First International Conference of American States And so, as Secretary of State, Blaine sent invitations to all the nations of the Hemisphere to come to Washington in November 1881 with the principal goal of considering and discussing methods to prevent war between the nations of the Hemisphere. But destiny intervened: President Garfield was assassinated on 19 September 1881 and the new President Chester A. Arthur, who was no friend of Blaine's, quickly removed him from the State Department. Shortly afterward, the Conference invitations were withdrawn on the grounds that the unsettled situation at home and abroad would make such an event impossible. Now a private citizen,
PS Victoria (1881) PS Victoria (1881) PS "Victoria" was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1881. The ship was built in steel by Aitken and Mansel and launched on 9 September 1881. Her engines were by David Rowan of Glasgow. She was the first ship constructed for a joint venture between the London and South Western Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway for the passenger trade to the Isle of Wight. She was double-ended, with two funnels. Official registries show that in 1899 she transferred to the