the British fleet, sent soldiers and sailors into the town, under cover of the squadron, carried away Holt's printing-press, and took two of his men pris- oners. Holt induced the timid corporation of Nor- folk to send a letter of remonstrance to Dunmore, who replied that he had done them good service by- depriving them of the means of poisoning their minds by rebellious doctrines, and that cowardice alone prevented their protest when the types were carried to the fleet. Holt then left the city and went to Williamsburg, where he avenged himself by writing and printing a severe attack on Dun- more. Returning to New York, he again became an editor of the " Journal," but was obliged to fly when the British army entered in September, 1776. Taking his little press with him. he resided at Fish- kill, Esopus, Hudson, and other retired points along the Hudson, continuing to issue his paper until the conclusion of peace. While in Esopus he published Gen. Burgoyne's proclamation of 29 June, 1777, and in Poughkeepsie the first authentic account of the Wyoming massacre, which he received from the fu- gitives themselves. Returning to New York, he fiublished his paper under the new title of " The ndependent Gazette, or New York Journal." Isaiah Thomas says of him : " Holt was a man of ardent feeling, and a high churchman, but a firm Whig, a good writer, and a warm advocate for the cause of his country." His tomb may still be seen in St. Paul's church-yard, New York city.
HOLT, John Saunders, author, b. in Mobile,
Ala., 5 Dec, 1826 ; d. in Natchez, Miss., 27 Feb.,
1886. He removed with his father, when an in-
fant, to Woodville, Miss., and was educated in New
Orleans and Centre college, Danville, Ky. In 1846
he joined a Mississippi regiment of volunteers
under Col. Jefferson Davis, and served as a private
in the Mexican war, receiving honorable mention
for bravery at Buena Vista. After studying law,
he was licensed to practise in Woodville, Miss., in
1848, and resided there until his removal to New
Orleans in 1851. He returned to Woodville in
1857, and throughout the civil war served as lieu-
tenant in the Confederate army. At its close he
resumed the practice of law. His novels, which are
intended to portray various phases of southern
character, are written under the pen-name of
" Abraham Page," and are entitled " The Life of
Abraham Page, Esq." (Philadelphia, 1868); "What
I know about Ben Eccles, by Abraham Page "
(1869) ; and " The Quines " (1870).
HOLT, Joseph, jurist, b. in Breckenridge county, Ky., 6 Jan., 1807. He was educated at St. Joseph's college, Bardstown, and at Centre col-
lege, Danville, and in
1828 began to practise
law at Elizabethtown,
Ky. He removed to
Louisville in 1832, was
attorney for the Jeffer-
son circuit in 1833, and
in 1855 went to Port
Gibson, Miss., where he
attained eminence in
his profession. He be-
came an adherent of
Richard M. Johnson, and a speech that he made in Johnson's favor in the National
Democratic convention
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of 1836 made him widely known as an orator. At this time he was counsel for the city of Vicksburg in a celebrated suit involving the claim of the heirs of Newit Vick, founder of the city, to a strip of land along the river-front that Vick had devoted to the public use. He was a frequent opponent of Sergeant S. Prentiss. Holt returned to Louisville in 1842, and after a trip to Europe was appointed commissioner of patents by President Buchanan in 1857. He be- came postmaster-general in 1859, and when John B. Floyd withdrew from the cabinet in 1860 he as- sumed charge of the war department.' He actively co-operated with Gen. Scott in providing against hostile demonstrations at the inauguration of Presi- dent Lincoln in 1861, and in a report, which was afterward published, described the plot that had been made to seize the capital. Although he had been a Douglas Democrat, Mr. Holt now gave his earnest support to the administration, denounced the policy of " neutrality " in his native state, and advocated the Union cause there and elsewhere. In the latter part of 1861 he was one of the commis- sion that was appointed to investigate the military claims against the Department of the West. Presi- dent Lincoln made him judge-advocate-general of the army on 3 Sept., 1862, with the rank of colonel, and on the establishment of the bureau of military justice in 1864 he was put at its head with the same title, but with the rank of brigadier-general. He expressed his strong approval of the emancipa- tion proclamation of 1862, and on 26 Aug., 1863, addressed an opinion to Sec. Stanton in which he approved the enlistment and subsequent emanci- pation of those negroes who, living in states to which the proclamation did not refer, were still in slavery. Judge Holt bore a conspicuous part in various courts-martial and military commissions, especially in that which tried the assassins of Presi- dent Lincoln. He was brevetted major-general, U. S. army, on 13 March, 1865, for " faithful, meritori- ous, and distinguished services in the bureau of military justice during the war," and on 1 Dec, 1875, was retired at his own request, being over sixty-two years of age. Since that time he has re- sided in Washington, D. C.
HOLTON, Luther Hamilton, Canadian statesman, b. in South Leeds, Ont., in October, 1817 ; d. 14 March, 1880. He removed to Montreal in 1826, where he engaged in business, and was for many years a member of the mercantile firm of Hooker and Holton. Before entering politics he was a member of the corporation of Montreal, repeatedly president of the Board of trade, harbor commissioner, director of the City bank, and held other offices. Mr. Holton represented Montreal in the Canadian assembly from 1854 till 1857, when he was defeated. He was a member for Victoria division in the legislative council of Canada from September, 1862, till May, 1863, when he resigned on being appointed minister of finance, and was elected for Chateaugay, which he represented continuously until his death. He was a member of the executive council of Canada from 2 to 6 Aug., 1858, in the Brown-Dorion or " short administration," and from May, 1863, till March, 1864, in the Sandfield - Macdonald - Dorion administration, holding the portfolio of commissioner of public works in the first and minister of finance in the latter ministry. He represented Montreal Centre in the parliament of Quebec (in which he led the English opposition) from the general election of 1871 till 16 Jan., 1864, when he retired. He was honorary resident of the Reform association of the " Parti rational " of Montreal, a governor of McGill university, and a member of the Royal institution for the advancement of learning, and was a government director of the Grand Trunk railway from November, 1852, till July, 1857.
