Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-06-23
The Cincinnati Convention.

Convention but some more detailed de-
scription of important features Of the Con-
vention will be of interest to our readers.
We copy from the correspondence OF the
New York Times:
1t was the ayowed intention of the Maine
delegation to force a vote at as early an hour
on Thursday as possible. They evidently
feared that the wild enthusiasm IN favor OF
their candidate which was manifested Wed
nesday, would as suddenly die out as did the
Conkling 'hurrah'' Of the day before. For
this reason they desired the defeat OF the
rule that the platform should be adopted be-
fore any nominations were presented. Ihey
met with much stronger opposition than
they anticipated, however, and in spite OF
the most desperate efforts were completely
defeated One OF the most effective and SEN
sible speeches on the subject was made by
Judge Hotchkiss, of New York. He said,
among other good things, that when man
wanted to 20 out riding on horseback he
usually first provided himself with horse.
So man who was going to be put forward
| As a candidate for President of the United
States must have platform to stand on.
| This apt illustration carried the Convention.
BENJAMIN l.. SillimaL, from Kings county,
| New York. found fault with the rules be-
cause they did not give opportunity enough
for consultation after the taking Of each bal
lot. and he presented an amendment which
provided that after each ballot recess OF
thirty minutes should be taken, during
which time the delegates would have an OPP
portunity of caucusing as to their future ac-
ton Mr.. Van Zandt, OF Rhode Island, de-
feated this plausible little proposition by
moving to amend the motion by providing
that each delegate before entering the eau
Gus should be labelled with the price which
he demanded for his vote, and whether or
not he would take his pay in cash or eoun-
try produce Mr.. Clements, Of Illinois,
shouting through the roar of laughter which
this sally produced, said, If you want eau
cuses of that kind you had better pack your
trunks and buy tickets for St. Louis Mr..
Silliman S proposition was defeated.
I The next business in order was the report
of the Committee on Credentials This COM
mittee, which was wisely composed of some
of the best men in the Convention, and
which had remained in session nearly all
night considering the contests of the rival
delegations from Alabama, Florida, and the
| District of Columbia. much to the surprise
of those who understood the difficult task
which they had to perform, were ready with
their report By it the anti-Spencer delega-
ton from Alabama, the Conover delegation
from Florida, and the anti-Shepherd from
the District of Columbia were admitted. An
effort to seat Fred Douglass, who was Shep-
herds associate, proved Intellectual. Then
the long-expected contest on the Alabama
case commenced. Mr.. Harris, Of Nevada,
presented a minority report, in which he
advocated the claims of Spencer in such a
way as TO demonstrate very plainly that he
knew nothing Of that disreputable persons
private character, or of his fraudulent
| practices in Alabama. lie was followed by
| Assistant Postmaster General Tyner, who
also spoke for Spencer, and by several other
advocates of the ''sutler" Senator Much
to its own credit the Convention re
fused to admit Spencer and his tools, and
seated the regular delegation, headed by
those reputable and representative Repub-
| leans, ex-Gov. Smith, Judge Rice and ex-
United States Marshal Healey. The vote
/ stood 375 10 80. IL was noticeable that
| the Bristow men voted solid for the admis-
sion of the regular delegation, while Mr..
Conkling's friends ardently supported the
claims Of Spencer.
When the report OF the Committee on
Credentials had been disposed Of, General
| Hawley, Chairman Of the Committee on
Resolutions, came forward and reported the
platform Only two planks in it excited any
| discussion. On the Chinese resolution there
was a long and somewhat heated debate. 1t
was opened by Mr. Pierce of Massachusetts,.
| who moved to strike out the part Of the
| platform referred To- This brought Senator
| Jones, of Nevada, to his feet, and he made
a strong speech IN opposition to the motion.
| lie explained that the resolution objected
to called simply for Congressional inyesti-
/ CATION Of the question referred 70, and he
| believed that such an Investigation could not
| fail to benefit the Chinese immigrants them
selves, as much a. he hoped it would the
residents Of the Pacific slope. At this point
there were loud cries from all parts of the
| house for George William Curtis. lie took
the stand amid cheers and shouts of"Iell Us
what YOU think about it, Had Mr.. Curtis
taken any strong ground against the reSo-
luton he could easily have defeated it. He
spoke in a general way, however, about the
nights and privileges Of oil oia-sos Of citizens
and finally, after some further desultory dis
cussion, the resolution was adopted by a
vote OF j02 to 2lj. The financial resolu-
ton was then taken up and discussed. Ii
had occasioued debate Of upward of three
hours in the committee and II was expected
that it would occupy great deal OF the
Convention time. Fortunately. however,
this was not the case The subject was
brought up by Mr.. Davis, Of Texas, who
offered a minority report, which was 50 OBJ
viously inferior u the one submitted by the
majority that it. reading called forth deri
siye laughter Gen. Hawley in a short
speech pointed out the merits Of the orig
inal resolution. This was all that was neces-
sary, and the entire platform was adopted
without further debate. 1t gives general
satisfaction to all the delegates and created
unbounded enthusiasm in the Convention.
That portion Of it which relates to the com
mon schools, and which recommends con-
stitutional amendment providing that here
after no public moneys shall be appropriated
for the benefit of schools controlled BY sec
tartan influences, was received with IN
doubted evidences Of appreciation. Thou
sands of persons in the audience rose from
their seats, shouting their approval. Their
example was followed by many of the dele
gates, and II was fully five minutes before
order could be restored.
1t was now 3 O'Clock in the afternoon and
the delegates and the vast audience Of men
and women who for four hours had been in
the hall packed almost as closely together as
sardlnes, seemed to be completely exhausted. |
The heat was intense, and many OF the men,
even some Of the delegates, had taken off |
their coats. but finding no relief were lolling |
listlessly in their chairs or indolently fan |
ming themselves, apparently worn out in
mind and body. When it was announced |
however, that all the preliminary business
had been disposed Of and the nomination |
Of candidates was in order, new life seemed |
to be infused into the 900 persons present.
The flutter of fans ceased in the galleries,
the delegates settled themselves in their
seats. The Chairman announced that the
time had arrived when it was in regular
order for the Convention to present candi-
dates for the Presidency of the United
States, and he requested the Secretary TO
call the roll. The various Commonwealth
responded.
In response to the call for Connecticut,
DtSf bSH W hCA4OESi AahllS tLc lldliOIus
presented, in a short address, the name of
Marshall Jewell. Then the roll of the
States was proceeded with until Indiana was
reached, when, amid tumultuous cheering,
Richard w. Thompson, of that State, came
to the platform aud proposed the name Of
Oliver 7. Morton. The nomination was
seconded by Mr.. Pinchback, Of Louisiana,
who added but little force to the eloquent
made by Mr.. Thompson.
Then, after Iowa and Kansas had been
named, the Clerk, with peculiar emphasis,
called Kentucky. This was the signal for
one of the most enthusiastic popular demon
STATIONS ever witnessed in this country. 1t
came directly from the hearts Of people who
had no voice in the Convention, but, not
this, it had a valuable effect
upon the Independent delegates present,
and was regarded with no little di>pleasure
By the professional politicians. When 81
lence had at length been restored, Gen. Har-
IL /.