The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1876-11-16


Post to justify itself in daily sounding
the alarm-did il not occur to it that
there is a still higher authority, to wit:
the Constitution Of the United States
and the precedents established under it,
Those will be the ultimate guides in this
matter, and we are led to believe, from
the Commercials treatises of the past
few days Including that on ColOrado)
that a careful peTusal Of a few good Con-
stitutional works would not lessen its
usefulness to the public.
What is the pretext of this alarm cry2
1t is the fear that. in case Of Governo:
Hayes election by one majority OF the
Electoral vote, the Democratic House
will create a great rumpus. and possibly
a great delay, by the attempt TO throw
out some of the Southern States on the
charge of fraud in the returns. The
highest point to which this fancy has
risen may be seen in the following, from
the Commercials editorial of yesterday
Suppose there is delay, and the 4th
of March arrives without President,
the House will expire, but the Senate
does not 90 out, and before that time we
presume Mr.. Ferry will be able to count
the votes. Our Washington correspon-
| dent thinks the next House will be Re
publican by two or three majority
The amount of error contained in that
| paragraph is stupendous-indeed, the
amount of Misrepresentation floating
about among the people upon this whole
subject is utterly disheartening, though
those most to blame for it are the news
papers themselves, that have failed to
seek for accurate information and to
distill it for their readers. Take, for eX
ample, the article Of the Post referred to.
| 1t says:
The Constitution provides that the
| President Of the Senate shall, in the
presence Of the Senate and the House Of
Representatives, open all the certificates
| (of electoral votes and the vote shall
then be counted. 1t will be seen that
there is wide room for construction here
| Who shall count the votes2 The Presi-
dent OF the Senate, or the Senate and
the House of Representatives
This might do very well if we were
starting upon a Constitution just drawn
We have been, however, proceeding un-
der it for these ninety years, and have
established all these matters by prece
dents which cannot be shaken save by
express statute to the contrary. The
abolition Of the Twenty-SecOnd Joint
Rule adopted in 1864, remands US to the
law and precedents in force previous to
that time-the whole of which we pro-
ceed briefly to enumerate:
First comes the provision OF the Con-
stitution requiring that the electoral
votes Of the respective States shall be
delivered under seal to the President of
the Senate. to be opened by him 'in the
presence of" the Senate and the House
of Representatives, and the votes then TO
be counted. Then comes the mandatory
statute of 1892 requiring Congress to be
in session or the second wednesday in
February next succeeding the election,
and that the count shall then take place.
That is all the law, and now come the
precedents The unfailing custom of the
past sixty years, and the one which must
now prevail, is that on the day provided
(the second Wednesday in February the
Senate should assemble together with
the House, in the chamber OF the latter,
at II NJ; that two teliers should then be
appointed for the House and one for the
Senate; that the President OF the Senate
should then open the certificates one by
one, should see that they are in due
form, and, if so, hand them one by one
to the tellers, one of whom reads them
one by one as they are received. They
then foot up the list and hand it lack 10
the President of the Senate, who com
pares it with his own footing, and an
nounces the result, declaring, officially
and conclusively, who is elected.
Now what interference can occur with
this proceeding? The House cannot de
lay it by refusing to attend-the bust
ness is not of nature that requires the
presence of a quorum, though the law
would enable the attendance of all to be
forced if so desired. Nor can they delay
proceedings by flibustering-the re-
peated ruling of the occasion has been
that neither motions nor debate are in
order The members of the House are
there as witnesses, no more and no less.
Nor can the House, or the Senate, by
raising the charge of fraud or irregulari-
ty in a certificate, take the matter from
the hands of the President of the Senate
into their own. This was conclusively
settled in 1857. 1t will be remembered
that the electors of Wisconsin were pre-
vented, by a snow-storm, from meeting
on the required day. Notwithstanding
this, Mr.. James NJ. Mason, of Virginia,
President of the Senate, examined the
Wisconsin certificate, received it, and
handed it to the tellers to be counted.
Upon this count he declared Buchanan
elected. Humphrey Marshall, of Ken
lucky, raised the point of order whether
the President of the Senate had or had
not the right to decide whether the Wis
consIn vote should be counted. Mr.. Ma
son declined TO entertain the point of
order; and the authority of his proce-
dure was never traversed. The prece-
| dent is clear.
What then have we to fear2 The
electoral vote will be fairly counted and
/ declared by the President of the Senate
/ in the presence of the two Houses
| There can be no rumpus for both Houses
are estopped from debate. There can be
no delay, for the day is fixed by law.
There may, and very likely will be, an
exciting debate in the regular sessions
| beforehand in an attempt of the two
| Houses to agree upon a new joint rule;
| but failing an agreement, the minor
methods will be according TO the custom
of the past, and the result will be fairly
and speedily reached.
There is, and there could be, but one
justifable ground for any anxiety in this
particular, and that is the course which
Southern Congressman have too often
pursued in controversies of party, and
the faiEt-hearted trucking which has
too often resulted in the North
Throughout all our long and weary fight
over the restriction OF slavery, we had
enough of this to make the Northern
cheek still mantle with shame at the
recollection Time and again when is
sue was Jointed, the South rose with fu-
rious threats of disunion, and time and
again the North abjectly bowed the neck,
and yielded her rights saying to herself,
better let them have their own way to
save trouble" We have had enough of
this. The Nation has had enough OF il.
1t is only men lost to all self respect and
fixed principle who can talk so now.
The Republican party asks only strict
justice, and that it will have. 1t de-
mands and will see to a fir and honest
count, and whether Hayes has eleven
majority or one majority, (or half of one