New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-11-29
Authority for Democrats.

the Senate at the last session, on the bill for
regulating the counting of the electoral
votes, several Of the propositions now
freely urged by the Democratic journals
with reference to the count next February
received Incidental attention, and We now
Law before our readers the opinions of sew
eral of the most prominent Democratic
Senators on those propositions:
In the first pl ice it is row suggested by
some of the Democratic Journals that the
twenty second joint rule is still in force.
No one ventured to bring forward that
view in the Senate. On the contrary, the
abrogation of that rule was advanced as a
reason why Senator Morton's bill should
pass, since there YVES no other regulation
on the subject. In this connection, Senator
Bayard, OF Delaware, referred to the action
OF the Senate in wiping out the rule, and
added, "The concurrence of the House is
not essential"
There is not only no authority for, but
there is good Democratic authority against,
the notion that the Houre can still throw
out vote from any State under the twenty
second Joint rule, and go get the election
into Congress.
The second main proposition of the Dem
ocrats is tina. there is IN the House an in
herent right to share in the counting of the
votes, and that that is not process which
ia intrusted to the President of the Senate.
On this point Senator Bayard said: Were
the two houses Of Congress ever intended
to become the indges of the electoral vote
of the people of the country Apparently,
by the cOnst tuition, their duties would
seem to be of a ministerial character only.
They were to stand by and witness the
counting, and their presence in that way,
as witnesses, was supposed to be secuI-
ity."
Senator Whyte, of Maryland, went much
further. He would not listen to the sug-
gestion that either House, or both, acting
separately or together, could have any
thing to do with the electoral vote, except
to be present as witnesses to it's counting
BY the President of the Senate. He said:
at belongs to the President of the Sem
ate to count the electoral vote. | differ
with the Senator from Massachusetts when
he speaks of the two Houses counting the
electoral votes. l differ with the Senators
who doubt for moment that our fathers
meant to leave it in the power of the Presi
dent of the Senate to open the certificates
TO state the votes of the people of the
St and to declare what the people had
determined should be in the future their
will. | am surprised that we should stop
here to-day to discuss the question whether
we have a right. by legal enactments, to
take away from the people that power put
their benefit merely authorizing the Vice
President of the United States to enunci-
ate their will
hIr. Morton raised precisely the issue
which would be raised if the Democrats
should send up a second batch OF electoral
votes from Louisiana. lie asked: 'Where
there are two returns, each purporting to
be the return of State. does the Senator
hold that the Vice President is authorized
to select the return which is to be counted!"
To which Mr.. Whyte answered in the fol.
lowing distiI CT and unmistakable language:
IL do hold that the Vice President of the
United States is the proper person to state
which vote shall be counted, because the
constitution has put il in his hands"
And when Mr.. Whyte was asked if he
would trust SO much power in the hands of
one man, he replied: 1T would be- safer
to have a question of this kind in the hands
of one man than in the hands of many"
This remarkable exposition Of Demo
cratic doctrine was Endorsed by Mr.. Steven
son, of Kentucky, who said: 81 concur in
the able argument Of the Senator from
Maryland. | agree with him that the
President of the Senate is the only agency
SELF cted by the trainers of the constitution
aud named in that instrument, as invested
with the sole power OF receiving, opening
and counting the votes for President, as
returned by the Electoral College, and OF
declaring the result Of that election"
Finally, when 1t was suggested that the
two houses might differ as to the vote OF
some one of the States, Mr.. Merrimon,
very able and welread Democrat Of North
Carolina, thus stated what would be the
consequence: "But suppose that the wran-
gle, the conflict that the Senator suggests,
should arise, and the two parties,
or the three parties, should consent to be
prostituted by pant zeal so that they could
not make decision, the controversy would
simply 60 on till the forr. h of March, when
it would end by llmis ation Of time, and the
President pro temp ore of the Senate wotli
be the President or the United States tenn
porarily, aud new ele, tim would take
place under the constitution and the laws"
This collection Of Democratic authorities
Is respectfully submitted to the Democratic !
journals. 1t will be found profitable for
doctrine, for reproof and for Instruction.
Ne,r York Times.