passing a number of resolutions endorsing Grant over the objection of reformer George William Curtis. Conkling gave a lengthy speech denouncing Curtis, Hayes, and reformers and praising Grant. The Conkling-Hayes conflict peaked in December 1877, when Hayes nominated Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and L. Bradford Prince to replace Chester Arthur and Alonzo Cornell as the Collector and Naval Officer, respectively, of the Port. The appointments were made on the basis of findings of corruption at the Port of New York by a commission of independent, anti-Conkling Republicans. The nominations were rejected by a vote of 25 to 32, with six Republicans voting for and two Democrats voting against. After the vote, a disagreement between Conkling and Senator John Brown Gordon of Georgia nearly resulted in a duel between the two men, but their friends defrayed the situation. Nevertheless, Hayes suspended Arthur and Cornell’s service on July 11, 1878, and appointed Edwin Atkins Merritt and Silas W. Burt during the congressional recess. Both were confirmed when Congress reconvened in February. 1879 election In January 1879, Conkling was re-nominated by acclamation and re-elected to a third term easily. Garfield administration and resignation Shortly after James Garfield's victory in the 1880 election, Conkling consulted with friends on his future. Though he sought to resign over his differences with Garfield, they urged him to remain in office. Garfield solicited his advice on "several subjects relating to the next administration—and especially in reference to New York interests" and invited Conkling to visit him in Mentor, Ohio. Their conversation there, in private with no witnesses, remained the subject of debate long after both men’s deaths. Garfield assembled a cabinet including James Blaine as Secretary of State and Thomas Lemuel James, a New York enemy of Conkling's, as Postmaster General. He refused to appoint Conkling's proposed candidate, Levi P. Morton, for Secretary of the Treasury. Garfield further angered Conkling when he removed Edwin Atkins Merritt as Collector of the Port of New York during his term and appointed Judge William H. Robertson at Blaine's insistence. Merritt's removal halfway through his term and Robertson's appointment pressed Conkling to action. He resigned from the Senate, seeking vindication of his own political strength and of the principle of senatorial courtesy by winning the special election to his seat. Thomas C. Platt resigned alongside him. Though Conkling personally attended the legislature's sessions in Albany, Elbridge Lapham was chosen as his successor. Any