Connecticut western news., 1876-11-10
THE ELECTORAL VOTE,
A Letter from Senator Sherman Explainins
 the Position of AGairn.

-oCOOIO jO4Ae Iu2o OI Gu0 two Houses of Congress regulating the mode of counting the electoral vote for President was abrogated, have looked through the proceedings of Congress at the last session, and find the following stages of the action on this question
 On the fifteenth of December, 1875, MT. Edmunds, of Vermont, offered resolution as folloys:
 Resolued, That the joint rules of the Senate and House of Representatives, in force at the close of the last session of Congress. be and the same are hereby adopted as the joint rules of the two houses at the present session. (COngres- sionaI Record, p. 220.)
 After statement by MT. Edmunds that his object was to obtain a report of the committee on rules as to whether the joint rules of the last session were in force without any vote at the present session, the resolution was referred to that committee.
 Jan. 10, 1876, the committee on rules, by MT. Hamlin, reported back the reso- lution with an amendment, making it concurrent resolution of the two houses instead of 8 mere resolution of the Sen- ate.- He also stated his view of the joint rules, that they were only operative upon the two houses by acquiescence, as each was by the Constitution em- powered to make its own rules.
 MT. Morton then moved to except the twenty second joint rule, leaving the rest in force. Thereupon the resolution and amendment went over. (Congres- sional Record, p. 3O9.)
 On the twenty ninth of January, 1876, the resolution was again taken up, and the amendment of MT. Morton except ing the twenty-second joint rule was adopted. MT. Bayard then offered a substitute, which was rejected, and the resolution in the form of a concurrent resolution was adopted by. the Senate. Congressional Record, page 520.)
 The action of the Senate on this reso- lution could only be understood by a reference to the debate on 8 bill intro duced by MT. Morton at the beginning of the session to provide for and regu- late the counting of votes for President and Vice President. This bill was re- ferred to the committee on privileges and elections. It was reported back amended, and after much debate passed the Senate on March 24, 1876, by vote of thirty-two yeas to twenty-six nays. (See Congressional Record, pp. 1862, 1874, 1900, 1910, 1886, 1,945.)
 On the day of it's passage MT. Thur man, who had voted for it, moved 8 re- consideration. This was debated at diff ferent times, but no final action was had on the bill, and it is now pending in the Senate.
 On the fourteenth of August, 1876, message was announced to the Senate that the House had passed resolution suspending the sixteenth and sev6n- teenth joint rules for the remainder of the session. The action of the House was based upon the assumption that these rules, together with the other joint rules of previous sessions, were still in force. When this announcement was made. MT. Hamlin said that "we have no sixteenth and seventeenth joint rules to suspend" Subsequently,, on the same day, Mir. Edmunds, in re- sponse to the resolutions of the House, offered the following:
 ResOLUed, That the resolution of the House of Representatives, presented this day n,,the following words " Re- sotUed by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the six teenth and seventeenth joint rules be suspended for the remainder of the ses- sion," be respectfully returned to the House of Representatives with the statement that, as the House of Repre- sentatives has not notified the Senate of the adoption of joint rules for this present session, as proposed by the resolution of the Senate of the twen- tieth day of January last, and trans mitted to the House of Representatives on the twenty-second day of the same month, there are no joint rules in force.
 And this resolution was unanimously adopted.
 It seems that the House took no ac- tion upon the resolution of the Senate renewing the joint rules, except the twenty second joint rule, which regu lates the manner of counting the cleo toral vote; nor did the House take ac- tion on the resolution just quoted, but force; while the Senate early held that the joint rules continued only during the concurrence of the two Houses, and that no joint rules were in force.
 Upon the main question, whether either House can recede from 8 joint rule adopted by previous Congress, I have no doubt. Each House has the constitutional power to adopt it's own rules of procedure. No authority eau limit this power, except by a change oi the Constitution. The rules of the House do not bind it's successor, unless acquiesced in or adopted by it. An act of Congress approved by the President cannot bind subsequent House as tc its rules and order of business. Joint rules are but the concurring opinions or rules of two independent bodies, and cannot bind their successors or prevent either House from receding from them They are matters of mutual amity anG convenience, to continue which botk parties agree to them, and to be revoked at the pleasure of either.
 Any other principle would destroy the independence of the respective houses While, therefore, I am clear that the Senate had the power, and did recede from the twenty second joint rule, yet il is matter of graveregret and solicitudt that some mode of settling a disputed vote in the electoral college has not beer provided for, for it is easy to conceive { contingency when such dispute would involve us in civil war. We can only hope that the good fortune tha has attended us thus far will continue that the very gravity of the danger vii compel all parties fairly and honestly tt submit to the will of the majority ex pressed in constitutional forms, ant that the counting of the vote by tn, Vice-President in the presence of botl houses will be so impartially done as t, command respect and acquiescence. l is 8 danger that should be guarded against by Constitutional amendment Though voted for the bill pending i, the Senate. had and have doubt whether it was sufficient security. Per haps for the approaching count the tw' houses can agree upon joint rule, ire from the conceded defects and danger of tha former tWantY- second joint rnle