208 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS strate the truth of this statement on any fair in vestigation." In a table appended to this letter Collector Arthur showed that during the six years he had managed the office the yearly percentage of removals for all causes had been only 2 3 A per cent, as against an annual average of 28 per cent, under his three immediate predecessors, and an annual average of about 24 per cent, since 1857, when Col lector Schell took office. 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 hun dred positions of $2,000 salary, or over, were made in this method. The expense of collecting the reve nue was also kept low; it had been, under his prede cessors, between 1857 and 1861, 59/100 of one per cent, of the receipts; between 1861 and 1864, 87/ 100; in 1864 and 1865, 130/100; between 1866 and 1869, 74/100; in 1869 and 1870, 85/100; in 1870 and 1871, 60/100; and under him, from 1871 to 1877, it was 62/100 of one per cent. The influence of the administration, however, was sufficient to se cure the confirmation of Mr. Merritt and Mr. Burt on February 3, 1879, and the controversy was re mitted to the republicans of New York for their opinion. Mr. Cornell was nominated for governor
