The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-01-03


majority for the Democratic State
ticket, the State might be saved for
President by union on an electoral
ticket, and the calculation was not
greatly at fault, as is shown by the
fact that Buchanan had only about
1000 majority over the combined vote
Of Fremont and Fillmore. Wilson was
the enthusiastic and hopeful man Of
the party, and he earnestly urged a
desperate battle to save the State, but
while Cameron, Weed, and Blair ac-
cepted the necessity OF making the bat
tie, they were not confident as to the
result.
INFLUENTIAL REPUBLICAN LEADER.
After discussing the situation for
some time, Wilson. in his hopeful en-
thusiasm, said: "Well, they may beat
us this time, but we will win in 1860"
Cameron, Weed, and Blair were then
all crowding around the patriarchal
age, and Cameron, always practical in
his ideas, answered that it was very
we'll for Wilson to look hopefully for
future triumphs for the new party, but
as for himself and Blair and Weed, he
"didn't see much in future victories if
they had to begin by waiting four
years." All of them, however, lived
to play most important parts in the
civil war and in reconstruction. Blair
and Weed rounded out their eighty
five years, and Cameron died at the
age of ninety.
Mr.. Blair maintained the confidence
of the Republican party as one of it's
great leaders; was an important factor
in effecting the nomination of Lincoln
at Chicago in 1860, and he was one of
Lincoln's most trusted advisers during
the severe trials of our civil war. Dur
ing the last year of the fra:ernal strug-
gle Mr.. Blair believed that the time
had come when there should be inter-
mediation from some source that could
command confidence on both sides, and
without advising Mr.. Lincoln of his
purpose, so as TO avoid all complica-
tions in case of his failure, he asked the
President for pass beyond the lines
of the Union army. 1t was granted
without question because of the conf
dence that was reposed in the intelli-
gence and discretion of Mr.. Blair. He
approached the outposts of the South
ern army and presented his pass from
the President, and stated that his
movement was entirely his own and his
purpose was to confer with President
Davis on the subject OF peace.
He was passed through the Confed-
crate lines to Richmond, where he had
protracted conferences with Davis and
those Immediately in his confidence. 1t
was this movement of Mr.. Blair that
led to- the peace conference at City
Point on the 3rd of February, 1865,
when Vice President Stephens, at the
head of Confederate commission, met
President Lincoln, Seward, and others
to find some method of ending the ter
rible war. He was safely returned
through both armies, and earnestly
urged the personal appearance of the
President at the City Point confer
ence.
With tue assassination of President
Lincoln Mr.. Blair's mission as Re-
publican leader ended. He was not in
harmony with the violent and revenge
full policy at first declared by john
son, and later was no more in harmony
with the violent reconstruction meas
ures which the dispute between the
President and Congress precipitated.
Thereafter he acted with the Demo
cratic party, and exhibited great skill
as leader in accomplishing the nomi-
nation OF Tllrn in 1876, but he did
not live to see his candidate receive
his popular majority of 250, 900, al
though defeated in the electoral vote
by the judgment OF the electoral CON-
mission. On the 18th of October. 1876,
Francis P. Blair, one of the greatest of
the country's editors and for nearly
half century one oi the greatest of
all our political masters, passed away
to the City Of the Silent Washington
Post.