per. His step-father retired from business in 1839, and Colfax then began to study law, but afterward gave it up. In 1841 Mr. Matthews was elected county auditor, and removed to South Bend, making his step-son his deputy, which office Colfax held for eight years. In 1842 he was active in organizing a temperance society in South Bend, and continued a total abstainer throughout his life. At this time he reported the proceedings of the state senate for the Indianapolis "Journal " for two years. In 1844 he made campaign speeches for Henry Clay. He had acted as editor of the South Bend " Free Press " for about a year when, in company with A. W. West, he bought tlie pa{)er in September, 1845, and changed its name to the " St. Joseph Valley Register." Under his man- agement, despite numerous mishaps and business losses, the " Register " quadrupled its subscrij^tion in a few years, and became the most influential journal, in support of whig politics, in that part of Indiana. Mr. Colfax was secretary of the Chi- cago harbor and river convention of July, 1847, and also of the Baltimore whig convention of 1848, which nominated Taylor for president. The next year he was elected a member of the convention to revise the constitution of the state of Indiana, and in his place, both by voice and vote, opposed the clause that pro- hibited free col- ored men from settling in that state. He was also offered a nomination for the state senate, but declined it. In 1851 he was a candidate for congress, and came near being elected in a dis- trict that was strongly demo- cratic. He ac- cepted his oppo- nent's challenge to a joint can- vass, travelled a
thousand miles,
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and spoke seventy times. He was again a delegate to the whig national convention in 1853, and, having joined the newly formed republican party, was its suc- cessful candidate for congress in 1854, serving by successive re-elections till 1869. In 1856 he sup- ported Fremont for president, and during the can- vass made a speech in congress on the extension of slavery and the aggressions of the slave-power. This speech was used as a campaign document, and more than half a million copies were circulated. He was chairman of several important committees of congress, especially that on post-offices and post- roads, and introduced many reforms, including a bill providing for a daily overland mail-route from St. Louis to San Francisco, reaching mining-camps where letters had previously been delivered by ex- press at five dollars an ounce. Mr. Colfax favored Edward Bates as the republican candidate for the presidency in 1860. His name was widely men- tioned for the office of postmaster - general in Lincoln's cabinet, but the president selected C. B. Smith, of Indiana, on the ground, as he after- ward wrote Colfax, that the latter was " a young man, running a brilliant career, and sure of a bright future in any event." In the latter part of
'-^^^^<^^^T^*:^1,
1861 he ably defended Fremont in the house against
the attack of Frank P. Blair. In 1862 he intro-
duced a bill, which became a law, to punish fraudu-
lent contractors as felons, and continued his ef-
forts for reform in the postal service. He was
elected speaker of the house on 7 Dec, 1863, and
on 8 April, 1864, descended from the chair to move
the expulsion of Mr. Long, of Ohio, who had made
a speech favoring the recognition of the southern
confederacy. The resolution was afterward changed
to one of censure, and Mr. Colfax's action was
widely commented on. but generally sustained by
Union men. On 7 May, 1864, he was presented by-
citizens of Indiana then in Washington with a
service of silver, largely on account of his course in
this matter. He was twice re-elected as speaker,
each time by an increased majority, and gained the
applause of both friends and opponents by his skill
as a presiding officer, often shown under very try-
ing circumstances. In May, 1868, the republican
national convention at Chicago nominated him on
the first ballot for vice-president. Gen. Grant be-
ing the nominee for president, and, the republican
ticket having been successful, he took his seat as
president of the senate on 4 March, 1869. On 4
Aug., 1871, President Grant offered him the place
of secretary of state for the remainder of his term,
but he declined. In 1872 he was prominently
mentioned as a presidential candidate, especially
by those who, later in the year, were leaders in the
liberal republican movement, and, although he re-
fused to join them, this was sufficient to make ad-
ministration men oppose his renomination for the
vice-presidency, and he was defeated in the Phila-
delphia convention of 1872. In December, 1872,
he was offered the chief editorship of the New
York " Tribune," but declined it. In 1873 Mr.
Colfax was implicated in the charges of corrup-
tion brought against members of congress who had
received shares of stock in the credit mobilier of
America. The house judiciary committee reported
that there was no ground for his impeachment, as
the alleged offence, if committed at all, had been
committed before he became vice-president. These
charges cast a shadow over the latter part of Mr.
Colfax's life. He denied their truth, and his
friends have always regarded his character as irre-
proachable. His "later years were spent mostly in
retirement in his home at South Bend, Ind., and
in delivering public lectures, which he did fre-
quently before large audiences. His first success
in this field had been in 1865 with a lecture en-
titled "Across the Continent," written after his
return from an excursion to California. The most
popular of his later lectures was that on " Lincoln
and Garfield," Mr. Colfax was twice married.
After his death, which was the result of heart
disease, public honors were paid to his memory
both in congress and in Indiana. See " Life of
Colfax " by O. J. Hollister (New York, 1886).
COLGATE, William, manufacturer, b. in Kent, England, 25 Jan., 1783 ; d. in New York city, 25 March, 1857. Constrained by political considerations, his family emigrated to this country in 1795, and settled in Harford county, Md. Young Colgate came to New York in 1804, and became apprentice to a soap-boiler, whose business he snbsequently followed with an intelligence and industry
that commanded the largest success. In 1808 he united with a Baptist church, and was soon recognized as one of the leading Christian men of New York. In all the missionary and educational enterprises of his denomination he was distinguished for zeal and liberality. He was a member of the board of managers of the American Bible society,
