1881 United States Senate special elections in New York March 4. On May 16, 1881, both U.S. Senators from New York resigned in protest against the distribution of federal patronage in New York by President James A. Garfield, a Half-Breed, without being consulted. The confrontation between the Stalwart and the Half-Breed (in the press now usually referred to as the "Administration men") factions of the Republican Party arose when the leader of the New Yorker Half-Breeds, President pro tempore of the State Senate William H. Robertson, was appointed Collector of the Port of New York, the highest paying federal office in New York. Conkling preferred that Collector Edwin Merritt
SS Belgravia (1881) SS Belgravia (1881) SS "Belgravia" was a transatlantic liner that served in the 1880s and early 1890s. She was wrecked in 1896. SS "Belgravia" was an ocean liner of the Anchor Line, built in Glasgow Scotland by D. & W. Henderson Ltd. and launched in December 1881. After fitting out, her maiden voyage from Glasgow to New York followed in March 1882. The vessel had a single funnel and was steam propelled by a single screw with auxiliary sails which were still common in the 1880s. "Belgravia" was primarily designed for the immigrant trade and had a capacity of around