Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. III.djvu/177

 RUTHERFORD BIRCH ARD HAYES 143 adopted, on the recommendation of the civil-service commission, by the administration of Gen. Grant.&quot; He added: &quot;Neither my recommendation, nor that of the secretary of the treasury, nor the recom mendation of any member of congress, or other influential person, should be specially regarded. Let appointments and removals be made on bus iness principles, and by fixed rules.&quot; Thus the system of competitive examinations, which under the preceding administration had been abandoned upon the failure of congress to make appropria tions for the civil-service commission, was, by direction of President Hayes, restored in the custom-house of New York. A like system was introduced in the New York post-office under the postmaster, Thomas L. James. Congress passed a bill &quot;to restrict the immigra tion of Chinese to the United States,&quot; requiring the president immediately to give notice to the government of China of the abrogation of certain articles of the treaty of 1858 between the United States and China, which recognized &quot;the inherent and inalienable right of a man to change his home and allegiance,&quot; and provided that &quot;the citizens of the United States visiting or residing in China shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities, or exemp tions, in respect to travel or residence, as may there be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation,&quot; and reciprocally that Chinese sub-