HALE, JOHN PARKER, b. N. H., 1806; d. 1873; a statesman. lie graduated at Bowdoin college in 1897, and settled at Dover, which was his home for the rest of his life. He was admitted to the bar in 1880, represented the town in the state legislature in 1832, and in 1834 he received from president Jackson the appointment of U. S. attor ney for the district of New Hampshire. He held the office until 1841, when he was removed by president Tyler. In 1843 he was elected to congress as a democrat to fill a vacancy. In 1844 be was nominated by his party for re-election, i in spite of his well known opposition to the extension of slavery. The New Hampshire legislature in the summer of 1844, having passed .a,resolution members of congress finin that state to vote for the annexatiat of Texas', Mr. Hale addressed a letter to his con stituents in which he declared that, as the annexation of Texas was designed to extend and perpetuate slavery, he could not conscientiously vote for the measure. The demo cratic state convention thereupon struck his name from the ticket and nominated another man in his stead. He ran as an independent candidate, but was defeated. In 1846, by a combination of independent democrats and whigs, acting together to resist the extension of slavery, Mr. Hale was elected speaker of the house of representatives,
and before the close of the session chosen U. S. senator for six years from Mar. 4, 1847. As a senator he was a zealous opponent of slavery extension and the compromises of 1850. In 1847 the liberty party nominated him for president, but Ile declined, and in the election of 1848 supported Van Buren and Adams. 1111852 he was the free-soil candidate for presi dent, and received 157,685 votes. On retiring from the senate in 1853, he entered upon the practice of the law in New York, but in 1855 he was again elected to the U. S. sen ate to fill a vacancy. In 1858 he was re-elected for a full term of 6 years, during which he was an ardent supporter of the administration of Mr. Lincoln, taking an active part in the legislation necessary to the vigorous prosecution of the war. At the close of his term in 1865, lie was appointed minister to Spain. He was recalled by president Grant, and returned home in 1870. Soon afterwards he stiffered an attack of paralysis, from which he never recovered. In 1873 his hip was dislocated by a fall, which hastened his death.