The New York herald., 1877-11-29
The Contest I'm the senate fester-
day-A Republican Advantage.

to-day. This advantage was gained In con-
sequence of Senator Conover's transfer OF
his vote to the republican side on the ques-
ton of precedence and a weakening on the
part of Senator Davis, who abstained from
voting on critical parliamentary question.
The Senate was twice brought to tie,
and in both instances Vice President
Wheeler by his casting vote turned the
scale in favor of the republicans. These
votes OF the Vice President at SO critical
turn of affairs are regarded as important.
They are interpreted as a conclusive proof
that Mr.. Wheeler is in full sympathy with
the republican opponents of the President,
and that they can securely rely on his aid
in every exigency when the Senate is
equally divided. Besides the value of his
vote in emergencies the moral and political
influence of his Office is now openly arrayed
against the policy Of Mr.. Hayes. The re-
publican Senators will be encouraged to
prosecute their hostilities with unabated
vigor by the attitude Of the Vice President
and the aid and comfort which he can now
be fully relied on to give them.
When the case OF Kellogg had got the po-
sitioa Of priority for which the republicans
had been making SO resoute and protracted
fight it looked as if Kellogg would be adj
lnitted yesterday, and he no doubt would
have been if the question could have been
brought to square vote, Patterson ana
Conover being under an explicit pledge to
support him. But Senator Thurman moved
to strike out the name of kellogg from the
resolution and insert thnt Of Butler, which
led to another tie, Patterson voting with
the democrats and Conover with the repub-
licans, and the casting vote of the Vice
President again giving victory to the sup
porters OF Kellogg.
the report to the Committee on Elections
for further investigation, and on this motion
Senator Hill, who is a member OF that COM
mittee, made the most effective speech of
the day. He showed that the committee re-
ported in haste before it had completed its
investigation merely for the purpose of
heading off Butler. He asserted that new
evidence had just then been offered by Spot
ford, proving that Kellogg had been secret
party to and instigator of frauds in compli-
city with the Returning Board. by which elec-
ton returns were falsifed for the purpose
of manufacturing republican majority in
the Legislature and electing Kellogg SEN
ator Mr.. Hill maintained, with great
Justice, it would seem, that these charges
ought to be investigated, and that the
report ought to be recommitted for that
purpose. After feeble replies by republican
Senators the Senate adjourned, and a vote
on the motion to recommit will be taken at
its next meeting. We judge it improbable,
from Senator Conovers vote yesterday,
that these new developments will lead him
to side with the democrats on this question,
and if he does not there will be another Ne
and another republican victory by the cast
ing vote of Mr.. Wheeler.
In this contest the republican Senators
have played on the whole, skilful game
1t is something, though not much, to have
gained priority for Kellogg's case over But
lers /; but if this were all the battle would
hardly have been worth fighting. With
Patterson and Conover both pledged in ad-
vance to vote with the democrats for Butler
and both pledged in advance to vote with
the republicans for kellogg, the order in
which the two cases were taken up
was too trivial matter for SO great
an expenditure of energy. The republican
Senators aimed at and have probably
accomplished something more. The inde-
pendent action of Patterson and Conover
alarmed them for the discipline of the
party and they determined to make u
strenuous effort to maintain it. They feared
that other republican Senators were shaky.
They thought no time was to be lost in
making desertion odious. They accordingly
made up their minds to give poor Patterson
and Conover such merciless bull-dozing as
would operate rs a warning and a terror to
other weakened republicans who were
hesitating as to their course on some
features of the Southern question.
Patterson was good subject to experiment
upon being SO very vulnerable; but so
fierce an arraignment came with bad
grace from the republican Senators who,
knowing all they know now of the criminal
charges against him, promoted him only
last month to the craftsmanship of one Of
the most important committees. But this
utter disregard OF consistency only served
to make the warning they meant to give
more effective. 1t was equivalent to tell
ing other waverers or other possible rene
gades that no past relations or past iavors or
past protection would stand between them
and punishment if they should step over
the party traces. The unsparing denunca-
tion OF Patterson and Conover was notice
served on Stanley Matthews that he would
be fiercely overhauled MS a bargainer with
Southern democrats and n secret plotter for
the overthrow of the republican State gov
ernments in Louisiana and South Carolina.
1t was warning to Senator Christiancy that
his mild character and judicial temper