On this and the four following pages will be found some notes in regard to the origin of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, furnished by I. Francis Fisher." To this a Philadelphia newspaper adds : " From this page, the i88th, in which is the first entry made by Mr. Blaine, every line is a model of neatness and accuracy. On every page is a wide margin. At the top of the margin is the year in ornamental figures. Below it is a brief statement of what the text contains opposite that portion of the marginal entry. Every year's record closes with an elaborate table, giving the attendance of members of the board. The last pages of the book are filled with alphabetical lists of officers of the institution and statistical tables, compiled by the same patient and untiring hand. One 56 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. of the lists is that of the 'principal teachers.' List No. 13 is followed by the signature 'James G. Blaine, from August 5, 1852 to ' and then in another hand the record is completed, from the date November 23, 1854." This record kept by young Professor Blaine has been much praised by the authorities of the institution. It shows a masterly and industrious mind. It reveals a quality, which is unfortunately too rare among the sons of men ; namely, the determination to do as well as possible, whatever is to be done, even though the work in question is only transitional — as, indeed, was the case in this instance. Blaine was now clearly looking to the law and to a public life ; but, nevertheless, he did the recording in a manner conspicuously superior to that of any of his predecessors or successors in the recorder's office. Dr. Chapin, in the afterpart of his life, was wont to refer with pride to the Blaine manuscript, declaring that it showed an accurate mastery of facts and orderly presentation of details. " We still use it," the doctor was wont to say, " for reference," and Mr. Frank Battles, the assistant principal, is bringing the record down to the present time. Some of Blaine's pupils at the institution for the blind were still surviving at the close of our ninth decade. One of these, Michael M. Williams, has left the following testimony in regard to his former instructor: " Everybody," says he, " loved Mr. Blaine and his wife. Both were always ready to do anything for our amusement in leisure hours, and we had a great deal of fun, into which they entered heartily. I think that Mrs. Blaine read nearly all of Dickens' works aloud to us; and Mr. Blaine used to make us all roar with laughter by reading out of a book entitled ' Charcoal Sketches.' In the evening he used to read aloud to both the boys and girls. Then we would wind up with a spelling bee. Sometimes Mr. Blaine would give out the words and sometimes one of the big boys would do it, while Mr. Blaine stood up among the boys. Then we would have great fun trying to spell the teacher down?'' We are still further indebted to Mr. Williams, or " Michael," as he is commonly called, for quite an account of the life and manner of Professor Blaine. Michael was admitted to the school in 1853, when Blaine had been there about a year. Williams was then a lad of eighteen, blind, a total stranger in the city and without friends. He was taken to the school by a railway employe. On arriving at the building he was met b}^ Mr. Blaine in person, who opened the door and was so kind and considerate that he immediately won. his way to Michael's heart, and in turn gave him his cotrfidence. A part of Mr. Blaine's duty as principal teacher was to ring the large bell to assemble and dismiss the school. This c'cty was onerous, and one day he entered into a compact with Michael that in consideration of Michael's ringing the bell he would give him permission to go out of the grounds when he pleased. This was faithfully adhered to by both until Mr. Blaine left, and as a matter of fact Michael rings the bell to this day! LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 57 Mr. Blaine entered upon his duties September, 1852, and res.gned November, 1S54. He was head-master and Mrs. Blaine was his assistant. They had at that time one child, Stanwood. When Mrs. Blaine read to the pupils she would frequently put the little boy in Michael's lap, where he would curl up and go to sleep. Both Ivlr. and Mrs. Blaine were very much liked by the pupils. They read general literature aloiid to them. Mr. Blaine was particular!}^ fond of the humorous, his favorite books being ''Charcoal Sketches" and "Pickwick Papers." He would laugh aloud, almost immoderately, to the great diversion of the pupils. He was very kind to the pupils and mingled freely with them out of school, when he would get them to play and sing for him, as he was passionately fond of music. He was a strict disciplinarian, however, and was indefatigable in seeing his rules enforced. ]\Ir. Blaine was fond of argument and would encour- age the bo3'S to combat state- ments he would make for that purpose. He always talked at llir top of his voice, even dis- turbing classes in adjacent rooms. This he realized, and would apologize, saying he was so much in earnest. Because he was not a pro- fessing Christian he refused to ask a blessing before meals but did not object to conduct- ing prayer service, when using some printed form. michaei, m. wh.liams. Prayers were then held at 6.30 a. m., and the rule was that those who were more than five minutes after the bell could not enter the room, and the ■delinquents suffered some punishment for their tardiness. ]\Ir. Blaine himself was not fond of early rising, and he was frequently seen running downstairs, two steps at a time, coat and vest in one hand and collar in the other. His greatest interest was in mathematics, his classes in geometr}^ and algebra receiving the most attention. Two incidents of this geometry class survive. In a public examination of the class Michael was called upon to state a simple proposition. This he failed to do properly. Mr. Blaine went around 58 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the class and returning to Michael again, asked him, with the same result. At the close of the examination Mr. Blaine met Michael aud .said, " Michael, vou have nuide an ass of yourself. Mrs. Blaine's history class comes to-morrow and if you don't answer creditably I'll score you." Mrs. Blaine hearing this, took Michael that afternoon, and to save him from punishment, reviewed the ground they had been over, with the result of a satisfactory examination, much to the gratification of all concerned. The second one is as follows : — Wishing to make a tangible demonstiation of a proposition, in his impetuous way he took out his knife and commenced cutting the figure into a desk. One of the pupils remonstrated saying they were told not to destroy institution property. He replied, " The car of knowledge must ride over all obstacles." Of this same pupil he said, in con- versation with Mr. George W. Childs, nearly forty years afterwards (1891), "If David Wood had not been afflicted he would have been one of the greatest mathematicians of the age. But what the world has lost in that direction it has gained in music." (Mr. Wood, although entirely blind, is the leading organist in Philadelphia.) Mr. Blaine retained his interest iu the school long after he left it, and for years would visit there, asking about all his old pupils, remembering their names and characteristics. When the press of public afiairs became so great that this was impracticable, he even then showed where his interest lay, when as Secretary of State under Garfield, he gave to an officer of the school, who was going abroad to examine into the European methods of instructing the blind, a letter to the consular and diplomatic officers of the United States abroad, commending the bearer to their attention. At one time the boys, while attempting to play a prank upon a half- witted boy, succeeded in frightening Mrs. Blaine, who called loudly for Mr. Blaine. He came, discovered the culprits, and promised to punish them. They apologized to Mrs. Blaine, who interceded, and saved them from punishment.''' We have the pleasure in this connection of inserting what must prove of interest not a little to the reader; namely, a correct cut of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind, where Mr. Blaine taught, and more particularly, a fac-simile of his letter of resignation from the institution. This we have obtained from the files for the purpose of reproduction. The letter is not les.-^ admirable for the steady and elegant hand in which it is written, than for the essential propriety of the terms in which it is couched. The Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind was founded in 1834. The fiftieth anniversarj' of the school was celebrated on March 5, 1884. It was the second institution of the kind to be established in the United States. The * For the foregoing interesting account of Blaine's life in the Philadelphia Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, and in particular for that part which relates to the story of Michael Williams and Blaine's friendship for him, we are indebted to Mr. Frank Battles, afterwards an instructor in the Institution and Principal of it for many years. i*BnisixvA.inA rasTrrfmon for the ln&thuction oc the bmrd. ■^.^^^ li.sK 68 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. instructive aspects of inodeni society is that which shows both the old parties, or the fragments of them, combining after their years of antagonism, hatred and fight, to crush the new and to decry it as the common enemy. Thus came the new Republican party. It was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, saying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord! make his paths straight!" Never, in our times, has there been such another birth. With it came redemption and promise. This is not said of that party as it now stands after the lapse of thirty-eight years. But it is said of the original insurrection. James G. Blaiue was one of the iusurgents. This shall be said to his honor. Of all the questions that were then current among the American people, he found interest and vitality in the one great question of freedom and slavery. Of course, the freedom was not openly and absolutely avowed. Nobody except the abolitionist openly and absolutely declared for triith and right. Only he had the courage to denounce as essentially vicious and criminal that whole dark system of human bondage that rested like a pall on one-half of the Union. But the young Republicans were at heart in sympathy with the abolitionists. They were themselves potential abolitionists. The}' were destined to become such at no very remote day. Of these the young editor of the Kennebec Joiin/al was one. Of all the subjects which he wrote about and contended about, the issue of freedom for the Territories and of slaver}^ restriction by a policy of hostility to the institution on the part of the Government, was the question which most aroused his energies and called forth his passion. Blaine, in all places and in all parts of his career, left behind him a strong tradition. That which grew up in his track at Augusta, in the early days after his settlement there, was that he knew everybody, and everybody' knew him. There was nothing of the editorial recluse about such a man. He wrote and went abroad by turns. He plunged into everything. He warmed up the town, and the town took his temperature. Another feature of the early editorial situation was that of the intellectual surroundings. New England has ever been the home of intelligence. The " Province of Maine," being an outlying skirt of Massachiisetts, was not behind in the particular referred to. The villagers and townsfolk of that commonwealth could think and talk. It was their manner to be exacting with their instructors. He who preached to them must preach something and do it well, or else come to book for his failure. He who wrote for them must in like manner write well and instructively or be left out. Blaine's accession to the editorial rank was at a time when the old, labored and interminable newspaper dissertation was going out, and the new crisp paragraph was coming in. The young editor of the Kennebec Journal caught at the change and adopted the new style of sharp and pungent writing. In such a situation he durst not give himself up to the change so freeh' as was done in the West, where editorial writing became as boisterous and LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 69 reckless as it was pointed. In New England the editor must continue to be urbane, however sharply he might write. The files of the Kennebec Journal still exist with the pennon of " Baker & Blaine " flying at the head. In these old files the incipient statesmanship of James G. Blaine is to be discovered. It has been our fortune to extract from the mass of the young editor's productions certain parts which now, after the lapse of thirty-seven years, will, if we mistake not, be perused with interest by many people. The first extract which we shall here present is an editorial on Honorable Hannibal Hamlin, at that time Senator of the United States from Maine. Hamlin had been and still was a Democrat. As such he had been following the lead of his party up to a point beyond which he would not go. The break came and the Senator began to be a Republican. The following editorial presents the views of Blaine on the rebellion of Hamlin against the dictation of his party : — i^From the KenncbiT JoudkiI, June 20, iS^6.) HONORABLE HANNIBAL HAMLIN. The remarks of this gentleman in the United States Senate last week, a brief synopsis of which we publish under the congressional head, are highly gratifying to the friends of freedom throughout the country. They are such that the people of Maine had the right to expect from him, and as in accord with his past views on the great issues that now agitate the country. Those who supposed Mr. Hamlin would support James Buchanan on a platform so anarchical and sweepingly pro-slavery as the one put forth at Cin- cinnati, have blindl}^ reckoned without their host, and shown that they did not understand his real character. Mr. Hamlin sees what every intelligent and candid man will acknowledge, that the Democratic party of Jackson, Van Buren and Wright is no longer in existence, that what now goes by that name is a new organization composed of the worst materials of all former parties, drawn and held together by the hope of power and plunder, demanding no passport of admission and no pledge of party fidelity but devotion to the interests of slavery. The party is now a mere standing army, a Swiss guard, for protection and aggressive purposes of the slave-holding oligarchy. He, therefore, takes his stand with Bryant, Emmet, Blair, Butler, Trumbull, Banks and other tried and leading men of the Democratic party, in that new and vigorous organiza- tion which has so rapidly sprung into existence to rescue Liberty and the Union Irom the dangers that now imperil them. His course will be sustained by the people of this State in a most unmistakable manner, and his bold words that he will use all the power which God has given him against the enemies of the Republic who march under the Douglas flag have sent a thrill of joy to the hearts of true men all over the land. 70 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. This was followed on the eighteenth of July, by an editorial entitled " The Truth about the Topeka Constitution": — {From the Weekly Keimebec Journal, July i8, 1856.) THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TOPEKA CONSTITUTION. The following letter will explain itself. It was deemed necessary in order to correct a gross misstatement made current by the Age and kindred papers. B. A. G. Fuller, Esq. ^^^ J°^^^^^ Office, July 14, 1856. Dear Sir : — I observe that in the Age of the tenth instant, when speak- ing of the bill recently passed by the United States House of Representatives admitting Kansas with the Topeka Constitution, you intimate that that consti- tution contains a provision — " Declaring that free negroes, whether of Maine, Massachusetts, or elsewhere, shall be deprived of the freedom of locating themselves in the free Territory of Kansas for all time to come." You cannot certainly have seen a copy of the Topeka Constitution, or 3'ou would not have published such a misstatement. I take pleasure in sending you herewith Senate Document No. 32, containing official copies of the memorials, praying for the admission of Kansas, as well as of the constitution accompanying them. Upon examination of the latter you will perceive that no such provision, as the one alluded to by you, is contained in it. The only portions of the instrument which bear upon the subject are to be found in the sixth and twenty-first sections of the Bill of Rights (marked), and tliey are of a very different character from the supposed provisions quoted by you. Not doubting that you will publicly correct the manifest error into which you have fallen, and into which you may lead others — I am respectfully, Your obedient servant, J. G. Bl.\ine. The two sections in the " Bill of Rights " referred to are as follows : — " Section 6. — There shall be no slavery in this State, nor involuntary servi- tude, unless for punishment of crime. "Section 21. — No indenture of any negfro or mulatto made and executed out of the bounds of the State shall be valid within the State." In response to the above letter, which, for good reasons, we deem it proper to publish, the Age of this week attempts to "crawl ofiF" from its original charge, and to declare now that, although the Topeka Constitution as it passed the House of Representatives contained no such provision as the one alluded to, it nevertheless originally contained it, and that after all, the official cop}- is but a mutilated copy — lucid statement ! The truth is, that no such provision was ever incorporated in the Kansas Constitution. The subject of excluding negroes was discussed in the Topeka Convention as a proposition independent of the constitution to be submitted to a vote of the people, and their decision, if affirmative, to act as instructions to LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 71 the first legislature of the State of Kansas to pass a mere enactment to that efifect, an enactment repealable by any succeeding legislature. This is the whole truth about this matter, and we trust the falsehood is finally nailed to the counter. On the eighth of August, 1856, the State Convention of the Democratic party .was held at Portland. At that date the Democracy in the States of the North was at a great disadvantage on account of the alleged sympathy between the party and the so-called border ruffians of Missouri and Kansas. The Republicans everywhere put the Democrats on the defensive for the support which the latter were alleged to give to the enemies of free territory and the friends of slavery. On the very day of the convention, Blaine published in his paper the following editorial : — {Fro7)i the Weekly Kennebec Journal, August 8, iSjd.) INSULT TO THE PEOPLE OF MAINE — THE SLAVE-DRIVERS' LASH CRACKED 0\'ER THEIR HEADS. To-day (Thursday) the " Border Ruffian," Democracy ot Maine — held a grand mass convention in Portland for the shameless purpose of attempting to intimidate and frighten the honest voters of the State into a support of their odious principles. Unless we greatly mistake human nature the base attempt will react with tremendous force on the bullying and brow-beating political managers who have resorted to it. The chief speakers for the occasion are two of the most noted pro-slavery leaders in the Union, Howell Cobb, of Georgia, and J. P. Benjamin, of Louisiana. The former has distinguished himself in his seat in Congress the present session by his defence of the murderer Hubert and of the assassin Brooks. He made a very lengthy report to show that in the villainous assault on Senator Sumner Brooks had done nothing whatever deserving reprehension, and he labored to the end against having the House take any action on the subject. Cobb and his colleague, A. H. Stephens, are the real "bull-dogs" of slavery, who continually and persistently revile and abuse the free States, and it is nothing less than a personal insult to the freemen of Maine to have such a man introduced into the State to lecture them on their political duties. The other man, Benjamin, is one of the Senators from Louisiana, and, until three months past, a Whig. Last autumn he made an open Disunion speech in New Orleans, and as a matter of course, immediately joined the " Border-Ruffian " Democracy. Dis- unionists always join that party. We believe, also, that Mr. Benjamin unites with his colleague Slidell in advocating the re-opening of the African slave trade. This, it is known, is a favorite idea ^vith many of the leading Southern Democracy. We repeat that it is an insult to the people of Maine to introduce such a pair of men as Cobb and Benjamin into the State, and the desperate character of the " Border-Ruffian " party is shown by their resorting to it. The slave-drivers' lash is to be cracked in our ears so that we may get used to it in time. As in the continued success of the " Border-Ruffian " party it is to be 72 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. heard iu every State iu the Union. The time when Toombs is to call the roll of his slaves from the foot of Bunker Hill Monument, as he boasted he will, seems to be rapidly approaching. To THIS was added, one week later, the following : — {Week/j Kejinebec Joiinial, Aiigust /j, 1856.') FLAG WITH " EIGHTEEN STARS." At the Disunion " Border-Ruffian " Convention in Portland last week, both flags over the speakers' stand had eighteen stars each. It has been well suggested that this is emblematic of the Southern Republic with the fifteen slave States. Kansas conquered Utah with polygamy and slavery and Cuba annexed. This is known to be a favorite idea with the Southern Democrats, but we hardly expected to see it outspoken as far north as Maine. Disunion stalks boldly forth in the land. At the time referred to, Maine held her State election in September. This made it possible for her to declare herself in advance of the presidential contest. As had been foreseen, the decision of the State was tremendously in favor of the new Republican party. On the twelfth of September Blaine inserted the following editorial on the election : — {From the Weekly Kennebec Joicnial, September 12, iSjd.) the voice of maine pronouncing in thunder tones for liberty ! for the constitution ! ! and for the union ! ! ! — " border ruffianism " routed and scouted, and the pro-slavery party thoroughly, com- pletely and disastrously beaten ! — maine sure for fremont! by 25,000 majority!! The victory won by the Republicans of Maine on Monday last is, all things considered, the most remarkable triumph of principle ever achieved in a popular election. It is not only a defeat to the " Border-Ruffian " party, it is a rout, an extermination, a total annihilation. Hannibal Hamlin is so far the first that there is no second candidate; his majority is so over- whelming, so unprecedented, that even his most sanguine friends find themselves surprised and at a loss to comprehend the length and the breadth, the height and the depth of this " most famous victory." Professional politicians and skilled canvassers had no conception of such a result. No party, as a party, could ever have achieved it. It was a great irresistible movement of the people, smarting and indignant under the sense of a great national wrong already perpetrated, and still further wrong threatened and imminent. The questions growing out of the repeal of the Missouri compromise and the subsequent and still continuing outrages upon free States men in Kansas were the questions on which the people of Maine have just expressed an opinion, and expressed it in a manner so emphatic and unmistakable as to place LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 73 it beyoud the hazard of a misinterpretation. All questions of State policy, all minor issues were carefully and persistently excluded from the canvass by the Republicans, in order that the people might have no stumbling-blocks in the waj' of an honest declaration of opinion touching the one great, overshadowing question. Even the most odious and unpopular act of Governor Wills' admin- istration (the attack upon the judiciary in the removal of Judge Davis) was suffered to pass during the campaign with but casual mention, so anxious were the Republicans to concentrate public opinion on the national issues. Our friends in other States may therefore rest perfectly assured that the result of Monday last was the triumph of Fremont over Buchanan in the State of Maine. Nor is the immense majority given to Mr. Hamlin a fair iudex to Fremont's strength in Maine. His majority over Buchanan will be at least ten thousand more than Hamlin's over Wills. Though the Repub. licans waived all State issues from the canvass, as we have remarked above, our opponents sought by every means to introduce them and divert popular attention from the national question. They constantly asserted and reiterated that the Maine " law " was in issue and that the Republicans would re-enact it next winter if successful. In this way the "Buchanans," no doubt, drew from Hamlin several thousand votes that are sure for Fremont. The straight Whig thimble-rig was also the meaus of deceiving from twenty-five hundred to three thousand old Whigs, who will vote for Fremont and who never will follow Farley, Little, Sanborn and Co. into the Nebraska Locofoco camp. These men were deceived by the trick of nominating Patten for Governor and four Straight Whigs for Congress. November will bring them all right, and they will be willing hands in swelling the majority for Fremont to twenty- five thousand. Maine has done her full duty to the cause of national freedom and she now calls upon her sister States to imitate her glorious example. Let the people be enlightened. Let information as to the mighty issue involved be spread before them. Let them know the perfidy of the compact-breakers and the horrible outrages upon free States men in Kansas, enacted with the complicity and countenance of the national administration, and they will speak in other States as they, have spoken in Maine — in thunder tones for Liberty, for the Constitution, and for the Union ; for Liberty as the life-blood of the Constitution, and for the Constitution as the palladium of the Union. Under date of September 26, 1S56, there appears a bit of " editorial cor- respondence " written from Boston, under the signature of " B." This is clearly a case of " B stands for Blaine." The letter is as follows : — (^From the Weekly Kennebec Joiirjial, September 26, 1856. Editorial Co}-respondence .') Boston, September 26, 1856. The Buchanan and Fillmore men have studiously attempted to create the impression that the vote of Massachusetts was at least doubtful, and that there is 74 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. some hope of throwing it against Fremont. Since the conventions at Worcester last week the opposition have caved in and the nniversal acknowledgment now is that the Bay State will go for Fremont and Dayton by a majority overwhelming and unprecedented. Some of the most sanguine of the Republi- cans place the majority as high as 80,000, the probability is that it will fall short of 50,000 over the combined vote of Buchanan and Fillmore. The vote for Gardiner will fall short of Fremont's some thousands, though not enough to imperil his election by a very large majority. The Fillmore Americans have completely "flattened out" since the nomination of Gordon. Had Amos A. Lawrence consented to stand as a candidate, it is not improbable that he would have been elected. His declination was a sore blow to mischievous hunkerism hereabouts; the nomination of Bell by the "vStraight Whigs" will command no support worth reckoning. The union effected at Worcester has also insured a .unanimous congressional delegation from the State favorable to fill Kansas. Banks and Burlingame will be re-elected by increased majorities. All eyes here, as in Maine, are turned on Pennsylvania. As I am en route in that State to witness the " great battle " I shall endeavor to keep the readers of the Journal faithfully and truthfully advised of the actual state of the case. " I shall nothing extenuate, nor set down aught for buncome." I find our great victory in Maine is thoroughly appreciated elsewhere. The common acknowl- edgment is that if Fremont is elected President, Maine deserves the credit of accomplishing it. B. It appears that Mr. Blaine at this time went abroad and sent in his contributions in the form of correspondence. From Philadelphia, under date of September 26, he writes as follows : — (^Editorial Correspondence of Weekly Kermebec Journal, Oclobet- 3, 1856. ) THE CONTEST IN PENNSYLVANIA. Philadelphia, September 26, 1856. It would be untrue to say that the result of the presidential contest in in this State is other than doubtful; it would be equally untrue to represent it as other than exceedingly hopeful for the cause of Fremont and freedom. All men have acknowledged that the Republican party is making rapid and decided gains every day in all parts of the State. In some sections, hitherto Democratic strongholds, the change will be so thorough as to amount to a clean sweep; in all sections there is acknowledged to be a decided majority opposed to the election of James Buchanan. The only question is — Can this adverse majority be so concentrated as to defeat the "common enemy." If separate electoral tickets be run for Fillmore and Fremont, the probability is that Buchanan would obtain a plurality. The vote would perhaps stand : — Fillmore . . - . . 50,000 Fremont 185,000 Buchanan ----- 195,000 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 75 The total vote given here — four hundred and thirty thousand — is larger by forty-five thousand than has ever been cast ; but, after the astonishing increase in the vote of Maine, the above will not seem too large a margin to allow for that silent vote which is only brought out on occasions of extraordinary intent and emergency. Though the above calculation is given as the most probable, it is but just to say that the vote allowed to Fillmore is far larger than is conceded to him by many of the sagacious politicians of this city. A gentleman of great shrewd- ness in politics, and with abundant facilities for forming a correct judgment, told me yesterday that a separate electoral ticket for Fillmore could not poll over twenty-five thousand votes, and that Fremont's vote would unquestionably go largely beyond two hundred thousand — this giving him a plurality over Buchanan. With what I have seen and what I know of Pennsylvania politics, I should regard this calculation as too sanguine, and therefore unreliable. I should say, moreover, that Fremont's success, or an assurance of it, depends on forming a union electoral ticket against Buchanan, and I am glad to be able to say that there is every prospect of this being done in an honorable and amicable spirit. The two parties are already united on the State ticket to be elected on the fourteenth of October, and they have united also on every con- gressional district in the State save one, and there is no doubt that a union will be effected there also. With this spirit of concord and unity, it is quite evident that there will be no serious obstacle to the formation of a union electoral ticket. This will be resisted by a small faction of Fillmore men in this city, who hold the same relation to the " Border-Ruffian " Democracy of Pennsyl- vania that Evans, Little, Farley, Sanborn and Co. do to the " Border-Ruffian " Democracy of Maine. The great mass of the Fillmore men in this State,, however, are honest in their opposition to Buchanan, and though their first choice is Mr. Fillmore, they are willing to promote the election of Fremont where the contest is simply between him and Buchanan. The congressional elections are very promising. Out of the twent3'-five members to be chosen, there will probably be izvcnty who will prove true blue to the cause of free Kansas. From this city there will be a most gratifying change, as the pliant and treacherous Tyson will be succeeded by that eloquent and true-hearted champion of freedom, Edward Joy Morris. With Grow and Hunkel and Ritchie and Allison and Morris on the floors of Congress, there is no danger but that the voice of the " Keystone " will always be heard for the cause of " Liberty and Union." B. If we mistake not, Blaine was taking part in the campaign in Pennsylvania. His next letter is written from Pittsburgh, under date of October 4, 1856, as follows : — {Edilorial Correspondence of the Weekly Ken7iebcc Journal, October 10, i8'^6.) Pittsburgh, Pa., October 4, 1S56. The feeling in favor of Fremont in all the western counties of this State is intense. This city is fairly wild with political excitement, and meetings held 76 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. •every iiiglit in the largest of halls and crowded to the utmost. I have attended two of these meetings, last night and night before, and never have I seen such enthusiastic demonstrations. Every ward in the city has its Fremont Glee Club, and in the intervals of speaking the audience is entertained with a choice vocal concert. The majority for Fremont west of the mountains will be far greater than for the union State ticket on the fourteenth. What height it will yet reach no one can predict or foresee; it is daily swelling, and the majorit}' in this cit}'- and county may go as high as ten thousand, and certainly will not be under seven thousand. The union State ticket will probably be carried by five or six thousand, but large numbers of Democrats who will vote against that avow their intention of going for Fremont in November. All the Repub- lican members of Congress from this section of the State will be re-elected ; Knight, of the Washington district, and Edie of Somerset, will have the hardest ■contests, but they will both be elected by handsome majorities. Edie has a good deal of Fillmore feeling to contend with in Somerset, the onl}' western count}' in which it is found ; it is, however, sincerely opposed to Buchanan, and will all be brought to the right mark in time. All the counties bordering on Maryland are more or less tinctured with pro-slavery ism, or at least exhibit a shameful insensibility to the gross outrages perpetrated by the slave power in Kansas. By good management, however, they will be made to contribute to Buchanan's defeat just as thoroughly and effectually as though they were sincere converts to the true Republican -faith. Somerset is perhaps as difficult as any of them ; all its trade and business intercourse are with Baltimore and Cumberland, and the effect of this can readily be imagined. The prospect in New Jersey grows more hopeful and cheering every day, and notwithstanding the desperate efforts of the Stockton Fremontites to give the State to Buchanan, our friends feel ■quite confident that they will be able to carry it. Many of the hardest hunker districts have been carefully canvassed, and the result shows that the Fremont vote is about equal to Fillmore and Buchanan united ; if this is so, there can be little doubt that the Republicans will cast the plurality, which alone is requisite to secure the electoral vote. Taking this in connection with the recent news from California, and the prospect of Fremont's carrying every free State is certainly growing brighter every day. B. The next extract which we shall present is written from Philadelphia, under date of October ii. It is clear that the writer had returned from his trip through the State, and is ready to present his deductions and conclusion. He does so as follows : — {Editorial Correspo7idence of Weekly Kennebec Journal, October ij. f8j6.) THE GREAT BATTLE FOUGHT. Philadelphia, October ii, 1856. Before this letter is published the returns of the Pennsylvania election will be before the people of Maine. It is useless, therefore, to enter into any further LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 77 calotiiatlon or prognostications of the result. I therefore content myself with the belief expressed in former letters, that the State is safe for the union ticket by a majority which may be as low as five thousand, and which may run as high as forty thousand — a medium will perhaps be near to the truth. Imme- diately after the State election, a union electoral ticket will be formed. The basis which is most favorably received is as follows : Twenty-six electors shall consist of the same names ; the twenty-seventh elector on the Fillmore ticket shall consist of a different name from the twenty-seventh on the Fremont ticket. For example, Millard Fillmore and twenty-six other names selected from several congressional districts shall form one ticket, and John C. Fremont and the same twenty-six names above referred to shall form the other ticket. The twenty-six electors shall be pledged to cast the electoral votes of the State for Millard Fillmore and John C. Fremont respectively, precisely in proportion to the popular votes cast for each as indicated by the twenty-seventh elector on each ticket. For example, if Millard Fillmore (or the twenty-seventh elector wha represents him) receives an equal number of votes with John C. Fremont (or his representative), then thirteen electoral votes shall be given for Millard Fillmore and thirteen for John C. Fremont. This mode, it will be observed, involves the loss of one elector, at least it does so unless Fremont can poll an absolute majority over Buchanan, which, under the above arrangement, would hardly seem probable. Mr. Buchanan will thus, in any event, receive one electoral vote from his own State. According to the rates of division suggested in the above arrangement, it is expected that Fremont will get eighteen or twenty of the electoral votes to Fillmore's six or eight. The disparity ma}^ indeed, be even greater ; some well-posted calculators will not allow Fillmore more than three out of the twenty-six. If Fremont carries all the New England States, together with New York and the North- west, he will only need eleven more votes to give him a majority in the electoral college- Conceding, therefore, the States of New Jersey and California to Mr. Buchanan (both of which he will probably lose), it is still evident that Fremont will be elected, and have a margin of seven or eight votes to spare. The calculation may be summed up as follows : — Maine, . 8 New Hampshire, 5 Vermont, . 5 Massachusetts, 13 Rhode Island, 4 Connecticut, 6 New York, . 35 STATES CERTAIN FOR FREMONT. electoral votes. Ohio,. Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, . Total, 23 13 II 6 5 4 138 electoral votes. 78 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. The whole electoral college consists of 296 votes, making 149 necessary' to an election. If, therefore, in addition to the 138 votes above, which may be regarded as certain for Fremont, he can get eleven only of the Pennsylvania votes, he will undonbtedly be the next President of the United States. In this calculation, as we have before mentioned, the States of New Jersey and Cali- fornia are conceded for Buchanan, though his chances of carrying either of them seem to be growing "beautifully less" every day. Even if Buchanan should carry Pennsylvania, he would fail of an election by the people, as the fact is now patent and indisputable that he must lose two, if not three, of the Southern States. The Baltimore election settles the case for Maryland, and the news from Florida indicates that the " Border- Ruffian " column is wavering and tottering, even in its supposed stronghold in the far South. The truth is that the true " Union " men of the South are becoming disgusted with the disunion rant and faction of Wise, Brooks, Keitt and Co., and are preparing, under the lead of Botts, Bates, Winter Davis and others, to co-operate with the Republicans of the free States in supporting President Fremont's administration. We shall not be surprised if Mr. Buchanan should fail to carry more than twelve States, leaving sixteen to Fremont and three to Fillmore. B. Finally, we may append the following extract, in which there is a vein of interesting personality, which explains itself. {From Kennebec Journal, Aiigust 22, 1856.') The Age does us "honor overmuch" when it says that we "claim an intimacy " with the " Border-Ruffian " candidate for the vice-presidency. We never made such a claim publicly or privately. We knew Mr. Breckinridge in former years, both personally and politically, and had the pleasure of using our feeble efforts against his election to Congress in Kentucky the first time he was a candidate. Since then it has never been our fortune to meet him. We know him to be a man of ability, but of the worst school of politics — the Southern Secessionists. If we had time and space we could give some chapters in his political life not very creditable to him. We may do so at another time. The Age says we were in Kentucky when Matt. Ward was tried. This is mere assertion recklessly put forth. We had left the State more than two years before. To THIS editorial fusillade and battle, conducted by one who had in him so many and so high ambitions, there could be but a single issue. He must himself enter the field as a contestant for political honors and advancements. This he did. The way led him naturally enough to the smaller distinctions of service in the legislature of his adopted State. It was in the fall of 185S that he first stood for election at the hands of the people. It is said that he was rather nervous and timid on first going before his proposed constituents. He •f*'lr-^ iiiiiliiiliiiiiiililillliiiill 80 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. consulted with his friends and seemed to shrink somewhat from the necessary candidacy. It is narrated that his friends had rather to urge him forward than to hold him back. Notwithstanding his impetuous desire to be distinguished and notwithstanding his intellectual courage, of which he always possessed the largest measure, he shrank from the arena and seemed to fear his first political contest. He had, if we mistake not, that kind of nervous tremor which young military captains have in daring their first battle. General Grant has narrated, with the greatest interest to his readers, the story of his trial passage with the Confederates at Belmont, and how he was scared half out of his wits until he chanced to reflect that the Confederate officer commanding against him was perhaps worse frightened than he was. Before narrating Blaine's first experience in a political contest, in which he himself was a leader, we should refer to an initial passage of the canvass of 1856. This year may be said to have marked a beginning of Blaine's public life. On the twenty-second of August he was chosen secretary of a great Repubican mass meeting in Augusta to ratify the nomination of General Fremont for the presidency. It is recorded that on that occasion he showed in his manner every symptom of bashfulness and timidity. But, at the same time, he was carried forward by his ardent desire to participate in affairs and to win the laurels of leadership. Already he had served as a delegate from the Kennebec district in the first Republican National Convention, by which Fremont had been put in nomination. On his return from that convention, he made, at a public meeting, an address, in which was incorporated a report of the proceedings by which the Pathfinder had been chosen as the first standard bearer of the coming party. Persons present on the occasion have left a record of the manner and matter of the speaker, still young in years and inexperienced in the actual work of public delivery. Whatever may be a man's preparation, it is always a cniical test when he has to begin; that is, to begin actually. How great a thing it is for a young physician to administer his first pill! How greater a thing it is for the young lawyer to say actually and in sober earnest for the first time, " May it please the court, gentlemen of the jury ! " How greatest a thing it is for a young political leader first to assume, in public speech, the office of instructing, exciting and persuading his auditors ! It was noted on the occasion referred to that what Blaine said was remarkably clear ; that he did not repeat himself; that the editorial style appeared in his matter and arrangement; that he was afraid to let out his voice, and gave many signs of timidity and backward- ness. It was also noted that his memory worked like a clock. Though it was almost painful to see the embarrassment of the young orator, he none the less got in his facts and made his speech and his argument. An eye-witness has said of the speaker on this occasion : " He turned pale and red by turns, and almost tottering to the front, stood trembling until the generous applause which welcomed him had died away, when b}- a supreme LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 81 effort he broke the spell, at first by the utterance of some hesitating words of greeting and thanks, and then gathering confidence went on with a speech which stirred the audience as with the sound of a trumpet and held all present in breathless interest and attention to its close. From that moment Mr. Blaine took rank among the most effective popular speakers of the day ; but it may be doubted if among the many maturer efforts of his genius and eloquence upon the political platform of the legislative tribune, he has ever excited an audience to a more passionate enthusiasm or left a profounder impression upon the minds and hearts of his hearers. " Much interest attaches to this maiden effort of him who was to be twice Secretary of State. It illustrates forcibly and well the common fact with great speakers; namely, that trepidation, stammering, and extreme nervous agitation, and combustion of force are the invariable precursors of success. It is not well that a young speaker, on going to his trial, should appear calm, dispassionate and unexcited. It is not natural that he should be so. There must be the rush of youthful blood ; the sudden and tremendous accumulation of nerve force in the brain ; the surging of all the emotions and psychonomy of the being to one vital organ and then another, resulting in disturbance, swimming of the vision, half-blindness, stage fright, despair, oblivion, folly and all that — if the speaker is destined to greatness. By and by the ocean will come to a calm ; the waters below will divide themselves from the waters above ; the sky will appear ; the sharp outline of far shores be seen ; and above, the stars. Then the speaker will begin to reveal the mysteries of his spirit and purpose to others and to lead them in the pathway of his command. All the great acts of life commence — if they commence well — with agitation, pain, exhaustion of nervous force and flashes of the ludicrous. In another part of this volume we shall present more fully some of the products of Blaine's mind at this period of his career. He helped to fight through the Fremont battle and to carry his adopted State for the Republican ticket. His influence told upon the issue of the campaign. His battle in the Kennebec y<9//;-;/(3;/ and in other newspapers was ably fought. He was indefatigable in season and out of season. Though the general result was adverse to the ticket which he supported, it was nevertheless full of encouragement and promise. The casting of a large electoral vote for John C. Fremont, in this first contest of the new party, was significant to a degree. The decision of November, 1856, had the similitude of a man's hand writing on the plaster over against the throne-place of the Ancient Order, and tracing thereon the significant MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. The writing was clouded with smoke and seen by flashes of flame, which shone as far as the Platte, the Arkansas, the Gulf, the Rio Grande. No man might any longer doubt the significance of the phenomenon which had appeared in the political sky. All this was seen and read by Blaine. He was still in the first flush of manhood. He threw himself with ever-increasing confidence into the humane 6 82 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. but dangerous movenieut of the day. There were breakers ahead, rapids, rocky shores, plunges and possibly a Niagara of dissolution and war. Whether he saw it or did not see it, he took the chances of the event with many another aspiring young man destined to leadership and national fame. Blaine at length came forward in his district as a candidate for the Legis- lature. This was in the fall of 1858. It was coincident in time with the Lincoln and Douglas debates. The intellectual battle was now fairly on. The tall, gaunt Illinoisan defined it fully when he declared that a house divided against itself must fall. And never was there a more significant appli- cation of a great aphorism. The house was divided against itself. Either must one of the contending parties go to the wall and be extinguished along with the principles which it professed, or the house itself must tumble into ruins. This principle was caught and enunciated. Blaine took it up and promulgated it first editorially and afterwards in public speeches We should here remark that some changes occurred in his editorial re- lations about this time. He held the position which he had taken, as asso- ciate editor of the Kennebec yOT/r;/*?/, until the ninth of October, 1857, when he sold out to John S. Say- ward, of Bangor. The name of Sayward took the place of Blaine as proprietor and editor. The latter was induced to make this change by two motives. The first was, some disagreement in policy with his partner. Baker. The latter was a more conservative man than was the junior partner, and would fain have the paper conducted in a manner less radical. Blaine, on the contrary, was wont to rush ahead; to plunge into new questions; to sa}^ new and audacious things on old questions and thus to keep his rather .sedate partner in hot water. The other motive was that of personal advantage. Blaine retired from the Jounial to accept a better paying and more influential position on the Portland Daily Advertiser, with which paper his name was connected until his election to Congress. In the fall of 1858, the young politician was chosen to the lower House of the Legislature of Maine and went to that body with a strong majority behind him. He was now twenty-eight years of age. It is said, that notwith- standing the public experience of the last two years, his timidity and VIEW OF PORTL.\ND, MAINK. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 83 embarrassment were still seen with his every appearance. Though his memor}^ was prodigious, he did not trust to the use of that faculty to the extent of extemporizing anything that he had to say in public. The editorial habit was strong with him. He was, we believe, one of the first of our popular speakers to write out completely and memorize what he was going to deliver in public. This he did in the case of the speeches which he delivered while a candidate for the Legislature. It may be doubted whether speeches so prepared and committed would be very effective west of the Alleghanies ; but in and about Augusta the people were of such temper and culture as to appreciate this style of oratory. Blaine's delivery, bat- ing his embarrassment, was alwa\-s admirable ; always direct. Thus he went through his canvass for the lower House successfully, gain- ing upon the esteem and admira- tion of his constituenc3\ It is clear in the retrospect that, notwithstanding the impet- uosity and high-nervous tension of the subject of this narrative, he was, nevertheless, cautious and prudent. This was the paradox of his nature. His caution and prudence stood him well in hand. They taught him to begin in a comparatively low and easy key. He entered the Legislature in this mood. He passed his first experiences in that body in a manner quiet and almost unob- served. At length he began to assert himself, particularly on party blaine at 2s, questions. At that time all the legislatures were looking up from their own local affairs and projects to the greater affairs of the Republic. Whenever the debates turned in this direction Blaine was in the midst. During his first term of service, he went for\vard steadily to the position of a foremost man. He had the approval of his constituency. He was re-elected in 1859, in i860 and in 1S61. At the beginning of his third term he was chosen speaker, being then at the age of thirty. This honor was conferred again at the beginning of the next session ; so that, before his entrance into Congress, he had alread}' acquired experience in the matter of presiding over deliberative bodies. This is in brief the history of the young Maine politician on his way to leadership and national reputation. We may pause to remark upon the swift 84 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. movement of events during the time of his service in the Legislature of his State. No other period in our history has been more critical than the four years extending from 1858 to 1862. Ever3'thing was undergoing the pangs of transformation. The nation was entering the furnace blast, in which it was to be renewed and from which it was to come forth — if come at all — purified and regenerated. The slavery question was in all minds and hearts. The antag- onism between the advocates of that institution and its enemies grew more and more intense. The Kansas war worked out its own results in the final adop- tion of a free state constitution at Topeka. But the slavery element along the border still muttered and fought. The Dred Scott decision was slowly prepared, and at length issued. That pronunciamento w a s to be the be-all and end-all of the matter. A paper document, full of sound logic and other such infani}', was put forth as a settlement of the whole question against the rights of man and the very principles of human nature. jMaj- be the negro is a hu- man being, but he is not a man ! He is a chattel ! He cannot be or become anything but a chattel. His chattelhood is plainly deducible from the unmistakable letter and influence of the Constitution of the United States. That document virtually makes slavery universal. An owner may take his chattels everywhere. Even the State Constitution cannot impede him. " Nigger " is " nigger," to all generations ! Cursed be Canaan anyhow ! Such was the atrocious meter and rhythm of this incalculable bulletin issued by the Supreme Court of our country ! And yet it was able law ! Such inconsistencies and atrocities history is able to introduce in this arena of alleged civilization ! There also came the apparition of Old John Brown. He was Ossa- wattomie Brown. He had six brave sons. They had fought in the Kansas war. Some of them were dead. The brave Captain Brown devoted himself on the altars of his country. He was a man of ideas ; rather, of one idea. WARFARE 0\ KANSAS BORDER LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 85 " All merit comes From braving the unequal ; All glory comes from daring to begin. Fame loves the State That, reckless of the sequel, Fights long and well, whether it lose or win. JOHN BROWN'S FORT AND HARPER'S FERRY. "And there was ONE Whose faith, whose fight, whose failing. Fame shall placard upon the walls of time. He dared begin — Despite the unavailing. He dared begin when failure was a crime." Old Ossawattomie Brown began it. He attacked the world with fewer than twenty men ! He had pikes instead of guns. He and his fellows had hammered out curious mediaeval spearheads in the fall of 1859. Then — 86 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " He went into the valley there Without a comrade for his soul ; He struck ! and all the world was 'ware That that one blow would make us whole ! " For armies rose from out the earth, And great ships loomed upon the sea ; And Liberty had second birth In fire and blood and victory ! " Then opened the drama of secession. The American Union was rent; it was torn with extreme violence. One State after another declared herself most impudently absolved from allegiance to the Government built by the Fathers. Away they went into dissolution and inevitable war. Was it possible that the secessionists thought the Government — that is, the people — of the United States would indeed " Let them alone ? " Could it be supposed that the great Republic would lie down supinely and let herself be dismembered and destroyed ? Was it thinkable that the fire of resentment and battle would not blaze in her flushed breast ; that her sword would not flash out with the brilliancy of extreme anger ; that she would not break her cords and cast their bonds asunder, striking with vengeful and vindictive sword-cuts at all them who had risen against her — rather than let herself be dishonored, shamed and destroyed before the nations ? So the leaders of disiinion seemed to think ; so they said ; so they would have the world believe. And, indeed, the world either believed it or appeared to believe it. But the American heart did not believe it. There was a residue of loyal blood that rose like a torrent in millions of hearts and began to foam and rush through all arteries and veins until the vindication of freedom and the breaking of the bondman's chains should be accomplished ! We here speak of these great questions, seen now in the backward look with patriotic indignation, only for the purpose of making clear the forces and opinions and incipient battle, in the midst of which the rising j^oung statesman of Maine was disciplined and brought to man's full estate. We may pause to note some of his specific work in the Legislature of his State. As we have said, that Legislature as well as many others was busy with the great questions of the day. Those questions came on in full force after Blaine's election to the speakership. But he was wont, on occasion, to come down to the floor and participate actively in the debate. In the beginning of 1862, the question of the confiscation of rebel propert}^ was on in Congress, and there was a division of sentiment with respect thereto. On the seventh of February, in this year, the following resolutions relating to national affairs were adopted in the Senate of Maine and afterwards sent to the House for concurrence : — " Resolved^ That we cordially endorse the administration of Abraham Lincoln in the conduct of the war against the wicked and unnatural enemies LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 87 of the Republic, and that in all its measures calculated to crush this rebellion speedily and finally, the administration is entitled to and will receive the unwavering support of the loyal people of Maine. " Resolved, That it is the duty of Congress, by such means as will not jeopard the rights and safety of the loyal people of the South, to provide for the confiscation of estates, real and personal, of rebels, and for the forfeiture and liberation of every slave claimed by any person who shall continue in arms against the authority of the Lhiited States, or who shall in any manner aid and abet the present wicked and unjustifiable rebellion. " Resolved, That in this perilous crisis of the country, it is the duty of Congress, in the exercise of its constitutional power to " raise and support armies," to provide b}' law for accepting the ser- vices of all able-bodied men of whatever status, and to employ these men in such a manner as military necessity and the safety of the Re- public may demand. " Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this State, and that they be re- spectfully requested to use all honorable means to secure the passage of acts embodying their spirit and substance." state capital at augusta, mk. These resolutions were adopted by a large majority and sent to the House for approval. In all the Northern States there were, at that time, certain men who represented the residue of the Ancient Order. These were constitutionally opposed to everything. Let us concede to them a useful office. Certainly they contributed something to the history of the times. On the occasion referred to, a certain Air. Gould, of Thomaston, spoke on the Senate resolutions, opposing them with all his might in an elaborate argument. This situation was of precisely the kind to bring out the powers of Blaine. He came to the charge and supported the resolutions with a spirit peculiarly his own. In his remarks we may discover the temper and purpose of the man : 88 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. SPEECH ON THE SENATE RESOLUTIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. ]\Ir. Chairman — The first hour of the seven which the gentleman from Thomaston has consumed I shall pass over with scarcely a comment. It was addressed almost exclusively, and in violation of parliamentary rules, to personal matters between himself and a distinguished citizen from the same section, lately' the gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic party, and now representing the County of Knox in the other branch of the Legislature (Col. Smart). With that quarrel, here or elsewhere, it would be unseemly for me to meddle, and without intending disrespect to either gentleman, I may quote the Grub street couplet, apt if not elegant, as illustrating my position : " For the matter of that I don't care a toss up. Whether AIossup kicks Barry or Barry kicks Mossup.' And at the game of " kicking," I warn the gentleman from Thomaston, from my own past observ^ation, that he will find the Senator from Knox quite as valiant an adversary as he will care to encounter. Without further delaj^ on matters personal, I proceed, sir, to the discussion of what I may term the inestimably important question submitted to the judgment of this Legislature. I shall best make myself understood, and perhaps most intelligibl}' respond to the argument of the gentleman from Thomaston, by discussing the question in its two phases : first, as to the power of Congress to adopt the measures conceived in the pending resolutions ; and secondh', as to the expediency of adopting them. And at the very outset, I find between the gentleman from Thomaston and myself, a most radical difference as to the "war power" of the Constitution; its origin, its extent, and the authority which shall determine its action, direct its operation, and fix its limit. He contends, and he spent some four or five hours in attempting to prove, that the war power in this Government is lodged wholly in the Executive, and in describing his almost endless authoritj^ he piled Ossa on Pelion until he had made the President under the war power perfectly despotic, with all preroga- tives and privileges concentrated in his own person — and then to end the tragedy with a farce, with uplifted hands he reverently thanked God that Abraham Lincoln was not an ambitious villain (like some of his Democratic predecessors, I presume) to use this power, trample on the liberties of the nation, erect a throne for himself, and thus add another to the list of usurpers that have disfigured the world's history. That was precisely the line of the gentleman's logic — first stripping all the other departments of their proper and constitutional power, heaping it all on the President, and then thanking God that the President does not rule as the caprices of tyranny might dictate ! Could argumentative nonsense go farther ? I dissent from these conclusions of the gentleman. I read the Federal Constitution differently ! I read in the most pregnant and suggestive section LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE- 89 of that immortal charter that certain " powers " are declared to belong to Congress. I read therein that "Congress shall have power" among other large grants of authority, "to provide for the common defence;" that it shall have power "to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water ; " that it shall have power to " raise and support armies," to " provide and maintain a nav}'," and to " make rules for the gov- ernment of the land and naval forces ; " and as though these powers were not sufficiently broad and general, the section concludes in its eighteenth subdivision, by declaring that Congress shall have power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof" IMark that — " in any department or officer thereof! " At the origin of our Government, j\Ir. Chairman, the people were jealous of their liberties ; they gave power guardedly and grudgingly to their rulers ; the}' were hostile, above all things, to what is termed the one-man power, and vou cannot but observe with what peculiar care they provided against the abuse of the war power. For after giving Congress the power " to declare war," and " to raise and support armies," they added in the Constitution these remarkable and emphatic words, " but no appropriation of mone}' to that use shall be for a longer term than two years," which is precisely the period for which the Representatives in the popular branch are chosen. Thus, sir, this power is not given to Congress simply, but in effect it was given to the House of Repre- sentatives ; the people placing it where they could \a.y their hands directl}' upon it at every biennial election, and say "yes" or "no" to the principles or policy of any war. And it is worthy of note that this popular control is secured at every comer and through every loophole of the Constitution ; for not onl}- do the people in their primary capacity, b}' direct suffrage, elect their Representa- tives every two 3'ears, but in a case of a vacancj^ happening, no power, save that of the people themselves, is able to fill it. If a vacancy happens in the Senate, the Governor of a State ma}' appoint a successor till the Legislature meets, but if it occur " in the representation of any State " the Constitution simply declares that the executive authority of such State " shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancy," leaving to the people directly the choice of the Representative. It is moreover declared in the Constitution " that all bills for revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives," thus giving again to popular control the power of the " purse," which is superior to the power of the " sword," as without, the sword has " neither force nor edge." Talk, sir, as the gentleman from Thomaston has, for so many hours, about the war power being lodged exclusively in the President ! Why such an assertion is the acme of nonsense. Without the assent of Congress there can be no war, and Congress can stop the war at any moment it chooses. Without the assent of Congress, and the 90 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. supply of money by Congress, your quartermaster can give you no transportation ; your commissary cannot issue a ration; your chief of ordnance cannot furnish a cartridge ; j'our paymaster cannot give a private a single month's wages. As the House of Commons, sir, in England controls the aristocratic Chamber of Lords, and holds in check the power of the throne, by having the exclusive right to originate " supply bills," so, sir, our House of Representatives, through the right to originate bills of revenue, causes the fresh and vigorous voice of the people to be heard against the long-tenured power of Senators and the individual wishes of the Executive. And in attempting to strip the Representative branch of this, its rightful prerogative, and the thousand incidental powers derived from it, and through it, the gentleman from Thomaston has aimed to curtail the power of the people, and to give to the whims and preferences it ma}^ be, of a single man, what was intended to be, and must of right continue to be, for the arbitrament and deliberate decision of the people of the entire nation. In all that I am thus maintaining in regard to the supreme war power of Congress, I make no conflict between that and the Executive power, which in war, as well as in all matters of civil administration, belongs to the President. The question at issue between the gentleman from Thomaston and myself is not whether the President has power of great magnitude in the conduct of a war, for that I readil}^ admit, or rather I stoutly aflBrm ; but the point at issue is, which is superior in authority. Congress or the President ? I think I have shown that the Constitution vests the supreme unlimited power in Congress, and that the President must obey the direction of Congress, as the chief execu- tive officer of the nation, and at the same time he must be held accountable for the mode in which his subordinate officers execute the trusts confided to them. There can be no confusion of ideas as to the proper metes and bounds of this authority, and I am quite sure that this war will progress to a successful conclusion, without the conflict of authority under discussion being even once practicall}' developed. I need sajr no more on this point than simply to introduce an illustration of how the power of Congress is felt in prescribing rules " for the government of the land and naval forces." Until quite recently many of the commanding generals have been in the habit of returning fugitive slaves that sought refuge in their camps. Congress considering such a practice to be a scandal on our civilization, has just directed that it shall cease, and the President, as the executive officer of the nation, is charged with the enforcement of the will of Congress in the premises. With that conclusive example of the exercise of congressional power, which I have been discussing, I leave this branch of the subject. T\Ir. Chairman, upon an analysis of the different positions held by the gentleman from Thomaston and myself, on the various questions suggested by the resolves under discussion, I find that after proper elimination the points at issue may fairly be reduced to two. The first, as to wherein the war power of the Govern- ment is lodged, has been examined, and I have attempted to demonstrate that LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 91 the Constitution vests it in Congress. I shall have more to say on this topic as I progress in mj^ remarks. The other point at issue has reference to the relations that now exist between the Government of the United States and the so-called Confederate States. Of course this position does not impl}- that the only rights we have against these rebels are those of belligerence or war; nor does it exclude us from assert- ing the higher rights of sovereignty whenever they can be made effective. By no means. Even the sweeping quotation I have made from Vattel is restricted by the same writer, in a clause immediately following, to the time during which the war continues. That celebrated author is careful to state, and I quote his exact language, that the sovereign authority " having conqne7-ed the opposite party and reduced it to sue for peace^ may except from the amnesty the authors of the trouble and the heads of tJie party ; may bring them to a legal trial, and on conviction putiish them. So that by the law of nations and the law of common sense, we have as against the rebels the rights both of belligerence and sover- eignty — the latter class of rights being incapable of enforcement at present, and so remaining until thc}^ are vindicated and re-established through the rights and powers of belligerence. In addition to the authorit}- of Vattel, which I have quoted, I am glad to be able to refer to a verj' recent opinion from one of the most eminent constitutional lawj-ers in New England in support of my position. I refer to a decision of Judge Sprague in a recent prize case of the United States District Court in Boston. That eminent jurist laid it down as an indis- putable doctrine of law, that to-day we have as against the so-called Confeder- ate States all the rights of belligerence and sovereignty, too — thus sustaining not onl}' in effect, but in precision of language, the principles I have quoted from Vattel ; and which I have labored to establish as essential to sound views and conclusions on the important subject under discussion. And here, sir, in pursuance of the principles I have enunciated, I lay down the proposition as broadly as m}' language can express it, that ever\' power and prerogative which the Federal Government would rightfully possess in war, as against England, France, Brazil, IMexico, or anj- other foreign power, it does this day possess as against the so-called Confederate States. And I challenge au}^ gentleman successfully to refute that proposition ! But the moment these war powers are carried to the destruction or forfeiture of the property of a rebel, the gentleman from Thomaston cries out that the Constitution of the United States is violated in the section where Congress is prohibited forfeiting property " except during the life of the person attainted " of treason. I tell the gentleman, that the operation of that clause of the Constitution is one governing the civil tribunals of the land, where courts are in session, juries empaneled, precepts served, and the process of law unobstructed. If he contends that it is applicable to a condition of things wherein the civil power of the Government has ceased to be operative in eleven States he must contend by 92 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. parity of reasoning that every other provision of the Constitution is equally operative, and that the state of belligerence does not supervene with its own well-defined and self-protective laws. If he takes this ground, and there is none other left him, I ask him, and I want an answer, whence is derived the power to blockade the ports of the rebel States ? The Constitution of the United States says expressly that " no preference shall be given to the ports of one State over those of another." And yet directly in the face of this inhibition, a blockade of the most rigorous character has been instituted by which Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, and all other Southern ports are cut off from all commerce, while New York, Boston, Port- land, and all other loyal ports are left in the free and unrestricted enjoyment MONITOR AND BLOCKADE RDNNER. of trade. Whence is the power derived to do this ? The gentleman does not answer. Is it an unconstitutional act because in apparent conflict with the letter of one section of that instrument ? How can the gentleman justify the act, other than by war power of the Government blockading the ports of the so-called Confederate States, just as we did the ports of Mexico when at war with that Power ? There was one error, Mr. Chairman, which seems to haunt the gentleman very persistently throughout the entire thread of his argument — and that was, the alleged impossibility of bringing the war power to bear against the rebels without first conceding that they had actually carried their States out of the Union. He stated many times that if the rebel States are integral members LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 93 of the Union, the contest with the rebels themselves cannot be carried on as a war, and that conversely to concede that it is war, is to concede that the States have actually seceded and set up a separate power. No statement could be more absurdly fallacious or amusingly ridicilous, as the gentleman himself will see by the most casual recurrence to fundamental principles. The State cannot be compromised or destroyed by the wrongful acts of never so large a major- ity of its people. The wrongdoers, by the very force of their numbers, may and do acquire certain immunities against individual punishment as I have already shown, but they do not acquire the right to change the relations of the State. I maintain as stoutly as he does, that Virginia and Tennessee, and all the rest of the eleven, are to-day States in the Union, and that the Constitution and laws of the nation are operative within their borders. A rebellious force, however, having risen to such strength as to thwart the civil power and prevent the actual operation of the laws, it is the duty of the nation through the war power to vindicate its authority, so that a Constitution which is operaiive may be made actually operating, and that laws which are in force may be really enforced. The gentleman's laborious effort, therefore, to demolish the theory of Senator Sumner in regard to the suicide of the rebel States has no pertinency whatever in this discussion. All the positions I have assumed, and all the arguments I have made use of to sustain these positions, have expressly negatived the theory of Mr. Sumner, and therefore I am not called upon to notice it further. I have merely to say in leaving this topic that the argument which maintains that the States would have to be out of the Union, before a contest with their rebellious inhabitants could be conducted as a civil war, is nothing short of an Irish bull of the most grotesque description. If the States are not members of the Union they are a foreign power, and of course a contest with their people could not be a civil war. The very essence of a civil war consists in its being a strife between members properly subject to the same sovereign authority. And the dilemma herein suggested, ridiculous if not contemptible, is the same which has driven the gentleman to deny, as he has done, that this contest is either a " foreign war " or a " civil war." He had to manufacture a new kind of war — " domestic " he styled it — in order, as he hoped, to escape the absurd conclusions which some of his propositions led to. The gentleman setting out with radically erroneous premises could do nothing else than wander away from the landmarks of truth and sound logic — and there he continues to wander " in endless mazes lost." I have now, sir, at somewhat greater length than I designed when I rose, discussed the question of constitutional power, so far as it is brought into issue by the pending resolves. I have endeavored to establish as essential to the maintenance of my position two propositions: First, that the war power of this Government is lodged in Congress ; and second, that under every principle and every precedent of international law the Government of the United States, while sovereign over all, has, so long as the rebellion endures, all the rights of war 94 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. against those who in armed force are seeking the life of the nation. If I have established these propositions, I have demonstrated the amplest power to adopt the measures proposed in the resolves before us. If we have these powers we may do with and towards the rebels of the Confederate States, so-called, precisely as we would and did towards Mexico; and I have given the authority of Hamilton, and Kent, and Webster, and John Quincy Adams, and President Lincoln, to show that the specific line of policy as regards the property of the enemy is to be dictated by Congress. With this brief summary I proceed to discuss the second branch of my subject, which has reference to the expediency of adopting the resolves before us. The first resolve, endorsing the administration in general terms, is, I believe, not objected to in any quarter, and is not in dispute between the gentleman from Thomaston and myself. The only objection I have to it, is that it is cold, and stiff and formal, whereas to reflect my feelings it should be warm and cordial and unreserved. I am for the administration through and through — being an early and unflinching believer in the ability, the honesty and patriotism of Abraham Lincoln, I did in my humble sphere, both with pen and tongue, all I could to promote his election; and while I was thus engaged the gentleman was denouncing him as a Black Republican and an Abolitionist and a Dis- unionist." We have not space here to make more than a fragmentary presentation of this speech of Blaine's in the State Legislature. It is inserted to show the spirit and manner of the man at the time of his first impact on national opinion. We may note, in his speech, almost every quality of the mind and manner of the man in his future larger growth. There is the same spirit and verve ; the same style of intellectual attack and parry ; the same vigor of personality ; the same cogent and persistent argumentation from beginning to end. Blaine was, long before the attainment of his thirtieth year, an able and severe debater against whom the enemy must be wary or sufi"er a thrust. We here pause to note only one or two additional circumstances in the first period of the life and career of Blaine at Augusta. It is clear in the retrospect that he was a rising man. He was easily and consecutively re-elected to the Legislature and to the speakership. His support was enthusiastic and faithful. In 1869 he was appointed prison commissioner for the State of Maine. While holding that ofl&ce he developed remarkable capacity for the discharge of its duties. Perhaps no other incumbent of the office ever performed the services connected therewith more energetically, rationally, successfully. It was always his manner to study well the thing in hand. His power of investigation was very great. He is hardly on record anywhere as having spoken rashly on a subject with which he was unacquainted. He had almost Garfield's faculty for details and statistics. While prison commissioner he investigated the condition of the State Institution and many of the minor prisons, producing as the result of his study and observations a report with recommendations and statistical tables 96 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. much valued as au authority to the present time. He also received the ap- pointment of State Printer, and discharged the duties of that office with signal success. He became familiar with all the details of printing and publication to such a degree that in after life he always knew the facts and methods in the great printing establishments of the Government. As to Blaine's Republicanism, that became more and more intense. While he had not been an original supporter of Fremont, he was an original Lincoln man. It is evident that his imagination and judgment were fairly conquered by the Lin- colnian debates with Douglas. Those debates became a sort of text and final appeal for a great part of the political controversy which followed, as they were the key to the principles out of which the current history of our country was deduced. In iS6o, Blaine went as a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago and there worked assiduously for the nomination of Lincoln. The Maine delegation had been virtually in- structed for Seward. There was, however, a strong Lincoln senti- ment among the dele- gates, and of this Blaine became the mouth-piece and ex- ponent. When it came to the balloting the delegation was di- vided between Seward and Lincoln, and Blaine succeeded in casting the votes of his adherents for the successful candi- date. It is claimed, indeed, that his persistency in this particular was one of the factors which finally determined the defeat of Seward and the nomination of Lincoln. From this time forth the life of Blaine merges rapidly into the history of the country. He took an active part in the quadrangular presidential contest of i860, and hailed with enthusiasm the election of his favorite. After that event, all things went with a whirl down into the gorge of war ; out went Carolina and out went all the rest, singly or by twos or threes, until the work of secession was accomplished, Sumter was fatally struck in the side ; the flag of the nation was insulted and dragged down ; the heart of the North was inflamed to battle-pitch ; the armies began to rise, and the clash of arms was soon heard be3-ond the Potomac. ATTACK ON FORT SUMTER. 98 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. It would appear that Blaine ought to have had an earlier start by at least a year at the National Capital. Circumstances, however, hedged his way for a brief period and it was not until 1862 that he was able to show himself in the arena. In that year Anson P. Morrill, Representative of the Augusta district in the House of Representatives, voluntaril}^ declined a re-election. An oppor- tunity was offered for the popular favorite to compete for congressional honors. The competition, however, was quite one-sided. The public voice was for Blaine. Everything went with a whirl in his favor. He was nominated as if by common consent and in October of 1862 was elected Representative of his adopted district by a majority of three thousand votes. He stood at that time for nearly every principle to which the people of Maine were devoted, and his election, at the age of thirty-two, came as the natural result of antecedent conditions. We may well suppose that the period of nearly a twelve-month, between the date of his election and his taking his seat in Congress, was to Blaine a time of restlessness and anxiet}'. Nevertheless, the delay was advantageous. Events began to declare themselves. That which had been chaotic and almost desperate at the start cleared a little, and the outline of new continents was seen here and there. From October of 1862 to December of 1863, many things were revealed which had hitherto been obscure or wholly unperceived. The first strokes of the war had been against the national cause. But with September of '62 the charge of the Confederacj' was arrested at Antietam. Not, however, until the following year, in mid-summer, at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, were the first staggering blows dealt by the Union arm on the great insurrection. After that, events tended ever to the inevitable conclusion. In like manner the intervening period (1862-63) was decisive of much on the civil and political side. Now it was that the great question of emancipation came to a crisis and found its solution in the brain and heart of Lincoln. Before Blaine took his seat in Congress, namelj^, on the seventh of December, 1863, African slavery in the United States had virtually ceased to exist. But the deed of freedom was still new. All of its issues and results were of the future. Perhaps not one of the rising young statesmen of that day availed himself more completely of the opportunity of study and watchfulness than did Blaine in the period preceding his first sitting in the House of Representatives. At length the time arrived, and he removed from Augusta where he had now resided for nine years. Henceforth he must be judged by the standards of adult manhood and by the measure of accomplishment. We have followed his personal career along the ordinar}^ avenues of life until finallj^ he emerges into the unusual. Whether the unusual shall become the extraordinary, and the extra- ordinary become the great, remains to be developed in the sequel. CHAPTER III. LIFE IN CONGRESS — FIRST PERIOD. [HE entrance of a Representative into the Congress of the United States must needs mark an epoch in his lite. It is an event calculated to make a deep im- pression on the mind of a man, particularly if he be young. Such an elevation to place is regarded iu our country as a badge of honor not easily won and to be lost with the greatest regret. It cannot be doubted that a life in Washington is full of excite- ment, ambition, pleasure. Many men it stimulates to extraordinary exertion and many it destroys. It were vain to try to estimate the blasted ambitions that have been blown into nothing like withered leaves around the capital. It were equall}^ vain to imagine the projects, schemes and aspirations that have found there partial or complete fulfill- ment. On the seventh of December, 1863, the thirty-eighth Congress assembled and began its work. There appeared on that da3% in the hall of the House of Representatives, a number of men destined to distinction, and the most of them were young. Several aspirants were still inside of thirty-five. Among those Representatives who were already prominent in public affairs were George S. Boutwell, the two Washburnes, Henry L. Dawes, William D. Kelley, Samuel S. Cox, William S. Holman, Daniel W. Voorhees and others. Of the 3'oung men now first appearing on the scene were William B. Allison, of Iowa ; William Windom, of Minnesota ; George H. Pendleton, of Ohio ; Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania, and James A. Garfield, of Ohio. It was in this group that the young Representative from the Kennebec district of Maine arose and stood. He was in his thirty- fourth year. He was of full stature and of really noble proportion. His manners were easy and his self-possession remarkable. His head was covered with a mass of reddish dark hair. He wore a beard full, but neatly trimmed, of the same color. His face was open and expressive. Of all his features his eyes were the most attractive and magnetic. They were large, dark, lustrous and turned in this direction and in that. His presence was of a kind to make him a man of note in any audience of the world. (99) 100 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. It is narrated that Samuel S. Cox, known everywhere by his sobriquet of "Sunset," was one of the first to measure the new statesman, or, as we should say, to size him up. Greatly impressed with his appearance, he spoke to Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania, and inquired who the new-comer might be. Randall replied : " His name is Blaine ; he is a native of my own State ; was born near the town of Washington ; was educated in the college there, and I afterwards met him in Philadelphia, where he was a teacher. I have heard of him in Maine, where he is regarded as a man of great promise and much political ability." The same kind of remark was made among Blaine's colleagues, many of whom looked upon him with admiration, while some from the first regarded him with jealousy. It is not possible, at this distance, to know how Blaine regarded himself. It is said that the world takes a man at his own estimate, though this is doubtful. If we mistake not, Blaine had always a high opinion of his own capacities and of his rightful place in the political rank. No doubt he thought that the rightful place was the first place. But he was, withal, a man of modesty. Whatever egotism he possessed was generally veiled under a disguise of modest demeanor and was at the same time accented with his natural diffidence. We are now to follow him in the House of Representatives, from his entrance into that body until his election to the speakership. This will constitute the first passage in his congressional career. A man in Congress is rarely conspicuous at first. He must accept his place at the foot of the class. He may rise, but if so, he must do it by merit and demonstration. The new member is generally attached to the committees in a subordinate relation. He has to content himself with following the leadership of his seniors — seniors in experience and possibly in ability. When Blaine entered Congress the speakership rested with Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana. Under his appointment the young statesman from Maine was given a place on the Committee on Military Affairs and also on the Committee on Post Offices. The former position, considering that the war was now in its climax, was one of great responsibility. In that committee the important military legis- lation of the times must originate. Such measures, however, were generally devised by the chairman of the committee and by him submitted to his col- leagues for discussion and final form. It was in these relations that Blaine met his first practical duties in the Congress of the United States. It is of record that such work as fell to him in his first session was, from the very beginning, done with a care and thoroughness which very soon attracted the attention and praise of his colleagues. There was much in this regard in common with Blaine and Garfield. They both had the habit of exhaustive work. They were willing to undergo the study and investigation requisite for knowing, not only the outlines, but the very elements of every question which came before them for consideration. If we mistake not, it is in this regard that the educated and informed man has his superiority over the LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 101 uneducated and the uninformed. The latter, when confronted with the question, is obliged to consider it in the light of such limited information as he may possess, aided by the torch of his own understanding. But the like question, going into the hands of one who is both scholar and statesman, is at once illumined by all the resources of his information — and they are many. His habit, moreover, formed from boyhood of study and patient investigation, will lead him to go down to the fundamentals of the question and solve it much as the student solves his problem in algebra. Blaine had this habit. It possessed him as thoroughly as it possessed Garfield. He very soon gained the reputation in the House of being a well- informed man. The members began to approach him for information and judgment on questions that were too remote or profound for their own knowledge. Hardly ever was Blaine approached in this manner that he did not respond with readiness and lucidity to the interrogator, and in proportion as he did so, his reputation as an authority on many subjects was enhanced. As to public speech in the House, he was chary of utterance. He spoke little at first, or not at all. He took care, in his initial passages, to measure what he said with his old-time editorial accuracy. The result was that the record of his remarks always showed up well for the speaker. He appears to have been unusually careful of what he said, particularly if it was to become of record. As a record maker, few have surpassed him. When his words came to print they were, if not positively unassailable, at least assailable onlj^ from those points of attack which the speaker had foreseen and at which he was ready to stand in defence. In short, Blaine was not the man to make mistakes. Behind, him lay his experience in the Legislature of Maine. In that smaller arena he had been the presiding officer. In such relation he had become a quick and careful parliamentarian. Before the close of his first term of service in the House of Representatives he was able to follow the course of business and to watch the Speaker's rulings with the astuteness of a veteran. His motions were always in order. His objections were not to be lightly put aside and his points of order almost invariably stuck. It is needless to remark here upon the vastness of the questions that were now at the fore in the House of Representatives. It was indeed a stormy epoch. The war-blasts swept over and under. The nation quaked with the earth-shock and the clouds of battle were blown half-way across the continent. Fields were stained with crimson from the Rappahannock and H'atteras to Yazoo and the Ozark Mountains. Besides the battle-storm, all the concomitant questions of war arose, and must be answered. There was the financial question in all of its prodigious extent and ramifications. How should the expenses of the war be met? How should the portentous debt be handled? How should the national credit be maintained? How should the treasury be replenished? How should the soldiers be paid and fed? What kind of financial institutions should be planted in place of the old banking concerns which had flourished before the 102 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. war ? What kind of money should the people have withal when gold and silver had stolen their sneaking march to foreign lands and into the boxes of Shylocks ? All of these questions and problems — most practical and pressing — must be boldly met by Congress. They must be met, not by precedent and experience, but in the absence of both. Among the many who set themselves to the patient investigation of the issues of the war, none was more industrious or thorough than James E. Blaine. Meanwhile, before the close of his term, he began to speak freely and successfully on the iloor of the House. Already the premoni- tions of the great contest of future years on free trade and protection might be seen and felt. The Government had been virtually obliged to resort to high protective schedules, in order to replenish the exhausted treasury. These schedules were prepared with a view to furnishing a revenue, but they acted from the start as a measure of protection to certain industries. Those industries belonged rather to the older than to the newer States of the Union. It was alleged that New England was in particular favored by the results of the tariff laws. This state of affairs soon excited the jealousy of the producing West, and the politicians of the West, especially those of the Democratic minority, were quick to seize the occasion as an argumentutn ad prejudiciain and to turn it against the dominant party. In June of 1864, the astute and aggressive Samuel S. Cox, of Ohio, attacked the tariff law and made a plausible and effective speech, in which he contrasted the results of that law in their effects upon the industries of New England and those of the West, particularly those of his own State. The manner and matter of this speech were well calculated to excite Blaine and to bring the best qualities of his mind into action. He replied to the Representative from Ohio in an able speech, one of his first formal products in the House. It was in the nature of audacity that the young member from Maine should measure swords with the experienced Cox, who was, as the world knows, a wit as well as a statesman — a man as dangerous in the handling as Benjamin F. Butler himself That Blaine, at the age of thirty-four and serving his first term, had the courage to enter the list against him and the ability to stand with credit in the contest must be set down to the praise of his ability and daring. From this time forth encounters of the kind just referred to became the incidents of Blaine's congressional life. He was quick to whip out his sword, and the provocation was nearly always of a nature to be discussed by the people. There was in this an element of leadership. It was admirable politics on Blaine's part to strike only when the blow would be effective. We have not here space to recite much of his congressional history, and it is not in accordance with our plan to quote at length from his speeches and debates. That work we shall perform in another part of this volume. In a general way, we may note the progress of political events. Blaine went into Congress at the middle of Lincoln's administration. That adminis- LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 103 tration fared on through storm and tempest and trial of opposition and buffeting to emerge in triumph from the presidential struggle of 1S64. Against Lincoln and his methods — not to say against the war itself — the Democracy was exceedingly mad. That party had been reduced to a minimum, but not extinguished. It has been a hard party to destroy. Even in the midst of the war it revived like a battered pugilist and held up its fists grimly for the round of 1864. It declared that the war had proved a failure ; that there should be an armistice ; that negotiations should begin with the Southern insurgents already beaten almost to the earth ; that the resources of statesmanship must now be exhau.sted in the effort to restore peace by a method other than vi et armis. As the representative of these sentiments the De- mocracy put up the popular ex-General of the Union armies, George B. McClellan, thus paradoxically associating or attempting to associate mili- tary heroism with the spirit of anti-war. The banner which they put up had two coats of arms, one of which was an escutcheon filled with a symbolism which loyal men at the North were said not to understand, and the other of which was a war shield blazoned with victory and arms. The two did not con- sist ! Nevertheless, the ban- ner was lifted up against Lin- coln and the world was able to read an in hoc sigiio vinces, in which the '•'■ hoc'''' was very difBcult to determine. The which read " Victory over of which read, " vSurrender and Lie Down ! " Such ambiguity was not pleasing to the American people. Lincoln was triumphantly re-elected. Coincidently with this, Blaine was chosen for his second term in the House. His work in that body had been heartily approved by the people of his district and there was little opposition to his re-election. We ma}^ here insert, as exemplifying his thought and manner at this epoch, the letter in which he accepted his re-nomination for membership in the Thirtj^-ninth Congress : — GEN. GEO. B. MCCI,EI,I,AN. "//c^" seemed to have two sides to it, one of Disunion and Dismemberment," and the other 104 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. „ Augusta, August 20, 1864. General J. R. Bachelder : — j s > 't Dear Sir : — I am in receipt of your favor formally advising me that on the tenth instant, the Union Convention of the Third District unanimousl}' nominated me for re-election as Representative in Congress. For this generous action, as well as for the cordial manner attending it, and the very compli- mentary phrase in which it is conveyed, I am under profound obligations. It is far easier for me to find the inspiring cause of such favor and such unanimity in the personal partiality of friends, than in any merits or services which I may justly claim as my own. In nominating me as the Union candidate, and pledging me to no other platform, you place me on the precise ground I desire to occupy. The controlling and absorbing issue before the x\nierican people is whether the Federal Union shall be saved or lost. In comparison with that, all other issues and controversies are subordinate, and entitled to consideration just in the degree that the}^ ma}^ influence the end which Washington declared to be " the primary object of patriotic desire." To maintain the Union a gigantic war has been carried on, now in the fourth year of its duration, and the resources of the country, both in men and money, have been freely expended in support of it. The war was not a matter of choice with the Government, unless it was prepared to surrender its power over one-half of its territory and incur all the hazards of anarchy throughout the other half. It was begun by those who sought to overthrow the Federal authority. It should be ended the ver}' day that authority is recognized and re-established throughout its rightful domain. The desire for peace after the sufferings and trials of the past three years is natural. Springing from the very instincts of humanity, it is irrepressible. The danger to be avoided is that in aiming to attain peace we shall be deceived by the shadow and thus fail to secure the substance. Peace on the basis of disunion is a delusion. It is no peace at all. It is but the beginning of war — more wasteful, more destructive, more cruel than we have thus far experienced. Those who cry for the " immediate cessation of the war" are the best advocates of its endless continuance. They mean peace by the recognition of rebel inde- pendence, and rebel independence is absolutely incompatible with peace. Among the cherished errors of those who are willing to acknowledge the Southern Confederacy as the basis of peace, the most fatal is that which assumes the continued union, harmony and power of the loyal States. This cannot be. Contentions and strifes without number would at once spring up. The border States would be convulsed with fierce contest as to which section the}' would adhere to. The Pacific slope, to escape the dangers and constant embroilments which it could neither control nor avoid, would naturallj^ seek for independence ; and the Northwest, if it did not follow the example, would demand such a reconstruction of the government of the remaining States as would make our further connection therewith undesirable if not absolutely LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 105 intolerable. lu short disuuiou upon the line of the revolted States would involve the total and speedy disintegration of the Federal Government, and we would find ourselves launched on " a sea of troubles," with no pilot capable of holding the helm, and no chart to guide us on our perilous voyage. There is indeed but one path of safety, and that is likewise the path of honor and of interest. IFe must preserve the Union. Differ as we may as to the measures necessary to that end, there shall be no difference among loj'al men as to the end itself No sacrifice we can make in our efforts to save the L^nion is comparable with that we should all make in losing it. He is the enemy to both sections and to the common cause of humanit}' and civilization who is willing to conclude the war by surrendering the Union ; and the most alarm- ing development of the times is the disposition manifested b}- leading journals, b}- public men and by political conventions in the loyal States to accept this conclusion. For myself, in the limited sphere of my influence I shall never consent to such a delusive settlement of our troubles. Neither at the polls as an American citizen, nor in Congress as a Representative (should I again be chosen), will I ever give a vote admitting even the possibility of ultimate failure in this great struggle for nationality. Very respectfull}-, your obedient servant, J. G. Blaine. The election of Blaine for a second term went on almost by consent. His majority was very large and with the opening of the first session of the Thirty- ninth Congress, he took his place with eclat. His committee work was virtually the same as in the preceding session. He was retained on the Committee on Military Affairs, but still as a subordinate member. Perhaps it was not very just to withhold from him some important chairmanship. However this may be, he now began to rise rapidly to the attention of the House and presently' of the whole countrj'. It was in the Thirty-ninth Congi-ess that he entered the ascendant and began to assert himself as one of the leaders of his part}-. Tlie day of Appomatox had now passed. The iron-hearted Lee had given his sword to the silent man of Galena. The Confederac}^ was down — hope- lesslv down ; and the question of restoration took the place of the question of salvation and repression. The reader, if he have well perused the history of these times, knows how issues of the greatest moment rushed in and banked themselves against the Government and people of the United States. One of the leading questions which arose at the very start was that of the new basis of representation. The ineqitity of the old basis had become manifest along with much else of that constitutional system, which had prevailed under the compromises made by the fathers. The old South had had representation for its slaves. Now, slavery was swept away. The Dred Scott decision had been blown by battle blast into the limbo next the moon. The negro had become first a man and then a citizen. Perhaps, after the lapse of a half-centur}^ he will become a brother also ! Certainl}- the old basis of representation can stand LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 107 no longer. We must have a new. Not only three-fifths of the negro but ^er-fifths of him shall be counted, and, horrible dictiDii ! he shall be counted in his own interest and represent himself. This shall be not effected, however, without great opposition. The Old Order will muster itself against it. But the progressive and aggressive leaders of the dominant party will favor justice and right and will fight for it, even to the extent of declaring that a man may be a man, a3'^e, shall be a man ! his black skin to the contrary notwithstanding. Among those who took ground advanced and still ever more advanced on this subject was Blaine. He planted himself in favor of a new basis of representation in Congress, in which the old feudal element should be struck out and a new principle of representation, according to the number of voters, should be substituted therefor. This question gave him much concern and he delivered, in favor of his views, one of his great speeches in the House. Now it was, namely, near the beginning of Blaine's second term in Congress and just as his elements of great leadership began to appear — just as he himself came to discover in himself the powers and capacities which he possessed to fascinate, control and dominate his party — that, in corresponding measure, remarkable personal antagonisms appeared as the incidence of his political life. These began as the result of debates, which came naturallj' in the line of his duties ; but they ramified and acquired an independent character. Blaine was a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, of which Thaddeus Stevens was chairman, and was also a member of the special Committee of Fifteen, which had been appointed to consider the whole question of reconstruction. Out of these relations Blaine, with his ceaseless activity, became more and more prominent in the House, and from this time forth his personal battles, some of which were with the Democratic leaders and others with the leaders of his own party, became not only frequent but spectacular. We may here consider for a moment the political complexion of affairs at that time. The Republican party had already begun to run the course of all parties soever. This is to say, that two or three elements had appeared in it which were no longer in accord. The reader knows how ten years later these two elements, under the organic catch-words of Half-breed and Stalwart, came near rending the party asunder by the violence of a factional fight. In general, it may be said, that the stalwart principle included the element of the party which believed in doing things by means of party organization and b}' the fidelity of friend to friend and loyalty to the party named. The other division held these things more loosely ; we might say held them more rationally and with less tenacity. Up to the year 1S65, the real leadership of the Republicans in the House of Representatives had belonged to Henry Winter Davis, of Maryland. Davis was an orator, above leproach, and really a great man. After his death his position as spokesman of his part}^ in the House must go to somebody, and the question was whom ? 108 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. James A. Garfield, of Ohio, was not unwilling to have the capacious mantle of the Marylander. Blaiue, of Maine, would wear that garment if he might possess it. Roscoe Conkling believed himself the inheritor of the place made vacant by the death of Davis. Garfield and Blaine had come into the House together. Conkling had already served two terms before either of the others had arisen. He had, however, been beaten for re-election in 1862, at the very time when Garfield and Blaine had been successful. Conkling had returned for a third term in 1S65. That magnificent personage was in the heyday of his power and ambition. As a matter of fact he was, at that juncture, the strongest of the three. He had more pose and solidity. In attainments, though he had not had the advantages enjoyed by both the others, he was their equal. In the power of managing his intellectual resources and of making deliberate battle, he was their equal or more than their equal, though his onset was not as spirited as that of Blaine. In great ambitions he had as much as either. We are here to note one of the most remark- able antagonisms in the political history of the United States. It was destined to be life-long. With one of the contestants it lasted for twent3'-one 3'ears ; with the other it lasted for the same period, and then lasted six years longer; it was ineradicable. It cost both of the parties dearly. It is not improbable that it prevented one of them and possibly both of them from sitting in the presidency of the United States. It was not wise ; it was not expedient ; it was a thing necessary only in consideration of the temper and spirit of the two men. Neither of them could brook the ascendancy of the other. Each fallaciously believed that the ascendancy of the other would be fatal to his own ambitions. Neither was disposed by nature or habit to that compromise and RoscuK CONKLING. couciHatiou which, while it may be ver}- disagreeable to those engaging thereto, is nevertheless, expedient in the last degree. Only an occasion was wanting for a break and battle between Roscoe Conkling and James G. Blaine. Garfield was more politic than either ; though on the whole he was not as strong a man as either. But he could repress him- self and abide his time. He was more alert for the enem3', and less likeh' to have an altercation in the household of his friends. It was in April of 1866 that the personal relations of Blaine and Conkling were broken forever. The affair occurred in the House of Representa- tives. A debate was on, relative to some comparatively insignificant matter connected with the ofiice of Provost-Marshal General Fry. Conkling had been indulging in some strictures, which crossed the views of Blaine and which drew LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 109 from him a reply as sharp in substance as it was excited in manner. When the Congressional Record of the next day appeared, their report of the debate seemed to leave Blaine at a disadvantage. He thereupon renewed the attack in the House, and rather exceeded the bounds of prudence by saying something about the motives of Conkling in the matter of General Fry. Conkling came back at his antagonist, and ended by charging him with "frivolous impertinence.'" After not many days, the battle was renewed by Blaine, who, instead of speaking of his antagonist as the gentleman from New York, called him " the member from the Utica district." This seemed to minify the magnificent Conkling. He replied in that sarcastic, cool, and effective manner, for which he was pre-eminent and again put his brilliant antagonist at a disadvantage. But meanwhile, Blaine, who was the superior parliamentarian, managed the matter so that under the rules he should have the last shot. He availed him- self of that privilege in a way so memorable that the incident has become a part of political history. In his final reply up to a certain point, he seemed to be hardly a match for the tremendous and sarcastic Conkling. But his spirit gained in heat and vivacity — we might almost say in audacious recklessness — what he lacked in the cool thrust and argumentative sarcasm of his rival. Perhaps the story of what ensued may be best delivered hy cjuoting the remain- der of the incident from " The Three Decades " of Samiiel S. Cox. That author, who was a witness of the scene, says : — " This debate showed Mr. Conkling in his best light of repartee, so far as the House was concerned. Several gentlemen interposed to stop, if they could, the blows that were given and taken, but Mr. Blaine, who was still in the dialectics and rules of the House, got the last word ; and after repaying what he called ' the cruel sarcasm ' in which Mr. Conkling was an expert, he hoped that he would not be too severe in that mode of handling his innocent self. ' The contempt of that large-minded gentleman is so wilting ; his haughty disdain ; his grandiloquent swell ; his majestic, super-eminent, over-powering, turkey-gobbler strut has been so crushing to myself and all members of this House, that I know it was an act of the greatest temerity for me to venture upon a contro- versy with him.' " Then Mr. Blaine referred to the man whom I suppose to be the most eloquent orator I have met in Congress — Henry Winter Davis. He referred to the ' little jocose satire of Theodore Tilton — that the mantle of Davis had fallen upon the gentleman from New York,' and that that gentleman had taken it seriously, and it had given ' an additional strut to his pomposity.' ' It is striking,' said Mr. Blaine, ' Hyperion to a satyr, Thersites to Hercules, mud to marble, dunghill to diamond, a singed cat to a Bengal tiger, a whining puppy to a roaring lion.' These phrases have never been repeated " — continues Mr. Cox — " in the House with so much vindictive animosity. But the Demo- crats enjoyed it. It was not their fight." 110 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Roscoe Conkling liad much of the Indian in his moral nature: he never forgot a kindness or forgave an insult. It was not in the nature of either of the men ever to make apologies or overtures. Both in this particular had the pride of Lucifer. That Blaine should apologize in such a case or conciliate was the height of improbability ; that Conkling should apologize was unthinkable. So the feud became deadly and everlasting. Henceforth the two statesmen walked each his independent way towards the leadership of his party. Both gained the leadership, but not that complete and indisputable leadership which was prerequisite to the presidency of the United States. The more prudent Garfield held off— and gained the White House. We may here note with propriety and interest the measures in the advo- cacy of which Blaine rose to a first rank in his party. He took the position for one thing, that the loyal States, by whose fidelity the war for the Union had been brought to a successful close, should be reimbursed for their expenditure. This was the Hamiltoniau project of the Revolutionary sequel revived and applied to the greater emergency of 1865. Measures of this sort were introduced into the House as early as April of 1864, and Blaine spoke powerfully in advocacy of his bill to reimburse the State of Pennsylvania for her extraordinary outlays in the war. Another subject was that presented in a measure for taxing exports of the country. Blaine took the ground boldly that that clause of the National Constitution, prohibiting the taxation of exports, should be abrogated. On this subject he delivered, on the second of March, 1865, a strong and withal popular speech. Already the question of the currency and the dollar of the currency was uppermost in the public mind, and on this Blaine spoke of them and with great satisfaction to his constituency and a majority of the people. This money issue was one of the most difficult which the statesman had to meet. In handling it he was always in a straight place between two extremes. It is the hardship of war that it brings debt upon the country which engages in it. In our own case we piled up a debt mountain-wise. The prodigious pile reached the clouds. In any old nation there would have remained no hope at all of paying it. It would simply have been laid upon posterity as an ever- lasting tax. The principal question, however, with Congress and with the people of the United States, was how they should measure and manage this debt. Gold and silver had disappeared. Paper money prevailed and abounded. The premium on coin arose to almost two-hundred per cent. The dollar of the law and the contract became a paper dollar which, as measured by the standard of gold, was, for a considerable period, worth less than fifty cents. But what was the equity of this situation ? One class of statesmen, backed up and instigated by the creditor classes, held that the dollar was always the gold and silver dollar. Practically this was not so. Theoretically and even constitutionally it was probably so. For many years together, the dollar of the law and the contract was, to all intents and purposes, a dollar of paper. During the same period the modicum of gold and silver remaining in the country — LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Ill though it was stamped and branded with the names of coins — was reall}' mer- chandise. At length the bottom was reached — or the top, as the case ma}- be — and the readjustment became necessary. Then came on the warfare between the advocates of the so-called " honest dollar " and the jiaper dollar with which, and on the basis of which, the business of the countr}- had been so long transacted. The advocates of high paA-ment took the " honest dollar " as their catch-word and, to make a long narrative brief, tbey won with it, and by a series of legislative enactments, entailing the greatest hardships on the producing interests of the countr}', succeeded in twisting up, turn b}^ turn, the standard unit in the financial mill, until the so- called resumption of specie payment was finall}-, after fourteen 3-ears from Appomatox, effected. Thus the value of the national debt was augmented from j^ear to year as rapidly as it was paid away. As fast as payment was made, the value of the dollar in which it was expressed, was increased. To the debtor class, all this was the labor of Sysiphus. The toiler laboriously rolled the stone to the top of the hill; but ever, when near the crest, it got away with him and returned mth thundering and the roar of bankruptcy to the bottom. To the present day the process has been kept up and, notwithstanding the multiplied billions upon billions which the American people have paid in principal and interest upon that patriotic war-debt, which expressed their devotion and sacrifice, it is the truth of histor}^, that the debt itself is, at the present time, worth virtually as much to the holders as it was when it reached its nominal maximum in August of 1865. In the contention about the dollar, the interests and desires of the creditor classes were always in favor of the coin dollar, as they have now become in favor of the gold dollar only. The credit of the country was represented mostly in the great commercial centres and in the East. The debt of the country was represented mostly in the illimitable champaigns of the centre and the West — in the farms and homes of the great majorit}^ of the American people. In these contentions, Blaine, as a political economist, as a financier, as an Eastern man, stood strongly for the resubstitution of the coin dollar for the paper dollar. He advocated the "honest dollar" as against the dollar of the debt. He spoke on this subject with great cogenc}'. In another part of this work we present one of his principal speeches on this theme, in which he elaborates his views on the standard of money and account. We remark also that, as far back as the close of the war, and in the ^-ears immediatel}' following, Blaine's attention was turned to the commercial relations of the countrj'. He noted, with extreme regret, the falling awa}^ of the foreign commerce of the United States. He saw the merchant-marine dwindle, and the ships of other nations crowding into our harbors. It was at this time that those ineradicable impressions were made on his mind relative to the foreign commerce of our country, which proved to be determinative of manj- of his subsequent 112 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. policies. He sought as early as iS66 to restore the commerce of the United States, and advocated, in the House of Representatives, a proposition to purchase ships abroad, with a view to regaining what we had lost. The brilliant Blaine had now become an acknowledged leader. We speak of the time when he concluded his second term of service in Congress. Garfield was also rising. The latter aspired to become the financial leader of the House, as Thaddeus Stevens had been before him. Blaine looked to general leadership — and gained it. Conkling looked to leadership b}' conquest, by organization and victorious assumptions. Blaine sought to improve himself and to enlarge his views. In these particulars few men have been more persistent and systematic. Blaine was a great observer and student. He was omnivorous. His reading, and note-taking, and digestion, and deduction, and formulation of propositions and arguments, went on constantly, in season and out of season, until he became, far inside of his fortieth year, one of the best-posted politicians and statesmen in the Republic. In pursuance of his habit, he now sought a turn of travel abroad. In the fall of 1866, he was re-elected to Congress, almost without opposition. It is one of the remarkable things in the career of Blaine that there has alwaj's been a slumbering applause along the Democratic lines, ready to burst out for him on the slightest provocation. Notwithstanding the fact that he was politically a man of assault and battle, the enemy admired him and at times came near loving him. The home papers of the opposition in his district were almost ready to support him. On the occasion of his third nomination, the Rockland Democrat did the unusual thing by publishing an editorial which any leader of an opposition party might have been proud to extort from his opponent. On the occasion referred to, the Democrat spoke as follows : — " At the convention of the Third Congressional District, in Augusta, on Friday last, Hon. James G. Blaine was renominated as the Union candidate for Congress by acclamation. This is an endorsement of Mr. Blaine's ability and course in Congress of the most flattering character. His constituents are second to none in the State for intelligence and general political information, and understand thoroughly the candidate they have placed before the people a third time. In March next Mr. Blaine will have held his seat in the House two terms, and in September will be elected to take his third term. While he has been untiring in his efforts to promote the interests of our State, Mr. Blaine has not confined himself to local affairs, but has exerted himself in the broader field of statesmanship, and gained a national reputation. The amend- ment to the Constitution now adopted by Congress, which proposes to correct the basis of representation in the South, was originated by Mr. Blaine. It has been somewhat changed from its original form, but its purport and substance were taken from him, and it is now one of the most important steps in the process of reconstruction. It is not necessary to recall and review the many measures with which his name is prominently connected, for the}- are LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 113 generally known, and his renomination is an endorsement of his acts far beyond anything we might say. As a ready, forcible debater, a clear reasoner, sound legislator, fearless advocate, and true supporter of the principles and organization of the party of Union and Right, he has made a mark in the annals of Congress of which he and those who elected him ma}^ be proud. The Union voters of the Third District have manifested good sense in renominating so competent a candidate to represent them. In these critical times the policy of changing experienced, tried and true men for new and inexperienced ones is to be avoided as much as possible. In favorable times that policy will do, but this is not the season. The Union men of the Third District will not fail to give Mr. Blaine a good support at the polls." Returning from his foreign excursion, during which he was an observant student for several months, in 1867, in England and on the continent, Blaine resumed his place in the House of Representatives as a member of the Fortieth Congress. He was now clearly in the ascendant. He had reached the beginning of his prodigious popularity. Not only in the Government, but in Washington Citj^ and sociall}^ and politically throughout the country, his influence became immense. The enthusiasm for him at the Capital rose with each stage of his progress. Visitors in that city always wanted " to see Blaine " and, if possible, to hear him. He had become one of the oracles of his party. He was careful not to make mistakes. He prepared himself assid- uously. His rash caution or cautious rashness was precisely of a kind to dazzle and to win applause. We may frankly admit that applause was grate- ful to his ears. During the sessions of the Fortieth Congress he was alwa3's at the fore. He was busy to an almost immeasurable degree. He perceived his ascendancy in his party and looked to greater things. His committee work in this Congress touched upon measures for the reorganization of the army and nav}' of the United States ; for the improvement of the post-ofl&ce system ; for the promotion of the interest of the Congressional Library ; for the crea- tion of Indian reservations ; for the establishment of a carrier system between the States. Other incidental questions were those relating to the management of the Treasury ; to the cotton tax ; to the successive issues of national bonds ; to the earliest funding bills ; to a treaty with ^Mexico ; to foreign commerce; to the election laws; to river and harbor improvements; to the rules of the House ; to the investigation of the custom house ; to local matters, and to a thousand concerns of individuals and persons. He worked with an earnestness and enthusiasm which was equaled by perhaps onl}- one man in the House of Representatives, his fiiture successful competitor for the nresidency, James A. Garfield. We do not here stop to recount the speeches and measures of Blaine, pro- moted or contemplated, during the sessions of the Fortieth Congress. Blaine went through that Congress with complete success and triumph. He came 114 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. out of it with immense popularity. He was re-elected for the fourth time in the fall of 1868, and on the fourth of the following March was nominated by the Republican caucus for the speakership of the House of Representatives. He went into this high seat coincidently with General Giant's victorious entrance into the White House. He received for the speakership a vote of 13 s against the 57 which were cast by the Democrats for their favorite and nominee, Michael C. Kerr, of Indiana — destined after six years to turn the tables on Blaine himself and gain the speakership. We have thus hurriedly traced the congressional career of James G. Blaine through its first passage in the House of Representatives. This covered a period of six years, extending from December of 1863 to March of 1869. At the latter date he was promoted, as we have just said, to that position which is regarded as the second in importance to the presidency of the United States. We need only remark upon tlie rapidity of this rise to distinction. Blaine was one of the youngest men who have attained the speakership of the House. At the time of his election he was but thirty-nine years of age. He had thus, while virtually in his youth, gained a proud pre-eminence. His career, though mingled with some obscuration, hardship and trial, had been steadily upward. The'' ascent had been steep and rapid. He had sprung up the heights with an agility and vigor which have rarely been witnessed in the case of a political aspirant. Military heroism sometimes foreruns the age at which Blaine had now arrived. In a few instances, as in the case of the younger Pitt, states- manship and power have come at an age earlier even than that at which Blaine rose to indisputable leadership. But, on the whole, the rise of the latter is a conspicuous example of what industry and intellect and ambition are able to effect in a country such as ours. CHAPTER IV. IN THE SPEAKERSHIP. w nS^)HREE men have each been three times elected to the ^ \\ speakership of the House of Representatives. Henr}- L ] I Clay was so honored in 1811, 1813 and 18 15. Schu3'ler ^ / I 1 Colfax was in like manner distinguished in 1S63, 1865 -\g) and 1867. James G. Blaine received the same honor at A?v '•^^^ hands of his party in 1869, 1871 and 1873. The ■ ^ fact of a re-election to such a position by such a body as the House of Representatives is the strongest possible testimony ; not, indeed, to the efficiency of part}- machinery, but to the unmistakable abilities and fitness of the person so honored. The House of Representatives never desires to have an inefficient Speaker. Whatever may be the vicissitudes of politics in that body, the wish is alwaj-s prevalent that the presiding officer may be capable and popular as well as impartial and just. The business of the House as well as the reputation of the country requires such a standard of excel- lence in the speakership. It might be of interest to make an historical and personal comparison of the three distinguished Americans who have each been twice re-elected to the Speaker's chair of the House of Representatives. In a contest on the line of great abilities, we should have to limit the comparison to Clay and Blaine. Mr. Colfax was a man of more moderate and modest proportions ; but he was an evenly balanced man of astute facilities, clear vision and the finest temper. It should be said that in Clay's time the House of Representatives was by no means the body which it has since become. It was not wanting in great abilities and great contentions. But it was not like the House, as it now springs from the vast domains of the Republic and from the suffrages of thirteen millions of voters. We have already- commented upon the personal ascendancy which was gainable by men in the earlier years of the Republic. As late as 1840, political leaders were not dependent upon the caucus, the convention and the central committee, as they have since become. These facts give an easj' advantage to Clay in the matter of a comparison with Blaine. That Clay was a great speaker cannot be doubted. His magnificent, ugly presence was an inspiration and a commanding force. He (115} 116 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. was, perhaps, not the most astute of parliamentarians; but the sense of equit}' was strong in him and his mind was keenly alert. His personal bearing in the Speaker's chair was not inferior to that of any presiding officer which the American Congress has furnished. As a Speaker his temper was more subject to ruffle and flustration than that of either Colfax or Blaine. Both of the latter had extraordinary command of themselves. Neither ever forgot himself nor abdicated the place of reason. Each held on through stormy periods of six years' service with a demeanor as steady and unmoved as it was urbane and debonair. In acquired abilities, Blaine was by much the greatest of the three. The range of his information was wider ; his comprehension of facts, both national and international, more profound and accurate. His parliamentary knowledge was as refined and exact as it was complete. His accomplishments as a parliamentarian were as varied and perhaps more exhaustive than those of Colfax ; but in personal suavity and unruffled dis- position, the latter was the equal of any. It has pleased the American people to institute many comparisons between James G. Blaine and Henr}^ Clay. They have chosen to regard the former as the modern representative of the great Kentuckian. Such similitudes, if they exist, are pleasing to the public mind. It were a difficult question to know precisely how it is and wh}- it is that men are so much regarded as the reproduc- tions of one another. There is no essential reason why a man should not be considered in his indi- vidual personality apart from all anti-types and JAMES C. BL^IN'E I.M Till SPt \KERSHIP. in 1 T-i 1 ■ prototj'pes and all types whatsoever. But there is a weakness in the mind for considering every man by the standards, accomplish- ments and character of some other between whom and himself contrasts and likenesses are discovered. Blaine and Cla}^ have thus been set together in public estimation ; and we may confess that there are grounds for juxtaposition. The points of likeness are in several particulars striking and unmistakable. The ambitions of the two men were alike, and to pass over much their political destinies were alike. Each was fated to be tantalized with the presidency ; to have it near and yet to touch it not. The inspiring sentiments of the two statesmen were also identical in several particulars. Each had personal warmth ; each had enthusiasm ; each had great abilities of nature and large acquirements of experience. The attainments of Blaine were vastly greater than those of Cla}'. He knew more than the Kentucky statesman could know, in consideration of the circumstances in which he was born and reared. As to natural abilities, we should not rashly decide between them. As to the powers of leadership^ LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 117 so far as the sayiug were deduced from personal qualities and characteristics, we think the palm belongs to Clay. His party never broke behind him. It may have been his good fortune not to have such intense rivalry in the rear and on the right and left ; but it was his good sense not to provoke it. In actual, personal magnetism it were again difficult to decide between the two men. The power of each in this particular was immense. We may not presume to decide what that particular thing is which constitutes personal magnetism. It has in it first of all an element of openness, frankness. The person who possesses it seems to stand open to approach and to invite it. He has not many closed doors. The small and the great find an avenue to him, and in doing so come to have a personal interest in him. In the next place, there is such a thing as spiritual temperature. The body thermometer decides that the material temperature of all human beings is the same. The obese man and the living skeleton ; the old man and the young man ; the crowing baby and the bedridden invalid all have the same bodily heat and maintain it from the beginning to the end of life. But in the world of spirits it seems not to be so. We apply the term more to the mind and the emotion by a metonomy in our attempt to convey an idea by material imagery. Certain it is that minds differ from one another very greatly in a quality which seems like warmth. Some are warm and some are cold. vSome are lukewarm. It was souls of the latter kind that the angel of the Apocalypse threatened to spew out of his mouth ! There have been leaders who were so by being cold. We are not to admit that there is no power in an iceberg. But most leaders of men have been so by their spiritual temperature. In this list fall both Clay and Blaine. Their inner heat was high — unusually high. Whoever came within range of either felt the glow. In proportion as it is better, more pleasing to be warm than to be chilled to that degree, do men return and retiirn again into the presence that warms them. P'ew of us are in such a condition of body or soul as to desire to be chilled or even cooled. It appears to us that warmth is life and that cold is death. Those leaders, therefore, who warm their followers seem to give life ; and the masses draw to them as to the genial light and heat of the hearthstone or the sun. We need not pursue these reflections or follow further the comparison which the American people have chosen to make of Henry Clay and James G. Blaine. Like the former the latter entered into the Speakership of the House of Repre- sentatives to hold it for three consecutive terms. Blaine's term extended from iS6S to 1874 or more properly from the accession of Grant to the presidency to the middle of the General's second term. We might remark upon the strong contrasts afforded in the character and manner of the President and those of the Speaker of the House. Here, indeed, there was nothing but the similitude of unlikeness. It is needed, when things go smoothly with an administration, that there shall be concord between the Chief Magistrate and the Speaker of the House. The latter is the head of the 118 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. legislative as the former is the head of the executive department of the Gov- ernment. It does not follow that the Speaker is specially under the influence of the Chief Magistrate. The latter has a cabinet which is generally his own •, and between him and the Senators of his own party, who were expected to dispense the patronage in their respective States, there are the strongest ties. But the Speaker has a comparative independence and a responsibilit}' and autonomy of his own. It should be said that Blaine aud Grant got on well together. Notwithstanding the General's silence and reserve, he was a good party man, and it was not diiJicult to be in harmonj^ with him, provided only the person desiring to be harmonious would be patient with the silence and non-committal manner which was the natural garb of Grant's character. The relations to which we here refer were oddly complicated b}- the rivalry which, as the reader knows, had now existed for three years between Blaine and Roscoe Conkling. It became at length a part of the polic}^ of the latter to carry the day against his competitor by insinuating himself between Blaine and President Grant. While it does not appear that he ever succeeded in wholly alienating the President from the man of Maine, he did succeed in gaining a remarkable ascendency over General Grant himself and a correspondingly exag- gerated influence in the Government. More and more, as time wore on, did Conkling hold to this line. The name and fame of Grant became world-wide and Conkling became his spokesman. We need not here inquire how it was or why it was that a man so unlike Grant as was the New York Senator could make himself his ally, gain his confidence and become a directive force over his actions and policy. It is sufficient to note the fact that it was so, and to mark two circumstances which may partly explain it. In the first place Conkling was a man of great personal fidelity. He had also that particular kind of integrity which was one of the fundamental elements of Grant's character. These two elements were in common between the two men, and Conkling was able, planting himself upon them, to gain an influence over the General's mind, which was perhaps attained by no other statesman of the time. This influence began to assert itself while Blaine was Speaker of the House of Representatives ; but it was not used to the hurt of the Speaker while in office to the extent that it was used afterwards when he was an aspirant for the presidency. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is, as we have §aid, a pre- vailing force in the Government of the United States. With him much originates. He is able to control almost everything. The legislative department of the Government, like all things else well organized, has become machine-like and methodical in its operation. The subordinate parts of the House are its committees. Everything depends on the committee. Without the committee hardly anything begins or is able to promote itself into the fashion of legislation. The Speaker makes his committees. He makes them under part}^ expediencj-. But, nevertheless, he makes them. He creates them as he will. In particular LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 119 he names the chairmen, who become to the respective committees what the committees themselves are to the House. Matters must originate in the brain of somebody. That somebody is the chairman. The chairman becomes the committee; the committee becomes the House, and the House becomes the country. The Speaker makes the chairman — makes him witli cai-e and with certain ends in view. The chairmen are his men ; with them he is in accord and the3- with him. ■ On his entrance into the speakership the better and finer qualities of Blaine began to be at once manifested. He showed himself pre-eminently fitted for the place. He followed a Speaker of great popularity ; but there was no waning of influence and admiration in the direction of the chair. It was soon seen by the House and by the country that the new presiding officer, contrary to what might have been expected from his well-known characteristics, had the exact temper requisite in a great Speaker. From the first he was calm, judicial, impartial to a degree. His speech of acceptance was brief and modest. No sooner was the responsibility of office laid upon him than he became or began to become serene and just. The qualities which he revealed from the first at the Speaker's desk gained for him a universal esteem and the glowing applause of his party. The life of a Congressman is easy or laborious as he makes it so. Accordingly as his ambitions are prevalent and his abilities great, his duties and responsibilities become onerous. If he desires to glide along smoothly and obscurely, he has little to do but to vote or perhaps occasionally to — object. The duties of the Speakership are prodigious. The Speaker is every man's man. All committees go to him ; all members follow him ; visitors from every part in the city appeal to him ; lobbyists circle around him, read}- to alight if they may ; heads of the departments consult him ; his responsibilities are universal and his correspondence mountainous. All this Blaine had now to face. He did it with an energy equal to the emergencies of his office. He was, in season and out of season. He was alert to such an extent that the wonder is he was not consumed in the flame of his own energies. How, indeed, can a man meet duties so exacting, so overwhelming, so continuous and yet survive ? The answer is not far to seek. He can meet them with good health and ambition. He must have both. The key to the situation is good health, and the key to that is temperance. Blaine was always a temperate man. Several vices flourish in Washington City and their malign influence is felt in the Capitol. The worst of these are intemperance, gambling, and social dissipation and unrest. Were one of these, or still worse, two or three of them fastened upon a Congressman, he is lost. Against them Blaine was proof. For nearly thirty years he endured the temptations and besetments of the capital and the Capitol with immunity. While not a total abstainer in the matter of drink, he was, nevertheless, a temperate man. He was also abstemious in food and in society. He husbanded his resources; he took care of himself. He was always 120 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. 3LAINE. as clean as a prince, neat, decorous, well-kept and well-dressed, tipright, brisk in exercise, active and full of nerve. It was in this temper and manner that he went about the great duties of the Speakershiji. He bore them for six years with unfaltering fidelity. The great questions were now on, and to these he gave constant concern. Johnson was out of the presidency and Grant was in. In the South it was the heyday of anarchy. There had been plans of reconstruction and other plans and still other. Finally it had resolved itself into military districts, and against these and their sway the malcontent element of the old slave States had gone into the rage of Ku-kluxism. It was a transitional state which must pass away. It was neither the one thing nor the other. It was neither reason nor force. Both reason and force were mounted on the steed of authority ; but one rode with his face afore and the other looking backwards. The business of the House of Representatives turned constantly to this state of affairs, and the Republican party, dominant in the Government, must tide over the nation from the estate of war through semi-war to the estate of peace. Within a week after the acces- sion of Grant to the presidency, the act entitled "An Act to Strengthen the Public Credit," etc., was passed by the House of Representatives. It was the first and possibly the most impor- tant of those financial measures, by which ultimately the payment of coin was substituted for the payment in paper of the debts, public and private, of the people of the United States. We have already said that Blaitie upheld and promoted the measures wnich have now become a part of the finan- cial history of the country. He advocated all of the leading plans which looked to the resumption of specie payments and the obliteration of the redundant paper currency. In so doing he, like Garfield, made himself secure with the fund- holding classes of the country. As j^et the debtor classes had not come to understand that every turn of the crank, by which the purchasing power of the dollar was forced up the scale, had for them the significance of double pay- ment. The Grant administration was very firmly planted on the principle of the restoration of the credit of the United States. To this end everything was made to bend and conform. Blaine, at the head of the House, stood squarely by the dominant policy, and with Garfield for his Chairman of the Committee A. H. STEPHENS. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 121 of Ways and Means, pressed forward each measure by which the financial SA'stem of the country was ultimately set again on the basis of a coin dollar. The political part}- through whose agency the war for the suppression of the rebellion had been brought to a successful close inherited from that conflict a thousand difficulties. Among the rest the Republican part}- inherited the negro. The exact nature of the inheritance had not been foreseen. Philanthropy had caught at the negro as a man in bondage ; and so he was. It had been believed, or at least accepted as a certain result, that with the breaking of bondage the man would appear. He would be a man in black, but a man nevertheless — and a brother. The event did not meet the expectation. The negro came, and to the astonishment of philanthropy', was as ignorant on the day after his emancipation as he had been the day before. He came by the million. A prodigious cloud of black lay banked along the whole Southern horizon. Phil- anthropy would at once resolve it ; would make it into citizenship ; would transform it as with the stroke of a wand. The transformation did not ensue. The question of giving suffrage to the blacks as a remedy for their situation came on, and a debate on the subject broke out all along the line. The echoes of it were heard in places high and places low. In the discussion of the day, a symposium was prepared for the North American Rcviczv^ and to this the Speaker of the House was a contributor. The caption was : " Ought the Negro to be Disfranchised ? " The contributors were L. Q. C. Lamar, Wade Hampton, James A. Garfield, Alexander H. Stephens, Wendell Phillips, Montgomery Blair and Thomas A. Hendricks. To Blaine was assigned the prominent part of opening and closing the discussion, which was able and exhaustive. The articles appeared in 1870, and it was conceded that those contributed by Blaine were among the ablest of all. It is an odd circumstance in the political history of our times that the question at issue is, after nearly a quarter of a century, as vital as ever. It has shifted, however, some- what from the narrower issue of the enfranchisement of the black men to the broader questions of the enfranchisement of the ignorant, the vicious and the incapable. It is, indeed, a serious problem in a free government to determine whether or not the suffrage should be ixniversal, or whether in some way it should be restricted to those who are, for the time, already qualified to use it. It would THOMAS A. HENDRICKS. 122 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. seem to go with the saying that none should be permitted to vote who were not capable of casting an intelligent, honest and, let us say, virtuous balloc. On the other hand, it seems to go with the saying that in a democratic country all must alike have the right to declare their choice, and from one point of view at least, to stand as absolute equals before the universal law of manhood. It may well be urged against those who advocate a restricted suffrage that the principle of withholding the right to vote, that is to say, the power of citizenship, from a man until he has first, and, as it were, in the abstract, qualified himself to exercise the rights of citizenship, is about on a level with the policy of the fool in the fable, who resolved never to go into the water until he had learned to swim. Suffice it to say that in the American Republic the problem of unrestricted suffrage has not ^-et been adequately solved. With the extension of his term of service, the reputation of Blaine increased, until he began to be mentioned for the presidency. Among the Republican leaders, there were, from this time forth only a few to compete with him for the first place. One of these was Coukling ; another was Garfield ; another was Morton ; several others, such as Edmunds, and Sherman, appeared in the lists. But of these we shall speak further, by and by. The reader is perhaps informed, either by his memor}- or his books, of the deteriorated condition of the Government in the after part of the Grant admin- istrations. The President of the United States was not, himself, in any measure, responsible for the state of affairs that supervened. That state of aff"airs arose out of antecedent conditions and was, in a degree, independent of the personal actors who were then on the public stage. We might almost say that the actors, at that time, were victimized by history. They inherited a corrupt and corrupting condition. This condition, for the most part, had its roots in money. The Credit Mobilier had its root in money. The whisky frauds had their origin in money and the money motive. To get rich, to acquire enormous wealth and thereby to gain an ascend- ancy over societj^ which, in Europe, comes rather by birth and rank, is a motive naturally strong with the American people. For a long time after the Civil War the opportunity and motive of speculation were abroad. The Republican party, at the time of which we speak, was put on the defensive by its political enemies and lashed, as to its back, with many stripes — some of them just. Almost every man in public life who belonged to the dominant party between i86S and 1878 was subjected to merciless assault on the score of honesty. Leader after leader was assailed as a dishonest man Not a few were ruined or at least driven into retirement bj' the attacks that were made upon them. Blaine, while in the speakership, escaped ; but the enemy lay in wait for him, and in proportion to his rise, and in particular in the degree that the presidenc}^ seemed to beckon, were the conditions prepared for an attack upon him. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. 123 We have spoken of the popularity with which Blaine administered the duties of the Speaker's ofiBce. At his first entrance upon those duties, he had said : " The gratification which this signal mark of your confidence brings to me, finds its onl}' drawback in the diffidence with which I assume the weighty duties devolved upon me. Succeeding to a chair made illustrious b}- the services of such eminent statesmen and skilled parliamentarians as Clay, and Stevenson, and Polk, and Winthrop, and Banks, and Grow, and Colfax, I may well distrust my ability to meet the just expectations of those who have shown me such marked partiality. But relying, gentlemen, on my honest purpose to perform all my duties faithfull}' and fearlessly, and trusting in a large measure to the indul- gence which I am sure you will always extend to me, I shall hope to retain, as I have secured, your confidence, your kindly regard and your generous support." How well that "generous support" was extended to him may be judged by the tone of the House when the Speaker came to the close of his first term. On the third of March, 1871, the Forty-first Congress expired. On that da}^ Samuel S. Cox, of New York, who was leader of the Democratic min- ority in the house, offered the following resolution : — ^'' Resolved^ In view of the difficulties involved in the performance of the diities of the presiding officer of this House, and of the able, courteous, digni- fied and impartial discharge of those duties by the Honorable J. G. Blaine during the present Congress, it is eminently becoming that our thanks be and they are hereby tended to the Speaker thereof." The gap between the first and second speakership, however, was but the span of a vacation. When the Fortj'-second Congress convened, on the fourth of March, 1S71, Blaine was re-elected Speaker by a vote of 126 to 92, the min- ority being cast for George W. Morgan, of Ohio. The Speaker entered upon his duties in the same manner and spirit as before, making an address of the highest order on taking the chair. It was at this time, namely, on the sixteenth of March, 1S71, that the memorable contest occurred on the floor of the House between the Speaker and Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts. It was the heyday of Ku-kluxism in the South. The story of outrages in that distracted section kept drifting into the House and it was decided that it would be expedient to appoint a Com- mittee of Inquiry to investigate the alleged outrages in the Southern States. An amendment to the resolution had been added in the committee at the sug- gestion of Mr. Blaine, and this fact coming to the knowledge of Mr. Butler, the latter made it the basis of one of his peculiar, personal and political attacks. It seems that in the constitution of the standing committees, Butler had expected to receive the chairmanship of the Committee on Ways and Means. The Speaker, however, on inquiry, found that such an appointment would be highly disagreeable to the party in power and unpopular to the country at large. He therefore passed Butler by, greatly to the disgust of the latter. 124 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. It was in the nature of General Butler to lie in wait for those whom he imagined had done him wrong and to use them up on occasion. He pursued this policy with respect to Blaine and made as his pretext the fact that the Speaker had gone out of his way to add a clause to a resolution which the caucus had prepared for the appointment of a committee. The addition made by Blaine had been simple enough and Avas to the purport that " the expenses of said committee shall be paid from the contingent fund of the House of Repre- sentatives." Butler chose to regard this amendment as a trick and sent out to the newspapers a sort of letter striking the Speaker severe blows. The latter, going into the House, called to the chair William A. Wheeler, of New York, and grappled with his wily foeman. We have not the space in this connection to insert the debate and colloquy; it ma}^ suffice to say that the Speaker did not issue from the contest worsted bj' his antagonist. In conclusion, he said : " Now, Mr. Speaker, nobody regrets more sincerely than I do an}- occur- rence which calls me to the floor. On questions of propriety I appeal to members on both sides of the House, and they will bear me witness, that the circulation of this letter in the morning prints, its distribution throughout the land b}^ telegraph, the lajdng it upon the desks of members, was intended to be by the gentleman from Massachusetts, not openly and boldly, but covertly — I will not use a stronger phrase — an insiilt to the Speaker of this House. As such I resent it. I denounce the letter in all its essential statements, and in all its misstatements, and in all its mean inferences and meaner innuendoes. I denounce the letter as groundless, without justification, and the gentleman himself, I trust, will live to see the day when he will be ashamed of having written it." At the adjournment of the Forty-second Congress, on the eighth of June, 1872, William E. Niblack, of Indiana, took the chair temporarily, and Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania, offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted : — " Resoli'cd^ That the thanks of this House are due and are hereby tendered to James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House, for the able, prompt and impartial manner in which he has discharged the duties of his office during the present session." When the Speaker came to the close of his term on the third of March, 1S73, Daniel W. Voorhees, of Indiana, rose at his desk and said: "Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a matter to the House in which I am sure every member will concur. In doing so I perform the most pleasant duty of my entire service on this floor. I offer the following resolution. It has the sincere sanction of my head and of my heart. I move its adoption." The clerk then read the resolution as follows : — " Resolved, That the thanks of this House are due and are hereby tendered to Honorable James G. Blaine for the distinguished ability and LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 125 impartiality with which he has discharged the duty of Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Forty-second Congress." The same confidence was retained by Mr. Blaine during his third term of service in the Speaker's chair. This was the Forty-third Congress, extending from 1873 to 1875. On the third of March, in the latter year, the resolution of endorsement was submitted by Representative Potter as follows : — " Resolved^ That the thanks of this House are due and are hereby tendered to Honorable James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House of Representa- tives, for the impartiality, efficiency and distinguished ability with which he has discharged the trying and arduous duties of his office during the Forty- third Congress." This resolution also was unanimously adopted by the House. Blaine had now come to the close of his third term in the Speakership. If his party had continued in power in the House it seems likely that the extraordinary step would have been taken of electing him Speaker for the fourth time. History, however, does not know If. A political reaction had now set in and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives was overthrown. The biennial election of 1874 Avent strongly against the part}- in power, and the Democrats gained the House. This carried with it, of coiirse, the organization of the House. Blaine's term in the Speakership continued beyond the period of the election, and at the close of the Forty-third Congress^ in March of 1875, his retirement was already determined. He availed himself of the opportunity to deliver the following brief address on retiring from the chair, which he had so long and so ably occupied : — Gentlemen : — I close with this hour a six years' service as Speaker of the House of Representatives — a period surpassed in length by but two of my pre- decessors, and equaled by only two othei-s. The rapid mutations of personal and political fortunes in this country have limited the great majority of those who have occupied this chair to shorter terms of office. It would be the gravest insensibility to the honors and responsibilities of life not to be deeply touched by so signal a mark of public esteem as that which I have thrice received at the hands of my political associates. I desire in this last moment to renew to them, one and all, my thanks and ni}- gratitude. To those from whom I differ in my party relations — the minority of this House — I tender my acknowledgments for the generous courtesy with which they have treated me. By one of those sudden and decisive changes which distinguish popular institutions, and which conspicuously mark a free people, that minority is transformed in the ensuing Congress to the governing power of the House. However it might possibly have been under other circumstances, that event renders these words my farewell to the chair. The speakership of the American House of Representatives is a post of honor, of dignity, of power, of responsibility. Its duties are at once complex and 126 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. continuous ; they are both onerous and delicate ; they are performed in the broad light of day, under the eye of the whole people, subject at all times to the closest observation, and always attended with the sharpest criticism. I think no other official is held to such instant and such rigid accountability. Parlia- mentary rulings, in their very nature, are peremptory : almost absolute in authority and instantaneous in effect. They cannot always be enforced in such a way as to win applause or secure popularity ; but I am sure that no man of any party who is worthy to fill this chair will ever see a dividing line between duty and policy. Thanking you once more, and thanking you most cordiall}' for the honor- able testimonial you have placed on record to my credit, I perform my only remaining duty in declaring that the Forty-third Congress has reached its con- stitutional limit, and that the House of Representatives stands adjourned without day. [Applause.] With this episode we reach another important crisis in the career of James G. Blaine. He had attained the speakership and held it for six years. It was in the nature of the case that he should at length retire and turn his activities into another channel. The people of his home district in Maine were by no means in accord with the popular verdict by which the House of Representa- tives had been turned over to the Democrac3\ On the contrary-, they re-elected Blaine to the House, and with the opening of the Forty-fourth Congress he jippeared on the floor as the leader of the Republican minority. Political relations as well as personal had now been reversed. Michael C. Kerr, of Indiana, was chosen Speaker, and Blaine niiist place himself in the attitude of an objector and critic of the administration in its legislative depart- ment. At the same time, the prize of the presidency' came in view and seemed to hang temptingly near to the hands of the ex-Speaker. His ascendanc}^ in his party was undoubted, and it seemed the natural, if not the inevitable, thing that that party should now stamp its approval on The Man from Maine bj- electing him to the presidency. In the following chapter we are to recount the remainder of Mr. Blaine's public career down to the time of his retiracy to private life. This will include the period of his contest for the presidency and of his service in the office of Secretary of State. CHAPTER V. CONTESTS FOR THE PRESIDENCY. FTER his entrance into the House of Representa- tives in the Forty-fourth Congress, James G. Blaine was a known aspirant for the presidency. The arena was favorable. The House is on the whole a better field for the di.splay of popular talents than is the Senate, or, indeed, than an}- other oificial place. The House is con- tentious. The American people like conten- tion. Political parties feed on contention and grow great when they have the better of the dis- pute. The epoch at M-hich Mr. Blaine came back to Congress, no longer Speaker, but leader of the Republican minority, favored the display of the great talent which he possessed. Let us note the progress of events. The old plan of reconstruction had virtually proved a failure. The South would none of it. At length she had opportunity to express herself in her own manner, and the result was the sending up of the old leaders whom she had admired to be her leaders again. Ten years had now elapsed since the failure of the rebellion. The American heart on both sides was still hot with the expiring embers of the great contest. A great number of the first men of the exploded Confederacy now came into Congress. Their presence there was a matter of J03' to the majority of the Southern people; but it was annoying to a majority of the North. About sixty brigadier generals of the Confederate army walked into Congress as the representatives of the very people whom they had led in the war against the Union. Their demeanor was not modest. As to punishing those who had led in the dismemberment of the Union and in the secession war, that had been given up. Not only did the leaders of the rebellion go unpunished, but now they came applauded and took their places in the council chambers of the nation. The reader will not forget that the constitutional amendment had interposed some barriers against those who had been chiefly responsible for the Civil War. The Fourteenth Amendment bore upon them with considerable pressure. But provision was made for the removal of such disabilities as were thereby imposed. We are here to make note of one of those preliminary contests by which James G. Blaine was confirmed in the esteem of his party as a chieftain worthy (127) 128 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. to be honored with the presidency. He adopted the policy of making himself the champion of the Repviblican sentiment in certain contests, which were of a kind to perpetuate the memories of the war and, therefore, likely to arouse the old Union enthusiasm throughout the country. In such contests Mr. Blaine always stood as a presidential figure. Whether he knew it or not ; whether he intended it or not ; the fact remained that the people, on such occasions, saw him as their champion and applauded him, not more for his success in the battle that was on, than for his probable success in the battle that was to come. The condition of affairs of which we have spoken above was present^ ij; the opening of the Forty-fourth Congress. The acting Confederates in that body were men of strength and pride. One of the foremost of these was Benjaijjin H. Hill, of Georgia. In the first day of 1876, Samuel J. Randall, of Penns}^- vania, pressed to an issue his bill before the House for the removal from certain persons and classes of persons such disabilities as had been imposed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Among those who were to be thus exempted from further disparagement under the fundamental law of the land were the figureheads of the old Confederacy, including Jefferson Davis himself. He as well as the rest was to be restored by an exceptional law to such rights and privileges as were enjoyed by other citizens under the Constitution. The occasion was of a kind to provoke a stormy debate. The debate came on under a motion made by Blaine himself. This was in the nature of an amendment to the Randall bill. The amendment which he offered provided that Jefferson Davis, the former President of the Southern Con- federacy, should be excepted from the provision of the bill. This brought on the discussion, in which Benjamin H. Hill, of Georgia, took up the gauntlet against Blaine and he against him. The men were matched on a question which was likely to reinflame public opinion, both North and South, and to constitute an element in the presidential contest about to ensue. In another part of this volume we have given Blaine's speech on this occasion- It was one of extraordinary strength and audacity. He threw away all disguises and attacked the late President of the Confederacy as the person responsible for the atrocities of Andersonville. Blaine had fortified himself with the damaging facts respecting that horror. He revealed them without check. He marshaled them against the government of the Southern Confederacy, and in particular, against Jefferson Davis, with a vehemence amounting almost to fury. Hill was worsted in the encounter. Though he might well plead that the time for crimination and recrimination had pas.'Sed ; though he might well urge that the Union was restored and that the lost cause was indeed lost ; though he might point to himself and more than sixty of his fellow members on the floor of the House as the best of all demonstration that the war was ended and that further animadversion upon those who had participated in it was illogical and anachronistic ; yet, on the other hand, Blaine might meet him with the allegation LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 129 that disuuionisra was not only rampant, but that it was seeking to glorify itself, to make itself historically respectable, and that the responsibility of the head of the Confederacy for the horrors of the Andersonville prison pen, while they might be passed over in silence, conld never be condoned or forgotten. The argnment was of a kind to appeal most strongly to the heart and passion of the Union veterans and indeed to the sentiment of the loyal people of the North. Ever after this encounter the name of Blaine was more and more spoken of for the presidency. Jefferson Davis was not amnestied, and the dislike of those %vho had favored the measure for Blaine and his coadjutors was intensified. Now it was that the opposition to him took the personal form. Those who deJred to defeat him for the presidency began to follow his tracks from his boyhood to the present day The business was not characterized with either scrup^f^ or conscience. The worst thing that could be discovered as to his public life was the fact that he had been the owner of some railroad bonds. These he had purchased during his term of service in Congress. It became the concurrent wish of the Democracy and of those Republicans who, for various reasons, wished to beat him for the presidencj^, to circulate the story of the candidate's connection with certain railwaj^s and to impress the public mind with the belief that he had been corrupt in relation thereto. This method was adopted in the early part of 1S76. The presidential nominatioiis for the year were at hand and Blaine was the most prominent of all those who were looked to as possible standard bearers of the Republican party. It was, therefore, necessary to kill him off. At first an attack was made upon him with respect to his alleged connection with the Union Pacific Railroad Company and to the receipt by him of certain moneys from the treasury of that road. This charge took form in the month of March, 1S76, and it became necessary for Blaine to fortify himself with certain documents and correspond- ence to disprove the allegation made against him. This he did disprove by the testimony of Sidney Dillon, at that time President of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, and by Colonel Thomas A. Scott, who had previously held the same ofl&ce. Both of these gentlemen testified that Mr. Blaine had not, either directly or indirectly, received from the company any moneys or emoluments, and that the charges made against him were false in subject matter and spirit. The idea was to compel Blaine to call for a Committee of Investiga- tion. It was already April of 1S76, and in two months the Republican National Convention would be held. It would, therefore, be only necessarj- or convenient to withhold the proceedings of the committee until after the convention, in order to dispose of the most promising candidate. That done, the committee might report whatever it pleased. It was not to be suppo.sed, however, that Blaine would permit this scheme to go unchallenged. He went boldly into the House; got a hearing in that body on the twenty-fourth of April, 1876, andi 9 130 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. explained his couuectiou or want of connection with the Union Pacific Railroad, and also the facts respecting his possession of certain bonds and stocks of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Compan}^ It was in connection with the last named organization that Blaine was most hardly pressed bj' his enemies. The facts seem to have been about as follows : — In the last days of Fillmore's administration, that is, in the beginning of 1853, the Government of the United States granted to the State of Arkansas certain public lands within that State to be used by the State authorities in promoting the construction of railways. In pursuance of this grant, the Legislature of the State granted articles of incorporation to the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad Companv, giving also to the company a part of the lands which the State had received from the general Government ; namel}^ about five thousand acres to the mile. It was found impossible, however, to dispose of the lands thus granted, and the construction of the railway was by no means promoted — at least for the present. Eight years went by and nothing was accomplished. The CiA-il W'ar came on and during that contest there was, of course, nothing done by the company in the way of construction. After the war, namely, in 1865, the gift of lands b}- the general Government was renewed and confirmed, and the Legislature of Arkansas likewise confirmed the incorporation and grants of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Company. For two or three years that company was unable to sell its lands or procure a loan thereon. In 1S6S, however, a company of Boston capitalists agreed to furnish the requisite money for the construction of the Little Rock- and Fort Smith road, and to accept the securities which the company was able to offer. Bonds were accordingly prepared by the company and these, in the summer of 1869, were put on sale in the East. Such bonds were at that time popular; railwa^^s were running everywhere, and whoever could, invested his money in them. Among other purchasers, Mr. Blaine went into the market and bought a block of those bonds. He made the purchase at the regular price which had been fixed for their sale. The enterprise of constructing the railroad, however, proved abortive, and by and by, the value of the bonds fell away to a minimum. Blaine himself in this way lost between fifteen and twenty thousand dollars. Afterwards, with the hope of securing his investment, he joined with others, in like predicament with himself, in advancing some capital with a hope of helping out the investment already made. This also was unavailing, and he was obliged to institute proceedings in the Circuit Court of the United States for Arkansas, wherein he was plaintiff, for the reimbursement of his money. This contest went on until 1874, when the company was reorganized and Blaine received new stocks and bonds for the old, which he had held. Meanwhile, three years before this time, namely, in 1S71, two other railways had become interested in the construction of the Little Rock and Fort Smith road. These were the Atlantic and Pacific, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. The former was induced to purchase a share in the stocks and bonds LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. 131 of the Little Rock concern, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas followed with a like purchase — but not so large. This transaction, on the part of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company was known to Blaine, and the fact of his acquaintance in that quarter gave ground for the insinuation that he had used his influence corruptly in Congress in favor of the Atlantic and Pacific road in order to promote the purchase, by that corporation, of the stocks of the half- defunct Little Rock and Fort Smith Company. This charge brought the business into such shape that it was difficult for Blaine to do other than den3^ But he gave his denial with frankness and force. Under other circumstances it cannot be doubted that his speech in the House, on the twenty-fourth of April, would have given a quietus to the whole business. But the enemies of the statesman were not to be placated with an^-thing that Avas not absolute and incontrovertible. As the first of June approached and the Republican Convention was at hand, the investigation into Blaine's connection with the Fort Smith Railroad was pressed Avith pertinacity and malice. It seemed that the cloud which had been carefully prepared was to hang over the candidate's head when the convention of his party should assemble. The committee of the House, before which the matter was under investigation, gave out what it chose to give and suppressed Avhat it would. At length the correspondence relative to the matter brought a dispatch from London which was in the nature of a refutation of the half- formed charges against which Blaine was contending. This dispatch was taken b}' Proctor Knott, of Kentucky, chairman of the committee, and b}- him sup- pressed. It chanced, however, that Blaine learned of the existence of the dispatch aud of the policy of the chairman in withholding it from the public. This fact determined him to go again before the House and fight off his accusers. The particular thing alleged against him in the second attack was that he had purchased bonds of the Arkansas and Little Rock Railway after Congress had legislated favorably concerning the road. It seems that in connection with this part of the business Blaine had had some private correspondence with oue of his friends in Boston, and in the course of this correspondence he had expressed the wish that the same should remain private or be destroyed. The knowledge of this correspondence reached a man named Mulligan, living in Boston, and he gained possession of Mr. Blaine's letters respecting jDroposed investments in the stocks referred to. The man Mulligan was summoned by the Congressional Committee to come to Washington. Blaine was on the alert, however, and going to Mulligan in person he managed by entreaty and expostulation in gaining possession of the whole correspondence. Having thus possessed himself of his own letters, he went, on the fifth of June, into the House of Representatives and rising to a question of personal privilege read the whole correspondence and had it printed in the Congressional Record. It was on this occasion that he, in his own language, LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 133 " took forty-four millions of his couiitr3-men into his confidence. " As to the letters themselves, they showed that Blaine had had no dealings in an3' bonds except those of the Arkansas and Little Rock Railroad ; that he had purchased these at the usual market price, and that he had lost thereon about $20,000. The allegation that he had been bribed with gifts of bonds to promote legislation favorable to the road was not sustained. Everything was clear enough to those who desired to have it clear ; but the malcontents and the enemy still continued to suspect and to utter innuendoes. On the whole, Blaine's speech of the fifth of June was satisfactory to his party. It is possible that the charges against him had some effect to darken his prospects in Cincinnati. But the probabilit}^ is that the course of events was not seriously deflected b}- all that was said and done. It has been agreed by those acquainted with the facts, that the speech of Blaine, on the floor of the House, delivered in the midst of intense excitement, in the presence of expectant members, and crowded galleries, while the speaker held aloft the bundle of incriminating letters, was the most striking and dramatic episode of his whole career. It is probable that the incident has never been equaled in Congress or out of Congress. Garfield, who was an acute observer, declared that the spectacle surpassed anything he had ever known. It was felt, for the time, that Blaine had swept everj'thing into the river, and that his connection with the railroad interests of the vSouthwest would not return to plague him further. It should be remarked that his speech in I\Iay, on the same subject, had been well received by the country. Even Harper's JVcck/y had declared that his refutation of the slanders against him had been ample and complete. After this, however, the charges were revived including the allegation that Blaine had unloaded his worthless Little Rock bonds on the Missouri Pacific Railway, and in this form the charge was more difficult to meet. Indeed the matter was ramified into many forms and was made to serve for what purpose it might in the political animosities of the day. Blaine's refutation in the earh^ part of June trammeled up the consequences sufficientl}' to enable him to go before the Cincinnati convention with a fair prospect of success. Certain it is that when that body convened to select a standard-bearer for the Republican party, Blaine was strongh^ in the lead. The Republican National Convention of 1S76 met in Cincinnati on the fourteenth of June and was organized by the selection of Honorable Theodore M. Pomeroy, of New York, as temporary chairman. The permanent chairman was Honorable Edward McPherson, of Pennsylvania. Already before the assembling of the convention, the excitement had risen to the highest pitch. Cincinnati was filled with politicians and statesmen, supported bv immense throngs of the rank and file, bearing banners and shouting for their favorite candidates. By this time the telegraph service and newspaper methods had been perfected to the extent that throughout the country the people were in 134 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. toiicli with the conveution. In eveiy town there was an expectant crowd gathered at the telegraph station anxious to hear the news. We may here note the personalities of the contest. Among these we may mention first of all Roscoe Conkling, of New York. That statesman was in the battle to beat Blaine and to gain if he might the nomination for himself. His method was to work within the lines of party organization. The Conkling forces were to vote first of all for their leader and after that to siipport such candidate as might be most efficiently used against Blaine. Something of this sentiment prevailed in all parts of the field. There was a disposition to combine against the leading candidate and prevent his nomination. After Conkling, we may mention Benjamin H. Bristow as a possibility of the occasion. Bristow was supposed to have done great things in the last months of the Grant administration towards instituting a reform in the methods of the government. His name Avas used and his candidacy advocated by those who had committed themselves to that somewhat indefinite thing called reform. Bristow was at this time Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinet of General Grant. He was thought to have exerted himself in a manner most virtuous and energetic with respect to the whisky frauds with which the administration had been scandalized of late. It was for this reason, in large measure, that his candidacy was promoted at the Cincinnati convention. Next in order we may mention Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana. IVIorton was one of the tremendous men of his day. He had been war governor of Indiana at the age of thirty-seven. He had risen rapidly to the Senate of the United States and had become a leader in that body almost from the first day of his entrance. He stood in large measure for the strength and the animosit\^ of the war spirit. He was a man of battle and conquest, whose notion of policy was generally limited and determined by the prospect of victory. As early as 1867 he had been weakened in body by an attack of paralysis, which had made his step unsteady, but had fortunately left his mind as clear and resolute as ever. Morton had been one of the right-hand men of Lincoln. He went into the Cincinnati convention with man}' auspices of success ; but was not able to command the enthusiastic following that Blaine had from the start. One of the misfortunes of IMorton's candidature was that a large part of his strength was gathered from the factitious negro Republicanism, W'hich had been estab- lished by the party throughout the South. This element would count stronglv in a convention ; but not strongl}' at the election. iVnother name, mentioned rather obscurely at first, was that of Rutherfcrd B. Hayes, Governor of Ohio. Hayes had been a valiant soldier. He had stood like a hero on the crest of Cemetery Ridge. His war record was above reproach. He had said that any man who would leave the field to go home and run for office "ought to be scalped'' — an expression not unpleasing to the loyal heart. After the war he had been three times elected Governor of Ohio. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 135 At the time of the couveutiou, though he had not been much spoken of as the presidential candidate, he nevertheless possessed the c|ualities of a dark horse in admirable proportion. There were also other candidates, actual and possible ; but those above named were the prominent contestants. When the time came for nominating candidates before the convention, a remarkable episode occurred. Hitherto it had been the custom that the candi- dates before national conventions should be named by some distinguished per- sonages in the form of a nomination. On this occasion the country was treated to a sensation. The nominations proceeded in the usual manner until it came the turn of Blaine. Thereupon, Colonel Robert G. lugersoll, of Illinois, ascended the platform, and in the midst of the greatest enthusiasm, delivered a brief speech, which has been regarded as among the gems produced by that famous orator. The effect was as marvelous as the matter. The address was immediately republished everywhere and the sobriquet of the " Plumed Knight " stuck to Blaine during the rest of his life. The nominating speech of Colonel Ingersoll was as follows : — Massachusetts may be satisfied with the loyalty of Benjamin H. Bristow. So am I. But if any man nominated by this convention cannot carry the State of Massachusetts, I am not satisfied with the loyalty of that State. If the nominee of this convention cannot carry the grand old Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts b}' 75,000 majority, I would advise them to sell out Faneuil Hall as a Democratic headquarters. I would advise them to take from Bunker Hill that old monument of glory. The Republicans of the United States demand as their leader in the great contest in 1S76 a man of intelligence, a man of integritj^, a man of well-known and approved political opinions. The}^ demand a reformer after as well as before the election. They demand a politician in the highest, broadest and best sense — a man of superb moral courage. They demand a man acquainted with public affairs, with the wants of the people, with not only the requirements of the hour, but with the demands of the future. They demand a man broad enough to com- prehend the relations of this Government to the other nations of the earth. They demand a man well versed in the powers, duties and prerogatives of each and every department of this Government. They demand a man who will sacredly preserve the financial honor of the United States ; one who knows enough to know that the national debt must be paid through the prosperity of this people ; one who knows enough to know that all the financial theories in the world cannot redeem a single dollar ; one who knows enough to know that all the money must be paid, not by law, but by labor ; one who knows enough to know that the people of the United States have the industry to make the money and the honor to pay it over just as fast as they make it. The Republicans of the United States demand a man who knows that prosperity and resumption when they come must come together ; that when they 136 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. come they will come haud-iu-hand through the golden harvest fields ; haud-in-hand by the whirling spindles and the turning wheels ; hand-in-hand past the open furnace doors; haud-in-hand by the flaming forges; haud-in-hand by the chimneys filled with eager fire — greeted and grasped by the countless sons of toil. This money has to be di:g out of the earth. You cannot make it by passing resolutions in a political convention. The Republicans of the United States want a man who knows that this Government should protect every citizen at home and abroad ; who knows that any government that will not defend its defenders and protect its protectors is a disgrace to the map of the world. They demand a man who believes in the eternal separation and divorcement of church and school. They demand a man whose political reputation is spotless as a star ; but they do not demand that their candidate shall have a certificate of moral character signed by a Con- federate Congress. The man who has in full, heaped and rounded measure all these splendid qualifications is the present grand and gallant leader of the Republican party — James G. Blaine. Our countr}^, crowned with the vast and marvelous achievements of its first century, asks for a man worthy of the past and prophetic of her future ; asks for a man who has the audacity' of genius ; asks for a man who is the grandest combination of heart, conscience and brain beneath her flag. Such a man is James G. Blaine. For the Republican host, led by this intrepid man, there can be no defeat. This is a grand year — a year filled with the recollections of the Revolution ; filled with proud and tender memories of the past, with the sacred legends of liberty ; a year in which the sons of freedom will drink from the fountains of enthusiasm ; a year in which the people call for a man who has preserved in Congress what our soldiers won upon the field ; a j'car in which they call for the man who has torn from the throat of treason the tongue of slander ; for the man who has snatched the mask of Democracy from the hideous face of rebel- lion ; for the man who, like an intellectual athlete, has stood in the arena of debate and challenged all comers, and who is still a total stranger to defeat. Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight, James G. Blaine marched down the halls of the American Congress and threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen foreheads of the defamers of his countr}^ and the maligners of his honor. For the Republican part}' to desert this gallant leader now is as though an army should desert their general upon the field of battle. James G. Blaine is now, and has been for years, the bearer of the sacred standard of the Republican party. I call it sacred because no human being can stand beneath its folds without becoming and remaining free. Gentlemen of the convention, in the name of the Great Republic, the onl}' republic that ever existed iipon this earth ; in the name of all her defenders LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 187 and of all her supporters ; in the name of all her soldiers living ; in the name of all her soldiers dead upon the field of battle, and in the name of those who perished in the skeleton clutch of famine at Andersonville and Libby, whose sufferings he so vividly remembers, Illinois — Illinois nominates for the next President of this coiintr}- that prince of parliamentarians — that leader of leaders — James G. Blaine." The reader is alreadj- familiar with the result of the convention. The ball opened witli two hundred and eightj^-five votes for Blaine, one hundred and thirteen for Bristow, ninety-nine for Conkling, one hundred and twenty-four for IMorton and sixty-one for Hayes. The contest went on xintil the nom- ination of Blaine was within reach. In order to prevent such a result, the field combined against him and threw the nomination to Hayes. On the last vote Blaine had three hundred and iiftv-one against three liundred and eight}-- four for the successful candidate. The result was well calculated to dampen the ardor of the Blaine contingent and some fears were entertained that coldness on the part of the defeated statesman and his following would work the defeat of Governor Hayes. Blaine, however, cjuickl}' set the matter to rest, and as soon as the result was known made haste to assure the successful candidate of his hearty support. While the balloting was going on, Blaine and Garfield were sitting together in the hoiise of the former at Washington City. As soon as the result was known Blaine took his pencil, and even before the counting of the final ballot at Cincinnati had been completed, wrote the following telegram to the candidate of the party : — ■"To Governor R. B. Haves, Columbus, Ohio. I offer 3'ou my sincerest congratulations on your nomination. It will be alike nu' highest pleasure, as well as my first political duty, to do the utmost in my power to promote j'our election. The earliest moments of my returning and confirmed health will be devoted to securing j-ou as large a vote in Maine as she would have given for mj'self J. G. Blaine." The seqiiel showed that ]\Ir. Blaine kept his word in letter and spirit. The contest that ensued was the closest in the political liistor}- of the country. But the fact of the narrow margin — if margin there were — in favor of Governor Hayes could not be attributed to au}' lukewarmness on the part of the supporters of Blaine. Rather was the result to be accounted for by general political changes that were taking place in the nation. The facts are that neither Hayes nor Tilden was clearlj^ and indispucabh' elected to the presidency. The former had the advantage in the constitution of the Electoral Commission — though that advantage had not been foreseen b}- the leaders of the Democratic party, who supposed that the casting vote would rest with Judge David Davis, of the Supreme Court, instead of with Judge Joseph P. Bradle}'. 138 LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. As for Tildeu the States carried for him were sufficient to elect ; that can- not be doubted ; but the means by which two or three of the Gulf States .were secured for the Democratic ticket were so shocking, so repugnant to fairness, as to taint the votes of those States with more than a suspicion of fraud. Governor Hayes was counted into office by the Electoral Commission only two days before the date of inauguration. He took the office and held it as honorably as he might under such conditions of doubt and partisan assault. It remains one of the strange things of recent American history that that adniinistratiou which was most nearly, in both its personnel and its method, a reform administration, has been most violently and persist- ently assailed — least credited with its earnest effort in behalf of better government. The reader will not fail to note in the dispatch quoted above from ]\Ir. Blaine to his successful competitor a reference to his own health. That had recently been a subject of much anxiety to himself and his friends. A short time before the nominating convention at Cincinnati j\Ir. Blaine had been prostrated with sunstroke. The matter was serious and the coun- try was considerabl}^ moved for several days with the endangered condition of the popular leader. The attack passed off and Air. Blaine regained his usual health. It ma}' be doubted, however, whether he ever was completely restored. The occurrence of such an attack is likely to leave a shadow of apprehension behind it, and though the actual effects of the injury may be removed, the danger of a return is likely to induce timidity and doubt, both in the subject and among his friends. There has never been, since 1S76, complete confidence in the validitj' of Air. Blaine's health. The turn of affairs at Cincinnati led almost immediateh- to a change in the direction of Blaine's public career. He was now in his seventh term as a Representative m the House. We may suppose that so far as his own feelings were concerned he did not desire longer service in that bod3\ Perhaps Blaine perceived that the House of Representatives was better adapted to his talent and disposition than the Senate of the United States. But when defeated for GEN. SELBEN CONXOR, Ex-Govtiuor of Maim-. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. ' 139 the presidential uomination he was ready to make the chauge to the upper congressional body. For the moment it appeared that the wa}' was hedged ; but circumstances presentl}' made room for the aspirant. General Grant having accepted the resignation of Secretary Bristow, appointed Senator Lot M. Morrill, of Maine, to the vacancy in the Treasury Department. Tliis transference of Morrill from the Senate left a vacancy in that body which might be filled by appointment of the Governor of Maine. The latter office was at this time occujaied b}- General Selden Connor, who appointed Mr. Blaine as Morrill's successor in the Senate. Thus, on the tenth of July, 1S76, the transference of Blaine from the House to the Senate v.^as effected. It is not improbable that the whole move had its motive and reason in the desire of Blaine and his friends to have him occupy a seat in the Senate. He signalized the event by addressing a letter to his constituents, from which we make the following extract : — " Beginning with 1S62 you have bj^ continuous elections sent me as j-our Representative to the Congress of the Ll^nited States. For such marked confi- dence I have endeavored to return the most zealous and devoted service in my power, and it is certainly not without a feeling of pain that I now surrender a trust bjr which I have always felt so signally honored. It has been ni}^ boast in public and in private that no man on the floor of Congress ever represented a constituency more distinguished for intelligence, for patriotism, for public and personal virtue. The cordial support you have so uniformh^ given me through these fourteen eventful years is the chief honor of my life. In closing the intimate relations I have so long held with the people of this district, it is a great satisfaction to me to know that with returning health I shall enter upon a field of duty in which I can still serve them in common with the larger constituency of which they form a part." Following the biographical thread, we now come to the career of James G. Blaine in the Senate of the United States. This part, however, we shall, for the present, pass over in order to give an account of his siibsequent contests for the presidency. It may suffice to say that the four 3-ears' service of the states- man in the Senate increased the estimate which the /American people had of his genius and availability for the presidenc3^ It was believed b}^ his friends moreover that the attacks which had been made upon him would not be further renewed. As to his competitors, the field was cleared somewhat ; but in other respects it was complicated. Senator Morton, of Indiana, was dead. Bristow had disappeared. Hayes was avowedly not a candidate for re-election. Conkling, though as ready as before to accept the highest honors of his party, had dis- covered a new lead which he preferred to follow. This new adventure was the candidacy of General Grant for renomination to the presidency. It was called the third-term movement. The project had the powerful support of Roscoe Conkling, Don Cameron, of Pennsylvania, and John A. Logan, of Illinois. General Grant himself had been abroad, traveling 140 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. about the world for the greater part of the interval between his retiracy and the next presidential year. He came home by way of San Francisco, and was greeted with applause, which was only the expiring reverberations of that which had followed him around the globe. It was believed by those who now con- stituted themselves his political champions that the great name of Grant might be used to conjure with, even to the extent of defeating therewith any other name whatsoever that might be presented to the Republican National Convention. With respect to this project it should be frankly stated that the so-called " third-term " movement was not a third-term movement at all. True, if it had been successful, it would for the third time have carried General Grant to the presidency. But an interval o^ four years had elapsed. During that time Genera] Grant had been a privite citizen. He had no official relations what- soever. He had no emoluments to bestow — no ofiSces to scatter. He had no power to renominate himself, beyond such power as belonged to any other •citizen, plus the advantage which resided in his name and fame. To this advantage he was clearly entitled. Who would rob the General of the Union army of the strong hold which he had upon the admiration and confidence of his country- men? So the third-term objection did not really hold against General Grant. It could hold only against one Avho, going out of a second term in the presidency, sought to renominate himself for a third. This could not be said of Grant. He did not violate any tradition, or prece- dent, or unwritten law of his country in permitting his friends, even by silence, in i8So, to re-present his name for the presidency of the Republic. The fact, however, remained that the apparition of Grant, backed and pro- moted by Conkling, seriously obscured the prospects of Blaine with the approach of the presidential year. It was also bad for Blaine that he had once been defeated in convention. It is surprising to note how such things run in political history. It would seem that when a man receives the nomination for the presidential office he must do so at a single start. He must rise like a rocket and suddenly blaze above the battlement. If he rise and sink, it seems almost impossible for him to attain so great a height again. Chicago was selected as the scene of the Republican National Convention of 1880. The date was set for the second of June. With the arrival of the day and the gathering of the convention, it was evident that the two great candidates were Blaine and Grant. Probably, the latter was in the lead. There was a contest for the organization of the convention. The honor of the perma- nent chairmanship fell to George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts. The forces of the GEN GRANT S HOME IN GALENA I&60 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 141 two leading candidates were about equall}- divided, and the mention of the name of either evoked a chorus of long-continued cheers. The cit}^ was wild with excitement, and the country, as had been the case four years previously, shared in the anxiety of the convention. On this occasion Blaine was put in nomination by the Honorable James F. Joy, of Michigan. The nominating speech was received by the Blaine delegates and by his adherents, within and without the convention, with a wild uproar of shouting and cheering. Grant was put in nomination by Roscoe Conkling in one of the most effective speeches ever delivered. Senator John Sherman, of Ohio, was nominated by Garfield, and the names of George F. Edmunds, of Vermont, and William Windom, of Minnesota, were also presented to the convention. The first ballot showed the strength of the respective candidates. Grant had three hundred and four votes ; Blaine, two hundred and eight^'-four ; Sherman, ninet\^-three ; Edmunds, thirt3'-four, and Windom, ten. The sequel showed that this declaration of opinion and preference had been made deliberately. Grant's vote remained steady. Blaine swayed a little up and down, but never reached the nominating point. The other candidates increased or waned in strength to a limited degree ; but none were able to break the solid following of the principal competitors. The contest went on day by da}^ for a w^eek. It was a wrestle of the giants and neither was able to throw the other. At length it became apparent that Blaine could not be nominated. It was also perhaps apparent that Grant would not receive the prize. The forces of the General, however, stood firm and could not be stampeded. At length the attention of the convention began to turn in search of such a candidate as \vould be acceptable to the Blaine party. It was this circumstance that brought Garfield into view. On the seventh day of the convention the name of that successful leader was openly sprung on the convention, and on the thirty-sixth ballot Blaine's friends went over to him and gave him the nomination. Grant's contingent, on the last ballot, numbered three hundred and six. Garfield received three hundred and ninety-nine, while forty-two of the Blaine delegates persisted in firing their last charge for their favorite. The nomination, however, had gone to the man of Ohio and not to the man of Maine. It cannot be denied that Blaine, in the day of defeat, generally showed up well in his spirit and conduct. He accepted the result of the Chicago conven- tion with apparent cheerfulness. He threw himself into the canvass and con- tributed a full measure to the success of his part}-. Garfield was elected and the people recognized the fact that it was the fidelitj^ of Blaine that had secured this result. The names of the two statesmen became indissolnbly associated. It was evident, when the result of the election was known, that Blaine would be of the substance and soul of the new administration. Conkling also had given in his allegiance to Garfield and had contributed powerfully to the success of the ticket in New York. He also had grounds to expect that his 142 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. influence in the incoming administration would not be insignificant. It should be noted, however, that the ascendancy of Blaine and Conkling together in the same administration was a foregone impossibility. When Garfield was inaugurated President, Blaine had been in the Senate for nearly five years. Public opinion pointed to him in advance as the leader of the new cabinet, and in this, expectation was not disappointed. The President promptly sent in the name of Blaine for Secretary of State. He was thus transferred into a new relation at the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He came to the cabinet with full preparation. Always a student, he had, since his accession to the Senate, given special study to such questions as concerned the foreign relations of the Government. He took the portfolio of State with such quali- fications as few men have pos- sessed for the office. As between himself and the President, there was a clear case of friendship. Garfield had always been an ad- mirer of Blaine and a supporter of his measures. True, he had finally accepted, not without grati- fication and pride, the prize which had seemed to belong to his com- jietitor. But he could not well Mame himself for the turn in affairs which had brought this about. It would seem that Blaine ■u as reasonable enough to take the same view of the case, and it is not evident that he ever held Garfield responsible for wearing his laurels. At all events, he threw himself with might and spirit into the administration, and became almost immediately the leading figure of the Government, hardly excepting the President himself. In other parts of this work we have referred once and again to the condition of aff"airs during the brief and suddenly eclipsed administration of Garfield. Though the assassin's bullet struck the President, it also hit the political purposes and career of the Secretary of State. He, too, went down with his chieftain— though not immediately. The beginning of the year 1882 found him at what would appear to have been the end of the way. He resigned from the cabinet of Arthur to become a private citizen. His health w^as'' somewhat impaired; it may well be supposed that his disappointments CHESTER A ARTHim LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 143 preyed upon him ; his nervous energies were somewhat exhausted with the excessive application which had marked his public life. In another chapter we shall follow him into his retiracy and note the events, personal and public, that belonged to that part of his career. For the present we pass on to consider his next struggle for the presidency of the United States. The return of the ^if, presidential year, 1SS4, brought many changes in the political condi- tions that had formerly prevailed. General Grant was in private life. John Sherman had emerged somewhat into prominence as a possi- bility in the approach- ing campaign. Presi- dent Arthur and his friends had great hopes that he might secui-e the nomination to the place which he had occupied by the accident of Garfield's death. It was at this time that the fatal in- fluence of the office- holding classes was first manifested in full force in the attempt to perpetuate the ad- ministration and there- by to save themselves from ouster. Strangely enough, Blaine was as prominent as ever; indeed he was more prominent and popular than he had been in 1876 or 1S80. Several other names v\'ere now before the people; but the great name was that of Blaine. His life in the interim had done much to establish LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 145 and confirm him in popular esteem. Just after his retiracy from of&ce, in the Arthur administration, he had been called, February twenty-seventh, 1882, to deliver the funeral oration on Garfield. This address was given in the House of Representatives and was accepted as the best and truest summary and eulog^um of the martyred President. On his retirement to private life, Blaine at once took up the preparation of a literary work which he had contemplated for some years. This was the composition of a history of the National Congress for the twenty years from Lincoln to Garfield (1861-1881). He now established himself in his own home at Washington and set about the work, to which he devoted fully two -/ ^ »ty[f iii^i^uf IHl I LI Mil) KNICHT FOR THE PRI SIDENCi years of time in the composition of the first volume. This volume appeared early in 1884, and was welcomed by the public as a work of great strength, impartiality and historical merit. To the surprise of most people, all partisanship had disappeared, and the author presented himself as a dis- passionate historian, treating the events of his time with the fairness and judicial accuracy of one who had been conscientiously trained to the pro- fession of letters. Another astonishing feature of the book was the fact that the references to himself and to his own part in the governmental affairs of his day were made few and of smaller importance than they deserved. His personal competitors in public life were treated in a spirit of generosity and 146 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. justice, for which we should look in vaiu in nearl}' all the similar works which have been composed by those who were participants in the affairs recorded. It is not possible for an author to know the cogitations and inner intent of another whose character he may be delineating. Blaine pursued his own course in the years 1882-1884 ; he completed his first volume, gave it to the public, and presently his name was again ringing on the public tongue as the probable nominee bf the Republican party for the presidency. Such was the situation of affairs when the presidential year came around. Other names put forward for the nomination were those of John A. Logan, of Illinois; Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut; George F. Edmunds, of Vermont; Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, and President Chester A. Arthur. The Republican National Convention met on the third of June, 1884, in the Exposition Building at Chicago. The temporary chairmanship was given to John R. Lynch, a colored man of Mississippi. The permanent chairmanship was assigned to Honorable John B. Henderson, of Missouri. The platform of the party was prepared, endorsing the administration of Arthur, declaring against the tariff policy of the Democratic party and in favor of the protective system, endorsing civil service reform, denouncing Southern outrages and appealing to the people in support of Republican principles. It was noticed from the beginning of the proceedings that on every occasion, or no occasion at all, the name of Blaine or any reference to that statesman or his State, provoked the unbounded enthusiasm of the convention. The duty of putting Blaine in nomination was assigned to the blind Judge West, of Ohio, whose speech on the occasion almost rivaled that of Ingersoll in the enthusiasm which it produced. The other candidates were also well presented ; but it was clear that Blaine was the favorite. The speech of Judge West was answered without and within the hall with ringing and continuous cheers. When the balloting began, it was evident that the man from Maine was the favorite, if not the immediate winner. The first ballot gave him three hundred and thirty-four votes ; Arthur received two hundred and seventy-eight ; Edmunds, ninety-three; Logan, sixty-three; Sherman, thirty, with the rest scat- tering. On the second and third ballots there were but slight changes. These, however, pointed to Blaine. On the fourth ballot he received five hundred and forty-four votes and was nominated. The scene that ensued beggared descrip- tion. The shout which announced the result was taken up and echoed through the city. Mr. Blaine was himself at his home in Augusta. He received the dispatch announcing his nomination, while swinging in a hammock between his apple trees. Immediately his house became a public place, and thither pilgrims and adventurers set their faces from all directions. Among tlie touching incidents of the day was the receipt, from Mrs. Garfield, of the following dispatch : — STRIKING INCIDENTS IN MR. BLAINE'S CAREER. 148 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " Cleveland, Ohio, June 8, 1884. ''Mrs. James G. Bl.'MNE: — The household joins in one great thanksgiving. From the quiet of our home we send the most earnest wish that, through the turbulent months to follow and in the da}' of victory, j'ou may all be guarded and kept. " Lucretia R. Garfield." The official notification of his nomination was soon carried to Blaine at his home, and was delivered by Honorable John B. Henderson, chairman of the convention. At the conclusion of the address Mr. Blaine responded as follows : — " ]\Ir. Chairman and Gentlemen of the N.-\tional Committee: " I receive not without deep sensibility your oflBcial notice of the action of the National Convention already brought to my knowledge through the public press. I appreciate more profoundly than I can express the honor which is implied in a nomination for the presidenc}' by the Republican party of the nation — speaking through the authoritative voice of duly accredited delegates. To be selected as a candidate by such an assemblage from the list of eminent statesmen whose names were presented fills me with embarrassment. I can only express my gratitude for so signal an honor and my earnest desire to prove worthy of the great trust reposed in me. " In accepting the nomination, as I now do, I am impressed, I might almost say oppressed, with a sense of the labor and responsibility which attach to my position. The burden is lightened, however, by the hosts of earnest men who support my candidacy', many of whom add — as does your honorable committee — the cheer of personal friendship to the pledge of political fealt}-. " A more formal acceptance will naturally be expected and will in due season be communicated. It may, however, not be inappropriate at this time to say that I have already made careful study of the principles announced by the National Convention, and that in the whole and in detail the}' have ni}' heartiest sympathy and meet my unqualified approval. " Apart from \o\\x official errand, gentlemen, I am extremely happj' to welcome you all to xwy home. With many of 3'ou I have already shared the duties of the public service and have enjoved the most cordial friendship. I trust 3-our journey from all parts of the great Republic has been agreeable, and that during your stay in Maine you will feel that you are not among strangers, but with friends. Invoking the blessing of God upon the great cause which we jointly represent, let us turn to the future without fear and with manly hearts." It is not our purpose in this connection to enlarge upon the incidents of the campaign of 1884. The nomination of the Democracy was given to Grover Cleveland, of New York. The second place on the Republican ticket was assigned to John A. Logan, of Illinois, and the corresponding position on the Democratic ticket to Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. The tickets were strong ; but each was assailed with great bitterness by the adherents of the other. No stone was left unturned to carry the contest and at times, what r.I.AINE S CONTEST 1-OR THE PKKSIDENCV. loO ' LIFE AND WORK OF JAxAIES G. BLAINE. ought to have been a national debate, degenerated into gross personalities and personal scandals. Snch things were hard enough to bear diaring the months of their utterance ; but if we mistake not, the disease thereby cured itself in the public life of the United States. The cure was not effected on moral grounds, but rather for political reasons. It was found that the good sense of the Amer- ican people would no longer approve or even tolerate the mendacity and inconsequential slander which the party press of each side poured upon the candidate of the other. The nation was disgraced in the melee — and for no good. The filthy work was wholly ineffectual. It did not diminish the vote of either candidate to augment the vote of the other. The canvass went on in obedience to its own laws. The battle was hotly fought along the whole line. Mr. Blaine took the field abroad and traversed several of the doubtful States. He spoke at man}' points in Indiana and New York, and concluded his canvass in the metropolis. This was the really fatal circinnstance in his career. It cannot be doubted that if he had stayed away from the cit}' and thus avoided the incidents of his visit there, he would have been elected to the presidency. Upon so slight circumstances do the destinies of the most distin- guished leaders of society sometimes turn. Just at the close of the contest, Mr. Blaine was received by his part}' in New York City and was there entertained at a banquet. During his stay in the city there were delegations and speeches galore. Along with the rest a certain address was delivered to him or rather at him (for the sequel showed that he did not hear it), which proved the bane of the battle and indeed of his whole political life. A certain Reverend Burchard, availing himself of the occasion, poured out a fusillade of nonsense JOHN A. LOGAN. aud impropriety, in the coiirse of which he char- acterized the Democratic party as being the party of " Rum, Romanism and Rebellion." The Rum and the Rebellion might have been borne, but the Romanism was not to be tolerated. New York is strongly a Catholic cit}-. Catholicism has its hold in the tremendous Irish and other foreign populations of the great emporium. Mr. Blaine had himself alwaj^s been a friend and champion of Ireland, and quite a percentage of the Irish vote had been in preparation for his benefit. Had he received his due proportion of ballots from this source he would have carried New York and with it the presidency. But the Bur- chard business was a bomb at the door of every Catholic church. Every bomb was diligently exploded. If the Democratic part}- is the party of Romanism, then that party is 07ir party ! So ran the hot logic of the hour. Vainly did Blaine and his friends disclaim the impolitic and absurd alliteration of Burchard. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 151 The thing stuck like pitch and burnt wherever it fell. The result was the decrease of the Republican vote in New York City and the increase of the Democratic vote. The change turned the ballot, and the State of New York was carried by the Democracy by the trifling majority of one thousand and forty-seven votes. As New York went so went the Union. Cleveland was elected to the presidency and the prospect of Blaine to reach the White House was forever blasted. The incident of the Burchard speech was, perhaps, the most insignificant and withal absurd of any that ever turned the destinies of great men and great events awry. It could but be that his defeat for the presidential office was a severe blow to Blaine. He was again driven back upon those resources which were inherent in himself. He had now been for more than twenty years a resident of Wash- ington City. He had, of course, never given up his old home in Augusta. A part of the year he was wont to reside at the latter place, and the greater part at the Capital. The summer invited him to the quiet of his Maine resi- dence ; while the excitement and interest of Washington City could hardly be put aside for the winter. In the interval which followed his defeat for the presidency, he resumed his work on his his- tory of Congress. The remark- able thing about the career of Blaine has been the spontaneous revival of public interest in him, notwithstanding his defeats. The analogy of his life in this respect with that of Clay is again conspicuous. The interest of the people followed both of these statesmen persistently through every phase of their lives, from the time at which they entered upon their public career to the close. We might also say that the loss of the presidency to the distinguished aspirant was compensated by the work which he was able to accomplish in the second volume of his history of Congress. That work was duly completed. The manner and temper of the author were shown in the same favorable light as in the first volume, and his reputation was correspondingly enhanced. Here was a man who, in spite of the storm and battle of public life, could treat BI.AINF. IN 1884. 152 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. dispassiouately the very subjects in the shaping of which he had had a hand by both conquest and defeat. The history which he produced of the public life of the nation, from the accession of Lincoln to the accession of Garfield, was at once complete and impartial. As the old philosopher said of the eccentric but accomplished Goldsmith, Blaine touched almost every kind of subject and " touched nothing which he did not adorn." Meanwhile his interest in public affairs continued as before. It is said that on a single occasion General Grant weakened. The world knows that his policy was that of silence. He lived through evil report and good, and said nothing. General Sherman once and again took up his leader's cause in the public press, adding that " Grant, as usual, would say nothing." But in one instance the common humanity asserted itself. When he was o-oino- out to the porch of the Capitol for his second inauguration, backed by the tremendous majority which had again given him the presidency, and feeling secure in the enduring confidence of his countrymen, the General said, referring to his address which he had in hand, " here is my answer to their slanders." After his defeat for the presidency Blaine, in one instance, seems to have given away to the rush of feeling and resentment which he naturally enough enter- tained. vSoon after the result of the election was known, he made a speech at home in Augusta, in which he furiously assailed the Democratic party in both its methods and principles. He charged that party with having carried the election by the deliberate suppression of the Republican vote in the South- ern States. With his usual cogency he brought forth the statistics of the election, and proved with cold figures that the electors in the Southern States had received on the average only about one-half or one-third as many ballots as had been cast for the presidential electors chosen from the Northern States. This led to the inevitable deduction that the election had been unfair and prejudiced against the Republican party and its candidate. The speech was strong and somewhat embittered. It produced a marked impression on the public mind, and was read and commented upon throughout the length and breadth of the land. As a matter of fact, there could be but one adequate answer to his arraignment of the policy and system of the Democratic party ; that is, but one answer that might tend to show the equity of President Cleve- land's election, and that was that the latter had received a clear and unequi- vocal popular majority over his competitor. In the 5^ear 1886 we find Mr. Blaine again actively in the political field. The election of that year was important. It seemed evident that if the Demo- cratic success of the presidential year should be followed up by great majorities in the congressional year, the Republican party would be virtually extinguished. It was, therefore, necessary that the latter party should make a strong rally in 1886, and reassert itself in the election of an increased number of Congressmen. Blaine was always proud of his own State, and made it a point of honor that LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. •ISS Maine should, on every occasion, hold her place steadily in the Republican column and, when necessar}', swell her majorities to the highest figure. On the twenty-fourth of i\ugust, iSS6, Blaine opened the campaign of that year in an able speech which he delivered at Sebago Lake. He took up the question of the fisheries, in which New England had the greatest interest ; also the tariflf question, and finally the third party movement, which then portended considerable inroads in the Republican ranks. The Prohibitionists had become active, particularly in the so-called " off-years," and there were grounds for fearing that the Republican vote in IMaine would suffer on this account. Blaine's speech attacked and criticised the administration on its attitude towards the fishing interest of the country, and presented in full force the argument for protection as against free trade. It might be noticed, however, even at this early day, that Blaine's views were not so extreme on the question of the tariff as were those of the men who had assumed the duty of speaking for the Republican party. From this time forth, the attitude of Blaine on this great question became more and more moderate until, in the heyday of McKinleyism, he sent forth his public letters, which had the effect to arrest the headlong course of the extremists and to introduce the term and the fact of reciprocity into the phraseology and policy of his party. He continued to speak successfully during the campaign of 1886 and had the pleasure of seeing his work crowned with a fair measure of success. What appeared to be the disintegration of his party was arrested, and the Republican forces were brought into shape for the presidential campaign of 1 888. Would Blaine again be a candidate for the nomination of his party ? That appeared doubtful. Public interest in regard to his action was universal. It was foreseen that President Cleveland would receive the Democratic nomination for re-election; but would his old competitor stand against him, or would some other be taken as possibly more available ? For mau}^ months the question remained in doubt. Conjectures were published for facts, and deductions given out as statements that had no other foundation than the cogitations of those who produced them. Mr. Blaine, at this time, namely, in 1887, was traveling abroad. The presidential year came on apace and it was necessary that the Republican management should know the purpose of Blaine before proceeding with the arrangements for the ensuing campaign. It was already conceded that if Blaine desired a renomination he could have it. Here, indeed, was a spectacle. Three times the name of this statesman had been before the conventions of his party. Once he had received the nomination, only to be defeated at the polls. Still the spell of his name was so great that it was admitted, at the beginning of 1888, even by those who were most reluctant to admit it, that if Blaine wanted the nomination at the next convention he had only to lift his hand. It must be granted that the political fealty of the majority of a party to one of its leaders had never gone further than this — and cannot. 154 LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. When the crisis came Mr. Blaine was at Florence, Italy. He finally made Tip his mind not to permit the nse of his name in candidature for the presidency. He accordingly, at what seemed to be the desire of his party, wrote what was known as the " Florence Letter," which was one of the sensations of the day. Even in spite of this, so intense was the party spirit with which he was supported, not a few of his admirers kept his name flying as their favorite at the approaching Chicago convention. But the statesman held on his course. Completing his Italian tour, he went to Scotland and was doing the North country when the National Convention was held in Chicago. The reader knows the result. Blaine's name was not presented to the convention ; but his influence surcharged the air and it was a possible thing that at any moment a spontaneous Blaine uproar might break out in the convention hall and sweep ever3'thing before it. The condition of affairs was such as might well provoke the other candidates whose names were given to the convention, and confound all political calculations. We need not here narrate the story of the Chicago convention of 1888. John Sherman, of Ohio, was a prominent candidate, and had the endorsement of his great State. Judge Walter Q. Gresham, of Illinois, was also prominent before the body. Governor Alger, of Michigan, Senator Allison, of Iowa, and ex-Senator Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, were the other leading competitors. The choice, after much balloting and contention, fell to the last named, and he was siiccessful in the contest against President Cleveland. Blaine had mean- while returned to the United States, given his endorsement to the nomination of Harrison, and contributed powerfully to his success by urging his personal adherents everywhere to the cordial support of the ticket. The reasons of Blaine's declining to be a candidate for renomination in 1888 have been diligently sought by politicians and the newspaper press, both backed by universal curiosity. If we mistake not, the great prevailing reason was the condition of the statesman's health. Blaine's health had clearly become precarious. His high nervous organization and intense application to business and ambition for so many years had made inroads into an otherwise sound constitution, and had laid the seeds of premature old age. It was already clear, before he had reached his fifty-fifth year, that he was not destined to long life. There has seemed to be a niisappi'ehension in the public mind on this subject. Blaine really broke early. He did so under pressure of mental and physical conditions against which the stoutest spirit could hardly prevail. If he had been a phlegmatic man he would probablj^ have lived much longer ; but he was anything rather than phlegmatic. He was keenly alive in every part, and for this reason his bodily powers were the sooner exhausted. Besides this fundamental reason of impaired health and dread of the inevitable strain to which he would be subjected should he be again the standard-bearer of his party, there w^ere other considerations which held him back. If we mistake not, Blaine did not expect, beforehand, the siiccess of the LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 155 Republican presidential ticket in 1888. He, like many others, came to expect success with the progress of the campaign. It was a striking illustration of the vicissitudes of public opinion in the United States, when the sentiment of the people gradually, during the summer months, went over to Harrison. That statesman was the beneficiary of great good fortune. It might almost be said that he reaped where he had not sown, and gathered where he had not strewn. Circumstances brought him to the presidency. The protected industries of the country must have it so. Ac- cordingly it was so. The seem- ingly invincible Cleveland went back in defeat, and was in his turn forced to abide his time. One of the inevitable conse- quences, or, at least, certain de- ductions, of the election of Harrison was the appointment of Blaine as Secretary of State. His former career in that office had been cut short by Guiteau's bullet ; now he must serve out his term and verify his policies by the international test. We do not intend, in this connection, to recite his work as Secretary of vState, aiming only in the present chapter to narrate so much as relates to Blaine's contests for the presidency. He remained in the State Department until near the close of the Harrison admin- istration. More properly, he held the place until it became evident to everybody that his friends, whether he will or nill, would , . nj^mis ,,m , ,. s present his name to the Republican National Convention of 1S92. True, he had declined such use of his name. He never encouraged or promoted the project of having himself again brought into the arena. It is clear in the retrospect that his enfeebled health forbade it. But his following would have it so. Blaine was virtually driven out of the cabinet. What should he do? Should he remain there and be a target for animadversions and the subject of endless bickerings ? Certainly it was not pleasant for him to go out. To do so was finally to terminate his political career. No man likes to give himself the quietus. In the Orient the taking of one's own life is looked upon. 156 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. as a commendable thing by the public, and even the taker comes, under dis- cipline and ethnic instinct, to regard it as reputable and famous. But the Occident does not have it so. Here the man must live as long and as famously as he can. Sad is the last eclipse ! Let it come as it may, the over-spreading darkness is disagreeable, and most disagreeable to the highest and most capacious minds. It was already the eve of the Republican National Convention at Minne- apolis when Blaine retired from the Harrison cabinet. It was too late ! All things were now prevalent against him. His fame flared up fitfully at the convention and then went out. The officeholders were now in league against him. They saw in him the setting sun. Of all officeholders it may be most truthfully said, as was aforetime said of our race in general, orientem solent coliiiit ; they worship the rising sun — and with good reasons ! The ox knowetb his master's crib! It were hard to say whether this last fitful and unsuccessful presentation of the name of Blaine to the National Convention of his party were not an error. Blaine could not have borne the stress of another presidential contest. Chaos would perhaps have come again as the result of his nomination. True, his policy of reciprocity' gave to the platform of his party, in the year 1892, its onl}^ element of strength. It is also true, if we luistake not, that the presen- tation of his name as the candidate of that party would have evoked a popular enthusiasm, the absence of which was the one noticeable fact in the contest for the re-election of Harrison. But all this is in the nature of conjecture. We see clearly only the fact that Blaine was constrained to retire from his cabinet place in the administration of which he had been the mainstay and element of fame, and that he was, without good reason, forced rather ingloriously into the Minneapolis convention, only to be beaten and to witness the extinction of the now flickering political torch which he had so long and gloriously held aloft. Such was the hard discipline and fate of his last days. It could not be said that after this final overthrow he went into obscurity ; for that could not be true of such a character. Not even the grave can obscure the light of some men's lives. Their principles and actions are of a kind to survive, for a while, the end of life and to shine with the glow of warmth and radiance, at least for a brief season, in the pages of their country's histor3^ CHAPTER VI. IN SENATE AND CABINET. E shall attempt in this chapter to say something about the life of Blaine in the Senate and the cabinet. He entered the former body in the summer of 1876. It was the last year of General Grant in the presidency. The Centennial Ex- position at Philadelphia was in full blast. The scars of the Civil War were beginning to dis- appear from the features and heart of the nation. Political life was in some sense as turbulent as ever. But from this time forth partisans and parties were obliged to make, rather than find, the issues about which they were contending. One thing we may note clearly and that is, the appearance at this period of those great industrial and economic questions which constitute the vital part in the political di\4sions of our time. We are here within one year of the great railroad strike by which the overland commerce of the United States was, for a while, prostrated as the result of cupidity and tyranu}' on the one side, and the irrational half-lawlessness of the wronged laborers on the other. We may remark upon the changed atmosphere as one passes from the House of Representatives to the Senate of the United States. The latter is pre-eminently a grave and decorous body of representatives. It is almost feudal in its dignity. The members are few in number. They represent great com- monwealths in their organized capacity. The}^ stand for States, and are thus removed by a little from the democracy of the people proper. The body is as deliberate as it is deliberative. It is to the good name of the American people that there is little unseemly or really factious in the Senate of the Republic. Webster said of it proudly, " This is a Senate of equals." No part of this description can well apply to the House of Representatives. That body has been called, not without wit, the Cave of the Winds. Certainly the observer might sometimes think that ^olus had really, in the Virgilian fashion, struck the mountain with the butt of his spear. It was a conceit of Don Piatt that first discovered this analog\^ of the House to the ^olian cavern. The House roars. It excites itself to an unusual degree. It is capable of all emotions and passions. It is capable of eccentricity and of such foolishness as might be expected only on the ball ground of a country school. (157) 158 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. This is not to say that the House does not possess great abilities ; for the greatest are seen in that arena. But it is a stormy place. The waters rush in and rush out. There are whirls of quicksand here and there, in which the unwary are suddenly swallowed. When that happens there is a laugh. The inscription, " No Mercy Here," might well be put up over the door. The cloak rooms are full of smoke and counterplot. A struggle is alwaj^s on. A vast constituency seems always to be peering over the railing, or looking down from the gallery. It was in this school of turmoil, hazard and vicissitude that Blaine was educated for statesmanship. There he became adroit, prudent, shrewd. If any one was ever to be caught napping, it was not the Representative from the Augusta district of Maine. Now, at length, after nearly fourteen years of service, that Representative retires from the arena where he had won his ' laurels and enters upon a five years' term of service in the cooler and quieter chamber of the Senate. They who entered the latter body come either with or without preparation. The last years have seen a number in the category of the wholly unprepared. If history should take the Vice-President's chair and call the senatorial roll in these days, when men, in the green stage of millionism, grow suddenly great and obtrude themselves where they have no business, not a few would be obliged to answer, " Unprepared, madame ! " For the rest, the preparation varies much according to circumstances. Webster was prepared in one way. Clay and Benton in another ; Sumner came with one kind of discipline, Morton with another, and Logan with another. Blaine came with a preparation peculiarly his own. It might be difl&cult, in the now lengthening list of Senators, to find one who, on the whole, was more thoroughly equipped for the senatorial ofi&ce than was the man from Maine. He had a large measure of scholarship to begin with. He had great capabili- ties as a public speaker. He had vast knowledge of affairs, both national and international. He knew the political history of his country by heart. He was a learned and experienced parliamentarian. It may be said that he had too much wit and vivacity for a Senator ; but this shocking superabundance of intellect and humor was compensated by the cooling effects of more than twenty years of public life. There was no antecedent reason why Senator Blaine, from the first day of his appearance in the upper chamber, should not be, as Inger- soll had then but recently declared him to be already, " A leader of leaders." The event proved to be so. It may be agreed that Blaine did not become so pre-eminent relatively in the Senate as he had been in the House. Senators are not disposed to brook that kind of ascendancy which their colleague from Maine had long enjoyed among the Representatives. Nevertheless, he was pre-eminent in the Senate as he must needs be everywhere. If we are to estimate his influence in the country at large, that was not augmented by his transference to the Upper House. This is not to say that his influence was not increased 160 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. and extended ; but the same was due to other considerations, such as a growing belief in his abilities as a statesman and in the improvement of his public character, by the lengthening and deepening discipline of his life. Blaine went into the Senate in the midst of the presidential canvass of 1876. The reader knows the result of that contest and the story of the Elec- toral Commission. The contest -relative to the san^ ; came on in the first months of Blaine's service. Leadership for and against the measure was mostly left to others. Blaine has, himself, in his history of Congress, summed up the result of the battle for the presidency. In that work he shows from the evidence that the agents of the Democratic part}- in the contested States of Florida, South Carolina and Oregon had made an illegal effort to alter the returns, so as to make it appear that Tilden, and not Haj^es, had carried the States. He also deduces as a conclusion that bribery on a prodigious scale had been attempted by these agents. But he exculpates Mr. Tilden himself from the responsibility of an attempted crime. The author also enforces, with a vehemence from which sarcasm is not wholly wanting, the allegation that the party which had flourished under the name of " reform " had thus shown itself most capable of dishonesty and corruption. One of the first questions of great interest which Mr. Blaine had to face — a question of vast and international importance — was that of the remonetization of silver. This qiiestion was the great issue before the Forty-fifth Congress. It might be well in this connection to review once more the subject from the standpoint of history and truth. The controversy' has been so long continued and so hotly waged, that the people of the United States are not as yet, and ma}- not be for a score of years, prepared to hear the truth as it ought to be told respecting the demonetization and the remonetization of silver. At the date of the publication of this volume, the battle still goes on. Remonetization has never been completely effected. It seems to be doubtful whether it will be or can be on terms of equity and justice. In other countries and under other conditions, the creditor and fund-holding classes have always carried the day against the debtor and industrial classes. The former are few ; the latter are many. The simple facts in the present case are these : The bonded debt of the United States was originall}^ purchased with a paper currency. That paper currenc}^ was at the time largely depreciated — as compared with the price of coin. It became easy to see how vast a gain would accnie to the holders of the national debt, and indeed to all the creditor classes of the country, if, in the matter of pa3'nient, the coin dollar could be substituted for the paper dollar in which the purchase had been made. So inexperienced were the people of the United States in transactions of this kind that nobody — or but very few — took the alarm. Under the specious phrase of resuming specie payments, and under the argument and protestation of national honesty, the act for the resumption of specie payments was passed. Then LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 161 it was that bond-holding and all credit-holding became enormonsl}' profitable. The value of the dollar in which all credit was expressed, gradualh-, day by day, and night by night, week and month and j'ear together, grew; so that any nominal payments that were made on the principal of debts, public and private, were constantly counterbalanced by the increasing value of the unit in which all debt was expressed. At last, in the beginning of 1879, the dollar of coin and the dollar of paper came to a common value. This was effected b}- a series of legislative acts^ which we need not here enumerate. Suffice it to say that the resumption of specie payments, after four years' notice, was effected on the first day of Januar}-, 1S79. It would seem that this ought to have satisfied the holders of the public debt, and indeed all creditors, whatsoever. But it did not. As soon as it was seen that ultimately specie payment would be effected in coin, then began the tinkering with the coin ! Now, since we have got our coin in pa3'ment for a debt that was contracted in paper, the next best thing is to have that coin worth more than it was when the debt was contracted, or, indeed, more than it ever was. The coin of the United States consists of two parts, a silver part and a gold part. It has been so from the foundation of the Government. We have always had the system of bi-metallism, which is simply a concession to the debtor that he shall enjoy the valuable option of paying freely in the cheaper of two metals — or the more convenient, as the case may be. Now, if this option could adroitl}' be taken away, how great would be the gain to all those who are to be paid dollars ! He who is to be paid a dollar wants a great dollar ; not a small dollar ; not even a dollar of the contract, but as great a dollar as possible. Under the casuistical reckonings, the American silver dollar was struck from the mints. Homer begins the Iliad bj' apostrophizing the muse to sing to him the direful cause of the woes of Greece. Here we have it ! It was the adroit and nefarious scheme by which one-half of the coin potency of the people of the United States was struck away, even when they didn't know it !: At length, however, the^^ did know it, and then came an upheaval that swept all before it. The proposition to remonetize silver at the old ratio with gold brought out long-continued and stormy debates. The advantage in the argument was wholly with those who advocated the free coinage of the silver dollar. This, however, was against the interest of the fund-holding classes, In politics it has always been dangerous to antagonize such classes, as in a free country it is also ultimately dangerous to antagonize the industrial and producing classes. Blaine in the Senate found himself beaten between these two forces. Embarrassed by the situation, he sought a middle ground — some ground that ■would be fairly tolerable to the sentiments of both parties in the controversy. 162 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. He delivered a speech iu the Senate ou the thesis " That gold and silver are the money of the Constitution, the mone}' iu existence when the Constitution was formed, and Congress has the right to regulate their relations." It is easy for the reader to see the stress of the situation, which would demand this kind of inconsequential argument from a statesman of Blaine's capacity. In his speech he advocated the coinage of " such a silver dollar as will not only do justice among our citizens at home, but prove an absolute barricade against the gold mono-metallists." He took the ground also that the standard silver dollar of three hundred and seventy-one and one-fourth grains of pure silver would not make such a dollar as would prove a barricade against the advocates of a gold standard only. In a word, the argument of Blaine was — and the same may be noted with peculiar interest, after the lapse of fifteen 3-ears — that a new silver dollar of greater value than the old one should be substituted therefor. This, of course, would imply that the silver standard should be altered and adjusted to the gold standard, and this is not bi-metallism at all, but mono-metallism. Nevertheless, the position taken by Blaine in the debates on the silver question was as prudent and politic as might well have been discovered under the circumstances. On nearly all of the questions before the Senate, during the after half of the eighth decade, Blaine had something to say in a measure of deter- minative influence. As he became experienced, certain subjects of the vastest interest absorbed his attention and became the subject-matter of his subsequent policy. Of those subjects, one of the most important was that of the restoration of the commerce of the United States. Time had been, as late as the middle of the sixth decade, only five years before the outbreak of the Civil War, when the merchant marine of the United States had, by its expansion and prosperity, come into strong competition with that of England on the high seas. It appears, however, that before the shock of our great conflict, the premonition of a decline in our foreign commerce was felt ; that is, in the tonnage of our ships and their success in competition. Now it was that sailing vessels began to yield to steamships. Iron took the place of wood as the principal material in the building of vessels. There came a day of speed and of cheap fuel, and of man}" other changes in the conditions of navigation and commerce. Mr. Blaine has himself, in his history of Congress, admirably sum- marized these conditions and at the same time expressed the beginning of his anxiety for a restoration of the supremacy of the United States in the •carrying trade of the world. He there shows that after 1856 a loss of 2 per cent annitally had been incurred bj^ the navigation of the United States. At the epoch of the civil war this rate of loss had risen higher and higher, until American commerce was almost obliterated. He showed in the next place that literally nothing had been done to recover the ground-which our country' had lost in her maritime enterprises. He enlarges upon the history of American commerce ; 164 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. shows some particular facts relative to our commerce with Brazil ; gives an account of the attempt of John Roach, the Irish- American ship-builder, to establish steamship lines between our country and the Brazilian Empire ; arraigns the Democratic party in Congress for its alleged hostility to the efforts which had been put forth to restore the commerce of the United States, and points out with great force the natural advantages which the United States enjoyed for the establishment and maintenance of a great mercantile marine. He calls atten- tion to the fact that in the past sixteen years the Government of the United States had expended more than three hundred millions on the navy, and scarcely three millions in the attempt to build up the commercial marine of the country ! The subject thus presented in Mr. Blaine's writings became ever more important in his estimation. It was in his nature to fret at any disparagement of his country. If he did not positivel}- fret at the loss of his country's prestige on the sea, he at least seriously and nervously considered the question with a view to the remedj^ of the evil. The praise of Blaine as a legislator has respect in particular to his unequivocal patriotism. He wished to see his country established and con- firmed in her greatness. He wished to contribute to her pre-eminence among the nations, and to devise such measures as should make her forever secure in her primacy. The great part of his work in the Senate was in support of such policies as he deemed requisite to the consolidation of American influence among the nations of the world. It was for the existence of such a sentiment and its activity in his nature that he took so strong a part with respect to the Halifax Fisheries Award. Perhaps the worst example of a deep-laid scheme to beat a great nation of people ever devised in the somewhat cunning diplomacy of ministers was that which resulted in the award of five and one-half million dollars in gold coin, against the United States and in favor of Great Britain for the very dubious advantage of the former in the matter of our northern fisheries. The award was one of the issues of the great Treaty of Washington. The article of the treatj' on which the matter turned was XXII., as follows: "In- asmuch as it is asserted by the Government of Her Britannic Majest}- that the privileges accorded to the citizens of the United States under Article XVIII. of this treaty are of greater value than those accorded b}' Articles XIX. and XXI. of this treaty to the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, and this asser- tion is not admitted by the Government of the United States, it is further agreed that commissioners shall be appointed to determine, having regard to the privileges accorded by the United States to the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, as stated in Articles XIX. and XXI. of this treaty, the amount of any compensation which in their opinion ought to be paid by the Government of the United States to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty in return for the privileges accorded to the citizens of the United States under Article XVIIL LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 165 of this treaty; and that any sum of nione}^ which the said commissioners may so award shall be paid by the United States Government in a gross sum, within twelve months after such award shall have been given." The Treaty of Washington also prescribed the manner in which three commissioners should be appointed to determine the possible amount of such payment, should any be made, by the United States to Great Britain. One commissioner was to be appointed by the President of the United States ; one by Her Britannic Majesty, and the third by concurrence of the President and the Queen. But, should these two distinguished personages, or rather the Governments which they represented, be unable to agree on the third commis- sioner, then the choice of the third should rest with the Austrian Ambassador at the Court of St. James. Why it was left to hnii is one of the inscrutable things which must be revealed from diplomatical history at the last day. The reader is perhaps informed as the result of the contest for the third commissioner. Great Britain got him. The Count Von Beust named Mr. Maurice Delfosse, Minister of Belgium, resident at Washington. Mr. Blaine has himself happily pointed out the extraordinary character of this appointment. It would have been impossible perhaps to name any prominent statesman, not himself a British subject, who was more likely to make an award in favor of Great Britain than the person chosen in the arbitration. He was in every way especially disqualified. In the first place, the Government of Great Britain had virtually created the Kingdom of Belgium. That Government was the upholder of the kingdom almost against the logic of events. King Leopold, its first sovereign, had taken in marriage the Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent of the kingdom. He was Queen Victoria's uncle on the mother's side and also Prince Albert's uncle on the father's side. He was marshal in the British army and actually, at the time of his service, a pensioner to the extent of fifty thousand pounds sterling on the British exchequer ! He was indeed an extraordinary personage to sit on a court of arbitration in a matter where the interests of Great Britain were concerned. Nevertheless, he did so sit, and it was he who, by his casting vote, made the award of the five and one-half million dollars against our Government. It was a strong attestation of the progress which arbitration has made among the peoples of the world, that the Halifax award, iniquitous as it was, was promptly and fully paid by the Government of the United States. There was sharp criticism all along the line, particularly in the Senate ; but it was felt to be better by far that the wrong should be fulfilled by payment than that the beneficent principle of arbitration should be renounced. Mr. Blaine, in common with his fellow Senators, shared and uttered the deep dislike and repugnance of the people relative to the award against his country. He very properly says : " The wrong was done when he [Delfosse] was elected as third commissioner, and the tenacity with which he was urged will always require explanation from the British Government." Another matter 166 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. which was constantly in the mind of Blaine at this epoch was the Southern question. He saw around him, in both houses of Congress, the leaders of the defunct Coufederac3\ He saw abroad, throughoixt the South, the ways and means prepared for the production of that political phenomenon called " The Solid South." He upheld such measures as appeared to him likely to break some- what the Southern influence in Congress, and it was pursuant of this policy that he favored the limited interference of the Government with what may be called the freedom of elections in the States. It was in this spirit that he entered into the senatorial battle with respect to the use of troops at the polls. The Democratic party had appended to- the army appropriation bill an amendment to the effect " that no money appro- priated in this act is appropriated or shall be paid for the subsistence, equip- ment, transportation or compensation of any portion of the army of the United States to be used as a police force to keep peace at the polls at anj- election held within any State." The project of stationing soldiers at the polls failed. Whether it were or were not meritorious as an expedient, it was not lit as a precedent or a polic3^ The measure went by, and Blaine, in common with nearly all the first leaders of the Republican party, was constrained to see the complete revival of power in the hands of the ancient Confederate party throughout the South. Another question which came to Mr. Blaine in the Senate was that of Chinese immigration. In a subsequent chapter of this volume we have pre- sented his speech on this qiiestion as well as that on the Halifax award. Perhaps no question has possessed more contradictory elements than that of the immigration of the Chinese into the United States. The character of Chinese civilization is well understood. Perhaps we should emphasize the isolation of the race and dwell upon the fact that thus far it has not shown disposition or, indeed, capacity to assimilate with any other than itself. Wherever the Chinese go they seem to drift around among the peoples whom they visit as foreign particles incapable of assimilation. With the opening of the great indiistries of California and the other Pacific States as far back as the earlier 3'ears after the discovery of gold, the men of the Celestial empire began to reach the American coasts. As laborers there are none more assiduous than they and none others who can live as cheaplv. The Chinese gold-miners were able to accumulate not a little of the precious metal ; but it was observed that they immediately returned to their own countrj-, giving place to an increasing train of immigration. Relations thus began between our country and China. These relations date back, indeed, to the year 1844. In 1S68 a treaty was negotiated between the United States and China known as the Burlingame Treaty ; for at that time the Honorable Anson Burlingame, who had been the American minister to ChiTia, had accepted from the Emperor an appointment as his representative to forei jn Powers. The Burlingame Treaty recognized the right of both Americans- LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 167 and Chinese freely to visit each the country of the other and to reside there — this, however, without respect to naturalization. One clause of the treaty had special significance. It was agreed as follows : — " The high con- tracting parties join in reprobating any other than an entirely z'oluntary emi- gration." They consequently agree to pass laws making it a penal oifence for citizens of the United States or Chinese subjects to take Chinese subjects either to the United States or to any foreign country, or for a Chinese subject or citizen of the United States to take citizens of the United States to China or to any foreign country, without their free and voluntary consent respectively." From these provisions it is clear that the danger of a Chinese labor-trade — that is, of an importation of Chinese laborers by American capital and the substitution of such labor for that of American citizens — was foreseen as early as 1868. President Grant, on more occasions than one, called the attention of Congress to such danger, and advised that body to make provision against it. In course of time the peril increased. The Chinese in California were multi- plied by thousands. They constituted a quarter in San Francisco. They made their way into the mines and along the railways. The spirit of opposition to the presence of such an element in Pacific society became pronounced and then intense. The subject, from being social, became first political and then dema- gogical. The question of restricting Mongolian immigration into the United States was agitated, and a bill for that purpose was, in 187S, carried through Congress. The principal features of the act were the prohibition on vessels agaiust bringing more than fifteen Chinese passengers to any port of the United States, and an authorization to the President to notify the Chinese Emperor of the intended abrogation of Articles V. and VI. of the Burlingame Treaty. That treaty had provided that either of the high contracting parties might, on due notification to the other, abrogate the existing compact, if such party should feel aggrieved at its provisions and results. It can hardly be doubted that the bill for the exclusion of the Chinese was carried through Congress, in part at least, for the political consideration that the party favoring such a measure would thereby secure the fealty of the Pacific States. Each party was, therefore, anxious to put itself on record in favor of those views which prevailed and were intensified in California. It is likely, however, that Senator Blaine, in favoring the exclusion of the Chinese, was not so much as many others affected in his principles by the politics involved. His Americanism led him to dread the presence in our countr}- of a large Oriental element floating about without assimilation. However this may be. President Hayes vetoed the Chinese bill, and Congress failed to pass the measure over the opposition of the Executive. The legislation, however, led to the appointment of three commissioners from the United States to proceed to China, under authority of the President, to negotiate a modification of the Bur- lingame Treaty. At the head of this commission \vas the Honorable James B. 168 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. Augell, president of the Michigan Universit3^ With him were associated Honor- able John F. Swift, of California, and Honorable William Henr}' Trescot, of South Carolina. The result was the negotiation of two new treaties. The first of these related to the introduction and immigration of Chinese into the United States, and the other had respect to the existing commercial relations between the two countries. That part of the treaty relating to the introduction of Chinese into our country was provisional, but it was immediately followed up with laws enacted by Congress for the restriction of Chinese immigration. Mr. Blaine's five years of residence in Washington, as Senator from Maine, were passed in the usual manner of prominent Senators. He was, however, with little doubt, the most distinguished figure of the times. He was more admired and sought after than was perhaps any of his colleagues. The same popular interest followed him ; but followed with augmented volume. His home was thronged with visitors and his desk was always heaped with a mass of un- finished business. Beyond his life as a statesman there lay his life as a politician. It is certain that both he and his friends looked to the probabilit}' of a presiden- tial nomination at the hands of his party in 1880. We have already recounted the story of the Republican National Con-en- tion of that year, and pointed out the circumstances which led to the substitu- tion of the name of Garfield for that of Blaine on the presidential ticket. That ticket was successful at the polls; and as the natural, almost inevitable, conse- quence of the result, Blaine was appointed Secretary of State. This involved his retiracy from the Senate. On the fourth of March, 1881, he resigned his seat to take his place at the head of the Garfield cabinet. The letter which he wrote to the President accepting the appointment is highly characteristic. We append it hereto as follows : — Washington, December 20, 1880. Mv Dear Garfield : — Your generous invitation to enter your cabinet as Secretary of State has been imder consideration for more than three weeks. The thought had really never occurred to m}' mind until at our late conference you presented it with such cogent arguments in its favor and with such warmth of personal friendship in aid of your kind offer. I know that an early answer is desirable, and I have waited only long enough to consider the subject in all its bearings, and to make up my mind, definitely and conclusively. I now say to you, in the same cordial spirit in which you have invited me, that I accept the position. It is no affectation for me to add that I make this decision, not for the honor of the promotion it gives me in the public service, but because I think I can be useful to the country and to the party ; useful to yon as the responsible leader of the party and the great head of the Government. I am influenced somewhat, perhaps, by the shower of letters I have received urging me to accept, written to me in consequence of the mere unauthorized LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. 169 ■newspaper report that you had been pleased to offer me the place. While I have received these letters from all sections of the Union, I have been especially pleased, and even surprised, at the cordial and widely-extended feeling in my favor throughout New England, where I had expected to encounter local jealousy and perhaps rival aspiration. In our new relation I shall give all that I am and all that I can hope to be, freely and joyfully, to 3'our service. You need no pledge of my loyalty in heart and in act. I should be false to myself did I not prove true both to the great trust you confide to me and to your own personal and political fortunes in the present and in the future. Your administration must be made brilliantly successful and strong in the confidence and pride of the people, not at all direct- ing its energies for re-election, and yet compelling that result by the logic of events and by the imperious necessities of the situation. To that most desirable consummation I feel that, next to yourself, I can possibly contribute as much influence as any other one man. I say this not from egotism or vain glory, but merely as a deduction from a plain analysis of the political forces which have been at work in the country for five years past, and which have been significantly shown in two great national conventions. I accept it as one of the happiest circumstances connected with this affair that in allying my political fortunes with yours — or rather for the time merging mine in yours — my heart goes with my head, and that I carry to you not only political support, but personal and devoted friendship. I can but regard it as some- what remarkable that two men of the same age, entering Congress at the same time, influenced by the same aims and cherishing the same ambitions, should never, for a single moment in eighteen years of close intimacy, have had a mis- understanding or a coolness, and that our friendship has steadily grown with our growth and strengthened with our strength. It is this fact which has led me to the conclusion embodied in this letter, for, however much, my dear Garfield, I might admire you as a statesman, I would not enter yoiir cabinet if I did not believe in you as a man and love you as a friend. Always faithfully yours, James G. Blaine. The other members of the Garfield cabinet were : William Windom, Secre- tary of the Treasury ; Wayne MacVeagh, Attorney General ; Robert T. Lincoln, Secretary of War ; William H. Hunt, Secretar}^ of the Navy ; Samuel J. Kirk- wood, Secretary of the Interior, and Thomas L. James, Postmaster-General. - We shall not long detain the reader with the diplomatical life of Mr. Blaine during his first occupancy of the Department of State. It is sufi&cient to note that a policy was introduced into the Government of which Blaine was the author and principal promoter. That policj' he has himself outlined concisely as follows : — The foreign policy of President Garfield's administration had two principal objects in view : First, to bring about peace and prevent future wars in North and South America ; second, to cultivate such friendly commercial relations with 170 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. ' all American countries as would lead to a large increase in the export trade of the United States by supplying those fabrics in which we are abundantly able to compete with the manufacturing nations of Europe. We shall not here recount /;/ cxtenso the other features of the policj' and method of the Secretary of State. Perhaps the most conspicuous of all Blaine's acts while Secretary of State under Garfield was the invitation which he sent out to the American nations for a Peace Congress, to be held at Washington City. The time named for such meeting was March 15, 1882. Meanwhile, Garfield was assassinated, and, although the Arthur administration made as though it would favor the Peace Congress, the enterprise went awry and was. presently abortive. We should not pass over this period without noting the calmness and magnanimity of the Secretary of State during the long decline of Garfield. None proved himself to be a more worth}^ friend of the President than Blaine. The latter became a sort of organ between the people and the stricken Chief Magistrate. When Garfield died it was he who notified Vice-President Arthur and called him to take the oath of office. He was also the principal adviser in the preparation and conduct of the funeral of the dead President, and was in the following February appointed his official eulogist. We now pass over an interval of seven j^ears between the first and second service of Blaine in the Department of State. He himself was defeated for the presidency — defeated by a scratch. The Democratic party came into power with the resolute and stern Cleveland in the presidenc3^ Mr. Blaine passed a long interval in private life, or in such semblance of privacy as the American people were disposed to concede to him. It was at this time that his reputation as a statesman spread over the sea. He himself went abroad, and his mind became mature and calm under the skies of Italy and France. As the Cleveland administration grew to a close none might well foresee whether the party that had put the President in authority could succeed in replacing him there, or whether he must yield to another. Victory inclined to the Republican banner ; Harrison came in on the tide, and a new opportunity^ was given to the Republican party, not so much to appease itself with the fat of offices and the emoluments of temporary triumph, as to bring forth fruits meet for repentance, and recover, if might be, its great prestige with the American people. The election of Harrison to the presidenc}^ implied, among other things, the restoration of Blaine to the office of Secretary of State. The appointment went as a matter of course, and Blaine was again installed in the Department of State. He was now permitted to renew, and he did renew, the policies which he had conceived seven years previously. We have, at another part of the present work, illustrated with sufficient amplitude the work of the State Department under the administration of Harrison. The reader knows how many things went forward to complete or partial success. He knows also how serious LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES B. BLAINE. 171 were the complications which arose on this hand and on that ; an imbroglio with Italy ; warlike complication with Chili ; a rupture with Great Britain about the sealing fisheries of Alaska. In the midst came the International American Conference — an event which Blaine as Secretary of State had first imagined, then prepared, and finally developed into fact. One has only to look over the publications which issued from the Depart- ment of State for the years 1889-90-91 to be convinced, as well as surprised, at the vast volume of business transacted in the foreign relations of the United States. Such work is fit to break down men of genius, to make them prema- turely old, to crush their nerve-tissue under the sense of responsibility and difficulty. Blaine experienced this hardship. He also had other hardships most affecting to endure. Death came into his family. His son, Walker Blaine, a man of promise, who had already begun to be a diplomatist, died ; also the eldest daughter, Alice, wife of the military officer. Colonel John J. Coppinger. Such accumulated calamity might well prey upon the spirit of the strongest. We are permitted, in this connection, to repeat an incident or a conversa- tion furnished to the author by Bishop John F. Hurst, of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. After the death of Mr. Blaine's son and daughter, he called upon the Secretary and tendered him his sympathies. He went further, and speaking in behalf of the great denomination which, as bishop, he represented, he told Mr. Blaine that the sympathies and prayers of the church were his in his days of grief. Mr. Blaine heard him with attentive silence until the bishop had ceased speaking, and then said : " Bishop Hurst, I thank you for your expressions of sympathy and interest, and also thank the denomination which you represent. The death of my son and daughter brought to my mind a serious problem. In the presence of their loss I must do something. It seemed necessary for me that I should adopt a policy and follow it in order to live or continue my existence. One of two courses seemed to suggest itself; but which should I take ? I first thought that I must abandon public life and dwell henceforth with memory, else I could not go further. On the other hand, it seemed that I might ignore the personal and family affliction which had fallen upon me, resume my public duties, devote myself to them with such assiduity as must needs call my mind away from my losses, and thus manage to complete my course. Of the two alternatives, / cliosc tJie latter. I am endeavoring to devote myself with increasing assiduity to those official and public cares and anxieties, and thus I manage to maintain my interest in life. I think it better to go on in this way and to think as little of the past as may be under the eircii instances.'' Another fact which here appears for our consideration is the rather severe break which now came in the Secretary's vitality and bodily organs. He gave away under the action of the forces that played upon him, abetted, as those forces were, by the disappointments and troubles that were within him rather than without. He broke prematurely under his years, and was already remarked as an aged man. In this character he was seen about his residence on the east 172 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. side of Jackson, or in going to and from the other departments and the White House. His form, in these last days of his official life, was still erect and commanding. His step was habitually brisk. His close-cut beard and his hair were silvered almost to whiteness. His features relaxed a good deal and his countenance at times was dulled. At other times, as his spirits rose or the tide of improving health came again, he fired up in his old-time manner and his lustrous eyes regained for the hour their brilliancy and fascination. In another place, we have discussed the question which was before Blaine at the beginning of the year 1892. Now, indeed, was the last chance reallj^ •come ! Men do not like to face or to take their last chance. They would rather postpone the day of the great alternative. Certainly, Mr. Blaine could not hope to be a candidate for the presidency in 1896. The glittering prize must there- fore come at this juncture or never come at all. It is probable that he had schooled his mind to let the presidency go ; but at times and under certain circumstances the old passion and hope revived. It is likely that his expiring ambition in this particular was whetted to sharpness or to such blunt sharpness as still remained in his constitution, by Mrs. Blaine, who seems always to have had a strong influence over the miud of her husband. The more zealous of his party-following also favored this, the fifth use of his name in candidature for the presidency. His relations in the State Department and with the administra- tion became vexatious to a degree. He neither could nor could not. It would appear that in the cabinet he bore himself, to the last, with great dignity and with personal fidelity to his trusts. The office-holding classes of the country wished the renomination of Harrison. The President, himself, also desired a re-election. The demand was made on Blaine that he should declare himself. He did declare himself to this purport — that his name would not be presented at the Minneapolis convention as that of a candidate for the presidency. But this would not suffice. There were many who would nominate him anyhow. He had at his disposal the bulk and the enthusiasm of his party. Finally, when the crisis could be postponed no longer, he withdrew from the cabinet and let events take their own course. For a few days it seemed that his reputation and magnetic power over his party would prevail against all organization, and that he would again be the nominee. But the opposing cohorts put themselves compactly together and the movement in favor of Blaine was blown away. Already the great Secretary had retired from his official position. It was the last act in a long and successful public career. The effect produced on the public minds was profound. New, at last it was realized that James G. Blaine was to be no more considered as a qiiantity and possibility in the public affairs of the country. The conviction that, as a public man, he was no more, settled heavily on the heart of the nation. Both parties and all parties could but regret the vicissitude of affairs which had at length ruled, from one of the highest places of authority, the illustrious occupant and made him of no further official -count in the destinies of the American nation. CHAPTER VII. THE INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN CONFERENCE. N the curreut chapter we shall attempt to give some account of an event with which the name of James G. Blaine is destined to be forever associated in our histor3^ We refer to the International American Con- ference, popularly known as the Pan-American Con- gress. This great delegate assembly, from the American Republics, was held in Washington, D. C, beginning on the second of October, 1889. The meetings were held in the diplomatic chamber of the Department of State. It was from beginning to end an affair of that Department, and Mr. Blaine, as Secretary of State, was, from the incipiency, its prevailing spirit. The proceedings of the Conference have now been published from the printing office of the Government, and constitute, under the head of Reports and Discussions, four large volumes. These contain a mass of infor- mation and a variety of views on questions of national and inter- national policy, full of interest, and constituting the original material of an important chapter in the future history of the United States. Premising, we may say, that the International American Conference, held under Mr. Blaine's auspices, was the first important climax in a series of movements, which had found their first expres- sion as far back as the close of the first quarter of our century. From 1825, to 1888, attempts more or less formal, may be noted to hold a conference of the American nation, and to devise, as it were, a kind of American internationality. Of the nature of this project, we may gain some idea by a reference to the address of introduction, delivered by Mr. Blaine himself, to the assembled dele- gates from thirteen American Republics, October 2, 1889. Addressing the assembly Mr. Blaine said : — ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY MR. BLAINE. Gentlemen of the International American Conference : — Speaking for the Government of the United States, I bid you welcome to this Capital. Speaking for the people of the United States, I bid you welcome to every section and to every State of the Union. You come in response to an invitation extended, by the President, on the special authorization of Congress. Your presence here 1173) 174 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. is uo ordiuary event. It signifies mnch to the people of all America to-day. It may signify far more in the days to come. No conference of nations has ■ever assembled to consider the welfare of territorial possessions so vast and to contemplate the possibilities of a future so great and so inspiring. Those now sitting within these walls are empowered to speak for nations, whose borders are on both the great oceans, whose northern limits are touched by the Arctic waters for a thousand miles beyond the Strait of Behring, and whose southern extension furnishes human habitations farther below the equator than is else- where possible on the globe. The aggregate territorial extent of the nations, here represented, falls but little short of 12,000,000 of square miles — more than three times the area of all Europe, and but little less than one-fourth part of the globe ; while in the respect to the power of producing the articles which are essential to human life and those which minister to life's luxury, they constitute even the larger portion of the entire world. These great possessions to-day have an aggregate popula- tion approaching 120,000,000, but if peopled as densely as the average of Europe, the total number would exceed 1,000,000,000. While considerations of this character must inspire Americans, both south and north, with the liveliest anti- cipation of future grandeur and power, they must also impress them with a sense of the gravest responsibility touching the character and development of their respective nationalities. The delegates I am addressing can do much to establish permanent rela- tions of confidence, respect and friendship between the nations which they repre- sent. They can show to the world an honorable, peaceful Conference of eighteen independent American Powers, in which all shall meet on terms of absolute equality ; a Conference in which there can be no attempt to coerce a single delegate against his own conception of the interests of his nation ; a Conference which will permit no secret understanding on any subject, but will frankly publish to the world all its conclusions ; a Conference which will tolerate no spirit of conquest, but will aim to cultivate an American sympathy as broad as both continents ; a Conference which will form no selfish alliance against the older nations from which we are proud to claim inheritance — a Conference, in fine, which will seek nothing, propose nothing, endure nothing that is not, in the general sense of all the delegates, timely and wise and peaceful. And yet we cannot be expected to forget that our common fate has made us inhabitants of the two continents which, at the close of four centuries, are still regarded beyond the seas, as the New World. Like situations beget like sympathies and impose like duties. We meet in firm belief that the nations of America ought to be and can be more helpful, each to the other, than the}' now are, and that each will find advantage and profit from an enlarged inter- course with the others. We believe that we should be drawn together more closely by the highways of the sea, and that at no distant day the railway system of the north and south LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 175 will meet upon the isthmus and connect by land routes the political and com- mercial capitals of all America. We believe that hearty co-operation, based on heart}' confidence, will save all American States from the burdens and evils which have long and cruelly afflicted the older nations of the world. We believe that a spirit of justice, of common and equal interest, between the American States, will leave no room for an artificial balance of power alike unto that which has led to wars abroad and drenched Europe in blood. We believe that friendship, avowed with candor and maintained with good faith, will remove from American States the necessity of guarding boundary lines between themselves with fortification and military force. We believe that standing armies, beyond those which are needful for public order and the safety of internal administration, should be unknown on both American continents. We believe that friendship and not force, the spirit of just law and not the violence of the mob, should be the recognized rule of administration between American nations and in Amer- ican nations. To these subjects, and those which are cognate thereto, the attention of this Conference is earnestly and cordially invited by the Government of the United States. It will be a great gain when we shall acquire that com- mon confidence, on which all ^'i*- ri-aine during pan-american cont.kiss international friendship must rest. It will be a greater gain when we shall be able to draw the people of all x\merican nations into close acquaintance with each other, an end to be facilitated by more frequent and more rapid intercommuni- cation. It will be the greatest gain when the personal and commercial relations of the American States, south and north, shall be so developed and so regulated that each shall acquire the highest possible advantage from the enlightened and enlarged intercourse of all. Before the Conference shall formally enter upon the discussion of the sub- jects to be submitted to it, I am instructed b}- the President to invite all the delegates to be the guests of the Government during a proposed visit to various 176 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. sections of the countr}^, with the double view of showing to our friends from abroad the condition of the United States, and of giving to our people in their homes the privilege and pleasure of extending the warm welcome of Americans to Americans." The foregoing address of Mr. Blaine, delivered while holding the office of Secretary of Stat:- has special significance. It is the highest expression of his highest purposes as a statesman. Mr. Blaine's political and public life may almost be regarded as summarized in these two or three pages of his opening speech before the delegates to the International American Conference. It expresses the genius and inner sense of the man. He is here, at his best estate. He here speaks from the mind and heart outwards. He is here in his true element. We dwell upon it and emphasize it in order that the reader may catch the spirit of it and understand Blaine as he was in the day of his zenith. It will be noted, from Mr. Blaine's address, that " eighteen independent American Powers " are addressed. As a matter of fact, only thirteen States were represented by their delegates at the opening of the Conference. These were : Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Salvador, the United vStates of North America, Uruguay and Venezuela. The number of delegates present was in all twenty-six. These were : For Bolivia, Juan F. Velarde ; for Brazil, Lafayette Rodrigues Pereira, J. G. do Amaral Valente, Salvador de Mendonca; for Colombia, Jose M. Hurtado, Carlos Martinez Silva, Climaco Calderon ; for Costa Rica, Manuel Aragon ; for Guatemala, Fernando Crux ; for Honduras, Jeronimo Zelaya ; for Mexico, Matias Romero ; for Nicaragiia, Horatio Guzeman ; for Peru, F. C. C. Zegarra ; for Salvador, Jacinto Castellanos ; for the United States, John B. Henderson, Clement Studebaker, Cornelius N. Bliss, T. Jefferson Coolidge, John F. Hanson, William Henry Trescot, Morris M. Estee, Henry G. Davis, Charles R. Flint ; for Uru- guay, Alberto Nin ; for Venezuela, Nicanor Bolet Peraza, Jose Andrade. To the foregoing members of the Conference were presently added : From Hayti, Arthur Laforestrie, Hannibal Price ; from the Argentine Republic, Roqtie Saenz Peiia, Manuel Quintana ; from Paraguay, Jose S. Decoud ; from Chili, Emilio C. Varas, Jose Alafonso ; from Ecuador, Jose Maria Placido Caamano. In the matter of organization it might well have been foreseen who would be chosen presiding officer. That person was, out of the nature of the case, James G. Blaine, Secretary of State. The organization was completed bj'- the choice of William Elory Curtis as executive officer, together with a disbursing officer, sergeants-at-arms, surgeon, consulting engineer, official interpreters, publication clerk, translators, official stenographers, stenographers, messengers, pages, etc. The Congress was thus set forth in full form, and by the seventh of December, 1S89, was enabled to report the division of its work and to assign the same to the following committees : — E-xecutive Committee, Committee on Customs Unions, Committee on Communication on the Atlantic, Committee on 178 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Communication on the Pacific, Committee on Communication on the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, Committee on Railway Communication, Committee on Customs Relations, Committee on Port Dues, Committee on Weights and Measures, Committee on Sanitary Regulations, Committee on Patents and Trade Marks, Committee on Extradition, Committee on Monetar}' Convention, Committee on Banking, Committee on International Law, Committee on the General Welfare. The above may serve to give the reader an adequate notion of the extent and variety of the subjects which were to be considered by the International Conference. The volumes which have been issued by the Department of State are made up, for the most part, of the reports of the foregoing sixteen general committees and of the discussions thereon. Space forbids us, in this connection, to enter extensively into the consideration of the reports referred to, or of the discussions which followed on the reports. The Committee on Weights and Measures made its report on the fifteenth of January, 1890. The principal item in the same was that which gave approval to the metric system of weights and measures, and recommended the adoption of the same by the Conference as an expression to influence legislation in the various countries represented. The conclusian of the report is worthy of notice : — " Receutl}' the United States Government received official fac-similes of the meter and kilogram agreed upon in the International Metrical Conference held in Paris, in September of last year ; and the boxes containing them were officially opened on the second instant at the Executive Mansion, in the presence of the President of the Republic and other functionaries and certain distinguished personages, especiall}' invited for the ceremony. " The advantage which the metrical decimal system offers, being so evident, and that system having been already adopted b3^ so considerable a number of nations, your committee recommend — "That the International American Conference proposes to all the Governments here represented that its use be made obligatory, both in their commercial rela- tions and in all that relates to the sciences and the industrial arts. "Jacinto Castellanos, " Clement Studebaker." The foregoing report and recommendation was amended with a substitute offered by Matias Romero, of Mexico, as follows : — " Resohwd^ That the International American Conference recommends the adoption of the metrical decimal system to the nations here represented, which have not already accepted it." --^^ The debates on the report were interesting and extended, resulting on ^he twenty-fourth of January, 1890, in the adoption of the recommendat: — ' expressed in the amendment of Mr. Romero. The Committee on Intercontinental Railwa3fs was next to submit its repoi which was made on the twenty-first of February, and discussed on the twenty-sixth LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 179 The report was of great interest, declaring, first of all, that a railway, connecting all or the majority of the nations represented in the Conference, would contribute greatly to the development of cordial relations betwe^&n said nations and the growth of their material interests. The second recommendation was for the appointment of an international commission of engineers to ascertain the possible routes, to determine their true length, to estimate the cost of each and to compare their respective advantages. Space forbids the repetition of the matter contained in the sixteen general recommendations made by the committee. A few amendments were made and the report was adopted. Next came the report of the majority and the minority of the Committee on Customs Unions. The former was presented \rith the signatures of the representa- tives of Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and the United States. The minority report was signed by the representatives of Chili and the Argentine Republic. The discussion upon the reports was held on the fifteenth of March, 1S90. The debate took the general form of a controversy respecting free trade as a policy among the American nations. It extended from day to day until the twelfth of April, when the minority report was rejected by a vote of eleven to five. Such were the difficulties of the subject under consideration that the report of the majority was finally reduced to the following form, which was adopted on the date last mentioned : — " To recommend to such of the Governments represented in the Conference as may be interested in the concluding of partial reciprocity, commercial treaties, and to negotiate such treaties with one or more of the American countries, as it may in their interest to make them, under such a basis as may be acceptable in each case, taking into consideration the special situation, conditions, and inter- ests of each country, and with a view to promote their common welfare." This report as finally adopted by the Conference well illustrates the irre- pressible conflict going on among the nations between the advocates and the opponents of free trade. The question will not down. It would appear that every intelligent human being, and many that are not intelligent, are born with certain prejudices on this question, that act, as it were, a priori \vl determining the future judgments of the persons concerned. It is like every other question that begins with assumptions. It has something in it of the same difficulty and inscrut- ableness which we know in the old philosophical and religious debates of the middle ages. It sometimes seems to be the doctrine of free trade will come again for decision. It may be doubted whether the most enlightened people in the world have to-day any really clear and definite thought on this question of free trade among the nations. Clearly England is one of the most enlightened and •^uccessful countries. She long had a system of protection, but this, within the nt century, she abandoned for the principle and practice of free trade. Clearly she has flourished and grown great, if not supreme, by this method. She has become the evangelist of free trade among the nations. And this fact, instead of con- firming our belief in the good policy of her system, tends rather to shake our 180 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. confidence in it. For if Great Britain thought it to be of advantage to her competitors that they should become, like herself, free-trade nations, would she, in that event, try to persuade them to become such? Has she been wont to give such advice as that ? When did she seek the interest of any save her own ? On the other hand, if Great Britain believed that the. adoption of free trade by the nations that compete with her for the commerce of the world would be injured thereby, with the general result of a gain to herself, is it not part and parcel of her spirit and history to advise that that very policy should be pursued ? Indeed, we fear the old Greek, even when she brings her gifts ! Here in the International American Conference, the question was renewed under conditions that might have seemed to favor the establishment of some concurrent opinion. Instead of doing so, however, the whole debate degenerated and issued in the adoption of an inconsequential resolution, which might do credit to an American political party in convention assembled. It is as though the Congress should say to the nations : If you desire to be free-trade nations, or protective nations, or reciprocal nations, in whole or in part, to any extent or any degree, or under au}^ conditions, or no conditions at all — why, then, to that extent, and in that manner, and to that degree, do as you want to do. and don't do as you don't want to do : for that will be best ! The next committee to report was that appointed to consider " Communi- cation on the Atlantic." The subject had respect only to such nations as were represented in the Conference and whose territories bordered on the Atlantic waters. The report recommended, in the first place, that the Governments represented should give aid to one or more lines of steam navigation between the ports of the United vStates and those of Brazil and Rio de la Platta. The second recommendation was that for the establishment, by governmental aid, of a fast bi-monthl}^ service of steam navigation between the ports of the United States, Rio Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos Ayres. The third recommendation considered the quarantine regulations which should be adopted to prevent the dissemination of infection. The fourth established the speed at which the steam- ships of the said lines should proceed. The next paragraph related to auxiliary lines of freight steamers between the ports of the United States and those of the Atlantic South American countries. So, through a series of recommendations, extending to fifteen, the report continued, covering many valuable and interesting suggestions for the improvement of commerce between the countries of the Atlantic seaboard, whose representatives sat in the Conference. The report was submitted on the twenty- third of March, 1S90, and on the following day the discussion began, resulting in the adoption of the report b}^ a nnanimoiis vote. This was followed by the report of the corresponding committee for the consideration of " Communication on the Pacific." This also covered a great variety of subjects, extending to nine recommendations from the committee, with special reports appended on telegraphic communication, postal communication, 182 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. etc. To this was added au elaborate appendix prepared by Hon. M. M. Estee, of California, on "The Commerce on the Pacific Coast." The discussion of the reports began on the twenty-fourth of March and was concluded by a unanimous adoption, together with the following especial recommendation : " The International American Conference resolves : To recommend to the Governments of the countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean to promote among themselves maritime, telegraphic and postal communications, taking into con- sideration, as far as is compatible with their own interests, the propositions formulated in the report of the Committee on Communications on the Pacific." Meanwhile, the Committee on " Communication on the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea" made its report, covering the subjects of telegraphic and postal communication, communication with Hayti, Venezuela, Colombia, Central America and Mexico. The report was elaborate, covering the whole question of transportation facilities among the States referred to. On the nineteenth of Febniar}^ 1890, the Committee on " Customs Regu- lation " made its report and the discussion immediately ensued with the unani- moiis adoption. The recommendation from the committee was as follows : — ^^ Resolved^ That the International American Conference recommends to the Governments represented therein the adoption of a common nomenclature, which shall designate, in alphabetical order in equivalent terms, in English, Portuguese and Spanish, the commodities on which import duties are levied, to be used respectively by all the American nations, for the purpose of levying customs imposts, which are or may be hereafter established, and also to be used in shipping ' manifests, consular invoices, entries, clearance petitions and other customs documents; but not to affect in any manner the right of each nation to levy the import duties now in force or w-hich ma}^ hereafter be established." The foregoing report was followed by a second from the same committee, under date of March 29, 1S90. This had respect to the classification and valua- tion of merchandise. The document and the discussion thereon were long and interesting, resulting in a vote unanimoush' in favor of the recommendations of the committee. The same body followed up its work by a third report favoring the establishment of an International Bureau of Information, and this called out a second discussion which, on the fourteenth of April, 1S90, also resulted in a unanimous vote in favor of the committee's recommendations. The debate on " Harbor Fees and Regulations," concerning which a paper was presented by the same committee, was one of the most extensive of the whole Congress and one of the most practically important. On the tenth of April, 1890, the report was finally called up by Mr. Studebaker, one of the delegates from the United States and was adopted. The next committee to submit its report was that on " Sanitary Regulations." This consisted of a report in chief and of an elaborate appendix, embracing the results reached in the Convention of Rio Janeiro and also in the Convention of Lima. The discussion on the subjects presented began at the session of February LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 183 28, 1890. At the end of the debates the report of the Committee on " Sanitary Regulations " was approved by a majority of thirteen votes to two in the negative. The latter were cast by the Delegates of Mexico and Chili. It were long to summarize the entire proceedings of the International American Conference or to present its results even in the briefest form. We must, within the limitations of our space, content ourselves with certain general features of the Congress and with very short epitomes of the acts and recom- mendations of the body. On the nineteenth of February, 1S90, the Committee on " Patents and Trade-marks " made its report. The recommendations sent in to the general session were as follows : — " Whereas, the International American Conference is of the opinion that the treaties on literary and artistic property, on patents, and on trade-marks, cele- brated by the Southern American Congress of Montevideo, fully guarantee and protect the rights of property which are the subject of the provisions therein contained : " Resolved^ That the Conference recommend, both to those Governments of America which accepted the proposition of holding the Congress, but could not participate in its deliberations, and to those not invited thereto, but who are represented in this Conference, that they adopt the said treaties." To this report and recommendation was added an elaborate appendix on the subject of " Literary and Artistic Copyright." The subject is so vast and the appendix so varied in its treatment of the same that we must pass them to note the brief recommendation adopted by the Conference on the third of March, 1890, as follows : Whereas, the International American Conference is of the opinion that the treaties on literary and artistic property, on patents and on trade-marks, celebrated by the South American Congress of Montevideo, fully guarantee and protect the rights of property which are the subject of the provisions therein contained : " Resolved^ That the Conference recommend, both to those governments of America which accepted the proposition of holding the Congress, but could not participate in its deliberations, and to those not invited thereto, but who are represented in this Conference, that they adopt the said treaties." The next in order followed the report of the Committee on " The Extra- dition of Criminals." In this it was proposed to have adopted, among the nations, a treaty on an International Penal Law. For this purpose a tentative statute of fifty-one articles was prepared and submitted to the Conference. The discussion of the given subjects was taken up on the fourteenth of April, 1890, and was continued from day to day until the decision was reached. On the twelfth of March, 1890, the Committee on " International American Monetary Union " made its report. The discussion of this was undertaken on the twenty-fifth of March and was contiinied with great spirit. The fundamen- tal question in the debates was found in the sixth article of the report of the committee, which was to this effect : — 184 " LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " The adoption of a common silver coin to be issued by each Government, the same to be legal tender in all commercial transactions between the citizens of all the American States." Here, indeed, was a bone of contention. The question of bi-metallism came up. Q'lot homines, tot sententice. The issue which had been uppermost for many years in the United States, and which has continued to the present time to divide the people, sprang full armed, and there was the usual difficulty in reaching any adequate judgment. There was the same interested division for and against the proposed universal silver dollar. It appears strained that justice and truth seem incapable of a hearing on this subject. In our own country, in the face of the notorious fact that the silver dollar is the dollar of the law and the contract, we have had a persistent and determined effort to dethrone it and reduce silver from the rank of a precious metal to mere merchandise. If, in our coiintr}', we are not able to do justice to the debtor classes and to the producing interests on this broad domain, what shall we expect when the contrarious interests, purposes and policies of many nations, some of them pro- ducing no silver, are to be taken into the account. The question of coinage, after all, is very simple. The debtor, if he be honest, wants to pay according to the law and the contract ; that is, to give to the creditor the same dollar which he promised to give. If he be dishonest, then he wants to give to the creditor some other dollar, less in weight and value than the one which he promised to give — as small, in fact, as possible, even if it be infinitesimal. On the other hand, the creditor, if he be honest, wishes to receive the dollar of the law and the contract. But if he be dishonest, he wants to receive some other dollar, weighing more and wortli more than the original. He wants this other dollar to be as big as possible — big as his father's shield or the moon's face itself. Now, in most countries and in our age, the dishonest debtors and creditors far outnumber the honest ones. The result is they do not agree as to what they should pay and receive in the liquidation of debts. The mone- metallist wants a dollar worth much more than the dollar of the law and the contract, and many representing the debtor classes are disposed to foist upon the creditor a dollar worth but little or nothing at all ! The foregoing was the most extensive single debate before the International American Conference. The recommendations, which are here inserted, show strongly the political tinge. It is clear to the reader that the merits of the question have been in large measure -generalized away. It would be amusing, if it were not pitiable, to note the expedients to which the human mind, acting under the dominion of political forces, is driven in its flirtation with truth and falsehood. The mind, in such a case, would fain have the truth ; it must needs be content with the false. With either it might be content — " Were t'other dear charmer awa}' ! " The recommendations of the committee were finally as follows : — " The International American Conference is of opinion that great advantages would LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 185 accrue to the commerce between the nations of this continent by the , use of a coin or coins that would be current at the same value 'in all the countries represented in this Conference,' and therefore recommends : — " I. That an International American Monetary Union be established. " 2. That as a basis for this union, an international coin or coins be issued which shall be uniform in weight and fineness, and which may be used in all countries represented in this Conference. "3. That to give full effect to this recommendation, there shall meet in Washington a commission composed of one delegate or more from each nation represented in this Conference, which shall consider the quantity, the kind of currency, the uses it shall have and the value and proportion of the international silver coin or coins and their relations to gold. " 4. That the Government of the United States shall invite the commission to meet in Washington within a year to be counted from the date of the adjournment of this Conference." The reader will excuse the travesty, but this report of the Committee, adopted as the best attainable thing, was — and is — virtually equivalent to the following : — "The International American Conference is of the opinion that sunshine is a beautiful and useful commodity to the world, and that spring rains in their season tend to make fruitful fields. Therefore, we recommend : — " I. That an International Sun-and-Rain Union be established. " 2. That as a basis for this union, a uniform amount of both sunshine and rain, according to the season, be recommended to the various countries represented in this Congress. " 3. That, in order to make effective this recommendation, a second Sun- and-Rain Committee be invited to meet in Washington, who shall further con- sider the quantity of sunshine and the amount of rainfall requisite for the interests of vegetation and their proper combination. "4. That the Government of the United States shall, within a year, invite the said Sun-and-Rain Committee to meet in the city of Washington for the promotion of the interests hidden somewhere in its existence." But the honorable committee did the best it coiild, under the circum- stances ; for, for the time, the question was unsolvable. That is, it was unsolvable without telling the truth, and the truth could not be told on account of the political conditions present in the United States and in other countries represented in the Conference. The next committee to report its work was that appointed to consider an "International American Bank." This subject also was dangerous. It resulted in a majority and a minority report, both of which were submitted to the Con- ference on the eighth of April, 1890. The first was signed by the representatives from Colombia, the United States of North America and Brazil, and the second was signed by Mr. Emilio C. Varas, delegate from Chili. The discussions were 186 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. lengthy, taKing up the time of the sessions of April ii, 12 and 13. The action finally agreed upon was summarized in the following recommendation : — " Resolved, That the Conference recommends to the Governments here represented the granting of liberal concessions to facilitate inter-American bank- ing, and especially such as may be necessary for the establishment of an Inter- national American Bank, with branches or agencies in the several countries represented in this Conference." One of the most important subjects before the body was that of " Private International Law." The committee having this subject in hand made its report on the twenty -first of February, 1890, and the discussion was continued for several sessions. The report presented a trial statute for a proposed Treaty on " Interna- tional Civil Law," extending to seventy-one articles, with an appendix of fifty-two articles and a second appendix on the " Law of Procedure," of sixteen articles. Following this came, on the twelfth of April, 1890, the report of the Com- mittee on " Claims and Diplomatic Intervention." Of this there was a majority and a minority report. The same was true of the reports of the Committee on " Navigation of Rivers." On the latter subject the discussions were held on the eighteenth of April, 1890, and resulted in the following recommendations: — " (i) That rivers which separate several States, or which bathe their terri- tory, shall be open to the free navigation of the merchant marine or ships of war of riparian nations. " (2) That this declaration shall not affect the jurisdiction nor the sovereignty of any of the riparian nations, either in time of peace or war." None of the sub-committees of the Conference was more important than that appointed to consider a " Plan of Arbitration." The question of arbitrating difficulties among nations has arisen from time to time since the revival of civilization. All the enlightened peoples have felt that sooner or later reason must be substituted for war in the adjustment of questions at issue among themselves. The Committee on Plan of Arbitration made its report on the ninth of April, 1890. It consisted of a sort of international constitution of nineteen articles, covering the whole ground of arbitration and prescribing the rules by which the same should be attained among the Republics of North, Central and South America. The discussion of this vast subject was undertaken on the fourteenth of April, 1890. It extended through many days ; was marked with great ability and tended to a practical result. This was reached in the adoption of a plan of arbitration for the countries represented in the Conference. The plan itself was an amended and improved form of the constitution reported by the committee, and though too long for insertion here, is worthy of the reference and interest of the reader.* On the twentieth of January, 1890, the Conference considered a proposed " Recommendation to European Powers," bearing on the question of arbitration and resulting in the following action : — *See "International American Conference" (published by the Department of State), 1892, Volume II, p. 1078. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 187 " The luteruational American Conference resolves : That this Conference, having recommended arbitration for the settlement of disputes among the Republics of America, begs leave to express the wish that controversies between them and the nations of Europe may be settled in the same friendly manner. " It is further recommended that the government of each nation herein repre- sented communicate this wish to all friendl}- powers." The Committee on General Welfare made, on the eighteenth of April, a supplementary report on " The Right of Conquest," which, after discussion, was finished with a series of recommendations against spoliation and violence among the nations. This was followed on the same day with miscellaneous resolutions and closing ceremonies. There was a proposition for an Inter- national Memorial Library, another project for a Colombian Exposition, and then the proceedings of the Conference were brought to a close by the president, James G. Blaine, in a FAREWELL ADDRESS. Gentlemen : — I withhold for a moment the word of final adjournment, in order that I may express to you the profound satisfaction with which the Government of the United States regards the work that has been accomplished by the International American Conference. The importance of the subjects which has claimed j^our attention, the comprehensive intelligence and watchful patriotism which you have brought to their discussion, must challenge the confidence and secure the admiration of the Governments and peoples whom you represent ; while that larger patriotism which constitutes the fraternity of nations has received from you an impulse such as the world has not before seen. The extent and value of all that has been achieved by your Conference cannot be measured to-day. We stand too near it. Time will define and heighten the estimate of your work ; experience will confirm our present pace ; final results will be your vindication and your triumph. If, in this closing hour, the Conference had but one deed to celebrate, we should dare call the world's attention to the deliberate, confident, solemn dedi- cation of two great continents to peace, and to the prosperity which has peace for its foundation. We hold up this new Magna Charta, which abolishes war and substitutes arbitration between the American Republics, as the first and great fruit of the International American Conference. That noblest of Ameri- cans, the aged poet and philanthropist, Whittier, is 'the first to send his saluta- tion and benediction, declaring, " If in the spirit of peace the American Conference agrees upon a rule of arbitration which shall make war in this hemisphere well nigh impossible, its sessions will prove one of the most important events in the history of the world." I am instructed by the President to express the wish that, before the members of the Conference shall leave for their distant homes, they will accept the hospitality of the United States in a visit to the Southern section of the 188 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Union, similar to the one they have already made to the Eastern and Western sections. The President trusts that the tour will not only be a pleasant incident of your farewell to the country, but that you will find advantage in a visit to so interesting and important part of our Repiiblic. May I express to you, gentlemen, my deep appreciation of the honor you did me in calling me to preside over your deliberations. Your kindness has been unceasing, and for your formal words of approval I offer you my sincerest gratitude. Invoking the blessing of Almighty God upon the patriotic and fraternal work which has been here begun for the good of mankind, I now declare the American International Conference adjourned without day." The International American Conference of 1890 is the monument of James G. Blaine. That body and work more fully than any other part of current history expressed — and still expresses — the genius, purpose and hope of the statesman. It shows Blaine at his best estate. His name is destined to be forever asso- ciated, not only with the Conference itself, but with those vast results which it may bear as the elements of progress are born in the capacious bosom of time. He was proud of his great Congress, and its pride in him was shared by the American people. It was the beginning of that epoch in his life when he stood no longer for a single party of his countrymen, but for both parties and all parties alike. From that event his spirit began more and more, until the day of his death, to predominate over the opinions and impulses of the mighty nation which had given him birth and brought him to the stature of greatness. CHAPTER VIII. EPISODE OF THE PARIS LETTER. ^ NE of the most interesting episodes in Mr. Blaine's career was that of the Paris letter on the tariff. Its production, as well as its substance, happily illus- trates the temper and genius of the man. It was in December of 1887 that the letter referred to was produced. The circumstances of its production have in them the roots of a good deal of current political histor3^ It was at this juncture that Presi- dent Cleveland, then in the third year of his admin- istration, made his remarkable coup on the tariff question. A large surplus had accumulated in the treasury. The schedule of duties on the protected articles of the American market was high, averaging about forty-seven per cent on the whole of the commodities included in the tariff list. The existence of such a fact in the industrial and, indeed the whole economic life of the people of the United States must needs provoke much controversy. Many other questions came in for their share of public concern. Up to this period it could hardly be said that the tariff issue was predominant over all others. At the opening of the congressional session, in December of 1887, the President, departing from the usual custom, cast aside all other questions of governmental and political interest and took up in his message the sole issue of the tariff. He attacked the whole system and recommended, if not the positive abolition, at least the essential modification and abatement of the protective policy. The message was something of a bomb. The strength of the document could hardly be doubted. The measure was a daring innovation. It was in the nature of an attack on established opinion. The President's own party was by no means, at that juncture, a free trade party. The Republican party was certainlj^ committed in a general way to protection. Apart from all politics, there had grown up a vast manufacturing interest in the United States under the aegis of protection, and perhaps stimulated into existence thereby. Certainly the whole manufacturing system was adjusted to the existing tariff and might almost be said to be a part of it. The attack of President Cleveland was therefore virtually against the stimulated industry and ostensibly in favor of fhe general producing interests of the country. To {189) 190 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. this question all the message was devoted. The paper was a sensation, both in Congress and out of Congress, in political circles, and, indeed, in all circles whatsoever of American life. The message was the unexpected thing. For the day it took the political breath away. Some said that the President had wrecked himself. Others said that he had wrecked both himself and his party. Others said that he was a prophet. Some called him a statesman and others a madman. It appears that, in the general melee, nobody thought of answering the President's message; that is, only one man thought of it, and that one man was James G. Blaine. Of course, there were answers galore ; but did any of them go to the heart of the question? That was doubtful. It was needed as a stroke of Republican policy and leadership that somebody should at once enter the arena while the smoke of the explosion was not yet dissipated and while the walls were still hot, and answer the President on his own ground- The circumstances were not such as to lay this duty on Blaine. He was at that time living in the French capital. He was there occupying his faculties lightly and striving to regain his health. It was in the Blaine nature, however, to go off suddenly under friction. He could take fire on occasion as well as any other of our public men. The wonder is that he did not, in virtue of his temperament, sometimes take fire when there was no occasion at all. In this instance there was clearly an occasion, and the way in which Blaine, somewhat enfeebled though he was, responded to the emergency revealed at once his great capacity and the will which he pos- sessed to cope with any foeman, however great his prowess and advantageous his position. The Paris letter, which Blaine composed in answer to President Cleve- land's famous message, was telegraphed to the United States and printed in the New York Tribune in the form of an interview on the morning of the following day. The composition of such a production on such a subject and under such circumstances was a prodigious effort on the part of a sick man, more than three thousand miles from his country. The letter was composed by Mr. Blaine and given by him to George W. Smalley, the Paris corre- spondent of the Tribune^ and by him cabled to the home paper in New York. We are fortunate in possessing and being able to reproduce from Blaine's own lips the story of this letter and the manner of his production. Near the close of his term of service as Secretary of State in the Harrison admin- istration, he was called upon by Mr. Henry W. Knight, of Brooklyn, to whom he detailed the circumstances, origin and production of the Paris letter. Mr. Knight had been for some years a personal friend of the statesman, and at the time indicated was in friendly converse with him on a matter of business. The subject of the tariff letter came up in connection with the amount of literary composition which a man might well produce under emergenc}^ in a day. Mr. Blaine related how, in Paris, he had known a number of literary LIFE AND WORK OP JAMES G. BLAINE. 191 men, who liad spoken to him about their daily rate of production. But the story of the interview of Mr. Knight with the Secretary and the account given by the latter of the Paris letter is best preserved in the language of the former as he remembers and reproduces it : "I called upon Mr. Blaine," said Mr. Knight, "on the fifteenth of March, 1892. At this time he gave me a photograph of himself, a copy of which appears as frontispiece of this volume ; at that time he stated to me that when he had this picture taken he left his house in Madison Place, went around to the photographer's and was back at home in eight minutes ! Of course, I was much concerned with Mr. Blaine's personal manner and appearance. It was clear to me that he was enfeebled in body and at intervals dulled in thought. It appeared that his mind flashed up fitfully — that he was slow to begin and slow in the formiila- tion of his thoughts. His mind at intervals seemed to be, as it were, away from home. In the course of the conversation, however, he became both interesting and inter- ested. His fervor returned when the conversation touched upon such topics as revived great memories of great events in his life. » " It was at this interview that Mr. Blaine recounted to me the circumstances of the writing of the famous Paris letter, which he sent from the French capital in answer to President Cleveland's tarifi" mes- sage to Congress. Blaine, at the time of my interview, was still performing the duties of Secretary of State, but was, as I have said, in impaired health. He had just recovered from an attack of la grippe. When the subject of the letter was touched upon, however, he aroused himself, and assuming all of his old-time spirit, gave me a very graphic account of the circumstances. " It seems that in Paris Blaine was still in his bedroom on the morning of the seventh of December, 1887, when Mrs. Blaine, who had just received the Paris paper containing the message of President Cleveland, came in. Mrs. Blaine said to him, 'James, here is a message to Congress from President Cleveland.' Mr. Blaine said, ' Read it to me,' and Mrs. Blaine proceeded to read it. When she had finished, Mr. Blaine, speaking of GROVKR Cl.l.VlCLAND. VJz LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. himself, said with enthusiasm : ' I jumped out of bed and striking the table ■with my hand said, " ' We can beat him on i/iai message ! ' " I immediatel}) called a messenger and sent for George W. Smalley, who happened to be in Paris at the time. Mr. Smalley arrived and I said to him that I wished to send an answer to Mr. Cleveland's tariff message to the Tribune^ and asked if he would be willing to send it over the cable. To this Mr. Smalley immedi- ately agreed. I thereupon sat down and hurried off the communication, and delivered it, a page at a time, to Mr. Smalley. The whole appeared, done into an interview by Mr. Smalle}^ in the New York Tribune on the following day. The letter seemed to define the issue between the two parties sharply, and became the keynote of the campaign which resulted in the election of Mr. Harrison to the presidency. After I had finished the document,' continued the Sec- retary, ' I was completely and thor- oughly used up. It was an over- task for a sick man, and I was unable to do anything for forty- eight hours afterwards.' " Mr. Henry W. Knight, to whom we are indebted for this interesting account of an interview with Mr. Blaine near the last days of his official life, is a prominent citizen of Brooklyn and an enthusiastic admirer of the subject of this vol- ume, to whose political interest he has contributed some of his most enthusiastic work. It may be re- called that in 1884 a sentiment of discontent appeared among the Republicans of Brooklyn, which was encouraged and promoted by the attitude of the leaders of the Young Republican Club. Of this body Mr. Knight was a member. Seeing the apathy and ill-concealed opposition to Blaine in the club, he at length led a revolt, which resulted in the successful organization of the Young Men's Republican Club of Brooklyn, which did such efficient work in the canvass. The movement was audacious and was ably led by Mr. Knight, who was thus brought into friendly and rather intimate relations with his unsuccessful standard- bearer. On the occasion of the interview described in the text Mr. Knight, who is a publisher, was negotiating with Mr. Blaine for the production of his last HENRY W. KNIGHT. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 193 literary work. This was his thesis on " The Progress and Development of the New World," which presently appeared from the press of the Historical Publishing Company, of Philadelphia, as the introduction to Columbus and Columbia — a book issued by that house in the fall of the same year. This literary product, beiug the last which the statesman composed, and having intrinsic merits in connection with the Columbian year, we have the pleasure of reproducing in Chapter XVII. of this volume. We hereto append the Paris letter in full, as the same was done into the form of an interview by Mr. Smalley, whose preliminary note, preceded by the Tribune headlines, is also added by way of introduction. THE PARIS LETTER OF BLAINE ON THE TARIFF MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT. Mr. Blaine on the Message — The Issue will be Squarely Met — A Powerful Arraignment of the President's Policy — His Recommendations Freely Criticised — Disastrous Consequences of Free Trade — The Tax on Tobacco Should be Repealed before the Holidays — The Tax on Whisky Should be Retained and the Surplus Used to Fortify America's Defenceless Coasts — Southern Progress in Danger of being Checked — Delusions of Foreign Trade — The Fallacy of Admitting Raw Material. Paris, December 7. (By Cable to the "Tribune.") After reading an abstract of the President's message, laid before all Europe this morning, I saw Mr. Blaine and asked him if he would be willing to give his views upon the recommendation of the President in the form of an interview, if I would agree to send him an intelligent shorthand reporter, with such questions as should give free scope for an expression of his views. The following lucid and powerful statement is the result. Mr. Blaine began by saying to the reporter : — " I have been reading an abstract of the President's message, and have been especially interested in the comments of the London papers. Those papers all assume to declare the message is a free trade manifesto and evidently are anticipating an enlarged market for English fabrics in the United States as a consequence of the President's recommendations. Perhaps that fact stamped the character of the message more clearly than any words of mine can." " You don't mean actual free trade without duty ? " queried the reporter. " No," replied Mr. Blaine. " Nor do the London papers mean that. They simply mean that the President has recommended what in the United States is known as a revenue tariff, rejecting the protective feature as an object, and not even permitting protection to result freely as an incident to revenue ditties." " I don't know that I quite comprehend that last point,'' said the reporter. " I mean," said Mr. Blaine, " that for the first time in the history of the United States the President recommends retaining the internal tax in order that 13 194 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the tariff may be forced down even below the fair revenue standard. He recommends that the tax on tobacco be retained, and thus that many millions annually shall be levied on a domestic product which would far better come from a tariff on foreign fabric." THE TOBACCO TAX SHOULD BE REPEALED AT ONCE. " Then do you mean to imply that you would favor the repeal of the tobacco tax? " "Certainly,! mean just that," said Mr. Blaine. "I should urge that it be done at once, even before the Christmas holidays. " It would in the first place bring great relief to growers of tobacco all over the country, and, would, moreover, materially lessen the price of the article to consumers. Tobacco to millions of men is a necessity. The President calls it a luxury, but it is a luxury in no other sense than tea and coffee are luxuries. " It is well to remember that the luxury of yesterday becomes a necessity of to-day. Watch, if you please, the number of men at work on the farm, in the coal mine, along the railroad, in the iron foundry or in any calling, and you will find ninety-five in a hundred chewing while they work. After each meal the same proportion seek the solace of a pipe or a cigar. These men not only pay the millions of the tobacco tax, but pay on every plug and every cigar an enhanced price, which the tax enables tlie manufacturer and retailer to impose. The only excuse for such a tax is the actual necessity under which the govern- ment found itself during the war, and the years immediatel}^ following. To retain the tax now in order to destroy the protection which would incidentalh' flow from raising the same amount of money on foreign imports is certainly a most extraordinary policy for our government." THE WHISKY TAX SHOULD BE RETAINED. " Well, then, Mr. Blaine would you advise the repeal of the whisky tax also ?" " No, I would not. Other considerations than those of financial admin- istration are to be taken into account with regard to whisky. There is a moral side to it. To cheapen the price of whisky is to increase its consutnption enormously. There would be no sense in urging the reform wrought by high license in many States if the National Government neutralizes the good effects by making whisky within reach of every one, at 20 cents a gallon. Whisk}^ would be everywhere distilled if the surveillance of the Government were witli- drawn by the remission of the tax, and illicit sales could not then be prevented, even by a policy as vigorous and searching as that with which Russia pursues the Nihilists. It would destroy high license at once in all the States. WHISKY SHOULD PAY FOR COAST DEFENCES. " Whisky has done a vast deal of harm in the United States. I would try to make it do some good. I would use the tax to fortify our cities on the I ASSASSINATION OF EX-PRESIDENT GAEFIKLI VIEW OF BAR HARBOR. MAINE. BLAINE'S EULOGY ON GARFIELD. BLAINE'S HF.i- BLAINE WRITING THE FAMOUS PARIS LFTTER. BOYHOOD OF BLAINE. 196 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. seaboard. In view of the powerful letter addressed to the Democratic party on the subject of fortifications, by the late Samuel J. Tildeu in 1885, I am amazed that no attention has been paid to the subject by the Democratic administration. Never before in the history of the world has any government allowed great cities on the seaboard, like Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Baltimore, New Orleans and San Francisco, to remain defenceless." IN TIME OF PEACE PREPARE FOR WAR. " But," said the reporter, " you don't think we are to have war in any direction ? ' ' "Certainly not," said Mr. Blaine, "neither, I presume, did Mr. Tilden when he wrote his remarkable letter. But we should change a remote chance into an absolute impossibility. If our weak and exposed points were strongl}^ fortified ; if to-day we had by any chance even such a war as we had with Mexico our enemy could procure ironclads in Europe that would menace our great cities with destruction or lay them under contribution." " But would not our fortifying now possibly look as if we expected war ? " " Why should it any more than the fortifications made seventy or eighty years ago by our grandfathers when they guarded themselves against suc- cessful attacks from the armaments of that day. We don't necessarily expect a burglar because we lock our doors at night ; but if, by any possibility, a burglar comes, it contributes vastly to our peace of mind and our sound sleep to feel that he cannot get in." HOUSES AND FARMS PAY TOO MUCH TAX. " But after the fortifications should be constructed, would you still maintain the tax on whisky ? " " Yes," said Mr. Blaine, " so long as there is whisky to tax I would tax it, and when the National Government should have no use for the money I would divide the tax among the Federal Union with a specific object of lightening the tax on real estate. The houses and farms of the whole country pay too large a proportion of the total taxes. If ultimately relief could be given in that direction, it would, in my judgment, be a wise and beneficent policy. Some honest but misguided friends of temperance have urged that the Government should not use the money derived from the tax on whisky. My reply is that the tax on whisky by the Federal Govern- ment, with its suppression of all illicit distillation and enhancement of price, has been a powerful agent in the temperance reform, by putting it beyond the reach of so many. The amount of whisky consumed in the United States per capita to-day is not more than forty per cent of that consumed thirt}' years ago." After a few moments' silence Mr. Blaine added that in his judgment the whisky tax should be so modified as to permit all who use pure alcohol in the arts or in the mechanical pursuits to have it free of tax. In all such LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 197 cases the tax could be remitted without danger of fraud, just as uow the tax on spirits exported is remitted." " Beside your general and sweeping opposition to the President's recom- mendation have you any further speciiic objection?" WOOL-GROWERS MUST BE PROTECTED. " Yes," answered Mr. Blaine, " I should seriously object to the repeal of the duty on wool. To repeal that would work great injustice to many interests and would seriously discourage what we should earnestly encourage, namely, the sheep culture among farmers throughout the Union. To break down wool-growing and be dependent upon foreign countries for the blanket under which we sleep and the coat that covers our back is not a wise policy for the National Government to enforce." " Do you think if the President's recommendation were adopted it would increase our export trade ? " " Possibly in some few articles of peculiar construction it might, but it would increase our import trade tenfold as much in the great staple fabrics, in woolen and cotton goods, in iron, in steel, in all the thousand and one shapes in which they are wrought. How are we to export staple fabrics to the markets of Europe unless we make them cheaper than they do in Europe, and how are we to manufacture them cheaper than they do in Europe unless we get cheaper labor than they have in Europe ? " THE LABOR QUESTION — ITS VITAL IMPORTANCE. "Then you think that the question of labor underlies the whole subject?" " Of course, it does," replied Mr. Blaine. " It is, in fact, the entire question. Whenever we can force carpenters, masons, iron-workers and mechanics in every department to work as cheaply and live as poorly in the United States as similar workmen in Europe, we can, of course, manufacture just as cheaply as they do in England and France. But I am totally opposed to a policy that would entail such results. To attempt it is equivalent to a social and financial revolution, one that would bring untold distress." " Yes, but might not the great farming class be benefited by importing articles from Europe instead of buying them at higher prices at home?" "The moment," answered Mr. Blaine, "you begin to import freely from Europe you drive our own workmen from mechanical and manufacturing pursuits. In the same proportion they become tillers of the soil, increasing steadily the agricultural product and decreasing steadily the large home demand, which is constantly enlarging as home manufacturers enlarge. That, of course, works great injury to the farmer, glutting the market with his products and tending constantly to lower prices." WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE FARMERS ? " Yes, but the foreign demand for foreign products would be increased in like ratio, would it not ?" 198 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " Even suppose it were," said Mr. Blaine, " how do you know the source from which it will be supplied? The tendency in Russia to-day and in the Asiatic possessions of England is toward a larger increase of the grain supply, the grain being raised by the cheapest possible labor ; manufacturing countries will buy their breadstuffs where they can get them cheapest, and the enlarging of the home market for the American farmer being checked, he would search in vain for one of the same value. His foreign sales are already checked by the great competition abroad. There never was a time when the increase of a large home market was so valuable to him. The best proof is that the farmers are prosperous in proportion to the nearness of manufacturing centres, and a pro- tective tariff tends to spread manufactures. In Ohio and Indiana, for example, though not classed as manufacturing States, the annual sale of fabrics is larger than the annual value of agricultural products." THE TARIFF OF 1S64 AND ITS RESULTS. " But those holding the President's views," remarked the reporter, " are always quoting the great prosperity of the country under the tariff of 1864." " That tariff did not involve the one destructive point recommended by the President, namely, the retaining of direct internal taxes in order to abolish indirect taxes levied on foreign fabrics. But the country had peculiar advantages under it by the Crimean War involving England, France and Russia, and largely impairing their trade. All these incidents, if you choose, were immensel}' stimulating to trade in the United States, regardless of the nature of our tariff — but mark the end of this. European experience with the tariff of 1846, for a time gave an illusory and deceptive show of prosperit3^ Its enactment was immediately followed by the Mexican War; then, in 1848, by the great convulsions of Europe; then, in 1849 and succeeding years, by the enormous gold yield in California. The Powers made peace in 1856, and at the same time the output of gold in California fell off. Immediately the financial panic of 1857 came upon the country with disastrous force. Though we had in these years mined a vast amount of gold in California every bank in New York was compelled to suspend specie payment. Four hundred millions in gold had been carried out of the country in eight years to pay for foreign goods that should have been manufactured at home, and we had years of depression and distress as an atonement for our folly." HOW MR. BLAINE WOULD REDUCE THE REVENUE. " Then do you mean to imply that there should be no reduction ot the national revenue ? " " No, what I have said implies the reverse. I would reduce it by prompt repeal of the tobacco tax and would make here and there some changes in the tariff, not to reduce protection, but wisely foster it." " Would you explain your meaning more fully ? " LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 199 '' I mean," said Mr. Blaine, " that no great system of revenue like our tariff can operate with efi&ciency and equity unless the changes of trade be closely watched and the law promptly adapted to these changes. But I would make no change that should impair the protective character of the whole body of the tariff laws. Four years ago, in the Act of 18S3 we made changes of the character I have tried to indicate. If such changes were made, and the fortifying of our seacoast thus undertaken at a very moderate annual outla3^ no surplus would be found after that already accumulated had been disposed of The outlay of money on fortifica- tions, while doing great service to the country, would give good work to many men." " But what about the existing surplus ? " " The abstract of the message I have seen," replied Mr. Blaine, " contains no reference to that point. I, therefore, make no comment further than to endorse Mr. Fred Grant's remark that a surplus is always easier to handle than a deficit." POSSIBLE EFFECT OF THE PRESIDENT'S POLICY. The reporter repeated the question whether the President's recommendation would not, if adopted, give us the advantage of a large increase in exports. " I only repeat, " answered Mr. Blaine, " that it would vastly enlarge our imports while the only export it would seriously increase would be our gold and silver. That would flow bounteously, just as it did under the tariflf of 1846. The President's recommendation enacted into law would result, as did an experience in drainage of a man who wished to turn his swamp into a productive field. He dug a drain to a neighboring river, but it happened, unfortunately, that the level of the river was higher than the level of the swamp. The consequence need not be told. A parallel would be found when the President's policy in attempting to open a channel for an increase of the exports should simply succeed in making way for a deluging inflow of fabrics to the destruction of home industry. " OUR OWN MARKET FOR OUR OWN PEOPLE. " But don't you think it important to increase our export trade ? " " Undoubtedly ; but it is vastly more important not to lose our own great market for our own people in the vain effort to reach the impossible. It is not our foreign trade that has caused the wonderful growth and expansion of the Republic. It is the vast domestic trade between thirty-eight States and eight Territories, with their population of, perhaps, 62,000,000 to-day. The whole amount of our export and import trade together has never, I think, reached $1,900,000,000 any one year. Our internal home trade on 130,000 miles of railway, along 15,000 miles of ocean coast, over the five great lakes and along 20,000 miles of navigable rivers, reaches the enormous annual aggregate of more than $40,000,000,000 and, perhaps, this year, $50,000,000,000. ILLIMITABLE FREE TRADE AT HOME. " It is into this illimitable trade, even now in its infancy and destined to attain a magnitude not dreamed of twenty years ago, that the Europeans are 200 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. struggling to enter. It is the heritage of the American people, of their child- ren and of their children's children. It gives an absohxtely free trade over a terri- tory nearly as large as all Europe, and the profit is all our own. The genuine free trader appears unable to see or comprehend that this continental trade — not our exchanges with Europe — is the great source of our prosperity. President Cleveland now plainly proposes a policy that will admit Europe to a share of this trade. " A NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY NEEDED. "But 3'ou are in favor of extending our foreign trade, are j^ou not?" " Certainly I am, in all practical and advantageous ways, but not on the principle of the free traders, by which we shall be constantly exchanging dol- lar for dime. Moreover, the foreign trade is often ver}^ delusive. Cotton is manufactured in the city of my residence. If a box of cotton goods is sent 200 miles to the Province of New Brunswick it is a foreign trade. If shipped 17,000 miles around Cape Horn to Washington Territory it is domestic trade. The magnitude of the Union and the immensity of its internal trade require a new political economy. The treatises writteti for European States do not grasp our peculiar situation. " THE SOUTH NEEDS PROTECTION. " How will the President's message be taken in the South ? " '"I don't care to answer that question. The truth has been so long obscured bj^ certain local questions of unreasoning prejudice that nobody can hope for industrial enlightenment among their leaders just yet. But in my view the South above all sections of the United States needs a protected tariff. The two Virginias, North Carolina, Kentuck}', Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia have enormous resources and facilities for developing and handling manufactures. They cannot do anything without protection. Even progress so fast as some of these States have made will be checked if the President's message is enacted into law Their Senators and Representatives can prevent it, but they are so used to following anything labeled ' Democratic ' that very probably the}' will follow the President and blight the progress made. B}' the time some of the Southern States get free iron-ore and coal, while tobacco is taxed, they may have occasion to sit down and calculate the value of Demo- cratic free trade with a local interest." THE FALLACY OF ADMITTING RAW MATERIAL. " Will not the President's recommendation to admit raw material find strong support ?" " Not by wise Protectionists in our time. Perhaps some greedy manufac- turers may think that with free coal or free iron-ore they can do great things, but if they succeed in trying will, as the boys say, ' catch it on the rebound.' If the home trade in raw material is destroyed or seriouslj^ injured railroads will be the first to feel it. If that vast interest is crippled in any direction the 1 I LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 201 financial fabric of the whole country will feel it seriously and quickly. If any man can give a reason why we should arrange the tariff to favor the raw material of other countries in a competition against our material of the same kind, I should like to hear it. Should that recommendation of the President be approved it would turn 100,000 American laborers out of employment before it had been a year in operation." A FULL AND FAIR CONTEST ON THE ISSUE. " What must be the marked and general effect of the President's message ? " "It will bring the country where it ought to be brought — to a full and fair contest on the question of protection. The President himself makes it the one issue by presenting it in his message. I think it well to have the question settled. The Democratic party in power is a standard menace to the industrial prosperity of the country. That menace should be removed or the policy it foreshadows should be made certain. Nothing is so mischievous to business as uncertainty. Nothing so paralyzing as doubt." The foregoing interview contains about four thousand words. It was written by Mr. Blaine in a single day and passed page by page to the correspondent. The statesman was b}- no means in full force at the time ; but the reader will look in vain for any evidence of weakness or lassitude in the letter itself. It shows Blaine's capacity for doing a striking thing with great ability and in the shortest space of time. His mental discipline was as undoubted as his readiness was manifest. Many a writer, who can produce a light essay on imaginative or half-imaginative subjects of an extent approximately equal to Blaine's production, would break and fail under the pressure of facts and argument. It was an audacious thing in the great Republican leader to essa}^ an answer to a presidential message in a single day, and to send that answer under the sea and deliver it to his countrymen in a form which a large part of the most intelligent of the American people believed to equal the President's document, if it did not positively confute and destroy it. The exploit was memorable in the political history of the quadrennium, and, as Mr. Blaine himself believed, made up the issue between the Republican and Democratic parties for the presidential contest of the following year. CHAPTER IX. PERSONALITY, HOME-LIFE AND CHARACTERISTICS. D although men whose exertions have been crowned wdth any degree of honor, and who have rendered themselves conspicnous to the world ought, perhaps, to regard only that personal merit to which they owe their celebrity ; yet, as in this world it is necessary to live like other people, I must, in commencing my narrative, satisfy the public on some few points to which its curiosity is usually directed." These words from the prefatory reflections with which Benvenuto Cellini enters upon his autobio- graphy declare a truth which finds a vivid illustration in the work written in the spirit he thus indicates, namel}', that of willingness to " satisfy the public " as to matters purely personal and apart from his "personal merit" as an aitist. Among the world's most famous books, place is universally conceded to Cellini's Autobiography, Boswell's Johnson, Pepys' Diary, and the Essays of Montaigne. They are always fresh and new and charming to each successive generation, because they possess an attraction to civilized men of every race and time in that they disclose in fullest detail the daily lives, the personal habits and tastes, motives of action, and the fears, foibles and weaknesses of their subjects and authors ; they satisfy the curiosity, which is a universal human trait. If these life-histories are so cherished on account of their frank self- revelations of men in whom the world has otherwise no particular interest, how much more valuable must be information as to the personal characteristics of individuals who are acknowledged to belong to the great of the earth! Colonel Ingersoll styles George Washington "a steel engraving." The aptness of the characterization is evident. We honor and revere the name of Washington, the patriot hero ; but he is a personage whose worth we recognize, not a man whom we can seem to see clearly and to know. Grant, too, will no doubt, appear to posterity more as a demi-god than as a man. Both the Founder and the Preserver of the nation were so grave in character and demeanor, so retiring in their nature, and of such reticence of speech except in the society of a few intimate (202) LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 203 friends, that they will be generally seen and known only as occupants of the exalted niches wherein fame has placed them. So far as the evidence extends, or for lack of it, they do not seem to have "lived like other people," or to have been closely in touch with their fellow-men. The public is not curious to know the personal side of the lives of its heroes in the hope of finding something there to detract from the largeness of their fame. It desires to see their common every-day qualities and peculiarities, even weaknesses, that it may establish a bond of union and sympathy between them and the " average man," and comfort itself with the thought that strength and genius lie in the development of the nature and powers which all possess. The Cromwells, Washingtons and Grants appear to have been held in obscurity by the hand of a prescient fate to be brought' forward in an emergency none else could meet. As in the legend of the Indian fight at Hadley, the regicide Gofife suddenly appeared at the critical point of the fray, and, with superhuman heroism, turned the scale in favor of the whites, and then as mys- teriously vanished, leaving a sensation of awe among those he had rescued, so, when on great occasions or at dangerous junctures, such men as these have sprung up and led to victory, as if divinel}'^ delegated for the duty of the hour, something of mystery and reverential regard attaches to them forever. The public does not expect to know them as intimately as other men are known. The case is different as to those who have grown to greatness gradually before the eyes of the public and in its service. The relation is closer and the mutual attachment acquires a warmth of human interest which, on the part of the public, leads to a desire to be admitted to a thorough and intimate acquaint- ance with the object of its admiration, and to transmit the fullest information in regard to him that posterity may see "the great Achilles whom we knew." Of this class Blaine was pre-eminently a representative. He was emphatically a tribune of the people. Entering public life at the age of twenty-four he was continuouslj^ and, after the first few years of his apprenticeship, conspicuously before the people until his last hour. His personal acquaintances and friends were to be found in every State and Territory and numbered a host. His political friends and admirers comprised nearly the entire Republican party. Whatever exceptions there may have been for one cause or another were probably offset by a personal following drawn from the ranks of the enemy. His intellectual ability, his readiness and ingenuity in debate, his faithfulness to the principles of his party and absolute fearlessness in defending them, whether on the floor of the House or " on the stump," combined with his attractive personal qualities to constitute him a popular idol without a peer in American history. Colonel IngersoU happily hit the popular conception when he styled Blaine " The Plumed Knight." At that name there springs up before the mental vision a noble presence — tall, erect, and robust form, instinct with vigorous life and energy, moving with a brisk, decided step, and an alert air indicative of 204 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAIXE. daslii ag courage ; a countenance lighted up b}- large, luminous dark e3'es, singu- larly expressive of the keen intellect and magnetic power behind them, genial as a summer's da}^ to those he loved but terrible to his enemies, when the fra}- was on ; a bearing heart}-, frank, and debonair, 3'et with a consciousness of power suggestive of the lists in which his clear, resonant voice was wont to ring out in victor}' over many a champion, and of readiness to meet whatever foeman might challenge — and Blaine stands before us, a knight " sans peur e^ sans rcprochc.'"' It was a fortunate turning-point in Blaine's life that took him at the out- set of his career to Augusta and the Third Congressional District. Augusta, even now a city of but ten thousand inhabitants, is the capital of the State, and during Blaine's long incumbency of the chairmanship of the Republican State Committee was easily the political centre as well. The Third District embraced many large towns and some of the finest farming sections of the State, and its people were engaged in a great variety of pursuits — shipbuilding, fishing, lime- burning, granite-quarrying, ice-cutting, manufactures of cotton and woolen goods, paper, wood-pulp, tools and machinery, and in lumbering and farming ; it was a prosperous portion of the State and the district extended from Canada to the ocean. It was, and is. a t}'pical New England community in point of intel- ligence, enterprise, diversity of employment, and interest in public affairs, quick to recognize superior ability and faithful to the servants who prove faithful to their duties and reflect honor upon their principals. It sent George Evans, the great Whig statesman, to represent it in Congress five successive terms. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 205 Blaine was fortunate too in his choice of occupation. As editor of a political journal he speedil}- found that a public life was that in which he could best use his natural and acquired faculties and powers, and was the path to which his tastes and aspirations inWted him. His vocation necessarily brought him in contact with local political leaders from all parts of the district, and thus opened the way to the Legislature and to Congress. The residence of the Blaines in Augusta is a wooden house of the good old fashion ; square, two-storied, of ample size, with large sunny rooms, most of which are provided with the open fireplaces, which are such important adjuncts to homes in New England, since "the blazing hearth" promotes healthfulness and cheerfulness through the long dark winters, and is in itself an object of beauty and of attractive associations. At about the time Blaine was elected Speaker of the National House of Representatives, more room was needed to accommodate his family, and receive the many callers and visitors, who came from many quarters of the country, and on divers errands, and a large square addition, nearly a duplicate of the house proper, was joined to the "L" and divided into rooms for a library, billiard-room, and other offices. The carriage house and stable are just in the rear of the house, and access to them is by a short driveway from the side street. The house is on the corner of State street, the principal residence street of the city, and Capitol street. It front is on and a few yards from State street and between the house and Capitol street there is a lawn of moderate size. IMaple trees of mature growth shade the front of the house and lawn. On the opposite side of Capitol street, the State-house is situated on a slight eminence in the midst of terraced and well-shaded grounds. From his library window the nation's statesman could look out upon the scene of his early triumphs in the State Legislature. The house was comfortably furnished and books, etchings, photographs, curios, and many '' objets (T arf and souvenirs, such as are found in every household of refinement, lay scattered about the drawing and reception rooms in the usual picturesque confusion. There was an air of use about the apartments which did not belie the fact. Home, office and headquarters were all under the same hospitable roof The requirements of a family of eight persons, visiting friends, social callers and a constant stream of political pilgrims left no room for that apartment of sacred seclusion which is so dear to the heart of the New England housewife. The entire house and its appointments seemed dedicated to use and comfort. In nothing was there displayed anj'- aim at ostentation. The friends and neighbors of the Blaine family greatly enjoyed the one effort which the colored driver and " usefiil man " made at what he considered a proper display. On the Sunday following Blaine's nomination for the presidency, the proud retainer drove to the door with a hired landau and pair from the 'livers- stable, whence the turnout rarely emerged except to do honor to " disringuished guests" in processions and on other occasions of ceremony. 206 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. intendiug to drive the Republican nominee and his family to church in befitting state. The sudden retrograde movement which he was obliged to make when his delicate attention was brought to the notice of the proposed beneficiary, surprised and saddened the ambitious coachman. The family walked to church as usual. In that mansion used to be Free-hearted hospitality. The Augusta home was occupied in the months of sumrner and early fall, during the recess of Congress, and in that period was crowded with scenes of animation and busy life. The children were then at home for the school or college vacation, and they often brought schoolmates with them. Mr. and Mrs. Blaine were seldom without guests from among their friends in all parts of the country. But the political life which centred there, and the social occasions incident to it and to Mr. Blaine's prominence in public life caused the greater portion of the stir and movement that pervaded the house. The State of Maine had not then adopted biennial elections, so that a political battle had to be fought every year. The State election, especially in presidential years, was a very important one, and of national interest, inasmuch as it occurred early in September, and thus served as an index of the popular sentiment and tendency. For this reason the State was a battle- ground to which each party summoned its ablest leaders and advocates, and the people thus enjoyed exceptional opportunities for listening to the oratorical efforts of the champions of both parties. It may be suggested, in passing, that perhaps the unique consequence of the Maine election furnished no inconsiderable vantage-ground to Mr. Blaine, since it attracted the attention of the country to him as the representative of the part}^ bj^ virtue of his chair- manship of the Republican organization. The "spellbinders" who enlisted at Blaine's call either went directl}^ to him for assignment, instructions and hints for the conduct of the campaign or so arranged their peregrinations that they would call upon him and " discuss the situation." Frequently these visits gave occasion for a social entertainment of some sort — a dinner, a drive, a " tea," or a reception. The friends of the family in Augusta — and nearly all the people of the town, irrespective of party, came under that designation — were thus largely indebted to this hospitable home for delightful gatherings which enabled them to meet the political lions of the day and to enjoy the presence and conversation of their entertainers — a pleasure always prized by them. There were some memorable occasions in honor of specially distinguished guests, when the house was filled to overflowing with giiests from all parts of the district and from the State at large. Among these were the reception given to General Grant when he was paying a friendly visit, the welcome to Logan, who had come to confer with his colleague, and the joyous gathering to greet and honor the California LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 207 delegation to the National Convention which had nominated Blame, whose enthusiasm at the success of the man of their choice impelled them in a body to supplement their already long journey by a pilgrimage to Maine, that they might in person present their congratulations and grasp the hand of the leader they so loved and admired. Tact and the instincts of genuine hospitality were never at a loss to devise fitting attentions for all comers entitled to consideration. A flying and unheralded visit by the oflScers of the Russian man-of-war which had suddenly appeared upon the coast and was then at anchor in a Mount Desert harbor, where it remained for some time, to the great mystification of the quidnuncs, gave no time for elaborate attentions, but that household was not without resource in an emergency. There was prompt response to the summons hastily sent around, and the Russians had an opportunity to dazzle Yankee maidens with their glittering uniforms and to waltz with them at an improvised ^'soiree dansante.''^ These instances are drawn from the many to which the memory of those who had the good fortune to participate in them will revert with pleasure when recalling the happy days that are no more. Mr. Blaine nowhere appeared to better advantage or seemed happier than at his home at Augusta. He had a great affection for the city where his young manhood was passed, and for the people who gave him the first promotion in his career and faithfully' supported him in his subsequent course. The home- coming was oftentimes a physical delight ; especially when the " long session " had continued into the heart of summer and he had left behind the hot, stifling, mid-summer atmosphere of Washington, to breathe the clear, healthful air of the Kennebec Valley, and soothe his eyes by resting them on the bush verdure that clothed its fields and hills. It was also a mental relief from the continuous strain of his exacting congressional duties ; although he was far from returning from work to the enjoyment of an idle holida}^ season. The duties awaiting him at home were for the most part of a kind he enjoyed, and either permitted the combination of pleasure with them or afforded intervals for recreation. As already indicated, one of his vacation functions was the supervision of the campaign as chairman of the Republican State Committee. His colleagues of that committee, members of local committees, candidates for State ofiices, and others interested in politics, made up a steady succession of visitors to the home of the party leader. Through these visitors Mr. Blaine became thoroughly conversant with the influences at work to afiect political sentiment and the prospects of the party in the different parts of the State, and could, therefore, intelligently make arrangements to meet the peculiar requirements of each locality. Whether there were factional contentions to be quieted, the "disgruntled" and disappointed to be appeased and encouraged, or the listless and lukewarm were to be stimulated to interest and activity inside his own lines ; or the mis- representations, crafty designs and weak inventions of the enemy were to be 208 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. corrected, checkmated and turned to their own confusion, Mr. Blaine's tact and experienced wisdom were swift to hit upon the course to be taken, and his counsels were prompt, clear and decided. At the same time he profited by these visits to renew and strengthen the ties between himself and old friends and co-workers, and to ascertain the measure and quality of the new men, par- ticularly the young men coming forward into the political arena. And few there were among them who did not go away from his presence confirmed in zeal for the cause and inspired with confidence in its success ; filled with admiration at the ability and "smartness" of "Jim Blaine" — as he was often- times affectionately or derisively called, the emphasis and intonation marking the intention of the speaker — and, under the spell of the wonderful magnetic power of presence and voice and eye and smile and warm heartiness of manner that even his enemies have always conceded to Blaine, not only feel- ing a heightened regard for him, but assured that the sentiment was a mutual one. Distinguished speakers from other States also were to be entertained and to be informed as to the conduct of the campaign. Blaine's tactics were always of the aggressive sort. He did not believe in allowing the enemy to dictate the ground and conditions of the battle, nor in wasting energy by standing on the defence or attacking too many points at once. He sought to find the weak place in his opponents' line and when found he concentrated his forces upon it and hammered away at it with merciless persistence. In addition to these party representatives and campaign assistants who thronged about the chairman, there was the considerable company of gentlemen and their "friends" who were willing to take service under the Government and desired their aspirations to be made known through the medium that was believed to be among the most powerful ; there were constituents who wished to see their " member" on business, or to impart their " views " to him, or simply to greet him on his return home ; and individuals who, coming to the capital on business at the State-house or some other public institution, coxild not think of reporting to the people at home, perhaps in farthest Aroostook, Washington or York, that they had been to Augusta and had not " had a chat " with Blaine, or, at least, shaken hands with him. His relations with his constituents were reciprocally close and appreciative. They gave him their confidence and admira- tion, and he felt a pride in them which he was always ready to justify by instances and illustrations of their title to respect and esteem. His personal acquaintance among them was very extensive, and in many cases partook largely of the nature of affectionate attachment, akin to the spirit of comradeship existing in student life and among soldiers — the feeling engendered by a common aim and service. The frankness and bonhomie of Mr. Blaine's nature, his alertness of mind and readily awakened interest in those with whom he came in contact and in the subjects they were interested in, and the faithfulness of his memory, greatly intensified this feeling. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 209 Mr. Blaine attracted much regard and afifection because he gave much. He was extremely fond of meeting the strong, original characters among his con- stituents. It mattered not whether thej' were rich or poor, learned or unlearned ; he delighted in freshness and independence of thought and speech, and if accompanied by a little brusqueness or eccentricity of manner, as is usually the case, it was all the better and more enjoyable. He quoted with glee the contemptuous inquiry of the veteran '' practical politician " from a remote part of the district, when the movement in behalf of reform was in its early stage, " what's this Civil Service Reform they're talking about ? Jest a new way of appoiutin' clerks, ain't it?" The dr3^ remark of one of the oldest of his fellow-townsmen, whose " wit was not out," though " his age was in," were often repeated by him with appreciative enjoyment. He was particularly fond of the conclusion which the old man was wont to draw when in a retrospective mood he compared the days of his youth, when the world was young and as yet the " Maine Law " was not, with the tameness of life in the present day, and sighed regretfully, " we used to have a good deal better times in the last cent'r}^ than we're having this." One of the secrets of the charm which Mr. Blaine exercised over all with whom he conversed lay in the tact which brought out their taste and interest, and the courtesy and skill with which he turned the conversation to those subjects. With the scholar he would talk of books and reading as enthusiastically as if he thought the life of a " book-worm " the only one worth living, and the man who thought the earth had no pleasure like " spinning over the road at a cheerful gait " behind a Knox colt, felt sure after " talking horse " with him, that Air. Blaine was, after all, a kindred spirit. In the presence of the fond parent he did not forget the promising son, and the son of a father who was in any way distinguished blushed with the reflected glory cast upon him. The variety of pursuits followed by his constituents afforded a wide range of topics, and Mr. Blaine could be equalh- entertaining to his listeners whether he showed knowledge of matters pertaining to his occupation or manifested an interest in being informed about it. In this course he was not insincere or influenced entirely by politic con- siderations. The courtesy that seeks to please for pleasing sake is quite different from the craft that beguiles for selfish ends. The desire to please was in him the outgrowth of a generous disposition. His mind, too, was confined to no narrow rut, but delighted in exploring every path that was opened before it. His interest and sympathies were " as broad and general as the casing air." Of him it can be more truly said than of any other man prominently before this generation, " he was a man and nothing relating to man was foreign to him." He possessed in a high degree skill in " the art of putting things." The following is an example of his readiness and point : — After his nomination as a candidate for the presidency, he was called upon by an influential member of the Society of Friends — a society which has several 210 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. communities and many representatives in the old Third District — and a highly- respected friend of the candidate as well. " Friend James," said the man of plain speech, " I have come early to see thee because in all likelihood cares are likely to increase upon thee rapidly, and there is a matter I earnestly desire to interest thee in. Thee knows that our people have greatly at heart the welfare of the Indian tribes. If thee shall be called to the high office of President we desire to feel that that unfortunate people will have in thee a friend willing to exercise his powers for their good." " Friend William," was the quick response, " members of m}' family are to-day living in Pennsylvania upon lands purchased of the Indians by our ancestor. Now is it likely that I should be otherwise than kindly disposed to the Indians?" "Friend James, I think we can trust thee," was the satisfactory conclusion of the interview. " Stumping," walking and driving were his chief ph3^sical exercises and recreations. Speaking is in itself a good exercise and brings into play a greater portion of the human framework and organs, and tests the bodily strength more severely than those without experience would believe possible. Mr. Blaine was a forcible, energetic speaker, and a speech gave him as much exercise as a bout in a gymnasium. He seemed to enjoy addressing his fellow citizens in exciting political campaigns, but to take care not to allow his zeal to carry him too far and imperil his physical powers. "Stumping the State" implied a good deal of touring and picnicking as well as speech-making, and herein was recreation of the most agreeable kind to him. The attractions of Maine as a summer resort for seekers after health and the pleasing and picturesque in scenery are becoming well known throughout the country. There could not be devised a more pleasing itinerary for a summer holiday season than the yachting trips along its coast and into its deeply penetrating bays, and the drives through its fragrant, cool woods, over its hills commanding far-reaching stretches of forest and field, with frequent lakes and streams interspersed, which were necessary in campaigning, and served greatly to soften jvhatever asperities attended it. The cordial and enthusiastic reception that every public gathering gave him, and the hearty greetings of political and personal friends at every halting-place served as a complement to the pleasures of the tour and to make of it a gala progress. Especially happy were the occasions when the appointment was within the compass of a day's drive, and he could take Mrs. Blaine or a family party with him, rest near some picturesque way- side spring for a picnic luncheon, and return home after the meeting through the coolness and beauty of the summer evening. Driving was one of his favorite recreations — perhaps first among them. It was a rare combination of pleasures both to the driver and his fares when Mr. Blaine drew the reins over a pair of spirited horses, and with a party of friends, among them frequently some guest of national fame, explored the roads that checker the beautiful and diversified country of Kennebec Count}'. Talk grave and gay, jest and repartee and mirth and laughter, mingled with the LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 211 sound of the beating hoofs and the rattle of harness, and marked all the way as they sped on under leafy arches and by smiling fields, and long as the drive usually was, it seemed all too short when, in the gloaming, it came to an end. He was a skillful " whip " and safe driver. His own family horses were selected for gentleness as well as spirit, but he enjoyed testing his mettle as a " holder of the ribbons." One incident of a visit in California he used to speak of as if he renewed in the retrospect the " pleasing fear " of its excitement. His host, one of the celebrated " nobs " of California, whose house and appointments were on a princely scale, took him and a party of friends on a four-in-hand drive to the ranch of a neighbor, twenty-five or thirty miles distant. Mr. Blaine sat on the box by the side of his host, who was driving, and he soon perceived that the mettle of the horses was fast overpowering the strength and skill of his friend, and that the danger-point was very near. The friend confessed his alarm, whereupon Mr. Blaine took the leaders in hand and both together had all they could do to maintain sufficient control of their respective charges to bring a wild ride to a safe conclusion at the journey's end. ]\Ir. Blaine was a great lover of horses ; not as a connoisseur in horseflesh, but as an admirer of the strength, beauty and high courage of the noble specimens of the animal. The horse, more than any other of the animal tribe, exemplifies power in action ; and kinship in nature with this quality, no doubt, had its part in the attraction the strong man, who rejoiced in his strength in the fields where his own courses were run, felt towards the kingly beast that *'smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting." His stable was on the same modest scale as the rest of his establishment and seldom contained more than three horses. Walking was also an agreeable exercise to him, and his constitutionals took him often far afield in the country about Augusta. He was a brisk walker, the vivacity of his temperament and the strength of his vital powers appearing in this as in his other actions, both bodily and mental. His erect form and firm, quick step gave him the air of an athlete. His walks were taken alone or in company, as his convenience and the chance of companionship might serve. Neither did he have any rules as to their time or extent. In walking or driving he appeared to have that reasonable love of nature and observation of its charms common to all well-balanced minds ; perhaps his keen powers of perception gave him a greater regard for it than men like him, whose genius was practical rather than poetical, generally have. If, on the one hand, he did not have a Wordsworthian enthusi.-ism for nature, he certainly did not have that obliviousness and indifference to its protean aspects which characterized Rufus Choate, whose biographer relates that, walking one exceptionally beautiful spring morning on the Common with him, he saw Choate's countenance light up as his eyes seemed to take in the lovely scene, and as he opened his lips the friend thought the great orator was about to acknowledge the sweet influences 212 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. of the morning ; but, instead, the man of books and introspective life broke forth with " How fine is that sentence of Southey's on the death of Nelson, in the hour of victory — 'That joy, that consolation, that triumph, was his!' " Mr. Blaine's public utterances and papers were entirely free from merely rhetorical and ornamental use of literature. He made no pedantic excursions to Greece or Rome, culled no flowers from English classics. He was always too much in earnest, too eager to accomplish some definite purpose, to use other than the most straightforward language and the plainest illustrations tending to the end in view. But in conversation he showed a familiarity with the best litera- ture which proved that at some period of his life he had had a student's curiosity to explore its fields. His knowledge of general history and its great men was full and exact. The political annals of his own country had nothing which he had not made his own, and the statesmen and leaders of its past were as clearly before him as his contemporaries. The library at the Augusta home did not contain a large number of volumes, but the books upon the shelves, and piled on table, chairs and floor, for service past or at hand, constituted a good working equipment for a statesman and student of politics. Near him by a short walk was the State Library, in which Mr. Blaine had taken great interest when he was a member of the Legis- lature, and to which he had rendered a special and valuable service by discover- ing an unfinished remnant of space in the crowded building and causing it to be fitted up for its occupancy. He found time to read whatever in current literatui^e " everybody was reading," and could sympathize with his children in their impatience for the next chapter of " Little Lord Fauntler.03'." If Pope's dictum be accepted as true, Mr. Blaine was orthodox. His "proper'' and favorite study was "men." He liked to meet and know men in books, but his preference was for live men. One of the greatest attractions of Washington's life to him was the facilities it affords for contact with the strongest and most brilliant minds of the country, and distinguished represent- ative men of other countries, either sojourning at the capital or visiting it in the course of their travels. The rare social and conversational talents that distinguished him nearly as much as his abilities and achievements as a states- man and parliamentarian, brought him into social relations with ever3^body of distinction at the National Capital. How welcome to the world would be the memoirs and table-talk of such a man and such a life. The daily papers which chronicled everj^thing relating in an}^ wa}^ to the invalid whose apparently mortal illness was watched with solicitude and sympathy by his countrymen, noticed that an organ-grinder was one day playing in front of the house, apparently at request, and, it was supposed, for the pleasure of the sick man within ; and they remarked upon his fondness for popiilar music. The papers were right for once, at least. Mr. Blaine was exceedingl}' fond of lively and pleasing airs — tunes that are whistled. " Pinafore" was a great favorite, and he hardly missed an opportunity of listening to that LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 213 captivating burlesque. There were 'sometimes informal matinees at the Augusta home, when the call of some musical friend would be " improved " by the host, who would keep on suggesting this and that from Gilbert and Sullivan, as long as consideration for the performer would permit. In organization of both mind and body, he was eminentl}^ sound, whole- some and sane; yet, in proof that he lived "like other people" he had some peculiarities which could hardly be considered personal, inasmuch as he shared them with large numbers of people in other respects strictl}^ conformed to the normal standard. He had at least one pet superstition. It is not remembered that he ever went liungr}^ rather than sit thirteen at table; but, just as THE SOUTH PARISH CONGREGATIONAI, CHURCH, AUGUSTA, ME. Dr. Johnson disliked passing by a post in his walks without touching it, so Mr. Blaine preferred not to make one of the unlucky number, and would avoid doing so if possible. He was " spleeny " about his health and bodily condition. Not that he ever put on airs of invalidism or allowed his anxiet}' to be apparent ; but his physician and intimate friends knew that he took note of the slightest twinge or ill-feeling and wanted an explanation of it, and to be assured that it was not a symptom of some insidious ailment, before he could be perfectly easy in mind. The precautions he took to keep well were such as prudent men ordinarily take — exercise, care in eating and drinking, sufl&cient 214 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. sleep, and the avoidance of excess in anything. He neither disdained the pleasures of the table nor enjoyed them as a gourmand. He drank no spirits, and but little wine ; his wit did not require the provocation of stimulants to shine forth at the dinner-table. The rule laid down by some celebrated physician, " pbstinence till forty, then temperance," was often quoted by him with approval. The support of a family which in these days may be considered large ; the expense attending frequent changes of residence from Augusta to Washington and back ; and the liberal and hospitable way of living that characterized the household, must have absorbed his salary and made drafts upon his income from other sources as well. While Mr. Blaine was not regarded by his fellow- townsmen as a wealthy man, it was generally believed by them that he was in receipt of handsome returns from coal fields in Penns3dvania, which his knowledge of his native State and sagacity in foreseeing the developments of the near future, had led him to pui chase early in the war, when they could be bought at a low price, because of their remoteness from means of transportation. When facilities for carriage were supplied these fields at once became valuable for mining purposes. In making investments he was advised and aided by shrewd and able men of business among his friends. If Daniel Webster had friends and admirers ready to contribute to supply the frequent deficiencies in that improvident statesman's exchequer, it can easily be conjectured that James G. Blaine, whose friends were not less ardent in their attachment, had many oppor- tunities for profitable ventures presented to him by men who knew whereof they spoke. In later years his book, " Twenty Years of Congress," and other fruits of literary labor, added materially to his income. The fact that the mother of James G. Blaine was a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church gave occasion for the frequently recurring rumors that were rife that he had confessed that faith. Soon after taking up his residence at Augusta he united with the South Parish Congregational Church, and was a faithful attendant upon its services whenever he was at home. His church never questioned his loyalty. His was not a nature to be bound narrowly by any creed. Those who knew him long and well cannot but consider that the por- tion of his memorable eulogy on his chief and friend, Garfield, which relates to the religious side of the martyred President's life, is applicable to the eulogist as well ; that both had the same reliance on the great truths of the Christian faith, the same regard for " the simpler instincts of religion," and an equal spirit of gen- erous tolerance and true catholicity. No man's belief can be positively known. Conduct is the test of character before the world. In his attitude towards his fellow- men, by blamelessness of life, uprightness of character, openness and simplicity of manner, and purity of thought and speech, Blaine was a Christian gentleman. Six children survived to maturity — three sons and three daughters — Walker, the eldest of these, was born in Augusta, May 8, 1855. He fitted for college at the Augusta High School, entered Harvard in 1873, left there at the close of his sophomore year and finished his course at Yale, graduating in 1877. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 215 After two years at the Columbia Law School he entered the office of Hon. Cushman K. Davis, at St. Paul. When his father entered the cabinet of Garfield in 1 88 1, Walker went with him, and the last official act of Garfield was the appointment of Walker Blaine as Third Assistant Secretar}^ of State. Subse- quentl}^ he was appointed assistant to Governor Creswell, counsel for the United States before the Alabama Claims Commission. He made a trip to Alaska in 18S3 and wrote a very interesting account of it. He was a read}^ writer and speaker, and a frequent contributor to the New York Tribune and leading magazines. He died, unmarried, January 15, 1S90. At the time of his death he was examiner of claims in the State Department. STATE CAPITOL, AUGUSTA, ME. Walker Blaine bore a strong resemblance to his father in personal appear- ance, manner and characteristics. His death in the early 3'ears of his manhood, when he was entering upon the successful career his friends predicted for him, was a severe blow to the family, especially to the father, who lost in him a valuable assistant as well as a dearly loved son. Alice Blaine, the eldest daughter, married Colonel J. J. Coppiuger, of the arm}^, in February, 1883, and died at her father's house in Washington, February 2, 1890, leaving two sons, Blaine, born 1883, and Connor, born in 1885, who lived a large part of their infant j^ears with their maternal grandparents, and seemed to inherit their mother's share of her parents' love in addition to that which they held in their own right. 216 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Emmons Blaine was a graduate from Harvard in 187S. He had marked abilit\- and taste for business, and engaging in railroad management he rapidly- advanced to important and I'esponsible positions. He was courteous and popular and had a wide circle of warm friends. He died after a brief illness, in June, 1S92. His wife, to whom he had been married but a short time, was Miss McCormick, of Chicago. Margaret Blaine was married to Mr. Walter Damrosch, the well-known musical composer and conductor, and resides in New York. The two youngest of the family, Harriet and James G. Blaine, Jr., keep, with their mother, the stricken and shadowed home. The Augusta home of James G. Blaine, once the scene of abounding life, activity and happiness, is now untenanted, dark, lifeless and joyless. It is hallowed by memories of a family life, having mutual affection for its soul and guide ; of neighborly welcome to good cheer and pleasant converse ; of the open door and the open hand to the poor and need}^ who never turned from its threshold imcomforted. It is also a place of historic interest. From an improvised platform in the corner of these home grounds the chairman of the committee of the convention which nominated Mr. Blaine for the presidency made the formal announcement to the candidate in the presence of the large number of the committee, and of the friends and fellow-citizens who were in attendance. From these steps, shaded by the maples that screen the house-front from the street, the defeated candidate addressed his political friends in a calm, philosophic strain upon the causes of defeat, and with words of cheer for the future. In that room, both oiEce and librar}^ ticked the little fateful instrument that told of disaster and disappointment when hope and expectation had been high. Many of the greatest and most famous men of the time have been familiar guests within its walls. In the perilous days of the "count-out," when a rival state government threatened the peace of the State, leaders in the party from all sections of the endangered commonwealth, assembled in that long parlor and confei-red together, with all the anxious solemnity imposed by the imminence of tumult and bloodshed, upon the means of securing justice and averting civil war ; and the host was the quiet, courageous and wise director of their deliberations. The fame of that little spot of earth is secure. There lived " The Man from Maine." CHAPTER X. RETIRACY AND LAST DAYS. 'N instances not a few the pnblic men of our coiintr}^, leaders of affairs and sentiment, have sought, near the close of their lives, a period of repose and seclusion ^ from the excitement and worry which were the necessary incidents of their careers. Thus, for many 3-ears, did the elder Adams and Jefferson ; thus did the Father of His Country attempt to gain respite and peace in his old days ; thus did Jackson at the Hermitage; Webster, at IMarshfield; Claj', at Ashland. Our statesmen have generally been rational enough to desire some interval of repose before the closing scene. IMau}- have been forced into retirement and others, diligently seeking it, have found it not. A majority have died in the act and article of publicit}-. Not a few have fallen in and around the Capitol, where their supreme energies have been expended. It does not appear that Air. Blaine ever studiousl}- sought retirement from public life. He often spoke to his friends about it as a thing desirable. He was wont to express the wish that he might free himself from the cares and anxieties of office. But his temperament was not well adapted to seclusion and rest. His life was under the law of action, of unrest, of ambition. The probability is that he entertained vaguely the notion and desire of retire- ment from the public gaze ; but it can hardly be doubted that the wish remained that the public gaze might follow him and rest upon him. He was not a man of seclusion. His habits were fixed by publicity and adapted to it. Circumstances, however, make and unmake the destinies of men. The law of the relation of the circumstance to the wall has never been determined. But we may allow to the former a ver\' strong influence in limiting the action of the latter. It was the vicissitude of public life that brought Blaine near the close of his career into an extended period of retirement. This covered the interval between his first and second service in the office of Secretary of State, and also the interval after his resignation from the Harrison Cabinet. It should be remarked that his going out of the State Department was in each case contrived bj- historical conditions and was not the result of his own (217) 218 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. antecedent purpose or desire. In the one case, the assassination of the President, and in the other the peculiar political maelstrom that whirled around determined the event. Mr. Blaine had, during the interval of his retirement from public office, three residences, all of which have acquired fame by the fame of the occupant. Tlie first of these was in Washington City, on the east side of Lafayette Park, near Pennsylvania Avenue. It was the large red-brick house which was already celebrated as the former residence of Secretary Seward. There, in an upper room, on the evening of the fatal fourteenth of April, 1865, the assassin Powell had sprung upon the couch of the sick Secretary of State and desperately attempted to stab him to death. The house and the surroundings are all his- f3 'i ^M ^'-^ ^^ jB /> j**- I^^B ^tz '?*^'«'"~ fl '^f^y^> .^^^^H '-^m H S^^^^^H ^^^^^9^ ^^H W^'".. ^^^^ul^^^^^^l ^^^E. 'A^ ^^^Hh H^ ^s ^HHIiHttfl ^^H m^^ n H^^)£ti^ ■ I M^^^?^ H ^»*^^^ WM BI,AINE'S srMMi i; ii.iMi \T l;\i; n\Ki;;H-;. torical — much more so since they have been the sceue of the last days of James G. Blaine. The second home of the statesman was his old place in Augusta. For this he always retained a fond desire, and was, for many years, glad when opportunity came to re-occupy that house where he had passed his early life. From that station he had risen to national fame. It may be doubted whether a man ever actually fits himself with completeness and harmony into any home but one. If we should select among the places in which Mr. Blaine has lived, that one which, in the natme of the case, answers best to the name of home, we should have to choose the old house in x'Vugusta. The advantages of a summer seaside residence appealed to Mr. Blaine and led him to select for his third home his place at Bar Harbor, IMaine. The name HOMES AND BIRTHPLACES OF GREAT AMERICANS. 220 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. of Bar Harbor has now become iudissolubly associated with that of Blaine — more so, indeed, than either of his other homes. In this connection, there is an element of picturesqneness and poetry which we shonld not expect to find in a Washington residence or even in the home at Angnsta. The Bar Harbor villa of Mr. Blaine is situated on Mount Desert Island. From it a splendid view of the Bay of Mount Desert is had. In the last years of the statesman lie became greatly attached to this place. A tradition goes that he had, during the larger part of his life, had his eye upon Mount Desert Island as a possible summer resort and home for himself and family. He was wont to tell visitors of a time when he might have purchased the island for five hundred dollars ! That was in 1856. At that time Mr. Blaine was in the Legislature of the State. The representative occupying the next seat was called " old man " Rodick. The latter invited Mr. Blaine to his home, and he accepted the invitation. Rodick owned the island and when Mr. Blaine expi'essed his admiration for the place and rejoiced in the sea view, the proprietor offered to sell it to him for five hundred dollars. The Blaine villa is surrounded with a broad veranda, and the porches where the family were wont to spend the greater portion of their time during their summer residence are broad and commodious. The air here is exhilarating and the view of the sea is full of inspiration and grandeur. In his last years Mr. Blaine spent much of his time on the porch of the Bar Harbor villa, where he was delighted to have his grandchildren playing around and to enjoy his own reverie. Thither also, many distinguished people came. Though Mount Desert is a secluded place, seclusion with Blaine was impossible. We have spoken above of his residences in Washington. The first of these was the house Number 82 1, in West Fifteenth Street. Here he lived during the first ten years of his congressional career About 1873-74 he determined to build for himself a new and elegant residence. He chose as the site a situation on Dupont Circle. The house was expensive and showy, but for some reason was never admired or much occupied bv the owner. It got for itself, indeed, the name of " Blaine's Foll3\" The owner spent about eighty-five thousand dollars on the house, and subsequently rented it to Mr. Leiter, at twelve thousand dollars per annum. The place is now known, and has been for many 3'ears, as the Leiter House. The third Washington residence is the Seward house referred to above. It was built in the early part of the fifth decade, and was first occupied by Secre- tary Spencer, whose son, for an alleged mutiny, was hanged at sea. Afterwards the Washington Club occupied the building, and it was in the street in front of it that Philip Barton Key was shot to death by General Daniel E. Sickles. In addition to the attempted assassination of Seward, other shadows have settled upon the place. The wife of Secretary Belknap died there in an unexpected bour. Between 1890 and 1893, the two eldest children of James G. Blaine — Walker Blaine and Mrs. Coppinger — died here, and here the great Secretary LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 221 himself breathed his last. Reall}- the house is likely to become haunted with a suspicion of death and disaster. It is thought that the assassination of Garfield and Blaine's consequent resignation from the Cabinet led to his abandonment of the Dupont Circle house. Afterwards he never lived there. When with the election of Harrison he was appointed Secretary of State he took up his residence in the Seward house on Lafayette Square, and there remained almost constantly until his death. M'l.AMl'R CITY OF NEW YORK OX WHICH MR. BLAINE CROSSUU TIIi: OCUAX. We have already spoken, time and again, of Mr. Blaine's work in literature. His history of the public life of the nation, from the accession of Lincoln to the administration of Garfield, is one of the standard works of the epoch. This he produced in the time of his retirement from public office. The first volume was written before 18S4 when he became a candidate for the presi- dency, and the second volume after his defeat. It is perhaps to the combined effect of ambition and disappointment that we owe the production of this invaluable contribution to our literature. James G. Blaine was an assiduous worker. Few men, who have appeared in the public life of the American nation, have applied themselves more industriously 222 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. and persistently than he. Of course, many have produced more in composition ; but we are to remember that the recluse, the man in private life, has opportunity to produce without hindrance or distraction, from day to day, and from month to month. Probably the politician, least of all men, has such opportunity. He is ever}' man's man and is so reckoned in the catalogue. It is with the utmost difficulty that the man in public life is able to seclude himself and concentrate his powers upon a subject with sufficient emphasis and persistency to accomplish anything in a literar}'' way. Blaine triumphed over this obstacle. He wrote much, both in office and out of office. His principal literary work was produced when he was out of office ; but his other productions are so multifarious and extensive that they would, if collected, furnish the subject- matter of many volumes. A large part of the author's time, between the date of his retire- ment from the Arthur Cabinet and his canvass for the presi- dency, was consumed at the desk. There he prepared, with great care, the first volume of his history of Congress. The greater part of the last ten 3^ears, covering his period of retirement from office, was spent by Mr. Blaine in Wash- ington. In 18S7 he was abroad in Europe. When in the United States he passed the greater part of his time in summer at Bar Harbor. His visits to Ex-si'KAKEK THOMAS B. Kiu,D, 01. maim;. Augusta, aftcr 1884, bccamc infrequent. There was an evidence of inactivity and of breaking health in his life and manner. We have referred to his sunstroke in 1876. Eleven years afterwards he had a slight attack of paralysis. It appears that the blood-vessels of the brain were, to a certain extent, obliterated, and the circulation correspondingly impeded. It is clear that his highest thinking ability could not be exercised under such conditions. The death of his three eldest children, in whom he was greatly interested by affection and hope, coming suddenly within a space of two and one-half years, distressed him beyond measure. In the next place the political project of 1892 ended in a fiasco. Once Mr. Blaine was induced, after the renomination of Harrison, to visit the residence of Whitelaw Reid, LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 223 candidate for the Vice-Presideiic}^ at his home called " Ophir Farm," near White Plains, New York, and to make there a brief address. This was the last occasion on which he spoke in public. After his return to Wash- ington, he weakened perceptibly, and in November his strength finall}^ gave way. The interest in him, in his opinions, his desires and purposes, continued unabated ; but it was evident to all that his active career was in the last act. It is now known — as will be seen from the subsequent report of his phj-si- cians — that Mr. Blaine had bright's disease of the kidneys. Connected with this insidious and fatal malady were two or three other incipient ailments that would ultimately have taken him to the grave. One of these was the progres- sive obliteration of the capillary blood-vessels of the brain. This must ulti- mately have ended in apoplex}- and sudden eclipse. Another trouble was a tendency to phthisis. This was not to have been apprehended in a man of his robust and athletic appearance. It would seem, however, that he had what is known as the hemorrhagial diathesis ; that is, a constitutional disposition to rupture in the capillaries with consequent bleeding and tendency to pulmonary disease. At au}' rate, the Bright's disease, with which Mr. Blaine was afflicted, ran its own fatal course and presently struck both the lungs and the brain. In the after part of November, 1892, Mr. Blaine became so much enfeebled as to be confined to his house. In December he was so greatl}^ weakened that he was brought to the couch from which he was destined never to arise. He was not, however, in imminent danger until near the close of the year, when it was found that the heart's action was also greatly weakened and disturbed, and from this time forth it was onh' a question of weeks and days when the knock of the pale messenger would be heard at the door of the chamber. At the last the death of Blaine came suddenly, unexpectedl3^ He had lingered through several weeks in a state bordering on extinction, and it was believed that he would probabl}' survive for a few weeks longer. There was great uncertaint}' in the public mind with regard to his disease; the physicians were reticent — as professional men are — and the famil}' were little disposed to speak of the nature of the malady with which the statesman was prostrated. Newspaper correspondents busied themselves with conjectures — not a few — and the public was left in doubt as to the issue. This uncertainty continued to the end, and was not dispelled until the day after Mr. Blaine's death. On that morning ihe attending ph37sicians. Doctors Johnson and H3'att, made an official statement and gave it to the public ; this was as follows : — The beginning of Mr. Blaine's illness dates back some years. The earliest signs of ill health were associated with, and no doubt due to, a gouty tendenc)-, which manifested itself in sub-acute attacks of gout, disturbances of digestion and progressive innutrition and anaemia. 224 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Subsequent events prove that at this time changes were going on in the arteries of the body, which resulted later in symptoms of obliteration of vessels and in chronic disease of the kidneys. The attack of paralysis in 1887 was connected with similar alterations in the blood vessels of the brain. During the summer of 1S92 the evidences of failing health were more decided, and in November, on his return to Washington, his symptoms suddenly assumed an aggravated form. From this time, although there were periods of apparent improvement, he continued to grow worse from week to week. The symptoms were, at first, more directly connected with the kidneys, and examina- tions of urine showed that there was a progressive interstitial change going on in that organ, and that he had a form of chronic Bright's disease. In December signs of lung complication appeared, which were no doubt connected with the general disease, but as tuber- cle bacilli were found in the sputa it is probable that there was some tubercular infection as well. Much of the distress which Mr. Blaine suffered was associated with this disease of the lungs, and his death was certainly hastened by it. Towards the end of Decem- ber the heart began to show signs of unusual weakness from cardiac degeneration and dila- tion, and on December 18 he JOHN w. FOSTER, sixRKTARv ui STATE. had au alamiiug attack of heart exhaustion ; from this he rallied, but others of the same nature recurred on several occasions. From the middle of January these attacks ceased, and the action of the heart was more uniformly good. There was, however, a daily loss of flesh and strength. For three days before Mr. Blaine's death there was no marked change in his condition ; each day he seemed somewhat more feeble than on the day before, and on the night before his death he did not seem to be in any immediate danger. Towards the morning of the twenty-seventh instant his pulse was observed to be very feeble and his breathing more embarrassed. As a result of the failing heart action, cedema of the lungs occurred, and he died without much suffering at eleven o'clock. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE During the whole of ]\Ir. Blaiue's illness the digestion was well performed, and liquid food, chiefly milk, was taken in full quantities. His mind was generally clear, except wheu clouded by uraemia and disturbed brain circula- tion, and although unable to express himself in words, he recognized all the members of his family up to withiu a few moments of his death. Drs. Janeway and Loomis, of New York, were called in consultation and ren- dered important service b\- their advice. WiLLiAJi W. Johnson, ]\I. D. Frank C. Hyatt, M. D. As we have said, death came in an unexpected hour. On the morning of Januar\' 27, 1893, the distin- guished patient was foitnd by his ph3'sicians to be in a sinking condition. His vital forces had evidentl}- given awa}' beA'ond the hope of rally. For the past two weeks the physicians had emplo3'ed the powerful stimula- tion of nitro-glycerine ; it was not deemed prudent, however, on the last morning to resort to this expedient further. There was really nothing remaining to be done but to await the coming of death. All the members of the family were now present. INIr. Blaine had been in a semi-con- scious condition for several days. It was believed by those in attendance that he was still able to recognize the members of his household and other sTErnEN b. elkins, secretary of war. friends, though he gave little sign of doing so; he spoke not. The eloquence which had so greatly moved the American public for a quarter of a century was forever stilled. Gradually the stupor of death supervened, aud the final moment came in quietude and peace. There was no convulsion or apparent pain ; death ensued at eleven o'clock a. m., on the day referred to. Instantly the event was known and was flashed by wire to the remotest corners of the Republic. The impression produced on the public mind was, indeed, sensational. No such marked effect had been witnessed on the occasion of the death of any citizen since that of Lincoln. This, indeed, was the first noticeable impression. 226 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. given out by the newspaper press. Washington City was stirred to the heart. The President of the United States immediately issued an appropriate proclama- tion announcing the death of James G. Blaine and recounting briefly the prin- cipal incidents of his life. Orders were at once given that all the departments of the Government should be closed as a mark of respect to the great Secretary, and that in particular the Department of State should be draped for thirty days. Congress was in session at the time of the announcement, and in both Houses motions were immediately made for adjournment. The terms in which the speakers referred to the death of Mr. Blaine were of a kind to indicate the profound hold wliicli lie had on the public esteem. This action on the part of the two Houses was entirely without respect to party. The leading members of the Demo- cratic party referred in the most complimentar}^, eulogistic and even affectionate terms to the deceased, as did also the leaders of the party with which Mr. Blaine had been always identified. The tone of the newspaper press, on the morning of the twenty-eighth, showed conclu- sivelj^the place which Mr. Blaine had attained in the estimation of his countrymen. The journals of the day, without respect to party, published page on page of biography and incident, and sup- plemented this with long and able editorials reviewing the life and work of the statesman. JOSEPH H. MANLEv, OF MAINE, Thc artlclcs thus publlshcd were almost without exception in the nature of eulogies ; the terms employed by sedate editors were such as could only properly be used in speaking of the greatest. Many of the authors used the comparative method, and the merits of the great Secretary, as a statesman and citizen, were set in favorable iuxtaposition with those of the most distinguished statesmen of the century. He was compared with Clay, with Seward and with Lincoln. It was held by many that the dead had occupied a place not second to any other statesman and publicist of his time. These opinions were read and commented upon by the thousands who eagerly sought the morning papers, to review the events of Mr. Blaine's life and to verify their own opinions of his character and worth. LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. Preparations were at once taken for the funeral. There was considerable anxiet}- to learn the intentions of the famil}' with regard to the place and circumstances of burial. It had been supposed that Air. Blaine's body would be taken to Augusta for interment, but it was decided that the sepulture should be made in Oak Hill Cemeter}-, Georgetown ; perhaps Air. Blaine had himself chosen the spot as his last resting-place. Public expectation pointed to a funeral in keeping with the character and prominence of the dead. The American people like to do honor to distinguished citizens. And the}- are quick withal to forget the animosities and part}^ divisions which constitute so large a part of the political and public life of our country. They are anxious to accord to the great dead the full meed of praise Avhich was perhaps withheld during his life. The better quali*"ies of our citizenship come oufiTn such occasions ; the bit- terness of life is forgotten in the bitterness of death ; the hearse of the great is usuall}- fol- lowed in America to the cemetery with tli^e impartial and universal sjnnpathy of his countrymen. The public expectation pointed to a magnificent funeral. The pageant has become a part of the burial of public men. We have had some remarkable examples of this in the last quarter of a centur}^. The funeral of Lincoln was sponta- neous and universal. The nation buried him. The same maj^ be [ said with little limitation in the senatok w. p. i-kve, of mainh. case of Garfield. The burial of Grant was one of the most remarkable scenes witnessed in modern times — second onl}- to that of the Duke of Wellington. The funeral of Hendricks was in like manner a magnificent expression of national mourning. It remained for the sturd}' General Sherman to arrest this tendenc}- and to demand for himself the simple funeral of a soldier. We do not presume to decide between the two sentiments, one of which suggests the pageant as an expression of public grief, and the other of which points to private burial. The event of Blaine's death showed that that statesman had decided for himself in favor of a private and unostentatious ceremon}- and burial. Indeed, -he had strictly enjoined it upon his family that no display beyond what was 228 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. necessary in a simple and respectable funeral should be given to himself. It was known after his death that he had a great repugnance to public exhibitions of sorrow. Mrs. Blaine at ouce announced a private funeral and sent a request that no official notice should be taken of her husband's death ; this, however, was to a certain exteut overruled by Honorable John W. Foster, Secretary of State. It chanced that at this very time the departments at Washington were draped in respect to the memory of ex-President Hayes, who had died onl}' a few days previously. It was agreed that the outward signs of mourning on the State Department should be retained with the double significance of betokening the death of the ex-President and the ex-Secretary of State. The death of Mr. Blaine occurred on the forenoon of Friday. It was determined by the familjr that the funeral should take place at the same hour, namely, ii o'clock a. ni., on Monday, the thirtieth. Everything was to be private rather than jjublic. During the interval the body of Mr. Blaine was placed in one of the rooms of the Seward house, and there man}^ visitors came t'^ view for the last time the well-known face. Otherwise the interval between '¥,iday and Monday was uneventful. The newspapers continued to be filled with tributes to the dead and with estimates of his genius. Meanwhile, the following pall-bearers were selected : Senators W. P. Frye and Eugene Hale, of Maine, John T. Morgan, of Alabama ; Representatives Thomas B. Reed and C. A. Boutelle, of Maine, Robert R. Hitt, of Illinois, and Henry H. Bingham, of Pennsylvania ; General Thomas Ewing, of Ohio ; John Hay, of Washington ; Joseph H. Manley, of Maine ; Almet F. Jenks, of Brooklyn, and P. V. P. Ely, of Boston. The funeral proper was held at the Church of the Covenant, at which Mr. Blaine had for some years been an attendant. The pastor of that church. Rev. Tennis S. Hamlin, was the officiating clergyman. The church had been prepared for the occasion with a wealth of flowers ; but the customary draping in black was replaced with white ribbons. It was one of the peculiarities of Mr. Blaine to desire that the lugubrious effect produced by black drapery should not be seen and felt at his funeral. The church selected for the ceremonies was small, having a seating capacit}^ of only about nine hundred. This space was nearly all reserved for certain persons who, in the nature of the case, must be present. This included the President and his household, members of Congress and of the Diplomatical Corps and other distinguished personages, besides the personal friends and relatives of the dead. The same simplicity was observed in the matter of music. This was limited to a voluntary on the organ performed by Mr. Walter Damrosch, Mr. Blaine's son-in-law. Corresponding simplicity was seen in the casket, which was of red cedar, covered with black, with plain silver mountings and a plate bearing this inscription: JAMES GILLESPIE BLAINE, Born January 31, 1S30. Died Janu.arv 27, 1S93. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G, BLAINE. 229 In connection with the funeral, the old question of Mr. Blaine's religion was evoked. For several weeks there had been rumors that he had changed, or was about to change, the Presb37terian belief to which he had adhered from boj'hood, for that of the IMother Church. It is said that Mr. Blaine was in his infancy, at the insistence of his mother, baptized as a Catholic child. After- wards, however, as he came to years of reflection, he preferred the faith of his father, and joined himself to the Congregational Church. During his last illness it was repeatedly published that he was going back to the faith of his mother. This proved not to be correct. True, Cardinal Gibbons was a friend of Mr. Blaine and visited him during his last sickness ; but it would appear that this visit was made for other than religious consideration. There has always been some diversity' of views on the question of the true faith in the Blaine household. The oldest daughter, on her marriage to Colonel Coppinger, became a Catholic and died and was buried in that faith. The other children were Protestants. Walker Blaine and his sister, ]\Irs. Coppinger, were buried in the cemetery at Georgetown, the spot being selected by their father on the sad occasion of his oldest son's death. There also the sister was presently buried, and there, too, the statesman determined to rest at the end of the journey. Despite the efforts made to make the funeral a private one, the people of Washington, and, indeed, of the whole countr}^ were little disposed to have it so. James G. Blaine could not be privately buried ; that is, his mortal remains could not be sent in privacy to the tomb. As to the deathless part, the historical part, that had been alread}^ canonized. The morning of January 30 came bright and clear, and at an early hour Lafayette Square and the surrounding streets began to be thronged with people. The pressure of the crowd became very great ; but there was an impressive silence and no disorder. All business about the governmental departments had ceased. The most distinguished men of the nation and mau}^ from foreign countries sought to testify by their presence, both at the Seward mansion and the Church of the Covenant, their profound interest in the occasion. The arrangements contemplated no service at the residence except . a praj'er by Dr. Hamlin and music by Mr. Damrosch. The latter was rendered in a subdued strain during the utterance of the prayer. The body of the dead states- man was placed in the casket in the large parlor on the second floor. It was covered and banked around with the choicest floral offerings. The casket itself rested on a bed of roses, violets, palm leaves and ferns. There was a ship of state sent by the Knights of Reciprocity, and a wreath contributed b}- the President of the United States. Only a few persons could be accommodated in the parlor. These included President Harrison ; his daughter, Mrs. McKee ; the Vice-President and his wife ; the members of the Cabinet and their families. After the brief service at the residence, the casket was transferred to the hearse. The vast throng in the streets and in Lafayette Square stood with uncovered heads while the procession 230 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. was formed teuding to the Church of the Covenant. At that place a guard had been stationed from early morning in order that the auditorium might be reserved for the family and friends. The church is situated at the corner of Connecticut Avenue and N Street, opposite to the British legation. The decorations of the building within, and particularly of the pulpit and railing, were rich and impressive. Everything that the artistic taste, assisted by the fragrant and beautiful contributions of nature in blossom and vine, could suggest, was appropriately set about the last resting-place of the casket of James G. Blaine — last on this side of the windowless chamber. At the Church of the Cove- naut it was found impossible to admit the public or any unin- vited guests. The funeral pro- cession reached the building at noon. The hearse was borne up the aisle preceded by Dr. Hamlin, repeating solemnly, as he came, the Presbyterian service for the dead. After the minister came the honorary pall-bearers, and then the family and friends. Mrs. Blaine was not present, being so greatly depressed in health and spirits as to be unable to leave the residence. One of the touching inci- dents of the service was the performance of a voluntary on the organ by Mr. Damrosch, who took the place of the regular organist for the occasion. Then CHARLES FOSTER, SECRETARY OF TREASURY. followcd tlie praycr aud the address by Dr. Hamlin. The crowd about the building was very great. When the services were concluded, the flowers which had accumulated to an indescrib- able extent around the altar were gathered up and removed to the cemetery. The members of the family and their friends then entered their carriages and, following the hearse, began the procession to Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown. About one hundred carriages, including those of the Vice-President and mem- bers of the Cabinet, were in line. Spectators were thinly scattered on either side of the way all along the route. It was a clear day, with only a few clouds for the sun to struggle with new and then. In the prosperous parts of the city men and women gathered at the windows to see the procession go by. In the poorer streets, through LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 231 which the funeral passed on the way to Georgetown, mothers, black and white, brought their children to the doors and offered them the fine parade of carriages full of distinguished people as a pleasing diversion in their quiet lives. One little hut marked in numerous places " Keep dr}-," and " This side up with care," which had evidently' been built up of dissected packing cases, produced no less than seven small colored children, who showed their appreciation of the fine display. It was a long drive to the cemetery, going as the funeral procession did, at a slow walk. The hearse, which had left the church at 12.45 P- ™-i reached Oak Hill, the burying-ground, shortl}' after two. The cemetery was crowded with men, women and children, Avho had gathered in the morning to look at the open grave. With diiEculty the funeral party managed to clear a way through the curious crowd from about the Blaine plot. The immediate relatives, intimate friends and members of the Cabinet grouped themselves about the grave. The ground was soft, muddy and parti}' covered with snow. The general crowd of sightseers pressed about as closely as possible and ranged themselves on the slanting terraces of graves that mark the hillside above the Blaine plot. Beside the open grave there was a large mound of fresh red earth. Seven men dressed in long blue flannel blouses reaching below the knee, and fastened at the waist with big brass buckles, stood with long-handled spades ready to pile in the dirt upon the coffin. Mr. Blaine's body was committed to the earth with a short prayer. It was lowered into the grave with the flowers still lying upon the coffin lid, and immediately the seven grave-diggers with long blouses fell to piling in the earth. For a while the women of Mr. Blaine's household stood sobbing as the work went on. Before it had been finished they had been led awaj-. One after another the members of the Cabinet withdrew. ]Mr. Wanamaker remained later than any of his associates, gazing sadly upon the work of the seven men. Finally, he, too, departed, leaving young James G. Blaine alone with the crowd of curiosity-seekers beside his father's grave. He waited until the task of filling the grave and sealing the brick vault had been completed. Then he, too, went away. For almost an hour the crowd surged about, worrying the policemen and grave-diggers with their attempts to despoil the grave of its flowers. Policeman No. 36 should be commended for the manner in which he enforced the law and administered reproof simultaneoush'. Those he had to combat were women. His unfailing and patient remonstrance was : " Ladies, if you don't know better than to take flowers off the grave, I shall have to teach 3^011." Beside the grave of Mr. Blaine are those of Emmons Blaine and Mrs. Alice Blaine Coppinger. A white marble cross marks Mrs. Coppinger's grave. There is room perhaps for two more graves in the plot in which Mr. Blaine lies buried. There is no room for anything more than a verj- simple headstone to mark his resting-place. In front of the Blaine plot there is an open space 232 lifp: and work of james g. blaine. upon which an imposing monument might be built, but it has been purchased as a family plot by Mr. Norris. On Mr. Blaine's right, as he lies in his grave, . is a headstone marked simply " Peter Palmer," and on his left the grave of Stephen Glegg Rowan, Vice-Admiral of the United States Navy, who lies buried beside his wife. Not far from where Air. Blaine lies, in a more thickly settled point of the cemetery, is the grave of John Howard Payne, author of "Home, Sweet Home." The body was brought here from Tunis, where Payne died, by W. W. Corcoran, whose remains lie in a vault near by. It was he who gave to Washington for cemetery purposes the tract of land, of which the Oak Hill Cemetery consists. Here then was the final scene. To this all men must come. Here in the earth the body of one of the greatest of modern Americans was laid with such simple ceremonies as he himself had prescribed as most befitting his exit from the world. We may not more appropri- ately conclude this biography than with a brief extract from an eye-witness who, standing in the cemetery, in the afternoon when the burial was over, saw, to his surprise, the bereaved widow come with an attendant or two to see the last resting- place of her distiugi:ished hus- band. The account is given in the words of the special correspondent of the New York Worlds and with this pictur- esque and sorrowful scene we IK INTKRIiiR. JOHN W NOIiLK, SKCRliTARV end our narrative of the LiFE OF James G. Blaine : — " At four o'clock this afternoon, the crowds that had filled the cemetery had dispersed. Only a few children ran about the muddy walks and pla3'ed in the half-melted snow of the grave-yard. A woman, deeply veiled, walked down the winding path to the grave and leaned against the trunk of the dead tree. It was Mrs. Blaine. " At her feet were thousands upon thousands of roses, violets and lilies, shutting out from sight the scar which marked her husband's resting-place in the earth. All about were low mounds marking other graves, some of children and some of old men. Many were trampled down and disfigured by LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 233 the thoiisauds who had struggled for a last look at her husband's coffin. Behind her the sun was going down. Before her was a deep ravine, a swollen brook rushing through it, and beyond a gloomy series of red hills. Above the hills she could see the white shaft of the Washington Monument, the dome of the Capitol and the roof of the State Department building, beyond which, but visible, was the White House. Occasionally a few children gathered about with their hands behind their backs to contemplate the lad}' heavily veiled. They were warned away by an old man in charge of the cemetery gate, who had undertaken the task of protecting the flowers on the grave until the gates should close. " After almost an hour spent by the dead tree at the head of the grave Mrs. Blaine was led away to a carriage by her son. It was getting dark. The sun was hidden from view behind the hill, and the grave, with its burden of flowers, lay in the shadows. Two or three policemen who had lingered about the gate cleared the cemetery of the children and of the few curious ones who remained. The iron gates were closed, and Blaine was left alone to begin his long rest beneath the sod." CHAPTER XL SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES — FIRST PERIOD. E are now to consider somewhat at length the pro- duct of James G. Blaine as a public speaker. In this respect he was copious to abundance. From his boj'hood he had a passion for public speech, and rarely lost occasion to appear on the platform. We have already remarked upon the fact that his style of address was determined largely by his editorial experience and discipline. As a result, his oratory was the oratory of reason and argu- mentation rather than of high flight and pyro- technic display. In the following chapters it is our purpose to trace the evolution of Blaine's powers with actual citations from his speeches. In this chapter we shall limit our excerpts to such addresses as he delivered before his appearance in Congress. As we have said, he began early. When he was twenty-six years of age, returning from the convention which had nominated Fremont for the presidency, he delivered a speech at Litchfield, Me., on the subject of the nomination of the Pathfinder and of the political questions which had sprung to the fore in that year. The address was worthy of a great occasion, but was marked with a measure of caution as to the extreme views which had combined with more moderate opinion in the new Republican platform. Blaine, on this occasion, reviewed briefly the history of recent American politics ; dwelt upon the dissolution of the Whig party ; pointed out the fact that the Democratic party was also on the eve of disintegration, and indicated the necessit}^ of a new political organization as the vehicle of the best and most progressive sentiment of the American people. *' The Republican party," said he, " will march forward in the line of duty and will try to engraft its principles upon the government of the country. They have no purpose to interfere with slavery in the States ; they have no purpose to interfere with slavery anjnvhere, except to the extent that Thomas Jefferson and the Fathers of the Republic interfered with it when they excluded it from free territory. If, indirectly, that policy interferes with slavery in the States, we are not responsible. Certainly (234) LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 235 the great evil of slavery, wherever it exists, is not to be countenanced and upheld by subjecting other communities and other territory to a like curse. I have no doubt that the great majority of the Republican party would interfere with slavery in the States, if they considered that they liad the constitutional right to do so ; but they will not violate their oaths to observe the Constitution, and they will not strain their consciences to make that seem right which the plain letter of the law forbids. But they believe that their right to exclude slavery from the free Territories is just as clear as their inability to interfere with it in the States ; and on that single point, great and far-reaching in its effects, we challenge the Democratic part}' of the South and of the North to a contest for the government of the country." The speaker then went on to review the proceedings of the first National Republican Con\'ention, and to deduce therefrom the omens of success. He referred to the fact that he himself had been a Whig, descended from Whigs, that he had preferred Judge McLean for the nomination, but that the popularity of Fremont had carried him away with the rest of the delegation. He declared the existence of three parties in the field, and aflfirmed the probability that the new Republican organization would become the party of the future. He then turned upon Buchanan, candidate of the Democracy, and reviewed his record with a raciness and force which foretokened his powers of attack and criticism. He also gave his attention to the American party, and accused Fillmore of having virtually gone over to the principles and cause of the South. Fremont was eulogized. He was declared to be the herald of a new political era in the nation. " Without realizing it himself," said the speaker, " he has become the embodiment of the Republican policy which declares that the national territory shall be kept free from the curse of slavery. The battle between free institu- tions and slave institutions is now in actual progress in the Territory of Kansas and will be fought there to the bitter end. Mr. Buchanan represents the pro-slaver}^ side of that contest ; Colonel Fremont represents the anti-slavery side, while I\Ir. Fillmore, evading a declaration on the question, is, so far as he has political strength, decisively and most effectively on the side of the South." Blaine then addressed himself directly to the Republicans of his own State. He exhorted them to stand for moral as well as political reform. He attacked the Democrats for their attitude towards the prohibitory law of Maine. He urged his fellow Republicans to fill the forthcoming State convention and to make a charge for the conquest of the State. He urged the nomination of Hannibal Hamlin for Governor. He declared his desire that Hamlin, who was then in Congress, should be so nominated that he could not decline the call. " To this end," said the speaker, " let me urge that all the towns in Kennebec be repre- sented at Portland with full delegations, on the eighth of next month. There is work to be done this year and the old Whig party of Kennebec must do her 236 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. full stare. Maine will not lag behind in this contest for free territory, and the first duty at hand is to destroy the present Democratic supremac}' in the State." In these remarks of the young orator we are able to discover his prudence and his prescience. Not only this ; we note with admiration the beginning of his organizing power — his directive influence. Hamlin must come home from Congress and help to rescue Maine from the Democracy. That done, he can be returned to the Senate. Herein is the clear vision of the political diplomatist seen already. Such a man as this will be long-headed by and by. He will be a manager of affairs, and show himself able to discern great things at a distance. He will acquire skill in the combination of political forces, and perhaps become a leader of his party I Buchanan was elected to the presi- dency. This might well have been foreseen. Fremont, however, had a respectable vote, and it was evident that the j-oung Republican party had come to sta}'. Blaine was profoundly inter- ested in the evolutions of the time. He watched with intense interest the progress of affairs in the Government and in the malcontent States of the South. When near the close of Buchanan's administration the ques- tions of the day began to take form Blaine was ready. At a Republican mass meeting held in Farmington, Me., on the fourth of Jul}^ i860, with Israel Washburn presiding, Blaine delivered one of his first formal political ad- dresses on THE NATIONAL ISSUES OF 1S60. " I sincerely thank you, Mr. Chairman and Republicans of Franklin County," said the orator, " for the honor you have conferred upon me by your invitation to join our distinguished candidate for Governor in formally opening the State and presidential campaigns in Maine. We have had the pleasure of hearing ]\Ir. Washburn, and I am sure we all feel that in his eloquent and exhaustive speech on the leading national issue, he has left little for other speakers to say. If his speech made one impression upon my mind stronger than any other, it was that we do a wrong to our State and to the nation to withdraw him from Congress to make him Governor of the State when his services in the House of Representatives had so fully ripened him for the closing battle of that conflict for MILLARD FILLMORE. LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. 237 free territory, iu which for the past ten years he has borne so conspicuous and hon- orable a part. But it is now too late to change, and we must content ourselves with the belief that if we lose a brilliant Representative in Congress we shall secure an equally brilliant Governor, and that Mr. Rice, who is nominated as his successor in the national iield, will faithfully uphold the principles which ]Mr. Washburn's long career has so fitly illustrated. It is interesting and important for us at the initial point of the national campaign to see how the events of four years have deepened and broadened the issue upon which the Republican party was organized, and how that party, growing and strengthening in all the States of the North, has enlarged the creed of principles which first constituted its political field. The vote for Fremont in 1856, though the party had been hastily summoned and was imperfectly organized, was yet so large as to give a wholesome fright to the pro-slavery leaders of the South. Mr. Buchanan carried his own State by only two thousand votes in the October election, and if the majority had been two thousand the other way the coalition ticket of Fremont and Fillmore electors would probably have been chosen. In that event the election would have been thrown into the House of Representatives, and either Mr. Buchanan or Mr. Fillmore would have been chosen President through the same process that gave John Quincy Adaius the executive chair in 1S25. Though it might not have deprived the Democracy of the chief magistracy, it would have been more than equivalent to an ordinary defeat between parties. Even as it resulted, the gathered hosts of the free North so alarmed the leaders of Southern opinion that something was imperatively demanded to strengthen their position. The nation did not wait long to learn the policy and purpose of the pro- slavery leaders. The Republicans had already once gained control of the popular branch of Congress, and the Democracy were afraid that the same result might be repeated. That implied the possibility of defeat at the polls in a presidential election ; and with the executive and legislative departments of the Government against them, they feared for the fate of slavery. In this dilemma they had recourse to the national judiciary to strengthen them in their position. So assured were they that a decision of great value to the pro-slavery interest was impending, that Mr. Buchanan ventured to refer to it in his inaugural address as " soon to be announced." People did not realize at the time the gross impro- priety of this reference. But its full measure was seen when, not long after, the Dred Scott decision was pronounced by the Supreme Court. This decision, which primarily related to the freedom of a single man (whose name the case bears), was so broadened by the court, in its obiter dictiDU, as to take in all existi\ig political disputes on the slavery question. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was declared to have been unconstitutional, and its flagitious repeal in 1854 was thus upheld as a patriotic duty on the part of Congress. As far as a judicial edict could do it, slavery was strengthened everywhere by that decision, the whole national domain was opened to its ingress, and no power was left, either among 238 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the settlers in the Territories or in the Congress of the United States, to exclude it. The belief with many who are entitled to know is that the " opinions " of the court which take in matter beyond the record of the case would never have been delivered had not the supposed political necessities of the South demanded this judicial declaration of the extreme doctrine of Mr Calhoun. The Southern men have found, however, that they reckoned without their host when they supposed that the people of the United States, on polit- ical questions of this character, would give up a contest that involves freedom for a continent, on the mere s/dcway opinions of five pro-sla- very judges. The contest goes on ; and it has been deepened by the atrocious efforts to compel Kansas to enter the Union under the fraudulent constitu- tion made at Lecompton, against the will and the wish of her people. Neither the abuse of power by the President nor the perversion of justice by the Supreme Court can call a halt in this battle for free terri- tory. It is destined to go forward, and the ele- ments which the pro- slavery leaders have JAMES BUCHANAN. rclicd upou as settling it are but acting as incentives to greater energy and more determined purpose on the part of the freemen of the Northern States. The cry of " sectionalism," which is p*art of the campaign thunder of the Democratic party, has lost its force; for the people measure its meaning and are ready, in their own phrase, to unite in defence of freedom when Southern men combine in defence of slavery. In the election of 1856 the opponents of the Democratic party were divided. I do not say that, even had they been united, they could have triumphed at LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 239 that time. But this }'ear, in the good Providence of God, the division comes in the Democratic party itself; and we can felicitate ourselves that the strife between Mr. Douglas and Mr. Breckinridge will in all probabilit}' give the elec- tion to the Republicans of the United States, and that Abraham Lincoln, if he lives, will be the next President. I do not in this contest reckon Mr. Bell, of Tennessee (who, with Mr. Edward Everett for Vice-President, is running as the representative of the old Whig remnant), as of any special force. We have no occasion to discuss him or his platform, and we can safely endure the little diversion which, through old Whig influences, he may make from the Repub- lican standard in the North, in consideration of the additional confusion he will bring to the Democratic party in the South. It is in fact probable that upon the w-hole the Republicans Avill gain by the candidacy of Bell and Everett, because the majority of their Northern supporters, if the ticket were withdrawn, would cast their votes directly for Mr. Douglas. Nor should we listen for a single moment to those Democrats who for the first time in their lives find themselves in a quarrel with the pro-slavery chief- tains, and are asking popular support for Douglas as the leader of the real revolt against the dangerous element of the South. If there were no other argu- ment against that course, its utter impracticability would be conclusive. If the Douglas men are in earnest and wish to smite the dangerous and aggressive element which is massing itself under the lead of Breckinridge for pro-slavery victory, or for disunion in the event of failure, they should unite in support of Mr. Lincoln. Either Mr. Lincoln will be chosen, or the election will be thrown into the House of Representatives ; and no man who measures the working of political forces to-day can view that result with any feeling other than one of dread. Certainlj' no Northern man ought to cast his vote in a way that admits of the possibility of such a rafRe for the presidency as would sacrifice all prin- ciple and involve the danger that may be connected with a contest of that character. If the Republicans of Maine need any further stimulus to rally for Lincoln with even more enthusiasm than they rallied for Fremont four years ago, it will be found in the fact that our own distinguished fellow-citizen, Hannibal Hamlin, is the candidate for Vice-President. In these great national uprisings for free- dom, it seems to be Mr. Hamlin's fortune to hold prominent place and wield prominent influence. It was his great victory as candidate for Governor four years ago that gave impulse to the popular wave for Fremont, and it is his presence and his influence to-day which, with that of our distinguished candi- date for Governor, will give increased volume and increased force to* the voice of Maine in September. There is another great step forward which the Republican party has taken in its national platform of this year, reaffirmed with special emphasis in the State platform of Maine. In 1856 the issue was entirely confined to resistance to the aggressions of slavery, but since that date the financial revulsions whicli 240 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. have led to such distress in the country have turned men's minds to the fallacy and the failure of the free-trade policy which for the last fourteen years has been adopted and enforced by the Democratic party. The prosperity which was said to have been caused by the tariff of 1S46 has received a rude shock, and three years ago a disastrous panic swept over the country, leaving all business embar- rassed, if not prostrate. For several years prior to that date every man who believed in the policy of protection had been ridiculed and taunted and pointed to the indisputable proof of the advantage of free trade to be found in the gener- ally prosperous condition of the country. The cry in favor of the tariff of 1846 was so boisterous that no opponent of it could even have a hearing. Those who still held lirmly to the policy of protection and in the belief that the repeal of the tariff of 1S42 was a great national blunder were silenced, if not scorned, in the arena of popular discussion. It was in vain that Pro- tectionists attempted to prove that the period of prosperity under that tariff (from 1846 to 1856) was due to a series of what might be termed fortuitous circumstances — all involving good fortune to the I United States and ill fortune ' to other nations. Firsf. — At the very mo- ment of the enactment of the tariff of 1846, the war with Mexico broke out. The result was that more than one hun- dred thousand men were called from the pursuits of industry and enlisted in the ranks of our army, while other thousands, leaving their usual callings, were set to work on the production of war material. The first result was a deficiency in the supply of laborers and a large advance in wages. In the course of two years the Government paid out on account of the war, nearly one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, thus stimulating trade in almost every department. Second. — Alidway in the Mexican war (in 1847) ^ distressing famine occurred in Ireland, which, with short crops in other parts of Europe, created an unpre- cedented demand for American breadstuffs. This, of course, raised the price of grain to high figures, and carried large profit and ready money to the door of everv farmer in the land. HANNIBAI, HAMLIN. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 241 Third. — The Alexican war had scarcely closed, the Irish famine had only been partially relieved, when (in 184S-49) tumults and revolutions occurred in nearly every European kingdom. The direct resiilt was the disorganization of industry and the depression of trade all over the continent. Demand for our breadstuffs continued, and competition of European fabrics was so reduced that every form of industry in the United States was stimulated to fill the demands of the home market. Fourth. — The convulsions of Europe were still in progress when another stimulus was added to our prospcrit}'. Vast deposits of gold were found in Cali- fornia, and from 1849 onward, for several years, the trade of the countrv in all departments was quickened to a degree never before known. The demand for shipping to carry passengers to the land of gold, and supplies to sustain them, gave new life to our navigation interests and filled the ocean with clipper ships that had no rivals for speed or beauty. The rapid additions to our gold currency, immediately followed by an expansion of our paper currency, gave such an abundance of money as had never before been dreamed of. The inevitable resiilt was a rapid rise of prices for labor and for all commodities, and speculation and money-making were the order of the day. Importations from Europe were enor- mously large, and in settling the balances we followed the theory of the free- trade school, in regarding our gold as simph' a commodity, to be shipped out of the country as freely as iron or lead or wheat or corn. Fifth. — In 1854, before the craze of speculation had time to cool, another great event came to pass whicli still further increased our prosperit}'. It really seemed as if the whole world had conspired to have every accident and every calamity happen for our benefit. When our prosperity was already great and growing, the three leading nations of Europe — as nations were then ranked — Great Britain, Russia and France — rushed into a tremendous war which lasted until 1856. In its progress the Crimean struggle absorbed the energies of the nations engaged, removed to a large extent the mercantile marine of England and France from peaceful pursuits, and gave still greater expansion to our own navigation ; stopped the flow of grain from Russia, and gave every opportunity for trade and commerce and great profit to the citizens of the United vStates. But this singular combination of good fortune to us and ill fortune to others could not continue indefinitely. Prosperity built upon the calamities of other nations has a most insecure and undesirable foundation. The three great Euro- pean Powers made peace ; the Baltic and the Black Sea were thrown open for the exportation of Russian bread stuffs ; English and French ships that had been engaged in war service were at once and everywhere competing at low prices for the freight of the world ; shipments of gold from California began to decrease. The wheel of fortune had turned, and the consequence was that the portentous superstructure of credit, of speculation, which had been based upon what the gamblers would have termed our extraordinary run of luck, suddenly came to an end when the luck ceased. The panic of 1857 was the closing chapter in 24-2 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. that extraordinary ten years in wliicli the political ecoiioniists of the Democratic part}' were constantly mistaking effect for cause, were constantly blinded to the actual condition of trade and to the real sources of our prosperity, were con- stantly teaching to the people of the United States spurious theories, were constantly deceiving themselves by fallacies, and were constantly drawing con- clusions from false premises. Notwithstanding all the gold received from California, it was found that we had not enough in the hour of panic to keep the banks, even of the National Metropolis, from immediate suspension. Enterprises all over the country were checked ; labor was thrown into confusion and distress, and for the last three years men have been working for less remuneration than has been paid to honest toil at any period within the preceding quarter of a century-. The policy of free trade, as embodied in the tariff of 1846, had, in ten years, caused such a large importation of foreign goods that, besides all our shipments of produce and all the earnings of our commercial marine, it drained us of four hundred millions of gold to make good the balance of trade against us. I mean four hundred millions of gold, //r/, over and above the amount which in the currents of trade was occasionallj- shipped to us from Europe. The bankers of New York, the great majority of whom had sustained the free-trade policy, were among the first to ask extension on their obligations. They could pay in their own bills, but the specie which should have been in their vaults had been sold by them for shipment abroad, to make good the balance which their favorite tariff of 1846 had constantly accumulated against us in Europe. These lessons, fellow-citizens, are serious, and the Republican National Convention has appreciated their meaning. That convention recalls us, in its platform, to the policy of adjusting our revenues so as to protect labor, encour- age home manufactures, create a balance of trade in our favor, and keep our gold at home. While fighting against the admission of servile toil of the black man in the new Territories of the continent, Republicans will fight also for liberal wages to the toiling white men of the old States of the Union. This position is the logical sequence, the logical necessity of the Republican party. An anti-slavery party is by the irresistible force of its principles a protection part}', for it is based upon the rights of labor for the white man and the black man alike. I do not doubt, Mr. Chairman, that I dwell on this new plank in our Republican platform at greater length and with keener personal interest than woiild any of the gentlemen who are to follow me. I was a college-boy in mj' native State when the tariff of 1S46 was enacted, and I can remember how profound and how angry was the agitation throughout Penns3'lvania while the bill was pending, how bitter and intense was the popular indignation when it was finally passed. I sa}' popular indignation, because the two parties were not divided on the question of protection. The supporters of Mr. Polk in that State in the contest of 1844 cried as loudly for the tariff of '42 as did the supporters of Mr. Clay. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. 243 The peculiar bitterness in Pennsylvania, the acrimonj', the sense of betrayal which thej' felt, came from the fact that the tariff of '46 was passed through the Senate by the casting vote of the Vice-President, George M. Dallas, a dis- tinguished Pennsylvanian, who had been associated with Mr. Polk on the Democratic ticket for the purpose of rallying the State against the overwhelming prestige of Mr. Clay as a Protectionist. In the hour of trial Mr. Dallas failed his friends. Nor was Mr. Dallas the only man of Pennsylvania blood and birth who disappointed the expectation of his State. Mr. Buchanan was Secretary of State in Mr. Polk's Cabinet at the time, and though he had shown his belief in Protection by voting for the tariff of 1S42, he exerted no influence from his high place to stay its repeal, but rather co-operated with the vSecretarv of the Treasury, Robert J. Walker, another Pennsylvanian by birth, in his zealous work for the tariff of 1846. Three Penn- sylvania Democrats, therefore, stand in different degrees responsible for the tariff of 1846, and that fact will prove of immense value to the Republicans in their pending striiggle for political power in that State. When Mr. Buchanan ran for President four years ago, the bubble of fancied prosperity from free trade had not burst, and he was enabled, though, as I have already said, by the closest of votes, to hold his State. But there has been a revulsion — possibly it ma_v be a revolu- tion — of public sentiment on this question in Pennsj'lvania. A distinguished citizen of that State, whom I met at the Repub- james k. polk. lican National Convention in May, told me that a very large proportion — I think he said two-thirds — of all the iron establishments had gone through some form of insolvency or assignment under the tariff of 1846, especially within the last three years, when the Free Traders went one step farther in the amend- ment to the tariff in 1857, just preceding the panic. Let us then do our full duty in Maine on both questions that are included in the national platform. The larger, grander issue of freedom for the Territories, which concerns " the rights of human nature," is in perfect harmony with the industrial issue upon which I have dwelt. Both can stand together, and if they do not, both will fall together." These trial efforts of the young statesman of Maine — destined as he was to become so striking a figure in the Congressional and diplomatical history 244 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. of a quarter of a century — possess a peculiar interest. They show the trial flights. We note with pleasure the vigor of wing on which the thought of the orator sweeps around. The speeches are strong and comprehensive. The}' are essentially political, but, nevertheless, have in them the premonitions of statesmanship. True, the occasion favored development on the special lines of policy and action which Blaine successfully pursued. The last years of the sixth and first of his seventh decade were rife with such questions as do not rise every day to the surface of affairs. They were critical. They broke in commotion on the wide seas of pviblic thought. The spirit of young men must needs be agitated by the turmoil around them. It was a great day. Blaine, with many others, caught the sense and spirit of it and became, even in this first period of his public activity, an expositor of situations, an inter- preter of principles to the understandings of his fellow-men. CHAPTER XII. SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES — CONGRESSIONAL. a speaker, the second epoch of Mr. Blaine's career opened in the House of Representatives. To that body he was elected, as we have seen, from the Ken- nebec district, in the fall of 1S62. "With the begin- ning of the new Congress in the next year he took his seat, and it was not long until he began to show his powers in the discussion of the great questions of the hour. Already before leaving the legislature of his adopted State, namely, on the seventh of February, 1862, he had made a long and thoughtful speech on "The Con- fiscation of Rebel Property." In the course of the address he discussed the war power of Congress, cited precedents of the exercise of such power in the IMexican war, adduced the authority of Webster and Kent, debated the question as to whether the seceded States were in the Union or out of the Union, declared the magnanimity of the Republican policy, and predicted victory for the Union cause. In conclusion he said : " This mighty struggle, sir, will close with victory M for the Union and for constitutional liberty. The triumphs I at Mill Spring, at Roanoke, at Henry, and at Donelson, I are but the earnest of the unbroken success which, under the vigorous counsels now controlling the army, are to attend the Union cause. It is not to be as it has been. In the past autumn and early winter our prospects seemed dark and dreary. We close the year with those terrible disasters at Big Bethel, at Bull Run, at Ball's Bluff unre- deemed ; and our national energies seemed paralyzed with inaction and with treason. The war was being conducted in a manner that never did and never will and never can achieve anything but misfortune and disgrace. It was a war of half measures, painfully parallel in policy with that which in England, under the temporizing expedients urged by such leaders as Essex and Manchester and Northumberland, had well-nigh sacrificed the popular cause in the contest with the first Charles — a policy which is thus decribed and denounced by that memorable historian and statesman of England, whose untimely death, two 3-ears ago, was so deeply deplored on both sides of the Atlantic: — 240 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. That the failure of General will cost this nation three " ' If there be an}^ truth established by the universal experience of nations, it is this : that to carry the spirit of peace into war, is a weak and cruel policy. The time of negotiation is the time for deliberation and delay. But when an extreme case calls for that remedy, which is in its own nature most violent, and which, in such cases, is a remedy only because it is violent, it is idle to think of mitigating and diluting. Languid war can do nothing which negotia- tion or submission will not do better : and to act on any other principle, is not to save blood and money, but to squander them.' "As an apposite illustration of the pregnant truth thus enunciated by Lord Macaula}', I close by quoting the well-known declaration of Edwin M. Stanton, McClellan to attack Manassas in December last hundred millions of dollars and thirty thousand precious lives.' " The reader will readily observe in this brief extract the range which the mind of Blaine was taking even before his accession to Congress. The same qualit}' is observed in his next im- portant address, which was delivered four days afterwards, on the occasion of his nomination for a seat in the House of Representatives. It was clear alread}' that while the speaker was prudently concerned with such local questions as belonged to the politics of his own State, those questions and the discussion of them could by no means satisfy his aspirations. Once in the House of Representatives he gave free rein to his thought. Mark well a single paragraph from his speech of April 21, 1S64. In discussing the question mid stand the financial strain of the war and not go n ORD R M CTHI AV whether the countrv bankrupt, he says : " Our facilities for commerce and exchange, both domestic and foreign — who shall measure them ? Our ocean, our vast inland sea, our marvelous flow of navigable streams, our canals, our network of railroads more than thirty thousand miles in extent — these give us avenues of trade and channels of com- munication, both natural and artificial, such as no other nation has ever enjoyed, and which tends to the production of wealth with a rapidit}- not to be measured by any standard of the past. The enormous field for manufacturing industry in all its complex and endless variety — with our raw material, our wonderful motive power, both of water and steam, our healthful climate, our chief carriage, our home consumption, our foreign demands — foreshadows a traffic whose mag- nitude and whose profit cannot now be estimated. Our mines of gold and silver and iron and copper, and lead and coal, with their untold and unimaginable wealth, spread over millions of acres of territory in the valley, on the mountain- LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 247 side, aloug rivers, yielding already a rich harvest, are destined yet to increase a thousaud-fold until their every-day treasures, ' familiar grown, Shall realize Orient's fabled wealth.' " It is easy to perceive in this brief extract the first flight of a spirit which might well come to consider in mature years such questions as inter-continental railways. Isthmian canals, and the whole vast question of international trade. In this chapter, it is our purpose to quote freel}^ from Blaine's congressional speeches. On the seventh of December, 1864, ^1^ spoke as follows on the FUTILITY OF ATTEMPTING TO EQUALIZE GOLD, SILVER AXD PAPER MONEY BY LEGISLATION. Mr. Speaker — I move to reconsider the vote whereby the House yesterday referred to the Committee of Ways and Means a bill introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Thaddeus Stevens], " to prevent gold and silver coin and bullion from being paid or exchanged for a greater value than their real current value, and for preventing any note or bill issued b^- the United vStates, and made lawful money and a legal tender, from being received for a smaller sum than is therein specified." I believe. Mr. vSpeaker, that this bill has been productive of great mischief in the brief twenty-four hours that it has been allowed to float before the public mind as a measure seriously entertained b3' this House. 1 believe that still more mischief will ensue every day and every hour the House stands committed to such legislation, even b}- the motion of courtes}' which refers the bill to a committee. The provisions of the bill are very extraordinary, and but for the respect I feel for the distinguished gentleman who introduced it, I should say they were absurd and monstrous. Let me read two or three of these provisions : " 2. That a dollar note issued by the Government, declared lawful money and legal tender, is declared of equal value for all purposes as gold and silver coin of like denomination. " 3- That a contract made pa3'able in coin ma}' be payable in legal-tender United States notes, and that no difference in sale or value shall be allowed between them. " 5- That no person shall by an}' device, shift or contrivance receive or pay, or contract to receive or pay, any Treasury or other note issued by the United States for circulation as money, and declared legal tender, for less than THADDHrS STEVENS. 248 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. their lawfully expressed value ; and any offender, upon conviction, shall suffer imprisonment not exceeding six months, and a fine equal to the full amount of the sum speci- fied in said note. "6. Thatifauy person shall, in the purchase or sale of gold or silver coin or bullion, agree to receive in payment notes of corpora- . tions or individuals at less than par value, he shall be deemed to have of- fended against the provisions of this act, and shall be punished accord- ingly." I forbear to re- cite the remainder of the bill. I have read enough to show, that if it should become a laAv, the entire pop- ulation on the Paci- fic coast would be liable to indictment and conviction for a criminal offence simpl}' because they will persist in be- lieving that in the present condition of our currency a gold dollar is worth more than a paper dollar. Not limit- ^' ^^ ^ ""'^ ing the scope of the bill to the protection of Government currenc}^, the gentleman from Penns}'l- vania still further proposes to punish, as for a misdemeanor, anj' one who shall LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 249 ag;ree to sell gold and receive in payment " notes of corporations or individuals at less than par value." The whole bill, sir, aims at what is simply impossible. You cannot by a congressional enactment make a coin dollar worth less than it is, or a paper dollar worth more than it is. I think we had experience enough in that direc- tion with the famous gold bill at the last session. We passed that measure after a very severe pressure, and with great promises as to the wonders it would work in W^all street. It continued on the statute-book for some twelve days — gold advancing at a rapid rate every day until its repeal was effected. The bill now under consideration has already had a most pernicious effect ; and should it become a law, no man can measure the degree of its hurtful influence. It is for these reasons that I desire to have its reference reconsidered. In regard to the specific line of argument iised by the chairman of Ways and Means to justify this extraordinary measure, let me say, Mr. Speaker, that I have read English history on this subject with different conclusions from those so confidently expressed by him. My impression is that the well-weighed judg- ment, the deliberate conclusion of the British people was and is that such prohibitory statutes as the gentleman has cited have no favorable effect upon the price of gold. That they did not have a prejudicial and disastrous effect in Eno-land is due to the existence of other powerful causes, whose operation and effect were most beneficent. Those causes for the decline and continued low price of gold are found, sir, in the fact that the British Parliament raised by taxation half, and sometimes more than half, of the total amount annually expended in her fierce struggle with Napoleon, and British arms were at the same time crowned with a series of brilliant and decisive victories. Indeed, the gentleman from Pennsylvania himself, somewhat unconsciously perhaps, admits the whole force of my position on this point ; for he states that eight years before the English people resumed specie payment (in 1823) the premium on gold had fallen to a mere nominal rate. I admit it, sir; and I ask the honor- able gentleman, what brought it there ? Unconsciously, as I have said, the gentleman named the precise date of the battle of Waterloo, and the British victory on that memorable field was the cause of gold ruling low in London in 1815. By the battle of Waterloo England's supremacy was established ; she had broken and beaten all coalitions against her, and was confessedly mistress on land and sea. It was her strong military and naval position and her resolute system of finance that raised the value of her bonds and brought down the price of gold. It was not her prohibitory legislation at all ; no intelligent minister of finance, no English historian worthy of credit, has ever stated that it was. Let us, sir, imitate England in raising our credit by wise legislation here, and by continued \ictories in the field. If we could raise half of our expenses by taxation, and could add to our many triumphs on land and sea a Waterloo victory over the hosts of the rebellion, we should need no such legislation as 250 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the gentlemau has proposed to keep down the price of gold. When we reach that happy period of final triumph, the gentleman's bill, if enacted, might prove harmless ; but until then its manifest effect can only be injurious to the cause it seeks to serve." One of the questions which sprang into full view at the close of the war was the new basis of representation in Congress. The people came to see that the old basis had been unequal and unjust. This is said of the counting of the blacks as though they were human beings, or human beings in par/, in the matter of fixing the ratio of representation in the Southern States. It was one of the compromises of the Constitution that where slavery existed in the Union, the slaves should be enumerated and three-fifths of the number be added to the white inhabitants in establishing the basis of representation. The other two- fifths of the negro population were to be goods, pure and simple ! This sort of unthinkable thing might suffice for the first half-century of the American Republic, but it could not survive through the second half With the end of the war and the restoration of national authority, the whole question had to be reviewed on the ground of justice and right. On the eighth of Januar}'^, iS66, Air. Blaine addressed the House as follows : ON THE BASIS OF REPRESENTATION. Mr. Speaker — Since the beginning of tlie present session we have had several propositions to amend the Federal Constitution with respect to the basis of representation in Congress. These propositions have differed somewhat in phrase, but they all embrace substantially the one idea of making suffrage, instead of population, the basis of apportioning representatives ; in other words, to give to the States in future a representation proportioned to their voters instead of their inhabitants. ' The effect contemplated and intended by this change is perfectly well understood, and on all hands frankly avowed. It is to deprive the lately rebel- lious States of the unfair advantage of a large representation in this House, based on their colored population, so long as that population shall be denied political rights by the legislation of those States. The proposed amendment would simply say to those States, that so long as they refused to enfranchise their black population they shall have no representation based on their numbers ; but admit them to political and civil rights, and they shall at once be counted to their advantage in the apportionment of representatives. The direct object thus aimed at, as it respects the rebellious States, has been so generally approved that little thought seems to have been given to the incidental evils which the proposed constitutional amendment would inflict on certain loyal States. As an abstract proposition no one will deny that popula- tion is the basis of representation; for women and children and other non- voting classes may have as vital an interest in the legislation of the country as those who actually deposit the ballot. Indeed, the very amendment we are LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 251 discussing implies that population is the true basis, inasmuch as the exclusion of the black people of the South from political rights has suggested this indi- rectly^ coercive mode of securing those rights to them. Were the negroes to be enfranchised throughout the South to-day, no one would insist on the adop- tion of this amendment;' and yet if the amendment shall be incorporated in the Federal Constitution, its incidental evils will abide in the loyal States long after the direct evil which it aims to cure may have been eradicated in the Southern States. If voters instead of population shall be made the basis of representation, certain results will follow, not fully appreciated perhaps by some who are now urgent for the change. I will confine my examination of these results to the free States. The ratio of voters to population varies widely in different sections, ranging from a miuimum of nineteen per cent to a maximum of fifty- cio-Jit per cent ; and the changes which this fact would work in the relative representation of certain States would be monstrous. For example, California has a population of 358,110, and Vermont 314,369, and each has three repre- sentatives on this floor to-day ; but California cast 207,000 votes, in electing her three representatives, and Vermont cast 87,000. Assuming voters as the basis of apportionment, and allowing to Vermont three representatives, California would be entitled to eight. The great State of Ohio, with nearly seven times the population of California, would have but little more than two and a half times the number of representatives; and New York, with quite eleven times the population of California, would have in the new style of apportionment less than five times as many members of this House. California, it may be said, presents an extreme case, but no more so than will continually recur for the next century under the stimulus to the emigration of young voters from the older States to the inviting fields of the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific slope. ........•••••• There is no need, Mr. Speaker, of precipitating this evil of inequality among States, in order to cure the evil complained of. The Constitution ma}^ be amended so as to prevent the one evil without involving others of greater magnitude, and I venture to express the belief that the proposition submitted by me this morning will, if adopted, secure the desired result. Let me briefly explain that proposition. The Constitution of the United States, Article I., vSection 2, Clause 3, reads as follows to the first period : — "Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by {adding to the zv/iole number of free /persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed ^ three-fifths of all other persons).'' The portion which I have included in parentheses has become meaningless and nugatory by the adoption of the constitutional amendment which abolishes 252 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the distinction between "free persons" and "all other persons," and being thus a dead letter might as well be formally struck out. In its stead I propose to insert the words following included in parentheses, so that the clause as amended would read thus : — " Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States, which may be included within this Union according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by (taking the whole number of per- sons, except those to whom civil or political rights or privileges are denied or abridged by the Constitution or laws of any State on account of race or color)." This is a very simple and very direct way, it seems to me, of reaching the desired result without embarrassment to any other question or interest. It leaves population, as heretofore, the basis of representation, does not disturb in any manner the harmonious relations of the loyal States, and it conclusively deprives the Southern States of all representation in Congress on account of the colored population, so long as those States may choose to abridge or deny to that population the political rights and privileges accorded to others." The comprehensiveness of these remarks and their aptness on the sub- ject of the basis of representation may be noted with admiration. It is worthy of record that the speech, brief as it is, was the first open declaration in that Congress [the thirty-ninth] in favor of basing representation in that body, not on the voting, but on the whole population. The same views were taken up and expanded by Mr. Blaine at a mass meeting of the Republican party at Skowhegan, in his own State, on the twenty-ninth of August, 1866. The speaker became a champion of the new principle that the right of representation inheres in all the people, and not in those only upon whom the suffrage had been conferred by law. Now it was that the great question of the restoration of civil power in the South was thrust upon the American people and their representatives. Who shoi:ld have that power ? Should it be those who had lately been in arms against the Government ? Should they who had recently embarked their whole fortunes in the cause of disunion now return to exercise the powers of the very Government which they had so strenuously sought to destroy ? The Republi- can leaders of the daj' generally answered these questions in the negative. Blaine, himself, was strongly opposed to the free return of the insurgents to their places in the Government. The South had refused to accept reconstruction on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment. What should be done about it? On the tenth of December, 1866, Mr. Blaine delivered a speech in the House of Representatives on the question, vSHALL THE LATE REBELS WIELD THE ENTIRE CIVIL POWER OP THE SOUTH? Mr. Chairman. — The popular elections of 1866 have decided that the lately rebellious States shall not be re-admitted to the privilege of representation LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 253 ill Congress on any less stringent condition tlian the adoption of tlie pending constitntional amendment. Bnt those elections have not determined that the privilege of representation shall be given to those States as an immediate con- sequence of adopting the amendment. In that respect the decision of the loj-al people has been rather negative than affirmative ; expressive of the least that would be accepted rather than indicative of the most that might be demanded. Had the Southern States, after the adjournment of Congress, accepted the amendment promptly and in good faith as a definitive basis of adjustment, the lo3'al States would have indorsed it as such, and the second session of the thirty-ninth Congress would have been largely engaged in perfecting the details for the full and complete representation of all the States on the new basis of apportionment. The Southern States, however, have not accepted the amendment as a basis of adjustment, but have on the other hand vehemently opposed it; every one of them that has thus far acted on the question, with the exception of Tennessee, having defiantly rejected it. This absolute and obdurate refusal on the part of those States to accept the amendment as the condition of their regaining the privilege of representation, certainly relieves Congress from whatever promise or obligation ma}' have been originally implied in regard to admitting them to representation upon their adopting the amendment— this promise, or implication, or whatever you choose to term it, being, b}' universal understanding, condi- tioned on the Southern States accepting the amendment in good faith, as was significantly illustrated in the case of Tennessee. But even if the constitutional amendment should be definitely accepted, South as well as North, as the condition on which the rebel States are to regain the privilege of congressional representation, the actual enjoyment of that privi- lege v/ould of necessity be postponed until the terms of the amendment could be complied with, and that would involve a somewhat uncertain period of time. I take it for granted, as I did when I voted for the constitutional amendment, and as I presume ever}' other gentleman on this floor did, that we are not to be guilty of the supreme folly of declaring that the basis of representation is so imfair as to require correction by constitutional amendment, and then forth- with admit the Southern States to the House with their undue and inequitable share of representatives. If the Southern States are to be deprived of their undue share of representatives, based on their non-voting population, they should be deprived of them at once, and not be admitted, even temporarily, with the old apportionment, by which they would continue to exercise in the House of Representatives and in the electoral college the same weight of influence enjoyed by them before the rebellion. The population of the States recently slave-holding was by the census of i860 only 12,240,000, of whom 8,039,000 were whites and 4,201,000 negroes. The population of the free States by the same census was 19,201,546, of whom only 237,000 were negroes. It would hardly be maintained by any one that the States lately slave-holding, taken as a whole, have done anything more than 254 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. hold good their population of i860, while in the free States, despite the losses of the war, the ratio of increase has never been more rapid than since that year. It is speaking with moderation to say that the population of the free States is to-day 25,000,000. Supposing the constitutional amendment to be adopted, therefore, as the basis of re-admitting the Southern States to the privilege of representation, it would be a cruel mockery of the whole aim and intent of that amendment to usher those States upon this floor with the full number of representatives assigned them by the census of 1S60, when three-fifths of their slaves and all their disfranchised free people of color were allowed them in fixing the basis of apportionment. Were they so admitted to-day, the aggregate number of repre- sentatives from the late slave States would be eighty-five, and from the free States IS6, making a House of 241 in all. And yet if those 241 members were divided between the free and slave States on the basis of the representative population, as directed by the constitutional amendment, the slave States would have but fifty-eight members, while the free States would have 183. A corresponding change would be wrought in the electoral college. Were the Government to permit an election for president and vice-president in 1868 on the basis assigned by the census of i860, the late slave States would have IIS electoral votes, while the free States would have 198. But on the actual basis contemplated by the constitutional amendment the late slave States would have but eighty-eight, while the free States would have 225. On the old basis the free States would thus have a majority of eighty-three, while on a basis of the constitutional amendment they would have a majority of 127, a net differ- ence of forty-four electoral votes in fa\-or of the free States. In view of these results, which are the plainest arithmetical deductions, it could not be expected that the free States, even if they were to adhere to the constitutional amendment as the ultimatum of adjustment, would consent to have the lately rebellious States admitted to representation here and to a parti- cipation in the electoral college until the relative and proper strength of the several States should be adjusted anew by a special census and by an appor- tionment made in pursuance thereof. It was in this belief and with these views that at the last session of Congress I framed a bill providing for a special enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, which bill was on my motion referred to the Reconstruction Committee, and has never been reported to the House by that committee either favorably or adversely. What then shall be done? The people, so far as I represent them, have plainly spoken in the late elections, and the interpretation of their voice is not difficult. They have pronounced with unmistakable emphasis in favor of the constitutional amendment, with the superadded and indispensable prerequisite of manhood suffrage. The constitutional amendment, with its definition of American citizenship, with its guarantee of the national obligations, and with its prohibition of the assumption of the rebel debt, is an invaluable addition LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 255 to our organic law. We cannot surrender its provisions, and the rebel States cannot b}' their utmost resistance defeat its ultimate adoption. It is too late to deny or even to argue the right or power of the Government to impose upon those States conditions precedent to their resumption of the privilege of representation. The president set the example by exacting three highly important concessions from those States as /lis basis of reconstruction. Congress followed by imposing four other conditions as //s basis of reconstruction. Now the people have spoken, demanding one additional condition as //leir basis of reconstruction, and that condition is the absolute equality of American citizens in civil and political rights without regard to caste, color, or creed. The objection in the popular mind of the loyal States to the constitutional amendment as a basis of final adjustment is not directed to what that amendment will effect, but to what it will not effect. Among the objects of prime importance which it will not effect is the absolute protection of the two classes in the South to whom the Government owes a special debt — the loyal white men and the loyal black men. The amendment, if made the basis of final adjustment without further condition, leaves the rebel element of the South in possession of the local governments, free to persecute the Union men of all complexions in numberless ways ; and to deprive them of all participation in civil affairs, provided they will submit to a curtailed representation in Con- gress as the penalty. The danger is that they would accept the infliction on themselves in order to secure the power of visiting the loyalists with a full measure of vengeance; just as certain religious denominations in Eng- land, at various times under the reign of the Stuarts, favored measures of proscription which bore with some hardship on themselves, because they were enabled thereby to punish some rival and hated sectaries with positive severity and cruelty. Among the most solemn duties of a sovereign government is the protection of those citizens who, under great temptations and amid great perils, maintain their faith and their loyalty. The obligation of the Federal Government to protect the loyalists of the South is supreme, and they must take all needful means to provide that protection. The most needful is the gift of free suffrage, and that must be guaranteed. There is no protection you can extend to a man so effective and conclusive as the power to protect himself. And in assuring protection to the loyal citizen you assure permanency to the Government. The bestowal of suffrage is therefore not merely the discharge of a personal obligation toward those who are enfranchised, but it is the most far-sighted provision against social disorder, the surest guarantee for peace, prosperity, and public justice." One of the most strenuous questions that arose in the wake of the war was the payment of the public debt. Many were the opinions and policies advanced to meet the great contingency. No wonder that the statesmen of the later sixties were perplexed and troubled with this problem. A quarter of a 256 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. centur}^ nas now passed since the issue of the payment or non-payment of the great debt was imminent. To the present hour, however, the issue has not been met with a final solution. The prodigious debt still rests upon the nation and sucks up annually a large fraction of the profits of the American people. It lies in the bottom of all our waters, like Hugo's monstrous cuttle-fish, danger- ous to all forms of life that come within reach of its tentacles. On the twent}^- sixth of November, 1S67, Blaine addressed the House of Representatives on the subject of the NATIONAL HONOR IN THE PAYMENT OF THE NATIONAL DEBT. Mr. Chairman — Within the past few months, some erroneous and mis- chievous views have been put forward in regard to the nature of the public obligation imposed b}- the debt of the United States. Without stopping to notice the lesser lights of the new doctrine, and not '^ caring to analyze the various form of repudiation suggested from irresponsible sources throughout the country, I propose to review, as briefly as may be, the position contemporaneoiisly assumed by two able and distinguished gentlemen — the one from the West, the other from the East — the one the late candidate of the Democratic party for the vice- presidency (Mr. Pendleton, of Ohio) — the other a prominent member of this House from one of the strongest Republican districts of the State of Massachusetts (General Butler). The position of these gentlemen I understand to be simply this : tliat the principal of the United States bonds^ knoivn as the five-tzventies^ may be fairlv and legally paid in paper currency by the Government after the expiration of five years from the date of issne. A brief review of the origin of the five-twenty bonds will demonstrate, I think, that this position is in contravention of the honor and good faith of the National Government ; that it is hostile to the spirit and the letter of the law ; that it contemptuouslj' ignores the common understanding between borrower and lender at the time the loan was negotiated ; and that finally, even if such mode of payment were honorable and practicable, it would prove disastrous to the financial interests of the Government and the general prosperit}' of the country-. I crave the attention and the indulgence of the House while I recapitulate the essential facts in support of my assertion. The issue of the five-twenty bonds was originally authorized by the act of February 25, 1862, which provided for the large amount of $500,000,000. It is this series which was successfully disposed of b}? Jay Cooke & Co. in 1863, and of which a great portion was subsequentl}' purchased by foreign capitalists. It BENJAMIN F. BUTLER. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 257 will be borne in mind that up to that time in all the loan bills passed by Congress not one word had ever been said in regard to coin pajanent either of bond or coupon ; and yet it will be equally borne in mind that coin payment, both of the principal and interest of the public debt, has been the invariable rule from the foundation of the Government. No instance to the contrary can be found in our history. In the pithy language of Nathaniel Macon, " Our Government was a hard-money Government, founded by hard-money men, and its debts were hard- money debts." It will be still further borne in mind that when the bill authorizing the original issue of five-twenties was under discussion in Congress no man of any party, either in the Senate or the House, ever intimated that those bonds were to be paid in anything else than gold or silver. The issue of legal-tender notes of contemporaneous origin was regarded as a temporary expedient, forced upon us by the cruel necessities and demands of war, and it was universally conceded that the specie basis was to be resumed long before the bonds should mature for payment. And in order that the public creditor might have the amplest assurance of the payment of both principal and interest zn coin, it was specially enacted that all duties on imports should be paid in coin, and the amount thus raised was distinctly pledged, not only to the payment of the interest in coin, but to the formation of a sinking fund for the ultimate redemp- tion of the principal in coin. This provision is so important that I quote it entire. After providing that the duties shall be paid in coin, the act devotes the amount so collected to the following specific purposes : " First — To the payment in coin of the interest on the bonds of the United States. " Second — To the purchase or payment of one per cent of the entire debt of the United States, to be made within each fiscal year after the first day of July, 1862, which is to be set apart as a sinking fund, and the interest of which shall be in like manner applied to the purchase or payment of the public debt, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time direct." Much carping and criticism have been expended on the second clause of this provision, mainly by those who seem desirous of wresting and distorting its plain and obvious meaning. Brushing aside all fine-spun constri:ction and cunning fallacy, it is manifest that the sinking fund herein authorized was primarily to be formed from coin, and that it was only to be invested and re-invested in securities whose interest was equally pledged in coin ; that this process was not to be confined to any specific number of years, but was limited only by the amount and the duration of the debt which was ultimately to be redeemed by the sinking fund thus constituted. The sinking fund was thus to receive an annual increment /;/ coin amounting to the one-hundredth part of the entire debt of the Government ; and this increment was to be invested only in securities which would yield coin interest for the further increment of the fund. It would be diificult to conceive how the language of an enactment 17 258 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. could more distinctly recognize and provide for the ultimate coin payment of the entire bonded debt of the nation. Instead of the Government having the right at this late day to change its coin obligation into one of paper, it seems to me that the public creditors could, with far more consistency, allege that the Government had not kept faith with them by failing to provide the sinking fund which was guaranteed at the outset as one of the special securities of the loan. But the argument does not rest merely on the after-construction of a statute to prove that the principal of the five-twenties is payable in coin. The decla- rations in Congress, when the measure was under consideration, were numerous and specific. Indeed, no other possible mode of payment was even hinted at, and Mr. Stevens, then chairman of the Ways and Means, was emphatic and repeated in his assertions that the bonds were redeemable in coin. He stated this fact no less than three times in his speech of February 6, 1862, giving it all the prominence and emphasis that iteration and reiteration could impart. He spoke of the redemption in gold in twenty years as one of the special inducements for capitalists to invest, and he gave, in every form of words, the sanction of his influential position and great name to the maintenance of the coin standard in the payment of the bonds. It may astonish even tlie gentleman from Pennsylvania himself to be reminded that within less than three years from the date of these declarations he asserted on this floor — referring to the five-twenty bonds — that " // is just as clear as any thing is clear that the interest is pavabic in go/d., but the principal in lazuful moncy.''^ He made this startling statement in answer to a question addressed to him by mj- honorable friend from Ohio (Mr. Spalding), and the gentleman from Massachusetts has quoted it in his argument on this question as though it had been made when the five-twenty bill was originally introduced, and was to be taken as the authorized opinion of the Ways and Means Committee at that time. I have already shown that the gentleman from Pennsylvania was a firm advocate of coin payment, and that a considerable period had elapsed before he experienced his marvelous change of opinion on this question. But it is due to the gentleman from Penns3-lvania to say that, late as he was in this declaration, he was in advance of other gentlemen who have since figured prominently as advocates of the doctrine. Should this scheme of repudiation ever succeed, it is but just to give the gentleman from Pennsylvania the honor of first proposing it. He announced it on this floor while yet the gentleman from Massachusetts was doing honorable service on the tented field, and while Mr. Pendleton was still adhering to those hard- money theories of which he was a conspicuous defender during his service in this House. But I digress. I was stating that while the original five-twenty bill was pending the declaration that the bonds were redeemable in coin was constantly repeated. It was the ground assumed by every member of the Committee of LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 259 Waj-s and Means, so far as the record shows, and it was likewise the ground taken by the Finance Committee of the Senate, Mr. Fessenden and other members being on record in many ways to that effect. While so many gentle- men in both branches of Congress were repeating that these bonds were redeem- able in coin, it is a significant circumstance, as already intimated, that no one ventured the opposite opinion. The universality^ of the understanding at that time is that which renders a different construction now so reprehensible. Mr. Pendleton was present in his seat during the whole discussion of the measure, and he was an active and frequent participant therein. Then was his time to have enunciated his scheme of greenback payment if he ever intended it in good faith. As a gentleman of candor, however, I am sure he will confess that he never dreamed of such an idea till long after the bonds were purchased by the people, and possibly not until some prospect of party advantage lured him to the adoption of a theory which is equalbv' at war with the letter of the law and with sound principles of finance. After the bill became a law, Mr. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, proceeded to place the loan formally on ^^^^ the market, and following the uniform previous practice of the Government, and especially adopting the language used by Mr. Stevens and other gentlemen in both branches of Congress, he officially proclaimed through the loan agents of the Government that the five-twenty bonds were " a six per cent loan, the interest and principal payable in coin.'''' It was on this basis, with this under- standing, with this public proclamation, that the people were asked to subscribe to the loan. They had the assurance of an unbroken practice on the part of the Government, rendered still more significant by the provision for a sink- ing fund in coin ; they had the general assurance of both branches of Congress, especially expressed through the appropriate channels of the chairman of Finance in the Senate and the chairman of Ways and Means in the House, and further ■ and finally enforced by a distinct declaration to that effect by the public adver- tisement proposing the loan to the people, issued by the authority of the Secre- tary of the Treasury. If anything could constitute an honorable contract between borrower and lender — between Government and people — then was it a contract that the five-twenty bonds should be redeemed in coin. SALMON P. CHASE. 260 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. I have been thus minute, and possibly tedious, in regard to the tacts attending the issue of the first series of five-twenties, because, in effect, that established the rule for all subsequent issues. The principle laid down so clearly in the proposal for the first loan was steadily adhered to afterward. It is quite true that the chairman of Ways and Means [Mr. Stevens], as I have already said, changed his ground on the question, but he failed to influence Congress, notwithstanding his parade of terrible figures showing the utter impossibility of ever pajdng coin interest, to say nothing of coin principal. The gentleman can recall his statistics with amusement, if not with advantage, from that grave of unfulfilled prophecies to which he, in common with the rest of us, have sent many baseless predictions. The next loan bill passed by Congress was that of IMarch 3, 1863, author- izing the borrowing of $900,000,000. This is commonly known as the ten-forty act, and it contains the special provision that both principal and interest shall be payable in coin. But this provision was never inserted by way of discrimi- nation against the five-twenties, implying that they were to be paid in paper currency. Its origin palpably discredits any such inference. It was moved as an amendment by Mr. Thomas, of Massachusetts, and it was moved to meet and repel the first covert insinuation that any bond of the United States was redeem- able in anything else than coin. The chairman of Ways and Means, in apparent forgetfulness of his declaration the preceding year, had for the first time inti- mated that the principal of United States bonds was payable in paper money, and the amendment of Mr. Thomas, as the discussion reported in the Globe clearly discloses, was intended as a sharp protest against this heresy of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and as such it was adopted by the House by a majority so overwhelming that its opponents did not call for a division. During the discussion, Mr. Horton, of Ohio, a distinguished member of the Ways and Means, and a gentleman of very high character in every respect, said : " I wish to state here that the Committee of Ways and Means, in framing this bill, never dreamed that these twenty-year bonds were to be payable in any- thing other than coin until the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Stevens] told it yesterday upon the floor of the House." In this connection I desire the special attention of the House to one fact of conclusive import, and it is this : at the time this ten-forty loan bill was passed, March 3, 1S63, only $25,000,000 of the five-twenty loan, authorized the year before, had been disposed of It was in the succeeding summer and autumn of 1S63, especially after the triumph of the Union arms at Vicksburg and Gettys- burg, that those marvelous sales of $500,000,000 were effected through the Government agency of Jay Cooke & Co. And yet the gentleman from Massa- chusetts would have us believe that the people subscribed for a loan of $500,000,000 that was payable in five years in paper currency, when another loan, for a larger amount, to run forty years, expressly payable in coin, was already authorized and about to be put on the market. Such a conclusion LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 261 cannot be reconciled even with the common sanit}-, to sa}- nothing or the pro- verbial shrewdness, of those who invested their money in the five-twenty loan. Every one can see, sir, that not one dollar of the five-twenty loan could have been disposed of on the understanding that the bonds were redeemable in currency, while another loan for a longer period, possibly at the same rate of interest, for the bill so allowed, and absolutely redeemable in coin, was already authorized, and immediately to be offered to the public. The next loan bill in the order of time was the act of March 3, 1864, which was merely supplementary to the ten-forty bill, whose history I have just reviewed. It covered the amount of $200,000,000, and, like the bill to which it formed a supplement, it provided for both interest and principal to be paid in coin. Under this bill more than $175,000,000 were negotiated, partly in ten- forties and partly in five-twenties ; by far the greater part in the former. But as some five-twenties were negotiated under it, the gentleman from Massachu- setts, even on the line of logic which he has sought to travel, will be com- pelled to acknowledge that they were payable in coin, and hence, according to his theory, some of the five-twenties are redeemable in coin and some in paper — a distinction which has never yet been proclaimed, and the equity of which would hardly be apparent to the holders of the same description of bonds — identical in phrase, and differing only in the subordinate and immaterial cir- cumstance of date. The last loan bill to which I need specially refer is that of June 30, 1864, under the provisions of which the five-twenties bearing that date were issued. The seven-thirties, authorized by the same act, as well as by the subsequent acts of January 28 and March 3, 1865, were convertible into five-twenties of the same tenor and description with those whose issue was directly authorized; so that in reviewing the history of the loan bill of June 30, 1864, I shall, in effect, close the narrative of congressional proceedings in regard to five-twenty bonds. The history of that bill shall be brief. It was discussed in its various provisions very elaborately in both branches of Congress. As reported from the Ways and Means Committee it was worded like all previous bonds, promising to pay so many dollars to the holder, without specifying that they were to be anything else than coin dollars, in which United States bonds had always been paid. Toward the close of the discussion Mr. Brooks, of New York, then, as now, a member of this House, moved to insert an amendment providing especially that the bonds should be '''■payable m coiny Mr. Brooks was answered by Mr. Hooper, of Massachusetts, on behalf of the Ways and Means Committee, as follows : "The bill of last year, the $900,000,000 bill, contained these words, but it was not deemed necessary or considered expedient to insert them in this bill. I will send to the desk and ask to have read, as a part of \\\y reply to the gentleman from New York, a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury giving his views upon this point." 262 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. The derk read as follows from Secretary Chase's letter dated May i8, 1864: "It has been the constant usage of the Department to redeem all coupon and registered bonds, forming part of the funded or permanent debt of the United States, in coin, and this usage has not been deviated from during my administration of its affairs. "The five-twenty sixes, payable twenty years from date, though redeemable after five years, are considered as belonging to the funded or permanent debt, and so also are the twenty years sixes, into which the three years seven-thirty notes are convertible. These bonds, therefore, according to the usage of the Government, are payable in coin." Apparently satisfied with this statement, Mr. Brooks withdrew his amend- ment, regarding the point as conclusively settled, I suppose, not only by the uniform practice of the Government, but by the special declaration of the Secretary of the Treasury, who immediately afterward proceeded on the basis of that letter to put the bonds on the market. Mr. Hooper stated the case well when he said it was "not deemed necessary or considered expedient" to insert coin payment in this bill; "not necessary," for the practice of the Government, and the assurances of the Treasury Department in its advertisements in pro- posing for loans, conclusively settled the point; and not "considered expedient," because to specially insert coin payment in all the loan bills except that of February 25, 1862, under which $500,000,000 of five-twenties had been sold, might, in the end, by the cxchisio uniiis^ give some shadow of ground for the mis- chievous and groundless inference which is now sought to be drawn. We thus find that the voice of Congress has been uniform and consistent in support of the principle of paying the bonded debt in coin. No vote in Congress, even implying the opposite theory, has ever been given ; even the weighty influence and conceded ability of the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania failing to carry with him any support whatever when he made his surprising and unprecedented change on this question. But the public creditors did not rely solely on the declarations of leading men in Congress in regard to coin payment, nor did they rest wholly on the past practice and the good faith of the Government. They had, in addition to both these strong grounds of confidence and assurance, the more direct and explicit guarantee of the Treasury Department, the authorized agent of the Government, speaking ex cathedra, with the knowledge and assent of Congress. I have already quoted Secretary Chase's significant declarations in his letters and his public proposals for loans, and I have now to quote one of his equally significant acts. At the close of 1862 the twenty year loan of 1842, amounting to nearly three million dollars, fell due. Nothing was said in that loan about coin payment, and thus a grand opportunity was afforded to test the theory of paper payment. Circumstances all conspired to favor such a policy if it could be honorably adopted. Gold was at a high premium, and the Government was passing through the darkest and most doubtful hours of the whole struggle. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 2G3 Could there have been even a decent pretext to pay the debt in paper currency the temptation was surely great enough to resort to it, if not fully to justify it. But in the face of all the adverse circumstances ; with gold very high and daily rising ; with expenses enormous and daily increasing ; with resources already embarrassed and daily growing more so, and with a militar}'^ situation rendered well-nigh desperate by months of almost unbroken disaster. Secretary Chase decided that the faith of the Government demanded that its funded debt, falling due no matter when and owned by no matter whom, must be paid in coin. A7id it zuas paid in coin ; and no voice but the voice of approval was raised in either branch of Congress. The course of Secretary Chase was not only honorable to himself and the country, but it was in the high- est degree wise merely from the standpoint of worldly wis- dom ; for it created so profound a confidence in the good faith of our Government that it aided lis incalculably in the negotia- tion of all our great loans for the war. When the Govern- ment paid its debt to the utter- most farthing at such a time capitalists at once argued that there never could come a crisis when any evasion of public obli- gation would be resorted to. It has been reserved for the gen- tlemen from Massachusetts, and the gentleman from Ohio, and the gentleman from Pennsylva- nia, to propose that our Gov- ernment should adopt a policy WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN. in the sunshine and prosperit}- of peace which it scorned to resort to in the storms and adversities of war. The course of Secretary Chase in guaranteeing coin payment on all bonds of the United States was followed by his successors, Secretar^^ Fesseudeu and Secretary McCulloch. The words of Mr. Fessenden are entitled to great weight in the premises, for he had been chairman of Finance in the Senate during the passage of all the loan bills, had elaborately discussed them in turn, and 264 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. had as largely as any single member in either branch of Congress, shaped their provisions. His views on the question at issue may be briefly presented by the following extract from his official report made to Congress in December, 1864 : — " Though forced to resort to the issue of paper for the time, the idea of a specie basis was not lost sight of, as the payment of interest on long loans in coin was amply secured. And though in several of the acts authorizing the issue of bonds at long periods payment of the principal at maturity in coin is not specifically provided, the omission, it is believed, was accidental, as there could have been no intention to make a distinction between the different classes of securities in this regard^ It will be noted that this declar- ation of Mr. Fessenden, made in his official report, was at the very time of the negotiation of the five-twenties of 1864, and preceded the large sale of seven-thirties which were convert- ible into five-twenties. So that in effect it was an additional guarantee of coin payment on the part of the Government, operating at once as the condition and the inducement of the loan. It is well known that Secretary McCulloch entertains precisely the same opinions that were so freely ^ -/ expressed by Messrs. Chase and Fes- senden, and he placed himself on record on the question by his letter to L. P. Morton & Co., of New York,' wherein he says, under date of November 15, 1866: " I regard, as did also my predecessors, all bonds of the United States as payable in coin. The bonds which have matured since the suspension of specie payments have been so paid, and I have no doubt that the same will be true with all others. This being, as I understand it to be, the established policy of the Government, the five-twenty bonds of 1862 will either be called in at the expiration of five years from their date and paid in coin, or be permitted to run until the Government is prepared to pay them in coin." In view of the uniform declarations of the Treasury Department, made through official reports, through public proposals for loans, and through personal letters of assurance, all guaranteeing coin payment of the five-twenty bonds, I submit that the Government is bound thereto even if there were no other obligation HUGH M'cri.I^OCH. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 265 expressed or implied. These official and unofficial promulgations from the Treasury Department were made with the full knowledge of Congress, and without the slightest expression of dissent on the part of that bod}^ Had Congress not believed or intended that the five-twenty bonds were to be paid in coin, the secretary should not have been allowed with its evident assent so to advertise ; and for Congress, after this significant permission and warrant, to step forward at this late day and declare itself not bound by the conditions published by the secretary is simply to place the United States Government in the position of a man playing a " confidence game," in which the Treasury Department and Congress are the confederate knaves, end the whole mass of bondholders the unfortunate victims. But now, Mr. Chairman, suppose, for the sake of argument, we admit that the Government may fairly and legally pay the five-twenty bonds in paper currency, what then ? I ask the gentleman from Massachusetts to tell us, what then ? It is easy, I know, to issue as many greenbacks as will pay the maturing bonds, regardless of the effect upon the inflation of prices and the general derangement of business. Five hundred millions of the five-twenties are now payable, and, according to the mode si:ggested, all we have to do is to set the printing presses in motion, and "so long as rags and lampblack holdout" we need have no embarrassment about paying our national debt. But the ugly question recurs — What are you going to do with the greenbacks thus put afloat? Five hundi-ed millions this year, and eleven hundred millions more on this theory of payment by the year 1S72, so that within the period of four or five years we would have added to our paper money the trifling inflation of $1,600,000,000. Payment of the five-twent}^ bonds in paper currency involves, therefore, a limitless issue of greenbacks, with attendant evils of great magnitude. The worst evil of the whole is the delusion which calls this a payment at all. It is no payment in any proper sense, for it neither gives the creditor what he is entitled to, nor does it release the debtor from subsequent responsibility. You may get rid of the five-twenty by issuing the greenback, but how will you get rid of the greenback except by paying coin ? The only escape from ultimate payment of coin is to declare that as a nation we permanently and finally renounce all idea of ever attaining a specie standard ; that we launch ourselves upon an ocean of paper money, without shore or sounding, with no rudder to guide us and no compass to steer by. This is precisely what is involved if we adopt this mischievous suggestion of " a new way to pay old debts." Our fate in attempting such a course may be easily read in the history of similar follies both in Europe and in our own country. Prostration of credit, financial disaster, wide- spread distress among all classes of the community, would form the closing scenes in our career of gratuitous folly and national dishonor. From such an abyss of sorrow and humiliation it would be a painful and toilsome effort to regain as sound a position in our finances as we are asked voluntarily to abandon to-day. 266 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. Still another question that sprang with infinite contention into the debates of the epoch was that of the taxation of the bonds of the United States. On this subject in the House of Representatives, on the twenty-third of June, 1868, Mr. Blaine delivered a speech which may be accepted as at least a summary of his views on the important topic under consideration. The House was in Com- mittee of the Whole, and the speaker had prepared his views with unusual care. He spoke as follows : TAXATION OF GOVERNMENT BONDS. Mr. Chairman — The fact that the bonds of the United States are exempt from State and municipal taxation has created discontent among the people, — the belief prevailing quite generally that if this exemption could be removed the local burdens of the tax-payer would be immediately and essentially lightened. Many persons assert this belief from a spirit of mischievous dema- gogism, and many do so from sincere conviction. To the latter class I beg to submit some facts and suggestions which may modify if not entirelv change their conclusions. The total coin-bearing debt of the United States, the conversion of seven- thirties being now practically completed, amounts to a little more than twent3'-one hundred million dollars ; of this large amount, some two hundred million dollars draw but five per cent interest, a rate not sufficientlv high in the present condition of the money market to provoke hostility or suggest the especial necessity of taxation. Indeed, it may be safely said that there never has been any popular dissatisfaction with regard to the non-taxation of the five per cents, it being agreed by common consent that such a rate of interest was not unreasonable on a loan negotiated at such a time. The agitation may, therefore, be regarded as substantially confined to the six per cent coin-bearing bonds, which amount to nineteen hundred million dollars. Many people honestly, but thoughtlessl}^, believe that if this class of bonds could be taxed by local authority the whole volume represented by them would at once be added to the lists of the assessor. It is m}- purpose to show that this conclusion is totally unfounded, and that if the right of local taxation existed in its amplest extent, but a minor fraction of the bonds could bv any possibility be subjected to larger local tax than thej^ already pay. The entire amount of these bonds, as I have stated, is nineteen hundred million dollars ; and of this total, by the best and most careful estimates attainable, at least six hundred and fifty millions are now held in Europe. This amount could not, therefore, be reached by any system of local taxation, however searching. Deducting the amount thus held abroad, we find the amount held at home is reduced to twelve hundred and fiftj' million dollars. But of this twelve hundred and fifty millions, more than one-third, or to speak with accuracy, about four hundred and twentj^-five millions, are held bj^ the national banks, and no form of property in the United States pays so large LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 267 a tax, both local and general, as these banks. The stock, the depositories and the deposits which these four hundred and t venty-five millions of bonds represent pay full local tax at the highest rate, besides a national tax averag- ing about two and a half per cent. Were the power of local taxation made specific on the bonds held b}^ the national banks, they could not yield a dollar more than is now realized. It thus follows that the twelve hundred and fifty millions of bonds in this country, presumptively' escaping local taxation, must be reduced by the amount represented by the banks, and hence we find the aggregate falls to eight hundred and twent3^-five millions. The reduction, however, goes still farther, for it must be remembered that the savings banks have invested their deposits in these bonds to the amount of one hundred and seventy-five millions. In some States b}- local law the deposits of savings banks are exempt from taxation, as an incentive to thrift and economy. In other States, where these deposits are taxed, as in Connecticut, it has been held by judicial decision that the fact of their investment in United States bonds does not exempt them fiom taxation. Hence these one hundred and seventy-five millions, thus invested in savings bank deposits, are either locally taxable, or, if exempt, it is by State law and not by virtue of the general exemption of the bonds. It thus follows that the eight hundred and twenty- five millions must be further reduced by this sum of one hundred and seventy- five millions, leaving but six hundred and fifty millions not alread}^ included within the scope of local taxation. But there is a still further reduction of thirty millions of bonds held by the life insurance companies on precisely the same terms as the deposits of savings banks — that is, either taxed locall}-, or, if exempt, deriving the exemption from the local law. The surplus earnings and reserves of these life insurance com- panies, invested to the extent of thirty millions in United States bonds, are as open to taxation when invested in that form as though they were held in State or railroad securities. Deducting these thirt\' millions, we find the untaxed bonds rediiced to six hundred and twenty millions. There is still another large reduction ; for the fire and marine insurance companies, the annuity and trust companies, and other corporations which cannot readily be classed, hold in the aggregate of over one hundred and twenty- five millions of bonds ; and these are held on preciselj'' the same basis as those held by the savings bank and the life insurance companies. These numerous corporations have their capital stock, their reserves and their surplus earnings invested in Government bonds to the extent named, and they are in this form as open to taxation, and are actually taxed as much, as though they were invested in any other form of security. Making the deduction of this one hundred and twenty-five millions, we find remaining but four hundred and ninetj'-five millions of the six per cent gold-bearing bonds that are not alread}' practicalh- sub- jected to local taxation. Allowing for the possibility that one hundred millions of the five per cents are held instead of six per cents in all the. channels of 208 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. investment I have named, and it follows that at the outside figure there are to-dav in the whole country less than six hundred millions of Government sixes, not fully subjected to the power of local taxation. And these six hun- dred millions are rapidly growing less as the various corporate institutions I have named continue to invest their funds in the bonds. These institutions desire a security that is of steady value, not liable to fluctuation, and at all times convertible into money ; and hence they seek Government bonds in pref- erence to any other form of investment. The high premium on the bonds induces individuals to part with them, and hence they are readily transferred to corporate ownership, where they become in effect at once subject to local taxa- tion, and are no longer obnoxious to the charge of evading or escaping their just share of municipal burden. In the hands of individuals the bonds may be concealed, but in the possession of corporations concealment is necessarily impossible. If these statistical statements needed any verification it would be supplied by an examination of the income returns recently made under oath and pub- lished in all the large cities of the country, disclosing the fact that the amount of bonds held by the wealthy men of the country has been continually grow- ing less, just as they have been absorbed by foreign purchase and by corporate investment. The correctness of these income returns in reference to the invest- ment in bonds will be accepted even by the incredulous and the uncharitable, when it is remembered that the interest of those making them was to exag- gerate rather than depreciate the respective amounts of bonds held by them. Instead, then, of nineteen hundred millions of these bonds running free of taxation, it is clear that less than six hundred millions are open to that charge — less than one-third of the whole aiuount. The remainder, largely more than two-thirds of the whole, are either held abroad, where no local taxation can reach them, or they are held at home in such form as subjects them to local taxation. Let us suppose that we were now in possession of the full power to tax by local authority these six hundred millions of bonds presumptively owned by individuals ! Would we realize anything from it? On its face the prospect might be fair and inviting, but in practice it would assuredly prove delusive and deceptive. The trouble would be that the holders of the bonds could not be found. No form of property is so easily concealed, none so readily trans- ferred back and forth, none so difiicult to trace to actual ownership. We have hundreds of millions of State bonds, city bonds, and railroad securities in this country, and yet every one knows that it is only an infinitesimal proportion of this vast investment that is ever represented on the books of assessors and tax collectors. As a pertinent illustration, I might cite the case of the bonds of my own State, of which there are over five millions in existence to-day, largely held as a favorite investment by the citizens of Maine. Qf this whole sum I am safe in saying that scarcely a dollar is found on the lists of any assessor in the State. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 2G9 The facilit}' for concealing ownership in national bonds is far greater than in any other form of securit3% and the proportion in the hands of individnals that wonld escape the assessment of local taxes maj' be inferred with reasonable certaint}' from the analogies I have suggested, which are familiar to all who have given the least attention to the subject. Indeed, I venture to assert with confidence that if the power of local taxation of these bonds were fully accorded to-da}-, the tax-lists of our cities and towns would not be increased on an average one per cent. Many of those who to-da}^ nia}' be ambitious to parade their bonds when protected by what is deemed an offensive exemption, would suddenl}- have no bonds when the power of taxation applied to them. Indeed, the utter failure to realize anything from this source, if the power to test it were granted, would in the end create more dissatisfaction than that exemption, which, in theor\-, is offensive, but in practice is absolutely of no consequence whatever. But it may be asked, " Wh^- are not the bonds taxed by national aiithorit}- ?" Granted, it will be urged, that the power of local taxation would be nugatory and valueless, " that affords all the stronger reason for taxing the bonds by direct congressional enactment." In answer to this I have only to say that a tax levied directl v upon the coupon is simply an abatement of interest, and that result can be reached in a better and more satisfactory' and more honorable wav- The determination manifested by this Congress and by the great Repiiblican convention at Chicago to maintain the national faith has already worked a large appreciation in the value of the bonds, and with the strengthening of our credit, which results from an honest policy, we shall speedily- be able to fund our debt on a lower scale of interest, running down to five, four and a half, and ultimatel}' to four per cent per annum. Should we proceed, however, in violation of good faith and of the uniform practice of civilized nations, to hold back part of the stipulated interest instead of effecting an honorable exchange of bonds to the mutual advantage of the Government and the public creditor, we should only punish ourselves, produce calamitous results in the business world, and permanently injure our national fame. To withhold one per cent of the interest under the plea of a national tax this year might be followed by withholding two per cent next year, and three per cent the year ensuing. To enter upon such a policy would produce alarm at home and distrust abroad, for every man holding a bond would be forced to count his rate of interest not on what was stipulated in the contract, but on what might be the will and caprice of Congress in its annual withholding of a portion of the interest under the pretence of a tax. Under such a policy our bonds would be returned upon us from Europe with panic-like rapidity, and the drain upon our specie resources would produce an immediate and disastrous crisis in monetary circles. If even one-half of our bonds held in Europe were suddenly sent home it would drain us of two hundred and fifty millions of specie, and the financial distress throughout the land would be beyond the power of calculation or imagination. And yet that is the precise result involved if we should follow 270 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the policy advocated by those who urge us to tax the coupon and withhold one or two per cent of the interest. Let us reject such counsels, and adhere to the steady, straightforward course dictated alike by good policy and good faith. Let us never forget that in the language of the Chicago platform "the best policy to diminish our burden of debt is to so improve our credit that capitalists will seek to loan us money at lower rates of interest than we now pay, and must continue to pay, so long as repudiation, either partial or total, open or covert, is threatened or suspected." We thus conclude our summary' and citations from the speeches of James G- Blaine in the House of Representatives. In the meantime, his own career had been advancing from stage to stage. Already he had been before the National Convention of the Republican part}', held in Cincinnati, in June, of 1S76, and had been within a few votes of the nomination. With the changes of political life Senator Morrill, of Maine, had been transferred to a place in the Cabinet, and Mr. Blaine, himself, was appointed to take the vacant seat in the Senate. This he did, leaving behind him the storm}' arena of the House, to take up the more judicial, but less dramatic, discussions and business of the Senatorial body. In that relation we shall see him for a brief period. In the following chapter we shall pursue the same method as in this in presenting the products of his genius in the debates of the Senate of the United States. CHAPTER XIII. SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES — SENATORIAL. AMES G. BLx\INE at length reached the Senate. His repu- tation is now national. Already since 1876 his fame has been sounded through the country. His appearance in the senatorial body was not an accident, but the result of growth and development. This evolution is illustrated in his oratory — his argument. There was much in the House of Repre- sentatives that was well suited to ]\Ir. Blaine's genius. The House is a stormy arena and his spirit was storm}' also. In his speech he always had much of the extemporaneous manner and matter. He was especially quick to respond to the occasion. His faculties flamed up like fire when his opinions were crossed or his feelings ruffled. He was essen- tially an extemporaneous debater. His power of repartee was immense. IMuch of his most brilliant work was done under the spur of the moment. While he was a man given from his youth to careful preparation he was also from his 3''outh capable of thinking on his feet. All these qualities stood him well in hand in the House. In the Senate they will be less available. The Senate of the United States is a truly deliberative body. The American people may be congratulated ou the dignity aud reserve which generally mark the proceedings of our Upper House. It may be doubted whether the temper and talents of Mr. Blaine were happily suited to the serious and stern discussion of the Senatorial Chamber. Nevertheless, his faculties were now mature, and there was less storm in his spirit and manner than there had been in the early and middle days of his career. We shall, in the present chapter, illustrate the nature of his senatorial work with copious extracts from his speeches after his transference from the House. Mr. Blaine was at this time forty-seven years of age. He was, bating a single circumstance, in the heyday of his power aud fame. That circumstance related to the injur}' which was manifestly done to his brain aud nervous system by the sunstroke which came upon him just before the National Convention of 1876. Mr. Blaine was never himself in full force after that event. Probably no one who in mid-life has been struck down with such prostration ever completely and fully recovers. Blaine did recover, but there was doubtless always after that a check and rein upon his audacity. If we mistake not, he himself imposed upou himself the necessary restraint. (271) 272 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. We shall not here philosophize but, proceed directly to the consideration of his senatorial oratory. On the seventh of Februar}^, 1878, he delivered in the Senate a speech on the remonetization of silver. That question was then in full flush before the American public. Silver had been adroitly demonetized four years before. The world knows the circumstances of the great contention. In the retrospect we may note with interest the movements of Mr. Blaine's mind in discussing the silver problem. On the occasion referred to, he said : — Mr. President — The discussion on the question of remonetizing silver has been prolonged and exhaustive. I ma}- not expect to add much to its value, but I promise not to add much to its length. I shall endeavor to consider facts rather than theories, to state conclusions rather than arguments. I believe gold and silver coin to be the money of the Constitution — indeed, the money of the American people anterior to the Constitution, money which the organic law of the Republic recognized as independent of its own existence. No power was conferred on Congress to declare that either metal should not be money. Congress has therefore, in my judgment, no more power to demonetize silver than to demonetize gold ; no more power to demonetize either than to demonetize both. In this statement I am but repeating the weighty dictum of the first of constitutional lawyers. "I am certainly of opinion," .said Air. Webster, " that gold and silver, at rates fixed by Congress, constitute the legal standard of value in this country, and that neither Congress nor any State has atitlwrity to establish any other standard or to displace this standard.'''' Few persons can be found, I apprehend, who will maintain that Congress possesses the power to demonetize both gold and silver, or that Congress could be justified in pro- hibiting the coinage of both ; and 3'et in logic and legal construction it would be difficult to show where and why the power of Congress over silver is greater than over gold — greater over either than over both. If, therefore, silver has been demonetized, I am in favor of remonetizing it. If its coinage has been prohibited, I am in favor of ordering it to be resumed. If it has been restricted, I am in favor of ordering it to be enlarged. What power, then, has Congress over gold and silver? It has the exclusive power to coin them ; the exclusive power to regulate their value — very great, ver3' wise, very necessary powers, for the discreet exercise of which a critical occasion has now ari.sen. However men may differ about causes and processes, all will admit that within a few years a great disturbance has taken place in the relative values of gold and silver, and that silver is worth less or gold is worth more in the money markets of the world in 1878 than in 1873, when the further coinage of silver dollars was prohibited in this country. To remonetize it now, as though essential conditions had not changed, is willfully and blindly to deceive ourselves. If our demonetization were the only cause for the decline in the value of silver, then remonetization would be its proper and effectual cure. But other causes, beyond our control, have been far more potentially operative than the simple fact that Congress prohibited its further coinage. As LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 273 legislators we are bound to take cognizance of these causes. The demonetization of silver in the German Empire and the consequent partial, or well-nigh complete, suspension of coinage in the governments of the Latin Union, have been the leading causes for the rapid decline in the value of silver. I do not think the over-supply of silver has had, in comparison with these other causes, an appre- ciable influence in the decline of its value, because its over-supply with respect to gold in these later years has not been so great as was the over-supply of gold with respect to silver for many years after the mines of California and Australia were opened ; and the over-supply of gold from those rich sources did not affect the relative positions and uses of the two metals in any European country. I believe then, if Germany were to remonetize silver and the kingdoms and states of the Latin Union were to re-open their mints, silver would at ouce resume its former relation with gold. The European countries when driven to full remonetization, as I believe they will be in the end, must of necessity adopt their old ratio of fifteen and a half of silver to one of gold, and we shall then be compelled to adopt the same instead of our former ratio of sixteen to one. If we fail to do this we shall, as before, lose our silver, which, like all things else, seeks the highest market ; and if fifteen and a half pounds of silver will buy as much gold in Europe as sixteen pounds will buy in America, the silver, of course, will go to Europe. But our line of policy in a joint movement with other nations to remonetize is simple and direct. The difficult problem is what we shall do when we aim to re-establish silver without the co-operation of European powers, and really as an advance movement to coerce those powers into the same policy. Evidently the first dictate of prudence is to coin such a dollar as will not only do justice among our citizens at home, but will prove a protection — an absolute barricade — against the gold mono-metallists of Europe, who, whenever the opportunity offers, will quickly draw from us the one hun- dred and sixty millions of gold coin which we now hold. If we coin a silver dollar of full legal tender, obviously below the current value of the gold dollar, we are simply opening our doors and inviting Europe to take our gold. With our gold flowing out from us we shall be forced to the single silver standard, and our relations with the leading commercial countries of the world will be not only embarassed, but crippled. The question before Congress then — sharply defined in the pending House bill — is, whether it is now safe and expedient to offer free coinage to the silver dollar of 4i2^grains, with the mints of the Latin Union closed and Germany not permitting silver to be coined as money. At current rates of silver, the free coinage of a dollar contaiug 412 'j grains, worth in gold about niuet3'-two cents, gives an illegitimate profit to the owner of the bullion, enabling him to take ninety-two cents' worth of it to the mint and get it stamped as coin and force his neighbor to take it for a full dollar. This is an unfair advantage which the Government has no right to give to the owner of silver bullion, and 274 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. which defrauds the man who is forced to take the dollar. It assuredly follows that if we give free coinage to this dollar of inferior value and put it in circu- lation, we do so at the expense of our better coinage in gold ; and unless we expect the invariable experience of other nations to be in some mysterious way suspended for our peculiar benefit, we inevitably lose our gold coin. It will flow out from us with the certainty and with the force of the tides. Gold has, indeed, remained with us in considerable amount during the circulation of the inferior currency of the legal tender; but that was because there were two great uses reserved by law for gold, — the collection of customs and the payment of inter- est on the public debt. But if the inferior silver coin is also to be used for these two reserved purposes, then gold has no tie to bind it to us. What gain, therefore, should we make for the circulating medium, if on opening the gate for silver to flow in, we open a still wider gate for gold to flow out? If I were to venture upon a dictum on the silver question, I should declare that until Europe remouetizes silver we cannot afford to coin a dollar as low as 412^ grains. After Europe remouetizes on the old standard, we cannot afford to coin a dollar above 400 grains. If we coin too low a dollar before general remonetization our gold will leave us. If we coin too high a dollar after general remonetization our silver will leave us. It is only an equated value before and after general remonetization that will preserve both gold and silver to us. Cjusider further what injustice would be done to every holder of a legal tender or national bank note. That large volume of paper money — in excess of seven hundred millions of dollars — is now worth between ninety-eight and ninety-nine cents on the dollar in gold coin. The holders of it, who are, indeed, our entire population from the poorest to the richest, have been promised from the hour of its issue that their paper money would one day be as good as gold. To pay silver for the greenback is a full compliance with this promise and this obligation, provided the silver is made as it always has been hitherto, as good as gold. To make our silver coin even three per cent less valuable than gold inflicts at once a loss of more than twenty millions of dollars on the holders of our paper money. To make a silver dollar worth but ninety-two cents precipitates on the same class a loss of nearly sixt}^ millions of dollars. For whatever the value of the silver dollar is, the whole paper issue of the country will sink to its standard when its coinage is authorized and its circula- tion becomes general in the channels of trade. Some one in conversation with Commodore Vanderbilt, during one of the many freight competitions of the trunk lines, said : " It cannot be that the Canadian Railroad has sufficient carry- ing capacity to compete with your great line ? " " That is true," replied the Commodore, " but they can fix a rate and force us down to it." Were Con- gress to pass a law to-day declaring that every legal tender note and every national bank note shall hereafter pass for only ninety-six or ninety-seven cents on the dollar, there is not a constituency in the United States that 270 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. would re-elect a man who supported it, aud iu many districts the representa- tive would be lucky if he escaped merely with a defeat at the polls. Yet it is almost mathematically demonstrable that the same effect will follow from the coinage of an inferior silver dollar. Assurances from empirics and scientists in finance that remonetization of the former dollar will at once and permanently advance its value to par with gold, are worth little in the face of opposing and controlling facts. The first effect of issuing any silver dollar that will pay customs dues and interest on the public debt will undoubtedly be to raise it to a practical equality with gold ; but that condition will last onlj' until the amount needful for customs shall fill the channels of its use ; and the overflow going into general circulation will rapidly settle to its normal and actual value, and then the discount will come on the volume of the paper currenc}^ which will sink, pari passu ^ with the silver dollar in which it is made redeemable. That remonetization will have a considerable effect in advancing the value of the silver dollar is very probable, but not enough to overcome the difference now existing — a difference resulting from causes independent of our control in the United States. The responsibilit}'- of re-establishing silver in its ancient and honorable place as money in Europe and America devolves really upon the Congress of the United States. If we act here with wisdom and firmness, we shall not only successfully remonetize silver, and bring it into general use as money in our own country, but the influence of our example will be potential among European nations, with the possible exception of England. Indeed, our annual indebtment to Enrope is so great that, if we have the right to pay it in silver, we necessarily coerce those nations, by the strongest of all forces, self-interest, to aid us in upholding the value of silver as money. But if we attempt the remonetization on a basis which is obviously below the fair standard of value as it now exists, we incur all the evil consequences of failure at home, and the certainty of successful opposition abroad. We are, and shall be, the greatest producers of silver in the world, and we have a larger stake in its complete monetization than any other countr3^ The difference to the United States, between the general acceptance and the general destruction of silver as money in the commercial world, will possibly, within the next half-century, equal the entire bonded debt of the nation. But, to gain this advantage, we must make it actual money, the accepted equal of gold in the markets of the world. Remonetization here, followed by general remonetization in Europe, will secure to the United States the most stable basis for its currency that we have ever enjoj^ed, and will effectually aid in solving all the problems by which our financial situation is surrounded. On the much-vexed and long-mooted question of a bi-metallic or mono- metallic standard, my own views are sufficiently indicated in the remarks I have made. I believe the struggle now going on in this country, and in other countries, for a single gold standard, would, if successful, produce LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 277 disaster iu the end throughout the commercial world. The destruction of silver as money, and the establishment of gold as the sole unit of value, must have a ruinous effect on all forms of property except those investments which yield a fixed return in mone}-. These would be enormously enhanced in value, and would gain a disproportionate, and therefore unfair, advantage over every other species of property. If, as the most reliable statistics affirm, there are nearly seven thousand millions of coin or bullion in the world, not very unequally divided between gold and silver, it is impossible to strike silver out of existence as money without results which will prove distressing to millions, and utterly disastrous to tens of thousands. Alexander Hamilton, in his able and invaluable report in 1791 on the establishment of a mint, declared that " to annul the use of either gold or silver as money is to abridge the quantity of circulating medium, and is liable to all the objections which arise from a comparison of the benefits of a full circulation with the evils of a scanty circulation." I take no risk in saying that the benefits of a full circulation and the evils of a scanty circulation are both immeasurably greater to-day than they were when Mr. Hamilton uttered these weighty words, always provided that the circulation is one of actual money, and not of depreciated " promises to pay." In the report from which I have alread}^ quoted, Mr. Hamilton argues at length in favor of a double standard, and all the subsequent experience of ninety years has brought out no clearer statement of the case, or developed a more complete comprehension of this subtle and difficult subject. " On the whole," says Mr. Hamilton, " it seems most advisable not to attach the unit exclusively to either of the metals, because this cannot be done effectuall}- without destroying the ofl&ce and character of one of them as money, and reducing it to the situation of mere merchandise." Mr. Hamilton wisely concludes that this reduction of either of the metals to mere merchandise (I again quote his exact words) " would probably be a greater evil than occasional variations in the unit from the fluctuations in the relative value of the metals, especially if care be taken to regulate the proportion between them, with an eye to their average commercial value." I do not think that this country, hold- ing so vast a proportion of the world's supply of silver in its mountains and its mines, can afford to reduce the metal to the " situation of mere merchandise." If silver ceases to be used as money in Europe and America, the mines of the Pacific slope will be closed and dead. Mining enterprises of the gigantic scale existing in this country cannot be carried on to provide backs for mirrors, and to manufacture cream-pitchers and sugar-bowls. A source of incalculable wealth to this entire country is destroyed the moment silver is permanently disused as money. It is for us to check that tendency, and bring the continent of Europe back to the full recognition of the value of the metal as a mediixm of exchange. The question of beginning anew the coinage of silver dollars has aroused much discussion as to its effect on the public credit. The Senator from Ohio 278 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. (Mr. Matthews) placed this phase of the subject in the very forefront of the debate — insisting, preiuaturely and illogically, I think, on a sort of judicial con- struction in advance, by concurrent resolution, of a certain law in case that law should happen to be passed by Congress. My own view on this question can be stated very briefl3^ I believe the public creditor can afford to be paid in any silver dollar that the United States can afford to coin and circulate. We have forty thousand millions of property in this country, and a wise self-interest will not permit us to overturn its relations by seeking for an inferior dollar wherewith to settle the honest demands of any creditor. The question might be different from a merely selfish point of view if, on paying the dollar to the public creditor, it would disappear after performing that function. But the trouble is that the inferior dollar you pay the public creditor remains in circulation, to the exclusion of the better dollar. That which you pay at home will stay here ; that which you send abroad will come back. The interest of the public creditor is indissolubly bound up with the interest of the whole people. Whatever affects him affects us all ; and the evil that we might inflict upon him by paying an inferior dollar would recoil upon us with a vengeance as manifold as the aggregate wealth of the Republic transcends the comparatively small limits of our bonded debt. Remember that our aggregate wealth is always increasing, and our bonded debt steadil}' grow- ing less ! If paid in a good silver dollar, the bondholder has nothing to complain of. If paid in an inferior silver dollar, he has the same grievance that will be uttered still more plaintively by the holder of the legal tender note and of the national bank bill, by the pensioner, by the day laborer, and by the countless host of the poor, whom we have with us always, and on whom the most dis- tressing effect of inferior money will be ultimately precipitated. But I must say, Mr. President, that the specific demand for the pa^-meut of our bonds in gold coin, and in nothing else, comes with an ill grace from certain quarters. European criticism is leveled against us, and hard names are hurled at us across the ocean, for simply daring to state that the letter of our law declares the bonds to be payable in standard coin of Jiily 14, 1S70 ; explicitly declared so, and declared so in the interest of the piiblic creditor, and the declaration inserted in the very body of the eight hundred millions of bonds that have been issued since that date. Beyond all doubt, the silver dollar was included in the standard coins of that public act. Payment at that time would have been as acceptable and as undisputed in silver as in gold dollars, for both were equally valuable in the European as well as in the American market. Seven-eighths of all our bonds owned out of the country are held in Germany and in Holland. Germany has demonetized silver, and Holland has been forced thereby to suspend its coinage, since the subjects of both Powers purchased our securities. The German Empire, the very 3'ear after we made our specific declaration for paying our bonds in coin, passed a law destroying, so far as lay in its power, the value of silver as mone}'. I do LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 279 not say that it was specially aimed at this country, but it was passed regard- less of its effect upon us, and was followed, according to public and undenied statement, by a large investment on the part of the German Government in our bonds, with a .view, it was understood, of holding them as a coin reserve for drawing gold from us to aid in establishing their new gold standard at home. Thus, by one move the German Government destroyed, so far as lay in its power, the then existing value of silver as money, enhanced conse- quently the value of gold, and then got into position to draw gold from us at the moment of its need, which would also be the moment of our own sorest distress. I do not say that the German Government, in these successive steps, did a single thing which it had not a perfect right to do, but I do say that the subjects of that empire have no reason to complain of our Government for the initial step which has impaired the value of one of our standard coins. The German Government, by joining with us in the remonetization of silver, can place that standard coin in its old position, and make it as easy for this Government to pay and as profitable for its subjects to receive the one metal as the other. When we pledged the public creditor in 1S70 that our obligations should be paid in the standard coin of that date, silver bullion was worth in the London market a fraction over sixty pence per ounce; its average for the past eight months has been about fifty-four pence ; the price reckoned in gold in both cases. But the large difference is due in part to the rise of gold as well as to the fall of silver. Allowing for both causes and dividing the difference, it will be found, in the judgment of many of the wisest men in this countr}^, perfectl}' safe to issue a dollar of 425 grains standard silver; as one that, anticipating the full and legitimate influence of remonetization, will equate itself with the gold dollar, and effectually guard against the drain of our gold during the time necessary for international conference in regard to the general re-establishment of silver as money. When that general re-establishment shall be effected with a coinage of fewer grains, the dollar which I am now advocating will not cause loss or embarrassment to any one. The miner of the ore, the owner of the bullion, the holder of the coin, and the government that issues it, will all in turn be benefited. It will yield a profit on recoinage and will be advantageously employed in our commercial relations with foreign countries. Meanwhile it will insure to our laborers at home a full dollar's pay for a dollar's worth of work. I think we owe this to the American laborer. Ever since we demonetized the old dollar we have been running our mints at full speed, coining a new silver dollar for the use of the Chinese coolie and the Indian pariah — a dollar containing 420 grains of standard silver, with its superiority over our ancient dollar ostentatiously engraved on its reverse side. To these " outside barbarians " we send this superior dollar, bearing all our national emblems, our patriotic devices, our pious inscriptions, our goddess of liberty, our defiant eagle, our federal unity, our trust in God. This dollar contains 75^ grains more silver 280 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. than the famous " dollar of the fathers," proposed to be recoined by the pending bill, and more than four times as many of these new dollars have already been coined as ever were coined of all other silver dollars in the United States. In the exceptional and abnormal condition of the silver market now existing throughout the world, we have felt compelled to increase the weight of the dollar with which we carry on trade with the heathen nations of Asia. Shall we do less for the American laborer at home ? Nay, shall we not do a little better and a little more for those of our own blood and our own fireside ? If you remonetize the dollar of the fathers yoiir mints will be at once put to work on two different dollars — different in weight, different in value, different in prestige, different in their reputation and currency throughout the commercial world. It will read strangely in history that the weightier and more valuable of these dollars is made for an ignorant class of heathen laborers in China and India, and that the lighter and less valuable is made for the intelligent and educated laboring- man who is a citizen of the United States. Charity, the adage says, begins at home. Charity, the independent American laborer scorns to ask, but he has the right to demand that justice should begin at home. In his name and in the name of common sense and common honesty, I ask that the American Congress will not force upon the American laborer an inferior dollar which the naked and famishing laborers of India and China refuse to accept. The bill which I now offer as a substitute for the House bill contains three very simple provisions : — 1. That the dollar shall contain four hundred and twenty-five grains of standard silver, shall have unlimited coinage, and be an unlimited legal tender. 2. That all the profits of coinage shall go to the Government, and not to the operator in silver bullion. 3. That silver dollars or silver bullion, assa3-ed and mint-stamped, maj' be deposited with the Assistant Treasurer at New York,, for which coin certificates may be issued, the same in denomination as United States notes, not below ten dollars, and that these shall be redeemable on demand in coin or bullion. We shall thus secure a paper circulation based on an actual deposit of precious metal, giving us notes as valuable as those of the Bank of England and doing awa}' at once with the dreaded inconvenience of silver on account of bulk and weight. I do not fail, Mr. President, to recognize that the committals and avowals of Senators on this question preclude the hope of my substitute being adopted. I do not indeed fail to recognize that on this qiiestion I am not in line with either extreme, — ^with those who believe in the single gold standard or with those who by premature and unwise action, as I must regard it, would force us to the single silver standard. Either will be found, in my judgment, a great misfortune to our countr}'. We need both gold and silver, and we can have both only by making each the equal of the other. It would not be difficult to show that, in the nations where both have been fully recognized and most LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. 281 widely diffused, the steadiest and most continuous prosperity has been enjoyed — that true form of prosperity which reaches all classes, but which begins with the day-laborer whose toil lays the foundation of the whole superstructure of wealth. The exclusively gold nation like England may show the most massive fortunes in the ruling classes, but it shows also the most helpless and hopeless poverty in the humbler walks of life. The gold and silver nation like France can exhibit no such individual fortunes as abound in a gold nation like Eng- land, but it has a peasantry whose silver savings can pay a war indemnit}- that would have beggared the gold bankers of London, and to which the peasantry of England could not have contributed a pound sterling in gold or even a shilling in silver. The effect of paying the labor of this country in silver coin of full value, as compared with irredeemable paper — or as compared, even, with silver of inferior value — will make itself felt in a single generation to the extent of tens of millions — perhaps hundreds of millions — in the aggregate savings which represent consolidated capital. It is the instinct of man from the savage to the scholar — developed in childhood and remaining with age — to value the metals which in all lands are counted " precious." Excessive paper money leads to extravagance, to waste, to want, as we painfully witness to-day. With abound- ing proof of its demoralizing and destructive effect, we hear it proclaimed in the Halls of Congress that " the people demand cheap money." I deny it. I declare such a phrase to be a total misapprehension — a total misinterpretation — of the popular wish. The people do not demand cheap money. They demand an abundance of good money, which is an entirely different thing. They do not want a single gold standard that will exclude silver and benefit those already rich. They do not want an inferior silver standard that will drive out gold and not help those already poor. They want both metals, in full value, in equal honor, in whatever abundance the bountiful earth will yield them to the searching eye of science and to the hard hand of labor. The two metals have existed side by side in harmonious, honorable com- panionship as money, ever since intelligent trade was known among men. It is well nigh forty centuries since " Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant." Since that time nations have risen and fallen, races have disappeared, dialects and languages have been forgotten, arts have been lost, treasures have perished, continents have been discovered, islands have been sunk in the sea, and through all these ages and through all these changes silver and gold have reigned supreme as the representatives of value — as the media of exchange. The dethronement of each has been attempted in turn, and sometimes the dethronement of both ; but always in vain. And we are here to-day, deliberating anew over the problem which comes down to us from Abraham's time — the weight of the silver that shall be " current money with the merchant." 282 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. A short time after the delivery of this speech on the silver question, Mr. Blaine took up a subject of international importance and debated it before the Senate. The theme was the Halifax award. It were long to tell the story how a decision against the United States had been reached in that matter. It is not well to review and criticise with severity the decisions of an international tribunal. Arbitration is the most beneiicent principle which has appeared in modern diplomac}-. It should be supported by the earnest sympathy and com- mendation of ever}^ lover of his country and every advocate of an advanced civilization. Nevertheless, it is true that in these the earlier years of accepted arbitration much injustice may be expected. The application of the principle is new. It is natural that the governments adopting it should at first bring to bear upon the international tribunal those political matters which have proved so available in the management of the affairs of the respective States. It is in the true nature of the international tribunal that its methods should be judicial, not political. For this reason injustice has appeared in varying degrees in nearl}^ all of the decisions thus far reached. This was true in particular of the Halifax award. The decision against the United States in that matter was little short of iniquitous. It was so because the decision was gained by a series of nefarious processes which might well have been renounced by the Government of the United States if that Government could have done so without at the same time renouncing the principle of arbitration. Speaking on this question, on the eleventh of March, 1878, Mr. Blaine said :— Mr. President. — The resolution of inquir}', which I offered a fortnight ago, was met with objection and was laid over. I call it up now to explain my reasons for desiring its adoption. For some time past there have been riimors of an unpleasant character touching the mode in which M. Delfosse, the Belgian minister accredited to this countr\^, was urged b}^ the British Government as the third commissioner under the Treaty of Washington on the question of the fisheries. These rumors come in a form that enforces attention, and while I do not pretend to vouch for their entire accurac}-, I think the\r are sufficientl}'' grave to call for authentication or denial. It appears bj^ these reports that during the conference of the joint high commission in April, 1S71, Lord Ripon, speaking for the English Government, said in relation to the several proposed arbitrations which were under discussion, that it would not be a proper thing for England to offer Belgium or Portugal as arbitrators ; and he especially spoke of Belgium as being incapacitated for the function by reason of her peculiar relations with England. This declaration was promptly assented to by the American commissioners. With the understanding thus volunteered by Lord Ripon, the Halifax commission of three arbitrators on the fisheries was agreed to — our Government to name one, the British Govern- ment to name one, and the two governments conjointly to name the third. It was stipulated that if the two governments could not agree on the third com- missioner within three months, the Austrian ambassador at London should name 284 LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. him. As soon as the fishery clause of the treaty went into effect in July, 1S73, the Secretary of State, Mr. Fish, formally invited the Britisli minister, Sir Edward Thornton, to confer with him in regard to the appointment of the third commis- sioner. He found Sir Edward without instructions from his Government, and after delaying for some days Mr. Fish took the initiative and submitted a number of names for his consideration. Among these, selected from a large field, were Mariscal, minister from Mexico ; Offenberg, minister from Russia ; Borges, from Brazil ; Polo, from Spain ; the Count de Noailles, from France ; Westenberg, from Holland, and others. Mr. Fish did not include M. Delfosse among these, as he thought that his name had been fairly excluded by the understanding of the joint high commission. Sir Edward Thornton made no response for several weeks and then answered Mr. Fish, declining to accept any of the names submitted by him, and proposing in turn the single name of M. Delfosse. It was understood, I believe, that Sir Edward was acting under the direct instructions of Lord Granville, British secretar}- of foreign affairs. Mr. Fish peremptorily declined to accept M. Delfosse and quoted Lord Ripon's remark in regard to Belgium, and again urged Sir Edward to accept one of the names proposed b}- him or else to propose some names himself. In answer to this Sir Edward stated that Lord Dufferin, the Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada, speaking for the Canadians, objected to taking as the third commissioner any one accredited to our Government. Immediately after this declaration Sir Edward appeared at the State Department with fresh tnstructions from Lord Granville to insist on M. Delfosse, though at that verj^ moment M. Delfosse was accredited to our Government. The only alternative presented by Sir Edward was that his Government would accept some " Dutch gentleman " that might be chosen at the Hague by the American and British ministers. This mode of selection was at once rejected by Mr. Fish as not being within the terms of the treaty. The three months within which the two governments were to act conjointly having been thus exhausted, appareatly b}' the design of the British Government, the matter was by the treaty remanded to the Austrian ambassador at London. A delay of some years then ensued in consequence of the negotiations for a reciprocity treaty which, if secured, would have precluded the necessity of arbitrating tlie fishen^ question. The correspondence was not renewed until 1876. The result of the whole was that in February, 1&77, the Austrian ambassador at London nominated M. Delfosse as the third commissioner. It is now reported on the authority of an interview recently' pviblished in the N'ezv York Herald that Mr. Fish finallv assented to the appointment of M. Delfosse by the Austrian ambassador. This may or maj' not be true, but it is not material to the issue ; for the matter had lapsed absolntel}^ into the hands of the ambassador, and as he was resident in London, in easy com- munication with the British ministry, they had means of influencing the LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 285 decision that were not within our power. IVIr. Fish may well have thought that as the appointment of M. Delfosse was inevitable, it was prudent and expedient to submit to it gracefull}', and in such a way as not to incur the jiersonal ill-will of the third commissioner. I can well see how a wise Secretary, like Mr. Fish, might in the end have been thus influenced, after having exhausted every effort, as he so abl}^ and fearlessly did, to keep M. Delfosse off the commission. I do not intend in any remarks I am making to cast reflections on M. Delfosse, who is known as an honorable representative of his Government. I only mean to imply and to assert that, if Lord Ripon is to be credited, AI. Delfosse was not in a position to be an impartial arbitrator; and that in my judgment. Great Britain never should have proposed him. Mr. Fish was therefore justified in resisting his appointment as long as resistance promised to be effectual. Nor do I mean to impute to Sir Edward Thornton any proceeding that Avas not strictly honorable. The highly esteemed representative of the British Government at this Capital in all he did was simply following the instructions of Lord Granville. But I do mean to say, if I am correctly informed, that the correspondence for which my resolution calls will disclose a designed and persistent effort on the part of the British Government to secure an advantage in the selection of the third commissioner on the question of the fisheries. It is but just to remark that the Dominion of Canada had no more right to interpose in the matter than had the States of Alassachusetts and Maine; and that the Governors of those States had the same right to speak for their people in regard to selecting a third commissioner as had Lord Dufferiu to speak for the people of the Dominion. The negotiation was between two great nations, and subordinate States and prov- inces had no right to dictate, or even to suggest, unless called upon by the two principals. It ma}' be somewhat premature to speak of the award made by the Halifax commission, but as it is already discussed in the press of both countries, a brief reference to it may not be out of place. The extraordinary nature of that award can only be appreciated when the surrounding facts are understood. In the original discussion of the fishery question by the joint high commis- sion in 1 87 1, the American commissioners could be induced to offer only one million dollars for all the fishing privileges subsequently embodied in the treaty. The British commissioners declined this offer, and would enter into no negotia- tion that did not include the admission of the products of the Canadian fisheries into the American market free of duty. This concession, highly advantageous to Canada and highly injurious to our fisheries, was finally inserted in the treaty. It was further agreed to decide by arbitration what amount of additional compensation should be paid by us for the right to use the inshore fisheries of Nova Scotia for twelve years. The Halifax commission took the subject into consideration, and two commissioners (both in effect selected by Great Britain) 286 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. determined that we should pay her five and a half millions of dollars in gold coin, or at the rate of nearly half a million dollars per annum. The duties on the products of Canadian fisheries imported into this country (all remitted by the treaty) would be almost another half million dollars per annum ; so that under this award we should be actually paj-ing nearly a million of dollars per annum in gold coin for the privilege of inshore fishing on the coast of Nova Scotia, where the total catch by American fishermen, beyond what we had the right to take without this treaty, would not amount to much over three hundred thousand dollars per annum. In other words, we are paying to Great Britain a million of dollars per annum for the privilege of catching less than four hundred thousand dollars' worth of fish. Such is a mere outline of the facts of the case, and the injustice of the award is so palpable that it is difiicult to treat it with the respect due to all subjects involving international relations. The question as to the binding force of the award is naturally and neces- sarily one of the gravest interest, not only on account of the large amount involved, but on account of the very peculiar circumstances under which the decision against us was reached. The award was signed only b}' Sir Alexander Gait, the British commissioner, and b}^ M. Delfosse. The American commis- sioner, Mr. Kellogg, refused to sign it, and afl&rmed his dissent in writing; declaring it to be his deliberate opinion tliat the advantages accrning to Great Britain under the treaty were greater than those conferred on the United States ; and he further declared that he deemed it his duty to state that it is questionable Avhether it is competent for the board to make an award under the treaty except with the unanimous consent of all the arbitrators. IMr. Dwight Foster, the agent of our Government, stated that he " had no instructions as to what he should do under the circumstances, but he could not keep silent, and give ground for the inference that oiir Government would consider the award a valid one." I mention these facts to show that objections to the validity of the award were not the result of afterthought, but were incorporated as part of the proceedings before the arbitrators. The ground on which Mr. Kellogg questioned the competenc}- of two of the arbitrators to make an award is that found in all the legal authorities on arbitration. The articles in the Treaty of Washington creating the Halifax board of arbitration gave no authorit}' to a majority of the board to make an award, nor was the third commissioner empowered to act as umpire. Both in the tribunal at Geneva and in the Claims Commission at Washington, it was expressly stipulated that a majority of the arbitrators should decide. In the Halifax commission no such stipulation was made, and the inference therefore is strong, if not irresistible, that their award should be made according to the general law of arbitration. What the law is, upon English authorit3% may be briefly stated. Redman on " Arbitration and Awards," considered one of the highest authorities in England, says : — LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. 287 "Ou a reference to several arbitrators with no provision that less than all shall make an award, each must act : and all must act together ; and every stage of the proceedings must be in the presence of all ; and the award must be signed by all at the same time." Francis Russell, another English authority of eminence, says : — " On a reference to several arbitrators together, when there is no clause providing for an award made by less than all being valid, each of them must act personally in performance of the duties of his office, as if he were sole arbitrator ; for as the office is joint, if one refuse or omit to act, the others can make no valid award." Stewart Kyd, an earlier but not less authoritative writer, enforces the same doctrine. After alluding to the Roman law and to its permission for the majorit}' of arbitrators to decide, Mr. Kyd makes the following statement: — " In this respect the law of England is somewhat different ; for unless it be expressly provided in the submission that a less number than all the arbi- trators named may make the award, the concurrence of all is necessary." If these eminent English authors are to be accepted, it is quite apparent that the Halifax award has no binding effect /';/ lazu. As to the equity of the case, I have already given the undeniable facts that govern it. I am not now discussing, much less presuming to define, the action which our Government should ultimately take in regard to the award. If we should follow what I believe would be the inevitable course of Great Britain under similar circumstances, we should utterly' refuse to pay a single penny, and ground our refusal both on the law and the equity of the case. The treaty as it stands is a mockery of justice, and will work the certain destruction of a great American interest. It is in fact nothing else than asking us to pay a million dollars per annum to Great Britain for destroying the entire fishing interest of America and still further crippling and weakening us as a commercial power. For the utter abrogation of the treaty I should be willing to pay the annual indemnity for the years we have used the inshore fisheries, during which years the Canadians have had free access to the markets of forty-five millions of people ; or I should be willing to pay double the award to be rid of the treaty. We might by this course anticipate by a period of seven years a return to that policy Avhich alone can insure the prosperity or even save the life of a great and important trade, indissolubly associated with our commercial development and absolutely essential to our success and prestige as a naval power. Paying thus even an unfair price for the inshore fisheries as long as we have used them, we remove all possible ground for imputation, even by the ignorant and the hostile, upon the honor of our Government and the good faith and fair dealing of our people. \\'hen we were poor and weak as a nation, we so highly esteemed the value of the fisheries that we encouraged their development by rewards and bounties. These were abandoned some years ago, but still we preserved to our fishermen 288 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. a preference in our own markets. Even that is given away b}' the provisions of this treaty. By the Halifax award, if we accept it, and continue the treaty, we pay to Great Britain one million dollars per annum for destroying a school of commerce, which, properly nurtured, will be her great rival in the future. Against such a policy I enter my protest, if I stand alone. I believe that the prodi:cts of American industry, on land and sea, should have the first and best chance in the American markets. I believe the American fisherman should be preferred b}' us to the Canadian fisherman. If we cannot pay him a bounty to encourage and sustain him, let us at least not pay a bounty to Great Britain to destroy him. Mr. Hamlin. — Mr. President, I interpose no objection to the passage of this resolution, while on the other hand I think it wise and well that we shall have all the facts in relation to this matter before us. I agree entirely with my colleague, with the Senator from Massachusetts, and with the gentleman whose letter has been read at the table by the clerk, that we get no compen- sation for that award in any equivalent granted by the inshore fisheries along the coast of Nova Scotia. I have no hesitation in declaring that an equivalent in the receipt of the fish caught in the provinces in our market is far be3'ond anything which we receive in return under that treaty. There can be no doubt about it. And yet we are living to-day under a treat}^ negotiated here in this city ; and while it is the law of the land and a contract existing between the two high contracting parties, the honor of this Government demands that we maintain all the obligations that are imposed upon us. If it be true that we were overreached, or that in the selection of the arbitrator an improper person was taken, we must remember that he was finally taken by the assent of this Government ; and when we come to the consideration of the subject it will be one which involves the honor of our Government, and one which I need not undertake to say will demand of us that we meet promptly and full}' what shall be required. Mr. Blaine. — I quite agree with my colleague upon that, and I think our merit will be all the greater if we pay an award of five and a half millions when we have proved to the world that we did not get anything for it. Paying one's debt for full valiie received is considered a proper and upright course for upright men ; but paying a large sum for which we get nothing in return ought to be accounted to us for a good deal more of righteousness. [The correspondence between the two Governments was sent to the Senate on the twent3^-sixtli of March, and on moving that it be printed IMr. Blaine spoke as follows : — ] ]Mr. President. — I move that the correspondence between the American and British Governments in regard to the appointment of M. Delfosse on the Halifax commission be taken from the table and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. I beg at the same time to call the attention of the Senate to the fact that the correspondence more than justifies all I said in regard to the LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 289 very extraordiuary efforts of Lord Grauville to force M. Delfosse upon uor Government. I would particularly direct attention to the letter of Sir Edward Thornton, of Augiist 19, 1S73, and to Mr. Fish's reply on the twenty-first of the same month. When the resolution calling for this correspondence was before the Senate, I agreed with my honorable colleague, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, that the award would be paid, not because it was just or was founded upon any fact or evidence submitted to the Halifax commission, but simply because it was an award which for honor's sake we might pay, though we got nothing for the large sum required. If the payment of five and a half millions were the end of the matter I should be willing to vote it in silence and bury the whole matter out of sight. But the truth is that this award is onl}' the beginning of trouble. The period for which it paj's will be ended in five years and then our privilege for inshore fishing must be negotiated afresh. It was well known at Halifax during the session of the commission that the Canadian authorities were striving not simply for the large sum in hand, biit for the fixing of a rate by which to assess the price of the inshore fisheries in future. It is our duty to show that the rate fixed b}' the Halifax connnission has no foundation whatever in truth or in fact, and that no evidence was before the commission to justify the award. I hold in my hand some statistics of very great interest bearing on the question, from which it appears that the total value of the catch in the inshore fisheries by American fishermen, during the four years the treaty has been in operation, was only four hundred and thirty-five thousand one hundred and seventy dollars, on which the profit was probabl}' one hundred thousand dollars. This covers the entire catch for which we obtained the right under the treaty. During the same four years the duties on Canadian fish and oil remitted by our Government amounted to a million and a half of dollars in gold, and now under this treaty we are compelled to pay half a million per annum in addition, or two millions of dollars in gold coin for the four years. In other words, by remission of duties and the payment of cash from the Treasur}' our Government is called upon to pay three and a half millions of dollars in gold coin for the privilege of permitting our fishermen to make a profit of one hundred thousand dollars on the inshore fisheries of Nova Scotia. Considerable comment has been made in the countr\' on the point suggested by me that the Washington treaty required the unanimous verdict of the Halifax commissioners before a legally valid award could be made. I quoted some eminent English authorities in support of this position. Since then a friend has shown me a copy of the London Times of July 6, 1877, containing an elaborate editorial article in regard to the fishery commission then about to assemble in Halifax. In discussing the powers of the commission, the Times said : — " On every point that comes before the fishery commission for decision the unanimous consent of all its members is, bv the terms of the treat}-, necessary before an authoritative verdict can be given." 19 290 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. The Times then points out the difference between the Geneva tribunal and the Halifax commission, showing that a majority could decide at Geneva, but affirming that the LTnited States would have a perfect right to demand unani- mity in the verdict at Halifax. It is also well known that the Halifax commission was discussed b}' the Canadian ministry in 1S75, after the negotiations for a reciprocity treaty had failed. On that occasion Mr. Blake, the minister of justice, remarked that the " amount of compensation we shall receive must be an amount unanimously agreed upon by the commissioners." I mention these facts to show that I spoke with full authority when I suggested that the verdict rendered at Hali- fax was not legally binding under the terms of the treaty. Its payment must be justified on other grounds, and I have already intimated more than once that considerations entirely outside of the legality or the justice of the award might constrain us to respect it. But it should never be paid without such protest as will forever prevent its being quoted as a precedent or accepted as a standard to measure the value of the inshore fisheries in future negotiations." One of the prevailing sentiments of Mr. Blaine's political life was the notion of enlarging the influence of the United States and extending that influ- ence throughout the Western Hemisphere. This enlargement and extension had, in his theory, reference first of all to trade and commerce. It cannot be doubted that the purpose of Blaine to develop his country's interests in these particu- lars has proved salutary and that his policy will extend far into the twentieth century. Long before the transferrence of Blaine to the Senate we may note the outgivings of what has become his international policv. After the begin- ning of his senatorial career he began to develop this policy with assiduity as well as success. By the middle of 1878 the question of an increase of trade with South America was on and the Senator from Maine took up the theme with interest and enthusiasm. In a memorable debate in the House of Commons, Mr. Macaulay reminded Daniel O'Connell, when he was moving for repeal, that the English Whigs had endured calumny, abuse, popular fury, loss of position, exclusion from Par- liament rather than that the great agitator himself should be less than a British subject ; and Mr. Macaulay warned him that they would never suffer him to be more. Let me now remind you that the Government, under whose protecting flag we sit to-day, sacrificed myriads of lives and expended thousands of millions of treasure that our countrymen of the South should remain citizens of the United States, having equal personal rights and equal political privileges with all other citizens. I venture, now and here, to warn the men of the South, in the exact words of Macaulay, that we will never suffer them to be more ! Now it was that the question of Chinese immigration loomed up big and dark upon the Western horizon. The shadow of it extended across the IMissis- sippi Valley and to the Atlantic coast. The problem seemed to be burdened with paradoxes. Have not people of a foreign country a right to come to our LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 291 shores and did not we ourselves or our ancestors come from over sea ? What is the theory of the American Republic ? Have we not declared ourselves to be a great democracy ? Does not every Fourth of July ring with the assertion that this is the asylum for the world? Can any one be American and deny to au}' other whomsoever the right to be American also ? This is one side of the question. But there is another side. Is not this country intended to be preserved and maintained as a republican democracy ? Can we permit any influence, whether domestic or foreign, to sap our foundations and bear us away ? Even if we admit the principle of free immigration, is not immigration one thing and invasion another ? Shall we permit ourselves to be invaded and overwhelmed — this for the sake of our theory, that we are an asylum for the world ? Will it be possible for America, sixty milli(ms strong, or, may be, a hundred millions strong, to open her Western gates to a paganism which is five hundred millions strong ? If America is to be for the world, must she not be for Americans first and for other people afterwards ? Or, blankly, is it not overwhelming the dangers to free institutions and to the progress of civilization that an innumerable horde of oriental pagans shall be freel}' admitted to rush in to our republican domains and tinge our whole life with yellow — and dirty yellow at that ? And the world knows Mr. Blaine's antagonism to the Chinese invasion of our country. No doubt he himself felt the paradox of the situation ; but the dilemma before him, he chose that horn which he thought least dangerous to his coiintr}' and his countrymen. The question of free immigration was before the Senate in the year 1S79. On the fourteenth of Februar\% in that year, Blaine addressed that body on the subject of " Chinese Immigration to the Pacific Slope." He said : — Mr. President. — In the remarks made yesterday by the honorable Senator from Ohio (Mr. Matthews) he intimated, if he did not directly assert, that the Government of the United States had solicited from the Chinese Empire the treaty now under consideration. The statement is, I think, though of course not so intended, the exact reverse of the historic fact. What is known as the Reed Treaty had given to the merchants of the United States, and to all who desired to trade in China, the facilities they desired. The Burlinganie Treaty, involving other points, was certainly asked from the United States in the most impressive ananner by a Chinese embassy. The eminent gentleman who had gone to China as our minister, had transferred his services to the Chinese Empire, and returning to us with great prcstiffc at the head of a special embassy from China, with a great number of friends at home, was able to do what perhaps no other man then living could have done for China. He was often spoken of during his lifetime as merely a stump speaker. He has been ten years in his grave ; and I desire, now that his name is before us, to refer to him as a man of great address and great ability, a man who showed his power by the commanding position which he acqiiired 292 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. iu the Chinese Empire, and by the influence which he exerted in his own country in its relations to China. This subject divides itself naturall}- into two parts, one of form and one of substance. The one of form is whether we may rightfull}' adopt this mode of terminating the treat}-. The second and graver question is whether it is desirable to exclude Chinese immigration from this countr}^ I noticed that the Senator from Ohio yesterda}- in discussing the first of these questions called the attention of the Senate to the gravity of the obligation which exists between the two countries, but he stopped reading at a verj' .significant point. He read the following paragraph, or part of a paragraph, from the fifth article of the treaty : — " The United States of America and the Emperor of China cordially recog- nize the inherent and inalienable right of man to change his home and allegi- ance, and also the mutual advantage of the free migration and emigration of their citizens and subjects, respectively, from the one country to the other, for purposes of curiosity, of trade, or as permanent residents." Here the honorable Senator from Ohio stopped, and it was well for his argument that he did, for, directly after the words that he read are the following : " The high contracting parties, therefore, join in reprobating any other than an (')itirclv voluntary emigration for these purposes. They consequently agree to pass laws making it a penal offence for a citizen of the United States or Chinese subjects to take Chinese subjects either to the United States or to an}' other foreign country, or for a Chinese subject or citizen of the United States to take citizens of the United States to China or to any other foreign country without their free and voluntary consent respectivel}-." I maintain that the latter clause of the treaty has been persistently vio- lated b}^ China from the hour it was made. In the sense in which we receive immigration from Europe not one Chinese immigrant has ever come to these shores. The qualifying words were understood at the time to have been penned by Mr. Seward. They are worth repeating ; and as my honorable friend from Ohio did not read them yesterday, I will read them again in his hearing : — " The high contracting parties, therefore, join in reprobating any other than an entirely voluntary emigration for these purposes." The words are worth emphasizing; not merely " voluntar^^" it must be " entirely voluntary," and then each nation is to make laws to secure this end. I am informed by those who are more familiar with this subject than I am, that no notice has been received at the State Department showing that China has ever complied with that provision of the treaty requiring her to make laws regulating emigration. Still less has she attempted to enforce a law on the subject. The mere making of a law and not enforcing it would be no compliance with the treaty. The Chinese agree, in other words, to enforce the provision that there should be nothing else than " voluntary " emigration, an " entirel}^ LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 293 voluntar}' " emigration. They have never done as they agreed, they have been absolutely faithless on that point. The treaty stands as broken and defied by China from the hour it was made to this time. Its terms have never been complied with. We have been compelled to legislate against it. We legislated against it in the coolie law. The Chinese were so flagranti}- violating it that statutes of the United States were enacted to contravene the evil the Chinese were doing. The evil has gone on, probably not so grossly since these laws were passed as before, but in effect the same. The point which the Senator makes in regard to our Punic faith in attempting to break this treaty, is therefore answered by the fact that the treaty has been broken continuously b}' the other Power. The Senator from Ohio asked what we should do in a similar case if the other contracting party were Great Britain, or Germany, or France, or any power that was able to make war. I ask the honorable Senator what he would advise us to do if Great Britain, or France, or Germany, should locate six commercial com- panies in New York, whose business it should be to bring to this country the worst class and the lowest class of the population of these three kingdoms ? What would the honorable Senator from Ohio say to that ? or does he hesitate to declare what we should say to it ? Mr. Matthews. — Does the Senator desire an answer ? Mr. Blaine. — Yes, if the Senator pleases. Mr. Matthews. — Then, Mr. President, I would say this, that instead of inaugurating an arbitrary and i?.i- parte act of legislation on our own part, giving our own construction to the treat}- and the conduct of the other party under it, I would, through the usual diplomatic representative of this country, make representations to that Government making complaints of the alleged breach of the treaty, and ask what answer could be made to that ; and only in the event, as a last resort, of a contumacious refusal to obey the plain requisitions of the treaty obligation, would I resort to a repudiation of our own obligations under it. Mr. Blaine. — Ah ! I asked him what he would do in case the contracting parties had themselves broken the treaty and we were the victims of the breach. He answers me that he would take hat in hand and bow politely before them, and ask them if they would not behave better ! What are we to do as a measure of self-defence when they have broken it, and taken the initiative? I say that this country and this Senate would not hesitate to call any European power to account. The argument the Senator meant to employ was that we were doing towards a helpless Power, not able to make war against us, that which we would not do if a cannon were pointed towards us by a strong power. Does the Senator doubt that if any one of these countries should locate six com- mercial companies here to import the worst portion of their population and put it upon our shores (and you cannot find so bad a population in all Europe as that of which I am speaking), that we would hesitate in our course towards the offending Power? 294 LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. In regard to this treaty, the Senator says we should give notice. It has been stated many times in the hearing of the Senate that nearly one year ago we called the attention of the Execntive to this matter. Certainly it must be the presumption of Congress that the President did his duty in the premises. It is not for any Senator here to speak of what he has done or what he has not done. The presumption is that all departments have done their duty ; and the plain duty of the Executive was to bring this resolution by way of notice to the attention of the Chinese Government. There is another feature to which I beg the honorable Senator from Ohio to direct his attention. I hold in my hand a book which contains all the treaties which have been made by the United States with foreign Powers from the organization of the Government to the year 1873. The treaties are about two hundred and thirt}- in number, I think; about one-half of them with Eiiropean Powers, the remainder with South Ameri- can, Central American, Mexican, Asiatic and African countries. I believe I could say, although I am a little modest about universal affirmations, I believe it is almost true as a universal affirmation, that you cannot find, with the exception of the Burlingame Treaty, an}^ one in that whole list relating to a commercial connection, which does not either terminate itself by a certain date or provide the mode of its termination. Almost all of them have a given date upon which they expire. Some of them have a time within which either part}- may give notice, but there is a clause in almost every one of them providing that by a certain process either country may free itself from the obligations that it assumed. The Burlingame Treaty is peculiar ; it relates to a commercial and personal connection of trade and of emigration, but it does not say that it shall last ten years or twenty years, or any other period ; it is interminable in its provisions ; it does not provide that we shall give notice in a certain way, or that China shall give notice in a certain way. There is no provision in the world by which it can be terminated unless one of the parties shall take the initiative, as is now proposed. It is, " I repeat," evident that one party or the other must take the initia- tive. The Senator from Ohio says he would go to the Emperor and make certain representations. Then I ask the honorable Senator — Suppose the Emperor should refuse, what would he do? Suppose the Emperor should say, "You have entered into a treaty with my Government for all time ; its very terms show that there was to be no limit to it." I ask the honorable Senator from Ohio what he would then do? Suppose we are unanimously of opinion here that the treaty ought not to continue, what would the honorable Senator do in case the Emperor should say, " I desire to stand by that treaty ? " What then ? Mr. Matthews. — Does the Senator wish an answer? Mr. Blaine. — Yes ; if it be agreeable to the honorable Senator from Ohio. Mr. Matthews. — I should take it into consideration. (Laughter.) Mr. Blaine. — That is a very exact and executive way of doing things. The honorable Senator would consider. That is just about as definite a point LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 295 as I supposed the Senator would come to. If the Senate unanimously determine that this treaty ought to be ended and we send an embassy, as he suggests, to the Emperor, and the Emperor says, "No; I think it ought not to be ended," the Senator says he would come back and sit down and take it into serious consideration. The learned Senator from Ohio, eminent in the law as he is known to be, read us a lesson upon the great obligations that rest upon us as a nation of honorable people, as if, indeed, we were about to do something in the way of terminating a treaty that would give us a bad name and fame among the nations of the earth. In answer to the honorable Senator, without attempting to defend all that has been done by various nations in regard to the termination of treaties, let me say that it has been the usual habit, and is laid down in the very principia of the law of nations (which I need not quote), that when a people find a treaty " pernicious to the nation " — the very words of Vattel — tliey may terminate it. We took advantage of this French authority on a very memorable occasion. The treaty which we made with France in 1778, a treaty that was considered to be the origin of our strength in the Revolutionary war, contained this article : — " Neither of the two parties shall conclude either truce or peace with Great Britain without the formal consent of the other, first obtained." The French afterwards said that the Americans, without giving them the slightest notice, " stealthily precipitated " a peace, and left them open either to war or negotiation ; and when we were accused of it, we quoted their own author and replied that this action was absolutely essential to the life of our young nation. We were compelled to do it, and we did it. Self-preservation is the first law of nations, as well as of nature, and we resorted to it. I proceed, Mr. President, to the second branch of my subject The Chinese question is not new in this body. We have had it here very often, and have had it here in important relations, and I wish to lay down this principle, that, so far as my vote is concerned, I will not admit a man by immigration to this country whom I am not willing to place on the basis of a citizen. Let me repeat that we ought not to permit in this country of universal suffrage the immigration of a great people, great in numbers, whom we ourselves declare to be utterly unfit for citizenship. What do we say on that point ? In the Senate of the United States, on the fourth day of July, 1870, a patriotic day, we were amending the naturaliza- tion laws. We had practically made all the negroes of the United States voters ; at least we had said they should not be deprived of suffrage by reason of race or color. We had admitted them all, and we then amended the naturalization laws so that the emigrant from Africa could become a citizen of the United States. Then Senator Trumbull moved to add : — " Or person born in the Chinese Empire." He said : — 296 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " I have offered this amendment so as to bring the distinct question before the Senate, whether they will vote to naturalize persons from Africa, and vote to refuse to naturalize those who come from China. I ask for the yeas and na3-s on mv amendment." The yeas and nays were as follows on the question of whether we would ever admit a Chinaman to become an American citizen. The yeas were : — " Messrs. Fenton, Fowler, McDonald, Pomeroy, Rice, Robertson, Sprague, vSiimner and Trumbull. — 9." The navs were : — " Messrs. Bayard, Boreman, Chandler, Conkling, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Gilbert, Hamilton, of Maryland, Hamlin, Harlan, Howe, McCreery, Morrill, of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Osborn, Ramsey, Saulsbury, Sawyer, Scott, Stewart, Stockton, Thayer, Thurman, Tipton, Vickers, Warner, Willey, Williams and Wilson. — 31." It will thus be seen that the vote was ihirt^'-one against nine in a Senate three-fourths Republican, declaring that the Chinaman never ought to be made a citizen. I think this settles the whole question, if the position assumed by that \ote was a correct one, because in our system of government, as it is to- day, you cannot, ^\•ith safety to all, permit a large immigration of people who are not to be made citizens. The Senator from California (Mr. Sargent) tells us that already the male adult Chinese in California are as numerous as the white voters. I take hira as an authority from his own State, as I should expect him to take my statement as authority about my own State. It seems to me that if we adopt, as a permanent policy, the free immigra- tion of those who, by overwhelming votes in both branches of Congress, must forever remain political and social pariahs in a great free Government, we have introdiiced an element that we cannot control. We cannot stop where we are. We are compelled to do one of two things — either exclude the immi- gration of Chinese, or if we admit them, include them in the great famil}^ of citizens. The argument is often put forward that there is no special danger that large numbers of Chinese will come here ; that it is not a practical question ' and as the honorable Senator from Ohio is free to answer, I ask him if the number should mount up into the millions, what would be his view ? Mr. AIatthews. — The Senator seems to expect a reply to his inquir}-. I would say that when there was a reasonable apprehension by the United States of the immigration mounting up to such numbers, then I would take that into consideration. Mr. Blaine. — Take that into consideration also ! The Senator is definite ! If the Chinese should amount to millions in the population of the Pacific slope, he would begin to take it into consideration ! That is practical legislation ! That is legislating for an evil which is upon us to-day ! The Senator's states- manship is certainly of a considerate kind. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 297 A word now aboiit the question of numbers. Did it ever occur to ni}- honorable friend from Ohio that the large numbers, the incalculable hordes in China, are much nearer to the Pacific coast of the United States, in point of money and transit, in point of expense of reaching it, than the people of Kansas ? A man in Shanghai or Hong Kong can be delivered at San Francisco more cheaply than a man in Omaha. I do not speak of the Atlantic coast, where the population is still more remote ; but you may take the Mississippi Valley, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Ivlissouri, all the great commonwealths of that valley, and they are, in point of expense, farther off from the Pacific slope than the population of China and Japan. I am told by those who are familiar with the commercial affairs of the Pacific slope that a person can be sent fi-om any of the great Chinese ports to San Francisco for about thirty dollars. I suppose in an emigrant train over the Pacific Railroad from Omaha, not to speak of the expense of reaching Omaha, but from that point alone, it would cost fifty dollars per head. So that in point of cheap transportation to California the Chinaman to-day has an advantage over an American laborer in any part of the country, except in the case of those who are already' on the Pacific coast. Ought we to exclude them ? The question lies in my mind thus : Either the Caucasian race will possess the Pacific slope or the Mongolian race will possess it. Give IMongolians the start to-day, with the keen thrust of necessit}- behind them, and with the ease of transportation and the inducement of higher wages before them, and it is entirely probable, if not demonstrable, that while we are filling up the other portions of the continent, thej- will occupy the great space of coiintry between the Sierras and the Pacific coast. The Chinese are themselves to-day establishing steamship lines ; they are themselves to-day pro- viding the means of transportation ; and when gentlemen say that we admit from all other countries, where do you find the slightest parallel ? In a republic especially, in any government that maintains itself, the unit of order and of admin- istration is in the family. The emigrants that come to us from all portions of the British Isles, from Germany, from Norway, from Denmark, from France, from Spain, from Italy, come here with the idea of the family as much engraven on their minds and on their customs and habits as ours. The Asiatic cannot live with our population and make a homogeneous element. The idea of comparing European immigration with an immigration that has no regard to family, that does not recognize the relation of husband and wife, that does not observe the tie of parent and child, that does not feel in the slightest degree the humanizing and the ennobling influences of the hearthstone and the fireside ! When gentle- men talk loosely about emigration from European countries as contrasted with that, they certainly are forgetting history and forgetting themselves. My honorable colleague (Mr. Hamlin) and the Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. Howe) voted that the Chinaman ought not to be a citizen of this country, voted that he ought not to become a voter in this country. My honorable friend 298 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. from Wisconsin now says, sotlo ioath of ofiice, the President distinctlj^ proclaimed the position which the Government of the United States would hold upon this question, and if the European cabinets have failed to observe or give ■due heed to the declarations then made, it may be well for j-on on some proper occasion to call the attention of the minister of foreign affairs to the language used by the President." This paper was followed eight days afterwards by the shooting down of the President. Events went on with a whirl. Garfield died and a new part}^ came into power with Arthur. The acting president, however, did not pursue radical changes either in the personnel of his administration or in his general policy. Gradually he turned the course of the ship, but prudently did nothing with violent action. Blaine, continuing as Secretary of State, was permitted, at least for a season, to follow his own course. On the nineteenth of November, 1881, he took up the subject of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and continued the diplomacy' of the question in the following letter to Mr. Lowell and other American ministers abroad : — THE CLAYTON-BULWER CONTROVERSY — Continued. Department of State, Washington, November 19, 1881. Sir — In pursviance of the premises laid down in my circular note of June 24, of this year, touching the determination of this Government with respect to the guarantee of neutrality for the interoceanic canal of Panama, it becomes iny duty to call your attention to the convention of April 19, 1850, between 314 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Great Britain and the United States, commonly known as the Claj^ton-Bulwer Treaty. According to the articles of that convention, the high contracting parties, in referring to an interoceanic canal through Nicaragua, agreed : — "That neither the one nor the other will ever obtain or maintain for itself any exclusive control over said ship canal, and that neither will ever erect or maintain any fortifications commanding the same or in the vicinity thereof." In a concluding paragraph the high contracting parties agreed: — "To extend their protection by treaty stipulations to any other practicable communications, whether by canal or railway, across the Isthmus, . . . which are now proposed to be established by way of Tehtiantepec or Panama." This convention was made more than thirty years ago, under excep- tional conditions which have long since ceased to exist — Conditions which at best were temporary in their nature, and which can never be reproduced. The_ remarkable development of the United States on the Pacific coast since that time has created new duties for this Government, and devolved new respon- sibilities upon it, the full and complete discharge of which requires, in the judgment of the President, some essen- tial modifications in the Cla3'ton-Bulwer Treaty. The interests of Her Majesty's Government involved in this question, in so far as they may be properly judged by the observation of a friendly power, are so inconsiderable in com- parison with those of the United States tment of the terms of the treat}^ may be reached in a spirit of amity and concord. The respect due to Her Majesty's Government demands that the objections to the perpetuit}' of the convention of 1S50, as it now exists, should be stated with directness and with entire frankness. Among the most salient of these objections is the fact that the operation of the treaty practically concedes to Great Britain the control of whatever canal may be constructed. The insular position of the home government, with its extended colonial possessions, requires the British Empire to maintain a vast naval establishment. In our continental solidity we do not need, and in time of peace shall never create, a rival to it. J \.MI ^ Kl isl 1 I< LOWl 1,1 that the President hopes LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 315 If, therefore, the United States binds itself not to fortify on land, it concedes that Great Britain, in the possible case of a struggle for the control of the canal, shall at the outset have an advantage which would prove decisive, and which could not be reversed, except by an enormous expenditure of treasure and force. The presumptive intention of the treaty was to place the two powers on a plane of perfect equality with respect to the canal ; but in practice, as I have indicated, this would prove utterly delusive, and would instead surrender it, if not in form, j^et in effect, to the control of Great Britain. The treaty binds the United States not to use military force in any precau- tionary measure, while it leaves the naval power of Great Britain perfectly free and unrestrained — ready at any moment of need to seize both ends of the canal, and render its military occupation on land a matter entirely within the discre- tion of Her Majesty's Government. The military power of the United States, as shown by the recent civil war, is without limit, and in any conflict on the American continent altogether irresistible. The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty com- mands this Government not to use a single regiment of troops to protect its interests in connection with the interoceanic canal, but to surrender the transit to the guardianship and control of the British Navy. If no American soldier is to be quartered on the Isthmus to protect the rights of his country in the interoceanic canal, surely, by the fair logic of neutralit}^ no war-vessel of Great Britain should be permitted to appear in the waters that control either entrance to the canal. A more comprehensive objection to the treat}^ is urged by this Government. Its provisions embody a misconception of the relative positions of Great Britain and the United States with respect to the interests of each in questions pertain- ing to this continent. The Government of the United States has no occasion to disavow an aggressive disposition. Its entire policy establishes its pacific character, and among its chief aims is to cultivate the most friendly and inti- mate relations with its neighbors, both independent and colonial. At the same time, this Government, with respect to European States, will not consent to perpetuate any treaty that impeaches our rightful and long-established claim to priority on the American continent. The United States seeks onl}^ to use for the defence of its own interests the same forecast and provision which Her IMajesty's- Government energetically employs in defence of the interests of the British Empire. To guard her Eastern possessions, to secure the most rapid transit for troops and munitions of war, and to prevent an}^ other nation from having equal facilities in the same direction, Great Britain holds and fortifies all the strategic points that control the route to India. At Gibraltar, at Malta, at Cyprus, her fortifi- cations give her the mastery of the Mediterranean. She holds a controlling interest in the Suez Canal, and by her fortifications at Aden and on the Island of Perim, she excludes all other powers from the waters of the Red Sea and practically renders it marc clansnni. It would, in the judgment of the President, 316 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. be no more unreasonable for the United States to demand a share in these fortifications, or to demand their absolute neutralization, than for England to make the same demand in perpetuity from the United States with respect to the transit across the American continent. The possessions which Great Britain thus carefully guards in the East are not of more importance to her than is the Pacific slope, with its present development and assured growth, to the Government of the United States. The States and Territories appurtenant to the Pacific Ocean, and dependent upon it for commercial outlet, and hence directly interested in the canal, comprise an area of nearly eight hundred thousand square miles — larger in extent than the German Empire and the four Latin countries of Europe combined. This vast region is but beginning its prosperous development. Six thousand miles of railway are already constructed within its limits, and it is a moderate calculation to say that within the current decade the number of miles will, at least, be doubled. In the near future the money value of its surplus for export will be as large as that of British India, and perhaps larger. Nor must it be forgotten that India is but a distant colony of Great Britain, while the region on the Pacific is an integral portion of our National Union, and is of the very form and body of our State. The inhabitants of India are alien from England in race, language and religion. The citizens of California, Oregon and Nevada, with the adjacent territories, are of our own blood and kindred — bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Great Britain appreciates the advantage and perhaps the necessity of maintaining, at the cost of large military and naval establishments, the interior and nearest route to India, while any nation with hostile intent is compelled to take the longer route and sail many thousand additional miles through danger- ous seas. It is hardly conceivable that the same great Power which considers herself justified in these precautions for the safety of a remote colony on another continent should object to the adoption by the United States of similar but far less demonstrative measures for the protection of the distant shores of her own domain, for the drawing together of the extremes of the Union in still closer bonds of interest and sympathy, and for holding to the simple end of honorable self-defence the absolute control of the great water-way which shall unite the two oceans, and which the United States will always insist upon treating as part of her commercial coast line. If a hostile movement should at any time be made against the Pacific coast, threatening danger to its people and destruction to its property, the Government of the United States would feel that it had been unfaithful to its duty and neglectful towards its own citizens, in permitting itself to be bound by a treaty which gives the same right through the canal to a war-ship bent on an errand of destruction that is reserved to its own navy sailing for the defence of our coast and the protection of the lives of our people. As England insists, by the might of her power, that her enemies in war shall strike her LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 317 Indian possessions only by donbling the Cape of Good Hope, the Government of the United States Avill in like manner insist that the interior, the safer and more speedy route of the canal shall be reserved for ourselves, while our enemies, if we shall ever be so unfortunate as to have any, shall be remanded to the ^■oyage around Cape Horn. A consideration of controlling inflirence in this question is the well-settled conviction on the part of this Government that only b}' the exercise of super- vision on the part of the United States can the Isthmus canals be definitely, and at all times, secured against the interference and obstruction incident to war. A mere agreement of neutrality on paper between the great Powers of Europe might prove ineffectual to preserve the canal in time of hostilities. The first sound of a cannon in a general European war would, in all proba- bility, annul the treaty of neutrality, and the strategic position of the canal, commanding both oceans, might be held by the first naval power that could seize it. If this should be done, the United States would suffer such grave inconvenience and loss in her domestic commerce as would enforce the duty of a defensive and protective war on her part, for the mere purpose of gaining that control, which, in advance, she insists is due to her position and demanded by her necessities. I am not arguing or assuming that a general war, or any war at all, is imminent in Europe. But it must not be forgotten that within the past twenty five years all the great Powers of Europe have been engaged in war — most of them more than once. In only a single instance in the past hundred years has the United States exchanged a hostile shot with any European Power. It is in the highest degree improbable that for a hundred years to come even that experience will be repeated. It consequently becomes evident that the one conclusive mode of preserving any Isthmus canal from the possible distraction and destruction of war is to place it under the control of that Government least likel}^ to be engaged in war, and able in any and in every event to enforce the guardianship which she will assirme For protection of her own interest, therefore, the United States in the first instance asserts her right to control the Isthmus transit ; and, secondl}-, she offers by such control that absolute neutralization of the canal as respects European Powers which can in no other way be certainly attained and lastingly assured. Another consideration forcibl}^ suggests the necessity of modifying the convention under discussion. At the time it was concluded Great Britain and the United States were the only nations prominent in the commerce of Central and South America. Since that time other leading nations have greatly enlarged their commercial connections with that country, and are to-day contending for sirpremacy in the trade of those shores ; within the past four years, indeed, the number of French and German vessels landing on the two coasts of Central America far exceeds the number of British vessels. 318 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. While, therefore, Great Britain and the United States may agree to do nothing, and according to the present convention each remains bound to the other in common helplessness, a third power, or a fourth, or a combination of many, may intervene and give direction to the project which the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty assumed to be under the sole control of the two English-speaking nations. Indeed, so far as the canal scheme now projected at Panama finds a national sponsor or patron, it is in the Republic of France; and the non-inter- vention enjoined upon this country by the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, if applied to that canal, would paralyze the United vStates in any attempt to assert the plain rights and privileges which this Government acquired through a solemn treaty with the Republic of Colombia, anterior to the Clayton-Bulwer Convention. The modification of the treaty of 1S50, now sought, is not only to free the United States from unequal and inequitable obligations to Great Britain, but also to empower this Government to treat with all other nations seeking a foothold on the Isthmus on the same basis of impartial justice and complete independence. One of the motives that originally induced this Government to assent to the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, not distinctly expressed in the instrument, but inferable from every line of it, was the expected aid of British capital in the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal. That expectation has not been realized, and the changed condition of this country since 1850 has diminished, if it has not entirely removed from consideration, any advantage to be derived from that source. Whenever, in the judgment of the United States Government, the time shall be auspicious and the conditions favorable for the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal, no aid will be needed outside of the resources of our own Government and people ; and while foreign capital will always be welcomed and never repelled, it cannot henceforth enter as an essential factor in the deter- mination of this problem. It is earnestly hoped by the President that the considerations now presented Avill have due weight and influence with Her Majesty's Government, and that the modifications of the treaty desired by the United States will be conceded in the same friendly spirit in which they are asked. The following is a summary of the adjustments which would meet the views of this Government: Pirsi — Every part of the treaty which forbids the United States to fortify the canal and hold the political control of it in conjunction with the country in which it is located, to be canceled. Second — Every part of the treaty in which Great Britain and the United States agree to make no acquisition of territory in Central America to remain in full force. As an original proposition this Government would not admit that Great Britain and the United States should be put on the same basis, even negatively, with respect to territorial acquisitions on the American Continent, and would be unwilling to establish such a precedent without full explanation. But the LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. 319 treat}- contains that provision with respect to Central America, and if the United States should seek its annnlnient it might give rise to erroneous and mischievous apprehensions among a people with whom this Government desires to be on the most friendl}^ terms. The United States has taken special occasions to assure the Spanish American Republics that we do not intend and do not desire to cross their borders or in any way disturb their territorial integrit}-. We shall not therefore willinglj' incur the risk of a misunderstanding b}' annulling the clauses in the Clayton-Bulwer Treat}- which forbid such a step with respect to Central America. But the acquisition of military and naval stations necessar}'' for the protection of the canal and voluntarily ceded to the United States b}^ the Central American States is not to be regarded as a violation of the provision contained in the foregoing. Tliird — The United States will not object to the clause looking to the establishment of a free port at each end of whatever canal may be constructed, if England desires the clause to be retained. Fourth — The clause in which the two Governments agreed to make treaty stipulations for a joint protectorate of whatever railway or canal might be constructed at Tehuantepec or Panama has never been perfected. No treaty stipulations for the proposed end have been suggested by either part3% although citizens of the United States long since constructed a railwa}- at Panama, and are now engaged in the same work at Tehuantepec. It is a fair presumption, in the judgment of the President, that this provision should be regarded as obsolete bv the non-action and common consent of the two Governments. Fiftli — The clause defining the distance from either end of the canal where, in time of war, captures might be made by either belligerent on the high seas was left incomplete and the distance was never determined. In the judgment of the President, speaking in the interest of peaceful commerce, this distance should be made as liberal as possible, and might, with advantage, as a question relating to the high seas and common to all nations, be a matter of stipulation between the great Powers of the world. In assuming as a necessit}' the political control of whatever canal or canals ma}' be constructed across the Isthmus, the United States will act in entire harmou}^ with the Governments mthin whose territory the canals should be located. Between the United States and the other American Republics there can be no hostility, no jealous}', no rivalr}% no distrust. This Government entertains no design in connection with this project for its own advantage which is not also for the equal or greater advantage of the country to be directly and immediately affected. Nor does the United States seek any exclusive or narrow commercial advantage. It frankly agrees, and will by public proclamation declare at the proper time in conjunction with the Republic on whose soil the canal may be located, that the same rights and privileges, the same tolls and obligations for the use of the canal, shall apply with absolute impartiality to the merchant marine of every nation on the globe. Equally, in time of peace, the harmless 320 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. use of the canal sliall be freel}? granted to the war-vessels of other nations. In time of -war, aside from the defensive use to be made of it by the country in which it is constructed and by the United States, the canal shall be impartially closed against the war-vessels of all belligerents. It is the desire and the determination of the United States that the canal shall be used only for the development and increase of peaceful commerce among all the nations, and shall not be considered a strategic point in warfare to tempt the aggressions of belligerents, or be seized under the compulsions of military necessity by any of the great Powers that may have contests in which the United States has no stake, and will take no part. If it be asked why the United States objects to the assent of European Powers to the terras of neutrality for the operation of the canal, the answer of this Government is that the right to assent implies the right to dissent, and thus the whole question would be throwTi open for contention as an international issue. It is the fixed purpose of the United States to consider it strictly and solely as an American question, to be dealt with and decided by the American Powers. In presenting the views contained herein to Lord Granville, you will take occasion to say that the Government of the United States seeks this partic- ular time for the discussion as most opportune and auspicious. At no period since the peace of 1783 have the rela- tions between the British and American Governments been so cordial and friendly as now. I am sure Her Majesty's Government will find in the views now suggested, and the propositions now submitted, additional evidence of the desire of this Government to remove all possible grounds of controversy between two nations, which have so many interests in common, and so many reasons for honorable and lasting peace. You will at the earliest opportunity acquaint Lord Granville with the purpose of the United States touching the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and, in your own way, you will impress him fully with the views of your Government. I refrain from directing that a. copy of this instruction be left with His Lordship, because, in reviewing the case, I have necessarily been compelled, in drawing illustrations from British policy, to indulge somewhat freely in the argitiueiitum ad Jwmincm. This course of reasoning, in an instruction to our own minister, is altogether legitimate and pertinent, and j-et might seem discourteous if addressed directly to the British Government. You may deem it expedient to make this explanation LORD GRANVILLE. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 321 to Lord Granville, aud if afterwards he shall desire a copy of this instruction, you will, of course, furnish it." It appears that the subject was not yet exhausted. After ten days, namely, on the twenty-ninth of November, 1881, the Secretary of State again took up the correspondence and sent to Minister Lowell, with copies to other American ministers abroad, the following additional letter : Department of State, Washington, Nov. 29, 1S81. Sir: — One week after mailing ni}^ instruction to j-ou on the 19th instant touching the presentation to Her Majesty's Government of a proposal for the modification of the convention between the two countries, of April 19, 1850, better known as the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, I received Mr. Hoppin's dispatch of the nth instant, communicating the response of Lord Granville to ni}- circular note of the twenty-fourth of June last in relation to the neutrality of any canal across the Isthmus of Panama. I regret that IMr. Hoppin should not have advised me b}^ telegraph of the purport of His Lordship's reply as it would have enabled me to present the arguments of my dispatch of the 19th instant in a more specific form as meeting a positive issue rather than as generally dealing with a subject which for thirty years has been regarded in but one light b}^ the public opinion of the United States. It seems proper now, however, m reply to His Lordship's note of November 10, to give a summary of the historical objections to the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and the very decided differences of opinion between the two Governments to which its interpretation has given rise. I need hardly point out to you the well-known circumstance that even at the time of the conclusion of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, a very considerable opposition was shown thereto on the part of far-sighted men in public life, who correctly estimated the complications which the uncertain terms of that compact might occasion. It was ably contended in Congress that its provisions did not, even then, suffice to meet the real points at issue with respect to the guarantee of the neutrality of the whole American Isthmus on bases comporting with the national interests of the United States, and the differences of interpretation soon became so marked as to warrant the extreme proposal of Her Majesty's Government to refer them to the arbitration of a friendly Power. The justice of those doubts became still more evident six years later, when the pretensions put forth by Her Majesty's Government toward territorial pro- tection, if not absolute control, of portions of Nicaragua and of the outlying Bay Islands brought up the precise question as to the extent to which the Clayton- Bulwer compact restrained the projected movement ; and thereupon the inter- pretations respectively put upon that instrument by the United States and Great Britain were perceived to be in open conflict. The attempt made in the Clarendon-Dallas Treaty, which was negotiated on the seventeenth of October, 1856, to reconcile these opposing contentions, and to place the absolute and independent sovereignty of Nicaragua over its territory on an unmistakable 322 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. footing, so far as the United States and Great Britain were concerned, failed by reason of the rejection by Her Majesty's Government of an amendment intro- duced by the Senate into the Clarendon-Dallas project. From that time onward the inability of the two Governments to agree upon a common interpretation of the letter and spirit of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty may be accepted as an historical fact. In the discussions between the two Governments which attended the failure of the Clarendon-Dallas Treaty, the attitude of the United States with respect to the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was amply defined. As early as the twelfth of March, 1857, I find that General Cass, then Secretary of State, in the course of a conference with Lord Napier, Her Majesty's representative, " passed some reflections on the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty ; he had voted for it in the Senate, and in doing so he believed that it abrogated all intervention on the part of England in the Cen- tral American territory. The British Government had put a different construction upon the treaty, and he regretted the vote he had given in its favor." (Dispatch of Lord Napier to the Earl of Clarendon, March 12, 1857.) On the sixth of May, 1857, President Bu- chanan, in an audience given to Lord Napier, and in response to His Lordship's suggestion that if the attempted adjustment of the difference becween the Governments as to the Clarendon- Dallas Treat}' should fail, the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty remained to fall back upon, characterized that instrument in much stronger terms than General Cass had done. To quote Lord Napier's words : " The President denounced the Claj'ton-Bulwer Treatj^ as oue which has been fraught with misunderstanding and mischief from the beginning ; it was concluded under the most opposite constructions by the contracting parties. If the Senate had imagined that it could obtain the interpretation placed upon it by Great Britain, it would not have passed. If he had been in the Senate at the time, that treaty never would have been sanctioned." (Dispatch of Lord Napier to the Earl of Clarendon, May 6, 1857.) These views are more explicitly and formally repeated in a note addressed by Secretary Cass to Lord Napier on the twenty-ninth of May, 1857. He says: " The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, concluded in the hope that it would put an end to the differences which had arisen between the United States and Great Britain concerning Central x'imerican affairs, had beeu rendered inoperative in some of its most essential pro\'isions by the different constructions which had been reciprocally given to it by the parties. And little is hazarded in saying EARI. OF CLARENDON. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE 323 that, bad the interpretation since pnt upon the treaty by the British Govern- ment, and }-et maintained, been anticipated, it would not have been negotiated under the instructions of an}- executive of the United States, nor ratified by the branch of the Government intrusted with the power of ratification." The publicity of these statements, and the strong feeling which then pre- vailed in all quarters that the Clayton-Bulwer Convention was inadequate tc reconcile the opposite views of Great Britain and the United States towards Central America, led to a very decided conviction that the treaty should be abrogated. Lord Napier reflected this growing impression when, on the twent}'- second of June, 1857, he wrote to Lord Clarendon that " it is probable that if the pending discussions regarding Central America be not closed during the present summer, an attempt will be made in the next session of Congress to set aside the Cla3-ton-Bulwer Treat}-. . . . There can be no doubt of the views of the President and Cabinet in this matter.'' Before this tendencj- could find expression in any ofiicial act, a movement on the part of Her ]Majest3-'s Government placed the whole matter in a new aspect. Sir ^^^illiam Gore Ouseley was sent out October 30, 1S57, as a special minister, with the double purpose of concluding with the Central iVmerican States, and especially with Guatemala and Honduras, settlements of the ques- tions relative to the Bay Islands, the Mosquito territory, and the boundaries of British Honduras, and also of visiting Washington on the way, and confer- ring with the Secretary of State of the United States, for the purpose of ascer- taining the views of his Government, and establishing " a perfect understanding with the United States upon the points respecting which differences have hitherto existed between the two countries." Among these differences was now super- added to the territorial question of Mosquito and the islands, the ver_%' question which to-day most concerns us, the question of interoceanic communication, which had for some time been the occasion of correspondence between General Cass and Lord Napier, and in relation to which General Cass wrote, on the twentieth of October, 1857, as follows : " I have thus endeavored to meet the frank suggestions of 3-our lordship b}- restating, with corresponding frankness, the general policy of the United States with respect to the Governments and the interoceanic transits of Central America ; but since your lordship has referred to the Clayton-Bulwer treaty of 1850, as contemplating a 'harmonious course of action and counsel between the contracting parties in the settlement of Central American interests,' 3-ou will pardon me for reminding your lordship that the differences whicli this treaty was intended to adjust between the United States and Great Britain still remain unsettled, while the treat}^ itself has become the subject of new and embarrassing complications." Prior to the arrival of Sir William Ouseley in the United States, Lord Napier held an important interview with President Buchanan on the nineteenth of October, 1857, with the object of obtaining "further elucidation of the opinions 324 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. of the President with reference to the adjustment of the Clayton-Bulwel Treaty." On that occasion Lord Napier declared that he believed it to be the intention of Her Majesty's Government, in Sir William Ouseley's mission, "to carry the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty into execution according to the general tenor of the interpretation put upon it by the United States ; but to do so by sep- arate negotiation with the Central American Republics, in lieu of a direct engagement with the Federal Government," and asked that, pending the nego- tion intrusted to vSir William Ouseley, " no proposal to annul the (Clayton- Bulwer) treaty would be sanctioned or encouraged " by the President or the members of the United States Government. To this the President cheerfully consented, and promised to modify the statements in his annual message to Congress accordingly, and under no circumstances to countenance any attempt against the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in Congress. Matters being in this state, with Sir William Ouseley's mission announced, and the benevolently expectant attitude of the United States toward it assured, Lord Napier, on the twenty-seventh of October, 1857, in conference with General Cass, brought up contingently, as a discarded alternative of his Govern- ment, a former proposal to refer the disputed questions to arbitration : — " General Cass remarked in reply (says Lord Napier, writing to the Earl of Clarendon) that he did not repudiate the principle of arbitration on all occa- sions ; he had invoked it, and would do so again where it seemed justly appli- cable, but that in this matter it was declined by the American Government for the following reasons : The language of the treaty was so clear that, in his opinion, there ought not to be two opinions about it. . . . That is a mere ques- tion of the interpretation of the English language, and he held that a foreign Government was not so competent to decide in such a question as the United States and England, who possessed that language in common." " The Earl of Clarendon in reply approved Lcrd Napier's course in broach- ing anew the suggestion of arbitration, and authorized him to renew formally, in writing, the offer to refer the disputed qiiestions arising out of the interpre- tation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty to the decision of au}^ European Power (instruction of November 13, 1S57), and this was accordingl}- done b}^ Lord Napier in a note to General Cass, dated November 30, 1857. In his annual message to Congress in December, 1857, President Buchanan, after narrating the negotiation and failure of the Clarendon-Dallas Treat}', said : — " The fact is that when two nations like Great Britain and the United States, mutually desirous, as they are, and I trust ever may be, of maintaining the most friendly relations with each other, have iinfortunately concluded a treaty which they understand in senses directly opposite, the wisest coui'se is to abro- gate such a treaty by mutual consent and to commence anew. . . . Whilst entertaining these sentiments, I shall nevertheless not refuse to contribute to any reasonable adjustment of the Central American questions which is not prac- tically inconsistent with the American interpretation of the treaty. Overtures LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 325 for this purpose have been recently made by the British Government in a friendly spirit which I cordially reciprocate." IMeanwhile the Earl of Clarendon had instructed Sir William Ouseley, under date of No- vember 19, 1857, " not to commit Her Majesty's Govern- ment to any course whatever in respect to the Bay Islands till the intentions of the Congress of the United States in re- gard to the treaty of 1850 are clearly ascertained." The situation, then, at the close of 1857 presented a triple deadlock. The United States had agreed not to move toward the abroga- tion of the treaty until it could be seen what interpretation of its provisions would result from Sir William O use- ley's mission. Sir William had re- ceived positive in- structions not to move until the United States should decide whether to abrogate the treaty or not ; and Lord Napier was forbidden to move until the United States should make formal answer to the proposal for arbitration. The instructions of Lord Clarendon to Lord Napier, January 22, 1858, contained these words : — LORD NAPIER. 326 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " We are decidedly of opinion that it would neither be consistent with our dignity nor our interest to make any proposal to the United States Govern- ment until we have received a formal answer to our formal offer of arbitration. In the event of the offer being refused, it will be a great and hardly justifiable proof of the spirit of conciliation by which we are animated, if we then show ourselves disposed to abrogate the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty ; but we must not be in too great haste." In order, apparently, to break this deadlock, Lord Napier wrote to General Cass, February 17, 1858, that — " Something in the nature of an alternative was thus offered to the Ameri- can Cabinet. Should the expedient of arbitration be adopted, a great portion of Sir William Ouseley's duty would be transferred to other agencies. Should arbitration be declined, it was hoped that the efforts of Her Majesty's envoy would result in a settlement agreeable to the United States, inasmuch as in essential points it would carry the treaty of 1850 into operation in a manner practicably conformable to the American interpretation of that instrument." On the tenth of March, 1858, the Earl of Malmesbury, who had succeeded Lord Clarendon in the foreign office, instructed Lord Napier that until an answer Avas returned to the proposal for arbitration — " No further step can be taken by Her Majest\^'s Government with that of the United States in regard to that matter ; (and further, that) when this point is cleared up, Her Majesty's Government, supposing that the Government of the United States decline arbitration, will have to determine whether they should originate a proposal for the abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, or adopt any other course which the circumstances at the moment may seem to recommend." It appears, however, that the proposal to abrogate the treaty, which Lord Malmesbury reserved the right to originate, had already been communicated to the Government of the United States by Lord Napier, under instructions from Lord Clarendon. In a dispatch, dated ]\Iarch 22, 185S, Lord Napier wrote: — " The Earl of Clarendon authorized me to inform General Cass that Her Majesty's Government would not decline the consideration of a proposal for the abrogation of the treaty by mutual concert. ... I have, accordingl}-, on two occasions, informed General Cass that if the Government of the United States be still of the same mind, and continue to desire the abrogation of the treaty of 1S50, it would be agreeable to Her Majesty's Government that they should insert a proposal to that effect in their reply to my note respecting arbitration.'' Lord Napier further reports in detail the conversations which he had with Gen- eral Cass as to the most proper method of effecting such abrogation, if agreed to. In reply to this dispatch of Lord Napier, the Earl of JMalmesburj- instructed him, April 8, 1858, that his action was approved, and that he should confine himself to pressing for an answer to his proposal for arbitration. His Lordship added these significant words : — LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 327 "Her Majesty's Government, if the initiative is still left to them by the unwillingness of the United States themselves to propose abrogation, desire to retain full liberty as to the manner and form in which au}- such proposal shall be laid on their behalf before the Cabinet at Washington. . . . The Clayton- Bulwer Treaty has been a source of increasing embarrassment to this country, and Her Majesty's Government, if they should be so fortunate as to extricate them- selves from the difi&culties which have resulted from it, will not involve themselves, directly or indirectly, in any similar dif&culties for the future." The answer of General Cass to Lord Napier's several proposals was briefly to the effect that pending the results expected from Sir William Ouseley's mission to the Central American States, the United States could not adopt the alternative of arbitration, "even if it had not been twice rejected before," and that if— " The President does not hasten to consider now the alternative of repealing the treaty of 1850, it is because he does not wish prematurely to anticipate the failure of Sir William Ouseley's mission, and is disposed to give a new proof to Her Majesty's Government of his sincere desire to preserve the amicable relations which now happily subsist between the two countries." (General Cass to Lord Napier, April 6, 185S.) In this posture of affairs the Earl of Malmesbury instructed Sir William Ouseley to open direct negotiations with the Central American States ; and on the eighteenth of August instructed Lord Napier to inform the Government of the United States of the intentions and object of Her Majesty's Government in the premises. His Lordship added : — " Modification, arbitration, and abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty have been flatly rejected. Great Britain and Nicaragua are now about to treat as independent States." I have emphasized the phrase "flatly rejected," in view of a subsequent instruction of the Earl of Malmesbury to Lord Napier, on the eighth of Decem- ber, 1858, wherein he said : — " I think you would have done better if you had not too pointedly brought before the United States Government the notion that the British Government might view with favor a proposal to abrogate the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty." It is not difficult in following this narrative to discern that General Cass, though not desiring to express it, had an additional motive for declining to propose, at that particular time, the abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. He did not desire by such proposed abrogation to indicate his willingness that Sir William Gore Ouseley should make treaties with the separate States of Central America unrestrained by the clauses of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty inhibiting the extension of British power in that region. General Cass, with his accustomed caution and wisdom, clearly perceived that for the United States to propose abrogation on the very eve of vSir ^^^illiam Ouselev's mission 328 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. would lead to injurious inferences, and would imply conclusions which the United States was not prepared to admit. Objectionable as General Cass thought the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, he preferred to adhere to its terms rather than give the implied consent of this Government that Great Britain should obtain such treaties as the force of her power might secure in Central America. The subsequent note of Lord Malmesbury, not strained by an uncharitable construction, throws additional light on the subject and confirms the wisdom of General Cass in declining to propose abrogation at that time. General Cass moreover evidently desired to retain those very clauses of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty to which, in my dispatch of the nineteenth, I proposed on the part of this Government to adhere. I have dwelt with somewhat of detail on this historic episode, partly because it admirably illustrates the spirit with which both Governments have regarded the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty from the first, and partly because it had more direct bearing on the question of the guarantee of any Isthmian transit than any other discussion of the time. In perusing the voluminous corre- spondence, the part unprinted as well as that printed and submitted at the time to Congress and to Parliament, I am more than ever struck by the elastic character of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and the purpose it has served as an ultimate recourse on the part of either Government to check apprehended designs in Central America on the part of the other, although all the while it was frankly admitted on both sides that the engagements of the treaty were misunderstandingly entered into, imperfectly comprehended, contradictorily inter- preted, and mutually vexatious. I am strengthened in this impression by the circumstance that in his response to my dispatch of the twenty-fourth of June last. Earl Granville takes the ground that the position of Great Britain and the United States toward the projected Panama Canal is determined by the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. How far the engagements of that compact extend to the Isthmus of Panama, in the sense in which they extend to the projected Nicaraguan transit under the pro- visions of Article VIII., does not seem likely to become a subject for discus- sion between the two Governments. For it wall be observed that this article does not stretch the guarantees and restrictions of Article I. over either the Tehuantepec route through Mexican territory, or the Panama route through Colombian territory. It is in terms an agreement to extend the protection of both countries, by treaty stipulations, to those or any other practicable water- ways or railways from ocean to ocean across the Isthmus, outside of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America. So far as this inchoate agreement to agree hereafter is applicable to the Panama transit, I have amply shown, in my dispatch of the nineteenth instant, that the obli- gations embraced on the part of the United States in concluding the prior convention with the Republic of New Granada (now Colombia), in 1846, require tliat the United States should be freed from unequal and inequitable LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 329 obligations to Great Britain imder the vague and as 3'et unperfected compact of 1850. My main object in writing this instruction has been to strengthen 3'ou in any discussion which may now ensue as to the benefits of the Claytou- Bulwer Treaty, and the mutual interest of the two countries in conserving it as the basis of a settlement of all questions between them touching Central American and Isthmian questions. It will be seen that from the time of its conclusion in 1S50 until the end of 1S5S its provisions were thrice made the basis of a proposal to arbitrate as to their meaning, that modification and abro- gation had been alike contingently considered, and that its vexatious and imperfect character has been repeatedly recognized on both sides. The present proposal of this Government is to free it from those embarrassing features, and leave it, as its framers intended it should be, a full and perfect settlement for all time of all possible issues between the United States and Great Britain with regard to Central America. If in your conferences with Earl Granville, it should seem necessary, you will make free use of the precedents I have cited and should you, within the discretionary limits confided at the end of my dispatch of June 24, have given a copy thereof to His Lordship, you are equally at liberty to let him have a copy of this also, with the same explanation that it is for your use and not written as a formal note for communication to Her Majesty's Government." Time and again, in the preceding narrative, as well as in our comments respecting the public speeches and papers of Mr. Blaine, we have had occasion to refer to his strong sympathies with the Irish cause. In this particular, the statesman could hardly restrain his temper. Doubtless James G. Blaine believed profoundly that the policy of Great Britain towards her Irish subjects was oppressive and tyrannical — as indeed it has been. As Secretary of State, he must needs be under the restraint of office and imder the courtesy which determines alike the form of the substance of diplomatical correspondence. Mr. Blaine had not been three months in the office of Secretary of State under Garfield until he had occasion to take up the Irish question and formulate a paper on the subject of "Arbitrary Arrests in Ireland." This paper bears date of May 26, 1881, and is addressed to James Russell Lowell, minister of the United States to the Court of St. James, as follows : — Sir — Since my instruction of the thirty-first of March last, in reply to yours of the twelfth of that month, touching the case of Mr. Michael P. Boyton, I have received your dispatches of March 21, of March 25, and April 7, all relating to the same subject. The prudence you have shown in dealing with Mr. Boyton's claim of citizenship is commendable, and the statements as to the law in his case, made in your letters to him, are in full accord with the interpretation of this department. In answer to a resolution of the Senate, calling for the facts and corre- spondence in the matter, I laid before the President a full report, which was 330 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. communicated to the Senate on the twentieth instant. In that report I showed that the evidence presented by Mr. Boyton himself, and by his friends here in his behalf, was not such as to prove his claim to citizenship under our laws. Had his citizenship been established, I should not have hesitated to do for him all that I could properly do for an American citizen, accused of offending against British law in British jurisdiction. How far such protection would avail to relieve an American citizen from the operation of a British law is a point iipon which I am not prepared to express an opinion, in view especially of the fact that a copy of the so-called " Coercion Act," under which • the Boyton proceedings were had, has not yet reached the department. As described by the public press, it contains provisions giving a latitude of action to the British authorities which this Government would be loth to see insisted upon in the case of an American citizen. For example, upon reasonable suspicion of the commission, witliin a fixed time prior to the passage of the law, of an act therein defined as giving cause for arrest, the authorities are understood to be empowered to decree the detention of any person, and his imprisonment for a prolonged period, without the obligation of speedy trial or the production of proof of criminality. While in some sense an ex post facto enactment, it is in others a conferment of arbitrary and irresponsible power, and, in either view, repugnant to the principles of civil liberty and personal rights which are the common possession of British and American jurisprudence. That the fact of American citizenship could, of itself, operate to exempt any one from the penalties of a law which he had violated, is, of course an untenable proposition. Conversely, however, the proposition that a retroactive law, suspending at will the simplest operations of justice, could be applied without question to an American citizen, is one to which this Government would not give anticipatory assent. In the specific case of Mr. Boyton, it is inferred from your statement of the facts that the act complained of, the incitement of divers persons to murder divers other persons, was committed subsequently to the passage of the Protection Act. Had Mr. Boyton's American citizenship been established, we could not, in view of this, have pleaded the retroactive application of the law. Neither could we have decently protested against the application of some process of law where so grave an offence was charged against a foreigner while a guest in the dominions of a friendly State. The allegation that such an act was done by on alien and a guest, while throwing upon the country to which the offender owes allegiance no duty to defend him or disprove his crime, on the other hand does not absolve the justice of the country where the commission of the act is alleged from the burden of proving the guilt of the criminal by due course of law within a reasonable time, or, in default of prompt and lawful proof, from the obligation of releasing him. Immunity would not be asked, but prompt and certain justice, under the usual and unstrained operation of law, would be certainly expected. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 331 I have set these views before you hj-pothetically, as suggested by Mr. Boytou's case, not as applicable thereto. It is not desired that you should com- municate them to Her Majesty's Government in advance of any case warranting our intervention, but you will bear them in mind if a contingency should unhappily arise calling for your' interposition." The same subject was continued bj^ Mr. Blaine one week later in a dispatcln to the American Minister in London, as follows : — Department of State, Washington, June 2, 1S81, Sir: — Referring to my. general instruction of the twenty-sixth ultimo, iu relation to the case of Michael P. Boyton, I now enclose to you a copy of a letter of the thirtieth of the same month from the Honorable Samuel J. Randall, in behalf of Mr. Joseph B. Walsh, a citizen of the United States, who, it appears, was arrested on the third of March last, under the provisions of the late act of Parliament, known as the " Protection Act." Mr. Walsh is represented as being imprisoned in Dublin, and it is probable that Kilmainham Jail is the place of confinement. His relatives in this country, knowing only of his arrest and imprisonment, are unable to afford the department any information as to the specific charge, if any, upon which he is held ; and it seems probable that the prisoner himself is in ignorance in regard to the particular offence for which he is thus subjected to summary detention and confinement. Mr. Walsh has been a citizen of the United States since 1875. His character as a law-abiding citizen is vouched for by well-known and respectable citizens of Pennsylvania. I enclose a copy of his certificate of naturalization. I have already indicated to you in my instruction of the twentj'-sixth of May the entire absence of any disposition on the part of this Government to interfere with the administration of the local or general municipal laws of Great Britain. The laws of that country, and especially those that relate to the personal libert}' and securit}^ of the citizen, have always been so much iu har- mony with the principles of jurisprudence cherished by Americans as a birthright, that they have never failed to command the respect of the Government and people of the United States. But whatever the necessity may be in the estimation of Her Majesty's Government for the existence and enforcement in Ireland of the exceptional legislative measures recently enacted in respect to that country, this Government cannot view with unconcern the application of the summary proceedings attendant upon the execution of these measures to natural- ized citizens of the United States of Irish origin, whose business relations may render necessary their presence in any part of the United Kingdom, or whose filial instincts and love for kindred may have prompted them to revisit their native country. If American citizens within British jurisdiction offend against British laws this Government will not seek to shield them from the legal consequences of their acts. But it must insist upon the application to their cases of those 332 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G BLAINE. commou principles of crimiual jurisprudeuce which in the United States secure to every man who offends against its laws, whether he be an American citizen or a foreign subject, those safeguards to personal liberty which afford the strongest protection against oppression under the forms of law. That an accused person shall immediately upon arrest be informed of the specific crime or offence upon which he is held, and that he shall be afforded an opportunity for a speedy trial before an impartial court and jury, are essentials to every criminal prosecution, necessary alike to the protection of innocence and the ascertainment of guilt. You will lose no time in making the necessary incjuiries into the cause of Mr. Walsh's arrest and detention, in which it is probable that Mr. Barrows, the consul at Dublin, may be able to aid you. If you shall find that the circumstances of the case, in the light of this and pre- vious instructions, are such as to call for interference on the part of this Govern- ment, you will make such temperate but earnest representations as in your judg- ment will conduce to his speedy trial, or, in case there is no specific charge against him, to his prompt release." A SECOND question which arose as early as the first service of Mr. Blaine in the office of Secretary of State was that of the attitude of certain foreign nations towards their Jewish subjects. The world knows how greatly the Hebrew race has been distressed, for several centuries together. At hardly any time has that race — dispersed as it is into many countries — had peace and rest. In our own day it would appear that Russia has been the greatest of sinners respecting the ancient seed. On the twenty-second of November, 1881, Mr. Blaine had occasion to send abroad a diplomatical paper to the representatives of the American Government in England and on the Continent. The paper runs as follows : — OPPRESSION OF THE HEBREWS IN RUSSIA. Sir : — On the twenty-sixth of July last, you transmitted a memorandum from the laws and police regulations of Russia affecting persons of the Hebrew faith, which you had received from Sir Charles Dilke, one of Her ]\Iajesty's under secretaries of state for foreign affairs. Although no information was then given as to the motive of this courteous and acceptable communication, I naturally inferred that it was in a measure the result of the consultations which the United States minister at St. Petersburg had been directed to hold informally with his British colleague at that court touching the treatment of such American or British Jews as should, because of btisiness engagements or other causes calling them to Russia, imfortunately find themselves under the operation of the proscriptive laws of the empire against all Israelites, native or foreign. The question has for some years serioiisly engaged the attention of this Government as presented in the cases of American citizens of Hebrew faith visiting Russia on peaceful, law-observing errands. Under the direction of the late President Garfield the representation of what we believed to be our just claims in the premises was vigorously renewed through the United States minister at St. LIFE x^ND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 333 Petersburg by means of instructions, of which I enclose, for your information, copies with the relative annexes. Those instructions still properly reflect the opinion of this Government that there should be a change in the treatment of American Israelites in Russia. The circumstance that the case of Mr. Lewisohn, a British siibject expelled from the Russian capital, attracted the attention of Her Majesty's Government, suggests to the President that the almost identical interests of the two Governments in the premises justify similar ac- tion on their part. The dispatches of the American envoy at St. Pe- tersburg show that the Russian min- ister for foreign affairs has made frequent assertions of a strong desire on the part of his Government to seek a solution which would har- monize all in- terests. While de- clining to admit that the existing convention may exempt American citizens from ab- ject submission to the religious laws of the land, the minister has, on several occasions, promised that the Expui.,sitjN of jkws from village of tedolsk, russia. military authorities, in the enforcement of those laws, would give to American citizens the widest practicable latitude in interpreting the obligations of the stat- utes. In point of fact, it is believed that American (and presumabl}- British) sojourners in Russia enjoy, under the almost absolute discretionary powers of the imperial military commanders, the privileges and immunities which are granted to any foreigners. This Government conceives, however, that it should not be 334 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. content with leaving the persons and the material interest of its citizens in Russia to the discretionary control of the military power, however friendly its declared purpose may be. In this conception it may very properly assume to be joined by Her Majesty's Government, which has ever been watchfully jealous of the moral freedom of its subjects in foreign lands. It must be inexpressibly painful to the enlightened statesman of Great Britain, as well as of America, to see a discarded prejudice of the dark ages gravely revived at this day — to witness an attempt to base the policy of a great and sovereign State on the mistaken theory that thrift is a crime of which the unthrifty are the innocent victims, and that discontent and disaffection are to be diminished by increasing the causes from which they arise. No student of history need be reminded of the lessons taught by the persecutions of the Jews in Central Europe and on the Spanish Peninsula. Then, as in Russia to-day, the Hebrew fared better in business than his neighbor; then, as now, his economy and patient industry bred capital, and capital bred envy, and envy bred persecution, and persecution bred disaffection and social separation. The old tradition moves in its unvarying circle— the Hebrews are made a people apart from other people, not of their own volition, but because they have been repressed and ostracized by the communities in which they reside. In Great Britain and in the United States the Israelite is not segregated from his fellowmen. His equal part in our social framework is unchallenged, liis thrift and industry add to the wealth of the State, and his loyalty and patriotism are unquestioned. It was perfectly clear to the mind of the late President that an amelioration of the treatment of American Israelites in Russia could result only from a very decided betterment of the condition of the native Hebrews, that any steps taken towards the relief of one would necessarily react in favor of the other, and that, under all the peculiar and abnormal aspects of the case, it is competent and proper to urge the subject upon the attention of Russia. To his sticcessor in the Chief iviagistracy, these conclusions are no less evident, and I am charged by the President to bring the subject to the formal attention of her Britannic Majesty's Government, in the firm belief that the community of interests between the United States and England in this great question of civil rights and equal tolerance of creed for their respective citizens in foreign lands will lead to consideration of the matter with a view to common action^ thereon. It would seem, moreover, a propitious time to initiate a movement which might also embrace other powers whose service in the work of progress is Commen- surate with our own, to the end that Russia may be influenced by their joint representations, and that their several citizens and subjects visiting the Empire on law-observing missions of private interest shall no longer be met with subjection of conscience to military forms and procedure which obtain nowhere else in Europe. You may read this dispatch to Lord Granville, and, if he desires it, leave with him a copy. You will say to him tliat, while abating no part of his LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 335 intention to press upon the Russian Government the just claim of American citizens to less harsh treatment in the empire by reason of their faith, the President will await with pleasure an opportunity for an interchange of views upon the subject with the Government of Her Majesty." At the time when Mv. Blaine became Secretary of State under Garfield, the diplomacy of the United States reached out broadly to many questions of international importance. Fortunately, nearly all of these were questions of peace. War, at that particular juncture, had smoothed somewhat his wrinkled front. In some quarters, however, there was belligerency. South America, as usual, was distracted with conflicts. Peru, Chili and Bolivia were at war. Such a state of affairs among the peoples of our sister America appealed strongl}- to Mr. Blaine's s3-mpathies and imagination. It were hard to say whj^ the thought of some of our statesmen has turned so instinctively to the South American Republics. The reader knows how sincerely Henry Clay and his followers were, in their times, devoted to the cause of republicanism south of our central isthmus. The sympathies of Mr. Blaine perhaps had a like root in certain features of policy that were common to him and that statesman, whom the Avorld has insisted on regarding as his prototype. As early as the ninth of May, 1881, the Secretary of State began to send dispatches to Mr. Christiancj', at that time minister of the United States at the capital of Peru. This first communication was followed with a letter of instructions under date of June 15, 1 88 1, and this in its turn was followed with a third communication bearing date of August 4 of the same year. The last two dispatches were directed to Mr. Hurlbut, who had been sent on a mission from the United States to Peru. Garfield was now lying on his death-bed and the Secretary of State, no doubt, foresaw the end. We may believe that he was disturbed by the situation. In it he perceived the speedy termination of his cherished policies. After the death of the President he continued on November 17, two days afterwards, and still again on the twentj'-second, to carry forward his diplomatical correspondence with the representatives of the Government in Peru and other South American capitals. The war among the Republics was distressing, and we may perceive in the communications of the Secretary a strong desire to prevent the continu- ation of hostilities. We may not here consider what might have been the result of the negotiations had Garfield lived and Blaine been able to pursue his policies to their logical termination. Up to the end of the term of his service he continued to press his influence for whatever it might bring in the way of securing peace and restoration to the belligerent Republics of South America. As late as first of December, 1881, we find him addressing to Hon. William H. Prescott, special envoy of the United States to Peru, Chili and Bolivia, the following communication : — WAR OF PERU, CHILI AND BOLIVIA. Sir : — While the circumstances under which the President has deemed it proper to charge you with a special mission to the Republics of Chili, Peru 336 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. and Bolivia render it necessar}' that mucli shall be confided to your own discretion, it is desirable that you should be placed in full possession of his views as to the general line of conduct which you will be expected to pursue. For this purpose it is not necessary at present to go farther back in the history of the unfortunate relations between Chili on the one hand and Peru and Bolivia on the other, than the time when the defeat of General Pierola, his abandonment of the capital and the coast, and their occupation by the Chilian army, seemed to have put an end to all responsible native govern- ment in Peru. Lima having been surrendered on the nineteenth of January, 1881, Pierola driven across the mountains, the Chilian military occupation consolidated ; and the Chilian Government refusing to recognize Pierola as representing the Government o f Peru, it became absolutely neces- sar}^ that some Government should be estab- lished, if Peru were not to re- main simplj' a military district of Chili. O n February 25, 1881, Mr. Christiancy, the United States Minister at Lima, wrote this de- partment as fol- lows : " A movement has, therefore, been initiated among some of the leading citizens of Lima and Callao, and encouraged by the Chilian authorities, to establish a new Government in oppo- sition to that of Pierola (who is still at Tacna or Yareja)." From this date to April 13, 18S1, Mr. Christiancy kept the department informed of the probabilities of the establishment of the Calderon Government, so called from the name of the eminent Peruvian statesman who had been chosen President. On that date he wrote : — " In my own private opinion, however, if the provisional government had come up without any appearance of support from the Chilian authorities, it would have had many elements of popularity and would probably have succeeded in obtaining the acquiescence of the people. This new Government realizes CHIU-PERinriAN WAR. — DEFEAT OF PERtTi'IANS AT TACNA. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 337 tlie importance of an early peace with Chili, the necessity of which must be recognized by every thoughtful man; while that of Pierola professes to intend to carry on the war; but it has no means for the purpose at present, and my own opinion is that any effort to do so will end in still greater calamities to Peru." On May 23, the same minister, in a postscript to his dispatch of the. seventeenth, says : — i " Since writing the above it has become still more probable that the threat of ' indefinite occupation ' was intended only to drive the Peruvians into the support of the provisional government, as two days ago they allowed the Govern- ment to send seventy-five soldiers to Tacna, Oroyo, etc., to control that part of the countr}-, so as to allow the members of Congress to come to Lima ; and CHILI-PERirviAN WAR, — CIirr^ANS CAPTURING PISAGUA. it now begins to look as if Calderon might secure a quorum (two-thirds) of the Congress. If he does succeed, it will be some evidence that Peru acquiesces in that Government. And if he gets the two-thirds of the members, I think I shall recognize the provisional government, or that of the Congress and the President they may elect, unless in the meantime I shall receive other instructions." On the ninth of May, iSSi, instructions had been sent to him from this department, which crossed this dispatch, in which he was told : — " If the Calderon Government is supported by the character and intelligence of Peru, and is really endeavoring to restore constitutional government with a view both to order within and negotiation with Chili for peace, you may recog- nize it as the existing provisional government, and render what aid you can b}' advice and crood offices to that end." 338 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. x'Vctiug under these instructions, although with some expressed doubt as to the probable permanence of its existence, Mr. Christiancy, on the twenty-sixth of June, iSSi, formally recognized the Calderon Government. It is clear that this recognition was not an unfriendl}' intervention as far as the wishes and interests of Chili were concerned, for under date of May 7, 1881, two da3's before these instructions of the ninth were sent to Mr. Christianc}', Mr. Osboru, the United States Minister to Chili, wrote from Santiago as follows : — " In my dispatch of April 5, regarding the war in this section, I mentioned the fact that the minister of war, Mr. Vergara, who had been with the army at Lima, had been sent for, and was then on his way to Chili. Since his arrival the Government has labored to reach a conclusion touching the course to be pursued with Peru, and to that end numerous and extended discussions among the ministers and prominent citizens of the Republic, w-ho had been invited to participate, have taken place. Three plans or propositions were dis- cussed : First, that spoken of by me in my No. 201, involving the withdrawal of the army to Arica ; second, the occupation of the entire Peruvian coast by the Chilian forces, and its government by Chilian aiithorities ; and third, the strengthening of the Government of Calderon, and the negotiation of a peace therewith. The propriety of entering into negotiations with Pierola was not even dignified with a consideration. After much labor the Government reached the conclusion that the last proposition afforded the easiest way out of their complications, and it has been determined to send Mr. Godo}^ to Peru, in charge of the negotiations. . . . The ministry has freely counseled with me regarding the difficulties of the sitiiation, and in view of their previous deter- mination to have nothing to do with Pierola, I cannot but applaud the result of their deliberations. To vacate the country now woiild be to turn it over to anarchy, and to attempt to occupy the entire coast would, in time, involve both countries in ruin. The most feasible way to peace is, in ni}' opinion, the one resolved upon. In fact it is the onl}- one which offers an}' reasonable hope of a solution of the difficulties during the present generation." In giving the support of recognition to the Calderon Government, there- fore, so far was this Government from doing what could be considered an unfriendly act to Chili, that it was, in fact, giving its aid to the very policy which Chili avowed, and which, in the opinion of competent judges, was the only method of reasonable solution. This conclusion of the Government was confirmed by the information which was transmitted to the Department by General Kilpatrick, who succeeded ]\Ir. 0,sborn as the United States Minister to Chili. General Kilpatrick was appointed after the recognition of the Calderon Government, and was furnished with instructions to which I have alreadj- referred. In his dispatch, under date August 15, 1881, he says: — " I have the honor to report that, so far as the assurance of public men can be relied upon, your iustructions have been complied with ; j-our ideas of final LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 339 peace accepted, not onl}- by the present administration at Santiago, but still better of Seiior Santa Maria, the President-elect, whose administration -will have begun when you receive this note." General Kilpatrick then proceeds to give a detailed account of a long inter- view with the leading and most influential members of the Chilian Government, in which he quotes the following as the final assurances given to him by the Chilian Secretar}^ of State : — " You ma}^ therefore say to your Government that e\-ery effort would be given by Chili to strengthen the Government of President Cal- deron, giving to it the most perfect freedom of action, considering the Chilian occupa- tion ; that no ques- tion of Chilian an- nexation would be touched until a constitutional gov- ernment could be established in Peru, acknowl- edged and re- spected b)^ the peo- ple, with full powers to enter into diplomatic negotiations for peace ; that no ter- ritory would be exacted unless Chili failed to se- cure ample and just indemnification in other and satisfactory ways, as also ample security for the future ; and that in no case would Chili exact territory save where Chilian enterprise and Chilian capital had developed the desert and where to-day nine-tenths of the people were Chilian." But after this recognition, made in entire good faith to both parties, three things followed : — I. The presence of a United States Minister at Lima accredited to the GENERAL KILPATRICK. 340 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Calderou Government, and the reception in Washington of a minister from that Government, gave it, nnquestionabl}', increased strength and confidence. 2. The adherents of Pierola, realizing the necessity of peace and the existence of a stable government to negotiate it, gradually abandoned the forlorn hope of continued resistance, and gave their adhesion to the Calderon Government. 3. The Congress which assembled within the nevitral zone set apart for that purpose by the Chilian authorities, and which was further allowed by the Chilian Government to provide for the military impositions b}' the use of the national credit, and was thus recognized as the representative of the Peruvian people, authorized President Calderon to negotiate a peace, but upon the condition that no territory should be ceded. As soon as these facts indicated the possibility of a real and independent vitality in the constitution of the Calderon Government the Chilian military authorities issued an order forbidding any exercise of its functions within the territory occupied by the Chilian army — that is, within the entire territor}^ west of the mountains, including the capital and ports of Peru. Uuable to understand this sudden and, giving due regard to the professions of Chili, this unaccountable change of policy, this Government instructed its minister at Lima to continue to recognize the Calderon Government until more complete information would enable it to send further instructions. If our present information is correct, immediately upon the receipt of this communication the}- arrested President Calderon, and thiis, as far as was in their power, extinguished his government. The President does not now insist iipon the inference which this action would warrant. He hopes that there is some explanation which will relie\e him from tlie painful impression that it was taken in resentful reph' to the continued recognition of the Calderon Government by the United States. If, unfortunately, he should be mistaken, and this motive be avowed, your dut}- will be a brief one. You will say to the Chilian Government that the President considers such a proceeding as an intentional and unwarranted offence, and that vou will communicate such an avowal to the Government of the United States, with the assurance that it will be regarded b}^ the Government as an act of such unfriendly import as to require the immediate suspension of all diplomatic intercourse. You will inform me immediately of such a contingency and instructions will be sent you. But I do not anticipate such an occurrence. From the information before the department, of which you are possessed, it is more probable that this course will be explained by an allegation that the conduct and language of the United States Minister in Peru had encouraged the Calderon Government to such resistance of the wishes of Chili as to render the negotiation of a satisfactory- treaty of peace with the Calderon Government impossible. Any explanation which relieves this action by the Chilian Government of the character of an intentional offence will be received b}^ you to that extent, provided it does not require as a condition precedent the disavowal of ]\Ir. Hurlbut. Whatever may LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. 341 be my opiuiou as to the discretion of all that may have been said or done by Mr. Hnrlbut, it is impossible for me to recognize the right of the Chilian Government to take such action without si:bmitting to the consideration of this Government any cause of complaint against the proceedings of the represent- ative of the United States. The Chilian Government was in possession of the instructions sent to our minister at the capital of Peru, as well as those to his colleague at Santiago. There was no pretence that the conduct of General Kilpatrick was anything but friendly. Chili was represented here by a minister who enjoyed the confidence of his Government, and nothing can justify the assumption that the United States was acting a double part in its relations to the two countries. If the conduct of the United States minister seemed inconsistent with what Chili had every reason to know was the friendh- intention of the United States, a courteous representation through the Chilian minister here would have enabled this Government promptly to correct or confirm him. You are not therefore authorized to make to the Chilian Government any explanation of the conduct of General Hurlbut, if that Gov- ernment, not having afforded us the opportunity of accepting or disavowing his conduct, insists upon making its interpretation of his proceed- ings the justification of its recent action. It is hoped, however, that you will be able, by communication at once, firm and temperate, to avoid these embarrassments. If you should fortunately reach the point where frank, mutual explanation can be made without the sacrifice of that respect which every Government owes to itself, you will then be at liberty, conforming your explanation to the recent instruction to Mr. Hurlbut, with a copy of which you are furnished, to show to the Govern- ment of Chili how much both his words and acts have been misconceived. It is difficult for me to say how far an explanation would be satisfactory to the President which was not accompanied by the restoration or recognition of the Calderon Government. The objects which he has at heart are, first, to prevent the misery, confusion, and bloodshed which the present relations between Chili and Peru seem only too certain to renew ; and, second, to take care that in any friendly attempt to reach this desirable end the Government of the United States is treated with the respectful consideration to which its disinterested purpose, its legitimate influence, and its established position entitle it. The President feels in this matter neither irritation nor resentment. He regrets that Chili seems to have misconceived both the spirit and intention of the Government of the United States, and he thinks her course has been PRESIDENT CALDERON, OF PERU. 342 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. iticonsiderate. He will gladly learn that a calmer and wiser judgment directs her counsels, and asks in no exacting spirit the correction of what were perhaps natural misunderstandings. He woiild be satisfied with the manifesta- tion of a sincere purpose on the part of Chili to aid Peru, either in restoring the present provisional government or establishing in its place one which v/ill be allowed the freedom of action necessary to insure internal order and to conduct a real negotiation to some substantial result. Should the Chilian Government, while disclaiming any intention of offence, maintain its right to settle its difficulties with Peru without the friendl}- intervention of other Powers, and refuse to allow the formation of any Govern- ment in Peru which does not pledge its consent to the cession of Peruvian territory, it will be your dut}-, in language as strong as is consistent wath the respect due to an independent Power, to express the disappointment and dissatis- faction felt by the United States at such a deplorable policy. You will say that this Government recognizes without reserve the right of Chili to adequate idemnity for the cost of the war, and a sufficient guarantee that it will not again be subjected to hostile demonstration from Peru ; and further, that if Peru is unable or unwilling to furnish such idemnity, the right of conquest has put it in the power of Chili to supply it, and the reasonable exercise of that right, however much its necessit}^ may be regretted, is not ground of legitimate complaint on the pirt of other Powers. But this Govern- ment feels that the exercise of the right of absolute conquest is dangerous to the best interests of all the Republics of this continent ; that from it are certain to spring other wars and political distiirbances ; and that it imposes, even upon the conqueror, burdens which are scarcely compensated b}' the apparent increase of strength which it gives. This Government also holds that between two independent nations, the mere existence of war does not confer the right of conquest until the failure to furnish the indemnity and guarantee which can be rightfully demanded. The United States maintains, therefore, that Peru has the right to demand that an opportunity should be allowed her to find such indemnity and guarantee. Nor can this Government admit that a cession of territory can be properh' exacted far exceeding in value the amplest estimate of a reasonable indemnit}'. Already, by force of its occupation, the Chilian Government has collected large sums from Peru ; and it has been openly and officially asserted in the Chilian Congress that these military impositions have furnished a surplus be}'ond the cost of maintaining its armies in that occupation. The annexation of Tarapaca, which, under proper administration, would produce annually a sum sufficient to pay a large indemnity, seems not to be consistent with the execution of justice. The practical prohibition of the formation of a stable government in Peru, and the absolute appropriation of its most valuable territory, is simpl}^ the extinction of a State which has formed part of the system of Republics on this LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 343' continent, "honorable in the traditions and illustrations of its past histor}-, and rich in resources for future progress. The United States, with which Peru has for many years maintained the most cordial relations, has the right to feel and to express a deep interest in her distressed condition ; and while, cherishing equal friendliness to Chili, we will not interpose to deprive her of the fair advantages of military success, nor put any obstacle to the attainment of future security, we cannot regard with unconcern the destruction of Peruvian nationality. If our good offices are rejected, and this policy of the absorption of an independ- ent State be persisted in, this Government will consider itself discharged from any further obligation to be influenced in its action by the position which Chili has assumed, and will hold itself free to appeal to the other Republics of this continent to join it in an effort to avert consequences which cannot be confined to Chili and Peru, but which threaten with extreme danger the political institutions, the peaceful progress, and the liberal civilization of all America. If, however, none of these embarrassing obstacles supervene, and Chili receives in a friendly spirit the representations of the United States, it will be your purpose — First — To concert such measures as will enable Peru to establish a regular Government, and initiate negotiation. Second — To induce Chili to consent to such negotiation without cession of territory as a condition precedent. Third — To impress upon Chili that in such negotiation she ought to allow Peru a fair opportunity to provide for a reasonable indemnity ; and, in this connection, to let it be understood that the United States would consider the imposition of an extravagant indemnity, so as to make the cession of territory necessary in satisfaction, as more than is justified by the actual cost of the war, and as a solution threatening renewed difficulty between the two countries. As it is probable that some time will elapse before the completion of all the arrangements necessary for a final negotiation, this Government would suggest a temporary' convention, which, recognizing the spirit of our present friendly representation, would bring Peru and Chili into amicable conference and provide for a meeting of plenipotentiaries to negotiate a permanent treaty of peace. If negotiation be assured, the ability of Peru to furnish the indemnity will be a matter of direct interest. Upon this subject we ha^'e no information upon which definite instructions can now be based. While you will carefully abstain from any interposition in this connection, you will examine and report to this department promptly any plans which may be suggested. You will not indicate any wish that the Government of the United States should act as umpire in the adjudications between the contending powers. Should an invitation to that effect be extended, you will communicate by telegraph for instructions. The single and simple desire of this Government is to see a just and honorable peace at the earliest day practicable, and if any other American Government can more effectively aid in producing this auspicious 544 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAIXE. result, the Uuited States will cordially sustain it and lend such co-operation as the circumstances may demand." The foreign policy of the Government of the United States has, for the last quarter of a century, had the same tone towards Mexico as towards the South American Republics. In his sympathy with the former State Mr. Blaine has been bv no means singular. General Grant had a ver}^ strong esteem for our sister republic, and his feelings and instincts in that direction were shown in man}- of his pub- lic papers. Mexico, as well as Peru, Boli- via and Chili, came in for consid-eration during the service of Secretary Blaine under Garfield. At that time Mr. Morgan was our minister in Mexico, and to him Blaine, writing un- der date of June i, 1 88 1, sent the fol- lowing dispatch: — OUR FRIENDLY RE- LATIONS WITH MEXICO. Sir: — As the re- lations between the Government of the United States and that of Mexico hap- pily grow more ami- cable and intimate, it is but natural that a disposition should in like manner be de- veloped between the citizens of the respective countries to seek new means of fostering their material interests, and that the ties which spring from commercial interchange should tend to grow and strengthen with the growing and strengthening spirit of good-will which animates both peoples. That this spirit exists is the most grateful proof that the frank and conciliatory policy of the United States towards Mexico has borne and is bearing good fruit. This is especially visible in the rapidly extending desire on the part of the citizens of this country to take an active share in the i'UESIDENT DIAZ, OH MEXICO. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 345 prosecution of those industrial enterprises for which the resources of IMexico offer so broad and promising a field, as well as in the responsive and increasing disposition which is manifest on the part of the Mexican people to welcome such projects. No fact in the historical relations of the two great Republics of the Northern Continent gives happier promise for both, and it is a source of especial gratification to this Government that the jealousies and distrusts which have at times clouded the perfect friendship of the two Governments are thus 3-ielding to the more wholesome spirit of reciprocal frankness and confidence. It seems proper at this time, when a new administration has constitu- tionalh' and peacefullj^ come into power in Mexico, devoted to fulfilling and ex- tending the just policy of its prede- cessor, to call 3'our attention to those general precepts which, in the judg- ment of the President, should govern the relations between the two Republics, :and to bear testimony to which will be your most important dut}^ as the dip- lomatic representative of the United States. The record of the last fifteen years nnust have removed from the minds of the enlightened statesmen of Mexico every lingering doubt touching the policy of the United States toward her sister Republic. That policy is one of faithful and impartial recognition of the independence and the integrity of the IMexican nation. At this late day it needs no disclaimer on our part of the existence of even the faintest desire in the United States for territorial extension south of the Rio Grande. The boundaries of the two Republics have been long settled in conformity with the best jurisdictional interests of both. The line of demarcation is not conventional merely. It is more than that. It separates a Spanish-American people from a Saxon-American people. It divides one great nation from another with distinct and natural finality. The increasing prosperity of both commonwealths can only draw into closer union the friendly feeling, the political sympathy and the varied interests which their history and neigh- borhood have created and encouraged. In all your intercourse with the Mexican Government and people it must be your chief endeavor to reflect this firm conviction of your Government. DON MATIOS RiJMI:Rii, Ml.XICAN MI N I^l'I^ R . 340 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. It is a source of profound gratification to the Government of the United States that the political condition of Mexico is so apparently and assuredly in the path of stability, and the administration of its constitutional government so regular, that it can offer to foreign capital that just and certain protection without which the prospect even of extravagant profit will fail to tempt the extension of commercial and industrial enterprise. It is still more gratifying that with a full comprehension of the political and social advantages of such a mode of developing the material resources of the country, the Government of ^Mexico cordially lends its influence to the spirit of welcome and encourage- ment with which the Mexican people seem disposed to greet the importation of wealth and enterprise. Tlie present progress in this direction by the National Government of ^klexico is but an earnest of the great good which may be accomplished when the intimate and necessary relations of the two countries and peoples are better understood than now. To conduce to this better understanding must be your constant labor. While, therefore, carefully avoiding all appearance of advocacy of any personal undertakings which citizens of the United States may desire to initiate in Mexico, you will take every opportunity which you may deem judi- cious to make clear the spirit and motive that control this movement in the direction of developing Alexican resources. You will impress upon the Govern- ment of ^Mexico the earnest wish and hope felt by the people and Government of this country that these resources may be multiplied and rendered fruitful for the primary benefit of the Mexican people themselves ; that the forms of consti- tutional and stable government may be strengthened as domestic wealth increases and as the conserv^ative spirit of widely distributed and permanent vested interests is more and more felt ; that the administration of the Mexican finances, fostered b}' these healthful tendencies, may be placed upon a firm basis ; that the rich sections of the great territory of the Republic may be brought into closer intercommunication ; in a word, that Mexico may promptly and firmly assume the place towards which she is so manifestly tending as one of the most pros- perous and well-ordered States in the harmonious system of Western Republics. In future dispatches more detailed instructions will be given you, touching certain points of interest to the two Governments in the direction of an enlarged reciprocal trade and interchange of commodities. It is my present design simply to acquaint you with the President's views and feeling towards Mexico, and with the spirit which will animate his policy. You can read this dispatch to the minister of foreign affairs, and, if he desires, leave a copy of it with him." The " Detailed Instriictions " referred to in next to the last paragraph of the above communication were given in a second communication from the Department of State, under date of June i6, iSSi, as follows: — Sir : — In my instructions of the first instant, I endeavored to set forth the spirit of good-will which animates this Government towards Mexico. I trust LIEE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 347 no doubt cau remain as to the sincerity of our friendship. Believing that this friendship, and the frankness which has always distinguished the policy of this country towards its neighbors, warrant the tender of amicable counsel when occasion therefor shall appear, and deeming such counsel due to our recog- nized impartiality, and to the position of the United States as the founder, and, in some sense, the guarantor and guardian of Republican principles on the American Continent, it seems proper now to call your attention to a subject touching which we feel some natural concern. I refer to the ques- tion of boundaries and territorial jurisdictiou pending between Mexico and Guatemala. In the time of the Empire, the forces of Iturbide overran a large part of the territory of what now constitutes Central America, which had then recently thrown off the Spanish domination. The changing fortunes of war resulted in the withdrawal of IMexican forces from most of that region, except the important provinces of Soconusco and Chiapas, which remained under their control. Since that time the boundaries between the two countries have never been adjusted upon a satisfactory basis. Mexico, becoming a Republic, did not forego claims based on the imperial policy of conquest and absorption, while Guatemala, resisting further progress of Mexican arms, and disputing, step by step, the conquests already made, has never been able to come to a decision with her more powerful neighbor concerning the relative extension of their jurisdiction in the disputed strip of territory lyincj between the Gulf of Tehuantepec and the Peninsula of Yucatan. Under these circumstances, the Government of Guate- mala has made a formal application to the President of the United States to lend his good offices towards the restoration of a better state of feeling between the two Republics. This appli- cation is made in frank and conciliatory terms, as to the natural protector of the rights and national integrity of the Republican forms of Govern- ment existing near our shores, and to which we are bound by many ties of history and of material interest. This Government can do no less than give friendly and considerate heed to the representations of Guatemala, even as it would be glad to do were appeal made by Mexico, in the interest of justice and a better understanding. Events, fresh in the memory of the living generation of Alexicans, when the moral and material support of the United States, although then engaged in a desperate domestic struggle, was freely lent to avert the danger which a foreign empire threatened to the national life of the Mexican Republic, afford a gratifying proof of the unselfishness with which the United States regards all that concerns the welfare and existence of its sister Republics of the continent. GENERAL M. L. BARELLAS, Piesiflent of GauleiiKilsi. S4S LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. It is alleged, on behalf of Guatemala, that diplomatic efforts to come to a better understanding with Mexico have proved unavailing; that under a partial and preliminary accord looking to the ascertainment of the limits in dispute, Guatemalan surveying parties, sent out to study the land, with a view to proposing a basis of definitive settlement, have been imprisoned by the Mexican authorities ; that Guatemalan agents for the taking of a census of the inhabitants of the territory in question have been dealt with in like summary manner ; and, in fine, that the Government of Mexico has slowly but steadily encroached upon the bordering country heretofore held by Guatemala, substituting the local authorities of Mexico for those already in possession, and so widening the area in contention. It is not the province of the United States to express an opinion as to the extent of either the Guatemalan or the Mexican claim to this region. This Government is not a self-constituted arbiter of the destinies of either country, or of both, in this matter. It is simply the impartial friend of both, ready to tender frank and earnest counsel touching anything which may menace the peace and prosperity of its neighbors. It is, above all. anxious to do any and everything which will tend to make stronger the natural union of the Republics ■of the continent, in the face of the tendencies of other and distant forms of government to influence the internal affairs of Spanish America. It is especially anxious, in the pursuance of this policy, to see the Central American Republics more securely united than they have been in protection of their common interests, which interests are, in their outward relations, identical in principle with those of Mexico and the United States. It feels that everything which may lessen the good will and harmony earnestly to be desired between the Spanish-American Republics of the Isthmus must in the end disastrously affect their mutual well-being. The responsibility for the maintenance of this common attitude of united strength is, in the President's conception, shared by all, and rests no less upon the strong States than upon the weak. Without, therefore, in any way prejudicing the contention between Mexico and Guatemala, but acting as the unbiased counselor of both, the President deems it his duty to set before the Government of Mexico his conviction of the danger to the principles that Mexico has signally and successfully defended in the past, which would ensue should disrespect be shown for the boundaries that separate her from her weaker neighbors, or should the authority of force be resorted to in the establishment of rights over territory which they claim, without the conceded justification of her title thereto. Especially would the President regard it as an unfriendly act toward his cherished plan of upbuilding strong Republican governments in Spanish America, if Mexico, whose power and generosity should be alike signal in such a case, should seek or permit any misunderstanding with Guatemala, when the path towards a pacific avoidance of trouble is an international duty at once easy and imperative. You are directed to request an interview with Sefior Mariscal, in which to acquaint him with the purport of this instruction. In doing so, your judgment LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 34& and discretion may have full scope to avoid any misunderstanding on liis part of the spirit of friendly counsel which prompts the President's ccurse. Should Senor Mariscal evince a disposition to become more intimately acquainted with the President's views after your verbal exposition thereof, you are at liberty to read this dispatch to him, and, should he so desire, to give him a copy." On the twenty-first of June, 1881, Mr. Blaine continued the correspondence by sending to our minister in Mexico the following snmmarj^ of the views of the Government of the United States relative to the broken relations of Mexico and Guatemala : — Sir : — I had hardly completed my instruction to you of the sixteenth instant, when information reached me from the United States minister at the Guatemalan capital, placing in a still graver light the condition of the relations between IMexico and Guatemala, touching the possession of the territory of Soconusco. tn fact, so serious is the apprehension caused in the mind of the President by these untoward reports, that I feel constrained to supplement my previous instructions to you on the sub- ject with even more energy and directness. It would appear now that the movement on the part of ]Mexico was not merely to obtain possession of the disputed territory, but to precipitate hostilities with Guatemala, with the ultimate view of extending her borders b}- actual conquest. Large bodies of Mexican troops are said to be on their way to Soco- nusco, and the exigenc}^ is reported to be so alarming that plans for national defence are uppermost in the minds of President Barrios and his advisers. Frequent border raids into [ Guatemalan territory have inflamed the pas- senor ignacio mariscal, sions of the residents of the frontier country, Mexican secretary of state. and the imminence of a collision is very great. Of the possible consequence of war it may be premature to speak, but the information possessed by the Department intimates the probable extension of hostilities to the other Central American States and their eventual absorption into the Mexican federal system. I cannot believe it possible that these designs seriously enter into the policy of the Mexican Government. Of late years the American movement towards permanence of international boundaries has been so marked, and so essential a part of the continental policy of the American Republics, that any departure therefrom becomes necessarily a menace to the interests of all. This is a matter touching which the now established policy of the Govern- ment of the United vStates to refrain from territorial acquisition gives it the right to use its friendly offices in discouragement of any movement on the part of 350 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. neighboring States which may teud to disturb the balance of power between them. More than this, the maintenance of this honorable attitude of example involves to a large extent a moral obligation on our part, as the disinterested friend of all our sister States, to exert our influence for the preservation of the national life and integrity of anj^ one of them against aggression, whether this may come from abroad or from another American Republic. No State in the American system has more unequivocally condemned the forcible extension of domain, at the expense of a weaker neighbor, than Mexico herself; and no State more heartily concurs in the condemnation of filibusterism in every form than the United States. It is clearly to the mutual interest of the two countries, to whose example the success of Repi:blican institutions on this continent is largely due, that their policy- in this regard should be identical and unmistakable. As long as the broadened international diplomacy of our day affords peace* able recourse to principles of equit}^ and justice in settlement of controversies like that between Mexico and Guatemala, the outbreak of a war between them would, in the judgment of the President, involve much graver results than the mere transitory disturbance of the eiifciifr cordialc so much desired by the United States Government between all the American Republics. Besides the transfers of territory which might follow as enforced compensation for the costs of a war, it is easy to forsee the serious complications and consequent dangers to the American s3-stem, should an opening be afforded to foreign Powers to throw their influence or force into the scale in determination of the contest. Alexico herself has but too recentlv recovered from the effects of such a foreign constraint not to appreciate at its full force the consideration thus presented. The peaceful maintenance of the status quo of the American commonwealths is of the \ery essence of their policy of harmonious alliance for self-preservation, and is of even more importance to Mexico than to the United States. I have adverted in my dispatch of the sixteenth instant to the desire of the United States that its neighbors should possess strong and prosperous govern- ments, to the assurance of their tranquillitv from internal disturbance and outside interference. While we wish this happy result for Mexico, we equally wish it for the other vSpanish-American nations. It is no less indispensable to the welfare of Central America than of IMexico, and, by moral influence and the interposition of good offices, it is the desire and the intention of the United vStates to hold up the Repiiblics of Central America in their old strength and to do all that may be done towards insuring the tranquillity of their relations among themselves and their collective security as an association of allied interests, possess- ing in their common relationship to the outer world all the elements of national existence. In this enlarged policj^ we confidently ask the co-operation of Mexico. A contrary course on her part could only be regarded as an unwise step, while any movement directh- leading to the absorption, in whole or part, of her weaker neighbors woxild be deemed an act unfriendl}- to the best interests of America. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 351 It is desired that j^ou should make earnest but calm representation of these views of the President to the Mexican minister of foreign affairs. In addition to embodying the main points of my previous instruction, 3-ou will make use of such temperate reasoning as will serve to show Seiior Mariscal that we expect every effort to be made by his Government to avert a conflict with Guatemala, by diplomatic means, or, these failing, by resort to arbitration. You will intimate to Seiior Mariscal discreetly, but distinctly, that the good feeling between INIexico and the United States will be fortified b}- a frank avowal VIEW OF GAUTEMALA. that the Mexican policy toward the neighboring States is not one of conquest or aggrandizement, but of conciliation, peace and friendship. I have written this instruction rather to strengthen your own hands in the execution of the delicate and responsible duty thus confided to j-on than with a view to its formal communication to Seiior Mariscal by leaving a cop}- of it with him. If, in your discretion, the important ends in view will be subserved by your making the minister acquainted with portions hereof, j'ou are at libertj- to do so, while regarding the instruction as a whole in a confidential light, and 352 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. as supplementary to my instructions of the sixteenth, which you have been authorized to communicate hi c.v/ciiso, if desirable." Again, on November 28, the vSecretary continues as follows ; — Dkpartmkxt of Statk, Washington, Nov. 28, 1881. Sir : — Referring to ^^our correspondence witli this Department since its instruction tendering the good offices of the Government of the United States in aid of the amicable settlement of the differences between Mexico and Guate- mala, I have to remark that it would be a matter of the gravest disappoint- ment if I found myself compelled to agree with you in the conclusion which you seem to have reached in your last dispatch. Reporting in your dispatch of September 22, 1S81, your most recent conversation with Seiior Mariscal, the Mexican secretary for foreign affairs, you say : — " I venture to suggest that, unless the Government is prepared to announce to the Mexican Government that it will actively, if necessary, preserve the peace, it would be the part of wisdom on our side to leave the matter where it is. Negotiations on the subject will not benefit Guatemala, and you may depend upon it what we have alread}^ done in this direction has not tended to the increasing of the cordial relations w^hich I know it is so much your desire to cultivate with this nation." " To leave the matter where it is," you must perceive, is simply useless,, for it will not remain there. The friendl}- relations of the United States and Mexico would certainly not be promoted by the refusal of the good offices of this Government, tendered in a spirit of the most cordial regard both for the interests and honor of Mexico, and suggested onlv by the earnest desire to prevent a war, useless in its purpose, deplorable in its means, and dangerous to the best interests of all the Central American Republics in its consequences. To put aside such an amicable intervention as an unfriendly intrusion, or to- treat it as I regret to see the IMexican secretary for foreign aifairs seems dis- posed, as a partisan manifestation on behalf of claims which we have not examiiied and interests which we totally misunderstand, can certainly not con- tribute " to the increasing of the cordial relations which you know it is so much our desire to cultivate with Mexico." But, more than this, " to leave the matter where it is " is to leave Mexico and Guatemala confronting each other in armed hostilit}-, with the certainty that irritation and anger on the one side and extreme apprehension on the other Avill develop some untoward incident leading to actual collision. In such event no successful resistance can be anticipated on the part of Guatemala. Whether the claims of Mexico be moderate or extravagant, whether the cession of territory be confined to the present alleged boundary lines or be extended to meet the necessities of a war indemnity, there would be another lamentable demonstration on this continent of the so-called right of conquest, the general LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 353 disturbance of the friendl}- relations of the American Republics, and the post- ponement for an indefinite period of that sympathy of feeling, that community of purpose, and that unit}- of interest, upon the development of which depends the future prosperity of these countries. The Republic of Guatemala, one of those American Republics in whose fortunes this Government naturall}- feels a friendly interest, communicated to this Government that there existed between it and Mexico certain differences which, after much diplomatic consultation, had failed to reach a satisfactory settlement. Recognizing the relation of the United States to all the Republics of this continent, aware of the friendl}- services which this Government has never failed to render to Mexico, and presuming, not unnaturall}-, that Mexico would receive our amicable counsel with cordiality and confidence, the Govern- ment of Guatemala asked our good offices with that Power for the purpose of inducing it to submit to an impartial arbitration those differences upon which thev had been unable to agree. To refuse such a request would not only have been a violation of inter- national courtesy to Guatemala, but an indication of a want of confidence in the purposes and character of the r^Iexican Government which we could not and did not entertain. In tendering our good offices, the Mexican Government was distinctl)^ informed that the United States "is not a self-constituted arbitrator of the destinies of either country or of both in this matter. It is simply the impartial friend of both, ready to tender frank and earnest counsel touching anything which may menace the peace and prosperity of its neighbors." Before this instruction could have reached you, information was received that large bodies of Mexican troops had been ordered to the frontier in dis- pute. You were therefore directed to urge upon the Alexican Government the propriety of abstaining from all such hostile demonstration in order to afford opportunity for the friendly solution of the differences between the two Governments. It is unnecessary now to repeat the reasons which 3-011 were instructed to submit to the consideration of the Mexican Government, ■w-hich were stated in the most earnest and friendly spirit, and which were communicated by you to the Mexican secretary for foreign affairs with entire fidelit3^ I now learn from your dispatches that our information was correct ; that Mexican troops have been ordered to the disputed boundary line, and that, while the Mexican Government does not absolutely reject a possible future arbitration, it is unwilling to postpone its own action to further discussion, and does not receive the good offices of this Government in the spirit in which they have been tendered. The United States does not pretend to direct the policy of Mexico, nor has it made any pretension to decide in advance upon the merits of the controversy between Mexico and Guatemala. The Mexican Government is, of course, free to decline our counsel, however friendly But it 23 354 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. is necessary that we should know distinctl_y what the Mexican Government has decided. It is useless, and from your dispatches I infer it would be irritating, to keep before the Government of Mexico the offer of friendly inter- vention, while, on the other hand, it would not be just to Guatemala to hold that Government in suspense as to whether there was a possiblility of the acceptance of the amicable mediation which we have offered. You will, therefore, upon the receipt of this instruction, ask for an inter- view with the secretary for foreign affairs. You will press upon his recon- sideration the views which you have already submitted to him ; assure him of the earnestness with which this Government desires a peaceful solution of the existing differences, and inform him of our profound regret and disappointment that the tender of our good offices has not been received in the spirit in which it was made. You will, if he affords you the opportunity, endeavor to enforce the practicability of the solution which you suggested both to himself and the Gua- temalan minister, by which the arbitra- tion could be limited to the qiiestion of boundary without involving the title to the province of Chiapas. If the Government of jMexico should be disposed to accept an arbitration, lim- ited in its points of settlement — as M. Herrara, the Guatemalan minister has indicated as probably acceptable to his Government — you will ask the assur- ance of the Mexican Government that pending the discussions necessary to per- fect such an arrangement all hostile demonstration should be avoided, and, if possible, that the Mexican troops should be withdrawn from the immediate vicinity of the disputed boundary. But this latter request you will not insist upon, if it should be an obstacle to obtaining the consent of Mexico to a limited arbitration. Should the Mexican Government, however, decide that it is not consistent with its views to accept a friendly intervention in the differences between itself and Guatemala, you will inform the secretary for foreign affairs that ^-ou accept this decision as undoubtedly within the clear right of Mexico. You will express the very deep and sincere regret which this Government will feel if it shall find the powerful Republic of Mexico un^villing to join the Government of the United States in maintaining and establishing the principle of friendly arbitration for international differences on the continent of America. Mexico M. HERRARA, Guatomulun Minister LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 355 and the United States, acting in cordial harmony, can induce all the other independent governments of North and South America to aid in fixing this policy of peace for all future disputes between nations of the Western Hemi- sphere. It would be a marked and impressive precedent, if, in a dispute vnth a weaker neighbor, Mexico should frankly consent to a friendly arbitration of all existing differences. You will further say to Mr. Mariscal that you are definitely instructed to call his attention to an expression of opinion which you have reported in your dispatch of eleventh of August, 1881, as follows: — " He, Seiior Mariscal, appears to entertain a very bad opinion of the President of Guatemala, and to think that his appeal to the United States has a purpose beyond the settlement of the boundary between the two countries. " He said, for instance, he had been informed that you had expressed an opinion favorable to the consolidation of the Central American Republics into one Government ; that the President of Guatemala was favorable to such a pro- ject; that he would like, in such an event, to become the President of the new nation, and that he was endeavor- ing to obtain the influence of the United States to further his ambition in that direction. He seems impressed with the idea that General Barrios is Mexico's eueni}', and that it would not be well to have his power increased." Of course, the Government of the United States has no information as to the personal ambitions of General Bar- rios, and it would deem any inquiry into or consideration of such a subject both unworthy and improper in au}- discussion of the great interests which concern the people of Central America, and their relation to the kindred Repub- lics of this continent. I am unwilling to believe, and, if compelled to believe, should deeply regret, that any such consideration could affect the temper or thought of the Mexican Government in determining" its policy towards the Republics of Central America. But in reference to the iinion of the Central American Republics under one federal government, the United States is ready to avow that no subject appeals more strongly to its sympathy nor more decidedly to its judgment. Nor is this a new policy. For many years this Government has urged upon t.hM.RAI^ 1-. Kl UNO IMRRIOS Late Piesiaent ul truuteiiiiila. 856 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the Central American States the importance of such a union to the creation of a well-ordered and constitutionally governed Republic, and our ministers have been instructed to impress this upon the individual governments to which they have been accredited, and to the Central American statesmen with whom they have been associated. We have always cherished the belief that in this effort we had the sincere sympathy and cordial co-operation of the Mexican Govern- ment. Under the conviction that the future of the people of Central America is absolutely dependent upon the establishment of a federal government which would give strength abroad and maintain peace at home, our chief motive in the recent communications to Mexico was to prevent the diminution, either political or territorial, of any one of these States, or the disturbance of their exterior relations, in order that, trusting to the joint aid and friendship of Mexico and the United States, they might be encouraged to persist in their effort to establish a Government which would, both for their advantage and ours, represent their combined wealth, intelligence and character. If this Government is expected to infer from the language of Senor Mariscal that the prospect of such a result is not agreeable to the policy of Mexico, and that the interest which the United States has always manifested in its con- summation renders unwelcome the friendly intervention which we have offered, I can only say that it deepens the regret with which we shall learn the decision of the Mexican Government, and compels me to declare that the Government of the United States will consider a hostile demonstration against Guatemala for the avowed purpose, or with the certain result, of weakening her power in such effort, as an act not in consonance with the position and character of Mexico, not in harmony with the friendly relations existing between us, and injurious to the best interests of all the Republics of this continent. The Government of the United States has sincere sympathj^ with tlie Spanish Republics of America, and profound interest in their prosperity : and is influenced b^' no selfish considerations in its earnest efforts to prevent war between them. This country will continue its policy of peace even if it cannot have the great aid which the co-operation of Mexico would assure ; and it will hope, at no distant day, to see such concord and co-operation between all the nations of America as will render war impossible." Within little more than a month after entering upon his service as Secre- tary of State, a personal incident occurred which, according to the manner of nations, required of Mr.Blaine a paper of different kind from those from which we have made the foregoing extracts. The event in question was the assassination of the Czar Alexander II. Our friend, the tyrant, had been killed. The reader knows what attitude the Russian autocracy had taken towards the American Government in the dark days of the civil war. He knows that of all the governments of Europe, of the first rank, only Russia had had a sincere S3mipathy with our national cause. The friendliness of the Czar struck home to the American heart and we have ever since found ourselves in the paradoxical state LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 357 of being iu love with a tyrant. It is one of the worst kinds of love that can be bestowed and j^et it would seem to be a necessary affection. Whatever reflections may arise from the casuistry of the case, it was necessary for our Government, when the unfortunate Alexander — himself the helpless victim of several centuries of inherited despotism — was stricken down, to say something respecting the crime and direct that something to the Imperial Court. At that time our minister at St. Petersburg was Hon. John W. Foster. To him, on the thirteenth of April, iSSi, Secretary Blaine addressed the following communi- cation : — Sir: — Your dispatch of the eighteenth ultimo, enclosing a communication from the Russian minister of foreign affairs in response to the proceedings of the Senate of the United States touching the death of the late Em- peror, has been received, and b}' order of the President laid before the Senate. The President desires, more fully than in his communication by tele- graph, to convey to the Emperor the sentiments of respect and gratitude towards his father which animate the Government and people of the United States. They can never forget tln. course pursued by the late Emperor towards this country when our nation il existence was imperiled by civil striJL The peculiar danger to which we weri exposed from the intervention of Eui'>- pean Powers was clearly perceived h\ all the intelligent friends of the Union Thoiigh feeling equal to any emer- gency that might arise in the course '^''"'"' '^'■'"" ^"i"'*"' '" ''""~'^' of the appalling conflict, the Government of the United States realized that the contest would be rendered more desperate and more bloody if any of the great Powers of Europe should espouse the cause of the insurrectionary States. A dynasty, not now in power, but then ruling over a country in which the people have always been our friends, had resolved upon intervention if co-operation with other nations could be secured. This design, so fraught with danger to liberty and constitutional government on both sides of the Atlantic, Avas pi-omptly met by the late Emperor with a refusal to take any unfriendly step against the United States. Nor did his Imperial Majesty stop at merely declining to join a coalition adverse to us ; he openly declared in our favor, and fearing, from what he knew of designs against us, that other Powers might unwarily be drawn into a hostile HON. J. 358 LIFE AND ^\'ORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. attitude towards this country, the Emperor sent to the waters which both expose and protect our National Capital a large and powerful fleet of war-vessels as a proclamation to the world of his sympathy in our struggle and of his readiness to strike a blow on the side of the Union if an}' foreign Power should strike a blow in aid of the insurrection. In our happily re-united country, now contented and prosperous throughout all its borders, those who upheld the Union and those who were arra3'ed against it join in equal gratitude to the Emperor who aided in saving all our people from the embarrassment and danger of foreign intervention. The Government of the United States does not recall these historical facts from a desire to awaken unpleasant recollections in any breast, but as a tribute to the memory of a sovereign whose great power, at a most important crisis, was exerted on the side of our Unions even at the risk of plunging his own empire into war. The President requests that you will seek an audience with the Emperor and communicate these expressions of re- gard which the people of the United States have entertained for his father. Assure the Emperor that the Govern- ment and people of this country abhor assassination, and can never see in it a remedy for political evils. There is no instance in history where an abuse has been corrected, a wrong righted, an op- pression ameliorated, or a reform pro- moted by assassination. The people of the United States have too fresh a re- collection of a similar crime at home, and they know too well that assassination always strikes wildly and blindly, willfully and wickedly. Congratulate the Emperor upon his accession to the throne, and, on behalf of the Government and the people of the United States, extend to him the heartiest wishes for his success as a sovereign, and for the prosperity and happiness of the Russian people." No sooner had President Garfield come into the presidential office — no sooner had Blaine been appointed to the post of Secretary of State — than they, in hearty accord, began to consider the project for a Peace Congress of the American Nations. The thing contemplated was large in character and philanthropic in spirit. It was proposed to issue to the South and Central American States letters of invitation to participate in such a congress in the common interest of all the American governments. The shooting of Garfield V. G. orrrsADA. e MiiiiM.'i t" tlie I'niteil States. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 359 suspended for a while the execiitiou of the purpose, but in November of i8Si the project was taken up with the concurrence of President Arthur. On the twenty-ninth of that month Mr. Blaine issued a State paper which was sent to the President of Argentina, and, mutatis mutandis^ to the other Republics of South, Central and North America. The paper was in the following terms : — Department of State, Washington, November 29, 1881. Sir : — The attitude of the United States with respect to the question of general peace on the American continent is well known through its persistent efforts for years past to avert the evils of warfare, or, these efforts failing, to bring positive conflicts to an end through pacific counsels or the advocacy of impartial arbitration. This attitude has been consistently maintained, and always with such fair- ness as to leave no room for imputing to our Government any motive except the humane and disinterested one of saving the kindred States of America from the burdens of war. The position of the United States as the leading power of the New World might well give to its Government a claim to authoritative utter- ance for the purpose of quiet- ing discord among its neigh- bors, with all of whom the most friendly relations exist. Never- theless, the good offices of this Government are not and have not at an}- time been tendered with a show of dictation or compulsion, but only as exhibiting the solicitous good will of a common friend. For some years past a growing disposition has been manifested b^- certain States of Central and South America to refer disputes affecting grave questions of international relationship and boundaries to arbitration rather than to the sword. It has been on several such occasions a source of profound satisfaction to the Government of the United States to see that this countr}' is in a large measure looked to by all the American Powers as their friend and mediator. The just and impartial counsel of the President in such cases has never been withheld, and his efforts have been rewarded by the prevention of sanguinary strife or angry contention between peoples whom we regard as brethren. The existence of this growing tendency convinces the President that the time is ripe for a proposal that shall enlist the good will and active co-operation of all the States of the Western Hemisphere, both north and south, in the GOVERNMENT HOUSE AND POST-OFFICE, Buenos Ayres, Art'ciitine Rejiublic. 360 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. interest of humauity and for the common weal of nations. He conceives that none of the Governments of America can be less alive than our own to the dangers and horrors of a state of war, and especially of war between kinsmen. He is sure that none of the chiefs of governments on the continent can be less sensitive than he is to the sacred duty of making every endeavor to do away with the chances of fratricidal strife. He looks with hopeful confidence to such active assistance from them as will serve to show the broadness of our common humanity and the strength of the ties which bind us all together as a harmonious system of American commonwealths. Impressed with these views, the President extends to all the independent countries of North and South America an earnest invitation to participate in a general congress to be held in the city of Washington on the twenty-fourth day of November, 1882, for the purpose of con sidering and discussing the methods of preventing war between the nations of America. He desires that the attention of the Congress shall be strictl}- confined to this one; great object ; that its sole aim shall be to seek a way of permanently averting the horrors of cruel and bloody lombat between countries, oftenest of one Mood and speech, or the even worse ca- himit}' of internal commotion and civil .strife; that it shall regard the burdensome and far-reaching consequences of such struggles — exhausted finances, oppressive debt, oneroiis taxation, ruined cities, para- lyzed industries, devastated fields, ruth- less conscription, the slaughter of men, the grief of the widow and the orphan — with a legacy of embittered resentments, that long survive those who provoked them and heavily afflict the innocent generations that come after. The President is especially desirous to have it understood that, in putting forth this invitation, the United States does not assume the position of counsel- ing, or attempting to counsel, through the voice of the Congress, any deter- minate solution of existing questions which may now divide any of the countries of America. Such questions cannot properly come before the Congress. Its mission is higher. It is to provide for the interests of all in the future, not to settle the individual differences of the present. For this reason especially the President has indicated a day for the assembling of the Congress so far in the future as to leave good ground for hope that by the time named the M. G. CELMAN, President of Arg.'iitiiie Ri.i)ubli< LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 361 present situatiou on the South Pacific coast will be happil}' terminated, and that those engaged in the contest may take peaceable part in tlie discussion and solution of the general question affecting in an equal degree the well-being of all. It seems also desirable to disclaim in advance any purpose on the part of the United States to prejudge the issues to be presented to the Congress. It is far from the intent of this Government to appear before the Congress as in any sense the protector of its neighbors or the predestined and necessary arbi- trator of their disputes. The United States will enter into the deliberations of the Congress on the same footing as the other powers represented, and with the loyal determination to approach any proposed solution, not nierelj- in its own interest, or with a view to asserting its own power, but as a single member among nianj^ co-ordinate and co-equal States. So far as the influence •of this Government may be potential, it will be exerted in the direction of conciliating whatever conflicting interests of blood, or government, or historical tradition may necessarily come together in response to a call embracing elements so vast and diverse. You will present these views to the minister of foreign relations of the Argentine Republic, enlarging, if need be, in such terms as will readily occur to you, upon the great mission which it is within the power of the proposed Congress to establish in the interest of humanity, and upon the firm purpose of the United States to maintain a position of the most absolute and impartial friendship towards all. You will thereupon, in the name of the President of the United States, tender to His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic a formal invitation to send two commissioners to the Congress, pro- vided with such powers and instructions on behalf of their Government as will enable them to consider the questions brought before that body within the limit of submission contemplated by this invitation. The United States, as well as the other Powers, will, in like manner, be represented by two commissioners, so that equality and impartiality will be amply secured in tlie proceedings of the Congress. In delivering this invitation through the minister of foreign affairs, you will read this dispatch to him and leave with him a copy, intimating that an answer is desired by this Government as promptly as the just consideration of so important a proposition will permit." The gradual change in political conditions which supervened after the death •of Garfield brought to an end the project which the Secretary of State had so heartily entertained. The project in question lingered in the State office after Blaine's retirement and was finally annulled by Secretary Frelinghuysen Janiiary 9, 1882. At that time the invitations had already gone abroad, and several of the Republics in course of time responded with acceptance and encouragement. But the measure was now hopelessly broken by the attitude of our own Government. Nor should we fail to note the faux pas as one of many in the stride of progress 302 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. occasioned by the assassination of Garfield and the reversal of our policies. In course of time, very cordial answers were received from Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela and Brazil. Further on Colombia, Peru, Chili, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, all responded in tones of encouragement and satisfaction. Such were the antecedents of that movement which was destined to culminate after some years in the Pan-American Congress. We may here pause in our citations from the diplomatical correspondence of Blaine during his first term of service in the office of Secretary of State. The history of his life in this period has already been recited. The case is very analogous to that of Mr. Webster, who, holding over in the same office after the death of the elder Harrison, was thrown among the adverse and contradictory forces which began to pre- dominate with the accession of Tyler to the presidency. It was one of the traditions of the British Government that the heir apparent has always contradictory politics to those of the reigning sovereign. It is fit to be- come traditional in American history that the Vice-President has always a contradictory policy to that of his chief. Should the former si:cceed to the presi- dency he will reverse things — grad- ually it may be, but he will reverse things by and by. Thus did Tyler ; thus did Johnson ; thus did Arthur, in large measure. The Garfield Govern- ment could not really survive the assas- sin's bullet. By and by, b}' these strange vicissitudes of American political life, we find James G. Blaine again in the office of Secretary of State — again the chief minister of one who had been his successful competitor in the contest for the presider.y. In the following chapter — which is a continuation of the present — we shall attempt to illustrate the diplomatical career of Blaine in the same manner for his second term as we have done in the current chapter ; namely, b}^ copious citations from his public papers, with such intermediary comments as the subject of the papers may seem to suggest. CHAPTER XV. INTERNATIONAL SPIRIT AND DIPLOMACY — SECOND PERIOD. ETWEEN the first and second service of James G. Blaine in the office of Secretary of State a period of five years elapsed. It was an immense period in the life of the statesman. Notwithstanding his retiracy to privacy, his character and influence at this time seemed to rise to greater height than at any previous time in his life. There has been in the American mind a curious fascination with respect to Blaine. The enigmatical part of the question has been dwelt upon by many. But the fascination has not been, nor is it likely tO' be, sufficiently emphasized. The interest of the American people followed Blaine out of office with more concern than it had fol- lowed him into office. His appointment as Secretary of State, in the first place, had been regarded as a matter of course. But his early retiracy had not been — could not have been — foreseen. It is one of the striking features of history that, as it respects the future, she is thus far stone blind. The most astute in the world cannot see an inch before him. At least he cannot see an inch with clearness and certainty. There are in history the beginnings of prophecy ; but the beginnings only. One hour before the assassi- nation of Garfield the political world in the United States was thus and so ; one hour after the assassination, it was thus, but otherwise. It was, in the nature of the case, that Blaine should retire from office. That division of the Republican party which had demanded the emplacement of Arthur on the presidential ticket, in 1880, was of a different spirit and temper from that so-called Half-breed wing, which had claimed Garfield for its own. Of the latter division, Blaine was regarded as the supreme personal expression. With the ascendancy of the other party in the Government, Blaine must retire — but not immediately. It has always happened, in the Department of the State, that the business has continuity. A new policy may come, but the business itself is continuous. This does not permit sudden and violent changes. During the short period while Blaine remained in the Secretary's office under Arthur, he continued to work, as well as he might, at those policies which he sought to institute in the foreign relations of the United States. His successor carried some of these {363) 364 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. forward feebly, but most were allowed to lapse. Now, after five years, with the inauguration of Harrison, Blaine returns to the State Department to revive and prosecute his former measures. Certainly the field is now clearer before him. The President is measurably in accord with his views, though a man of much more conservative temper. In the Senate there is no longer a great Republican rival to mock at the policy of the Secretary, or to thwart his undertakings. In the present chapter we shall collect together, with brief intervening comments, a number of the State papers of Blaine, covering the period of his second service in the ofiice ot Secretary of State. It appears that he entered upon the duties of his second term with his usual zeal and energy. At that time certain questions were pending between the United States and several of the most important foreign Governments. With Germany, the Samoan question was on in full force. We may properly begin our citations of the official literature on this issue by quoting the letter sent by Mr. Blaine to the American representatives, Kasson, Phelps and Bates, whom the Government had sent to Germany in the hope of untangling the threatening complication. To them Blaine directed the following communication : — D?:partment of State, Washington, April ii, 1889. Gentlemen : — In giving you instructions as to your conduct in the con- ference at Berlin, for which you have been appointed commissioners, it will be impossible to anticipate all the questions which may arise in the course of its deliberations. My object now is to impress upon you the general principles which will govern the opinions and control the decisions of the Government of the United States, and which will enable you to judge how far any special conclusions will commend themselves to your Government, and within what limits it will be proper to confine yourselves. xA.s you will communicate promptly and specifically the protocols of the proceedings, fuller and more specific instructions will, from time to time, be sent you. You will carefully examine the protocols of the first conference and the report of the special commissioner to Samoa which are inclosed, and you will find in them a clear statement of the position occupied upon this whole subject by the administration to whose hands the former negotiations were intrusted. In the discharge of your duties you will be governed bj- the most earnest assurance that the Government of the United vStates desires a speed}' and amicable solution of all the questions involved, and that while it will steadily maintain its full equality of right and consideration in au}' disposition of those questions, it is as much influenced by an anxious desire to secure to the people of Samoa the conditions of a healthy, prosperous, and civilized life as it is bound by its duty to protect the rights and interests of its own citizens vvherever their spirit of lawful enterprise may carry them. In the co-operation of the United States, LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 365 of Germany, and of Great Britain in this attempt to establish a beneficial and stable government in these islands, the President hopes and believes that while a frank and friendly consultation will strengthen their respect for each other, the result will prove that it is not the wish of any of them to subordinate the rights of this amiable and dependent people to the exigencies of a grasping commerce, or to the political ambition of territorial extension on the part of any one of the treaty powers. In consenting, at the request of His Imperial Majesty, to re-open the adjourned proceedings of the conference of 1887 at Berlin instead of Washington, the President is anxious to manifest his entire confidence in the motives and purposes of the German Government. But it must be borne in mind that it is an adjourned conference, in continuation of the conference at Washington of 1887, and not the initiation of a new one on another basis ; for at that time there were existing conditions directly influencing its deliberations which the Government of the United States cannot admit to have been changed by any subsequent occurrences in the South Pacific. Mr. Bayard, my predecessor, wrote thus to Count Arco on February 5, 1889: " The President, having been made fully acquainted with the tenor of the instructions received by you from Prince Bismarck and read by you yesterday for my transcription, requests me to say that he fully shares in the desire expressed by the prince chancellor to bring the blessings of peace and order to the remote and feeble community of semi-civilized people inhabiting the islands of Samoa, and that he clearly recognizes the duty of the powerful nations of Christendom to deal with these people in a spirit of magnanimity and benevolence. On behalf of the United States Government the President instructs me to express his acceptance of the proposal of the Government of Germany to resume the consultation held in this city between the representatives of the United States, Germany and Great Britain which was suspended on the twenty-sixth of July, 1887, such consultation to be renewed, as it was undertaken, for the purpose of establishing peace and an orderly, stable government in the Sanioan Islands on the basis of their recognized independence and the equal rights of the three treat}^ powers." in attempting to define the scope and purpose of the present conference it is fortunately unnecessary to enter minutely into the history of the Samoan difficulties in the past. It may be proper, however, to advert to the fact that peace and order were promoted in Samoa by the municipality convention of 1879. and by the treaty of peace of July, 1881, celebrated on board of the United States steamer Lackaivanua between the warring Samoan chiefs m the presence of Commander Gillis and che consuls of the three treaty powers. By virtue of these conventions a neutral territory was established in and about Apia, and a government provided therefor. From the information before the Depart- ment, I have no reason to doubt the correctness of the statements made by Mr. Bates, the special agent of the United States, that — 366 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " The peace thus established continued unbroken until January, 1885, when it was disturbed by the incidents which have been the subject of recent diplomatic correspondence. * * '■' Concerning this period of three and a half years I have been careful to make the most searching inquiry of many persons who were resident in Apia during that period. The universal testimony has been that the adjustment of July, 1881, known as the "Lackawanna peace," was remarkably successfiil, and that the government then established was fully acknowledged throughout the islands. Malietoa the king and Tamasese the vice- PATENT OFFICH. WASHINGTON. P. C. king, with the other officers and members of the Taimua and Faipule, lived together at Mulinuu, and on most, if not all, of the official documents of that period will be found the signature of the vice-king as well as that of the king." Nor is it deemed necessary at present to enter upon detailed examinations of the transactions of 1S85, for the obvious reason that so far as individual injury ma}- have ensued it can be more profitably- reserved for future discussion, while so far as questions of public right or interest may be involved both the Government of His Imperial Majesty and the Government of the United States have taken very positive and similar positions. Both Governments have disavowed the irregular action of their consuls. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 367 On January i6, i8S6, Count Bismarck made the following statement to Mr. Pendleton, United States minister at Berlin : — " While, therefore, I can give you no information as to the facts, only conjectures which may be entirel}^ without foundation, I can say to you as I said already a week ago to the British Ambassador, that whatever ma}- have occurred we intend to maintain the status as it has heretofore existed. \\'e have been satisfied with that ; it has been satisfactory to the three Govern- ments ; we have neither interest nor desire to change it. But if we had, we would take no step, make no movement, without frankly consulting in advance the United States and Great Britain. If any wrong has been done it shall be righted and reparation shall be made, and nothing shall be allowed to change the relative position of these Governments." On June i, 1886, Mr. Bayard cabled "Sir. Pendleton as follows : — " Claim of American protectorate at Samoa by consul of the United States wholly unauthorized and disapproved. No separate protectorate by any nation desired. Suggest that German minister here be authorized to act witli British minister and me, and arrange that order be re-established ; a com- petent and acceptable chief be chosen by natives and upheld by three powers. Three new consuls to be appointed and continued presence of a war vessel for two years provided for by the three powers. Joint declara- tion to be made against annexation or protectorate by an}- of the three powers." Following this exchange of opinion, the three treaty powers agreed to send special commissioners to Samoa to examine and to report upon the actual condition of affairs in the islands. These commissioners made full and elaborate reports to their respective Governments, and in June, 1887, b}^ formal agreement, a conference of these powers was opened at Wash- ington, represented respectively by the Secretary of State of the ITuited States, the minister of Germany, and the minister of Great Britain. After a very full and able discussion of the business before it, in the course of which some points of agreement were reached and certain points of difference developed, the conference, on July 26, 1S87, adjourned, in order, as stated in the proposition of adjournment, that further instructions should at once be obtained by the representatives of the treaty powers from the irrespect- ive Governments, with a view to the re-assembling of the conference in the ensuing autumn. By an agreement between the treaty powers, this conference is now to be resumed, the place of its meeting, however, having been, at the request of the German Government, transferred to Berlin. It would be a source of great satisfaction to the President if the only duty incumbent on him now were to review the proceedings of the first conference, and, with proper regard to the views of Germany and Great Britain, reach such modified conclusions as would be entirely satisfactor}^ to the honor and interests LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 369 of all the treaty powers, and at the same time secure for the Samoan people a stable and orderly Government. He firmly believes that such a result is possible, but since the adjournment of the conference certain events have occurred which require explanation. Within a very short period, less indeed than a month from the adjourn- ment of the conference, without previous intimation of any such serious compli- cation, the Government of His Imperial Majesty notified the Government of the United States that Germany had declared " war" against " Malietoa, personally.'' In the course of this hostile proceeding he was taken on board of a German man-of-war and deported to various places, and is now reported to be in the Marshall Islands, in the custody of German ofl&cials. While the President is unwilling to consider this action as intentionally derogatory either to the dignity or the interests of the other treaty powers, yet he cannot but consider it, under all the circumstances, as an abrupt breach of the joint relations of the treaty powers to each other and to the Government of Samoa. He finds it impossible to reconcile such action with this frank and friendly language of the German Government preliminary to the meeting of the conference : — " We intend to maintain the status as it has heretofore existed. We have been satisfied with that. It has been satisfactory to the three Governments. We have neither interest nor desire to change it. But if we had, we would take no step, make no movement, without frankly consulting in advance the United States and Great Britain." The President is painfully apprehensive that the forcible removal of Malie- toa, who, so far as the information in his possession goes, is without doubt the preferred sovereign of the Samoan people, and the failure to restore that con- dition under which only, it seems to him, a free choice could be made by the Samoans, will not only seriously complicate, but may possibly endanger that prompt and friendly solution which all the treaty powers so earnestly desire, and which is vital to the safety and prosperity of Samoa itself The President hopes that these opinions will receive the consideration to which he thinks them entitled. You will submit them to the conference with temperate firmness. If it be iirged, as it may be, that this forcible intervention has had consequences which practical good sense cannot disregard, because they cannot be undone, you will say that the restoration of the sfaf/is quo is necessary to place the treaty powers upon their footing of equality, and does not prevent the treaty powers and Samoa from making any changes in the future which justice and an unselfish interest may suggest as necessary. The desire of the Government of the United States to see the status quo re-established as the basis for future deliberation and action in no way commits it to the partisan support of any plan or any person. You ' will not submit this proposition as an ultimatum which would close the conference or prevent the President from considering any plan which may be suggested as a substitute. But should the proposition be rejected, you will 24 370 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. not accept such conclusion except ad referendum. You will communicate such result as promptly as possible, and the President will then decide upon the course which he deems it his duty to adopt, and you will be instructed accordingly. Should the representatives of Germany and Great Britain deem it wiser to postpone the decision of this question until further conference shall have ascer- tained the probability of agreement upon a iinal solution of the Samoan ques- tion, you are authorized to proceed with such discussion, although the President would much prefer its preliminary settlement. Upon the acquiescence of the confer- ence in the proposition of the President to restore the status quo, or upon its postponement to the determination of the discussion of the general question, it becomes necessary to instruct you as to the views and wishes of the President upon the conclusions reached and the differences developed in the deliberation of the first conference. The principles and the purposes of that conference have been stated with great clearness by the commissioners of the three treat}^ poweJs which composed it. Mr. Bayard, on behalf of the United States, said : — " In the plan for the establishment of peace and civilization in Samoa (under the co-operative siipport of the Govern- ments of the United States, Germany and Great Britain), submitted by me on behalf of the United States, I expressed my conception of the purpose of the present conference in the following lan- THOS. F. BAYARD, EX-SECRETARY OF STATE. gUagC '. " ' (i) The independence and the autonomy of the kingdom composed of these islands are to be preserved free from the control or from the preponderat- ing influence of any foreign Government, and it was in pursuance of this understanding that commissioners were recently sent by the three powers, respectively, to investigate and report upon the condition of the islands, and that the respective consuls of the three powers at the islands were changed.' " Immediately after this declaration, and as a necessary inference therefrom, I stated the following propositions : — " ' (2) It is the desire of the United States, and equally of Germany and LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 371 Great Britain, to assist the natives of Samoa to form and administer their own Government.' " In respect to the principal object of the conference — the maintenance of the independence and autonomy of the Samoan Islands and the co-operative support of a native government — I am pleased to notice that mj^ understanding is confirmed by the respective declarations of the German and British ministers. The mem- orandum by the German minister, read at the first meeting of the conference, began as follows : ' The unsettled condition of affairs in the Samoan Islands having gradually become more and more injurious to the foreign residents and to the commercial interests of the three treaty powers, the latter had to take into serious consideration the means by which lasting peace and order could be restored there. With this view, and the understanding that the independence of Samoa iinder a native government was to be maintained, and that no monopolies should be created there bj^ any foreign powers, the three treat}' powers have agreed to the proposition of the United States of America to hold a conference of plenipotentiaries. It was further agreed that in order to get complete and reliable information on which the conference would have to base its deliberations, special commissioners should be sent and instructed by the respective governments to report on the condition of the islands.' The memo- randum read by the British minister at the same meeting was as follows : " It is understood that the three powers have no desire to found colonies in Samoa, or to obtain commercial monopolies. Their sole wish is to establish the right and equality of commerce and navigation for their respective subjects and citizens. Assuming, then, that the three powers have no desire to destroy the independence of Samoa, but only seek to establish the right and equality of their commerce and navigation, a declaration to this effect might be made by them as a preliminary step." Assuming for the present that this co-operative action was in harmony with the interests and policy of the United States, and that the two principles — the independence of the native Samoan Government and a perfect equality of com- mercial rights and privileges between the three treaty powers — were sound and sufficient basis for such co-operative action, it is disappointing to find that all the plans and all the discussion by which it was sought to give practical effect to this co-operative action ended in wdiat appears to the President to be an irreconcilable difference. Avoiding a too minute review of these discussions, which will be found fully set forth in the protocols, and which I am glad to recognize were conducted with admirable temper and great force and frankness on all sides, their differences may be summarized in a brief statement of the two plans, one of which was submitted by the German Government, supported by the Government of Great Britain, and the other prepared by the Secretary of State of the United States. The German proposition, after providing for a new election of King of Samoa, declares, Article III : — 372 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. " The treaty power, which, for the time being, has the preponderating interests in Samoa, shall, with the concurrence of the two other powers, appoint a representative to be in\ested with the functions of adviser to the Government of Samoa. " He will be first appointed for a term of five years, and after the expira- tion of this period a new nomination shall take place for the same time and under the same conditions. ''' * * * * * " The representative, as the mandatary of the three treaty powers, will be charged with the duty of controlling the measures necessary for the efficacious maintenance of peace and order in general, and especially for the securit}' of the plantations, dwel- lings and other property of foreign subjects in Samoa." And this article is to be in- terpreted in connection with the following declaration of the Ger- man minister : — " As the German interests in Samoa outweigh actually those of the two other powers, Germany is entitled to nominate the first ad- viser, in accordance with the pro- visions established above." Supported by the declaration of the minister of Great Britain ; — "Since Mr. Thurston, Mr. Travers, and Mr. Bates (the three special commissioners whose re- ports were before the conference) all seem to concur that this pre- ponderance is possessed b}^ Ger- many to a greater or less extent, Her Majesty's Government are therefore prepared to consent to the mandatary powers being exercised by the German representative for the first term of five years, absolute equality of treatment in respect of commerce, navigation, and jurisdiction, and all other matters whatsoever, to be secured to the three Powers and to their subjects and citizens." It is here unnecessary to repeat the objections to this plan which were made by the representative of the United States in the conference with great acuteness and force, and which have the entire approval of the President. It is sufficient in this instruction to say that the President cannot accept this nistii to Berlin LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 373 plan as satisfactory. In constitnting a foreign " adviser " with unlimited, or, at least, unrestrained power, both of legislation and administration, the President finds it difficult to see the friendly desire to maintain a native and independent Samoan Government which all the treaty powers have so earnestl}" expressed. Giving to Germany the right to nominate such "mandatary" for the first five years, especially when that priority is claimed in virtue of its supremacy in population, in property, and in commerce, would be simplj' encouraging that power to maintain and extend such supremacy, and to make it the basis for a perpetual re-appointment and ultimately of absolute possession. The President is altogether unable to see how the appointment of this " mandatory " by one of the powers, upon the avowed ground of its supposed greater interests, can either preserve that absolute equality of consideration which would alone justify the co-operation of the treaty powers, or could protect with adequate security the commercial interests of the separate powers, which are, in fact, the motive and the purpose of any co-operation. In the exercise of such great power as is given to the "mandatary" the superiority of German power and interest would naturally direct his influence, first, to the preservation, and then to the extension of his supremcay. And in any dissent or remonstrance on the part of the other powers, they would be brought into direct controversy, not with the friendly native authority, but with what would really be the German Government, speaking in the name of the king of Samoa. It would be far simpler, and conduce more to final and well-under stood relations, to recognize this assumed superiority as real, and to hold direct communication with Germany in our transactions with what would be practically her colonial possession. The obligation of the Government of the United States in the South Pacific is to protect the rights and interests of our citizens who may be resi- dents there and engaged in any lawful pursuit. We have no desire to domi- nate, and every wish to develop a stable and just Government. If there have been trouble and annoyances, they have not proceeded from any groundless hostility of the Samoan Government or the Samoan people. They have arisen and been fostered into mischievous activity by the avarice and eagerness of competing merchants and land speculators, and the irregular conduct of foreign officials who are, perhaps, naturallj' and excusably, but most injudiciously, sympathetic with the prejudices and interests of their immediate constituents, the resident foreigners. To convert the assumed supremacy of any one of these contesting interests into a legalized government of these islands does not, in the opinion of the President, promise any relief from the embarrassing dissensions which at present disturb the orderly condition of things. But there are other reasons why the Government of the United States can not accept this scheme of subordination. The interests of the United States require the possession of a naval station in these remote parts of the Pacific, and by a treaty with the lawful authorities of Samoa they have been put in 374 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. control of the harbor of Pago Pago for these purposes. We cannot consent to the institution of any form of government in Samoa subject directly or indi- rectly to influences which in the contingencies of the future might check or control the use or the development of this American right. Nor can the Gov- ernment of the United States forget, what we are satisfied the other treaty powers will cordially recognize, that our interest on the Pacific is steadily increasing ; that our commerce with the East is developing largely and rapidly ; and that the certainty of an early opening of an Isthmian transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific (under American protection) must create changes in which no power can be more directly interested than the United States. And in any question involving present or future relations in the Pacific, this Government GERMAN GUNBOATS SHELLING THE SAMOANS AT PAGO PAGO. cannot accept even temporary subordination, and must regard it as inconsistent with that international consideration and dignity to which the United States, by continental position and expanding interests, must always be entitled. It only remains to consider the proposition as formulated by the represent- atives of the United States Government. Stated briefly', it is, as far as possible, the preservation of the native government, which has hitherto existed with the addition to the king and vice-king of an executive council, consisting of three secretaries, who, with the king and vice-king, will form the executive govern- ment ; these three secretaries to be appointed by the king on the recommenda- tion of each of the three treaty powers. Although foreigners, these secretaries are to be officers of the Samoan Government and paid by that Government. The consuls of the treaty powers are still to retain their ex-territorial jurisdic- tion as the citizens and subjects of their respective Governments. This scheme itself goes beyond the principle upon which the President desires to see our relations with the Samoan Government based, and is not in LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 375 harmony with the established policy of this Government. For if it .s not a joint protectorate, to which there are snch grave and obvious objections, it is hardly less than that and does not in any event promise ef&cient action. It would seem that if the existing troubles were the result, not of any action of the Samoan Government, but of the rivalries and misunderstandings of foreign consuls and residents, the presence in the Government of three officers representing the same differing nationalities and interests would only transfer the scene of dispute to the executive council, and that these three secretaries, being ofl&cers of the Samoan Government, would not be less partisan, but would be only further removed from the control of the treaty poAvers than are the consuls whom it is now found so difficult to keep within their strict line of duty. It is evident, moreover, that the different views which the representatives of colonial powers like Great Britain and Germany and a representative of the United States would hold towards the natives and a native Government, scarcely promises as a result the harmonious co-operation of the varied and variant interests. At the same time, while holding different views, the President cannot deny the serious impression which has been made upon him by the consenting opinions of the German and English ministers, and the strong support given to that opinion by the very able reports of all the special agents sent to Samoa to examine into its present condition. Mr. Bates, the special agent of the United States, says : — "The material question now to be determined is the character, extent, and methods by which the expressed desire of the three powers to co-operate in the establishment of stable government in the islands may be most effectively carried out. My own conviction is doubtless already apparent, that the extent of this intervention, to be effective and successful, must be more systematic and com- prehensive than seems to have been contemplated by my instructions. "The central government must be, for a time at least, administered by the three treaty powers, or through such agencies as they may select." Under these circumstances, and in view of the opinions or of those best qualified to judge, the Government of the United States cannot refuse to give weighty consideration to whatever plan the conference may suggest. While, therefore, as already intimated, I cannot undertake to instruct you on such details as may become the subject of discussion, you will bear in mind, throughout the whole deliberation : — (i.) That, if it shall become absolutely necessary in the present compli- cation that the three treaty powers should administer the government of Samoa, it is the earnest desire of the President that this intervention should be temporary?; that it should be confined within those limits in which such action is necessary to conciliate and compose present difficulties, and that it shall be avowedly preparatory to the restoration of as complete independence and autonomy as is possible in the islands. 376 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. (2.) That the intervention of the three treaty powers must be on terms of absohite equality, and the nearest approach to that normal condition of things in which the consular officers of the Government can be the most efficient intermediaries between the treaty powers and the native government will be the most acceptable. (3.) In any arrangement for the establishment of order and civilization in Samoa, the President is of opinion that too much importance cannot be given to the subject of the adjustment of claims and titles to land. The claims of foreigners to land titles in the islands amounted three years ago to more than the whole area of the group. Many of these claims are conflicting and, as the correspondence of the last three years discloses, they are continually giving rise to disputes. It is believed that upon investigation many of the alleged titles would prove to be groundless. It is i:nnecessary to emphasize the importance, both to foreio-ners and to natives, of a final settlement of these questions. To the former it would give security and confidence in their efforts to promote agriculture and to add to the wealth and commerce of the country. To the natives it would bring the twofold advantage of being rescued from that deplorable condition in which, being unjustly excluded from their lands, they must, to employ the significant phrase of the British commissioner in 1S86, either " pilfer or die ; " and of being protected from those acts of interference and oppression to which the cupidity of foreigners has heretofore exposed them. It is believed that the disturbance of the " Lackawanna Peace," as well as many other unfortunate facts in the recent history of Samoa, may chiefly be attributed to the encourage- ment and fomentation, by interested foreigners, of dissentions and strife among the natives, with a view to take advantage of the disorder so created to obtain possession of their lands. It is desirable that the ownership of all the lands in the islands should be ascertained and registered ; that rules for transfer of title should be established, and safeguards devised against transfers for improper or insufficient considerations; and that, if necessary, a composition should be effected whereby a reasonable proportion of the territory may be saved to the natives. It is believed that the settlement of the land question on this equitable and comprehensive basis would give the best possible assurance for the stability and success of any government that may be established, simply by removing the principal incentive to its disturbance. (4) The consideration of the subject of land claims naturally suggests that of the prohibition or regulation of the importation and sale of firearms and alcoholic liquors. Many of these claims have, without doubt, been obtained by ministering to the weaknesses and passions of the natives by furnishing them with the articles above mentioned. It is thought that this reproach to civiliza- tion should be removed by each of the treaty powers adopting stringent regu- lations on the stibject. It is not anticipated that any proposition will be submitted to the confer- ence either by Germany or by Great Britain referring to any other subject than LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 377 the one covered by this instruction. Should any attempt of the kiua oe made, 3-ou will courteously, but firmly, decline all discussion. I do not desire to embarrass yoi:r discussion of the restoration of the sta/iis quo by reference to the incidents which accompanied the declaration of martial law by the German authorities. But these incidents cannot be passed over in silence, if such silence is to be interpreted as acquiescence either in the rightfulness or the necessity of that measure. Such a declaration appears to the President to have been in direct violation of that equal and friendly co-operation which had been previously recognized as the principle of action for the treaty powers, and equally contradictory of the conditions iipon which the conference was instituted. But, aside from these considerations, the manner and the method by which the German naval authorities proclaimed their intention of carrying this declaration into effect could onl}' tend to evoke irritation and bitterness over questions which might well be the subject of grave international discussion. So trenchant were the invasions of the rights of American citizens in vSamoa, and so apparent was the purpose to disregard the dignity of the flag which protected them, that, if immediate resentment of such treatment had culminated in forcible resistance, this Government, while deeply regretting so unfortunate an occurrence, would have found it impossible not to sympathize with the natural indignation which prompted such a course. To subject the citizens of the United States to the police inspection of the German navy ; to require reports from each household as to arms kept for its necessary protection ; to make permission from the German authorities a needed prerequisite to the natural right of American citizens to guard themselves from danger; to inquire into the character of even their rumored conversations, and hold them amenable therefor to the summary proceedings of a German court- martial — all these were trials and indignities to which they ought never to have been subjected, and to which, I trust, the results of this conference will make it certain they shall never be subjected again. Had not the Government of the United States believed that these objection- able proceedings were due to the hasty and too pronounced zeal of German naval officers, and not to the orders or the wishes of the authorities at Berlin, an earnest and vigorous protest would have been made against the assumption of such power. In this belief, the President is content to overlook the offence, and refers to it now lest silence on his part should be misconstrued by the German Government. You will, therefore, be careful, in any reference which you may make to the subject, to employ a friendly tone and to assume that the proceedings referred to were at no time authorized by the Imperial Government. Any conclusion you may reach will be referred immediately to this Department, and you will be further instructed, from time to time, as your reports indicate more specifically the plan which meets the approbation of the conference." 378 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. The Samoan difficulty was satisfactorily settled. It may be regarded as tlie most serious question which has arisen between the United States and Germany for many years. There is a sense in which war and peace between nations adjust themselves by their own internal forces. There is another sense in which such questions are determined by human agency. In the latter sense the office of the American Secretary of State was of greatest value to our own country and to Germany in preventing the catastrophe of hostilities. At this same period, namely, in the first year of the administration of Harrison, a question of some importance was raised between the United States and France. A prejudice had sprung up in several European countries against certain kinds of American imports. A belief had been disseminated that the pork products, in particular, of the United States were diseased, and, there- fore, unfit for the markets of the world. Sentiment became fi:rious in Western Europe against the further admission of American pork, lard, etc. It is probable that the excitement was fanned by hostile opinion in France and Germany, on account of the American Protective 53^5- tem. Our high tariff had ruled out, or ruled off, from the American market a considerable percentage of foreign goods. The nations, whose trade had thus been reduced, were offended at the x^merican policy, and they sought opportunity to be even. They seized upon the allegation of disease in American pork as a very plausible and partl}^ valid excuse for denying admission of such product to the European market. It would be impossible to consider it in an imaginative and pictorial way. The span between the eagle and the swine is considerable. Nevertheless, the swine obtruded himself into our diplomac}', and held his place as a fact in internationality for several years. The correspondence on the subject was sometimes sharp almost to the biting point of vitriol. The question with France was carried on to a settlement in the State papers of 1889. So far as Mr. Blaine is concerned, we may cite a single document, directed to Whitelaw Reid, American Minister to France — with certain resolutions appended, from the board of trade of the city of Chicago. The paper is as follows : — HON. WHITELAW RF.in, The subject is not poetical. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 379 Department of State, Washington, June ii, 1S89. Sir : — I enclose herewith for your information a copy of resolutions recently adopted by the board of directors of the board of trade of the city of Chicago relative' to the prohibition by Germany and France of the importation of American hog products. It is difficult to add to the earnestness with which, during many years, this Government has remonstrated against this unjust and onerous prohibition of trade in one of the greatest staple products of our country and one which the continuous experience of long and careful observation has demonstrated to be second in healthfulness to no food product of domestic or export consump- tion, and it is with deep regret and pain that this Government has seen the failure of the hopes it has built on the good disposition of France in this regard and upon the efforts of the French cabinets from time to time to effect a friendly and equitable solution of the difficulty which the legislative features of the question in the chambers have thrown in the way of its adjustment. The present memorial, coming as it does from the great pork producing and packing centre of the United States, and representing important and widely diffused interests, as well agricultural as commercial, is worthy of careful consideration. Insistence upon what is firml}^ believed to be an unnecessary and unjust discrimination against our country cannot but injuriously affect opinion here among the vast mass of producers and others whose interests are materially damaged. In no country of the world is the official machinery for the inspection of live-stock and for the stamping-out the first symptoms of disease more elaborate and efficient, and nowhere are more varied and effective interests concerned in securing the absolute healthfulness of the food products which form so large a part of the subsistence of our countrymen. Careful observation, continued over many years, has failed to disclose an authentic case of disease from eating American cured and packed pork products in foreign countries where their use is freely permitted ; and it would be a result much to be deprecated if the widespread injury inflicted upon the farmers and merchants of a large area of our country should tend to weaken the strong- and cordial sentiments of our population towards France and her people and beget resentment against what cannot fail, if longer persisted in, to be regarded as a blind and unreasoning discrimination. The correspondence on file in your legation will apprise you of the magni- tude of this question, and you will lose no opportunity to impress the Govern- ment of France with the earnest desire and confident expectation of this Government that considerations of friendliness and justice may prevail in the treatment of this question by the statesmen and legislators of France. At the same time it is proper to caution you against proffering suggestions of retaliation on our part. Acts founded upon resentment work grievous injury to international relations, and while the interests affected in this country are doubtless exerting a potent influence among the representatives of the people^ 380 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. it may not be expedient to openly advert to the probability of congressional action. You are instructed to avail yourself of an early opportunity to recall the attention of the French foreign office to this subject, and to discreetly but earnestly press our remonstrances upon the Government of France against the unjust discrimination complained of I am, etc., James G. Blaine. [Iiiclosure in No. i6.] Mr. Stone to Mr. Blaine. Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Secretary's Office, Chicago, June 4, 1889. Sir: — I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of preamble and reso- lutions adopted by the board of directors of this board, with reference to the prohibition, by Germany and France, of the importation of American hog meats. Very respectfully, yours, Geo. F. Stone. [Inclosure 2 in No. i6.] Resolutions adopted by Hie board of trade of the city of Chicago. Chicago, May 28, 1889. The following preamble and resolutions were adopted by the board of directors of the board of trade of the city of Chicago at a meeting held this day. Respectfully, G. F. Stone, Sccrcta}y. Whereas, The hog crop of this country is a source of great national revenue ; and, Whereas, France and Germany prohibit the importation of American salted pork ; and. Whereas, Such prohibition is based upon the unfounded allegation that American hog meats are unhealthful, which insults and circumscribes a great and beneficent industry ; and. Whereas, The hog product of England is not thus interdicted, and thereby a particular and offensive discrimination is made against the American hog product, to the great injury of our commerce; and, Whereas, Under this legislation our exportation of hog product has dimin- ished in value from $104,000,000 in 188 r to $59,000,000 in 1888; and. Whereas, The American hog product is generally used in America by citizens of all nationalities, and in all foreign countries, except France and Germany, without detriment to the health of the consumers, and therefore the existing decrees of prohibition cannot truthfully rest on the basis of the unhealthfulness of the product ; LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 381 Resolved, That the board of trade of the city of Chicago hereby respectfully represents to the United States Government the necessity of immediate and decided measures to the end that the disabilities herein recited be removed and the business in American hog meats no longer suffer under the stigma of false IMPORTATION OF CONTRACT LABOR INTO THE UNITETj STATES. and injurious accusations, but be restored to its rightful place in the commerce of the world. Resolved, That a copy of the above be sent to the honorable the Secretary of State and to the principal commercial organizations of the country." We need not here pursue the diplomacy which finall}^ reopened the markets of Western Europe to the pork products of the United States. The con- 382 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. troversy went forward through negotiations not a few and for a considerable length of time. The issue was settled favorably to the claims and interests of our country and people. It was held by the party in power to be one of the evidences of efficieuc}^ in the administration that the foreign markets, which had been lost to some of our most important products, were regained b}^ negotia- tions, protest and diplomatical pressure. Of course, the Secretary of State was most largely instrumental in bringing the business to a happy conclusion, but others reaped a large part of the benefits. This question, more than any other, enabled Whitelaw Reid, representative at the French capital, to employ his faculties in such measure as to warrant the consideration of his claims to the vice-presidency in 1892. The State correspondence with Great Britain during this period did not extend to questions of the highest importance. Nearly all the issues between ourselves and the mother countr}' in 1889 were those of a personal character. On one occasion, namely, in May and June of the j'^ear referred to, the ques- tion of the importation of contract laborers led to a correspondence between Sir Julian Pauncefote and the American Secretary. The steamship Obdam had arrived in the harbor of New York with certain persons on board who were alleged to be contract laborers. As such they were held under law as having violated the statutes of the United States. The British minister at Washington took the question up, claiming that the j^ersons arrested were respectable and desirable immigrants ; that they had paid their own passage money, and were, b}' no means, amenable to arrest. The correspondence of the State Department with Sir Julian was brief and temperate, and the matter was settled without serious altercation. In this connection we content ourselves with the statute of the United States rather than with the correspondence, believing that the law itself will be of interest to the general public. The State papers contain the following copy of the statute in question : — Ciradar Prohibiting the Importation of Foreign Laborers Under Contract. Treasury Department, Office of the Secretary, Washington, D. C, IMarch 24, 1887. To Collectors of Customs, Commissioners of Immigration, and others : The following is a copy of the original Act of Congress prohibiting the importation of foreign laborers under contract, approved February 26, 1885, to which is appended a copy of the act amendator}' thereof, approved Februar}' 23, 1887, charging the Secretary of the Treasury with the duty of executing the provisions of both acts. ORIGINAL act. An Act to prohibit the importation and immigration of foreigners and ahens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, Territories, and the District of Columbia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled., That from and after the passage of LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. 383 this act it shall be unlawful for an}- person, company, partnership, or corpora- tion, in any manner whatsoever, to prepaj- the transportation, or in any way assist or encourage the importation or migration of any alien or aliens, any foreigner or foreigners, into the United States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia, under contract or agreement, parol or special, express or implied, made previous to the importation or migration of such alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, to perform labor or service of any kind in the United States, its Territories or the District of Columbia. Sec. 2. That all contracts or agreements, express or implied, parol or special, which may hereafter be made by and between any person, company, partnership, or corporation, and any foreigner or foreigners, alien or aliens, to perform labor or service or having reference to the performance of labor or service by any person in the United States, its Territories, or the District of Columbia, pre- vious to the migration or importation of the person or persons whose labor or ser- vice is contracted for into the United States, shall be utterly void and of no effect. Sec. 3. That for every violation of any of the provisions of section one of this act, the person, partnership, company, or corporation violating the same, by knowingly assisting, encouraging, or soliciting the migration or importation of any alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, into the United States, its Terri- tories, or the District of Columbia, to perform labor or service of any kind under contract or agreement, express or implied, parol or special, with such alien or aliens, foreigner or foreigners, previous to becoming residents or citizens of the United States, shall forfeit and pay for ever}^ such offence the sum of one thousand dollars, which may be used for and recovered by the United States or b}^ anj- person who shall first bring his action therefor, including any such alien or foreigner who may be a part}^ to any such contract or agreement, as debts of like amount are now recovered in the circuit courts of the United States ; the proceeds to be paid into the Treasury of the United States ; and separate suits may be brought for each alien or foreigner being a part}' to such contract or agreement aforesaid. And it shall be the duty of the district attorney of the proper district to prosecute ever}^ such suit at the expense of the United States. Sec. 4. That the master of any vessel who shall knowingl}- bring within the United States on any such vessel, and land, or permit to be landed, from any foreign port or place, any alien laborer, mechanic, or artisan who, previous to embarkation on such vessel, had entered into contract or agreement, parol or special, express or implied, to perform labor or service in the United States, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such alien, laborer, mechanic, or artisan so brought as aforesaid, and ma}- also be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months. Sec. 5. That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to prevent any citizen or subject of any foreign country temporarily residing in the United States, 384 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. either in private or official capacity, from engaging, under contract or otherwise, persons not residents or citizens of the United States to act as private secretaries, servants, or domestics for such foreigner temporarily residing in the United States as aforesaid ; nor shall this be so construed as to prevent any person or persons, partnership or corporation from engaging, under contract or agreement, skilled workmen in foreign countries to perform labor in the United States in or upon any new industry not at present established in the United States : Provided, That skilled labor for that purpose cannot be otherwise obtained ; nor shall the provisions of this act apply to professional actors, artists, lecturers, or singers, nor to persons employed strictly as personal or domestic servants : Provided^ That nothing in this act shall be construed as prohibiting any individual from assisting any member of his famil}' or any relative or personal friend to migrate from any foreign country to the United States for the purpose of settlement here. Skc. 6. That all laws or parts of laws conflicting herewith be, and the same are hereb}', repealed. Approved February 26, 18S5. AMENDATORY ACT. An Act to prohibit the importation and immigration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, the Territories, and the District of Columbia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That an act to prohibit the importa- tion and immigration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, its Territories, and the District of Columbia, approved February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and to provide for the enforcement thereof, be amended by adding the following : — Sec. 6. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby charged with the duty of executing the provisions of this act, and for that purpose he shall have power to enter into contracts with such State commission, board or officers as may be designated for that purpose by the governor of any State to take charge of the local affairs of immigration in the ports within said State, under the rules and regulations to be prescribed by said Secretar}-; and it shall be the duty of such State commission, board, or officers so designated to examine into the condition of passengers arriving at the ports within such State in any ship or vessel, and for that purpose, all or any of such commissioners or officers, or such other person or persons as they shall appoint, shall be author- ized to go on board of and through any such ship or vessel ; and if in such examination there shall be found among such passengers any person included in the prohibition in this act, they shall report the same in writing to the collector of such port, and such person shall not be permitted to land. Sec. 7. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish such regulations and rules and issue from time to time such instructions, not inconsistent with law, as he shall deem best calculated for carrying out the provisions of this LIFE AND WORK OF JAxMES G. BLAINE. 385 act ; and he shall prescribe all forms of bonds, entries, and other papers to be used under and in the enforcement of the various provisions of this act. Sec. 8. That all persons included in the prohibition in this act, upon arrival, shall be sent back to the nations to which they belong and from whence they came. The Secretary of the Treasury may designate the State board of charities of any State in which such board shall exist by law, or any commission in any State, or any person or persons in any State, whose duty it shall be to execute the provisions of this section, and shall be entitled to reasonable compensation therefor, to be fixed by regulation prescribed by the Secretar}' of the Treasur3^ The Secretary of the Treasiu-y shall prescribe regulations for the return of the aforesaid persons to the countries from whence they came, and shall furnish instructions to the board, commission, or persons charged with the execution of the provisions of this section as to the time of procedure in respect thereto, and may change such instructions from time to time. The expense of such return of the aforesaid persons not permitted to land shall be borne by the owners of the vessels in which they came. And any vessel refusing to pay such expenses shall not thereafter be permitted to land at or clear from any port of the United States ; and such expenses shall be a lien on said vessel. That the necessary expense in the execution of this act for the present fiscal 3'ear shall be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Sec. 9. That all acts and part of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. Sec. 10. That this act shall take effect at the expiration of thirty days after its passage. Approved, February 23, 1SS7. EXAMINATION. Under the provisions of Section 8 of said amendatory act, approved February 23, 1887, the collectors of customs at the ports of the United States shall, on the arrival of vessels from foreign countries, cause them to be examined by residents of the port who may be in the customs service, in order to ascertain what persons are alien immigrants on such vessels, and are for- bidden to land within the provisions of vSections 4 and 5 of the act approved February 26, 1885. TABUL.A.R STATEMENT. The persons making this examination shall make out a tabular statement of the alien immigrants forbidden to land as being under contract to labor before arrival ; shall specify in such statement as far as may be possible the following particulars in regard to each person : The country and town or city of birth ; the sex, the age and place of destination in this countr}^; the name or names of the persons or firms by whom as aliens they were engaged to labor, and the State and place of business of persons so engaging such immigrants. This 386 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. tabular statement (which is also to embrace the name of the vessel and master and date of her arrival) collectors of customs ^\■ill forward weekly to the Treasury Department, retaining a duplicate thereof; and if no prohibited alien immigrants are found, collectors will return the tabular statements with the names of the vessels and the masters. Collectors of customs or the persons designated by them for this purpose will exercise the same fidelity of examination now required of them by Section 9 of the "passenger act, 1882," in the examination of passengers for other purposes. RETURN OF PROHIBITED IMMIGRANTS. Whenever alien contract immigrants forbidden to land are discovered on board a vessel, collectors will use their discretion and utmost vigilance to pre- vent the landing of such immigrants, and to secure their return to the countries whence they came by the vessel of their arrival. REPORT OF CONTRACT OFFENDERS AND OFFENDING VESSELS AND MASTERS. Upon ascertaining the names of the persons or firms instrumental in engaging or introducing into this country contract immigrants prohib- ited from landing as above described, collectors will report the names of such persons or firms to the United States attorney for the judicial dis- trict embracing their respective ports, and, so far as may be, will also report their places of business and residences ; and they shall also report the names of the vessels bringing such contract immigrants and the names of their masters, suggesting the instituting of such prosecutions as may be required under Sections 3 and 4 or other pro- visions of the original prohibitory statute. And especially if there be any refusal to return the contract immigrants herein mentioned, collectors will promptly institute the proceedings indicated in Section 8 of the act of February 23, 1S87. Commissioners of immigration now acting as such at any port of the United States are requested to aid collectors of customs, and those persons desig- nated by collectors for the service required by the foregoing statutes, so far as may be possible within the scope of their legitimate duties. C. S. Fairchild, Acting Secretary. HON. C. S FAIRCHILD, Secretary of the Treusur}'. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 387 Ox the side of Mexico the question was also iudustrial, having respect to the live-stock trade between ourselves and that Republic. Mr. Blaine was not above a sincere interest in all branches of inter- American trade. The subject seemed to warrant a letter from the Department of State to the Mexican minister at Washington, Senor Romero, with whom General Grant had cultivated such friendly relations, both during his administration, and subsequently after his retirement to private life. The paper referred to is as follows : Department of State, Washington, May 13, 1889. Sir : — I have the honor to apprise you, in connection with previous correspond- ence, and especially your note of January 23, 1888, promising in- formation touching the live-stock sanitary regulations of Mexico, of the receipt of a letter from the Honorable J. M. Riisk, Secretary of Agriculture, dated April 18, 1889, submitting for my consid- eration a copy of a letter from Mr. H. M. Taylor, secretary of the Beef Producers' and Butch- ers' National Association, saying that the " Republic of Mexico is without any live-stock sanitary laws — of which the public have any knowledge — and that cattle are admitted into Mexico with- out restriction and without inves- tigation as to whether they are diseased or have been exposed to disease." " The pastoral interests of Mexico," continues Mr. Tajdor, *' are being very rapidly devel- oped, and, in consequence, the demand for thoroughbred cattle with which to improve their herds is constantly increasing, and unless steps are taken by the Mexican authorities to protect the herds of that country from the introduction of contagious bovine diseases, it will only be a question of time when pleuro-pneumonia and other plagues gain a foothold in that countr}-." Mr. Taylor also refers to the vast extent of the open border between the United States and Mexico, and to the circumstance that without an^- barriers to prevent the cattle of Mexico from crossing the bouudar}- line and intermingling n HON. J. M. RUSK, Secretary of Agricultuit 388 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. with the cattle of the United States, any introduction of contagioiis pleuro' pneumonia among the cattle on the open ranges of northern IMexico would cause that dread disease to spread among the cattle of the United States on the border. The department at once realized the importance of the subject and the necessity of inviting the Government of Mexico to put in force such live-stock CATTLE RANCH ON TEXAS BORDER. sanitary regulations as would protect the herds of that country, and afford ample securit}' for our own cattle. However, before addressing you iipon the subject, it was thought advisable to refer Mr. Rusk to the previous correspondence between the Commissioner of Agriculture and this department concerning the complaint of the Mexican Government in regard to the cattle quarantine of Arizona Territory, and your declaration that " Mexican cattle have not hitherto been infected with any contagious disease," and to invite an expression of the views of Mr. Rusk on the general question in the light of that correspondence. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 389 His reply bears date the fourth instant, and states that the Department of Agriculture, after fully investigating the facts alleged by the Territorial authorities of Arizona for such protection, made a report to the Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with Section 4 of the act of Congress, approved May 29, 18S4, establishing the Bureau of Animal Industry, and advised certain restrictions upon the importation of cattle from Mexico to the United States, which restrictions were subsequently ordered by the Treasury Department. The conclusions reached by I\Ir. Colman were as follows: — " pirst — That the Republic of Mexico has no laws or regulations for the prevention or suppression of contagious diseases of cattle, nor any facilities for the inspection of the cattle within its domain to ascertain the existence or non-existence of disease. ''Second — That it has no laws or regulations respecting the importation of cattle from foreign countries that are known to have contagious diseases among their cattle. '• Third — That there are being im- ported into Mexico from foreign coun- tries where contagious cattle diseases exist pure breeds of cattle for the pur- pose of improving the native stock, and that this class of cattle are quarantined against b}' the United States when im- ported, directly into this countr}-. "" Four III — That the topographical and climatic conditions of the coast re- gions of Sonora, one of the States of the Republic of Mexico bordering on the Territory of Arizona, and export- ing into Arizona large numbers of cat- tle, are in every way similar to those of Lower California, and as the cattle from the latter coiintry when driven north impart to northern cattle splenic fever, there is every reason to believe that Sonora cattle when driven north will impart this disease to the cattle of Arizona. ''Fifth — That the cattle herds of vSonora have occasional outbreaks of disease that carry off large numbers of their cattle, but owing to the absence of veter- inary inspection the nature of these diseases are not definitely knowu, but from the description of the same it is believed to be anthrax. "Sixth — That the live-stock interest of Arizona is one of the leading industries of that Territory, and the estimated number of cattle in the Territorj^ is said to 390 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. be 600,000. That these cattle are maintained on open ranges, the various herds commingling with each other, so that should any contagious disease be introduced among them it would spread rapidly and be impossible of suppression." In view of the foregoing facts it was thought necessary that some protection should be given to the cattlemen of Arizona against the possibility of the intro- duction of any contagious disease among their herds by cattle from foreign countries, and especially as the Territory, being protected from the introduction of disease from any of the* States and Territories of the United States, should have the same protection from Mexico. It was therefore recoannended that Section 2497 ^^ the Revised Statutes of the United States prohibiting the importation of cattle be enforced as to cattle imported from the Republic of Mexico into the Territory of Arizona. " Provided^ Iwiucvcr^ That cattle may be imported at the ports of Nogales and Yuma, after the same have been inspected by the Territorial veterinarian of Arizona, and found to be free of contagious diseases." The views of Mr. Colman, says Mr. Rusk, are still the views of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, which has, at the present time, succeeded in eradicating contagious pleuro-pneumonia from among cattle throughout the United States, with the exception of a small infected area on Long Island, New York, and hopes within a few months to be able to announce that the area in question has also been cleared of the disease. On account of the great expense which the Government of the United States has incurred in eradicating the disease froin among its domestic animals and of the immense value of the cattle industry of this country, it is absolutely necessarj' that every precaution should be taken against the possibility of another introduction of this dreaded and insidious disease. Under these circumstances, and in view of the fact that contagious pleuro- pneumonia is now prevalent in Europe and the colonies of New Zealand and Australia, it seems especially necessary that the Government of Mexico should, as a measure of safety to its own extensive cattle industry, immediately establish quarantine regulations against the unrestricted importation of cattle from those countries. Unless this is done, there would appear to be great danger that the importations of cattle into Mexico which are being made for the purpose of improving their breed of cattle, as stated in your note of January 9, 1888, will introduce this disease among the cattle of Mexico ; and, if unrestricted importation is allowed into the United States, will be the means of spreading the disease in this country. These observations are made in a spirit of perfect frankness and cordiality, having regard only to the protection of one of the largest industries in this country, as well as in Mexico, and I entertain no doubt they will be so understood, because the cattle interests of your country will no doubt be promoted by the enforcement of such protective measures as experience has demonstrated are necessary to prevent the introduction and spread of contagious bovine diseases. 392 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE, In the hope, therefore, that you will make such communication of these views to your Government as you may deem advisable, and apprise me of any measures it may have adopted or proposes to adopt, relative to a system of sanitary inspection for domestic animals as well as imported cattle, I renew, etc." If the diplomacy of the United States and Great Britain ran on a low plane for 1889, the same could hardly be said of the question at issue during the next year. Now it was that the matter of taking seals in Behring Sea rose to international importance. Certain vessels of Great Britain, sealing in the waters referred to, were seized for violation of American rights. It was held by our Government that the waters of Behring Sea were not open, but, as we should say in international law, a viarc claiisnvi ; that is, shut np to foreign commerce. We had purchased some such indefinite right along with Alaska, in 1867. Russia had sold us, not only the land, but the sea ! We here append, from Mr. Blaine's correspondence, a State paper to Sir Julian Paunce- fote, of January 22, 1890, as follows : — Department of State, Washington, January 22, 1890. Sir : — Several weeks have elapsed since I had the honor to receive through the hands of Mr. Edwardes copies of two dispatches from Lord Salis- bury complaining of the course of the United States revenue cutter Rush in intercepting Canadian vessels sailing under the British flag and engaged in taking fur seals in the waters of the Behring Sea. Subjects which could not be postponed have engaged the attention of this department and have rendered it impossible to give a formal answer to Lord Salisbury until the present time. In the opinion of the President, the Canadian vessels arrested and detained in the Behring Sea were engaged in a pursuit that was in itself contra bonos mores, a pursuit which of necessity involves a serious and permanent injury to the rights of the Government and people of the United States. To establish this ground it is not necessary to argue the question of the extent and nature of the sovereignty of this Government over the waters of the Behring Sea ; it is not necessary to explain, certainly not to define, the powers and privileges ceded by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia in the treaty by which the Alaskan territory was transferred to the United States. The weighty con- siderations growing out of the acquisition of that territory, with all the rights on land and sea inseparabl}^ connected therewith, may be safely left out of view, while the grounds are set forth upon which this Government rests its justification for the action complained of by Her Majesty's Government. It cannot be unknown to Her Majestj^'s Government that one of the most valuable sources of revenue from the Alaskan possessions is the fur-seal fisheries of the Behring Sea. Those fisheries had been exclusively controlled by the Government of Russia, without interference or without question, from their original discovery until the cession of Alaska to the United States in LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 393 1S67. From 1867 to 1886 the possession in which Russia had been undis- turbed was enjoyed by this Government also. There was no interruption and no intrusion from any source. Vessels from other nations passing from time to time throiigh Behring Sea to the Arctic Ocean in pursuit of whales had always abstained from taking part in the capture of seals. This uniform avoidance of all attempts to take fur seal in those waters had been a constant recognition of the right held and exercised first by Russia and subsequently by this Government. It has also been the recognition of a fact now held bevond denial or doubt that the taking of seals in the open sea UNITED STATli.S REVICNUK CUTTER "RUSH" IN THE BAY OF SITKA. rapidly leads to their extinction. This is not only the w^ell-known opinion of experts, both British and American, based upon prolonged observation and investigation, but the fact had also been demonstrated in a wdde sense by the well-nigh total destruction of all seal fisheries except the one in the Behring Sea, which the Government of the United States is now striving to preserve, not alto- gether for the use of the American people, but for the use of the world at large. The killing of seals in the open sea involves the destruction of the female in common with the male. The slaughter of the female seal is reckoned as 394 LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. an immediate loss of three seals, besides the future loss of the whole number which the bearing seal may produce in the successive j^'ears of life. The destruction which results from killing seals in the open sea proceeds, there- fore, by a ratio which constantly and rapidly increases, and insures the total extermination of the species within a very brief period. It has thus become known that the only proper time for the slaughter of seals is at the season when they betake themselves to the land, because the land is the only place where the necessary discrimination can be made as to the age and sex of the seal. It would seem, then, by fair reasoning, that nations not possessing the territory iipon which seals can increase their numbers by natural growth, and thus afford an annual supply of skins for the iise of mankind, should refrain from the slaughter in open sea, where the destruction of the species is sure and swift. After the acquisition of Alaska, the Government of the United States, through competent agents working under the direction of the best experts, gave careful attention to the improvement of the seal fisheries. Proceeding by a close obedience to the laws of nature, and rigidly limiting the number to be annually slaughtered, the Government succeeded in increasing the total number of seals and adding correspondingl}^ and largely to the value of the fisheries. In the course of a few years of intelligent and interesting experi- ment the number that could be safely slaughtered was fixed at 100,000 annually. The compau}' to which the administration of the fisheries was intrusted by a lease from this Government has paid a rental of $50,000 per annum, and in addition thereto $2.62^ per skin for the total number taken. The skins were regularly transported to London to be dressed and prepared for the markets of the world, and the business had grown so large that the earnings of English laborers, since Alaska was transferred to the United States, amount in the aggregate to more than twelve millions of dollars. The entire business was then conducted peacefuU}^, lawfull}^ and profitably — profitably to the United States, for the rental was yielding a moderate interest on the large sum which this Government had paid for Alaska, including the rights now at issue ; profitably to the Alaskan Compan}^ which, under governmental direction and restriction, had given unwearied pains to the care and development of the fisheries ; profitably to the Aleuts, who were receiving a fair pecuniary reward for their labors, and were elevated from semi-savagery to civilization and to the enjoyment of schools and churches provided for their benefit by the Government of the United States ; and, last of all, profitably to a large body of English laborers svho had constant employment and received good wages. This, in brief was the condition of the Alaska fur-seal fisheries down to the year 1886. The precedents, customs, and rights had been established and enjoyed, either by Russia or the United States, for nearlj^ a century. The two nations were the only powers that owned a foot of land on the continents LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 395 that bordered, or on the islands included within, the Behring waters where the seals resort to breed. Into this peaceful and secluded field of labor, whose benefits were so equitably shared by the native Aleuts of the Pribylov Islands, by the United States, and by England, certain Canadian vessels in i8S6 asserted their right to enter, and by their ruthless course to destro}^ the fisheries and with them to destroy also the resulting industries which are so valuable. The Government of the United States at once proceeded to check this movement, which, unchecked was sure to do great and irreparable harm. It was cause of unfeigned surprise to the United States that Her Majesty's Government should immediately interfere to defend and encourage (surely to encourage by defending) the course of the Canadians in disturbing an industry which had been carefully developed for more than ninety years under, the flags of Russia and the United States — developed in such manner as not ta interfere with the public rights or the private industries of any other people or an}^ other person. Whence did the ships of Canada derive the right to do in 1886 that which they had refrained from doing for more than ninety years ? Upon what grounds did Her Majestj^'s Government defend in the year 1886 a course of conduct in the Behring Sea which she had carefully avoided ever since the discovery of that sea? By what reasoning did Her Majesty's Government conclude that an act may be committed with impunity against the rights of the United States which had never been attempted against the same rights when held by the Russian Empire ? So great has been the injur}' to the fisheries from the irregular and destructive slaughter of seals in the open waters of the Behring Sea by Canadian vessels, that whereas the Government had allowed one hundred- thousand to be taken annually for a series of years, it is now compelled to reduce the number to sixty thousand. If four years of this violation of natviral law and neighbor's rights has reduced the annual slaughter of seal b}' 40 per cent, it is easy to see how short a period will be required to work the total destruction of the fisheries. The ground upon which Her Majesty's Government justifies, or at least defends the course of the Canadian vessels, rests upon the fact that they are com- mitting their acts of destruction on the high seas, viz, more than three marine miles from the shore-line. It is doubtful whether Her Majesty's Government would abide by this rule if the attempt were made to interfere with the pearl fisheries of Ceylon, which extend more than twenty miles from the shore-line and have been enjoyed by England without molestation ever since their acquisi- tion. So well recognized is the British ownership of those fisheries, regardless of the limit of the three-mile line, that Her Majesty's Government feels authorized to sell the pearl-fishing right from year to year to the highest bidder. Nor is it credible that modes of fishing on the Grand Banks, altogether practicable but highly destructive, would be justified or even permitted by Great Britain. 396 LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. on the plea that the vicious acts were committed more than three miles from shore. There are, according to scientific authorit}-, "great colonies of fish" on the *' Newfoundland banks." These colonies resemble the seats of great populations on land. They remain stationary, having a limited range of water in which to live and die. In these great "colonies" it is, according to expert judgment, comparatively easy to explode dynamite or giant powder in such manner as to kill vast quantities of fish, and ..t the same time destroy countless numbers of eggs. Stringent laws have been necessary to prevent the taking of fish by the use of dynamite in man}^ of the rivers and lakes of the United States. The same mode of fishing coxild readily be adopted with effect on the more shallow- parts of the banks, but the destruction of fish in proportion to the catch, says a high authority, might be as great as ten thousand to one. Would Her Majesty's Government think that so wicked an act could not be prevented and its perpetrators punished simply because it had been committed outside of the three-mile line ? Why are not the two cases parallel ? The Canadian vessels are engaged in the taking of fur seal in a manner that destroys the power of reproduction and insiires the extermination of the species. In exterminating the species an article useful to mankind is totalh' destroyed in order that temporary and immoral gain ma}' be acquired by a few peVsons. By the employment of dynamite on the banks it is not probable that the total destruction of fish could be accomplished, but a serious diminution of a valuable food for man might assuredly result. Does Her Majesty's Government seriously maintain that the law of nations is powerless to prevent such violation of the common rights of man ? Are the supporters of justice in all nations to be declared incompetent to prevent wrongs so odious and so destructive ? In the judgment of this Government the law of the sea is not lawlessness. Nor can the law of the sea and the liberty which it confers and which it protects, be perverted to justify acts w-hich are immoral in themselves, which inevitably tend to results against the interests and against the welfare of mankind. One step beyond that which Her Alajesty's Government has taken in this contention, and piracy finds its justification. The President does not conceive it possible that Her Majesty's Government could in fact be less indifferent to these evil results than is the Government of the United States. But he hopes that Her Majesty's Government will, after this frank expression of views, more readily comprehend the position of the Government of the United States touching this serious question. This Government has been ready to concede much in order to adjust all differences of view, and has, in the judgment of the President, already proposed a solution, not only equitable, but generous. Thus far Her Majesty's Government has declined to accept the proposal of the United States. The President now awaits with deep interest, not unmixed with solicitude, anj^ proposition for reasonable adjustment which Her Majestj-'s Government may I LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 307 submit. The forcible resistance to which this Governiuent is constrained in the Behring Sea is, in the President's judgment, demanded not only by the necessity of defending the traditional and long-established rights of the United vStates, but also the rights of good morals and of good government the world over. In this contention the Government of the United States has no occasion and no desire to withdraw or modify the positions which it has at any time maintained against the claims of the Imperial Government of Russia. The r 4. I ALEUTIAN ISLANDS— lU'.l 1 K I N i United States will not withliold from any nation the privileges wliich it demanded for itself when Alaska was part of the Russian Empire. Nor is the Government of the United States disposed to exercise in those possessions any less power or authority than it was willing to concede to the Imperial Govern- ment of Russia when its sovereignty extended over them. The President is persuaded that all friendly nations will concede to the United States the same rights and privileges on the lands and in the waters of Alaska which the same friendly nations always conceded to the Empire of Russia." 898 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. We may pause to remark upou the foregoing paper, that it is of a kind to present the ability and genius of Blaine in their best state of activity. If we mistake not the cause was rather against him in the controversy. We think that ultimately the doctrine of the free sea will prevail over the remnants of the doctrine of 7nere clausiim, and that the open sealeries of the Behring waters will be and remain open to the friendly commercial competition of the nations under restrictions equally favorable to all. This position, how- ever, need not blind us to the cogency, force and vigorous patriotism with which Mr. Blaine defends and upholds the exclusive rights of America in the waters referred to. The diplomacy in the matter herein involved became serious in 1890. Already, in August of 1889, the seizure of the British sealing vessels in Behring Sea was known to the home governments, and there was an iusipieut antagonism aroused that portended anger and possible hostilities. The cruisers of the United States, not satisfied with protecting the Behring waters within the limits of the marine league, went out openly, and searched and seized certain Canadian vessels bearing the flag of England. It was claimed by the United States that the action of the British ships, in sealing in those waters, was contra bonos mores, or as we should say, against international morality. It was held by the Government of the United States that the action of the Canadian vessels was of permanent injury to the rights' of the Government, and that it should be prevented even bj' force of arms. On the twenty-ninth of Ma}', 1890, Mr. Blaine issued a formal protest against the course of the British Government in the following paper: — Department of State, Washington, May 29, 1890. Sir : — Your note of the twenty-third instant, already acknowledged, informs this Government that you " have been instructed by the Marquis of Salisbur}- to state that Her Majesty's Government would forward without delay a protest " against the course which this Government has found it necessary, under the laws of Congress, to pursue in the waters of the Behring Sea. In turn, I am instructed by the President to protest against the course of the British Government in authorizing, encouraging, and protecting vessels which are not only interfering with American rights in the Behring Sea, but which are doing violence as well to the rights of the civilized world. They are engaged in a warfare against seal life, disregarding all the regulations which lead to its protection and committing acts which lead ultimately to its destruction, as has been the case in every part of the world where the abuses which are now claimed as British rights have been practiced. The President is surprised that such protest should be authorized b}^ I,ord Salisbury, especially because the previous declarations of His Lordship would seem to render it impossible. On the eleventh day of November, 1887, Lord Salisbury, in an ofl&cial interview with the minister from the United States LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE- 399 (Mr. Phelps), cordially agreed that "a code of regulations should be adopted for the preservation of the seals in Behring Sea from destruction at improper times, by improper means, by the citizens of either country." And Lord Salisbury suggested that Mr. Phelps " should obtain from his Government and submit to him (Lord Salisbury) a sketch of a system of regulations which would be adequate for the purpose." Further interviews were held during the following month of February (iSS8) between Lord Salisbury and the American minister and between Lord Salisbury and the American minister accompanied by the Russian ambassador. In answer to Lord Salisbury's request Mr. Phelps submitted the " regulations " which the Government of the United States desired; and in a dispatch of February 25 Mr. Phelps communicated the following to Mr. Bayard, Secretary of State : — " Lord Salisbury assents to your proposition, to establish by mutual arrangement between the governments interested, a close time for fur seals, between April 15 and November i, and between 160 degrees of longitude west and 170 degrees of longitude east in the Behring Sea. And he will cause an act to be introduced into Parliament to give effect to this ar- rangement so soon as it can be pre- pared. In his opinion there is no doubt that the act will be passed. "He will also join the United States Government in any preventive measures it may be thought best to adopt, by orders issued by the naval vessels of the respective governments in that region." Early in April (1888) the Rus- sian ambassador in London, Mr. de Staal, advised the American charge that the Russian Government " would like to have the regulations which might be agreed upon for the Behring Sea extended to that portion of the latter in which the Commander Islands are situated, and also to the Sea of Okhotsk, in which Robben Island is situated." On the sixteenth of April, at Lord Salisbury's invitation, the Russian ambassador and Mr. White, the American charge (Mr. Phelps being absent from London), met at the foreign ofl&ce for the purpose of discussing with Lord Salisbury the details of the proposed conventional arrangement for the protection of seals in Behring Sea. With a view to meeting the Russian Government's wishes respecting the waters surrounding Robben Island, His Lordship suggested that, besides the MARQUIS OF SALISBURY 400 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. whole of Behriiig Sea, those portions of the Sea of Okhotsk and of the Pacific Ocean north of north latitude 47 should be included in the proposed arrange- ment. His I^ /2^^ / yie. ^ ^TT^^c/rz^^yr^cyTy^ ^^P ^ g^^^ ^^ ^^ ^z;::^ 430 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. to demand and obtain ilie punishment of the murderers and an indemnity for the victims is unquestionable. I wish to add that the public opiuion in Italy is justly impatient, and, if concrete provisions were not at once taken, I should find myself in the painful necessity of showing openly our dissatisfaction by recalling the minister of His Majesty from a country where he is unable to obtain justice. Rudini." The words underscored are precisely those which I quoted in my former note ; and I am directed by the President to express the satisfaction of this Government with the very material qualification of the demand made by the Marquis Rudini on behalf of the Italian Government.' You quote in your note another part of the Marquis Rudini's telegram of April 2 in these words : — "Meanwhile His Majesty's Government takes note of tlie declaration whereby the Federal Government recognizes that an indemnity is due to the families of the victims in virtue of the treaty in force between the two countries." If the Marquis Rudini will carefully examine my note of April i, he will discover that I did not " recognize that an indemnity is due to the families of the victims in virtue of the treaty in force between the two countries." What I did say was in answer to Baron Fava's assertion that the United States Government refused to take this demand for indemnity into consideration. I quote my reply : — " The United States, so far from refusing, has distinctly recognized the principle of indemnity to those Italian subjects who may have beeti wronged by a violation of the rights secured to them under the treaty with the United States concluded February 26^ iSjiy The Marquis Rudini may be assured that the United States would recom- pense every Italian subject who might "be wronged by the violation of a treaty" to which the faith of the United States is pledged. But this assur- ance leaves unsettled the important question whether the treaty has been violated. Upon this point the President, with suflEcient facts placed before him, has taken full time for decision. He now directs that certain consider- ations on the general subject be submitted to the judgment of the Italian Government. As a precedent of great value to the case under discussion, the President- recalls the conclusion maintained by Mr. Webster in 1851, when he was Secre- tary of State under President Fillmore. In August of that 3^ear a mob in New Orleans demolished the building in which the office of the Spanish consul was located, and at the same time attacks were made upon coffee houses and cigar shops kept by Spanish subjects. American citizens were involved in the losses, which, in the aggregate, were large. The supposed cause of the mob was the intelligence of the execution of fifty young Americans in Havana and the banish- ment to Spanish mines of nearly 200 citizens of the United States. The victims were all members of the abortive Lopez expedition. I UFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 431 In consequence of these depredations of the mob upon the property of the Spanish consul, as well as against the vSpanish subjects, Don Calderon de la Barca, the minister of Spain, demanded indemnification for all the losses, both official and personal. Mr. Webster admitted that the Spanish consul was entitled to indemnity, and assured the Spanish minister that if the injured consul, Mr. Laborde, •• shall return to his post, or any other consul for New Orleans shall be appointed by Her Catholic Majesty's Government, the ofi&cers of this Government resident in that city will be instructed to receive and treat him with courtesy and with a uational salute to the flag of his ship, if he shall arrive in a Spanish vessel, as a demonstration of respect, such as may signify to him and to his Govern- ment the sense entertained by the Government of the United States of the gross injustice done to his predecessor by a lawless mob, as well as the indignity and insult offered by it to a foreign State with which the United States are, and wish ever to remain, on terms of the most respectful and pacific intercourse." But when pressed by the Spanish minister to afford indemnity to Spanish subjects injured by the mob in common with American citizens, Mr. Webster declined to accede to the demand, and gave his reasons as follows : — " This Government supposes that the rights of the Spanish consul, a public officer residing here under the protection of the United States Government, are quite different from those of the Spanish subjects who have come into the country to mingle with our own citizens and here to pursue their private business and objects. The former may claim special indemnity ; the latter are entitled to such protection as is afforded to our own citizens. While, therefore, the losses of individuals, private Spanish subjects, are greatly to be regretted, yet it is understood that many i\merican citizens suffered equal losses from the same cause; and these private individuals, subjects of Her Catholic Majesty, coming voluntarily to reside in the United States, have certainly no cause of complaint if they are protected by the same laws and the same administration of law as native-born citizens of this country. They have, in fact, some advan- tages over citizens of the State in which they happen to be, inasmuch as they are enabled, until they become citizens themselves, to prosecute for any injuries done to their persons or property in the courts of the United States or the State courts, at their election." It is proper, however, to add that two years after IMr. Webster wrote the foregoing note, Congress, in recognition of certain magnanimous conduct on the part of the Queen of Spain in pardons bestowed on Americans who had unjusti- fiably invaded the island of Cuba, enacted a joint resolution, approved by President Fillmore March 3, 1853, the last day of his term, indemnifying the Spanish consul and other Spanish subjects for the losses sustained in the New Orleans mob of 1851. The considerations upon which this resolution was passed were held not to contravene the original position of Mr. Webster, shared also by President Fillmore. 432 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. The right to judicial remedy which Mr. Webster assured to the Spanish, subjects is likewise assured to the Italian subjects. The right is specially guaranteed in the second section of the third article of the Constitution. And, as Mr. Webster points out, the resident alien has a privilege which is denied to the citizen. The widow's and children of the citizens who lost their lives by mob violence may sue the leaders and members of the mob only in the courts of the State of Louisiana, while the widows and children of the Italian subjects who suffered death have the right to sue each member of the mob not only in the State courts, but also before the Federal tribunals for the district of Louisiana. Provision is made in the revised civil code of Louisiana for redress of such grievances as the widows and children of the victims of the mob may plead. I quote : — "Art. 2314. Ever}' act whatever of man that causes damage to another obliges him by whose fault it happened to repair it. The right of this action shall survive, in case of death, in favor of the minor children and widow of the de- ceased, or either of them, and, in default of these, in favor of the surviving father or mother,, or either of them, for the space of one year from the death. ■'Art. 2316. Every person is responsible for the damage THE PARISH PRISON, NEW ORLEANS. hc occaslous, uot mcrcl}^ bv his act, but by his negligence, his imprudence, or his want of skill. " Art. 2324. He who causes another person to do an unlawful act, or assists or encourages in the commission of it, is answerable in solido with that person for the damage caused by such act." The Government of the United States would feel justified in resting on the argument and conclusion of Mr. Webster if the mob of March 14, 1891, did not, in some of its characteristics, differ from the mob of 1851. But it is due to entire candor, due to this Government, and due to the Government cf Itah', to point out certain differences of which the Government of the United States is honorably bound to take notice. In the case of the mob of 185 1 ]\Ir. Webster asserts that " no personal injury was offered to any one ;" that " the police and other legal authorities did all that was possible to preserve the peace and arrest the rioters ; " that " the mob acted in the heat of blood, and not in pursuance of any predetermined plan or purpose of injury or insult ; " that " the mob was composed of irresponsible persons, the names of none of whom are known to the LIEE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 433 Government of the United States, nor, so far as the Government is informed, to its officers or agents in New Orleans." As prompt!}^ as possible after the lamentable occurrence at New Orleans the President directed the Attorney-General to cause, through his department, a full inquiry to be made into all the facts connected therewith, and solicited his opinion whether any criminal proceedings would lie under the Federal laws in the Federal courts against persons charged with the killing of Italian sub- jects. He has not yet received the official report. If it be found that a prose- cution can be maintained under the statutes of the United States, the case will be presented to the next grand jury according to the usual methods of criminal administration. But if it shall be found, as seems probable, that criminal proceedings can only be taken in the courts of Louisiana, the President can in this direction do no more than to urge upon the State officers the duty of promptly bringing the offenders to trial. This was done in his telegram to the Governor of Louisiana as early as the fifteenth of March. If it shall result that the case can be prosecuted only in the State courts of Louisiana, and the usual judicial investigation and procedure under the criminal law is not resorted to, it will then be the duty of the United States to consider whether some other form of redress may be asked. It is under- stood that the State grand jury is now investigating the affair, and, while it is possible that the jury may fail to present indictments, the United States can not assume that such will be the case. The United States did not by the treaty with Italy become the insurer of the lives or property of Italian subjects resident within our territory. No Gov- ernment is able, however high its civilization, however vigilant its police super- vision, however severe its criminal code, and however prompt and inflexible its criminal administration, to secure its own citizens against violence promoted by individual malice or by sudden popular tumult. The foreign resident must be con- tent in such cases to share the same redress that is offered by the law to the citizen, and has no just cause of complaint or right to ask the interposition of his country if the courts are equally open to him for the redress of his injuries. The treaty, in the first, second, third and, notably, in the twenty-third articles, clearly limits the rights guaranteed to the citizens of the contracting Powers in the territory of each to equal treatment and to free access to the courts of justice. Foreign residents are not made a favored class. It is not believed that Italy would desire a more stringent construction of her duty under the treaty. Where the injur}' inflicted upon a foreign resident is not the act of the Government or of its officers, but of an individual or of a mob, it is believed that no claim for indemnity can justly be made, unless it shall be made to appear that the public authorities charged with the peace of the com- munity have connived at the unlawful act, or, having timely notice of the threatened danger, have been guilty of such gross negligence in taking the necessary precautions as to amount to connivance. 28 434 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. If, therefore, it should appear that among those killed by the mob at New Orleans there were some Italian subjects who were resident or domiciled in that city, agreeabl}- to our treaty with Italy, and not in violation of our immi- gration laws, and who were abiding in the peace of the United States and obeying the laws thereof and of the State of Louisiana, and that the public officers charged with the duty of protecting life and property in that city con- VICTIMS OF THE MOB, NEW ORLEANS. nived at the work of the mob, or, upon proper notice or information of the threatened danger, failed to take any steps for the preservation of the public peace and afterwards to bring the guilty to trial, the President would, under such circumstances, feel that a case was established that should be submitted to the consideration of Congress with a view to the relief of the families of the Italian subjects who had lost their lives by lawless violence." LIFE AND WORK OF Jx\MES G. BLAINE. 435 The Italian affair, well iiigli so serioi:s, tended to illustrate a consti- tutional weakness in the system of the United States. Our Republic has in it enough of the federative principle to reserve to local authorities the prerogative of the trial and punishment of crime. Here, indeed, was a situation. Certain subjects of the King of Italy were murdered in New ( )rleans. They were murdered by American citizens. These American citizens were also citizens of the State of Louisiana. As to their punishment Louisiana must do that; but the offence was international. Nevertheless, according to our law, the punishment could not be international, or even national, but only local. Had Italy proceeded to do justice on the offenders llie United States must immediately interpose the shield of her authority. If Ital}- demanded punishment, the Government, under our Constitution, had to say, " The authorities of Louisiana will punish." When Ital}' said in answer, "The authorities of Louisiana do not punish, and will not," the Government of the United States was logically obliged to punish tlie))i ! But the Consti- tution, at the same time, would not permit the national authorities to proceed against the State authorities. It would seem that the only recourse of the Government was that which was ultimately taken ; namelv, apology for the offence and indemnity for the injur}-. We may conclude these citations from the State papers of Mr. Blaine with some references to the complication with Chili, and a few quotations from the official correspondence. Dangerous as was that imbroglio, all the letters and dispatches of the Secretary of State relative thereto, are brief and concise. On the twenty-first of January, 1S92, Mr. Blaine sent to Patrick Egan, Minister of the United States to Chili, the following dispatch : — Department of State, Washington, January 21, 1892. I am directed by the President to say to you that he has given careful attention to all that has been submitted by the Government of Chili touching the affair of the assault upon the crew of the United States steamer Baltimore in the city of Valparaiso on the evening of the sixteenth of October last, and to the evidence of the of&cers and crew of that vessel, and of some others who wit- nessed the affray, and that his conclusions upon the whole case are as follows : First. — That the assault is not relieved of the aspect which the early infor- mation of the event gave to it, viz : That of an attack upon the uniform of the United States Navy, having its origin and motive in a feeling of hostility to this Government, and not in any act of the sailors or of any of them. Second. — That the public authorities of Valparaiso flagrantly failed in their duty to protect our men, and that some of the police and of the Chilian soldiers and sailors were themselves guilty of unprovoked assaults upon our sailors before and after arrest. He thinks the preponderance of the evidence and the inherent probabilities lead to the conclusion that Riggin was killed b}- the police or soldiers. 480 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Third. — That he is therefore compelled to bring the case back to the position taken by this Government in the note of Mr. Wharton of October 23, last (a copy of which you will deliver with this), and to ask for a suitable apology and for some adequate reparation for the injury done to this Government. You will assure the Government of Chili that the President has no dis- position to be exacting or to ask anything which this Government would not, under the same circumstances, freely concede. He regrets that, from the begin- ning, the gravity of the questions involved has not apparently been appreciated by the Government of Chili, and that an affair in which two American seamen were killed and sixteen others seriousl}' wounded, while only one Chilean was seriously hurt, should not be distinguished from an ordinary brawl between sailors, in which the provocation is wholly personal and the participation limited. No self-respecting Government can consent that persons in its service, whether civil or military, shall be beaten and killed in a foreign territory in resentment I Is[K I:\I.TIMORE. of acts done by or imputed to their Government without exacting a suitable reparation. The Government of the United States has freely recognized this principle, and acted upon it, when the injury was done by its people to one holding an official relation to a friendly power, in resentment of acts done b}' the latter. In such case the United States has not sought for words of the smallest value or of equivocal meaning in which to convey its apology, but has condemned such acts in vigorous terms, and has not refused to make other adequate reparation. But it was not \\\y purpose here to discuss the incidents of this affair, but only to state the conclusions which this Government has reached. We have given every opportunity to the Government of Chili to present any explanatory or mitigating facts, and have had due regard to the fact that the Government of Chili was, for a considerable part of the time that has elapsed since October 16, upon a provisional basis. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 437 I am further directed by the President to say that his attention has been called to the note of instructions seut by Mr. Matta, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, to Mr. Moutt, under date of the eleventh ultimo. Mr. Montt very prudently and, I must suppose, from a just sense of the offensive nature of the dispatch, refrained from communicating it officially to this Government. But, in view of the fact that Mr. Montt was directed to give it to the press of this country, and that it was given the widest possible publicity throughout the world, this Government must take notice of it. You are therefore directed to say to the Chilian Government that the expressions therein, imputing untruth and insincerity to the President and to the Secretary of the Navy in their official communications to the Congress of the United States, are in the highest degree offensive to this Government. Recognizing the usual rules of diplomatic inter- course and of the respect and courtesy which should char- acterize internatio- nal relations (which he cannot assume are wholly unfamil- iar to the Chilian foreign office) , the President was dis- posed to regard the dispatch referred to as indicating a pur- pose to bring about a suspension of diplomatic relations ; but, in view of the fact that Mr. Matta was acting provisionally and that a reorganization of the Chilian Cabinet was about to take place, and afterwards, in further view of the expectation that was held out of a withdrawal and of a suitable apology, notice of this grave offence has been delayed. I am now, however, directed by the President to say that if the offensive parts of the dispatch of the eleventh of December are not at once withdrawn, and a suitable apology offered, with the same pub- licity that was given to the offensive expressions, he will have no other course open to him except to terminate diplomatic relations with the Government of Chili. Mr. Montt, in a note of January 20, has advised me that he has been directed by his Government to inform the Government of the United States that you are not persona gi-ata to the Government of Chili, and to request your recall. This has been laid before the President, and he directs you to say that, CITV <11'' VALPARAISO. 438 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. in view of the foregoing, he does not deem it necessary to make any present response thereto. It will be quite time to consider this suggestion after a reply to this note is received, as we shall then know whether any correspondence can be maintained with the Government of Chili upon terms of mutual respect. You will furnish to the minister of foreign affairs a full copy of this note." The reader knows how nearly we came to war on account of the killing of the American sailors in the harbor of Valparaiso. He also knows how at length the Chilian Government receded from its rather spiteful and impolitic attitude and made a fair apology for the wrong done in the premises. The official cor- respondence, so far as Mr. Blaine was concerned, is reproduced in the following note directed to Mr. Egan at the Chilian capital : — Department of State, Washington, January 30, 1892. By direction of the President, Mr. Blaine instructs Mr. Egan that great pleasure has been given to the people of the United States and to the Executive Department by the receipt of Sehor Pereira's telegraphic reply of the twenty-fifth of January. He says that it has been communicated to Congress; that the correspondence between HON. PATRICK EGAN, IT. s. MINISTER TO CHILI tlic two RcpubHcs will bc rcstorcd to a basis of cordiality; that, in the President's belief, it will be easy to reach a full and honorable adjustment of all unsettled matters; that the regret for, and condem- nation of, the assault on the sailors of the Baltimore expressed by Mr. Pereira are gratifying to the President, who presents to the Chilian Government his con- gratulations upon the frank and ample withdrawal of Senor Matta's telegraphic instructions, and upon the spirit of justice displayed toward Mr. Egan. He instructs Mr. Egan to give assurances of the President's readiness to meet tb.e friendly overtures of the Chilian Government in the most generous spirit, and adds that the President will not engage at present in a discussion of the methods sugo-ested by Senor Pereira in the matter of the reparation to be made for the assa'iilt upon the American sailors, because he believes that the usual diplomatic LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. 439 course is now available to that end, and because he has no doubt that the whole matter will soon be brought to a final and honorable conclusion under the sense of justice evinced b}- Chili." We thus conclude the illustration of the diplomatical genius of James G. Blaine as the same is reflected iu leading extracts from his official papers during his career as Secretarj' of State. The meaning of it is that Blaine was not the rash and hot-headed man who his enemies would have us to believe lie was. On the contrary, his papers here cited show him to have been a man of dispassion and cool judgment. His statesmanship, in this particular, rises to a high level. There was, in this extraordinar}' charac- ter, a contradictiou analagousTo those to which we have re- ferred in other parts of this work. Blaine had heat and temper; that cannot be de- nied. He was capa- ble in his personal relations, and even in his politics, of rashness and auda- city. But it would appear that, when he was burdened with an official responsi- bility on a given question, he became suddenly cool, judi- cial, impartial, long- headed and, in a word, statesmanlike. All through his character, there was seen a line of foam which marked the breaking of contrary tides within him. On one side was the sea of passion, and on the other the broad, calm sea of dispassion and truth. His coun- trymen have not, in this regard, estimated the man at his true valuation. Ameri- cans are very likely to observe and note the belligerent aspects of a mau's character. They are more concerned with a fighter than they are with a philosopher. They like a pugilist better than a sage. Emerson, and even Franklin, are nowhere in this arena in comparisou with athletes, prize-fighters, billiard players, horse BEN'J. DISRAEU, EARI^ OF BKACONSFIELD. 440 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. racers — anything or anybody whose business it is to struggle with somebody else and to beat him. It could not well be otherwise. We are of the English-speaking race, and that stock has its roots in the piracy, marauding and slaughter of northern barbarism. No doubt it was Blaine's intellectual contest and strife — combining easily as it did with an electrified personality — that gave him a strong hold upon the admiration of his countrymen. We may almost suspect, however, from a study of his diplomacy and from his literary works, that he was not at heart the dashing and spectacular contestant which he appeared to be, but rather a thoughtful, farsighted and withal just man. Blaine may have acted, for he had capacity as an actor. He had also the example of such acting. There was Disraeli before him. That certainly was an example great enough. Disraeli was an actor from his youth. He went into the House of Commons acting. He had always regard for the galleries. His very costume was adapted to the stage and his twisted forelock outrivaled that of our own Conkling. But all this was wonderfully eflFective, and behind it there flamed the fires and glowed the enduring heat of genius. It will not do rashly — particularly in free countries, so called — to condemn or ignore the actor's capacity. It has applause. It wins more than merit. It is a gilding which outshines even gold. This is not said of the true nature of things ; else all were false. But it is said of that condition of society which prevails in the better and more pro- gressive parts of the world. Alas, for the low estate of civilization ! Alas, foi the tedious processes and long ages through which and by which we rise ! Possibly, in course of time, we shall emerge and go up the sun-blazoned summit, where a pure humanity shines from the splendor of intellectual and moral robes, and where cock-fights are known no more 1 CHAPTER XVI. BLAINE'S EULOGIES. HE Greeks, if we mistake not, invented the eulogy. That astute and highh- imaginative people per- ceived the fitness of speaking well of the dead. Few of the great Greeks in the days of Hellenic renown were put away by burial or incineration without the eloquent utterance at the funeral. Much of the exquisite oratory of this great race was given on such occasions. Could we penetrate the remoter shadows we might discover in India or among the Chinese or the Semitic peoples the beginnings of such usage, but it remained for the men of Hellas to bring it to perfection. We need here remark only on the sense of the thing as it was practiced by the inventors. It was "to speak well;" that is, it was to speak good things of the dead — not bad things. Perhaps the bad things were to be passed over in silence. The day of death was not the day of criticism. It was the day of praise. Was there not something inspiring and humane in the keen sense of the Greeks enabling them to perceive the fitness of good speaking about the dead ? The coarse, strong Romans perpetuated the sentiment in their heav}^ aphorism of Nil de viortuis nisi bonitni — nothing about the dead but good. We moderns have caught up our intellectual moods and sentimental habits from antiquity. Among the rest we have inherited the eulogy. Doubtless there is about the American eulogy and even more about the English eulogy, some- thing that is perfunctory, cautious, political. Our eulogy is prudent. It does not say the highest things. It avoids audacity and compromise. The eulogist is likely to remember himself as well as the dead. It is one of the circumstances of the eulogy that the eulogist is chosen of eqiial rank with the departed : of equal rank or greater. Good form requires that he who speaks shall have station and fame like that of the dead. The eulogy is like a cause in court — it is a trial by the peers. As such it possesses an interest for the living. Historj' is partly made up of the eulogy. History is itself a sort of eulogy. The writer of human annals is always confronted with conditions very like those that confront the professional eulogist. The same temptations are before him as before the other. We need not here multiply reflections. It is our business rather to produce in the current chapter the evidences of the talent and rank of James G. Blaine in his office of eulogist of the great dead. Once and again he was called upon M4I) /fJt;/;-^| V; \ LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 443 to speak on occasions as conspicuous as any in American history. We shall here present his three principal eulogies in the order of their production. The first of these was the address which he delivered in the Senate of the United States on the twenty-eighth of Januar}^, iS8o. Senator Zachariah Chandler had died on the first of the preceding November. A memorial service was held according to usage in the Senate, and Mr. Blaine was one of the principal speakers. On that occasion he delivered the following address : MEMORIAL ADDRESS OX ZACHARIAH CHANDLER. Mr. President — IMr. Chandler sprang from a strong race of men and was reared in a State which has shed lustre on other Commonwealths by the gift of her native-born and her native-bred. She gave Webster to Massachusetts, Chief Justice Chase to Ohio, General Dix to New York, and Horace Greele}- to the head of American journalism. Air. Chandler left New Hampshire before he attained his majorit}-, and with limited pecuniary resources sought a home in the inviting territory of the Northwest. He was endowed with great physical strength, remarkable powers of endurance, energy that could not be over-taxed, courage of the highest order ; was imbued with principles which throughout his life were inflexible; was intelligent and well instructed, and was thus in all respects equipped for a career in the great Commonwealth where he lived and grew and prospered and died. For a long period following the second war with Great Britain the Territory- of Michigan was governed by one of the most persuasive and successful of American statesmen ; whose pure and honorable life, whose grace and kindness of manner, and whose almost unlimited power in what was then a remote frontier Territor}-, had enabled him to mold the large majority of the earU- settlers to his own political views. When in 1833 jMr. Chandler reached Detroit, General Cass had left the scene of his long reign — for reign it might well be called — to assume control of the War Department under one of the strongest adminis- trations that ever governed the country. The great majoritj- of j-oung men at twenty j-ears of age naturall}^ drifted with a current that was so strong; but Mr. Chandler had inherited political principles which were deepened b}^ his own convictions as he grew to manhood, and he took his stand at once and firmly with the minorit3\ He was from the outset a recognized power in the political field ; though not until his maturer j^ears, with fortune attained and the harder struggles of life crowned with victor3\ would he consent to hold public position. But he was in all the fierce conflicts which raged for twenty years in Michigan, and which ended in changing the political mastery of the State. It is not matter of wonder that personal estrangements occurred in such prolonged and bitter controversy, though often without diminution of mutual respect. In one of the most exciting periods of the struggle, General Cass spoke publich' of not enjoy- ing the honor of IMr. Chandler's acquaintance. Three ^-ears afterward, as Mr. Chandler delighted to tell with good-natured and pardonable boasting, he 444 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. carried to General Cass a letter of introduction from the Governor of Michigan, which so impressed the General that he caused it to be publicly read in this Chamber and placed on tlie permanent files of the Senate. It is to the honor of both these great men that complete cordiality of friendship was restored, and that in the hour of supreme peril to the nation which came soon after, General Cass and Mr. Chandler stood side by side, maintaining the Union of the States by the exercise of the war power of the Government. They sleep their last sleep in the same beautiful cemetery near the city which was so long their home, under the soil of the State which each did so much to honor, and on the margin of the Great Lakes whose commercial development, spanned by their lives, has been so greatly promoted by their efforts. The anti-slavery agitation which broke forth with violence in 1854, after the repeal of the Missouri compromise, was soon followed by partial reaction, and in 1856 Mr. Buchanan was chosen to the presidency. Mr. Chandler took his seat for the first time in this body on the day of Mr. Buchanan's inaugura- tion. It was the first public station he had ever held except the Mayoralty of Detroit for a single term, and the first for which he had ever been a candidate, except in 1S52, when he consented to lead the forlorn hope of the Whigs in the contest for Governor of Michigan. When he entered the Senate the Demo- cratic party bore iindisputed sway in this Chamber, having more than two- thirds of the entire body. The party was led by aggressive, able, uncompro- mising men, who plaj^ed for a high stake and who played the bold game of men who are willing to cast all upon the hazard of the die. The party in opposition, to which Mr. Chandler belonged, was weak in numbers, but strong in character, intellect and influence. Seward, with his philosophy of optimism, his deep study into the working of political forces, and his affluence of rhetoric, was its accepted leader. He was sustained by Sumner, with his wealth of learning and his burning zeal for the right ; by Fessenden, less philosophic than Seward, less learned than Sumner, but more logical and skilled o' fence than either ; by Wade, who in mettle and make-up was a Crom- wellian, who, had he lived in the days of the Commonwealth, would have fearlessly followed the Protector in the expulsion of an illegal parliament, or dra-wn the sword of the Lord and of Gideon to smite hip and thigh the Amalekites who appeared anew in the persons of the Cavaliers ; by Collamer, wise and learned, pure and dignified, a conscript father in look and in fact ; by John P. Hale, who never faltered in his devotion to the anti-slavery cause, and who had, earlier than any of his associates, broken his alliance with the old parties and given his eloquent voice to the cause of the despised Nazarenes ; by Trumbull, acute, able, untiring, the first Republican senator from that great State which has since added so much to the grandeur and glory of our history ; by Hamlin, with long training, with devoted fidelity, with undaunted courage, who came anew to the conflict of ideas with a State behind him. with its faith and its force, and who alone of all the illustrious Senate of 1S57 is with us LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 445 to-day ; by Cameron, with wide and varied experience in affairs, with consummate tact in the government of parties, whose active political life began in the days of Monroe, and who, after a prolonged and stormy career, still survives, by reason of strength, at fourscore, with the attachment of his friends, the respect of his opponents, the heart}^ good wishes of all. Into association with these men Mr. Chandler entered when in his forty- fourth \-ear. His influence was felt, and felt powerfully, from the first day. A writer at the time said that the effect of Chandler's coming was like the addition of a fresh division of troops to an army engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict with an outnumbering foe. He encouraged, inspired, coerced others to do things which he could not do himself, but which others could not have done without him. His first four years in the Senate were passed in a hopeless minority, where a sense of common danger had banished rivalr\', checked jealousy, and produced that harmony and discipline which won the most sig- nal of all our political victories in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presi- dency. Changed by this triumph and the startling events which followed into a majority part}^ in the Senate, the Re- publicans found many of their oldest and ablest leaders trained only to the duties of the minority and not fitced to assume with grace and efficiency the task of administrative leadership. They had been so long studying the science of attack that they were awkward when ^ they felt the need and assumed the re- sponsibility of defence. The}- were like some of the British regiments in the campaign of Namur, of whom William of fortress of the French that could resist them, and hands. It was from this period that Air. Chandler became more widely known to the whole country' — achieving almost at a single bound what we term a national reputation. His defiant attitude in the presence of the impending danger of war ; his superb courage under the doubts and reverses of that terrible struggle between brethren of the same blood ; his readiness to do all things, to dare all things, to endure all things for the sake of victory to the Union ; his ardent support of Mr. Lincoln's administration in every war measure which they proposed ; his quickness to take issue with the administration when he thought a great ¥ CHARLES SUMNI Orange said there was uo none that was safe in their 446 LIFE AND WORK OF JAI^IES G. BLAINE. campaign was about to be ruined by what was termed the Fabian policy; his inspiring presence, his burning zeal, his sleepless vigilance, his broad sympathies, his prompt decision, his eager patriotism, his crowning faith in the final result, all combined to give to Mr. Chandler a front rank among the devoted men who in our war history are entitled to stand next to those who led the mighty conflict on the field of battle. To portray Mr. Chandler's career for the ten consecutive years after the war closed would involve too close a reference to exciting questions still in some sense at issue. But in that long period of service, and in the shorter one that immediately preceded his death, those who knew him well could observe a constant intellectual growth. He was fuller, and stronger and abler in conference and in debate the last year of his life than ever before. He entered the Senate originally without practice in parliamentary discussion. He left it one of the most forcible as well as most fearless antagonists that could be encountered in this chamber. His methods were learned here. He was plain and yet eloquent ; aggressive and yet careful; brave without showing bravado. What he knew, he knew with precision; the powers he possessed were always at his command, and he never declined a challenge to the lists. " Here and now " was his motto, and his entire senatorial career seemed guided by that courageous spirit which the greatest of American senators exhibited, in the only boast he ever made, when he quoted to Mr. Calhoun the classic defiance : — Concurritur ; horse Momento cita mors venit, aut victoria laeta. Mr. Chandler's fame was enlarged by his successful administration of an important Cabinet position. Called by President Grant to the head of the Interior Department by telegraphic summons, he accepted without reluctance and without distrust. His positive and uncompromising course in the Senate for eighteen years had borne the inevitable fruit of many enmities as well as the rich reward of countless friends. The appointment was severely criticised by many who, a year later, were sufiiciently just and magnanimous to withdraw their harsh words and bear generous testimony to his executive ability, his painstaking industry, and his inflexible integrity; to his admirable talent for thorough organization and to his prompt and graceful dispatch of public business. What his friends had before known of his character and his capacity the chance of a few brief months in an administrative position had revealed to the entire country and had placed in history. It would not be just even in the generous indulgence conceded to eulogy to speak of Mr. Chandler as a man without faults. But assuredly no enemy^ if there be one above his lifeless form, will ever say that he had mean faults. They were all on the generous and larger side of his nature. In amassing his princely fortune he never exacted the pound of flesh ; he never ground the faces of the poor ; he was never even harsh to an honest debtor unable to pay. His LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 447 wealth came to him through his own ability, devoted with unremitting industry for a third of a centur}' to honorable trade in that enlarging, ever-expanding region, whose capacities and resources he was among the earliest to foresee and to appreciate. To his friends Mr. Chandler was devotedly true. Like Colonel Benton, he did not use the word "friend" lightly and without meaning; uor did he ever pretend to be friendly to a man whom he did not like. He never dissembled. To describe him in the plain and vigorous Saxon which he spoke himself — he was a warm friend, an honest hater, a hard hitter. In the inner circle of home life, sacred almost from reference, Mr. Chandler was chivalric in devotion, inexhaustible in affection, and exceptionally happy in all his relations. Whatever of sternness there was in his character, whatever of roughness in his demeanor, whatever of irritability in his temper, were one and all laid aside when he sat at his own hearthstone, or dispensed graceful and generous hospitality to unnumbered giiests. There he was seen at his best, and there his friends best love to recall him. As Burke said of Lord Keppel, he was a wild stock of pride on which the tenderest of hearts had grafted the milder virtues. A sage whose words have comforted many generations of men tells us that when death comes every one can see its deplorable and grievous side ; only the wise can see causes for reconcilement. Let us be wise to-da}' and celebrate the memory of a man who stood on the confines of age without once feeling its weak- ness or realizing its decay ; who passed sixty-six years in this world without losing a single day of mental activity or physical strength; who had a business career of -unbroken prosperitj' ; who had attained a fourth election to the Senate of the United States, an honor enjoyed by fewer men in the Republic than even its Chief Rulership; and who, strengthening with his ^^ears, stood higher in the regard of his coiintrjanen, firmer with his constituency, nearer to his friends, and dearer to his kindred, at the close of his career than on any preceding daj^ of his eventful life." The tragedy of the Garfield administration — its brevity and sudden and bloody eclipse — are known and remembered throughout the civilized world. Long will it be before the impression produced by that event will fade from the memory of the American people. Of the men who were nearest to that disaster and crime Blaine was most near of all. He and the President had become intimately associated. Their relation was both personal and official. It would appears that they were friends. Certainly in the brief days between March and July of 1881 they walked and talked much together. Certain it is also that Blaine was the right arm of the admin- istration. We need not here go into a review of the political condition of the day. There was a great rupture in the part}' — a revolt against the administration which was unsuccessful. The insurgents had been put down. Garfield and Blaine were in high feather when the assassin's bullet went flying. 448 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. The Secretaiy of State saw his chief shot down. He was by his side and supported him to the floor of that old railway station where the bronze star now tells the observer of the exact spot where the President met his fate. Indeed it was a vile business ; unprovoked, malicious, desperate, horrible in all its details. The nation must needs bury Garfield with such honor and grief as became the occasion. It was felt to be fitting that the people as such, by their highest representative body, should by some suitable memorial services commemorate the life and death of the late honored Chief Magis- trate. Very soon after the open- ing of Congress, in December of 1 88 1, various resolutions were in- troduced, looking to a formal ob- servance in memory of the dead After considerable discussion, the twenty-seventh of February, 1882, was fixed upon as the memorial day, and ex-Secretary Blaine was chosen as speaker to pronounce a suitable eulogy on the life and character of Garfield. The occa- sion was one of the utmost state and solemnity. There were pres- ent, besides the two Houses of Congress, the President and his Cabinet, the ministers resident of JAMES A. GARFIELD. ^ . . , 1 r il. foreign powers, the generals ot the army and commanders of the navy, and hundreds of the most distinguished men and women in America. MEMORL-VL .\DDRESS .\XD EULOGY ON JAMES A. GARFIELD. Mr. President — For the second time in this generation the great depart- ments of the Government of the United States are assembled in the Hall of Representatives to do honor to the memory of a murdered President. Lincoln fell at the close of a mighty struggle in which the passions of men had been deeply stirred. The tragical termination of his great life added but another to the lengthened succession of horrors which had marked so many lintels with the blood of the first-born. Garfield was slain in a day of peace, when brother had been reconciled to brother, and when anger and heat had been banished from the land. Whosoever shall hereafter draw the portrait of murder, if he will show it as has been exhibited, where such an example was last to have been looked LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 449 for, let him not give it the grim visage of Moloch, the brow knitted by revenge, the face black with settled hate. Let him draw, rather, a decorous, smooth- faced, bloodless demon ; not so much an example of human nature in its depravity and in its paroxysms of crime, as an infernal being, a fiend in the ordinary displav and development of his character. From the landing of the Pilgrims at Phnnouth till the uprising against Charles I., about 20,000 emigrants came from Old England to New England. As they came in pursuit of intellectual freedom and ecclesiastical independence, rather than for worldly honor and profit, the emigration naturally ceased when the contest for religious liberty began in earnest at home. The man who struck his most effective blow for freedom of conscience b}- sailing for the colonies in 1620 would have been accounted a deserter to leave after 1640. The opportunit}' had then come on the soil of England for that great contest which established the authorit}' of Parliament, gave religious freedom to the people, sent Charles to the block, and committed to the hands of Oliver Cromwell the supreme executive authority of England. The English emigration was never renewed, and from these 20,000 men, with a small emigration from Scotland and from France, are descended the vast numbers who ha\e New England blood in their veins. In 1685 the revocation of the edict of Nantes, bj- Louis XI\\, scattered to other countries 400,000 Protestants, who were among the most intelligent and enterprising of French subject.s — merchants of capital, skilled manufacturers and handicraftsmen, superior at the time to all others in Europe. A considerable number of these Huguenot French came to America ; a few landed in New England, and became honorably prominent in its histor}'. Their names have, in large part, become anglicized or have disappeared, but their blood is trace- able in many of the most reputable families, and their fame is perpetuated in honorable memorials and useful institutions. From these two sources, the English-Puritan and the French-Hugueuot, came the late President ; his father, Abraham Garfield, being descended from the one, and his mother, Eliza Ballon, from the other. It was good stock on both sides — none better, none bra^•er, none truer. There was in it an inheritance of coiirage, of manliness, of imperishable love of liberty, of undying adherence to principle. Garfield was proud of his blood ; and, with as much satisfaction as if he were a British nobleman reading his stately ancestral record in Burke's Peerage, he spoke of liimself as ninth descent from those who would not endure the oppression of the Stuarts, and seventh in descent from the brave French Protestants who refused to submit to t3-rann3- even from the Grand Monarque. General Garfield delighted to dwell on these traits ; and during his onl}^ visit to England he busied himself in discovering every trace of his forefathers in parish registries and on ancient army rolls. Sitting with a friend, in the gallery of the House of Commons, one night, after a long day's labor in this 29 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 451 field of research, he said, with evident elation, that in every war in which, for three centuries, patriots of English blood had struck sturdy blows for con- stitutional government and human liberty, his family had been represented. They were at Marston Moor, at Naseby, and at Preston ; they were at Bunker Hill, at Saratoga, and at Monmouth, and in his own person had battled for the same great cause in the war which preserved the Union of the States. Losing his father before he was two years old, the early life of Garfield was one of privation, but its poverty has been made indelicately and unjustl}- prominent. Thousands of readers have imagined him as the ragged, starving child, whose reality too often greets the eye in the squalid sections of our large cities. General Garfield's infancy and youth had none of their destitution, none of their pitiful features appealing to the tender heart and to the opeii hand of charity. He was a poor boy in the same sense in which Henry Clay was a poor boy ; in which Andrew Jackson was a poor boy ; in which Daniel Webster was a poor boy ; in the sense in which a large majority of the eminent men of America, in all generations, have been poor boys. Before a great multitude of men, in a public speech, Mr. Webster bore this testimony : " It did not happen to me to be born in a log-cabin, but my elder brothers and sisters were born in a log-cabin raised amid the snow-drifts of New Hampshire, at a period so early that when the smoke rose first from its rude chimney, and curled over the frozen hills, there was no similar evidence of a white man's habitation between it and the settle- ments on the rivers of Canada. Its remains still exist. I make to it an annual visit. I carry my children to it to teach them the hardships endured by the generations which have gone before them. I love to dwell on the tender recollections, the kindred ties, the early affec- tions, and the touching narratives and incidents which mingle with all I know of this primitive family abode." With the requisite change of scene the same words would aptly portray the early days of Garfield. The poverty of the frontier, where all are engaged in a common struggle and where a common sympathy and hearty co-operation lighten the burdens of each, is a very different poverty — different in kind, different in influence and effect — from that conscious and humiliating indigence which is every day forced to contrast itself with neighboring wealth on which it feels a sense of grinding dependence. The poverty of the frontier is indeed no poverty. It is but the beginning of wealth, and has the boundless possibilities of the future always opening before it. No man ever grew up in the agricultural regions of the West, where a house-raising, or even a corn-husking, is matter of GARFIICI.U'S BIRTHPLACE. 452 LIFE AND WORK OF JAxMES G. BLAINE. common interest and helpfulness, with any other feeling than that of broad- minded, generous independence. This honorable independence marked the 3'outh of Garfield as it marks the youth of millions of the best blood and brain now training for the future citizenship and future government of the Republic. Garfield was born heir to land, to the title of freeholder, which has been the patent and passport of self-respect with the Anglo-Saxon race ever since Hengist and Horsa landed on the shores of England. His adventure on the canal — an alternative between that and the deck of a Lake Erie schooner — was a farmer boy's device for earning money, just as the New England lad begins a possibly great career by sailing bcfoie the mast on a coasting-vessel or on a mer- chantman bound to the F.uthcr India or to the China beas No maul} man feels an} thing of shame in looking back to early struggles with adverse cir- cumstances, and no man feels a worthier pride than when he has conquered the obstacles 1 to his progress. But no one of noble mold de- sires to be looked upon as having occupied a menial position, as hav- ing been repressed b}- a feeling of inferiority, or as having suffered the evils of poverty until re- lief was found at the hand of charity. Gen- eral Garfield's youth presented no hardships which family love and family energy did not overcome ; subjected him to no privations which he did not cheerfully accept ; and left no memories save those which were recalled with delight and were transmitted with profit and with pride. Garfield's early opportunities for securing an education were extremel}- limited, and yet were sufficient to develop in him an intense desire to learn. He could read at three vears of age, and each winter he had the advantage of the district school. He read all the books to be found within the circle of his acquaintance : some of them he got by heart. While yet in childhood he was a constant student of the Bible, and became familiar with its literature. The dignity and earnestness of his speech in his maturer life gave evidence of this early training. At eighteen years of age he was able to teach school, and .ARUUI.D UN TIllC CAXAl.. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 453 thenceforward his ambition was to obtain a college education. To this end he bent all his efforts, working in the harvest field, at the carpenter's bench, and, in the winter season, teaching the common schools of the neighborhood. While thus laboriously occupied he found time to prosecute his studies, and was so successful, that at twenty-two years of age he was able to enter the junior class at Williams College, then under the presidency of the venerable and honored Mark Hopkins, who, in the fullness of his powers, survives the eminent pupil to whom he was of inestimable service. The history of Garfield's life to this period presents no novel features. He had undoubtedly shown perseverance, self-reliance, self-sacrifice, and ambition — qualities which, be it said for the honor of our country, are everywhere to be found among the young men of America. But from his graduation at Williams onward to the hour of his tragical death, Garfield's career was eminent and exceptional. Slowly working through his educational period, receiving his diploma when twenty-four years of age, he seemed at one bound to spring into con- spicuous and brilliant success. Within six years he was successively president of a college. State Senator of Ohio, Major-General of the Army of the United States, and Representative-elect to the National Congress. A combination of honors so varied, so elevated, within a period so brief, and to a man so young, is without precedent or parallel in the history of the country. Garfield's army life was begun with no other military knowledge than such as he had hastily gained from books in the few months preceding his march to the field. Stepping from civil life to the head of a regiment, the first order he received when ready to cross the Ohio was to assume command of a brigade, and to operate as an independent force in Eastern Kentucky. His immediate duty was to check the advance of Humphrey Marshall, who was marching down the Big Sandy with the intention of occupying, in connection with other Confederate forces, the entire territory of Kentucky, and of precipitating the State into seces- sion. This was at the close of the year 1861. Seldom, if ever, has a young college professor been thrown into a more embarrassing and discouraging posi- tion. He knew just enough of military science, as he expressed it himself, to measure the extent of his ignorance, and with a handful of men he was marching, in rough winter weather, into a strange country, among a hostile population, to confront a largely superior force, under the command of a dis- tinguished graduate of West Point, who had seen active and important ser\-ice in two preceding wars. The result of the campaign is matter of history. The .skill, the endurance, the extraordinary energy shown by Garfield, the courage he imparted to his men, raw and untried as himself, the measures he adopted to increase his force, and to create in the enemy's mind exaggerated estimates of his numbers, bore perfect fruit in the routing of Marshall, the capture of his camp, the dispersion of his force, and the emancipation of an important territory from the control of the rebellion. Coming at the close of a long series of disasters to the Union army, 454 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Garfield's victory had an unusual and extraneous importance, and in the popular judgment elevated the young commander to the rank of a military hero. With less than 2000 men in his entire command, with a mobilized force of only iioo, without cannon, he had met an army of 5000 and defeated them — driving Marshall's forces suc- cessively from two strongholds of their own selection, fortified with abundant artillery. Ma- jor-General Buell, com- manding the Depart- ment of the Ohio, an experienced and able s )ldier of the regular limy, published an or- der of thanks and con- gratulation on the bril- limt result of the Big S mdv campaign, which \\ould have turned the head of a less cool and sLUsible man than Gar- held. Buell declared that his services had called into action the highest qualities of a soldier, and President Lincoln supplemented these words of praise Ijv the more substan- tial reward of a briga- dier-general's commis- sion , to bear date from the day of his decisive \ ictory over IVIarshall. The subsequent mili- tarv career of Garfield fully sustained its bril- liant beginning. With his new commission, he was assigned to the command of a brigade in the Army of the Ohio, and took part in the second and decisive day's fight in the great battle of Shiloh. The remainder of the year 1862 was not especially eventful to Garfield, as it was not to the armies with which he was serving. His pi^actical sense was called into exercise in completing the LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IEvS G. BLAINE. 4o5 task, assigned him bj? General Buell, of reconstructing bridges and re-establish- ing lines of railway communication for the army. His occupation in this useful but not brilliant field was varied by service on court-martials of importance, in which department of duty he won a valuable reputation, attracting the notice and securing the approval of the able and eminent Judge Advocate-General of the Army. That of itself was warrant to honorable fame ; for among the great men who in those trying days gave themselves, with entire devotion, to the service of their country ; one who brought to that service the ripest learning, the most fervid eloquence, the most varied attainments ; who labored with modesty and shunned applause ; who in the day of triumph sat reserved and silent and grateful — as Francis Deak in the hour of Hungary's deliverance — was Joseph Holt, of Ken- tucky, who in his honorable retirement enjoys the respect and veneration of all who love the Union of the States. Early in 1863 Garfield was assigned to the highly important and responsible post of chief-of-staff to General Rose- crans, then at the head of the Army of the Cumberland. Perhaps in a great military campaign no subordinate officer requires sounder judgment and quicker knowledge of men than the chief-of- staff to the commanding general. An indiscreet man in such a position can sow more discord, breed more jealous}-, and disseminate more strife, than any other officer in the entire organization. When General Garfield assumed his new duties he found various troubles alread}' well developed and seriously affecting the value and efficiency of the Army of the Cumberland. The energy, the impartiality, and the tact with which he sought to allay these dissensions and to discharge the duties of his new and tr3'ing position will always remain one of the most striking proofs of his great versatility. His military duties closed on the memorable field of Chickamauga, a field which, however disastrous to the Union arms, gave to him the occasion of winning imperishable laurels. The very rare distinction was accorded him of a great promotion for his bravery on a field that was lost. President Lincoln appointed him a major-general in the Army of the United States for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Chickamauga. The Army of the Cumberland was reorganized, under the command of General Thomas, who promptly offered Garfield one of its divisions. He was extremely GENERAL ROSECRANS. 456 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. desirous to accept the position, but was embarrassed by the fact that he had, a year before, been elected to Congress, and the time when he must take his seat was drawing near. He preferred to remain in the militarj^ service, and had within his own breast the largest confidence of success in the wider field which his new rank opened to him. Balancing the arguments on the one side and the other, anxious to determine what was for the best, desirous above all things to do his patriotic duty, he was decisively influenced by the advice of President Lincoln and vSecretary Stanton, both of whom assured him that he could, at that time, 1)6 of especial value in the House of Representatives. He resigned his commission of major-general on the fifth day of December, 1863, and took his seat in the House of Representatives on the seventh. He had served two years and four months in the ami}-, and had just completed his thirty-second year. The Thirty-eighth Congress is pre- eminently entitled in history to the designation of the War Congress. It was elected while the war was flagrant, and every member was chosen upon the issues involved in the continuance of the struggle. The Thirty-seventh Congress had, indeed, legislated to a large extent on war measures, but it was chosen before any one believed that secession of the States would be actually attempted. The magnitride of the work which fell upon its successor was unpre- cedented, both in respect to the vast sums of monej' raised for the support of the army and nav}', and of the new and extraordinary powers of legislation which it was forced to exercise. Only twenty-four States were represented, and 1S2 members were upon its roll. Among these were many distinguished party leaders on both sides, veterans in the public service, with established reputations for abilit}^ and with that skill which comes only from parliamentary experience. Into this assemblage of men Gar- field entered without special preparation, and it might almost be said unex- pectedly. The question of taking command of a division of troops under General Thomas, or taking his seat in Congress was kept open till the last moment — so late, indeed, that the resignation of his military commission and his appearance in the House were almost contemporaneous. He wore the uniform of a major-general of the United States Army on Saturday, and on Monday, in civilian's dress, he answered to the roll-call as a Representative in Congress from the State of Ohio. GENERAI, THOMAS. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 457 He was especially fortunate in the constituency which elected him. Descended almost entirely from New England stock, the men of the Ashtabula District were intensely radical on all questions relating to human rights. Well edu- cated, thrifty, thoroughly intelligent in affairs, acutely discerning of character, not quick to bestow confidence, and slow to withdraw it, they were at once the most helpful and most exacting of supporters. Their tenacious trust in men in whom they have once confided is illustrated by the unparalleled fact that Elisha Whittlesey, Joshua R. Giddings and James A. Garfield represented the district for fifty- four years. There is no test of a man's ability in any department of public life more severe than service in the House ot Representatives ; there is no place where so little deference is paid to reputation previously acquired, or to emi- nence won outside ; no place where so little consideration is shown for the feelings or the failures of beginners. What a man gains in the House he gains by sheer force of his own character ; and if he loses and falls back he must expect no mercy and will receive no sym- pathv- It is a field in •^ , . ; , . , ^ BLAINE READING MESSAGES OF S^IMPATHY TO MRS. GARFIELD. which the survival ot the strongest is the recognized rule, and where no pretense can deceive and no glamour can mislead. The real man is discovered, his worth is impartially weighed, his rank is irreversibly decreed. With possibly a single exception, Garfield was the youngest member in the House when he entered, and was but seven years from his college graduation. But he had not been in his seat sixty days before his ability was recognized and his place conceded. He stepped to the front with the confidence of one who belonged there. The House was crowded with strong men of both parties ; nineteen of them have since been transferred to the Senate, and many of them 458 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. have served with distinction in the gubernatorial chairs of their respective States and on foreign missions of great consequence ; but among them all none grew so rapidly, none so firmly as Garfield. As is said by Trevelyan of his parliamentary hero, Garfield succeeded " because all the world in concert could not have kept him in the background ; and because, when once in the front, he played his part with a prompt intrepidity and a commanding ease that were but the outward symptoms of the immense reserve of energy on which it was in his power to draw." Indeed, the apparently reserved force which Garfield possessed was one of his great characteristics. He never did so well but that it seemed he could easily have done better. He never expended so much strength but that he seemed to be holding additional power at call. This is one of the happiest and rarest distinctions of an effective debater, and often counts for as much in persuading an assembly as the elo- quent and elaborate ar- gument. The great measure of Garfield's fame was filled by his service in the House of Repre- .sentatives. His mili- tary life, illustrated by honorable performance and rich in promise,was, as he himself felt, pre- i.AWM II 1 1 — THh H MI (I iKisiiiM \Ki III \i M M K ui a t u r 6 1 y tcrmiuatcd, and necessarily incomplete. Speculation as to what he might have done in a field where the great prizes are so few cannot be profitable. It is sufficient to say that, as a soldier, he did his duty bravely ; he did it intelligently ; he won an enviable fame, and he retired from the service without blot or breath against him. As a lawyer, though admirably equipped for the profession, he can scarcely be said to have entered on its practice. The few efforts he made at the bar were distinguished by the same high order of talent which he exhibited on every field where he was put to the test ; and if a man may be accepted as a competent iudge of his own capacities and adaptations, the law was the profes- sion to which Garfield should have devoted himself. But fate ordained other- wise, and his reputation in history will rest largely upon his service in the House of Representatives. That service was exceptionally long. He was nine times consecutively chosen to the House" an honor enjoyed by not more than LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE- 459 six other Representatives of the more than 5000 who have been elected from the organization of the government to this honr. As a parliamentary orator, as a debater on an issue squarely joined, where the position has been chosen and the ground laid out, Garfield must be assigned a very high rank. ]\Iore, perhaps, than any man with whom he was associated in public life, he gave careful and systematic study to public questions, and he came to every discussion in which he took part with elaborate and complete preparation. He was a steady and indefatigable worker. Those who imagine that talent or genius can supply the place or achieve the results of labor will find no encouragement in Garfield's life. In preliminary work he was apt, rapid and skillful. He possessed, in a high degree, the power of readily absorbing ideas and facts, and, like Dr. Johnson, had the art of getting from a book all that was of value in it by a reading apparenth- so quick and cursory that it seemed like a mere glance at the table of contents. He was a pre-eminently fair and candid man in debate, took no petty advantage, stooped to no unworthy methods, avoided personal allusions, rarely appealed to preju- dice, did not seek to influence passion. He had a quicker eye for the strong point of his adversary than for his weak point, and on his own side he so mar- shaled his weighty arguments as to make his hearers forget any possible lack in the complete strength of his position. He had a habit of stating his oppo- nent's side with such amplitude of fairness and such liberality of concession that his followers often complained that he was giving his case away. But never in his prolonged participation in the proceedings of the House did he give his case away, or fail, in the judgment of competent and impartial listeners, to gain the mastery. These characteristics which marked Garfield as a debater did not, however, make him a great parliamentary leader. A parliamentary leader, as that term is understood wherever free representative government exists, is necessarily and very strictly the organ of his party. An ardent American defined the instinctive warmth of patriotism when he offered the toast : " Our country always right ; but right or wrong, our country." The parliamentary leader who has a body of followers that will do and dare and die for the cause is one who believes his party always right ; but right or wrong, is for his party. No more important or exacting duty devolves upon him than the selection of the field and the time for contest. He' must know not merely how to strike, but where to strike, and when to strike. He often skillfully avoids the strength of his opponent's position and scatters confusion in his ranks, by attacking an exposed point when really the righteousness of the cause and the strength of logical intrenchment are against him. He conquers often both against the right and the heavy battalions, as when young Charles Fox, in the days of his Toryism, carried the House of Commons against justice, against its immemorial rights, against its own con- victions, and in the interest of a corrupt administration, in obedience to a tyrannical sovereign, drove Wilkes from the seat to which the electors of 4(30 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Middlesex had chosen him, and installed Luttrell in defiance, not merely of law, but of public decency. For an achievement of that kind Garfield was disqualified— disqualified by the texture of his mind, by the honesty of his heart, by his conscience, and by every instinct and aspiration of his nature. The three most distinguished parliamentary leaders hitherto developed in this country are Mr. Clay, Mr. Douglas, and Mr. Thaddeus vStevens. Each was a man of consummate ability, of great earnestness, of intense personality, differing widely, each from the others, and yet with a signal trait in common— the power to command. In the give and take of daily discussion, in the art of controlling and consolidating reluctant and refractory followers; in the skill to overcome all forms of opposition, and to meet with competency and courage the varying phases of unlooked-for assault or unsuspected defection, it would be difficult to rank with these a fourth name in all our Congressional history. But of these Mr. Clay was the greatest. It would, perhaps, be impossible to find in the parliamentary annals of the world a parallel to Mr. Clay in 1841, when at sixty-four years of age, he took the control of the Whig party from the President who had received their suf- frages, against the power of Webster in the Cabinet, against the eloquence of Choate in the Senate, against the herculean efforts of Caleb Cushing and . Henry A. Wise in the House. In unshared leadership, in the tide and plenitude of power, he hurled against John Tyler, with deepest scorn, the mass of that conquering column which had swept over the land in 1840 and drove his administration to seek shelter behind the lines of his political foes. Mr. Douglas achieved a victory scarcely less wonderful, when, in 1854, against the secret desires of a strong administration, against the wise counsel of the older chiefs, against the conservative instinct and even the moral sense of the country, he forced a reluctant Congress into a repeal ©f the Missouri compromise. Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, in his contests from 1865 to 1868, actually advanced his parliamentary leadership until Congress tied the hands of the President, and governed the country by its own will, leaving only perfunctory duties to be discharged by the Executive. With $200,000,000 of patronage in his hands at the opening of the contest, aided by the active force of Seward in the Cabinet and the moral power of Chase on the bench, Andrew Johnson could not command the support of one-third in either House against the he:nry ci.av. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 4lties in discovering political method and advantage, who, at the same time, has possessed the capacity to write, the grace of style, the logical and ethical standards necessary for the production of a book. Blaine did possess such faculties and attainments in large measure. The remarkable thing about it is, that as a writer — an author — his spirit was calm, dispassionate and just. There were two men of him; the one of one kind and the other of another kind. One Blaine was a man of the arena — the man of the House and the hustings. The other Blaine was the man of the library. The two were quite distinct, and 5'et the forces of the two combined their volume in the same individual consciousness. Among the public men of the United States who have essayed authorship, who have dunst enter that calm, cool domain of truth and justice wherein only (477) 478 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. a fit book: may have its birth, Mr. Blaine has really a pre-eminent place. He surprised the thoughtful part of our American citizenship by both the exhaustive- ness of the subject-matter and the judicial temper which he displayed throughout in the composition of his history of Congress. The book stands almost alone among works of its kind in its dispassionate tone and the justice of its deduc- tions. Nearly all of its competitors are distempered with the heat and disease of the political arena, but the work referred to is not a diseased book. On the contrary it is a healthful book, full of judicial criticism, varied information, large experiences crystallized into brief summary and cogent exposition, racy but always just criticism of men and affairs, and yet in no wise warped from those principles and standards of politics with which the name of Blaine is forever associated. The book is pre-eminently a just book — a book by a Repub- lican author, of course, but, nevertheless, a work whicli the thoughtful young men of America may read with unmeasured profit as to the future, and the thoughtful old men with like advantage in the retrospect. In the present chapter we shall attempt to illustrate the style and method of Blaine as a writer. The reader will have already caught from his speeches and public papers a large measure of the literary faculty in the writer, and the same qualities will be noted in all his writings. The directness of his manner ma)' be noted in all he produced. Blaine had great intellectual courage. He always attacked the subject directly and without hesitation. He never uses strategy ; never withdraws his forces from the front for a side movement, but alwaj^s conies directly and boldly to the issue. Mr. Blaine's ability to deduce the true historical' value of events is well illustrated in his comments on the Louisiana question and what would have ensued under certain conditions. Equal ability is shown by the author in his comments on the Missouri question. Few of our public men have had clearer apprehension of the nature and tendency of events than James G. Blaine. His intellectual vision was good. No important part of the landscape was shadowed from his view. Nor is there any confusion in his mind between the important and the unimportant. He was able to speak readily and write with precision about almost every issue which has arisen in the public life of the American people. The world knows well that if James G. Blaine had not, on the eve of the presidential election of 1884, gone to New York City, he would have been Presi- dent of the United States. Strange that his great prototype, Henry Clay, should also have missed, by a trifle. Using one of the slang phrases of the age, which we believe has its origin in the billiard room, we may say that both Clay and Blaine were beaten for the presidency by a scratch. If the former had not written to Miller, of Tuscaloosa, or if the latter had not had to confront Burchard (though he heard him not), then each would have reached the highest official place in the gift of the American people. This analogy, however, was not in Mr. Blaine's mind when, in his history of Congress, he penned his comments on the defeat of Clay. LIFE AND WORK OF JAAIES G. BLAINE. 479 Mr. Blaine was as capable in the matter of deducing the value of men's lives as in gaining the true historical estimate of events. But in the latter respect lie is always strong. A large part of the one of his volumes is devoted to a review and summary of the public histor}^ of the United States, before the entrance of himself into the House of Representatives. Of his work, in this particular, we may almost adopt the saying of Johnson, in his epitaph of Gold- smith, that he touches almost every subject and touches nothing which he does not adorn. We have frequently remarked upon the dispassion of Blaine when he comes to write. His temper w^as a thing of the open arena of battle. It did not go as far as his study, much less as far as the cabinet chamber, Few things seem to have been sufficient to arouse him to denunciation. Even the Dred Scott decision, that monstrous provocation of modern history, is calmly reviewed in his book. The space of the present chapter does not permit extensive quotations from Mr. Blaine's works. This review is intended only to illustrate his literary style and to establish his rank among scholars and thinkers. It is intended, in the second place, to carry the mind of the reader along the historical channels that ran parallel with Mr. Blaine's life and activities. As he approaches that period in history at which he threw himself into the public contest and became a personal force in the direction of affairs, his style increases in vigor and picturesqueness. We arrive at length at the outbreak of the Civil W^ar. The Thirty-seventh Congress is in session, and the initial passages of the great conflict have been enacted. The prodigious front of national expenditure rises upon the nation. No such enormous expenses had ever hitherto been known this side of the sea. The Ship of State floundered in the waves. Chase and Stevens, the one in the Treasury and the other at the head of the Committee of Ways and Means, felt their way, with trial expedience, into the shadows. The loan bill was proposed. Mr. Blaine's comments on that measure are of a kind to show him already a master in finance and a student of those profound questions which concern the economics of nations. Mr. Blaine's ability to depict results and conditions, in public affairs, is well illustrated in his comments on the effects of the issuance of the pre- liminary Proclamation of Emancipation. The reader knows well how seriousl}-, for the time, the prospects of the administration were darkened by that measure, and how soon thereafter the sun broke through the clouds and the beginning of the end was seen. The second volume of Mr. Blaine's history of his times opens with the assas- sination of Lincoln and the installment of Andrew Johnson in the presidenc}-. We are presented with a strong sketch of the turbulent condition of public affairs in the after part of 1865 and the beginning of the following 3-ear. Strange were the vicissitudes, personal and general, in that anarchic and trans- forming period. One of the most anomalous things in the high official life of the American Republic was the attitude of Andrew Johnson towards the great parties 480 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. then existing in the conntry. The question was essentially in wnat manner the insurrectionary States should be dealt with in the re-establishment of the Union. From an attitude of extreme hostility and vengeance towards the late Confederacy and, in particular, towards its leaders, the President of the United States was brought around to a diametrically opposite point of view. In this change, he broke with the Republican part}- and became the butt of a general animosity throughout the North. Mr. Blaine was strongly and conscientiously opposed to that system" of reorganization which the President had adopted, if indeed, he had not himself originated it. It would appear (so much must be said in vindication of Johnson) that many of the considerate and liberal measures which he adopted had been in the mind and heart of Lincoln, and were still in the mind and heart of several of the most pronounced Republican leaders. William H. Seward was one of those who believed in a spirit of toleration, as it respected the South and those who had latel}- been in arms against the Government. Events swept forward rapidly towards a culmination. For a while the President and the Republican party continued to pull together in such sort as two horses, without concurrence of will or under the dominion of any common will, do pull at the same load, being so harnessed. But at length the harness became over-strained and it was evident that of the contradictor}- forces one must pull in one direction and the other in the other. The breach between President Johnson and the mass of the Republicans grew ever wider. For his part, the Chief Magistrate sought assiduoush' to hold and to restore his leadership over the united party. It were difficult to fathom the man's purposes and hopes. By and by he devised a sort of convention, made up of delegates from the four quarters of the Republic, believing that he might thereby, under the fame of a restored Union, have not only peace, but pre-eminence. In the course of his work, Mr. Blaine does full justice to the aspiring Garfield. He frequently quotes from the arguments of that young statesman. While the Reconstruction Bill was before the House, Garfield spoke once and again, favoring this amendment and that, to the pending measure. The matter is discussed by Blaine in his history with a fullness and fairness of the most judicious critic. By and by Congress sought to hamper President Johnson in his work of reconstructing the South. The President declared, " While I hold the chief executive authority of the United States, while the obligation rests upon me to see that all laws are faithfully executed, I can never willingl}- surrender that trust or the powers given for its execution. I can never give my assent to be made responsible for the faithful execution of laws and at the same time surren- der that trust and the powers which accompany it, to any other executive officer, high or low, or to an}- number of ' executive officers.' " Next came the business of the vetoes. What Congress did the President vetoed, and what the President did the Congress thwarted. Bad grew to worse. DlsriNGUlSHED UNION ARMY AND NAVY OFFICERS. 482 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. and then came the impeachiueut. In couuectiou with the impeachment pro- ceedings, there is a happy paragraph in which Mr. Blaine has the opportunity to bear witness to the virtues and integrity' of his kinsman and patron of the boyhood days, Honorable Thomas Ewing, of Ohio. Johnson escaped : bj' the skin of his teeth. One vote was nothing to boast of in such a matter! The quality of Mr. Blaine's mind; his judicial and literary temper, are well illustrated in the paragraph in which he sums up the result and acquits those members of the Senate, who, though Republicans, had voted for the President's vindication. One of the most interesting sections of Mr. Blaine's work is that in which he recounts the story of the Republican National Convention of 1880. The reader might well expect in this to see the appearance of the personal equation. But not so. Mr. Blaine pursues the even course of the narrative and we should look in vain for a symptom of the overwhelming disappointment which he — being human^must have felt at the issue of that convention. The foregoing notices of Blaine's history of Congress have been given with a view to illustrating Mr. Blaine's capacities as a man of letters. It will be conceded that he was not onl}' a publicist, but an author of excellent rank. His abilities with the pen are fairly comparable with the works of men well known in historical literature. Had he applied himself assiduously to composition as he did to the problems of political life, he would, undoubtedly, have written himself into his land's language, durably, permanently. As it is, his work will not soon be effaced. While the foregoing notes have been made with the primary object of exemplifying the author's literar}' spirit, the same tended strongly to illustrate the political and general drift of affairs, particularly in that part of our history between the close of the war for the Union and the accession of Garfield to the presidency. Of this history Mr. Blaine was himself a considerable part. We conclude our references to his writings with the same allegation and judgment with whicb we began; namely, that they are the best and ablest of their kind, and that they are destined to be remarked hereafter as the truest summary, from the political point of view, that was produced of the events and tendencies of that epoch iu our history, which, while it was one of the most blood}' and anarchic, was at the same time the most fruitful and promising of all. In the last year of the life of the ex-Secretary he produced at least one formal literary composition. In response to a request from the publishers he prepared the first part of the work entitled " Columbus and Columbia," issued from the press of the Historical Publishing Company, of Philadelphia. Taking for his theme the progress of our country and considering the movement oi American civilization from a general point of view, he produced an essa}', the excellence of which fully I'ustifies its reinsertion in this connection in its entirety. The paper deserves a preservation in this form, not less because of its essential LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 483 merits than because it was THE LAST formal product of the mind of James G. Blaine. THE PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTERN WORLD. The stately march of history reveals with equal clearness, and develops with equal majesty, two distinct and harmonious truths — the independence of the individual and the unity of the race. Letters, architecture, the arts of peace and of war have characterized all civilizations. In the stabilit}' of her institutions China has not been surpassed. In the skill of her mechanics Egypt has not been reached. IModeru imagination reconstructs an unparalleled splendor from the ruins of Assyria. Nineteen centuries have not added to the grace of the Greek column or to the strength of the Roman arch. No proverb has supplanted the patience of Job or the wisdom of Solomon. Our highest aspiration is to combine, never to excel, what Matthew Arnold might call the sense for beauty in the old Greeks, the sense for organization in the old Romans, the sense for righteousness in the old Jews. No poet has plucked from Homer his laurels. No brush has stolen a tint from the fame of Apelles. No chisel has chased a line of loveliness from Phidias. Moses and Solon have never been surpassed in statesmanship, or xA.lexander in military- science and skill, or Plato in philosophy, or Cicero in eloquence. UP TO THE HEIGHT, WHENCE FREEDOM SURVEYS THE WORLD. Human faculties show a very small range of difference through the cen- turies. The pendulum of human powers from age to age sweeps through the same arc. The distinctive trait of modern times is that the achievement of the highest is brought down to the service of the lowliest, and thus the impress of value is stamped upon the individual human being. The development of the modern world is towards all men, and not towards one man. To build up the marvels of antiquity the few led, the many followed ; the few ruled, the many were driven. The toiler was not considered. He was a beast of burden. He was used and he was sacrificed. He had no voice in affairs. He was built into the walls of cities, his blood outlined the boundary of nations, his labor wrought the luxury of kings, but himself had no civic existence. As a man to be considered or consulted, a man whose happiness or health or wish was to be taken into the account, he was not. Through the turbulent centuries the individual man has forged to the front. He is still in the heat of struggle, but he has tasted power, he has tested his strength, he knows that the world is his. The old Greek thought that philosophy demeaned itself by stooping to uses. Now man stands with a flaming sword at the gate of all science and demands the watchword " use ! " No plan or project has any claim on success except through the conviction and consent of the masses. What was the luxury, the convenience, the amusement, the occupation of the nobilitj- is now in the home and the workshop and the common talk of men. The roads, the aqueducts, the temples, the statues, the 484 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. masour}' and the music, the painting and the palaces, go on as best they may, striving to rival, not hoping to surpass, the old ; but the builders are not slaves. They are men. They are free. They have will, opinion, choice, responsibility, ambition, gratification. In this chiefly consists the superiority of the present, and it is the noblest of all superiority ; for man is greater than anything man can do. THE TRIUMPH OF DEMOCRACY. Yet this was but a necessary evolution. In the weak beginnings of the race all the combined strength of the inferior must be concentrated on the upbuilding of the superior, that the slight superiority may be preserved, increased, transmitted. By slow action and reaction through countless ages, civilization has risen out of the welter of barbarism and animalism — slaver^' ministering to power, power in turn ministering to humanity through slavery — till to-day we stand, not indeed on the heights of heaven, but in full sight of a fair land. Power has become infiltrated with morality. Authority is held to strict account. The rights of weakness are recognized if not always respected. Tyranny is at any moment liable to successful resistance, and is nowhere so strong as not to to be somewhere open to scoff and sneer. The vice of absolutism pays to lib- erty the tribute of explanation, if not of hypocrisy. Military rule seems to be still prevalent and autocratic, is onerous and pervading, yet undergoes every moment, however slightly and silently, without observation and without disturb- ance, an organic change into public opinion. After the long trance of the Dark Ages, when poetry and art, and learn- ing and thought were reawakened by the light touch of antiquity, and faced the sun of a new day whose meridian we have not yet reached, there awoke also another, a giant, not from sleep but to new life — " Triumphant Democracy." It was not recognized. No man knew of its coming. But the world, all uncon- scious, was presently astir with preparation of the paths for its victorious feet. The Renaissance, the revival of painting, of art, of letters, is a revival, a renais- sance, a renewal of the old. But the reawakened mind was not to be content with following the paths of the ancients, in which it must always follow, never lead. New paths were struck out, of which the ancients never dreamed, in which the modern world has no rival ; whose miracles eclipse the mysteries of the past only to unfold greater mysteries in the future ; whose end lies even now beyond the utmost stretch of imagination. And every shining path leads to the fireside of the hi:mblest home, to the weal of the smallest child, to the health and the happiness, the puritv and the strength of Triumphant Democracy. It seemed a little thing that men should be playing with blocks in a corner of Germany. Men had been pla^-ing with blocks and making pictiires for centiiries, the known world over. But suddenly some one conceived the idea of multiplying pictures from the same block, and the art of printing was caught forever. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 485 BLESSINGS UPON THE PRINTING PRESS. There is no reason discoverable why this should have occurred in the middle of the iifteenth century any more than in the fourteenth or the thirteenth. Other centuries and other countries had gone as far in the preliminary processes as had Central Europe of the fifteenth century. The Renaissance had set all the keen intellects of Italy hunting among the dusty heaps of rubbish in the darkest corners of remote monasteries for the precious manuscripts of the old writers, and thus the wealth of the best days of Greece and Rome was seized and opened to the air and the light. But the distribution of these manuscripts had no part in the purpose of the mechanics who invented what we mean by the art of printing. It was Italy that was devoting herself to the collection of these rags of lost literature, every rag of which was cloth of gold, and Italy had been doing it for a hundred years before Guttenberg in Mainz, or Coster in Haarlem, or some other obscure workman or workmen in the cold north, made that turn of the hand which proved to be the moj.t important turn — change, invention, discovery — ever recorded in history. It was no fragment even of the grandest of the old pagans, of whom perhaps the Costers and Guttenbergs had never heard, which the printing press proffered as the first fruits of its mission. It was the Bible ! Whether by a " fortuitous concourse of atoms," or by " that disposition of unknown causes which we call accident," or by that intelligent non-human arrangement of human affairs that seems to imply an unseen intelligent power which most men delight to call God — the invention of paper preceded the inven- tion of printing. Men had been playing with pulp as they had been playing with blocks, for many centuries ; but it was only in the second half of the fourteenth century that manufactories of paper were set up and the use of paper for all literary purposes was established in Western Enrope, and it was not till the fifteenth century that paper finally superseded vellum and left the latter but a curiosity and a luxury. Thus, in the marvelously ordered march of humanity, by the time that man had discovered the way to print with rapidity, he found already provided for the printing press a cheap and abundant material on which to print. And when the cheap paper had supplanted the costly parchment, and the quick printing press had supplanted the slow and costly copying by human hands of every page of manuscript that made literature and letters, lo ! the brightest intellects among the scholars of their time had already collected and furnished to this new art a store of the best manuscripts from the best writers of the preceding ages, and thus were preserved from all further danger of loss the choicest gems of the past for the adornment and service of the future The priceless treasures of culture, the fruitage of a vanished world, had been stored safe in moldy monasteries until they were given over to the more lasting safety of the printing press for a world that was not born. We have not made finer pictures, we have not even printed with more elegant type, or constructed more beautiful books than the men of that 486 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. day ; but we have brought the multiplication table to bear on the printing press, and every morning the laborer may carry to his work with his dinner pail a newspaper bringing him the last words from the ends of the earth ; a work of art — a work of arts, which it would have been impossible for the fourteenth century to perform, and which it would have taken the lifetime of a man to record; a work of art which enables the daily toiler to be a more competent judge of the trend of the day's events than any king of antiquity could become by all the swift messengers that his wealth or power could command. It is the invention of printing that has brought the king, man, to his own. DEMOCRACY OF THE MEDICI. It would be impossible to give the most cursory survey of civilization in Europe during the century that witnessed the discovery of America without descrying the figures of the House of Medici, a house which occupies in history the unique position of being royal without title ; popular, in a day of well-nigh absolute monarchies ; autocratic on no authority but the good will of the people ; democratic, yet governing with no divided sway. Cosmo and his more eminent son, Lorenzo, the Magnificent, were potentates in every sense of the word, yet they held no fixed oflSces, and only " the likeness oi a kingly crown had on." Unanointed by that oil of consecration which certifies the divine right of kings, they bore only the seal of eminent ability which constitutes divine right to the people. One cannot be a day in Florence without being aware of the royal presence of these men of the people. Yet on the very threshold of modem biography their origin is so obscure that even the name is uncertain and unexplained. Among the ancient Guelphs, the Ghibellines, the Hapsburgs, the Savoys — and numberless names that have strayed down from a hazy past, the Medici name stands underived. The popular tradition is that sundry early Pieros, Giovannis and Lorenzos, having acquired wealth and distinction as druggists, or doctors, applied to the reigning Pope for a coat-of-arms, and that he in derision recom- mended them to take their own pills for heraldry ! The decision which he made in mockery they accepted in seriousness, as befitting the dignity of their occupa- tion and their family, and having, it must be admitted, the undeniable right of success, to do so. And now wherever in Florence is a de Medici, living or dead, stone palace in the city, or villa in the suburb, or farm-house in the country, or chapel in the church, or monumental stone, or triumphal gateway, there, carven in the gray granite or on the white marble, or brilliant in red and gold, is sure to be found the de Medici pile of pills — whose flavor Americans ought especially to recognize, since the glory of the de Medici is purely a popular glory. Whether by pills and potions, or by trade and commerce, the distinction of the family, so long as it remained distinct, was a distinction of peace rather than of war, of character and not of blood. They could fight and they could plot, but their pre-eminence was their intellectual leadership. They ■ Ipn6STRE[T distinguished confederate generals. 488 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. were the true Grand Dukes, advisers of the people; princes, not of the blood, but of trade and commerce, of arts and letters and manners. Amassing vast fortunes in peaceful paths, in trading, farming, mining, banking, it was all by way of ministering to the comfort and convenience of men and not to their misery, by adding to the wealth of Italy, not to its destruction. Fair farms still lying along the fertile valleys and climbing the sunny hills round ?bout Florence attest Lorenzo's love of nature, his taste in scenery, his skill in agriculture, his shrewdness in business. At Poggio Cajano, driving out from Florence, he rested in his simple little rustic villa, or walked in his fine old park watching the Tuscan mountain peaks piercing the brilliant Italian skies. But, as the Scotch say, " he was all there " — his eye to business as well as his eye for beauty. Availing himself of his neighborhood to market, he fed so high his lowing kine and worked so vigorously his cheese tubs and presses that he presently monopolized the cheese trade of Tuscany, and drove the cheese trade of Lombardy from the market. Like a large-minded, economical Yankee farmer he appended his pig troughs to his cheese factories and kept herds of hoo-s to fatten on his whey. The four centuries have not taught men how to turn waste into pork more deftly, or even how to improve the race of swine, or the quality of the cheese. The mulberry trees which, taught by his nniltifarious traffic witii other countries, and ever eager to make experiments, he planted lavishly, were so successful that the silk trade is said to have been threatened with panic and the price of silk was permanently lowered thereby. PATRIOTISM AND GENEROSITY OF LORENZO. The wealth which Lorenzo amassed in increasing the wealth of his country, he was lavish in expending to her advantage as well as his own. Not only a lover of letters, but a writer of no mean capacity, he was always first in recog- nizing and cherishing the genius of his own day and in stimulating the discovery and recovery of works of genius in the past. Wherever a scholar-traveler stood ready to run to the ends of the earth for a treatise of Quintilian, a line of Plautus or a paragraph of Cicero ; whenever a teeming brain was fain to write its " poems for eternity " in nave and choir and tower and turret ; wherever a vouthful Angelo was to be cherished into a sculptor, or a fiery Savonarola conciliated into a friend, there Lorenzo was found with open door and open purse and open heart. Like his father, he devoted vast fortunes to the adorn- ment of his native city with palaces whose stately majesty still testifies to the nineteenth century of the terrors which confronted, as well as of the generosity which ennobled, de Medici citizenship. For three centuries the history of the city was interwoven with the story of their house, and their name has been glorious in Florence for four hundred years. But the de Medici did not found a republic ; the later de Medici could not even maintain the magnificence of their illustrious predecessors, but passed, by marriage alliances, into the mob of ordinary kings, or degenerated into the LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 489 oblivion of titular Grand Dukes of Tuscany ; courageous or cruel or common- place, whose sole maguificence is in their tombs ; while the Tuscany which they had found prosperous and vigorous, they left weak from the constant drain of taxation, dispirited from the oppression of vicious laws, a demoralized and decadeut country. FORESHADOWINGS OF A NEW AND HIGHER FORM OF GOVERNMENT. The de Medicis did not found a republic, had no conception of a real republic. The Italian municipalities were the successful but slight attempts of the people to govern themselves. They were the foreshadowings, but not the models of the colossal republic that came after them. They prepared the way for republics, but no great nation could be organized to permanent prosperity or even to vigorous life on such republican principles as gave to the free cities of Italy a long and brilliant career. The de Medicis emerged from obscurity at too late a date to establish a dynasty and create a kingdom under the world-old laws of kingdoms and dynasties ; but at too early a date to organize a republic under the new world laws of republics. Their republic, though not a kingdom, was republic only in name — was nearer a tyrannj^ than a republic. Cosmo, the father, solved " the strange problem of becoming absolute ruler of a republic that was keenly jealous of its liberty, without holding any fixed office, without suppressing any previous form of government, and alwa3's preserving the appear- ance and demeanor of a private citizen." But that was not the problem whose solution the world was seeking. The son, Lorenzo, cherishing already the modern idea of the civil equality of States, and taking as the basis of his foreign policy that idea of unity which in our day, under the patriot kings of the dynasty of Savoy, has changed Italy from a "geographical expression" to a European Power — left no foundation for the future, because he had no idea of constitutional government bj' representative assemblies, of the regular and orderly progress of the popular purpose through legislati'"e debate and resolve to authoritative and respected execution. Standing exactly on the line of cleavage between the old and the new, Lorenzo furnishes us with a clear and definite picture of the struggle between them : of the circle within which the victories of the old time have not yet been surpassed, and of the limitations which must ever have hampered the new world- drama upon the old stage. By reason of his intellectual enlightenment, he gave his name to his age as truly as did Augustus of Rome, or Elizabeth of England ; but it was a name and an age of literature, of art, of personal sovereignty, not of a fundamental transfer of human power from one man to man. What can be effected by one man through sheer mental superiority and its attendant advantages of wealth, tact, and influence, that was accomplished by Lorenzo in his brief but brilliant hour. It was a brief and brilliant failure because he had not conceived and could not formulate those principles which underlie all successful social self-government on a large scale. With his death. 490 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMEvS G. BLAINE. the curtain fell upon Enrope as the arena of humanity's highest effort at organi- zation, and the scene shifted to another world arising out of the western waters. "The old order changeth, giving place to new." THE TWO GREATEST SONS OF ITALY. The same " time-spirit " which set one Italian at the head of Europe in point of art and learning, set another Italian at the head of the world in bold speculation regarding the unknown. The same Italj^ and the same year of our Lord that bore Lorenzo to the gates of farewell flung wide open the gates of welcome in another hemisphere to a man who, all unwittingly^, planted with his flag-staff the seeds of the greatest republic this planet has yet known. What the restrictions of time and place had never permitted even to the dreams of the one lofty mind, that, the equally lofty but utterly different aspirations of the other made possible — a colossal republic whose foundation-stone is Liberty constitutionally organized by the popular will adequately educated and legally expressed. On April 8,. 1492, at the early age of forty-three, Lorenzo left his so-called republic to crumble into swift ruin and passed into the unknown world. On the third of August, of the same year, Christopher Columbus set sail for a world which to him was far more problematical, more consciously unknown than, in that day of ecclesiastical faith, was the spiritual world to his great contemporary. Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, discovered America in 1492. Thus we were taught in the trustful days of childhood, and though modern research, whose scientific motto seems to be " Whenever you find a fact challenge it," has had its tilt at every item in the lesson, it remains after the fray as before it, practically true that Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa and discovered America in 1492. It may indeed prove that the shabby little house, well inscribed in Cogoleto, monumentally honored, fifteen miles out from Genoa, and not Genoa itself, is the true birth-place of Columbus. It may be that Columbus was not the family name, but the nonune de gtierre conferred by his comrades, or adopted by himself, or by some earlier member of his family. It may be that a thousand mariners hundreds of years before Columbus discovered America, had been assiduously landing on it, had built their towers and left their traces and sailed away again. It may be that Columbus did not of his own will and wit discover America, but, heading wildly and desperately westward for the East Indies, found America in his way, and being obliged either to ground on it, or go under it, discovered it per force. It may be argued that Columbus was not moved by any thirst for discovery, or for adventures, or desire for the solution of a problem, or for the answer to a question, or for the acquisition of any knowledge whatever, but was chiefly bent on acquiring factitious fame by appropriating the maps that he found in the archives of the office to which he was appointed, and followed out their suggestions and designs to his own glory. It ma}- be, or it may not be, that posterity will relinquish LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 491 the heroism of Columbus and count him a vain and captious, if persevering and pertinacious, man. But that time is not yet. We do not go into the arcana of history to decide or even to discuss disputed questions. They are investigated elsewhere, and their ultimate answer must perhaps await still further revelations from some yet undiscovered or undeveloped recess. But for permanent settle- ment, for history's possession never again to be lost except in the wreck of worlds, America was discovered in 1492 ; and the figure at the prow pointing westward, the figure on the first shore with knee bent on the longed-for soil and eyes upturned in gratitude to heaven, is the figure of Christopher Columbus. A TRIBUTE TO COLUMBUS. Amerigo Vespucci is the name on the forehead of the New World. Num- berless Norsemen rest in nameless graves ; but on tins the four hundredth birthday of the historic continent, the name which is in all hearts and on all tongues as the discoverer, is his whose face looks calmly down from the walls of the Council Chamber in the Palazzo Municipale at Genoa, and whose marble figure, fitly embowered in the palms of the Piazza Acquaverde, receives forever the kneeling tribute of this New World — Cristoforo Colombo. That the name of Columbus should be immortal while adventurous sailors from Europe visited these shores for four centuries before he was born and 3'et remain without fame and without tribute, is not the caprice of fate, but the inherent logic of events. They had been on the New England coast and left undoubted evidence of their presence, but no result for humanity. Their dis- covery was a mere chance adventure. It came to nothing because the time was not ripe. The Old World did not yet need the new ; was in no way pre- pared for it. America would have been useless to Europe, for she could not then colonize this new great wilderness. Europe was still in the Dark Ages ; many parts had not emerged from barbarism. She was not sufficiently advanced in letters, or in arts, or in mechanics to take proper advantage of the discovery, and therefore the discovery came to naught ; was practically no discovery. The facts of landing and gazing and seeking are preserved only in rambling records ; for records among the Norsemen in the eleventh century were but crude songs and wild narratives. Columbus was no chance comer. The time was full. He was not pre- mature ; he was not late. He came in accordance with a scientifically formed if imperfect theory, whether his own or another's — a theory which had a logical foundation and which projected logical sequences. Europe was not only fully prepared, but culture had been pushed to the point of enthusiasm, until it may be said that Europe was awaiting the event. Indeed it would not be far wrong to maintain that the next step in order was the expansion of the people, foreshadowing a new experiment in colonizing and settling new lands. Had the discovery been earlier it would have been fruitless. Had it been later the generous patrons might have passed away. It could not 492 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. liave beeu later because miud, reawakeued, refresHed, alert, was striking out in all directions. Had not Columbus discovered America in 1492, a hundred Columbuses would have discovered it in 1493 ! Columbus played but small part in the drama after he had enacted the first and greatest. His first daring voyage involved all there was in the discover}- for the world ; all the glory that lay in it for him. His subsequent voyages were labor and heaviness, regret and pain. Like too man}- men who are foremost in a signal field, he met detraction and calumny, persecution and penalties ; and the life, distinguished by the great event of modern times, closed in sadness, if not in ignominy. Swarms of discoverers followed him, striking shore from Labrador to Brazil- The quest of gold, the thirst for riches, the love of adventure, stimulated all maritime Europe, and a thrill of romance, a stir of travel, a tumult of ambition was aroiised, the like of which had not been seen for three centuries ; not since the Crusades had poured Europe into the Holy Land. Western Europe was literally alive with this quest of a golden grail. Wild ventures were the order of the day, and if the great majority ended in privation and pain and death, still the number pressing on from the rear filled all the gaps and swelled the ranks. PARTITION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE NEW WORLD. Yet for North America in the first century nothing was done except in voyaging, in discovering, in making certain. There were so many places to settle that a choice could scarcely be made. In South America, gold being found, especially on the Pacific coast, there was large emigration. But in the North, where the higher civilization was to be planted, the seventeenth century had opened before any foothold was obtained for emigrants. The first large tangible political effect proved to be the transfer of power by the maritime nations of Europe to this country, and colonization on a grand scale went forward. Ambition was excited ; greed of gold was stimulated ; the lust for dominion grew, and the partition of the New World was the result. England, France, Spain and Portugal mainly divided it in their eager conquests. Italy, which gave the discoverer, made no claim, planted no colonies. Spain, the strongest, most powerful and most ambitious, foster-mother of the New World by the aid and sustenance she had given Columbus which made the discovery possible, took, as was proper and natural, the leading share territorially. After some conflicts France took the second. It had not yet been developed that France was not adapted to carry on successful colonization, and she strove hard to plant her standard and achieve her title to a dominion which, if retained, would have made her the most powerful nation in Western Europe. England came in third in territorial expanse, and was almost exceeded by little Portugal, whose brave spirit of adventure at that time far out-reached its territorial limits in Europe, stretched forth to Asia and Africa and thottght little of holding, though by unce'^din tenure, the vast area of Brazil. Between the capes of : ;- :t. t:3 Thu Hour of Dtiilh— Hrlnre Hit- lilainc Cliiircli of (be Covenant Diirin;; Ihc I'unoral 494 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Virginia aud the rocky coasts of New England the centre of English adventure and civilization was set. Virginia had its first settlement in 1607 ; New England had its first settlement in 1620, and the English race in its rival divisions was transferred to the New World. New England and all its generations exhibited one type ; Virginia and all its generations exhibited another type. And they still remain. English by descent, both of them, they yet differ as much as did the Puritan and the Cavalier in the reign of the First Charles. What vast effects flowed from this difference, subsequent history tells us — differences in .settlement, distinct types of inhabitants, different fields of ambition and of effort. Time did not bring them together. It rather drew them wider apart, and the recent rebellion of the Southern States can be distinctly traced to the settlement of Virginia by Cavaliers aud of New England by Roundheads. England held her colonies imtil they secured their independence — never shifted, never sur- rendered, never abandoned them, and she laid broad and deep the foundation of the power which distinguishes the United States above all other nations : the spirit of broadened liberty in institutions, of intelligent freedom in the individual. For nearly two and a half centuries, with various vicissitudes not necessary to recount, these four maritime countries held to their divisions of America, planted colonies, introduced their own peculiar civilization, transferred their own culture and their own languages. Over them all, the sovereignty of Europe was extended. As the colonies grew, differences developed in the governing Powers, and at the end of a century and a-half wars of ambition among the home govern- ments had induced a change of rulers. In time, France, that held from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the middle of the continent and thence down to the mouth of the Mississippi, was compelled to retire from America and abandon the most magnificent empire of modern times. The three other Powers went forward, and in the last half of the eighteenth centur}- England had increased her possessions ; Spain held her own, and Portugal was still owner of the Brazils. EVOLUTION OF THE GREAT REPUBLIC. Three hundred years had been spent in tr^-ing to fasten upon the New World the institutions of the Old — so slowly grind the mills of the gods. It was not till the last quarter of the eighteenth century that England, wlio never surrenders, surrendered to her own, thus losing the mortification of failure in the proud reflection that she alone could produce the race that could conquer her! It was not till the last quarter of the eighteenth century, three hundred years from the time that Columbus set foot upon the islands of the Western Continent, that the spirit which had ineffectually struggled in the fifteenth century, broke its bonds in the wilderness which had become a civilization, and formulated itself in an organization whose corner-stone was the equal right of every man to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 495 This was the port for which Columbus sailed, though he did not kuow it. Not the gold of nations or the glory of kings — pride of possession or pride of power — made the discover}' of America worth while ; but the tremendous impulse and opportunity it gave to mental activit}-, its wonderful loosening of the old shackles, and the impossibilit}- of riveting them again on the new soil, and the field thereby furnished for building the eternal instinct of human freedom into a beneficent and self-perpetuating system. To the men who went through our war of independence it was a long and severe struggle. In history, in the records of the ages of revolution from barbarism to monarchies, and from monarchies to self-sovereignt}', the change came in a moment. But it should never be forgotten that to this glorious dajr of blossoming all the preceding days of humanity's long season had lent their sunshine and their rains, the ripening of their warmth and the resting of their frosts. It should never be forgotten that humanitj^, which in its development — absolutelj- free yet absolutely within certain rigid lines which it calls laws — had been forever building up, forever hedging around, forever pulling down the mountain peaks and ranges which it calls kings and dynasties, had b}' such processes reached a stage in which its conscious constituent atoms believed themselves able to range into order and conserve energy and direct progress without the medium of kings and dynasties. But the dynasties had settled down too lieavil}^, too widel3^ to be easily removed. Europe was clamped with the rivets of ages. Her institutions were fixed, rigid, needing all available strength for their dislodgement and upheaval, leaving no strength to spare for training and fastening new institutions in their place. Thus, by no man's hand, the hour was appointed for leaving European liberty to its own working, European servitude to the slow corrosion ' of the air that should presently be quickened bj- pzone wafted from a new atmosphere, enveloping a new State founded under wholl}' changed conditions. Then it was that the New World opened wide its golden gates — a virgin hemisphere — and invited the experiment of self-government on a scale com- mensurate with its importance. The new spirit brooded over the waiting land and presently to the continent for whose discover}- Italy had lent the patient explorer and Spain the vital succor, England brought her contingent of a sturdy race, and the Great Republic was born. Not unto us alone the glory, but to all those before us who lived and labored and failed ; to the millions who showed what was not the \\'a}', and by a thousand paths of exclusion led ns to the promised laud. RISE OF THE f;RK.\T WESTERN REPUBLIC. The Great Republic — the infant Republic — lifted its head weakly, but proudly, among the nations of the earth — so little, so weak, that its safety lay in its remoteness. For its remoteness had Columbus discovered America ! Cradled in the wilderness, too far off to excite fear in the monarchies, too 496 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. poor to tempt cupidit}-, too weak to elicit autagonisni, it waxed strong, almost unobserved. But from the first it had a moral force clear to seeing eyes. Wheu Franklin went to the Court of France, the court petted him as a toy philosopher ; but there was another vision in France to which the real future was unfolded. This new nation in the West was a beacon light to every aspiring spirit in Europe. France responded with a quick thrill of freedom. She had so long been crushed under her Bourbons that the reaction seemed portentous. Her revolution came, like ours, with blood, but, unlike ours, was drowned in blood. The trampled slaves of despotism, stimulated b\- the success of America, turned upon their tyrants and became frenzied with the fierce joy of finding that they could turn — that they, too, could trample. The awful stress developed all the dignit}^ that is in kings, all the horrors that belong to a mob ; and France, weary of blood and weak from its loss, threw hercelf into the arms of Napoleon. Like the Bourbons, he was a ruler, but unlike the Bourbons, he was a strong ruler ; unlike the mob's, his was an organized rule. His childhood was passed under the light of the American Revolution. His serious young eyes watched that successful resistance to the established order. He had learned the weakness of dynastic sovereignt}-, the strength of popular sovereignty. In a certain sense it was not onlj' the island of Corsica, but the New Republic in America, that contributed Napoleon to Europe. It is difiicult for us to imagine the amazement, consternation, wrath and repugnance produced in the ruling class by the apparition of this unheralded, unclassifiable, over-powering phenomenon, rising from the ranks of the people, approaching without permission the ranks of the kings. The Western Republic had dethroned her king, but he was three thousand miles away from her and she was three thousand miles away from Europe. Napoleon was at the royal elbow mounting thrones, ordering kings to the ranks and the rear in the very presence of their astonished and delighted siibjects. RESULTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. The French Revolution had shown Europe what dormant strength was in the people ; but it was a strength violent in action, spasmodic, unorganized, made drunken with blood, wald with revenge, cruel, brutal, revolting. The Bonaparte was of the people 'also, but he had seen across the sea the power of organization, and no sovereign was a sterner representative of social order, of militar}' marshaling, of law and eqi;ity, of church establishment, and even of regal splendor, than this democrat overturning the monarchies. Even in the king business he outdid the kings — fought harder for his sovereignty in war, wrought better for his people in peace. He heeded the voice he had heard ringing across the waters. " Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed," and he sought to win that consent by minis- tering to the-ir comfort and their elevation and by making them partakers in LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. 497 his glor}- when he thrust his horn against their t^-rants. It was in their cause that he attacked their enemies. Napoleon's long captivity, which was the onh- answer roj-alty could make to the logic of his mind and his sword, led him for occupation and amusement to reminiscences which cast many a curious side-light upon points which would have been lost in the full glare of continuous prosperity. " If my son lives he will be something. As to those contemptible little States I would rather see him a private gentleman with enough to eat than sovereign of an}- of them." What was the duch}' of Parma to a man who had jostled kings aside with a cheerful promptness, and felt the great mistake of his life to be that he had not jostled them more? "It only rested with me to have deposed both the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria. The Duke of Wurzburg frequent!}- insinuated to me that the only means to secure the good faith of Austria would be to depose his brother Francis and place the crown upon his head I was wrong in not having accepted the offer. Nothing would have been easier to execute." " Perhaps my greatest fault was not having deprived the King of Prussia of his throne, which I might easily have done. I could have dethroned the King of Prussia or the Emperor of Austria upon the slightest pretext as easily as I do this " — stretching out one of his legs. For the minor kings he had but an easy tolerance as " good plain men ; " but for the Bourbons he could hardly conceal his contempt. He had met them on their own ground. He refused to waste any money towards getting them into his hands. " I despised the Bourbons too much, and had no fear of them.'' "What signifies now? Under the Bourbons France will never be a first-rate power. There is no occasion to be afraid of her. She will always be an inferior power under that house of blockheads." WE.A.KNESS OF NAPOLEON IN NOT TRUSTING THE PEOPLE. " Louis wrote me a long letter after IMarengo, in which he said I delayed for a long time to restore him to his throne ; that tJic Jiappi)icss of France could never be complete icithout him .... and concluded by desiring me to choose whatever I thought proper, which would be granted under him, provided I restored to him his throne. I sent him back a very handsome answer that I was extremely sorry for the misfortunes of himself and his family ; that I was ready to do everything in my power to relieve them, and would interest myself about providing a suitable income for them, but that he might abandon the thought of ever returning to France as a sovereign, as that could not be effected without his having passed over the bodies of five hundred thousand Frenchmen ! " Europe thought she knew what France wanted better than France herself knew, and set Louis hard down on the French throne. And France, as soon as she could get breath, drove him off and kept up the hunt till the last 32 498 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. Bourbon — and perhaps the most honest of all, though a bigot — 3'ielded up his breath, a private and no king. It was not till Napoleon broke with his past that the future broke with him. Touching the earth he was strong. Standing on the thrones he became weak. But his stride to the thrones was a haught}' stride. When in an evil moment, under the allurements of "a dynastic " ambition, he decided to dismiss his wife of the people and assume a wife of the princes, it was to no " little dirty tyrant, of Italy " he applied, but to the haughtiest and highest of the royal houses. Murat was wiser than the Emperor, and protested that his true alliance was with the people, not with the crowns, that his true power was in himself, not in borrowed strength. But Napoleon could not withstand the temptation to order himself a bride from the Powers that hated and scorned him. He forsook the reality of superiorit}^ for a taunt — nay, he went further and taunted the kings with their mesalliances ! When the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of George III., married the Prince of Hesse- Homburg, Napoleon scornfully declared that " The English royal family mix themselves in with little petty princes to whom I would not have given a brevet of sous-lieutenant ! " The English royal family, with a brutality which stains the history of the English nation, could chain their captive to a scorched rock in a torrid sea, but his scorching sarcasm no waters could quench. And the ro3^al family of England has gone on " mixing in " and in with Battenbergs and Campbells, with railroad directors and New York business men — touching so low down the standard of royal rank that it may one day rise to newness of life by reason of its standard of plebeian strength. n.\poleon's retrospect of his deeds. When Napoleon's short but strenuous work was done ; when he had shaken the monarchical idea in Europe from centre to circumference, and forever shattered the peculiar sacredness, the direct divine lightness which sanctified a throne, and sat in his solitude reflecting on his successes and his failures, his thought showed him, with all his weakness, a son of his time. He had destroyed witli his irresistible sword, but he saw clearly that his true glory lay not in his destruction, but in his construction. He claimed from the future his harvest of glory from the seed he had sown of our planting; from the consent and progress and organization, the service and the rights of the masses ; not from the sweep of his battles, but the scope of his benefits. " At least," he cried, when Europe had combined and crushed him, " they cannot take from me the great public works which I have executed, the roads which I have made over the Alps, and the seas which I have united. They cannot place their feet to improve ivlierc mine have not been before them. They cannot take from me the code of laws which I formed, and which will go down to the latest posterity. All my exertions were directed to illuminate the mass of the nation, instead of brutifjnng them by ignorance and superstition. LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 499 " If my goverument had remained in Spain, it wonld have been the best thing that had ever happened to Spain. Instead of a feeble, imbecile and snper- stitious race of Bourbons I wonld have given them a new dynasty that wonld have no claim on the nation except by the good it wonld have done it. For an hereditary race of asses, they would have had a monarch with ability to revive the nation, sunk under the yoke of superstition and ignorance." Looking at the march of his time this great democrat declared : " In fifty years Europe will be either Cossack or republican." The fifty years have gone by and Europe is neither Cossack nor republican. Nor is the prophecy utterly false: the path of humanity on this planet is as slow and as swift as the patli of the planet in the heavens. Our Republic worked its way along towards the close of its first centennial birthday with the seeds of dissension, division, dissolution in its bosom. When liberty was fashioned into its corner-stone, slavery lay alongside, incompatible, but not disallowed. The incompatibility increased till the whole fair structure was threatened. Undoubtedly the negro race was civilized by American slavery as it could have been in no other way, but the white race was demoralized. The white race, not the negro race, rose in rebellion against slavery and abolished it. Thus the last stone of stumbling and rock of offence was thrown out of our path and there remained nothing but the healing of wounds, a renewal of strength, a growing unity of feeling, and we discover to-day a vigor, a prosperity, a progress, an attainment which has never before been seen ; a hope and an aspiration which embraces all the ages and all the races in its scope. THE NATIONS M.'\RCHING TOW.^RDS A DEMOCRACY. Under this unflickering light Europe is slowly advancing her own way in the experiment of self-government. France, the France of the Bourbons, of the bloody revohrtion, of the autocratic Napoleon, has taken upon itself the disposition of its dynasties, and is the republic of Carnot, the great, friendly, respected republic of two and twenty years' standing, of parliamentary assemblies, and popular ballot and constitutional right; changing its government by orderly, regular, legal and peaceable elections — a great Power among the nations, on equal footing with the empires. The Tuscany of Lorenzo, the Genoa of Christopher Columbus, the Rome of Sixtus IV. and Leo X. are united — on the lines of Lorenzo's ambition, but on a larger scale and on loftier principles than he ever divined — into the nation of Italy, whose chosen head is Umberto, perhaps the most conscientious, the most high-thinking, the most hard-working of her citizens, whose one purpose is the dignity and the welfare of his country. Italy holds her shrines in proud and fond exhibition for the world's sacred pilgrimage of art and religion. Her palaces of Cosmo and Lorenzo, her treasures of art and antiquity belong to the world by the divine right of spiritual descent ; they are the common heritage of culture, tenderly, reverently cherishing the past — as vitally ours as they are 500 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. the royal heirlooms of Savoy. Her polit}^ goes hand in hand with onr Great Republic towards the future. The countrj- which Columbus discovered — a wider nation than the area of the combined nations of Europe — gives greeting and the right-hand of hearty fellowship to the country which produced Columbus. The thinking men, the aspiring Castelars, of Spain and Portugal, dream of a republic, and have even cautiously' and carefully attempted an experimental popular government, but the time is not }et ; their people have not trained themselves to so great a change. But the wise men of Spain are at the helm and are guiding their gentle young queen and her infant monarch along the true paths of constitutional government and national prosperity. One by one, however, the colonies in America have fallen off from Spain and have peaceably become an integral part of the nation which Isabella helped to found, till now, on our four hundredth birthdaj', Spain bears no swa}^ on these continents and holds no more in this hemisphere than the islands where Columbus first set foot. "The House of Braganza has ceased to reign," proclaimed Napoleon. The House of Braganza, driven from Portugal by a man of the people, fled to South America and established a new and larger Portugal upon the imperial estate of Brazil. Intelligent, learned, patriotic, beneficent, Dom Pedro won for himself a place in the hearts of his people that should have held him in life and death — would have held him but for fear of the future, of a lordship less pater- nal, and, therefore, otherwise intolerable. Every ocean breeze came heavy laden with republicanism, and over eve.y mountain and down every royal water- course came the tidings of peaceful compact in thrift and commerce and all industrious traffic, and mutual S3'mpathy and benefit, by the nations of the hem- isphere — and Brazil could not endure her leading-strings, even held by so thoughtful and loved a hand. She determined not to await a tyrant for the struggle, but gave to her kind old emperor her blessing, and bade him go. The Hou.se of Braganza was not used to such sort of dismissal, suspected treachery and violence beneath it, and made a sudden farewell to Brazil — a hurried flight by night. The House of Braganza ceased to reign, and went back to Portugal to die. Except the inconsiderable colonies of the Guianas, the whole southern continent is held by its inhabitants in their own possession and control. ENGLISH MONARCHY A SHADOW ON DRESS PARADE. The government of the British Islands is an absentee land-holder in Amer- ica. But England has gone steadily along the path of her history from the days of Runnymede, till her monarchy is but a dress parade at home ; and the shadow of a dress parade stretching three thousand miles westward is an exaggerated and rather grotesque phenomenon. On this continent England's dependencies are scarcely more than depend- encies in name, and the tie is a sentiment. Because a man's quickest and frankest foes are they of his own household, our resentment of English insolence, LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. 601 our wrath at English injustice, our disgust with English stolidit}- and brutality, are more easily aroused, more widel}' and keenly felt, more savagely expressed thau in the case of any other nation ; but so also is our respect for English honesty and enterprise, for Scotch shrewdness and acuteuess, for Irish wit and warmth, and for the courage common to all. Tlie crimes, vices, weak- nesses and antagonisms of other nations are veiled from our people b}^ a foreign language ; but among our wide nation of newspaper readers and writers every loose arrow shot from any reckless and foolish English newspaper finds prompt lodgment somewhere, and as prompt a return fire ; so the air is often darkened with weapons that sting, but do not slay; while always underneath lies the con- stant sense of common history, traditions, understanding, aims, which promises well for the ultimate and perpetual harmou}- of the great nation of the masses and the masses of the great nation who are working iutelligentl}^ towards the same goal. Our differences are the relics of barbarism. Our agreements are along the pathway's of peace and righteoiisness. The America of to-day belongs to Americans, and Americans with a thousand fightings and no fears', are all friends. Among the other nations of the world, we have no natural all}', no natural foe. The armies of Europe are the enemies of Europe, but they are not ours. Her standing armies are the moth that corrupts, the thief that steals the substance of the people ; but they do not threaten us. Our mission is peace. Our only threat to Europe is the menace that to other forms of government, supported only by the insupportable burden of enormous standing armies, must inhere in the spectacle of a great republic resting on the will of its people, the pride of its people, the reason of its people, with no standing army save a little police force — not enough to protect a single city if the strength of that city did not dwell in the honor, the virtue, and the love of its citizens. LIBERTY .AND T?IK Pl'R.SUIT OF HAPPINESS. The source of our rejoicing on the four luindredth Inrthday of oiir countr}^ is that here the lowliest citizen may bj- energy, industr}- and thrift, self-denial and self-control, live in his own house, cultivate his own garden, earn and eat meat every day, educate his children in reading, writing, the rudiments of geographjs arithmetic, grammar, history and music ; read a newspaper, wear decent and comfortable clothes every day, and fresh and comely clothes during his Sundaj' rest ; ma}^ take a holida}^ with wafe and children when lie chooses, ma}' have a share in the government of his nation, State, town, having thus a voice in assessing and spending as well as paying his taxes ; may worship God as he pleases, where he pleases, and if he pleases, answering onl}^ to God for his co;;rse, and never forced to support a church establishment in which he does not believe. We rejoice because we believe this material comfort and peace and conse- quent independence to be the foundation — not the source, but the proper basis of intellectual and spiritual growth. In a world where matter is the matrix of 502 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. mind, where the animal is the shrine of the spiritnal, the animal mnst best serve the spiritual when it is in so good a condition as to cause no undue deflection from intellectual tendencies. In spite of the many and marvelous instances of mind lording it over weak and defective matter, it remains indispu- table that matter should be the willing and capable servant of its master, mind, and that time spent in subduing the unnecessary discomfort and overcoming the unnecessary weakness and incompetence of the body is time wasted. The ultimate, natural, and designed dominion of the human being is not over its own defects, but over the hitherto uncontrolled forces of the world. Just in propor- tion then as the condition of all the people is more comfortable than the condition of the people in the old world, in that proportion the discover}- of America bv by Columbus was successful. Our belief that success in this respect is not followed or attended bj' failure in the spiritual or intellectual forces is founded on facts that are not at issue. Beyond controversy our one hundred years of self-government show not only a larger number of homes more comfortable, better furnished with the appliances of a higher civilization than the homes provided for a people governed, not by themselves, but by others ; b'ut they are also in the way of showing an intellectuality as commanding, a morality as high and prevailing, a religion as spiritual and as pervasive as can be furnished to a church by a bishop, to a State by a king. THK KVILS OF UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. Indeed oiir chief danger to-day lies in our unparalleled and over-mastering success. Its story is told everywhere. Our wealth is a proverb. The Republic is a visible and perpetual object lesson in the great task, the great mission of self-government. But its prosperity is also greatly misunderstood. The wretched of other lands rush to enjoy its benefits with no conception of the training, the character, the self-denial requisite to the performance of its duties. The rich and powerful of other lands do not hesitate to unload upon its ample shoulders their burdens of pauperism and crime which they have created, and which they would gladly see us share. The idle, the seditious, the malodorous and mal- content, the demagogue and the desperado mistake liberty for license, and flock hither to fatten on the honest earnings of better men than themselves, thinking that robbery and revolt are permitted industries in this free land ; that treason may be approached and even committed with impunity, and that a republic is anarchy. Not by such practices did we reach our high estate. Not on such principles were the foundations laid by our fathers. Italy did not present to ci\alization the American continent, England did not furnish to civilization the American nation, that a government might be instituted among men which should derive its just powers from the dissent of the ungovernable; not even that the miser- able of the earth might find an asylum. The one is wholly antagonistic, the other purely accidental, to our great movement. Liberty is the first law of a LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 503 lasting republic, but it is liberty under order, liberty, with equal justice. The poor and the oppressed of other lands are welcome ; but they are not welcome to prey upon our own thrift, to violate our laws to swell and not to share our burdens. Intelligence, industry, morality, honorable ambition are welcome to our hospitality and our citizenship, but not ignorance, pauperism or crime. Let the dead bury their dead. America is for the living. This continent was discovered for humanity's benefit on a larger scale than the relief of individual distress. It is a stage large enough for the enactment of a drama which engages the world's attention— the capacity of man for self- government. America justifies her birth-right only as she — not relieves merely — but uplifts, enlarges, strengthens the individual man in the widest organized com- munity. Her peculiar glory is in the masses — their intelligence, their comfort, their domestic happiness and dignity, their right thinking and right acting, their recognition and due discharge of responsibility, their freedom from unworthy ambi- tion, their adoption of intellectual, moral and spiritual aims. If in this she does not excel all other nations, America will have been discovered in vain and Christopher Columbus might well have died in the little gray house at Genoa- Cogeleto. Great men, prodigies of thought, poets, philosophers, inventors, generals, preachers and scientists — the Republic hails them all. She believes that her system tends ultimately to their multiplication and enlargement ; but such natures break all bonds everywhere, and come to the front by virtue of inborn and irrepressible energy. No continent need be laid bare for them. They force their own field. It is the weal and opportunity of the masses, helpless except in combination and organization, for whom America was kept intact and virgin from shore to shore — tenanted by no man and no race that left an institution to hamper the future. THE CORNER-STONE OF RELIGION AND A KEVSTONE OF THE TEMPLE OF MORALITY. The opportunity laid upon us is matchless ; but matchless also is the respon- sibility. WHiat our fathers delivered to us, that should we deliver to our children, not only undiminished, but increased, enriched by our experience and by the rapid and wonderful developments of science. A marvelous ingenuity is smoothing the rough ways of the world. A scientific theology is pointing out the footprints of the Creator to common sense. The brotherhood of man, the fatherhood of God, is becoming the corner-stone of religion, as revealed in Christ and as clearly traced in human history. Upon the conscience of every man and every woman in this country is laid the weight of obligation to certif}' the success of our great experiment — to certif}^ the adequacy of the individual to self-direction. Every man who falls below his highest, harms not only himself, but lowers the standard of his country. Every man who values wealth more than honesty, rank more than character, amusement more than improvement, ease more than reform, 304 LIFE AND WORK OF JAMES G. BLAINE. to that extent falls short of the perfect citizen. Every woman who abuses the freedom of American womanhood by abandoning herself to unfaithfulness lends the powerful incitement of her personalit}' to the slaver}- of the past and to the failure of the Republic. Ever}- woman who leaves the duty and decorum of her native land and prostitutes h^r American name to the scandals, the vices, the social immoralities and moral impurities of foreign cities, not onl}- compasses her own shame, but mars the fair fame of the Republic. It is only by surpassing the world in all chivalrj^ and dignity, in all modest}' and purity, in the integrity of our business, in the virtue of our homes, in the rectitude of our intelligence, in the aspiration of our intellectual life under the absolute control of moral righteousness, that we can meet the responsibility of our continental empire, beautiful for situation, unparalleled in resources, impregnable in foundations, uncouquered in history and, we believe, unconquerable! " In the foregoing dissertation on the literary life and product of James G. Blaine, we have attempted as far as practicable to illustrate the genius of the statesman by quotations from his own works. By common consent, the best of all biographies is Boswell's " Life of Johnson." It is so because it was produced out of Johnson's own words and works. The transcript of a man's mind and of his intellectual moods and products ought to be the best of all pictures of himself; that is, the best of biographies. In proportion as the writer obtrudes himself between his subject and his reader is he likel}^ to blur the image. True it is that the biographer ought to rise to the rank of an interpreter. He ought to explain as well as recite. He ought to make clear that which is possibly obscure But the great fact remains that the life of a man is what he says and does. Recognizing this fact, we have here reprodiiced a sufificienc}' of what Mr. Blaine has said and written to illustrate with tolerable amplitude the range and resources of his genius. We repeat, in conclusion of the chapter, what was said in the exordium, namely, that if James G. Blaine had devoted himself to literature with the same assiduit}- as to the affairs of public life he might and would have risen — if, indeed, he has not risen — to the level of permanent, brilliant authorship. LIFE AND WORK OF JA^IES G. BLAINE. 505 The literary habit continvied with ^Ir. Blaine until the last da^-s of his life. As late as August of 1S92 he was in negotiation with the publishers of the present volume for the production and publication b}- them of his " Autobiography^ and Personal Recollections." A/ his request they sent to Bar Harbor a stenographer, to whom he began his dictation of the work in question. This page contains the opening paragraphs of this, his latest literary trial. It is inserted as a thing most interesting in itself, and also to attest the relations of literar_v confidence existing between the Great Secretary- and the publishers of this volume. A man's birth is not precisely among his ''Personal Recollections,'' but, for certain reasons, I begin with that event. I was born on the 31st of January, 1830, in the house known as ''the Indian Hill farm- house,'' Washington County, Pennsylvania. My mother was the daughter of Neal Gillespie, Jr. , and her grandfather, Neal Gillespie, Sr., had Immigrated to what was then the wilds of western Pennsylvania, 1772 or '3; he was a native of Donegal m Ulster, and was a member of the Catholic Church. He was a man of great energy; he penetrated the forest at what was (m his time) the extreme western point, and built the Indian Hill farm-house as early as 1778 , --perhaps the first stone house on the western side of the Monongahela River; it afterwards received a brick addi- tion. * * ^ * * * «■ * ^- H121.74 ^J'^-' V ■:> ^..^ .'5 V > ^ r?..-. ^ vV' ■< . . « .G ^ ° • ' \^ 'O ' • • ' \'' / .. -^, V, /^ .^- ;% <^^ / ^ -••:. y-. ^-^^ "^ •.'^(S^,^ ^' 't- " o> o' A -^. ^ '^ ^:^%C^ "^ ,/ ^M$\ ^%/^ ^^^ ""■^"^ ^^ 'WM ^> •i'\' r - * • o , '^, > .^^' "^. '^_ ,-^>-<^ -^ ^^o ^#:^ 0^% "'^' /"^o ^^:^ 0^^ .f' <>. ^■^ '-?*>^' ..^ ^^ -5,^ > <'> -^ii3'*f;> ,,^ V ^^ ' A. <» v-^ ■ '">. ■•!^;- ^^^. ^ .0^ ,,/.c. .4q- 0-J-. -5i^^" .:i 7 4 •€•*■ N. MANCHESTER. INDIANA > ^S". -^ •^ 4 O. ^'>/7?^'- «^: o v .0^ ,■