UNITED STATES. 



767 



Carroll D. Wright, of Massachusetts, was se- 

 lected. 



Under authority of an act of Congress, ap- 

 proved July 7, a commission was appointed by 

 the President "to ascertain the best modes of 

 securing more intimate international and com- 

 mercial relations between the United States 

 and the several countries of Central and South 

 America." The commissioners consisted of 

 George H. Sharpe, of New York; Thomas 0. 

 Reynolds, of Missouri ; and Solon O. Thacher, 

 of Kansas ; and "W. E. Curtis, of Washington, 

 was appointed secretary to the commission. 

 Conferences were given on the subject of the 

 inquiry in several cities of the country, and 

 in December the commission made a visit to 

 Mexico. Returning thence by way of New 

 Orleans, it embarked for Venezuela early in 

 1885. 



Treaties. The commercial treaty with Mexi- 

 co, which was negotiated in 1882 -'83, was rati- 

 fied by the Senate, March 11, by a vote of 41 

 to 20, but the legislation necessary to give it 

 effect has not been adopted. A treaty was ne- 

 gotiated during the year with the Spanish Gov- 

 ernment at Madrid, by the American minister, 

 John W. Foster, the purpose of which was to 

 secure a freer interchange of products between 

 the United States and the islands of Cuba and 

 Porto Rico. This was submitted to the Senate 

 on the 10th of December, but was not ratified 

 during the session of Congress which had then 

 begun. The object of the treaty, as stated by 

 the Secretary of State, was : 



1. To establish such reciprocity of exchange of the 

 products of the United States and of the neighboring 

 Spanish provinces and islands of Cuba and Porto Eico, 

 and such mutual shipping privileges as will tend to a 

 greater development of commerce. 2. To remove the 

 restrictions and obstructions to which American trade 

 and shipping have for many years been exposed un- 

 der the tariff and customs regulations of these islands ; 

 and, 3. To supplement the treaty of 1795 with Spain by 

 the more modern provisions as to commercial freedom, 

 the protection of the rights of persons and property, 

 and " the most-fa vored-iiation " clause, which do not 

 exist in that treaty. 



A liberal reduction in the duties on sugar 

 and tobacco imported from Cuba and Porto 

 Rico caused a strong opposition to the treaty, 

 and was instrumental in preventing its imme- 

 diate ratification. It was still pending at the 

 final adjournment of Congress, but was subse- 

 quently recalled from the Senate by the new 

 President during the special session of that 

 body, which began on the 5th of March, 1885. 

 A treaty of reciprocity with Santo Domingo was 

 signed at Washington on the 4th of December 

 by Secretary of State Frelinghuysen and Se- 

 fior Manuel D. J. Galvin as plenipotentiaries for 

 the two powers. It provided for the free inter- 

 change of certain products, and a liberal reduc- 

 tion of duties on others, and made provision 

 for a much less restricted commercial inter- 

 course. No action was taken upon this by the 

 Senate during the session ending March 4, 1885, 

 and it was afterward withdrawn by President 

 Cleveland. A treaty with Nicaragua was signed 



at Washington on the 1st of December by Sec- 

 retary Frelinghuysen on the part of the United 

 States, and Gen. Joaquin Zavala for the Cen- 

 tral American republic. The purpose of this 

 was to secure the construction of the proposed 

 interoceanic canal in Nicaragua by the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States. This met with 

 opposition, and failed of ratification during the 

 last session of the Forty-eighth Congress. This 

 also was withdrawn by the President during 

 the special session of the Senate. 



The Political Canvass. The political canvass 

 for the election of President and Vice-Presi- 

 dent was one of exceptional interest and im- 

 portance. As early as December, 1883, cer- 

 tain Republicans in the city of Boston began a 

 movement in behalf of the " adoption of meas- 

 ures and the nomination of men fitted to com- 

 mand the hearty approval and support of the 

 independent, thoughtful, and discriminating 

 voters of the United States." A committee 

 was formed and a correspondence entered into 

 which resulted in a call for a conference of 

 Independent Republicans in New York on Feb- 

 ruary 23. At this conference the following 

 resolution, offered by the Hon. Frederick A. 

 Potts, of New Jersey, was adopted : 



Whereas, A consistent and faithful adherence to the 

 principles of administrative reform, heretofore in- 

 dorsed in State and National Convention, is abso- 

 lutely essential to the vitality and success of the Re- 

 publican party ; and events have shown that the 

 disregard of these principles has led to party defeat 

 in several of the most important States ; and, 



Whereas, The adoption of a similarly mistaken poli- 

 cy would inevitably lead to defeat at the next Presi- 

 dential election : 



Resolved, That it is indispensable to the success of 

 the Republican party that the character, record, and 

 associations of its candidates for President and Vice- 

 President of the United States should be such as to 

 warrant entire confidence in their readiness to defend 

 the advance already made toward divorcing the pub- 

 lic service from party politics, and to continue these 

 advances till the separation has been made final and 

 complete. 



A committee was appointed " to provide for 

 the interchange and practical expression of 

 opinion in harmony with the foregoing reso- 

 lution, and to take such action in relation 

 thereto as they may deem expedient." At 

 first only men from New York were selected, 

 authority being given to them to add repre- 

 sentatives from other States. Gen. Francis C. 

 Barlow, of New York, was made chairman of 

 the committee. Circulars were sent out, set- 

 ting forth the object of the Independent move- 

 ment and inviting co-operation, and on the 

 12th of May the committee sent a circular let- 

 ter to the delegates to the Republican National 

 Convention. 



Republican Convention. The time and place 

 for the Republican Convention had been de- 

 termined upon by the National Committee at 

 a meeting held in Washington in December, 

 1883, together with the plan of representation 

 for States and congressional districts. (See 

 " Annual Cyclopedia " for 1883.) As the pre- 

 liminary canvass opened in the several States, 



