The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1876-11-29
rhe Morristown Gazette.
TILE SITUATION.
LETTER OF HON GARRISON N.
POTTER

LETTER OF HON. GARRISON N.
POTTER
This distinguished gentleman, who
is an intimate friend of Governor
Tilden, and who thoroughly under
stands tho political situation, wrote
a letter during last week which was
published in the New York Herald,
and at the same time, notwIthstand-
ing its great length, was telegraph
ed all over the country, but which
reached US too late for publication.
in which he exposes the purposes Of
Grant and his minions most thor
oughly, and shows beyond a perad
venture that Mr. Tilden will lawful
~ be our next President, and in
which he predicts that he will be
peacefully inaugurated. Mr.. Pot
ter, putting aside for the present
South Carolina and Florida, states
that upon the footing of all the re-
turns in Louisiana, the Tilden elect
ors have majority Of 8099 votes.
He does not doubt that the return
ing board which counted out Nc
Emery and counted in his opponent,
Notwithstanding McEnery was clear
" elected = which counted ont a
number of fairly elected representa-
tives to the Louisiana Legislature
and counted in their defeated OPP
poneHts-which has been thoroughly
condemned as corrupt by commit
tee OF Republican Congressman he
does not doubt that this board will
count out the Tilden electors and
count In their opponents; neverthe-
less he shows how Mr.. Tilden will
be declared the President by the
proper authority, and lawfully SO
declared. He reviews extensively
the history Of Presidential elections
so far as Congress has had to do
with them, showing from the records
that uniformly each house has under
the constitution, exercised the right
to reject the votes of States when
they are not lawfully cast; that in
1872 this was done by Republican
House as to the vote of Georgia /;
that in 1868 the same happened as
to the vote OF Tennessee, indeed,
that uniformly the matter of reject
ing votes has been exercised not by
the President OF the Senate, not by
the joint action Of the two Houses,
but by the separate action OF either
House. In other words. in order
that the vote Of a State be counted.
both Houses must concur. II, there
fore, the Louisiana returning board
should give certificates to the Hayes
electors. the facts being, as they are
we'll established to be, the House of
Represe natives would at once OBJ
ject to this vote being counted as it
would be their sworn duty to do.
This would leare Tilden 1874 Hayes
III. No election. It would then
at once become the duty Of the
House to Immediately proceed to the
election of President from among
the three candidates having the high
est number OF votes" Tilden and
Hayes could alone be voted for.
The house would voting by States)
give Tilden IS; Hayes IS. New
York and Florida pairing of.
Thus Mr.. Tilden would be elected
President Of the United States juet
as constitutionally as il he had re-
ceived every electoral vote. 1t
would then become the sworn duty
OF the Army and Navy to obey him.
To resist his Inauguration, or, his
authority properly exercised would
be treason. Aud thus it appears
that ali these threats about throwing
out votes-about Grants inter-reg-
mum after the 4th OF March, and all
that, is simply rebellioats talk. The
idea in Mr.. Potters' letter is that
Mr.. Tilden has been fairly elected
by an overwhelming majority; that
he will be lawfully declared elected,
and indicted into Office that the
Democracy OF the country, and all
good citizens, will recognize and
sustain him as the President. To
our mind, there is no doubt Of the
fact that he has been elected, and if
we understand the spirit that ami
mates Intensely animates) our peo-
pie he will be the President-peace-
fully, il he may be-forcibly, if he
must be.
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