He stood for publicity and wider discussion, distrusting a scheme to submit such vast interests to a small body sitting in the Capitol as likely to become the sport of intrigue and fraud.
Mr.Hewitt returned to Washington and without communicating to Mr.
Tilden's immediate friends in the House his attitude and objection, united with Mr.Thurman and Mr.Bayard in completing the bill and reporting it to the Democratic Advisory Committee, as, by a caucus rule, had to be done with all measures relating to the great issue then before us.

No intimation had preceded it.

It fell like a bombshell upon the members of the committee.
In the debate that followed Mr.Bayard was very insistent, answering the objections at once offered by me, first aggressively and then angrily, going the length of saying, "If you do not accept this plan I shall wash my hands of the whole business, and you can go ahead and seat your President in your own way." Mr.Randall, the Speaker, said nothing, but he was with me, as were a majority of my colleagues.

It was Mr.Hunton, of Virginia, who poured oil on the troubled waters, and somewhat in doubt as to whether the changed situation had changed Mr.Tilden I yielded my better judgment, declaring it as my opinion that the plan would seat Hayes; and there being no other protestant the committee finally gave a reluctant assent.
In open session a majority of Democrats favored the bill.

Many of them made it their own.