The Portland daily press., 1876-12-16
Fortj Fourth Congress Second Session
SENATE.

On motion of Mr.. Thurman, the bill to aid in
the construction of a railroad from Missouri
River to the Pacific ocean was made the special
order for the third Tuesday in January next
sinking fund to liquidate the indebtedness due
from the Pacific Railroad to the governments.
The Senate discussed at some length the
House bill to pay electoral messengers, and
passed it without amendment
MI. Wright gave notice that on Monday nsxt
he would call up the bill reported from the
committee on civil service and retrenchment,
reducing the salary of the President of the
United States from $4,000 to $4,000 per an
mum.
Mr.. Wright also gave notice that tomorrow
or Monday he would introduce bill to provide
for the settlement of contested election cases
of the President and Vice President
Mr.. Dawes called up the resolution fixing the
compensation OF witnesses summoned before
the Senate or any of its committees at So per
day and cts, per mile each way for travelling
expenses.
Mr.. Mitchell submitted an amendment pro-
viding that witnesses residing west of 10th
meridian be paid cents per mile each way
when the place of their examination shall be
east OF the Mississippi River, Agreed to, and
resolution as amended passed
Senate resumed the consideration of the I'M
finished business, being the resolution provd-
ing for investigation in regard to the appoint
ment of Oregon electors.
Mr.. Thurman said his object was to contrib
ute something to the history of this Oregon
case and to show that there were two sides to
it. This was resolution calling for an inves-
tigation Dy the committee on privileges and
elections, and he was surprised that the chair
man of the committee (Morton) had prejudged
the whole case. The Governor of Oregon had
not acted SO palpably wrong as to authorize
the Senator from Indiana (Morton) to declare
that he was infamous The ineligibility of
Watts was not denied, and it could not be said
that the ignorance of the people of Oregon as
to the inelgibility gave him the right to the
Office. If this was true their ignorance was
superior to the Constitution of the United
States. According to the argument of the Sem
ator from Indiana, if the voters of Oregon had
cast their votes for Goldsmith Maid the Cover
nor would have been compelled to issue GER
tificate Of election to her. He argued that the
Governor OF every state was called upon every
day to exercise Judicial power, and the Cover
nor of Oregon may have concluded, as one of
the ablest lawyers in the country had couclud-
Q |, that he had the power to withhold the GER
tifcate from Watts and issue it to Cronin, and
that 1t was his duty to exercise that power. He
(Thurman) would not give his opinion as to any
of the questions involved. He only wanted to
show that there were two sides to this case
How could the Governor of Oregon certify that
Watts was elected according to the Constitu-
tion when he was not qualified under the Con-
stitution? The thing was forced upon Grover
and he had to decide it, and therefore was not
subject to the anathemas which had been hurl-
ed against him.
Mr.. Thurman in conclusion sent to the
clerks desk and had read lengthy opinion of
Judge Hoadley in the Cincinnati Commercial
sustaining the course of Grover.
When the clerk read the paragraph in regard
to an alleged plan to have Sherman of Ohio
made President of the Senate for the purpose
of counting the electoral vote. &C., Mr. Sher-
man said he wished to say this whole story
about conspiracy to elect him President Of
the Senate was simply a newspaper roorbach
without word of truth whatever.
Mr.. Mitchell of Oregon said there was pre-
sented in this discussion spectacle wherein no
Senator raised any question in regard to this
vote Of the people of Oregon at the late cleo
ton. 1t was not denied by any Senator, any
newspaper, any men anywhere of any political
party, that majority of the votes of the peo-
Pile OF Oregon at the late election were cast for
the Republican electors. What he (MitchelI
wanted to know to-day was whether any mem
Der OF the Democratic party was willing to rise
up in his place and affirm the right of Gov.
Grover to adjudcate upon the eligibility of
Watts. They dare not do it,
He commented on the actlon of Gov. Grover
and said it was gross usurpation of power. a
gross violation of law. Under the constitution
and laws OF Oregon, it a person voted for an
elector who was ineligible his election must be
declared void by the decision of a competent
tribunal, which tribunal was the legislature of
declare
vacancy. and the other electors under the law
of the state had the power to fill the vacancy,
and in no possible event had the Governor the
power to say that some one else was elected in
the place of Watts.
He then referred to Louisiana, Florida and
South Carolina, and said that there was ques-
ton in those states as to which side had ma
jority of votes, but there was no such question
as to Oregon.
Pending the discussion, Window called up
the Dill making an appropriation to provide for
the expenses of certain special commissioners
and on his motion the Senate non. concurred in
the amendments of the House and committee
of conference was ordered. Chair appointed
Window, Logan and Davis.
Mr.. Edmunds called up the message from the
House announcing the passage of a resolution
providing for the appointment of a COM
mittee to act with committee of the Senate to
advise some method of counting the electoral
vote and submitted resolution referring the
message of the House to select committee eff
seven Senators, with power to prepare and re-
port without unnecessary delay such a measure
as will secure lawful count of the electoral
vote, and the best disposition of all questions
connected Herewith, and that said committee
have power to confer with committee of the
House of Representatives, Laid over until
Monday and ordered to be printed.
The Senate at 5 O'Clock went into executive
session and when the doors were reopened ad-
journed till Monday.
HOUSE.
Bill to pay the expenses of the investigating
committees, reducing the amount for the Sem
ate from $4,000 to $4,000 and increasing that
for the House from $21, 900 to $4,000 gave
rise to some political discussion, conducted on
the Democratic side by Holman and Cox.
In the course of the political discussion over
the bill for the committee expenses, the report
of the Democratic. visitors to Louisiana was
read from the clerks desk, by which means its
printing in the Congressional record was secur-
ed.
During the discussion Mr.. Cox said there
never was more momentous time than the
present for full and thorough investigation.
Secresy should not be allowed. What is the
object OF the rescript calling for the records?
What is the object of the subpoena duces
tecum? Is it simply to skim over the surface?
No sir. 1t is to get below the surface.
Any man can get prima facie certificate.
The question whether the prima face is good
is the real one The question is, what is the
mistaken the time will come when that side of
the House in accord with the Senate will de-
mand that we shall 60 below all these parishes
of Louisiana and elsewhere. Thus, and thus
only, can this great question of the Presidency
be settled. Thus, and thus only can content
and peace come to our beloved country. With
all sincerity and in all good faith, second the
effort of my friend from Maine to make this
investigation thorough and complete Let
him take no step backward and he shall have
the honor which belongs to gentleman and
patriot.
Mr.. Hale of Maine, in reply declared that if
the other side was really anxious for a fair in
vestigation into the condition of the Southern
states, here was an excellent opportunity to
improve it by giving to the Senate the amount
that body asked for to conduct and complete
this investigation. He congratulated the other
side of the House on its new born zeal for open
investigation and recalled the espionage sys-
tenn under which the Investigations were car
red on last session. He said it was o marvel
that the perversions which went abroad in the
recess in regard to the action of the returning
board had not been corrected. 1t was a marvel
that any man should dare to assert in the
House of Representatives that the sessions of
the returning board were anything but open
and fair. The document just read showed
that there Democratic visitors were present
and witnessed the canvass of the VOTE There
never had been an hour from the time that the
board met until it retired after examining all
the returns to make up the result, that the
committee on each side had not been invited to
be and had not been present. He predicted
that when the committees returned and
made their reports the majority reports would
follow tie trick indicated in the report of the
Democratic visitors, in which nineteen-twenti-
eths Of the space was taken up with technical
bubbles. In conclusion he explained how it
was that there was no Democrat on the return
ing board, saying that the appointment had
been offered to half dozen prominent Demo-