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New Zealand Mail, Issue 657, 26 September 1884, Page 19

The approaching contest for the Presidency of the United States is one which will be watched with the keenest interest by persons outside as well as within that country. It is a contest the result of which will declare to the world whether or not the American nation has determined to free itself from the present corrupt IC spoils system.” The Republican candidate for the Presidency is Mr Blaine ; Mr Cleveland, Governor of the State of New York, is the Democratic candidate. Mr James G. Blaine is one of the foremost American statesmen. He entered Congress in 1862, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1869 to 1874, but was replaced in that office in 1875 by the Democratic candidate. He was unsuccessful in his candidature for the Presidency both in 1876 and 1880, being beaten by Mr Hayes and Gen eral Garfield respectively. Mr Cleveland was comparatively unknown until recently, when he was elected Governor of New York State mainly through, the support of the Civil Service reformers. When General Gakfield was elected President in 1880, Mr Conkling, the then great representative of what are called ‘ ‘ machine politics ” in America, was sufficiently influential to force his nominee, Mr Akthuk, upon the Republican convention as candidate for the Yice-Presidency. Matters were soon brought to a crisis between the President and Senator Conkling over the appointment of Collector for the port of New York ; and the President had his appointment, that of a prominent reformer, confirmed by the Senate in spite of the most strenuous opposition on the part of Senator Conkling, who, to give weight to his opposition, took the almost unprecedented course of resigning his seat and appealing to the Legislature of New York for re-election. But to his great surprise he was beaten, and had to retire into private life. When the Governorship of the State of New York became vacant, the anti-reformers determined to make a strong effort, and nominated as their candidate the Chief Justice of the State, a man of high reputation, who resigned office for that purpose. However, their candidate was defeated, and Mr Cleveland, the reform candidate, a man hitherto comparatively unknown, was elected by the enormous majority of 192,000. After such a decided expression of public opinion, a Civil Service Bill was introduced into the Senate, and quickly passed through both branches of the Legislature, and became law. The provisions of this Act immediately brought 14,000 out of the 102,000 American Civil servants under the control of a permanent Commission, and arranged that the rest of the Civil Service might gradually be placed on the same footing by simple executive order and without further legislation. The great question of Civil Service reform has now to be finally fought out at the coming elections, between Governor Cleveland and Mr Blaine, who is known as the greatest representative in America of ei machine politics ” and, though a man of high personal character, of corruption. Mr Blaine was Foreign Secretary under President Garfield, and his foreign policy was remarkable for its hostility to Great Britain, and for an offensive advocacy of the “ Monroe doctrine.”