Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/831

SEYMOUR 805 he was appointed by patent protector and gov- ernor of the king and his realms. His brilliant victory over the Scots at Pinkie, Sept. 10, greatly strengthened his influence, and for up- ward of two years after the accession of his nephew his authority was invested with all the attributes of royalty. His leaning toward the commons and his attempts to reform various social evils aroused against him a powerful party, headed by the earl of Warwick, who had been one of his most confidential coun- sellors ; while the zeal with which he had pro- moted the unjust condemnation and execution for high treason of his brother, Lord Thomas Seymour, disgusted the people. On Oct. 14, 1549, he was deprived of the protectorship and committed to the tower, whence he was re- leased, with a full pardon, Feb. 16, 1550. He resumed hia place in the council, but in Oc- tober, 1551, was again arrested through the influence of "Warwick ; and being convicted of felony committed in an attempt to im- prison the latter, he was executed. Somerset was sincere and consistent in his attempts to establish the doctrines of the reformation in England, and his government afforded protec- tion to refugees, both political and religious. (See EDWARD VI.) II. Lady Jane, sister of the preceding, and third queen of Henry VIII., born about 1510, died Oct. 24, 1537. She was a maid of honor to Queen Anne Boleyn when the king first fell in love with her, was mar- ried to Henry on the day succeeding Anne's execution, and died 12 days after giving birth to Edward VI. SEYMOUR, Horatio, an American statesman, born in Pompey, Onondaga co., N. Y., May 31, 1810. When he was nine years of age his parents removed to Utica. He was educated at the academies of Oxford and Geneva, N. Y., and Partridge's military school, Miildletown, Conn., studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1832. The death of his father devolved upon him the settlement of a large estate, and withdrew him from the practice of his pro- fession. From 1833 to 1839 he served on the military staff of Gov. Marcy. In 1841 he was elected to the state assembly as a democrat, was reflected three times, and in 1845 was chosen speaker. In 1842, while in the assem- bly, he was elected mayor of Utica for one year. In 1848 he supported Lewis Cass for the presidency. In 1850 he was nominated by the democrats for governor, and was defeat- ed by Washington Hunt, the whig candidate, by a plurality of 262 votes; but in 1852 he was elected governor by a plurality of 22,596 votes over the same competitor. A prohibi- tory liquor bill passed in March, 1854, -was vetoed by him on the ground that it was un- constitutional. He was renominated in 1854. The prohibition question entered largely into the canvass, which was further complicated by the Know-Nothing issue and the anti-slavery agitation growing out of the repeal of the Mis- souri compromise. There were four candidates for governor, and Myron II. Clark, whig and prohibitionist, was elected by a plurality of 309 votes over Gov. Seymour. In 1862 Mr. Seymour was again elected governor over Gen. James S. Wadsworth by a majority of 10,752 votes. In his inaugural address on Jan. 1, 1863, he said : u Under no circumstances can the division of the Union be conceded. We will put forth every exertion of power ; we will use every policy of conciliation ; we will guar- antee them every right, every consideration demanded by the constitution and by that fraternal regard which must prevail in a com- mon country ; but we can never voluntarily consent to the breaking up of the union of these states or the destruction of the consti- tution." On June 15 Secretary Stanton, by direction of President Lincoln, telegraphed to Gov. Seymour asking if he could raise and for- ward 20,000 militia to assist in repelling the threatened invasion of Maryland and Pennsyl- vania by Lee's army ; and within three days 12,000 soldiers were on their way from New York to Harrisburg. While these troops were ' absent from the state the draft was ordered to be enforced in the city of New York on July 11. On the 9th Gen. John E. Wool, command- ing the department of the East, addressed a letter to Gov. Seymour setting forth that the city of New York was in a defenceless condi- tion, and asked that he might be furnished with four companies of infantry. These compa- nies were on their way thither from the inte- rior of the state when Gen. Wool telegraphed, July 13: "Please countermand any militia that is ordered to this place." On the same day the draft riots began. The governor immedi- ately went to New York, where on the 14th he issued two proclamations, one calling on the rioters to disperse, and the other declar- ing the city in a state of insurrection. He divided it into districts, which were placed un- der the control of military men who were di- rected to organize the citizens ; and 3,000 stand of arms were issued to these and other organi- zations. Boats were chartered to convey po- licemen and soldiers to any point on the shores of the island where disturbances were threat- ened. The governor visited all the riotous dis- tricts in person, and by persuasion as well as by the use of the force at his command aided in quelling the disturbance. During his term Gov. Seymour commissioned more than 1,000 officers in the volunteer service of the United States. In 1864 he addressed a message to the legislature advocating the payment of the interest on the state bonds in gold ; and the refusal of the legislature to adopt this policy greatly depreciated their value. In August he presided over the democratic national conven- tion at Chicago, which nominated Gen. McClel- lan for the presidency. He also presided- over the convention of 1868, held in New York. The leading candidates for the nomination were George H. Pendleton, Andrew Johnson, Thomas A. Hendricks, and Gen. W. S. Han-