Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/168

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

160 GRANT chusetts was appointed in his stead. Soon afterward Mr. Washburne gave up the office of secretary of state, being appointed minister to France, and was succeeded by Hamilton Fish of New York ; while Secretary Schofield retired from the war department, and was suc- ceeded by John A. Rawlins of Illinois, who .Th.l in September, when the vacancy was tilled by the appointment of William W. Bel- knap of Iowa. Mr. Borie resigned in June, and was succeeded by George M. Robeson of New Jersey. Mr. Hoar resigned in July, 1870, and was succeeded by A. T. Akerman of Georgia, who resigned in December, 1871, and was suc- ceeded by George H. Williams of Oregon. Mr. Cox resigned in November, 1870, and was suc- ceeded by Columbus Delano of Ohio. As President Grant was in political harmony with the majority in congress, the reconstruction of the lately rebellious states, which had been delayed by the lack of such harmony during the previous administration, now went on. A proclamation by President Grant, dated May 19, directed that there should be no reduction of the wages paid to government employees in consequence of the reduction in the hours of labor which congress had enacted. In 1871 President Grant urged the annexation of Santo Domingo as a territory of the United States. A treaty to effect this, and also one by which the peninsula and bay of Samana were ceded to the United States for 50 years at an annual rental of $150,000 in gold, had been signed Nov. 29, 1869, on behalf of President Grant and President Baez. Early in 1870 these treaties were confirmed by a popular vote in Santo Domingo ; but it was believed that a free election had not been held, and it was said that, in anticipation of annexation, the Domin- ican government had granted to private indi- viduals every valuable franchise or piece of property in its possession. In conformity with a resolution of congress, President Grant ap- pointed B. F. Wade of Ohio, A. D. White of New York, and S. G. Howe of Massachusetts, as commissioners to visit Santo Domingo, ac- companied by several scientific men, and re- port upon the condition of the country, the government, and the people. Their report, submitted in April, 1871, was favorable to an- nexation; but the senate withheld its appro- val of the treaties. A "joint high commission " of five British and five American members met at Washington, Feb. 27, 1871, and on May 8 signed a treaty on the subject of the coast fisheries, river navigation, and the "Ala- bama claims." The last named question was submitted to a court of arbitration to meet at ^Geneva, Switzerland, which on Sept. 14, 1872, awarded the gross sum of $15,500,000, to be paid by the British government to the United States for damages to American com- merce by confederate cruisers fitted out in British ports. The act to enforce the provi- I sions of the 14th amendment of the constitu- tion, popularly known as the Ku-Klux bill, I GRANVELLE was followed by a presidential proclamation exhorting obedience to it; and on Oct. 17, 1871, the president suspended the privilege of habeas corpus in the northern counties of South Carolina. Under the provisions of an act of congress of March 3, 1871, President Grant appointed a board of seven commission- ers to inquire into the condition of the civil service and devise a plan for rendering it more efficient. The chairman of the board, George William Curtis, resigned in March, 1873, be- cause of essential differences between his views and the president's on the enforcement of the rules. At the national republican convention held in Philadelphia, June 5, 1872, President Grant was renominated by acclamation, and Henry Wilson of Massachusetts received the nomination for vice president; while Horace Greeley and B. Gratz Brown were the candi- dates of both the liberal republicans and the democrats. Grant and Wilson received 286 votes in the electoral college, against 80 for other candidates. Grant's popular majority over Greeley was 762,991. During the last session of the 42d congress the salary of the president was doubled, and those of the vice president, speaker of the house, justices of the supreme court, and heads of departments in- creased 25 per cent. William M. Richardson of Massachusetts became secretary of the trea- sury March 4, 1873, and was succeeded on June 2, 1874, by Benjamin H. Bristow of Ken- tucky. On the death of Chief Justice Chase in 1873, the president nominated successively George H. Williams, Caleb Gushing, and Mor- rison R. Waite of Ohio ; the last named was confirmed. On April 22, 1874, he vetoed a bill to increase the currency. Accounts of the battles fought by Gen. Grant will be found under their respective titles. See " Military History of Ulysses S. Grant," by Adam Badeau (vol. i., New York, 1868) ; " Life of Ulysses S. Grant," by 0. A. Dana and J. H. Wilson (Springfield, 1868); and "Report of the Oper- ations of the Union Army from March, 1862, to the Close of the Rebellion " (New York, 1866). GRANVELLE, intoine Pemnot, cardinal de, a Spanish statesman, born in Besancon, Aug. 20, 1517, died in Madrid, Sept. 21, 1586. He was the son of Nicolas Perrenot, the chancellor and minister of the emperor Charles V. He was educated at Dole, Padua, and Louvain, and mastered seven languages. At the age of 23 he was appointed canon of Liege ca- thedral and bishop of Arras. At the council of Trent, in 1545, he defended the emperor's war policy against France, and obtained an appointment as councillor of state. After the battle of Miihlberg (1547) he drew up the treaty of peace between the emperor and the German Protestants, and contrived to retain the landgrave of Hesse a prisoner, contrary to the promise made to him. In 1550 he suc- ceeded his father as chancellor. He accompa- nied the emperor on his flight from Innsprnck in 1552, and displayed great ability in negotia-