194 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



H sufficiently strong to check any tendency 

 to excess. Between these two elements, the 

 great voice of independent opinion can always 

 be heard with effect, and the country has ev- 

 ery prospect of peace and prosperity." Judge 

 Davis, accordingly, voted witli the Republicans 

 in favor of proceeding to the election of offi- 

 cers ; but the dilatory tactics of the Democrats 

 were kept up, and prevented the adoption of 

 the resolution offered by Mr. Dawes, of Massa- 

 chusetts, for that purpose. The contest, how- 

 ever, was continued through the entire month 

 of Apri), the debate taking a wide range over 

 the political field. General Mahone took oc- 

 casion to defend the financial policy of the 

 Readjustee in Virginia, and was answered by 

 his colleague, General Johnston. Mahone's 

 party attitude in the Senate was made the sub- 

 ject of severe criticism by Hill, of Georgia, 

 and others, and several heated colloquies took 

 place. The method of conducting political can- 

 vasses and elections in the South was brought 

 under discussion, and the suffrage laws of some 

 of the Northern States were denounced. There 

 was scarcely a question of recent or current 

 politics that was not made a subject of debate. 

 On the 27th of April the Republican Sena- 

 tors held a caucus for the purpose of consider- 

 ing whether they should consent to an execu- 

 tive session, at which the President's appoint- 

 ments could be acted upon. The question was 

 referred to a caucus committee which was in- 

 structed to consider the situation and make a 

 report of its conclusions. The efforts of this 

 committee were directed mainly to ascertain- 

 ing whether harmony could be secured in act- 

 ing upon certain pending nominations. On 

 the 22d of March, the last day on which an 

 executive session had been held, the following 

 names had been submitted by the President 

 for appointment in the State of New York: 

 Stewart L. Woodford to be District Attorney 

 for the Southern District ; Asa W. Tenney, 

 District Attorney for the Eastern District ; 

 Louis F. Payn, Marshal for the Southern Dis- 

 trict; Clinton D. MacDougall, Marshal for the 

 Northern District; and John Tyler, Collector 

 of Customs at Buffalo. These men were 

 known as more or less close political friends 

 of Senator Conkling, and their appointment 

 was presumed to be agreeable to him. The 

 next day, March 23d, William H. Robertson 

 was named for Collector of Customs at the 

 port of New York ; Edwin A. Merritt, the in- 

 cumbent of that office, received the appoint- 

 ment of Consul-General at London, and Gen- 

 eral Adam Badeau was transferred to the po- 

 sition of Charge ^Affaires to Denmark, Mr. 

 Cramer being transferred to Switzerland. 

 There were other important appointments sub- 

 mitted at the same time, but they gave no oc- 

 casion for a contest. Mr. Robertson had been 

 a pronounced opponent of Mr. Conkling in the 

 leadership and management of the Republican 

 party in New York, and it was known that 

 his appointment was very distasteful to the 



Senator. How far his opposition to its con- 

 firmation would be carried was not definitely 

 known, and the chief object of this caucus 

 committee, appointed April 27th, was to ascer- 

 tain whether antagonism between him and the 

 President could not be reconciled. The Presi- 

 dent disclaimed any purpose of offending Mr. 

 Conkling or slighting his just claims to be con- 

 sulted, but took the position that the collector- 

 ship at New York was a national office, over 

 which there could be no local claims, and that 

 he felt entirely free to make the appointment 

 according to his own best judgment. lie dis- 

 tinctly intimated a purpose to adhere to his 

 former action, while Senator Conkling showed 

 no disposition to abate his claim to a control- 

 ling voice in the selection of Federal officers in 

 New York. The caucus was called together 

 on the 3d of May, and decided to agree to ex- 

 ecutive sessions on the following days for the 

 consideration of appointments, those which 

 were uncontested being first acted on. On the 

 4th Mr. Dawes rose to explain the course of 

 his party in persisting in the effort to elect the 

 officers of the Senate, and, insisting on the 

 right of its position, proposed a suspension of 

 the contest in order that the President's ap- 

 pointments might be acted upon. By a unani- 

 mous vote the Senate went into executive ses- 

 sion, confirmed several appointments, and took 

 up the treaties with China. Seeing that it was 

 the plan of Senator Conkling to secure, if pos- 

 sible, the confirmation of the uncontested ap- 

 pointments, including those within the State 

 of New York, and then to induce the Senate 

 to adjourn .without acting upon the others, 

 President Garfield, on the 5th of May, with- 

 drew the names of Woodford, Tenney, Payn, 

 MacDougall, and Tyler. The same day the 

 Chinese treaties were ratified, and numerous 

 appointments were confirmed. 



The action of the President in withdrawing 

 the other New York appointments brought 

 the contest with Senator Conkling over that 

 for the collectorship to a distinct issue, which 

 the Senate could not avoid meeting. All efforts 

 to compromise the difficulty were futile. A 

 caucus of Republican Senators was held on the 

 9th of May, in which Senator Conkling stated 

 his claims at great length, and charged the 

 President with bad faith and violation of his 

 pledges. The caucus continued its discussions 

 on the 10th, when Senator Edmunds withdrew 

 a resolution which he had offered the day be- 

 fore, in favor of postponing action on Robert- 

 son's case until December. The caucus made 

 no decision at that time on the course to be 

 adopted, and another was held on the 13th, 

 with a like result. Meantime a contest had 

 been carried on in the Senate over the appoint- 

 ment of Stanley Matthews, of Ohio, to be an 

 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. It 

 was confirmed on the 12th by a majority of 

 one vote. 



It having become evident that no action 

 could be secured on the part of the Republican 



