Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1876-11-18


members of the House remained
standing while the Senate came in.
The galleries were filled with ladies
and the scene was very impressive.
The presiding officer announced the
purpose of the joint session and took
up the package containing the vote
of Maine. He broke the seal, and,
handing it down, said -"I deliver
to you, gentlemen tellers, the votes
of the electors of the State of Maine
for President and Vice President oil
the United States, that the same may
be counted" When the counting
of the States was finished the pre-
siding officer declared the result, and
said 81 do declare that William
Henry Harrison, of Ohio, having a
majority of the whole votes for cleo
tors for President, is duly elected
President of the United States for
the term of four years, commencing
with the 4th day of March, in the
year 1S41." The same declaration
was made in the case of John Tyler
for Vice President, and then the
Senate retired in formal order.
The count in 1874, 1S49 and 1853
were conducted in the same way,
and nothing occurred beyond the
ordinary routine. In 1857 a great
deal of time was wasted in discus
sing whether the vote of Wisconsin
should OF should not be counted.
The objection was raised by Mr..
Mason, the presiding officer of the
joint session, and was on account of
irregularity, the Wisconsin electors
having met the day after and not on
the day fixed by law. No decision
was made, and the matter was drop
ped after two days of debate. In
February, 1861, while we were on
the very eve of war, the proceedings
of the joint session were brief and
entirely quiet. The same old for
malities were observed, except that
there was no dignified parading.
REJECTING THE VOTES OF STATES.
The first move toward positively
rejecting the vote of any State was
made in the House, December 10,
1864, when Mr.. Wilson offered a
joint resolution declaring certain
States (those in rebellion) not en-
titled to representation in the cleo
toral colleges, and that no votes from
them should be received or counted.
This was adopted, and votes from
only twenty-five of the thirty-seven
States were counted. No votes were
offered from the States in rebellion.
In 1869, the question of the regu-
larity or legality of counting the vote
of Georgia was brought up by Sena-
tor Edmunds, who, on the 9th of
February, offered concurrent reso-
luton, reciting that whereas the
question is now pending whether the
State of Georgia is entitled to repre-
sentation in Congress, because not
yet reorganized: Resolved. That if
the votes of Georgia shall not essen
TALLY change the result, they should
be reported thus" Were the votes
of Georgia to be counted the result
would be for - for President,
votes if not counted, for - for
President, votes; but in either
case i is elected President of the
United States" The Senate passed
this resolution, 81 to 81. Suisse
qnently Senator Trumbull moved to
reject the votes of Louisiana, but the
motion was lost. There was much
confusion and wrangling, but finally
the count was completed, and the
tellers announced 294 votes, includ-
ing Georgia, of which 14S would be
a majority but excluding Georgia,
there were 2S5 votes, and, 143 was
majority. AS Grant had pa votes
and Seymour only II, or SO with
Georgia, the result was fixed beyond
cavil, and the presiding officer de-
clared Ulysses S. Grant duly elected.
THE LAST MEETING-THE TwENTY-sEcoND
RULE.
The last Joint session for counting
the electoral votes was on the 18th
of February, 1873. Again there
was difference over the votes of the
reconstructed States, although their
reception or rejection could not make
the slightest difference. On this oc-
casion tue somewhat famous twenty
second rule (passed February 5,
1869 was used to stop debate and
questioning while in joint session.
The substance of this rule is as fol-
lows -
If upon the reading of any such
certificate by the teDers any ques-
ton shall arise in regard to the
counting of the votes therein certi-
fed the same having been stated by
the presiding officer, the Senate shall
thereupon withdraw, and said ques-
ton shall be submitted to that body
for it's decision; and the Speaker of
the House shall in like manner sub
NIT the said question to the House
for it's decision; and no question
shall be decided affirmatively and no
vote objected to shall be counted ex-
cept by the concurrent votes of the
two houses, which being obtained
the two houses shall reassemble, and
the presiding officer shall then an
nounce the decision of the question
submitted; and upon such question
there shall be no debate in either
house; and any other question to
this object, for which the two houses
are assembled, may be permitted and
determined in like manner.
The two houses met on the 18th
of Eo1,,,orxy RI count tho vOta