The daily gazette., 1876-12-18
SPEECH OF.
Senator Randolph .
COUNTING OF ELECTORAL VOTES
OF NEW JERSEY,
IN tie I. $. Senate, Dee. IL, 1876.

COUNTING OF ELECTORAL VOTES.
Mr., RANDOLPH. Mr.. President, it is
my misfortune to have to follow the
eloquent Senator from Missouri Mr..
BoGY with a dry statement of some his
torical facts which think it necessary to
present at this time in order to ''vindicate
the truth of history"
The Senator from Vermont, Mr.. ED
MUNDs,l usually very accurate as we all
know, in n speech upon the pending
question, said ON Monday last:
The first instance that know of when any
question was made was in 1857 when the
electors OF Wisconsin failed to meet on the
day that the act of 1892 required they should
so that If the act of 1892 were constitutional
in that respect, and that requirement was n
requirement of substance, a mandate in
stead OF direction, the vote of the State of
Wisconsin had not been given In accordance
with the Constitution. But the certificate
was received by the then President of the
Senate, Mr.. Mason, of Virginia, and was
opened and was reported by the tellers in
the regular way with all the others. On the
President announcing that VOTE somebody
rose ond questioned the right of the presid
ing officer to determine whether that was
the constitutional vote of the State of Wis
consin or not, and the president officer, it is
stated declined to entertain the question of
order or to submit it 10 the bodies or people,
whatever they might be called, who were
before him. and retired from the Chair and
with the Senate came back to the Senate
Chamber
Mr. MORTON. And said the only thing
in order was to count the votes
Mr. EDMUNDs. And he said the only
thing in order was to count the vote.
Now, Mr.. President, brief reference
to the Congressional Globe of February
II, 1851, discloses these facts:
The Senate entered the Hall, preceded by
its Sergeant at Arms. &c.
Mr.. Mason, President of the Senate,
presiding over the joint convention, SAID
Il use the term ',joint convention" be-
cause it seems to be term that was used
| during the debates on that occasion, and
l use it for convenience:)
| Pursuant to law and in obedience to the
| concurrent order of the two Houses, the
| President of the Senate will now proceed to
| open and count the votes which have been
| given for President and Vice President
of the United States for the term prescribed
by the Constitution to commence on the
| 4th day of March, 1851. The teller appoin-
| ted on the part of the Senate and the two
tellers appointed on the part of the House
| will please take the seats assigned them in
| discharge of their duties.
l
! The Presiding Officer thereupon proceeded
| to open and hand to the tellers the votes OF
the Several States for President and Vice
| President of the United States, commenc-
ing with the State of Maine.
| Pending the count
Senator CAss said: suggest that it is
better to read the results OF the vote, ant
not the certificates in full, unless the read
ing of the certificates be called for
The PRESIDING OFFICER: The presidin.
officer considers that The duty Of counting m
rOte has derOl,ei on the teiers under The concur
rent order ?fthe tco Houses; and he considers
further thai the tellers should determinc.fol
themselves In what way the votes art
verified to them. and read as much as they
may think proper 10 the two Houses as
Scmbled
1t will be observed, Mr.. President, that
the presiding officer, Mr. Mason, on this
occasion thought that the tellers had
something else than mere clerical duty
to perform.
certificates in full, and merely announced
the votes of each State. 1t appeared from
the certificate of the electors of the State OF
| Wisconsin that the electoral vote of that
| State had not been cast on the day prescri-
! bed by law.
Mr.. LETCHER, of the House of Represen-
tatives, addressing the President OF the
| Senate If understood the vote which has
just been read it has not been cast on the
day prescribed by law for voting for Pre-
sident and Nice-President OF the United
! States. do not know what would be pro-
per in Il case ofthis sort; but desire now to
| call attention to 1t in order that the point
may be brought to the attention of the coun-
try. The time may come when it would be
| IL matter of importance to have these votes
| in regular shape | desire, so far as am
concerned now as Representative of the
people, to present my objection to the re-
| ception Ofthis vote.
1 TnN .f NnpnnsSnn
And just here, Mr.. President, l call
special attention of Senators to the lew
lines that now follow
Mr. JONES. of Tennessee. suppose. Mr..
President the proper way would be for the
tcllers to report the facts to the convention 0J
The tro Houses, add let them decide.
1 The PRESIDENT OFFICER. The I'rcsitI-
ing Otticer SO considers.
Mark this reply again:
The presiding officer SO considers.
Considers what That all the facts are
to be reported to the convention of the
two Houses and have Men, decide.
1t was stated, as l remarked in the
beginning, by the Senator from Vermont
and by the Senator from Indiana that
the presiding officer had said that the
only business was to count. On the same
page of the Congressional Globe from
which have just read it will be seen
that Senator Crittenden, of Kentucky, in
the joint convention inquired:
Do understand the Chair to decide that
| Congress in no form has power to decide
| upon the validity or invalidity of q vote?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The presid-
/ ing officer has made no such decision he
| will inform the Senator from Kentucky
| Mr.. II. Marshall, of Kentucky, in the
course Of remarks following Senator Crit
tenden, said:
The language of the Constitution il that
| .sthe President of the Senate, i'll the presence
] of the House of Representatives, shall open
uUthe certificates, ''and then the phraseology
| changes, and proceeds; land the votes shall
be counted" not by you, but by as.
Thus, Mr.. President, at the very outset
of the proceedings in joint convention,
the intimation that the President of the
Senate might assume any power in de
Gliding what were the votes of States, was
promptly assailed, and by leading Sena-
tors and Representatives of both,political