The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-12-15
From Washing ton.
THE cuNMING-HAYr~ FIGHT.

TIL. CuNkiING-HAYr~ FIGHT.
.Ntogethcrthc mostcycitnge event Of The week
was the victory obtained on Wednesday BY
Senator Conklng over Hayes and Evarts in the
matter Of the New York custom house ap-
Ipoin;ment~ There were three OF these
Theodore Roosevelt for collector, = Bradford
Prince for naval officer, and +. n. Merritt for
surveyor of the port The last having been
appointed to take the place OF sharp, whose
commission had expired, no opposition was
made to his confirmation: but The other two
having been appointed as friends OF Evarls to
take the place Of Arthur and Cornell, removed
rs friends Of Conkling, the fight was not only
| personal one as between Evarts and ConE'
| ling but was also enlisted in by the body OF
| the republican senators, as involving their
control, which they had always hitherto enjoy
| ed Of the patronage Of their respective states,
I They took care, however, in the deba'c to keep
/ on, of view the real motive Of their 0pposi-
| ton and placed II on the high ground of ODE
diencc to the tenure Of Office law, statute
which all Of them had VIGOROUSLY treated with
lprofound contempt during the whole Of Grants
administration According to that ACT 1t Will
| be remembered, no officer was to be removed
before his commission expired without cause,
the President accompanying the removal With
q statement Of his reason for it. OF course no
reason had been assigned for the removal OF
COnkling's friends, Arthur and Cornell, ana
| their confirmation was resisted on the ground
of that omission. This gave the democrats
who have always regarded the tenure OF office
! law as an unconstitutional enactment, passed
out of spite towards Andrew johnson, an eX
ctise to vote on the side Of Hayes, though
many of them preferred to keep out of the fight
/ by not voting at all while all of the republicans
except Burnside, Matthews, Dawes, Conover
and Christancy voted with Conkling, the vote
standing 80 to %
l. OF course the result means more than the
mere rejection Of these appointments. 1t
means the humiliation of the President, and
that, although his party has nominal MAORI
ty in the senate his relation to that body is
| hereafter to be exactly that in which Andrew
johnson stood to the radical republican senate
in his time.
TEXAS
! Another topic oil interest at the capital dur
ins the week was the trouble on the Texas
borler. The foreign affairs committees OF both
houses are summoning and examining army
officers and citizens Of Texas on the subject
while Conkling has had special committee
of seven senators appointed to prosecute the
same inquiry his main object, it is said, being
to get Evars before him and crosse question
| him in regard to his treatment OF Diaz and the
ENJOYS he has sent to Washington. a senate
committee has reported "A bill appropriating
100000 to erect two additional military posts
on the Rio Grande, but Gems Ord and Mason re
gard such step rs useless. Indeed, Gen. Ma
son ridiculcs the idea of going to war with
Mexico over these troubles and says II better
way would be to remove the Apache Indians
to another reservation, aS most of the raiders
are not Mexicans at all, but Apache. Mean
time the military force on the Texas border
has been increased, and the Presidents famous
order to Gen. Ord, authorizing him to pursue
raiders into Mexico, has been countermanded
| The whole matter was overhauled in lengthy
discussion in the house on Monday, but the de
| bate was chiefly notable for the general gnor
ance displayed by all but the Texas members
on the sabicct, the latter maintaining that
Mexico really had no government To treat
with, and that our only course was to treat It's
people like other lawlcss, nomadic tribes
which they really were.
! Most of the time of the senate IN open scs
/ sion this week has been occupied in the dis
cuS>lon of Stanley Matthews resolutions de
claring that all the government bonds are by
the contract payable in silver dollars of 4l2i !.
grains The Bland silver bill, which there is
undoubtedly Il majority in the senate ready to
pass, was made To give way on Tuesday To the
discussion of the Matthews resolutions, which
are still undisposel of.
EU>TIs.
/ Eusti>, the democratic L. :. Senator elected
by the Nichols legislature of Louisiana, Wa,
admitted 10 his seat on Monday without scri
Gus opposition, ingalls, of Kansas alone speak
ing against him. The vote stood 80 tos
NnJOyHNMENT.
Both houses have agreed 10 = resolution ID
adjourn over from the 18th Uo-dayl Ia Ianu
AIRY 10Th.
/ CONTEST DECIDED.
. Patterson, the democratic claimant to seat
I in the house from Colorado, was admitted ON
Thursday after an exciting debate. Bcliorl
/ hal been elected in October, but the law re-
uuir.> elections for congressman 10 be held in
November. I'm election was ordered in No
vcmhcr Snd Patterson was candidate hut the
I republicans refused Ia vote. maintaining that
| the election Of Bclionl in October was legal.