NEW YORK. 



647 



test that followed. The balloting continued 

 without special incident until the 9th of June, 

 the Republican vote, other than that cast for 

 Conkling and Piatt, varying from day to day. 

 On the date mentioned, S. H. Bradley, of Cat- 

 tar.-iugus County, made a personal explanation 

 in the Assembly, in which he charged Loreu B. 

 Sessions, of the Senate, with offering him the 

 sum of $2,000 to cast his vote for Chauncey M. 

 Depew. The candidacy of Mr. Jacobs, on the 

 part of the Democrats, had been the subject of 

 some criticism, on account of the fact that he 

 was a member of the Legislature, and after the 

 twenty-third ballot, which took place on the 

 22d of June, he withdrew. A caucus was held 

 the same day, and after explanations from Mr. 

 Jacobs and others, the name of Olarkson N. 

 Potter was substituted. The vote on the 

 twenty-fifth ballot stood as follows: For the 

 short-term vacancy, Potter, 53 ; AVilliam A. 

 Wheeler, 50; Roscoe Conkling, 32 ; Elbridge G. 

 L:i])!i!im. 17 ; George G. Hoskins, 3, and Charles 

 J. Folger, 1 ; for the long-term vacancy, Francis 

 Kernan, 53 ; Chauncey M. Depew, 52 ; Thomas 

 0. Platt, 27 ; A. B. Cornell, 7 ; Richard Crow- 

 ley, 6 ; George G. Hoskins, 5 ; Elbridge G. 

 Lapham, 3, and Henry E. Tremaine, 1. After 

 the thirty-first ballot, which took place July 

 1st, Mr. Platt withdrew from the contest, the 

 vote standing then for the place which he had 

 vacated Kernan, 53 ; Depew, 51 ; Platt, 28 ; 

 Cornell, 11; Crowley, 7; Lapham, 2; Tre- 

 maine, 1, and Wheeler, 1. His vote was im- 

 mediately scattered, the larger part of it going 

 at rirst to Crowley. An effort was made at 

 this time to secure a conference of Republican 

 members, and sixty-two signatures were ob- 

 tained to the following " call" : 



Whereas, More than four weeks have been spent in 

 a vain attempt to elect two United States Senators to 

 fill the vacancies occasioned by the resignation of the 

 Hon. Roscoe ConklLng and the Hon. Thomas C. Platt ; 

 and 



Whereas, "We believe it to be our imperative duty, 

 demanded alike by the interests of members of this 

 Legislature and bv the interests of the whole people, 

 speedily to fill said vacancies : therefore 



We, the undersigned, Republican members of the 

 Legislature, do hereby agree that when sixty -five or 

 more Republican members of the Legislature shall 

 have signed this paper we will attend a conference of 

 such signers, together with all other Republican mem- 

 bers who may join us, and at such conference proceed 

 to vote visa voce for candidates to fill said vacancies : 

 and when two candidates shall have each received 

 fifty-four votes cast in said conference, sixty-five or 

 more voting, we will make said candidates so receiv- 

 ing such number of votes our candidates at the next 

 and each succeeding meeting of the joint Assembly 

 until the said candidates shall be elected, provided 

 one candidate shall l>e selected from each of the two 

 principal divisions of the Republican party. 



Said conference shall be held at the Assembly Cham- 

 ber at the call of the first five signers of this paper, 

 and invitations to attend said oonftarenM shall be ex- 

 tended to all Republican members of the Legislature, 

 whether their names appear hcreon or not. 



The conference, at which sixty-seven mem- 

 bers were present, was held on the 8th of July, 

 forty-one ballots having then been taken. Mr. 



Depew withdrew his name and declined to be 

 a candidate, taking occasion to repel various 

 charges and accusations that had been made 

 in regard to his position and conduct. Five 

 ballots were taken in the caucus for a candi- 

 date for the position vacated by Mr. Conkling, 

 which finally resulted in a union of all the 

 votes on Mr. Warner Miller. Elbridge G. 

 Lapham was nominated for the place vacated 

 by Mr. Platt, receiving thirty -eight of the 

 sixty-six votes cast on the first ballot. The 

 original supporters of Conkling and Platt for 

 re-election took no part in the conference, and 

 refused to vote for the candidates on the bal- 

 lotings which followed in the joint session of 

 the two Houses. The vote on the forty-second 

 ballot for the short-term vacancy was : Lap- 

 ham, 67; Potter, 50; Conkling, 31, and Cor- 

 nell, 1 ; total, 149 ; necessary for a choice, 75 ; 

 for the long-term vacancy : Miller, 68 ; Ker- 

 nan, 50; Wheeler, 19; Rogers, 4; Cornell, 1, 

 and seven " scattering." The voting continued 

 in the same spirit until July 17th, when, on the 

 forty-eighth ballot, Speaker Sharpe, of the As- 

 sembly, declared his purpose of voting for the 

 conference candidates. The result of the vote 

 on that day was for Conkling's former seat: 

 Lapham, 68 ; Conkling, 29 ; Potter, 47, and 

 Evarts, 1 ; for Platt's place Miller received 

 seventy-six votes, including those of one Sen- 

 ator and seven Assemblymen who had hither- 

 to acted with the " Stalwarts " ; Kernan's vote 

 was forty-seven, and the rest of the Republican 

 votes were scattered among nine candidates, 

 Fish receiving nine and Wheeler four. Miller 

 was declared elected. The contest in behalf 

 of Conkling was kept up some days longer, 

 and" an attempt was made by his supporters to 

 secure an adjournment, and the consequent 

 postponement of the election to the next ses- 

 sion. Finally, on the 22d of July, the "Stal- 

 warts," in conference, adopted the following 

 resolution : 



Resolved, If a conference of the Republicans in the 

 Legislature be called without stating the purpose of 

 such conference, that all attend the same ; that in 

 conference we take a stand for a caucus, to be held at 

 some future time, for the purpose of nominating a 

 United States Senator ; that if such demand for a cau- 

 cus at a future time be conceded, we attend the same, 

 and if properly and duly held will abide the result ; 

 that if such demand is not conceded, we retire from 

 the conference. 



This having been adopted as an expression 

 of the determination reached, a more definite 

 form was given to the action by the follow- 

 ing: 



Regolved, To bo the sense of this conference that 

 Senators Winslow and Braman be requested to see 

 and agree with Judge Robertson that if ho will an- 

 nounce to the meeting of the joint convention to-day 

 that a conference of all Republicans is called for this 

 afternoon or evening, for the purpose of nominating <\. 

 candidate for United States Senator, we agree t<> attend 

 said conference or caucus and abide by" the result of 

 such nomination. 



Accordingly, after the first ballot of that 

 day, a recess was taken, and Senator Robert- 



