South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1876-12-01

N0W series
|! slvss . esacsss onasse Or prsoslsue, ON
oil oeeasions q ~ hlne0ry when any
dtmeulty has afsssa h ~ csuut Of the
sssstoral votsA and seys ~ '.nsvsr
eeeos the govetDoDoos No. established
hes any-vtos-P ren66eat assamsd % count
"a sleceosalvoeee1espt - the Two houses
| permitted, nor faflsd 10 withhold or pre-.
vent returns. o. e. reject or announce
voeos - the heusoe dlroceo1.'
TIE EorADLnoQ1D PnncRpENr.
A. g The timo q The 0rss election
there We no vice-Rsesideut, and per.
son had nsoessasily - b appointed 10
count the votesrpaat occasion may be a
prsoe,leat. Bot N 1898 the houses
raised . joint committee 10 asosrtain and
report ''ths mode Of examlninr the
votes." and. In accordance With their
report. named tsllers, one for the Senate
and one for the House. and when tbo
houses we're assapnh1sd the Vice Presi.
dent broke tho teH,s Of Tie sstssus,
handed them TO the tellers.. who. having
examined and ascertaincd the votes.
prepared and presented list to the
Vice president showing the state Of tho
vote, which list was read to the two hous.
-. whereupon the. Vice President leclar.
Cd the result accordingly.
And tliis may DO said to have been
substantially the method ever since pur.
sued. On some occasions the records
are fuller and moro significant than 9th.
ere. For instance, in 1897 the Vice.
President. John Adams. said: by the
report which has been made to me by
the tellers appointed by the two houses
to examine the votes, there are seventy.
one votes for John Adams" &C., stating
the result, and then no proceeded, I'm
obedience to the constitution and law Of
the United States and to the command
OF both houses Of Congress. expressed
in their resolutions passed i'm the pres
snt session, / declare John Adams, cleo
ted" &c.
In 1917, when In the case Of Indiana,
the objection was first made to recciy-
ing vote. the yice-Presdent made no
attempt to decide the question. but the
houses at once withdrew to consider il.
In 1921 tho houses directed how the
votes Of Missouri should be announced,
and they were announced accordingly.
In 1857, On suggestion that the whole
OF the certificates need not be read, the
Vice-Prssident said that, under the rule
OF tho houses appointing tellers he con-
sidered that the counting OF the vote
devolved upon the tellers, and the de-
cision OF what should DO read rested
with them.
In 1865 tho Vice President refused to
open the returns he had received from
Louisiana and Tennessee. because 80
directed by the houses.
In 1869 he refused to consider obiec.
tons 70 the votes or Louisiana and G cor.
gia. because so directed by tho houses.
In 1872 he opened the returns and
accepted without remark the decisions
Of the House, by which the votes from
Georgia, Arkansas and Louisiana were
rejected. and the votes Of Mississippi
and Texas counted against objection.
And any one who will road the de-
bate in the Senate on February 6, 1865,
on the adoption OF the joint rulo in re-
gard TO counting the electoral vote will
see how generally the idea that the
Vice-Presidcnt had, even in the absence
Of Legislation by Congress (as Judge
Kent thought) any power over the count,
was repudiated by Senators Of both par.
ties.
BOTH HOUSES MUST CONCUR.
But Ii the counting OF tho votes be by
the constitution vested in the two houses
OF Congress, il follows unavoidab that
they must both concur in the count. 1t
is necessary and elementary principle
that when power is given TO two TO be
exercised by them conformity both must
concur In its exercise. 1t is the essen.
tial feature OF our system OF government
that both houses must concur in every
act OF legislation. Every such act by
one house without the concurrence of
the other Is OF no validity. To then
give one house the vital power of deter.
mining, alone and without the concur.
renee OF the other. the electoral vote,
would be against tho whole spirit of
our system.
Indeed. when this article Of the con.
stitution was reported TO tho convention
by the committee OF eleven it provided
for the return OF the votes TO the Pres.
dent OF the Senate, TO be opened in the
presence Of the Senate alone, and then
and there counted = and If there was
no election the Senate was 10 choose the
President. This, on the vote OF ten
States TO one, delaware, )Was altered 10
election in that contingency by the
House Of Representatives voting by
States, and to opening the votes in the
presence OF the two houses, then TO be
counted. Granted that neither house
ought TO reject lawful votes. the act of
receiving. counting and reckoning votes
Is an affirmative act, and until received
and counted no vote can be rcckone,i.
"If," rs Dir. Clay said, zone house
should say that the vote ought TO be
counted, aud the other that it ought not.
the vote would be lost altogether"
EACH HOUSE HAVING TuE RIGHT TO
oByECT.
And the houses have ALWAYS acted