Putnam patriot., 1908-07-31
fiamiltan Fish
nY nKY. J. 2. fnnW nnIDeE

] T As
 gust 8d. fssys. He was de-cended from
 a noted line of ancestors. some of whom
 emigrated to New Amsterdam as early
 ss the middle of the seventeenth cen
 tufy. His father, Niehelas Fish, whe
 WAS just fifty years old al the time o
 his son birth waa 4 major in the Sec
 ond Newf York regiment oi the kegOlu.
 tionafy army, and WAS present at -aF
 atoga and Monmouth. Tn I779 he ac-
 companied Genefal sullivan in his TX.
 petition against the Indians and fe.
 turned in time 10 take Il prominent
 part at the siege ef Yorktown. Y .a-
 here that Major Fish formed the iati-
 mate acquaintance with Lafayette and i Hamilton, with the latter of whom he
 WAS associated in several ways after the close of the wal
 pon his mothers side Hamill n
 Fish was q lineal descendant ef the great Peter -tuyvesant, ,he last Dutch ! governor 0f New Amsterdam "a kim ship of which he was always justly proud, and which he emphasized in a becoming manner in is5l when he be- slowed the name -tuyvesant upon his own son who still liyes to honor the family name.
 The subject Of our sketch, whose cen tenafy Is HOW occurring, graduated al Columbia diversity then Columbia College in lsZ7, and afterwards stud ied law Tn his ua,iFe eIty where for ses efal years, at this early stage Of his public career, he held the office of Commissioner Of Deeds. His political advancement was unusually rapid ,ow- ing partly to his own bent of character, and also to the present prestige of his rich and influential family III whose NeiGa the kniekefbochef blood was flowing. He WAS All enthusiastic member Df the Whig party, and grew more and more to be an admifef and follower ef Henry ( tay Ill the age of Of twents--ix he was elcetcd to on- afe~s from tbe sixth New York dis. tfiet, his competitor being lion John MeIkeonl man of bis own axe and fellow student n Columbia Although be was deiealed ai the next election, the defeal Na- turned into victory by his friends 8 ha secured for hiu the of fee ei ite4leuaHt governor 10 tiii Il n. eaneY At lbi- Una his maternal mn- ete died and left hiBi large fortune, which together With his pte7 ious in- henlaneei made him one of the 8eai- thicsl nen af New York. He was uni. VefSaily regarded as q gentleman II up. right character. iibefai n his gifts and careful in his conduct of affairs. In ls4s he WAS elected Governor of New York by majority oi 8o,oad votes over John A. Dix and Ruben II. Walwarlh. In isbl he entered the tnited States Senate, t supporter of the principles of the Whig party, but before his term expired he became one of the staneh leaders ef the new Republican otgani- l kation and cast his influence in oppo- sition to tue repeal nf the Missouri Compromise. In doing this he as- sumed m attitude which finally ,ieei. ded mol only ths question of slavery, but which also led upward or down. wand in the careers of many of our public men before the war.
 The great service which Mr. Fish rendered to hi- country dtd mol begin, however. til a later date. when the waf between the ~lates was ended and slavery Nas ahoiished Then. under tie administration nf President Gfnnt when questions with foreign nations, growing out ut the war, needed settle ment, Hamilton Fish came to his own Ills position as Secretary of State from March Huh, isoa, to March l2ih, is77, reflected great honor upon himself, and was aecomI aniel with vast good to the nation. An Nmefican writer, who in those daN~ Was enr secretary oi isega. tien iu lendan under Mr Motley, has said
 .sIes mofe important international conventions haNe cNet been convened than t4e pinf H~st iahiN which met al 7N'.s. .', ~vprurrv, lsIl, Ter the setllFmchI VI tRs Asanama eiaims It's MelNhtfs w5Fr WoythN ai their position and thelt task Rnl Hamilton Fish WIS the controlling mind. the result l lhM was aeh,eke1 was hts result hud his attn lie ~4tinisSion eN tneland of the Alabama Claims to an impartial 1 tribunal. tht admission ot wrong etolug eNtorled from an imperious state, tue restoration ot good feellng between i've i angry satiens, the prevention ei Il tefs l rlhle war. the introduction oi the nftn= ctpic ot arbitration into international 1 disputes uf so great magnitude, ,--All 1 this wfs due mofe tosN tish than to i any other man, and is wa, an achieve. l ment la he ranked with the pfoudest i tltumphs ot diplomacy or statesman, l ship.
 Many of us remember that when General Grant visited England, during his tour around the world, he was loud | ly welcomed as a friend of arbitration, the soldier who had preferred peace to war That was very true; but the prime mover in Inc present method oi settling international disputes was nei the president. bull his secretary ei State. Few men in all the history oi our country have held that high sta ton for so long term, ot have uni formly performed its duties with se | great skin and wisdom.
 | Between Mir. Fish and Generaioran' there grew ,o ec very s;seag personal
 friendship. sEseh understood the oth'