The Portland daily press., 1877-12-18

ministrAtion-An Unsatisfaetory Cnbi-
net-History of ihe Contest over the New
York Nominations.
New YORK, Dec. 18th, 1877.
There has been scarcely anything talked
about here for a day or two but the success of
Senator Conkling in compelling the admins
tration to respect the principles of civil service
1t is mystery how ever President Hayes came
to be persuaded to set at naught his own teach
iugs in respect to the proper exercise of the
appointing power by the arbitrary removal of
two prominent federal officers against whom no
allegation of unfitness had been made. Un-
charitable people will persist in believing that
it was a movement to impair the political
strength Of Mr.. Conkling in the State of New
York-that it was not meant to promote the
efficiency of the public service ia the least, but
to stimulate antagonism to the acknowledged
leader of the Republican party within our
borders. If this were the purpose. its signal aod
notifying failure is an instructive commen-
tary on the folly of trying to build up factions
by tortuous methods for sinister ends. The
administration is not merely overborne by
numbers-disasters Of that kind are retriev-
able-but il is compromised and abased in this,
that after having made extravagant pretensions
of being purer and better than any Of its prede-
cessors it is baffied in an attempt to profit by
the worst of the practices which it affected to
denounce. The vice of hypocrisy is an exceed
ingly repulsivs one
1t islsafe to say that no administration In the
Nations history was ever so weak at SO early
stage of its existence as this one is. johnson
had a considerable following up to the date Of
his crazy harangue of the 22d February, 1866,
and was quite sanguine of sustaining his
''policy" till Maine extinguished his hope
by her 2S. 900 majority in the ensuing Septem.
Der.
Still there is wide spread feeling that the
blame OF the discontinue of the present admin
istration does not attach so much to the Presi-
dent as to his advisers. A cabinet with Mr..
EVarts at its head and Carl Schurz holding
seat in it is at the disadvantage of not repre-
senting Republican sentiment. The former is
at best only an intermittent adherent Of the
party. Nobody can ever be certain which side
he will turn up on; in fact it often seems so
difficult matter for himself to determine that
he does not make up his mind till late day in
the Campaign. He is an able lawyer a reput-
able citizen, brilliant aud gifted man, but he
never was meant for political leader and has
few supporters. 1t was equally mistake for
Gen. Hayes to confer upon him and for him to
accept the post of Sc ,retsry of State. The fact
that he was not acceptable to Mr.. Conkling
ought of itself to have been conclusive objec-
ton. The Empire State is rather too large to
be utterly lost sight of in consultations as to the
composition of Council of State.
Nevertheless the original error, weighty as it
was, might have wrought no great harm if it
had not been so soon succeeded by a second.
The administration tried its best as 1t had q
perfect right to do, to get foothold in the
State convention. 1t used all its appliances
which were not many, and exerted al its dex-
terity, which was not great, to secure the cleo
tion of delegates favorable to its interests. 1t
secured just about quarter part of the whole
number. So far as the Senator was concerned,
it had a clear field. He went off to Europe,
and left his opponents perfectly free to take
possession of the organization If they could.
They had power and patronage bshind them,
and they didn't hesitate to use them. There is
nothing more whimsical than the idea that gen.
temen of the EVarts school are too exalted to
recognize and avail themselves of the CONNER
cial element in politics. That profession may
serve as q trap to catch an occasional gull with,
but it has to be avery blind and stupid bird that
can be lured into it. Mr. Evarts was pupil Of
Weed and Seward, and what they didn't know
sbont all the arts of man@uvering In politics
will never be known to mortal man.
Well, as we all know the convention was
held at Rochester, and Mr.. Conking was a
member of it. 1t was said he dominated it.
Very good. 1t is a matter of course that in
any couvocation of New York Republicans he
must be the ruling spirit There isn't the
slightest occasion for him to seek that position.
1t falls to him as naturally as effect follows
cause. But he evinced no disposition to dis
play his power. His course was eminently
conciliatory and placable. Aud yet the fatuous
fragment of administration men present in
sisted upon assuming an aggressive attitude
and made an offensive demand that the major
ity should submit to their dictation. The met
ropoltan newspapers, almost without excep-
ton, published the grossest conceivable mis-
representations Of the course and action of the
Senator. All the old women of both genders
employed what intervals they could spare from
snutf-taking in circulating anathemas against
Conkling. Oae great concert Of braying re-
verberated from the seasoard to the lakes with
horrible discord, filling the Jimid with fright
and the sensible with disgust. In short the fee
BILE handful of partisans of the administration
sought to offset their paucity of numbers by
boisterousness of vociferation and to give ex-
preston to their zeal as converts to the new
l creed by Indignantly defaming all who could
not make up their minds quite so easily as they
had to renounce the ancient faith which they
I had held so long and believed in so thoroughly.
The subsequent election showed two things:
First that the persons who were most pro-
nounced in their championship of Hayes did
not possess sufficient honor to stand by the
Republican cause; this was notably the case
| in the Oneida and Niagara Senate districts;
second that there was not enough Of them to
make any sppreciable difference in the final
1 result. The victory was achieved by Conkling