The Blaine men were discouraged and the anti-Blaine men were jubilant.  It was claimed by the latter, and apprehended by the former, that it was indicative of Mr. Blaine’s defeat for the nomination.  It certainly looked that way, but the result of the election for the temporary chairmanship proved to be misleading.  Mr. Hanna’s poll was not to find out how many delegates would vote for the nomination of Mr. Blaine, but how many would vote for Lynch for temporary chairman.  On that point his poll was substantially accurate.  It was assumed that every Blaine man would vote for Mr. Clayton.  This is where the mistake was made.  It turned out that there were some Blaine men, especially from the South, that voted for Lynch.  The result, therefore, was not, as it was hoped it would be, an accurate test of the strength of the Blaine and anti-Blaine forces in the Convention.

Since my election had not been anticipated,—­at least, by me,—­my speech of acceptance was necessarily brief.  I presided over the deliberations of the Convention the greater part of two days, when Hon. John B. Henderson, of Missouri, was introduced as the permanent chairman.  This is the same Henderson, who, as a Republican United States Senator from Missouri, voted against the conviction of President Andrew Johnson, who had been impeached by the House of Representatives for high crimes and misdemeanors in office.  The Democratic Senators needed but seven votes from the Republican side of the chamber to prevent conviction.  They succeeded in getting the exact number, Senator Henderson being one.  He appears to have been the only one of that number that politically survived that act.  All others soon passed into political oblivion; although several of them subsequently identified themselves with the Democratic party.  While it may be said that Senator Henderson survived the act, it is true that his election as a delegate to the National Republican Convention of 1884 and his selection as the permanent chairman thereof are the only prominent illustrations of that fact.

During the deliberations of the Convention Mr. Bishop, one of the delegates from Massachusetts, introduced a resolution to change the basis of representation in future National Conventions of the party.  His plan was to make the number of Republican votes cast, counted, certified and returned at the last preceding National election, the basis of representation in succeeding National Conventions.

Hon. W.O.  Bradley, of Kentucky, led off in a very able, eloquent, and convincing speech in opposition to the resolution.  The colored delegates from the South selected me to present their side of the question.  For that purpose I was recognized by the chair, and spoke against the resolution.  In the first place I called attention to the fact that if elections were fair, and the official count honest in every State, the probabilities were that there would be no occasion for the proposed change.