each, were as follows:

California, 2,769; Florida, 926; Illinois, 19,631; Iowa, 59,228; Kansas, 40, 420; Louisiana, 4,499; Maine, 17,017; Massachusetts, 41,286; Michigan, 25,439; Minnesota, 24, 163; Nebraska, 14, 362; Nevada, 1,075; New Hampshire, 3,030; Ohio, 7,516; Oregon, 1,057; Pennsylvania, 17,964; Rhode Island, 5,075; South Carolina, 964; Vermont, 23,838; Wisconsin, 6,741. Those returning Democratic pluralities were: Alabama, 33,772; Arkansas, 19, 302; Connecticut, 2,900; Delaware, 2,629; Georgia, 79,642; Indiana, 5,515; Kentucky, 62, 534; Maryland, 19,799; Mississippi, 159,568; Missouri, 58,048; New Jersey, 12,445; New York, 32,742; North Carolina, 17,010; Tennessee, 43,600; Texas, 59,955; Virginia, 44, 112; West Virginia, 13,757. In Colorado the Presidential electors were chosen by the Legislature, which on joint ballot gave the Republicans fifty votes and the Democrats twenty-five. The Democrats also claimed to have carried Florida by 1,197 votes, Louisiana by 8,010 and South Carolina by 1,134. The State Returning Boards certified the election returns favorably to the Republicans, and on December 6th the electors of all the States met and cast their ballots, Hayes and Wheeler receiving 185 votes and Tilden and Hendricks 184.

Milton Barnes, Secretary of State, was born at Barnesville, Belmont County, Ohio, April 26, 1830. His paternal ancestors were English, and on his mother's side. Welsh. His early life was spent on a farm, and his education such as could be obtained at a country school. At eighteen he became a teacher, and at nineteen attended Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, but failing health compelled his return home. He studied law and higher mathematics at an academy at Salem, Ohio,

and then entered a law office at Mt. Vernon, and in January, 1859, was admitted to the bar. He removed to Cambridge and established an office, but in 1861 raised a company of soldiers and enlisted as Captain in the Sixty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Returning home on sick leave, he resigned this command, and reenlisted as Lieutenant Colonel of the Ninety-seventh Regiment, with which he did gallant service. He was twice severely wounded, and was mustered out in June, 1865. He resumed his law practice on his return home, and in 1867, and again in 1869, was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Guernsey County. In 1876 he was nominated and elected Secretary of State and reelected in 1878.

Washington Wallace Boynton, Supreme Judge, was born in Russia Township, Lorain County, Ohio, January 27, 1833. He was educated in the common schools, and followed teaching for six years. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1856. In 1858 he was chosen Prosecuting Attorney,

and in 1865 was elected to the General Assembly. He was the author of the amendment to strike the word "white" out of the State Constitution, which was defeated in 1867. In 1869 he was appointed Common Pleas Judge by Governor Hayes, and in 1871 was elected to that office by the people. In 1876 he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court by the Republicans, but resigned in 1881 on account of poor health and meager salary. He then engaged in the practice of law at Cleveland.

James C. Evans, Member of the Board of Public Works, was about fifty-three years of age when nominated by the Republican party. He was a manufacturer and business man in Delaware, and took great interest in educational matters. At that time he was a trustee of Ohio Wesleyan University, and had never held any political office, but had once been the Republican candidate for State Senator in a Democratic district. He was elected for one term only.

THE

HE year opened with the result of the Presidential election of the previous November still in dispute. This absorbed most. of the public attention, causing the demoralization of business and not a little. serious anxiety. A mass Democratic State Convention called to protest against any count of the electoral vote that would be unfavorable to Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks was held at the City Hall, Columbus, Saturday, January 8th. Durbin Ward, of Warren County, presided and several speeches were made, with some talk of bloodshed and rebellion, but nothing more serious developed than the adoption

of inflammatory resolutions denunciatory of the Republican party and favorable to the claims of the Democratic Presidential candidate, and an appeal to the Committee to call a National Democratic Convention at Washington City the following February.

The election returns in controversy were those of Florida, Oregon and South Carolina, from each of which two sets had been sent, and from Louisiana, which had sent three. They were referred to the Electoral Commission, formed under the act of January 29th, composed of five United States Senators chosen by the Senate, five Representatives elected by the House, and five Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Of the latter, four were designated and the manner of

choosing the fifth was provided for by the act referred to, in this manner:

On the Tuesday next preceding the first Thursday in February, Anno Domini, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, or as soon thereafter as may be, the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, now assigned to the first, third, eighth and ninth circuits, shall select, in such manner as a majority of them may see fit, another of the Associate Justices of said Court, which five persons shall be members of said Commission; and the person longest in commission of said Justices shall be President of said Commission.

The four Justices thus named were: Nathan Clifford, of Maine, Democrat; William

Strong, of Pennsylvania, Republican; Sam

uel F. Miller, of Iowa, Republican; and Stephen J. Field, of California, Democrat. They selected Justice Joseph P. Bradley, Republican, of New Jersey, as the fifth member on the part of the Supreme Court. The Senatorial branch of the Commission was composed of George F. Edmunds, of Vermont, Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana, and Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey, Republicans, and Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, and Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware, Democrats. The House elected James A. Garfield, of Ohio, and George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, Republicans, and Henry B. Payne, of Ohio, Eppa Hunton, of Virginia, and Josiah G. Abbott, of Massachusetts, Democrats. Thus three of the fifteen members were Ohio men.

By the law double returns and all returns to which objection had been offered were referred to the Commission unless reversed by the vote of both the Senate and House. The Commission held to the general rule that it was only empowered to canvass electoral votes, not to declare who were legal voters in the States, and to decide whether the Governors had certified those electors who had been declared elected by the legal State Canvassing Boards. thus ascertained that in Louisiana the Governor had certified the proper electors, while the Governor of Oregon had not done so. In the South Carolina and Florida cases, the Commission decided in favor of the Republican electors, to whom objection had been made because of being alleged officeholders, as well as the claim that they

It

were elected fraudulently. In all these In all these cases the Senate voted to sustain and the House to reject the finding of the Commis

The twenty disputed votes Florida 4. Louisiana 8, Oregon 1, and South Carolina 7, were decided in favor of the Republican candidates by the vote of eight to seven, and the result was declared to be: Hayes and Wheeler, 185 votes; Tilden and Hendricks, 184 votes. The final count proceeded in the alphabetical order of States commencing March 1st, but the last vote was not reached until the 2d, at four o'clock in the morning, when William B. Allison, of Iowa, one of the Senate tellers, read the summing up, and Thomas W. Ferry, of Michigan, President pro tempore of the Senate, announced the result.

It is interesting to note that on the passage of the act creating the Commission such prominent Democratic Senators as William H. Barnum, of Connecticut, Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware, Francis M. Cock

rell, of Missouri, Thomas C. McCreery, of Kentucky, Joseph E. McDonald, of Indiana, Matthew W. Ransom, of North Carolina, and Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, spoke and voted for it; on the contrary that James G. Blaine, of Maine, Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Powell Clayton, of Arkansas, Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana, and John Sherman, of Ohio, noted Republicans, spoke and voted against it. It passed the Senate by the following vote: Ayes, 47--Republicans 21, Democrats 26; nays, 17-Republicans 16, Democrat 1; not voting 10- Republicans 9. Democrat 1. Only 33 Republicans in the House voted for the law on its final passage, while 68 voted "Nay" and seven did not vote. On the contrary it received 158 Democratic votes to 18 against it, seven not voting. Charles Foster was the only Republican from Ohio who voted for it with Banning, Cowan, McMahon, Neal, Payne, Rice, Savage, Sayler, Southard and Walling. Democrats. All the other Ohio Republican Representatives- Danford, Garfield, Lawrence, Monroe, Van Vorhes and Woodworth, voted against it, as did Hurd, Poppleton and Vance, Democrats.

It may be said in passing that while President Hayes lived there was always a prejudice against him among some of his fellow citizens because of the dispute over the Presidency; after his death, however, even his Democratic opponents admitted that there never had been the slightest reason for doubting the justness of the findings of the Electoral Commission.

The Prohibitionists celebrated Washington's birthday, 1877, by meeting in State Convention at Columbus and nominating a complete ticket headed by Henry A. Thompson, of Franklin County, for Governor.

Hartranft 68, Hayes 67, Wheeler 2, Washburne I.

Fourth ballot: Blaine 292, Bristow 126, Morton 108, Conkling 84, Hartranft 71, Hayes 68, Washburne 3, Wheeler 2. Fifth ballot: Blaine 286, Bristow 114, Hayes 104, Morton 95, Conkling 82, Hartranft 69, Washburne 3, Wheeler 2.

Sixth ballot: Blaine 308, Hayes 113, Bristow 111, Morton 85, Conkling 81, Hartranft 50, Washburne 4, Wheeler 2.

During the progress of the seventh ballot all the candidates were withdrawn except Hayes and Blaine, and the result was announced as follows: Hayes 384, Blaine 351, Bristow 21.

On motion of William P. Frye, of Maine, the nomination of Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, for President of the United States was made unanimous.

For Vice President: Luke P. Poland, of Vermont, named William A. Wheeler, of New York. Thomas C. Platt presented Stewart L. Woodford, also of New York, and the nomination was seconded by Will Cumback, of Indiana. John M. Harlan, of Kentucky, named Joseph R. Hawley, of Connecticut, as a candidate. Henry C. Pitney, of New Jersey, presented Theodore Frelinghuysen, of the same State. Marshall Jewell, of Connecticut, was nominated by S. H. Russell, of Texas. When South Carolina had voted on the roll call, William A. Wheeler had received 366 votes, and then all the other candidates were withdrawn and Mr. Wheeler declared the nominee by acclamation.

After the adoption of an additional plank in the platform endorsing the nominees, and the appointment of a committee of one from each State to wait upon the candidates and naming the new National Committee, the

was named as the Ohio National Committeeman, but after attending one meeting resigned, Edward F. Noyes taking his place. Zachariah Chandler, of Michigan, was chosen Chairman and Richard C. McCormick, of Arizona, Secretary of the Executive Committee.

Notification Committee, of which Benjamin Eggleston, of Cincinnati, was the member for Ohio, proceeded to Columbus from Cincinnati on June 17th, and at nine o'clock in the evening, in the Executive Chamber at the State House, formally notified Governor Hayes of his nomination. Mr. Wheeler was notified by letter, replying July 15th.

General Hayes' formal letter of acceptance was dated at Columbus, July 8th, and in this he laid especial stress upon three things which he considered of the greatest importance: Civil-service reform, the currency and the permanent peace of the South. Of the former he declared that a "thorough radical and complete reform" was necessary to get back to the principles and practices of the founders of the Government. "They," he said, "never expected nor desired any partisan service from the officers, but that they should owe their whole service to the Government and the people," and also that each "should be secure in his tenure of office so long as his personal character remained untarnished and the performance of his duties satisfactory." In connection with the currency.

all the laws relating to the public indebtedness-legal tender notes included," were regarded by him "as constituting a pledge and moral obligation of the Government which must be kept in good faith." As to pacifying the South, he asserted that there