NEW YORK. 



575 



to dismember or divide the delegation by contesting 

 the seats of a portion of the delegates, ana any of the 

 delegates appointed by this Convention should coun- 

 tenance such attempt by assuming to act separately 

 from the majority of the delegation appointed by this 

 Convention, or to enter the National Convention sepa- 

 rately from such majority, or should fail to cooperate 

 with' such majority, the seats of such delegates shall 

 be deemed to be vacated. 



Before the time for holding the Republican 

 National Convention arrived, there were indi- 

 cations of a revolt of several of the State dele- 

 gates against the instructions of the Convention 

 at Utica. Their position and claims are suffi- 

 ciently indicated by the following statement of 

 one of their number, which was communi- 

 cated in the form of a letter to the editor of 

 the Albany " Journal " : 



ALBANY, May 6, 1880. 

 To the Editor of the Albany Evening Journal : 



May I avail 'myself of the columns of the " Jour- 

 nal " for reply to inquiries of friends from various 

 parts of the State in regard to my course as a delegate 

 to the Chicago Convention ? The last Eepubhcan 

 National Convention held that where a State Con- 

 vention had instructed its delegation to vote as a unit, 

 each delegate had the right to vote for his individual 

 preference. With Republicans that decision is final, 

 and the Utica Convention had no power to overrule 

 it. As well might the General Term of the Supreme 

 Court reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals. 



The delegates at large are bound by the instructions 

 of the State Convention. The district delegates are 

 under no such obligation. A district delegate should 

 represent the wishes of the Republicans ofnis district. 



The Republicans of my district, with great unanim- 

 ity, prefer James G. Elaine as the Republican candi- 

 date for the Presidency, and with them, in this re- 

 spect, 1 am in full accord. 



On the first roll-call at Chicago, and on each subse- 

 quent one till a nomination shall be made, I shall vote 

 for James G. Elaine. 



I shall vote for him because he is the choice of the 

 Republicans of the district which I represent. 



I shall vote for him because to-day he is, in my 



1'udgmcnt, the strongest and most popular Republican 

 iving, and these qualities it will be well for the Con- 

 vention to consider in making its choice, as on the 

 election of the nominee will depend, to a great extent, 

 the nation's welfare. 



I shall vote for him because, if elected, he will make 

 a safe and Avise ruler. Under his Administration all 

 rebeldom will begin and continue to respect the Gov- 

 ernment, and the country will enter upon a career of 

 prosperity and greatness hitherto unknown. 



Yours, truly, W. H. ROBERTSON. 



Judge Robertson's lead was followed by 

 three of his colleagues in the State Senate, 

 who made oral statement of their purposes in 

 that body under the guise of "personal expla- 

 nations." 



The Democratic State Committee, at a meet- 

 ing held in New York on July 21st, adopted 

 the following resolution : 



Resolved, That this committee, while disclaiming 

 any right to interfere in any purely local differences, 

 if such exist among Democrats in any part of the State, 

 particularly where such differences are due to strenu 

 ous rivalry in support of State and national candi- 

 dates of the party, yet hopes that in all parts of the 

 State the voice of dissension may be hushed, and im- 

 pulses to cordial cooperation encouraged, to the end 

 that, irrespective of past differences, the undivided 

 strength of the party may contribute to success against 

 the common enemy of administrative reform, better 



government, and the restoration of fraternal love 

 among our countrymen. 



The death of Chief-Judge Church, of the 

 Court of Appeals, occasioned the necessity of 

 choosing his successor at the election in No- 

 vember, and the parties were called upon to 

 nominate candidates for the office. The Re- 

 publican State Committee, at a meeting held 

 in New York on August 24th, decided not to 

 call a convention for this purpose, but to put in 

 nomination on its own responsibility Charles 

 J. Folger, who had already been appointed by 

 the Governor as Judge Church's successor. The 

 proposition to hold a convention was negatived 

 by a vote of five to twenty-six, and then the 

 following resolution was adopted unanimously : 



Whereas, The general sense of the Republican party 

 is opposed to a State Convention, for the reasons, 

 among others, that the time occupied in the selection 

 of delegates to a State Convention would disturb and 

 retard the work of the campaign, already auspiciously 

 begun, and that the character of Charles J. Folger 

 dictates his nomination for the high place he now oc- 

 cupies, and no other name would be acceptable to the 

 Republican party ; therefore be it 



Resolved, That, in compliance with the sentiment of 

 the Republican party, the State Committee places in 

 nomination for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals 

 Charles J. Folger, of Ontario. 



The Democratic State Committee, after some 

 consideration of the matter, concluded to call 

 a State Convention, being somewhat moved 

 thereto by the determination of Mr. John Kelly, 

 of New York, and the committee of the Tam- 

 many organization, to hold a convention if the 

 regular party organization did not. The Con- 

 vention was held at Saratoga on September 

 28th, and represented a union of the two fac- 

 tions. Charles A. Rapallo was nominated for 

 Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, and the 

 following was adopted as a platform : 



The Democrats of the State of New York, in con- 

 vention assembled, reaffirm the declaration of prin- 

 ciples made at the late Convention of 1879, and ratify 

 the resolutions adopted by the Democratic National 

 Convention at Cincinnati. The Democrats of New 

 York hereby pledge the thirty-five electoral votes of 

 this State to Hancock for President and English for 

 Vice-President, and we hereby express the confidence 

 that the next Federal Administration will be conducted 

 by constitutional methods; that the right of local 

 self-government in the States will be respected ; that 

 industry will be relieved from the weight of unequal 

 taxation ; that American commerce will again be car- 

 ried forward under the American flag ; and that the 

 union of these States will once more find its perfect 

 and sure defense in the affection cf all the people. 



The Democrats of New York congratulate their 

 brethren upon the prospect which now exists of suc- 

 cess throughout the whole country, and we think our- 

 selves justified in claiming that the result is in part 

 due to the manner in which we have maintained and 

 applied democratic principles and methods of admin- 

 istration in our own State. 



Resolved, That the death of Sanford E. Church, 

 Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, has caused a 

 grave loss to the court over which he presided, and 

 has deprived the Democratic party of one of its most 

 trusted and wisest counselors. We express our ad- 

 miration for his great talents and exalted character, 

 and will cherish his memory as a priceless heritage to 

 the people of the State. 



The union of the two Democratic factions 



