The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-01-10

State in the Senate of the United States The name of the
person voted for and Of he members voting shall be
ca In writing by the teers, who SHALL after the secretary
sn nave called the names OF the members second time
ana the name OF the for which each member voted
70 he president Of the convention the number OF votes
If neither Of the candidates shall receive the vote.
majority of the members present. second poll may be
taken and so, from time time, until Of the
present. "
SEC g. II the election shall not be completed the first
meetng the president shall adjourn the convention when
ever and TO such time majority Of the members then
present shall determine and from time to time until
some one OF the candidates shall receive majority afore
SEC When any person shall have received majority OF
the votes aforesaid the president of the convention shall de-
clare him 10 be duly elected represent this State
in the Senate of the United States and he shall in the
ence of the members Of both houses sign certificates Of
election attested by the teeOne OF which be shall trans
init TO the and the remaining shall be
among the records OF the and entered length
SEC 10 Upon the reception of said certificate, the gov
erno shall cause credental to be made out with the great
seal Of the State affixed thereto and delivered
lowing
Here follows the form Of tho oredential.l
Mr.. BUTLER The validity of that act of Iowa. passed
in s47 eight years before this election took place.
entirely depends this clause Of the constitution Of the
United States
The times places and of holding elections for
senators and shall be prescribed in each State
by the legislature thereof Congress may any
law make or alter such regulations to the place
OF choosing senator's"
Now to the time place. and manner of holding cleo
ons the legislature has right prescribe them but the
legislature has not constitutional competency the
Jory OF the committee contend to make any prescriptions
that interfere with the constitutional organization of the
legislature in voting The ground taken the other side
as understand it is that this convention having
sembled 1t was to all intents and purposes amagama
ton OF the senate and house of of Iowa.
dissouble except by the of itself that
s in other words it body formed under this act to
continue perpetualy until it made election and the
senate had no power under its constitutional authority
resume its original functions of the branches of the
legislature. do not know that in this it in
enona act on the part of the senate to adjourn
Saturday until Monday. am inclined to think it
The senate of Iowa adjourned Saturday to meet on the
succeeding Monday and while it dourned and was
as senate of going into the house of represent
atves notice was served upon the senator's in the diff
erent averns hotels wherever they could be found
to come in and join the assembly Some brought in
According to the ground taken the other side only
there had been less than Quorum but if there had not
been single senator there the house OF representatives
by the original organization of this convention could have
gone on and exercised all the authority of legislature
make an election under this act
cannot agree to this position for two reasons the
trs place. although 1t joint convention the import
OF the act was that must be convention of the
and house of representatives. and it WIS not
ton the senate and house of it was not
the legislature but fusion of such members
OF the senate as would attend lin contadstincon the
senate In the house OF representative and carry
this election. They were not the senate they
there as senators in colore oc They summoned in
this ambuatoy way of finding them wherever they could
Such as would go were there and such would not 60
were not there.
should 60 far as to say that an act passed eight
before this body had to perform these functions could
not control the legislature n It's Judgment to the mode Of
conducting this election weuid say, attempted
delegate to the house of representatives the power
cnsvey of conducting this election without presence of
the senate that unconstitutional inconsistent with
the organization of the legislature in its sense and
has found no precedent any where. Gentlemen on the
other side are compelled to take the ground that the house
OF representatives alone could make this election when
once they had got into convention because there might
have been senators there The might re-
fused to go into it. do not know that they did but
thing is very certain that when the house of rep e.
sentatives found response from the senate it was
the duty of the speaker Of that house. according this
law, to adjourn the convention until Monday, or to
another day The power Of adourning may have exist
ed. shall not undertake TO say that it did not ;
but i certainly competent for the house of repre-
entaves to send another message Monday to the
ATE to see whether they would join or would not join them
But they did no such thing They proceeded npu
do what they had the power do by numerical strength
without the constitutional representation of the body
emplaed by the constitution of Iowa. the senate In
Judgment they have not pursued this act Acting
der the dervave authority of this enactment desgnn-
ting the mode of regulating elections hy the legislature
they ought to have pursued it but they made fatal aber
raons-fata in my opinion far regards sanctoning
any proceeding of the kind. If this the charif this
act was the power of attorney under which they acted
why did they not The president of the senate
was not present. and they eeced president pro empore
and the pr sdent pro fpcre SENATOR mas made presi-
dent OF The convention papably in violation of the ac
which says that in the absence of the president of the
ate the speaker Of the house of shall be
presiding officer of the convention. The speaker
and they went through the form of eecting substitute
for the president Of the senate who took on him these
functions contrary to the provisions of the act and
rary in my opinion to the intent and purpose IL we
consult the organic law prescribing what shall be the
Of the legislature.
But there Is another fatal mistake-f mistake il be-
and that 10 this Each house had right appoint its
own teller but when they went in this OCCASION and
made this election by this convention or this
ing as contend it was the teller Of the senate
there The Judge who had derived his authority from the
senateand Judge of the election might have been very
important ofcerthe judge of the election appointed by
the senate as such not present What did they do
They proceeded to appoint teller from among themselves
to answer their own purpose, and form very different
ed by the of of the components of the
legislature The teller who presided here Judge not
the teller of the senate That is not pretended The pre-
siding officer who presided there not the presiding
officer contemplated by the act The speaker ought TO
have assumed the responsibility But if this going from
thing to another and disregarding maori
ties in the election of SENATOR In the cage Of enacng
laws is allowed you disregard the ordinary mode recog
missed and acted upon in joint meeting Of the senate and
house of Representatives, and yop leave it to the house of
senator's whenever it may think proper to meet them
in convention and the sergeantatarms whom
he peases and If he partisan it would be in his
power select such would choose his friends to the
clusion Of Others whom he might not wish to find think
it is fatal precedent
My opinion Mr. President is that this is conederacy
of republics not conederacy Of mere democraces who
may happen to fuse and make form Of legislature diff
erent from that prescribed by the constitution, under
which they organized. am personally indifferent as
to this If the Senate shall come to the conclusion
that this gentleman is entitled to his seat be it have
the slightest personal objection him. have given