Daily globe., 1879-02-04
NEW YORK NOMINATIONS.

| CONkLlNG DEFEATED.
The Senate in executive session confirmed
Gen. E. A. Nj arritt, collector, and Burt, naval
officer of the port of New York.
The consideration of the nominations of Ed
| win A. Merritt, to be collector of customs, and
Silas W. Burt, to be naval officer OF the port of
New York, was resumed by the Senate in exec
! utive session. at l P. NJ. Senator Bayard as
! soon as the doors were closed, submitted mo-
| tiOn that they be reopened. and that all pro-
| ceedings be conducted in public.
| Senator Edmunds objected to present consid-
| GRAFTON of this motion, and it therefore went
over under the rules.
Senator Bayard then took the floor and made
! a speech Of consider ,ble length, and of much
| carnestness, in favor of confirming the norpina-
| tions. He referred in detail to the Investigate
! ing committee of which he was member some
| years ago, showing, as he alleged, gross
maladministration of the New York
custom house under Collector Murphy,
and he claimed that it was then,
| and source of corruption. He therefore heartily
favored the Presidents declaration of intention
to reform its administration by placing it on
business principles, and to this end would vote
for the removal of Arthur and Cornell, and the
confirmation of the pending nominations as a
step in the direction Of much needed reform.
Senator Edmunds was The next speaker. He
strongly opposed the removal of Gen. Arthur
tho pending question being On Gen. Merritt's
nomination only, and insisted that no sufficient
cause had been shown to Justify it. In the
course of his remarks he combatted the idea
that in order to properly administer the affairs
of the custom house it was necessary that the
collector should be a personal friend of the
President, or of the secretary of the treasury.
1t was the duty of the officer to obey the law
and unless corruption or inefficiency were
proven he should be retained in office regardless
of mere personal feelings or partisan prefer
ences.
Senator Voorhees, opposed the confirmation Of
Gen. Merritt on the ground that although there
were abuses to be corrected, he was not salts
fed that Merritt was a fit man to be entrusted
with their correction.
Senator Herman took similar ground. The
New York custom house had been run as DO
itical machine, but in his opinion there would
be no improvement effected by placing it under
the control of Merritt, who was a mere poll
tician, with nothing in his record to commend
him for appointment. While, therefore. he
(kernan) was not willing to vote for Merritt, he
was not willing on the other hand to endorse
Arthur. Consequently he should decline to
vote at all.
Senator Howe then made speech of about
half an hours duration, in which he took up
and compared the charges and replies, and ar
rived at the conclusion that there was no good
cause shown for the proposed removals.
Senator Cockrell reviewing the controversy,
said it appeared that very grave charges had
been made against Gen. Arthur and that in re-
turn very serious allegations were made against
Secretary Sherman, the truth Of some of which
the secretary seemed to admit. He, therefore,
thought the only proper way to deal with the
subject would be to recommit the nominations
to the committee commerce with power to
send for persons and papers and make thor
oush investigation into custom house affairs,
ETC., under Gen. Merritt administration. He
therefore, submitted a motion to that effect.
Senator Morgan, after making a speech of
much the same purport as Cockreils, moved to
Indefinitely postpone the pending nomination.
on the ground that this would indicate that the
Senate did not consider Merritt a proper man
for the place, and would open the way for the
President to send in another name.
The presiding officer, Senator Mitchell occu-
pying the chair temporarily, said this motion
out of order, as it involved final action,
! and under the rules of the Senate, although
postponement to a fixed date was permissible,
the final question on nomination must al
ways be, Does the Senate advise and consent
to its con6rmation?"
long discussion ensued on the parliament
ary question thus raised. and after six or eight
Senators had spoken, nearly all of them sup
porting the decision Of the chair Senator Nor
gan withdrew his motion.
The question then recurred on Senator Cock
| rell's motion to recommend, and Senator Conk-
ling took the floor to close the debate. He
sent to the clerks desk Gen. Arthurs letter to
him of the 1st inst in reply to Secretary Sher-
| man last communication, and after 1t had
| been read to the Senate, Conkling proceeded to
make an hours speech, very earnestly opposing
| confirmation, and going over the whole ground
of the charges against Arthur ard Cornell to
| show that they had been thoroughly refuted.
Referring to the complaint of the President
| and Secretary Sherman, that the New York
| custom house had been used as a political
machine for the benefit of personal and politi-
cal friends of persons who controlled appoint
ments, he read several letters from Secretary
Sherman and Assistant Secretary Mccormick,
| addressed to Collector Arthur, in which they
! requested appointments for their personal
| or political friends. Among them was
| from Secretary Sherman to Collector Arthur,
| earnestly recommending son of Justice Brad
| ley for an appointment saying at the close
that he (Sherman) hoped for manifest reasons
that it woulc, be considered favorablv.
Senator Conkljng also read to the Senate a Ii t.
ter written to Collector Arthur by the President,
| CT by the Presidents direction, recommending
for appointment as deputy collector, gentle
man. Mr.. John @. Howard, who had written
President Hayes biography. Gen. Arthur de-
clined to comply with the Presidents request
on the ground that he did not think it advsa-
BILE or proper to confer SO important an ap-
| Pointment upon any man who had not come
up through the lower grades of service AMI
| shown fitness for the position. The day .
| thus declined to violate the Presidents civ.
service principles said Senat o. Conkling was
| sorry day for Arthur, for the President's op-
position seemed to date from this refusal.
In the course of his further remarks, Oonk-