, 1877-11-18

passage in the speech Of one c
the Senators in the former caucu
who said that whenever he yentured to al
proacn the President With regard to the "bus
ness Of his district" as he called it. the Pres
dcntdrcw from drawer the Cincinnati platform
his letter OF acceptance, and sundrE Cl'al
Service papers.
The President, according to the Committee
wants to go back to that passage in his inau"ufa
Which treated Of the relation Of congressman u
patronage and the Executive, which at the Ecr.
ourset OF the Administration excited so mucl
anlaeonism on the part Of the spolls-seckers.
The President stated that, while ht
could not consider that it wa'
propcr for Senators TO approach him to solicit
patronage or to seek to be ofcc-pcddlers, ii
was proper thing for them, when called upor
by him to give information as to the qualca
tions of different persons In their sections fo'
Office, to furnish the information desired. II
short, the President
DREW THE LINE SHARPLY
that Senator from one State had no more
right to consult with him about any given ap
poiutments than Senator from an
other State, and that the only func-
tion of Senators in the matter of ap-
}olulmeuLS WIS S Juu4Co .4LcE Il CA1SE
had been made up and presented to them. In
the making Of that case they could properly
have no part He considered that the soliciting
Of patronage, as understood By Senators, was
NOT AUTHORIZED Br TUE CONSTITUTION,
and was contrary to all good morals and sound
policy, and had demoralizing influence on the
public service
In the matter Of the appointment OF Demo.
rfYi., -, ~ 4hn ro;J
that he had nominated but few, and as to these,
liter the explanations which have already been
given in these dispatches, the Senate could
Judge What he had done he thought
was dore for the best interests of the colorcd
people, and The localities where the officers
we're appointed.
The Presidents general statement as to his
Southern policy was detailed in former dis
patches about the Committee visit.
Possibly the reason why the Senators desire
to Keep their CAUCUS discussions so secret is
thst they prefer that the public should not un-
derstand that the spoils system
Is so PROMINENT 4 FEATURE
of the differences which they have so long con-
eea1cd from the public.
The President in this interview. although
animated at first, was good-tempered
throughout, but. is represented by the
Committee Is having been very firm; some of
bcrs of the Committee thought Of the report
NAV be inferred from the announcement Of one
of them, that
THE SENATE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.
Senator Edmunds submitted to the caucus the
report OF the Committee. Mr.. Edmunds said
that the President did not show proper respect
to the Senate; that he scolded the Senate be-
cause they did not support his policy, and that
the President thought If the Senate had given him
foa1 nf
the party would be stronger Mr.. Edmunds, in
his talk to the caucus, expressed the opinion
tnat Mr. Hayes head was turned; that he was
vain; and that he was surrounded by class Of
men who kent from him the true feeling of the
country with regard to his policy.
Mr.. Ch1istiancy was the only Senator who
STOOD BI TIE PRESIDENT
and advocated his policy. No resolutions we're
that Hayes, as one cf them put it, *'was bull
headed, and not willing to be appealed to By the
Senate" Nearly every Senator nrcsent spoke
except Dawes He said nothing. although in the |
former caucus he had been one of the most ac- |
tive in his outspoken support Of the Admins |
tratioa. George Hoar said but little, and>what !
he did say consisted chiefly Of inquiries. Chris
tiancy was
TIE ADVOCATE OF THE ADMINISTRATION.
be dwc't at length upon the policy Of concilia-
tion and its effects and in reply to those who |
insisted that the South was becoming united
against tue North, he referred to recent elee-
tion in Mobile, where he claimed that the result
Of the bolt from the regular Democratic
independeas cuaste eu e she~ed SeGn tnat at the
policy was successful. To this Southern
Scnato2 made answer that Christianrv was
mistaken as to his facts. and that the circuul-
stances to which he Referred proved the con-
tray. that IN point of fact it was the portion
Of Alabama Republicans known as the Spencar
faction which united with the disatfected /
Democracy TO elect an independent candidate,
and that the result was an anti-Adninlstration |
instead OF an Administration victory.
1t was made to appear in the caucus THAI the
President is extremely anxious to concil;ate
TWO ELEMENTS In THE soUTu,-
1rst, the old Whig7 second, the religious e1c-
ment, and that many Of his appointments and
his political movements are to be explained in
view Of that purpose To this several replied
that the old-line Wing idea was 4 halucination;
that there were not enough old Wings to be |
counted As to the religious element it was
pcrsstently maintained BY different Senators m
that the old religious element ut the South was
always the most opposed to the Cliun. and the
most strongly attached TO slavery, and that it
has since the War been one OF
THE MOST DIFFICULT PROBLEMS
connected with reconstruction that the rclig-
ioas people constantly represent the Bourbon
element in the South, anu have been an obstacle
in the way Of reconciliation and progress To
Ills George Hoar, who is one OF the strongest |
supporters OF the Administration, is represent ed
/, have assentcd. The President was always
:sintly mentioned in Caucus, but 4 great uinori- |
ty oil The Scnators,-all, in fact, it is said by |
some excepting Ci1istiancy, were OF the opinion
tiiat he is deceived.
THE ELECTION CASES. |
lhe contested cases lrum Louisiana were cnu-
si,icEed at length No formal resolution was
adopted, but the general opinion favored i'll
structlng the Elections Committee to invcsti-
gate all branches OF the subject as suggested by
George Hoar's resolution in committee. This
would reopen the entire Louislana question,
and result in indefinite delay. The suggestion
was also made that the cases should
be remandcd to the people, and new
elections held. This recognizes the new order
of things On the whole, although the anti
Administration people did tue most talking. 1t
Is evident from the caucus to-day that the Pres
ident's friends really arc much stronger than
they were at the last caucus, that good feeling
has resulted from these interchauEcs olOpsni0n,
and that there is not DOW much reason to fear
rupture between the Senate and the Pres-
dent
THE CAUCUS.
10 tht IFestt,n dssoc2ted Pr<ss
WAsu1NGToS, d. c., Nov. IA CAUCUS Of
Republican Senators was held this afternoon.
The Senators who waited upon the President to
acTuaint him with the comments Of the pre-
Y :lous CAUCUS, gave m account OF what took
plare- They reported that the President, in
response to the statement Of widespread unea-
sincss ard dissatisfaction which had been Great
eli among his party friends By his appointment
uf Democrats to Southern offices etc, had ar
gucd that his policy in this regard twas not |
prejudic1al to the interests of the Re
p4e!ican party, and certainly was not