New-York tribune., 1876-12-08
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS INVOLVED.


THE REPUBLICAN ELECTORS A RIGHT TO FILL
THE VACANCYf
The complications arising from the meeting OF the
Electoral College of Oregon render review OF its
proceedings of pressing interest. Gov. Grover an
nounced at 10 a. m. in the State House at Portland
that he had determined to refuse to issue certiil-
cate to Postmaster Watts, the ineligible Repub-
Republican elector, and should issue one to Il. A.
Cronin the Democrat who had received the next
highest number of votes. AT noon there gathered
in room of the Capitol the following persons: John
C. Cartwright, VIM. II. Odel and Mr. Watts 1.-THE Re
publican eectors) E. A. Cronin IA Democratic elector,
and John T. Miller and John Parker private citizens
Soon afterward Gov. Grover, in his room, issued
three electoral certi fcates addressed respectively
to Cartwright, Odel and Cronin. These certihcates
were certified to by Secretary of State Chadwick
(Democ1at) The certificates were lssued In trlpli-
cate bv Mr. Chadwick, who then put them III an
enyelopc addressed to the electors named within,
and himself took the envelope TO the room occupied
by the electors. His knock was answered py
Cronin who took the envelope and refused TO give
Cartwright and Odell their certificates. Cronin
then told Cartwright and Odell that he
was ready to proceed with the ceremony
of casting the electoral ballot with them. Upon
their refusing to join him insthe duty, Cronin said
that as they declined to recognize him as an elector
he considered the offices vacant and should NIL them
himself He then appointed as electors Miller ana
Parker, the citizens already mentioned Ihe three
men then voted; Cronn for Tilden, and Miller ana
Parker for Hayes. Cronin bad no sooner cast his
vote than he hastily left the room, taking with him
the electors certificates Odell and Cartwright
thereupon formally elected Watts an elector to NIL
the vacancy. The electoral vote of the State was
then cast for Hayes The report of the ballots cast
will be sent to Washington, accompanied by aflida-
Wits from the electors.
There are two technical questions in this contro-
yersv The first relates to the election of minority
candidate when majority candidate is ineligible:
Article H. Section 10 of the Constitution OF oregon
preserhes that no person nGSS n or nder this State
shall be eligible TO seat IN the IeglsiatMe & asse1S 6I
at az the same time except as in this Constitution ex-
prcssly permitted provided that officers OF militia 10
which there is attached no annual salary ana the Oc9
of postmaster where the compensation does not eAeeeu
800 per annum shall not be deemed lucra'xe En- sec
fion 1 I'm the same article prescribes that III all cleo
tions held by the people under This Constitution ne per
yo1ss So OF s eITd m declared duly elected Title VI
statutes governing elections, section AS; @ thc
cson of competent tribunal declaring Void an eiecuoh
The Hon. William Beach Lawrence holds that
whenever an ineligible candidate receives majority
of the votes his competitor is elected. He says that
il is an mmemoral law which we have inherited
from our English ancestors that votes cast Tor ln-
competent persons void" and refers as prece-
dent to the refusal of the House Of Commons in
1869 and subsequent years to admit John Wilkes,
and TO their action in admitting Luttrell, who had
received slender minority vote. He takes the
ground that the Governor of Oregon had no right TO
withhold the commission of the Democratic candi-
date and that the two other electors had right to
declare a vacancy and choose third. There are
few precedents in the American statute books III
reference TO such cases. The Court of Appeals III
New-York has decided. however, that an ineligible
candidate who had received a majority OF votes
was not elected. 1t went further: it decided that
that there was no election. and that the Office was
vacant 1t did not decide that the minority cand-
date had title to the Office.
The Governor of Oregon held that there no
vacancy Ill the Electoral College The Republican
electors. ON the other hand contended that there
was vacancy, and that they alone had the right to
fill IT. constituting as they did the competent tr-
bunal" referred to in the statutes. In Title D. Tela-
tive to the election OF Presidential electors Section
90 provides that
The electors of President and yice-President shall
st the seat Of % OH @ a r e hour
- o'clock at OF tat day and II there sha le any
neglect 10 attend or otherwise, the electors
present shall immediately proceed 10 me- Dy ood ,GIe u
plurality Of votes, such vacancy in the Electoral College,
aud when all the electors shall appear or the vacancies
if any, shall have filled as above provided snC9
electors shall proceed TO perform the duties required OF
them the Constitution and laws OF the Cnteu btaes
The following (Scction 60 says:
The votes for the electors shall be given, received, re-
d c, vnSsed for members OF Congress the Secretary
of State shall two lists OF the names Oi the etc
tor, elected and aiX the seal OF the STATE 10 thc s
scb lists s he signed by the Governor and Secretary
aud by the latter delivered to le college Oh becoe a
the hour OF tDelr HeeIus Oh ouoh niS' "0u"0'""' VI
December.
Here is the second peg on which the Democrats
hang their case. The Governor issued certificates
empowering two Republican electors and one Demo
cratic elector TO vote for President Those three
men, the Democrats assert, were the only electors
who were authorized, according to the laws OF the
State to cast the electoral vote. There was no
vacancy, and the third Republican eector, not hav-
ing a certificate signed by the Governor and beng
elected to fill a vacancy that did not exist, had no
right to vote. The fact that the certificates which
the Governor issued to the Republican electors were
NOT received by them does not alter the fact that
they were duly authorized to east the electoral vote
The Democratic elector clearly had no right
to elect two associates on the strength
of the refusal of the Republican electors
to act with him. When Mr.. Cronn sends the record
of his own vote to Washington it will be based upon
the Governors certificate authorizing him 10 cast ii.
When the third Republican electOr sends his vote to
Washington ID wall rest upon the certificate of his
associates that there vacancy III the Electoral
College which they had filled according 10 the State
statutes The controversy thus centers in these two
questions, H. Had the Governor the right to give
certificate to a minority candidate (2.) Had the
Republican electors a right to 90 behind the Gov
ernors certificate refuse to act with Cronin, and
after he had left hold their meeting, fill the vacancy
and cast the full votei These questions, the Demo-
Gratis affirm, cannot be answered by the President OF
the Senate and the tellers who instructed by the
Constitution to count the electoral vote. Concur
N hold xrtIl