The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1876-12-07

to make and sign and certify lists OF
the votes which they gave, excepting
that it was required in order to give
legal verify to the contents Of the GER
tifcates. For the same reason we hold
that TO " count the votes 50 certified
does mot import or imply a power to
inquire into the legality, sufliciencv, or
regularity Of the appointment of the
electors " hose oppointmentisd njTcertl-
fed by the State authorities Whose duty
it is TO give to tie two Houses VI Com
gress legal information of that appoint
mant. It will never do, in our judg-
mont, to draw araIogies for the gov
eminent Of this matter from the rrnc-
tice Of Legislative bodies in jndginE of
the rights Of their members to SENDS,
That practice rests III on an express
constitutional provision and it is fro'n
that express power TO determine tie
legality of m election, that their whole
authority to 20 behind the c~rtifrute
o.. a sitting member is derived,
But these Electoral Colleges are Pc
culinr bodies, whose appointment is
committed wholly 10 the States, whose
certificates, when their official charac-
ter has been duly vouched by their
States, become by force of the Consti-
tuition the sole and exclusive legal evil
dence that the votes Of those States
have been cast for such and such per-
sons as President and Vice President.
It can not be, therefore, that any an-
thority can reside anywhere to try any
question, or to find any fact, that Is to
warrant the two Houses in rejecting
the votes Of any Electoral College OF
whose authority to give &bo8e votes the
State. through its constituted "uthOli-
tiea has legally informed Congress All
such questions and all such facts it be-
longs to the proper authorities Of each
STATE H. try and det"rTAbhe, het9ye the
persons supposed to be chosen electors
are assembled to give their votes, Any
attempt by the two Houses, or either
them, to go behind the certificates, and
to determine the right of the electors
TO give the votes which they have certi
fed, when the State has decided that
right Fy it's competent authorities, Will
lead to conclusions in which the people
Of this country wi;Lnot acquieSce.
Thus if it shall be found on M in
spection "t the certificates of the Elec-
toraI Colleges, wien they are opened i'll
the presence of the two HOUSES, that
Mr.. HAYES has received lS5 votes. or
more, that result must be accepted by
the people us the legal result. whatever
may lave been the frauds committed
in Louisiana or any other State in tax
ing 0l returning or cuunting the pOpu-
lar vote. It is perfectly proper for Con-
greS4 to ascertain the fact Of such trauuS
in m authoritative and conclusive nlun-
ner for the information Of the people,
but the certainty that there are such
frauds can not affect the legally certi-
fled election. Mr.. Hayes must be ill.,
auguruted and acknowledged us PreSi,
dent, even if the legal result is so faint
Ell with fruud that honest men revolt at
the very Thought of what they must
submit to. There is NO alternative but
civil war aM,l TINT forms an unneceS-
sary and inadequate remedy. and is not
to be thought of. If Hayes shall be de-
clured President, with grave reason TO
believe that he has not been honestly
md fairly entitled to have the electoral
votes of certain States, he and his party
must bear the consequences. Those
consequences, if his opponents are wise,
will be, not that his title to the Office
is to be resisted, but that the people
are to he appealed to to use their con-
stitutionai and peaceful method of re-
dressing all wrongs and furnishing all
outnges-nNmely, by the ballot box.
No such appeal can be made if the
country is to he plunged INTO anarchy by
denying HuyeAS title to the office. Our
Government must he preserved and