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 Shortly afterward, the Conference invitations were withdrawn on the grounds that the unsettled situation at home and abroad would make such an event impossible.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,
HMS Canada (1881) HMS Canada (1881) HMS "Canada" was a screw corvette of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1881 and sold for scrap in 1897. Her bow badge was removed prior to being sold for scrap and is currently displayed in the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. "Canada" was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1879, one of nine ships of the "Comus" class. She was launched on 26 August 1881 and completed later that year. Planning for six metal-hulled corvettes began in 1876; these became the "Comus"-class corvettes and were designed for long voyages away from coaling stations. Given a