The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-12-19
A GRRAT VICTORY IN
THU SRIATR
The Republicans Con-
victed by their own
Witness.
Vice President Mason's De-
cisions Turned Against
Those who Evoked
Them.
ABill Which Senator Morton Cannot
Help Supporting.
THE DECISION OF vTcE-PREsI.
DENT MASON IN THE WIS
cONsTN CASE.
A RECORD WHICH WAS INCORRECTLY
QUOTED.
Renator Norfou,a 6uhatitute for the
A RECORD WHICH WAS INCORRECTLY
QUOTED.

Senator Morton's Substitute for the
rwenty-seoond Joint Rule Resuscitated
From hs Special Correspondent or The NJ T.
Herald,
PROGRESS IN SETTLING THE PRESIDENTIAL
MUDDLE-DEFEAT OF MIR. EDMUNDs' s
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PRE-
CEDENT RELIED ON BY SENATORS
EDMUNDs AND MORTON EFFECTUALLY
DISPOSED OF.
WASHINGTON, Dec 10, 1876
Real progress was made to-day in the
senate toward settling the presidential
muddle. In the first place, Mr.. Edmunds's
constitutional amendment providing that
the supreme court should count the
electoral vote, was defeated by Ia yeas to
81 nays. There was a general dislike to
this amendment on the ground that it
would drag the supreme court into politics,
and it was doomed to failure from the
beginning. 1t is understood that members
OF the supreme bench haye expressed their
very strong desire not to have the court
brought into the political strife in any way.
The small vote which Mr.. Edmunds's
measure received raised a smile at his ex-
pense, and a senator remarked that, like a
recent strike on a railroad, as a success it
was a failure, but as failure it was
undoubtedly complete success.
During the debate on the measure
Senator Randolph briefly recited the
history tof the electoral count in
1857, .when an offer was made to
throw the vote of Wisconsin out, and his
few remarks caused good deal of amuse-
ment at the expense Of Senators Morton
and Edmunds. In previous debate the
other day Mr.. Edmunds had stated that
in the Wisconsin case the vice president
decided substantially that the two houses
had no authority, and that the vice-presi-
dent had authority to count and scrutinize
the vote. Mr.. Edmunds said on that
occasion:-
THE certificate was received by the
president of the senate, Mr.. Mason of
Virginia, and was opened and was report
ed by the tellers in the regular way, with
all the others. On the president announ-
cling that vote somebody rose and ques-
toned the right of the presiding officer to
determine whether that was the constitu-
tional vote Of the state of Wisconsin or
not, and the presiding officer, it is stated,
declined to entertain the question of order
or to submit it to the bodies or people,
whatever they might be called, who were
before him, and retired from the chair,
and with the senate came back to the
senate chamber"
Mr.. Morton-AId he said the only thing
in order was to count the votes.
Mr.. Edmunds-And he said the only
thing in order was to count the vote.
Having read these words of the two
senator's, Mr.. Randolph briefly showed
them to be entirely mistaken by quoting
Vice President Mason's own words from
the Congressional Globe.
Mr.. Mason said Is" The esiding officer
considers that the duty of Counting the
vote has devolyed upon the tellers under
the concurrent order of the two houses:
that the telers should determine for chem.
selves in what way the votes are verified
to them"
Further, Mr.. Letcher, in the convention,
having objected to the count of the Wis
consln vote, Mr.. Jones, of Tennessee, the
reading teller, said:
q i suppose, Mr.. President, the proper
way would be for the tellers to report the
facts to the convention of the two houses
and let them decide, and the vice presi-
dent at once replied
The presiding officer so considers"
Senator Randolph emphasized this last
point, and called the attention of the SEN
ators from Vermont and Indiana to its
clnchlng force, but they made no sign.
lie quoted from Senator Crittenden, oil
kentucky, who made q vigorous protest
against the assumption of any power upon
the part OF the president of the senate to
decide upon the validity or invalidity of an
electoral vote, to which the vice president
replied
The presiding officer is utterly unaware
that he has assumed the exercise of any
such power"
The opinions of other members of both
houses were then cited to the same effect,
among them Senators Seward and Douglas.
But the hardest blow was reserved for the
last, when he quoted these words of the
vice president:
The presiding officer desires to say, as
thought he had distinctly stated whilst
presiding over the two houses in the cham
Der OF the house of representatives,, that
the conception OF the senator from GeOr.
gla IS entirely erroneous, in the judgement
OF the presiding officer The presiding
othcer did not undertake to decide WhetheI
the vote OF the state of Wisconsin was 6
good vote or bad vote. The presiding
officer upon that matter did no more than
recite the fact which was reported to hin
by the tellers, pursuant to the concurrent
order Of the two houses. The presiding
officer did no more than announce thai
the vote of Wisconsin had been given t.
John e. Fremont Whether it was gooC
vote or bad vote he did not undertake t
decide. And finally the vice presiden
said he ha! u u undertaken to decid,
and hal j"rtied whether the vote O
the sta; "i>c"nsn had been given tt
John o. freul, u, ,r not, power that th,
chair utterly dIsel&ims and never asser
ted"
The quotations stirred the senate, ant
evidently settled several senator's mind
as to the powers of the vice president.
The defeat Of Mr. Edmunds's amend
ment, and Mr. Randolphs Gemonstratio
that the vice-president assumed no powe
to count" the vote or to decide upon tn
admission or exclusion of state in 1857
but, on the contrary, clearly and r,
peatedly stated that this power belonQe