the cunning of John Kelly and the intrigue of his
lieutenants. Knowing that contesting delegations excluded precincts
from taking part in the temporary organisation, these men had sought
to weaken Tilden by creating fictitious contests in counties loyal to
him, thus offsetting John Morrissey's contest against Tammany. It was
a desperate struggle, and the only gleam of light that opened a way to
Tilden's continued success came from the action of the State
Committee, which gave David B. Hill of Chemung 19 votes for temporary
chairman to 14 for Clarkson N. Potter of New York. The victory,
ordinarily meaning the control of the Committee on Credentials,
restored hope if not confidence.

Hill was the friend of Robinson. Although his name had not then become
a household word, he was by no means unknown throughout the State. He
had come into public life as city attorney in 1864 at the age of
twenty-one, and had shown political instincts for the most part
admirable. Of those to go to the Assembly in 1871 to aid in the work
of judicial purification, Hill was suggested by O'Conor and Tilden as
one of the trustworthy lawyers, and in February, 1872, when the
legislative committee began its investigation into the charges
presented by the Bar Association against Judges Barnard, Cardozo,
Ingraham, and McCunn with a view to their impeachment, Hill sat by the
side of Tilden. It was recognised that he belonged to the coterie of
able men who stood at the front of the reform movement.

His personal habits, too, commended him. He seems to have been
absolved from the love of wine, and if the love of a good woman did
not win him, he created a substantial home among his books, and worked
while others feasted. He talked easily, he learned readily, and with
the earnestness of one who inherited an ambition for public life he
carefully equipped himself for a political as well as a professional
career. He had a robust, straightforward nature. Men liked his
courage, his earnestness, his effectiveness as a debater, and his
declared purposes which were thoroughly in unison with the spirit of
his party. But it was his boldness, tempered with firmness, which
justified Robinson in singling him out for chairman. Still, the
courage exhibited as a presiding officer in one of the stormiest
conventions that ever assembled in the Empire State did not win him
distinction.

The Kelly opposition raised no question of principle. The platform
denounced the defea