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Show FRED DOUGLASS' SUCCESSOR. ! A special dispatch from Washington to I the Chicago Herald says the President I ; has declined absolutely to withdraw the I! nomination of James C. Matthews, the P ' ! colored lawyer of Albany, for Recorder 1 of Deeds for the District of Columbia, f This nomination has given rise to con- siderable comment by politicians of both ' parties, and the President has been f j sharply criticised by some of them, not I I , only for nominating a colored man to a S i lucrative and important position in the national capital, but more particularly for I. going outside of AVashington to select Mr. Douglass' successor. ! Matthews is a graduate of the Albany i f ' (N. Y.) Law School, was regularly ad- ; II ' initted to the bar in 1870, and subse- j f V quently to the bar of the United States ( jl courts. He has been successful in the j I practice of his profession, and has i jj; labored zealously and effectively for the' j !., Democratic cause in State and national! i' campaigns since 1872. j fi ' From the fact that the President de- j j clines to withdraw the nomination, it is j l 1 evident that he has ever' confidence in the j j man's ability to well and truly perform j ; ' the duties of the office ; and it is also quite j ! ! ij ;i clear that race prejudice does not count with Mr. Cleveland to the extent that many Republican orators would like to make it appear. A colored Republican has held the office for several years past; why shouldn't a colored Democrat, in this Instance at least, be given a chance to show his capabilities as an office-holder? |