William E. Chandler

“ Prosperity blesses our country, our fiscal policy is fixed by law, is well grounded and generally approved. No threatening issue mars our foreign intercourse, and the wisdom, integrity, and thrift of our people may be trusted to continue undisturbed the present assured career of peace, tranquillity, and welfare. The gloom and anxiety which have enshrouded the country must make repose especially welcome now. No demand for speedy legislation has been heard; no adequate occasion is apparent for an unusual session of congress. ”

“ No higher or more assuring proof could exist of the strength and permanence of popular government than the fact that, though the chosen of the people be struck down, his constitutional successor is peacefully installed without shock or strain, except the sorrow which mourns the bereavement. ”

“ If his conduct of affairs be criticised as lacking aggressiveness, it may confidently be replied that aggressiveness would have been unfortunate, if not disastrous. Rarely has there been a time when an indiscreet president could have wrought more mischief. It was not a time for showy exploits of brilliant experimentation. Above all else, the people needed rest from the strain and excitement into which the assassination of their president had plunged them. The course chosen by President Arthur was the wisest and most desirable that was possible. ”

“ The national convention, in its resolutions, declared that “in the administration of President Arthur we recognize a wise, conservative, and patriotic policy, under which the country has been blessed with remarkable prosperity, and we believe his eminent services are entitled to and will receive the hearty approval of every citizen.” ”

“ Mrs. Arthur was the daughter of Commander William Lewis Herndon, of the United States navy, who, in 1851-'52, explored the Amazon river under orders of the government. He perished in a terrific gale at sea, September 12, 1857, on the way from Havana to New York, while in command of the merchant-steamer “Central America.”
In person, Mr. Arthur was tall, large, well-proportioned, and of distinguished presence. His manners were always affable. He was genial in domestic and social life, and warmly beloved by his personal friends. ”

“ The wisdom of our fathers, the foreseeing even the most dire possibilities, made sure that the government should never be imperilled because of the uncertainty of human life. Men may die, but the fabrics of our free institutions remain unshaken. ”

“ The president had, however, in his inaugural of March 5, 1877, declared in favor of civil service reform — “a change in the system of appointment itself; a reform that shall be thorough, radical, and complete; that the officer should be secure in his tenure so long as his personal character remained untarnished, and the performance of his duties satisfactory.” ”

“ Until 1855 the street-car companies of New York city excluded colored persons from riding with the whites, and made no adequate provision for their separate transportation. One Sunday in that year a colored woman named Lizzie Jennings, a Sabbath-school superintendent, on the way home from her school, was ejected from a car on the Fourth avenue line. Culver, Parker & Arthur brought suit in her behalf against the company in the supreme court in Brooklyn, the plaintiff recovered a judgment, and the right of colored persons to ride in any of the city cars was thus secured. ”

“ The international prime meridian of Greenwich was established as the result of a conference of nations, initiated by the U. S. government, and held at Washington, October 1 to November 1, 1884. In response to the appeal of Cardinal John McCloskey, of New York, the Italian government, on March 4, 1884, was urged to exempt from the sale of the property of the propaganda the American college in Rome, established mainly by contributions from the United States, and in consequence of this interposition the college was saved from sale and virtual confiscation. ”

“ Arthur and Cornell made greater exertions to carry New York for the republicans than they had ever made in any other campaign; and subsequently Gen. Arthur's activity in connection with the contested countings in the southern states was of vital importance. Nevertheless, President Hayes, in making up his cabinet, selected Mr. Evarts as his secretary of state, and determined to remove Messrs. Arthur and Cornell, and to transfer the power and patronage of their offices to the use of a minority faction in the republican party. ”

“ Peace with all the tribes was preserved during the whole term of administration. Stringent legislation against polygamy in Utah was recommended, and under the law enacted March 22, 1882, many polygamists were indicted, convicted, and punished. The Utah commission, to aid in the better government of the territory, was appointed under the same act. The final recommendation of the president in his messages of 1883 and 1884 was that congress should assume the entire political control of the territory, and govern it through commissioners. ”

“ Chester Alan Arthur, twenty-first president of the United States, born in Fairfield, Franklin County, Vt., October 5, 1830; died in New York city, November 18, 1886. His father was Rev. William Arthur. His mother was Malvina Stone. Her grandfather, Uriah Stone, was a New Hampshire pioneer, who about 1763 migrated from Hampstead to Connecticut river, and made his home in Piermont, where he died in 1810, leaving twelve children. Her father was George Washington Stone. ”

“ The legislature of New York passed a resolution directing its governor to defend the slaves. In December, 1857, the supreme court, in which a certiorari had been sued out, affirmed Judge Paine's decision (People v. Lemmon, 5 Sandf., 681) , and it was still further sustained by the court of appeals at the March term, 1860 (Lemmon v. People, 20 N. Y. Rep., 562) . Arthur, as a law student, and after his admission to the bar, became an earnest advocate for the slaves. ”

“ The session was exciting, and was prolonged by the efforts of the republicans to elect their nominees for secretary and sergeant-at-arms, against dilatory tactics employed by the democrats, and by the controversy over President Garfield's nomination, on March 23, for collector of the port of New York, of William H. Robertson, who had been the leader of the New York anti-third term delegates at the Chicago convention. During this controversy the vice-president supported Senators Conkling and Platt in their opposition to the confirmation. ”

“ Out of 923 persons who held office when he became collector, on December 1, 1871, there were 531 still in office on May 1, 1877, having been retained during his entire term. In making promotions, the uniform practice was to advance men from the lower to the higher grades, and all the appointments except two, to the one hundred positions of $2,000 salary, or over, were made in this method. The expense of collecting the revenue was also kept low; it had been, under his predecessors, between 1857 and 1861, 59/100 of one per cent. ”

“ July 5, 1884, an act creating a bureau of navigation, under charge of a commissioner, in the treasury department; and March 3, 1885, an amendment to the postal appropriation bill appropriating $800,000 for contracting with American steamship lines for the transportation of foreign mails. Reasonable national regulation of the railways of the country was favored, and the opinion was expressed that congress should protect the peo ple at large in their inter-state traffic against acts of injustice that the state governments might be powerless to prevent. ”

“ Outstanding claims with China were settled, and additional regulations of the opium traffic established. Friendly and commercial intercourse with Corea was opened under the most favorable auspices, in pursuance of the treaty negotiated on May 22, 1882, through the agency of Com. R. W. Shufeldt, U. S. N. The friendly offices of the United States were extended to Liberia in aid of a settlement, favorable to that republic, of the dispute concerning its boundary-line, with the British possession of Sierra Leone. ”

“ Garfield for president, by a combination of the anti-third term delegates, a general desire rose in the convention to nominate for vice-president some advocate of Grant and a resident of New York state. The New York delegation at once indicated their preference for Gen. Arthur, and before the roll-call began the foregone conclusion was evident; he received 468 votes against 283 for all others, and the nomination was made unanimous. ”

“ The first of such vessels, the cruisers “Chicago,” “Boston,” and “Atlanta,” and a steel despatch-boat, “Dolphin,” with their armaments, were designed in this country and built in American work-shops. The gun foundry board referred to above was originated, and its reports were printed with that of the department for 1884. A special message of March 26, 1884, urged continued progress in the reconstruction of the navy, the granting of authority for at least three additional steel cruisers and four gun-boats, and the finishing of the four double-turreted monitors. ”

“ It became necessary, therefore, before removing Arthur and Cornell, that some foundation should be laid for a claim that the custom-house was not well administered. A series of investigations was thereupon instituted. The Jay commission was appointed April 14, 1877, and during the ensuing summer made four reports criticising the management of the custom-house. In September, Sec. Sherman requested the collector to resign, accompanying the request with the offer of a foreign mission. ”

“ Efforts were made, however, to strengthen the relations of the United States with the other American nationalities. Representations were made by the administration with a view to bringing to a close the devastating war between Chili and the allied states of Peru and Bolivia. ”

“ The gun-foundry board, consisting of army and navy officers, appointed under the act of March 3, 1883, visited Europe and made full reports, advising large contracts for terms of years with American manufacturers to produce the steel necessary for heavy cannon, and recommending the establishment of one army and one navy gun factory for the fabrication of modern ordnance. ”

“ Burt on February 3, 1879, and the controversy was remitted to the republicans of New York for their opinion. Mr. Cornell was nominated for governor of New York September 3, 1879, and elected on November 4; and Mr. Arthur was considered a candidate for U. S. senator for the term to begin March 4, 1881.
On retiring from the office of collector, Gen. Arthur resumed law practice with the firm of Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ransom. But he continued to be active in politics, and, in 1880, advocated the nomination of Gen. Grant to succeed President Hayes. ”

“ His administration, considered as a whole, was responsive to every national demand, and stands in all its departments substantially without assault or criticism.
The ex-president died suddenly, of apoplexy, at his residence, No. 123 Lexington avenue, New York, Thursday morning, November 18, 1886. The funeral exercises were held on the following Monday, at the Church of the Heavenly Rest. [1] President Cleveland and his cabinet, Chief-Justice Waite, ex-President Hayes, James G. Blaine, Gens. Sherman, Sheridan, and Schofield, and the surviving members of President Arthur's cabinet, were present. ”

“ On the 22d the oath was formally administered again in the vice-president's room in the capitol at Washington by Chief-Justice Waite, and President Arthur delivered the following inaugural address: “For the fourth time in the history of the republic its chief magistrate has been removed by death. All hearts are filled with grief and horror at the hideous crime which has darkened our land ”

“ Sherman's criticisms, completely demonstrating the honesty and efficiency with which the custom-house had been managed, and the good faith with which the policy and instructions of the president had been carried out. A fair summary of the merits of the ostensible issue is contained in Collector Arthur's letter of November 23, 1877, from which the following extract is taken: “The essential elements of a correct civil service I understand to be: first, permanence in office, which of course prevents removals except for cause ”