The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-11-30

VIC I0LuIH Va tuO VOJOb w IhO AOeAuVA'
of the Senate, to be opened in the pre-.
sence Of the Senate alone, and "then and
there counted" and If there was no cleo
| ton the Senate was to choose the Presi-
dent. This, on the vote of ten States to
one (Deleware,) was altered to election
in that contingency by the House of Re-
representatives. voting by States, and to
opening the votes in the presence of the
two houses, then to be counted. Grant
ed that neither house ought to reject law
full votes, the act of receiving, counting
and reckoning votes is an affirmative act,
and until received and counted no vote
can be reckoned. off" as Mr.. Clay said
zone house should say that the vote ought
to be counted, and the other that ought
not, the vote would be lost altogether"
Each House Having the Right to Object.
And the houses have always acted up
on this assumption. No electoral vote
has ever been counted, or assumed to he
counted, against the objection of either
house. Uniformly, the house haveagree
upon some joint rule in respect to coun.
ting. The joint rule passed in 1866, so
much spoken of, could of course adj moth
ing to the constitutional power of the two
houses. In effect it only expressed what
had been embraced in previous joint Or
ders, or in the former action ofthe houses;
was a mere method of regulation the Or
derly proceedings of the bodies under ex-
listing law, and was a practical construc.
ton by the houses oftheir constitutional
power in this respect. Necessarily, any
joint rule, that no vote, objected to by
either house, should be counted, must
result either from the recognized want of
power in one house to alone receive or
count electoral votes against the others;
or else it must result from the willingness
of each house, although possessing the
right to count the electoral votes alone,
to voluntarily abnegate that most impor-
tant function and to agree in advance to
concur without hesitation in any objecti-
on the other house might raise-an alter
native 80 utterly opposed to the rights
and duty of a legislative body and of the
oaths of its members as to be inadmis-
sible.
II, then, neither House has Constitu-
tional power to receive and count the
Electoral votes against the objection of
the other, it can be of no Importance to
that question whether the joint rule be
now repealed or not.
So, too, the fact that, when objection
has been raised to any vote from either
house, the houses have at once separated
to pass, each by and for itself, upon the
objection, shows their opinion of the me-
cessity of a concurrence of both Houses
in receiving and counting Electoral votes
and that, without such concurrence, neith-
er House, of itself, nor the joint Conven.
ton, was competent 10 receive and count
the vote objected to. II, as has been
thought by some, the Joint Convention
could act as distinct body and decide
upon the votes to be counted, then in
February next the result will dependoon
the action of the Democrats, as their ma
jority in the present House much exceeds
the Republican majority in the Senate.
But how can vote, to be received and
counted by two be counted unless they
agree? To be sure we could always take
the lowest count. But, to that extent,
they do agree; beyoned that, and so far
as they do not agree, there can be no
count
And so it must result either that Elec-
toral votes cannot be received or counted
without the assent of both Houses of
Congress; or that the Vice President can
count President in, al bilraly. and in de-
iance of Congress; or else that either
House can alone direct that votes shall
be received, which, in the case ofa double
vote, might neCessitate the absurdlty of
counting both returns, and the vote of
the State both ways.
l. submit that alternatives 80 absured
leave us with no other conclusion than
that Electoral votes can be received and
counted only with the concurrence of
permission of both Houses of Congress-.
Undoubtedly the duty ofreceiving and
counting the electoral vote is high con-
stitutional duty, which the members of
Congress must exercise upon their con-
science and oaths of Office; but of that
duty they are the judges, and for its dis
charge the constitution has not made
them responsible to any power on earth.
How q Fraudulent Returning Board
may D6 Ood1C WILL
Assuming then that the Returning
Board of Louisiana willreverse the popu-
lar verdict of that State, will it be con.
elusive upon the houses of Congress. or
is there any fact, beyond the face of the
returns, of which the House can take no.
tice? For instance it is certainly known
that Massachusetts has chose Hayes elec.
tors. They will presently meet and vote
for Hayes. Suppose that by some fit of
insanity, or the preversion of memory,
Mr.. White calls "heterophemy," the |
clerk who is to engross the certificates
should write "Tilden" instead of Hayes |
and that this should be overlooked while
The certificates were signed and until |
opened ef,re Congress, would the House
Do concluded by that mistake or might
hey take notice Of the historical facG, aud
1t least reject the votes for Tilden if they
could not count them for Hayes?
At any rate tie Houses have done 81
nilar things. In 1857 they took notice
hat the meeting of electors of Wisconsin
lad been prevented by storm on the day
'equired by law and directed the vote TO
)e sepal aIely counted. In 1872, on the
objection Of Mr.. George Hoar, that Mr..
Greeley was dead and had died before
he Electoral College of Georgia had met,
and also was not person within the
meaning of the Constitution, this being a
historic fact, of which the two he uses
nay properly take notice." the votes OF
Georgia, cast for Greeley, were rejected.
1t the same time the Senator refused to
eceive or consider an amendment declar.
ng that the function of the two houses
vas ministerial merely, and independent
# the question of the effect of the vote"
But whether the houses might proper
y take notice of this arbitrary act of the
Board; whether having per-
nitted the President to set up a military
overnment without the authority of
Aw in Louisiana, the Federal Congress
re now powerless to go behind any false
eturn of the electoral vote which that
overnment, though kept up now only
y military force, may make and ascer-
ain the true result of the popular
ofp Wnn n not the COnOrpsA at |