The New York herald., 1876-02-07
The Twenty-second Joint Rule OF the
Two Houses.

have shown themselves willing and eager to
rekindle the elements of civil war to further
their personal interests, may perhaps have
good reason to entertain the brightest hopes
from the unpatriotic course they are pursu-
ing To the friends of these two amiable
gentlemen and to those who give their un-
qualified assent to the general course of the
republican party we recommend a consid-
Grafton of the rule under which the electoral
votes in the last three Presidential elections
were counted To have escaped a great
danger is often to remain without a true
sense of its reality or an appreciation of its
extent There are many people who even
now know nothing whatever of the joint rule
of 1865, and some who are aware of its pros
visions would have us believe that political
party which has dared to place within its
grasp a dangerous weapon would not have
yielded to the temptation of using it.
The rule was adopted by Congress in
both branches wholly under the control of
the republican leaders, February g. 1865
that is to say in order to count the votes
of momentous Presidential election. which
Qau Laken place III NONeuDeI, loot- AhO
Objectionable feature is as follows:-
IT. upon reading any such certificate by tho tellers,
any question shall ARISE in regard TO counting
tho votes therein certified the same beng stated
by the presiding officer the Senate shall there
upOn withdraw, and said question shall DO sub
mltted to that body tor its decision; and the
Speaker OF the House of Representatives, shall in like
manner submit said question to the House of Repre-
sentatives for its declson and question shall be
decided armatvey and no vote objected to shall be
counted except by the concurrent vote OF the two
ktrIh hatu ,1ko fha turOH n
Immediately reassembe, and the presiding officer shall
then the decision of the question, and upon
any such question there shall be no debate IN either
House.
single objection to the counting of the
vote of a State obliges the Senate to
withdraw, and each House must then
consider the objection without debate, and
unless both Houses concur in counting
such a vote it will be rejected. II becomes
very clear then, that, without a word of de-
bate, a mere majority in either House was
empowered to object to and to throw out suffi-
cent votes to prevent any candidate from
receiving majority of electoral votes, and
it would then Immediately devolve on the
House of Representatives to elect the Presi-
dent of the United States, according to the
twelfth amendment of the constitution.
Speeches and protests have been made
against the rule on the democratic side in
both Houses; but the fact that in the last
Presidential elections overwhelming repub-
lican majorities were returned and its full
powers not, therefore, called into requisi-
ton, accounts for its dangers having re-
mained unappreciated by the people 1t
hat &c ,1rx
now, when it's powers might be turned
against themselves, that the republican lead
ers should admit and disclose the true ma
ture of this dangerous instrument of their
own creation. A republican Senator, Mr..
Sherman, of Ohio now says that civil war is
contained in it. The correctness of this
opinion which Mr.. Sherman expresses to-
day is fully demonstrated by the records of
the proceedings of both Houses in February,
1873.
This conclusive evidence of the practical
working of the rule is sufficient to indicate
it's immense dangers Instead of seventy
four out of the total number of electoral
votes, which is three hundred and sixty-six,
a strong democratic candidate might have
obtained q small majority The passions
of closely contested Presidential cam
paign do not stop at the threshold of the
halls of Congress- and it is idle to sup
pose that members of the majority would
not have found pretexts to rise in their
seats and demand and obtain the rejec-
ton of sufficient votes to destroy such a
majority What would, then. have been the
action of people and a party thus disre-
parded? Had the democrats not obtained
control of the present House of Representa-
tives the rule would have been retained to-
day, and the approaching election, with all
the passions and sectional jealousies which
are already gathering, might have made the
hundred and first year of our existence as a
nation the year of great calamity.
What, then, is now the action of the repub-
lican leaders The Senate, the branch which
has remained republican, has adopted the
policy of simply Withdrawing from the joint
rule. For the first time in our history one
House has, without consulting the other, re-
tired from an agreement to which both
Houses were parties Republican and demo-
cratic Senators unite in condemning the in
famous character of the rule. But why do
the former raise objections to its being con-
sidered by the democratic House2 Can they
pretend to fear that it would demand the re-
tention ofthe rule? The expressions of the
democratic leaders do not admit OF
such a supposition. Is it not rather
to avoid discussion which may bring the
matter before the people, who would resent
this insult to their independence of will,
should they come to understand its full in
tentions2 1t is an old tool of no further use
and to be thrown aside; but it is to be
buried in the most decent, effective and ex-
peditious manner. But whatever may be
the intentions of these gentlemen they will
.--aaood L., o..ad;r,cr thair o; hilits