Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1839-12-24

as IL must be admitted on all hands tiit " docs Oh ue
closing of the polls, the power OF State Legislation,
| founded mere State rights, terminates also
1.-THE State law goes farther, and prcscribes the form
or mode of making tho returns, and ascertnnng the
result of such elections such law IS solely Tor the use
and convenience of Congress, and subordinate 70 ts
CONTROL in Judging sof the election and returns ol
its own members and is not in exercise oil prr-exlsng
rights as State, or any express delegation of power
from the Constitution. Congress may, Tor convenience,
receive such returns, reject them either as Pr'ma
ce or conclusive evidence at any stage OF It's exercise
Of its sole and exclusive power Judge OF the eectos
returns and qualifications of lis own members. Nei.
ther the Constitutions nor Congress, have delegated
TO the State Legislatures any power over thc returns
of elections. Any such legislation is therefore not
within It's constitutional orbit, and so far Is merely gra-
uitous and entirely subject to the control OF Congress-
IL he received or rejected at its will No State right
;s nvoved when Congress are called to construe
such State law for has been exercised IN such e
o;sla,on No sbroad seal of State can solemn &c It
The Legislature of ~ Jersey has exercised the power
DELEGATED to by the Constitution, of prescribing the
time, places and manner of holding elections for Re
representatives. in the House of Representatives Of the
e. S. from that State. The election for Representa-
tiyes from New Jersey in the Twenty-s'xh Congress
was held in that State the 9Th and 10Th days OF DC
tober 1875 the times, places, and IN manner pre-
scribcd by the law of that State This is not denied or
controversial and cannot be by any man VINO has any
regard for truth. At the election thus held, refer u.
vroom, VIM. r. Cooper, Philemon Dickerson DANIEL
Is. Ryail, anu Joseph hllle receNeu
votes of the electors who admitted to vote, and
were of course chosen by the people of the State OF ~
Jersey as their Representatives IN the lWenty-sXth
Congress. Why, them are they not permitted to take
their Seats and discharge their dutes il is clear that
thew had majority of the whole votes cast at such cleo
ton and such choice gives them pra face right to
their seats What gives such prma tacte right: is 1t
not the majority of votes: Neither the Constitution
nor any law of Congress, has conferred upon State
the right to declare Congress who elected, or to
Dlace the DOll returns
of each election district So far as State legislation
has attempted to furnish such returns or the snbStiu-
ted evidence OF such returns, gratntous, and with
out any warrant from the Constitution. Such sub
stituted evidence is entitled to be considered even
as prma facic much less conclusive evidence, without
the assent express implied, of Congress No State
has any constitutional authority to declare who are
elected to commissicn in the proper sense Of the
term, Representatives in Congress- Their COMMISSION
direct from the people of the whole State, by the
choice of majority of votes cast al the ballot box, and
is more solemn and potential act than any broad seal
The Constitution has wisely disrobed the State autor-
ties of any power se elections returns, qualh-
cations of members of the House of Representatives,
farther than prescribing the times, places and manner
of holding the elections Any commission, then, from
State, is void commission, and can only ennre as
certificate Of return. Mcssrs Froom, Cooper, Dick
erson, Rya and K'c, present themselves in Congress
Hall as the Representatives OF the people OF New Jer
sew on the first Monday in December al the time and
place fixed by the Constitution aud laws OF the United
States for the assembling of the Twenty-sxth Con-
gress, and claim their seats, with commission from
the people of that Statefrom the of all power,
the choice of the majority of the people Why
shall they not be received is again asked. Does
any one dispute that they had majority Of the
whole votes of the people of the whole State; No. NJ
one But Messrs Halsted, Aycrigg, Sratton, Max
WE'LL and forkc, say that they have commission from
the Governor of the State, under the broad seal of the
State, Representatives, and TINT gives them prima
facie right take their seats The answer to this is
plain and decisive. The Constitution has not delpra-
ted to the Governor any State such power No seal
of State is suite emily "broad to uncons;itu
ona act No State has any 'rght to invest its Go
vernon with such power. If such commissions be any
evidence at ALL which may well be questioned they
only operate certificate of return Let rs, then,
open this commission and see whether even its broad
seal shed any light upon this fact 1t does not set
forth upon face the ftc people, the cleo
tons the 9Th and 10th Oct, SSSit does not show
how many votes given at that election for any
candidatet does not assert the fact that IT was,
had been determined that the persons whom these
commissions gven were the five persons who have
the greatest number of votes from the whole State for
Representatives in the Congress of the L. States from
New Jersey, but it ceres, what no Governor
stitu,ionaly certify, and what the law of New Jersey
did not sutlorzc him to certify, that those persons
were elected Representatives, etc. The law of the
State does not authorize the Governor to decide who
elected Representatives. 1t only authorizes the
Governor and Prvy Council to "determIne, after
CaStlng Ire cH0tt Oh ScbfTHt
counties, the six persons who have the greatest
Der of votes from the whole State, and the Governor
"to commission such six persons, under the great seal
of the State, to represent the State of n Jersey in the
H. Of Representatives of the u. States As commits.
sion then it has no LEGAL validity binding on Congress-
inasmuch authority delegated to the Governor
to decide who elected and the commission does not
forth, it ought to have done, had the law been
conformed to, that the Governor and Prvy Council
had determined that the persons commissioned had sthc
ut from fhn rhnn
casting up tile votes of the whole State, which the
law of New Jersey required them to do previous to the
issuing of any commission by the Governor. This
omission not matter of form, but of substance
The township officers of election required by the
law of that State, Immediately after the poll is closed
'to proceed without delay to take account of and
up, the votes given in nj such township poll for each
candidate Representatives and to make separate Isis
of the same, and sgn certify seal up, direct and trans
nit the to the clerk Of the county, and deliver
the same to him before FIVE o'clock Of Saturday next
succeeding the election, and the county clerk them
in public manner; al the courthouse of the county,
"to make general list Of all the candidates voted
for aforesaid (that is the township polls) tore
thcr with the number of votes received for each of
tiem and to transmit the same, within seven days
thereafter to the Governor the expense of the State
And the law further prescribes that, if he certified
lists Of the given for Representatives ofhs State
in the Congress of the United States shall not be
received from the clerks of any counties BY the Co
within the time prescribed sit shall be the duty
the Governor forthwith to send express the clerks
from whom such certified lists of votes shall not have
been received and to procure the the expense
of the State 1t will be remarked that the law, az
respects the time of making the returns by the clerks
of the countless (and the rule clearly applies to
the township reurns is merely directory for although
the clerk of county omts TO do his duty within the
time prescribed, the Governor has authority, after
that time has expired, to procure the same and pre-
scrbes no time within which he shall summon the
| Privy Council and lay the same before thcm but only
that he shall do within Ave days latter receiving said
lists, whether they sent up voluntarily by the
clerks, within the time limited, subsequently, COM
pulsorily procured by express from the Governor 1t
is then manifest that the law Of the State of New Jer-
sey, respects the returns, authorizes, the first MACE
the township poll officers Of the election TO trans.
init the aggregate of the votes of each and every
ship to the clerks of the respective countless and in the
,l,aa &c