The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1876-12-28
COMMITTING the Votes

forward the sums due.
Counting the Votes.
in the present condition of the electoral
contest. the result mast depend upon the
! methods Of receiving and counting the
ballots OF the several states tor President
and ice-rresiaent Apparently tine two
houses 0t Congress are as lar as ever from
an agreement upon the method OF pro
ceeding when the time for the count shall
arrive, some ST.. or seven weeks hence.
An attempt to establish rules has been IN
itlated by the appointment of Joint com
mittee t. take the matter into consdera-
ton. The Senate has named Senators
Edmund7. Morton, Frelinghuy 5pn, Logan,
Thurman. baYard and Ransom and the
House has joined Mcssrs Payne. Hunton,
Hewitt, Springer, McCrary, IIoar and
Willard. This is upon the whole a. fair a
committee ~ could be expected under the
circumstances, although it embraces some
extreme partizana. 1t i hoped that they
Will go to wort, At once, and cndeayor to
frame some rules to meet this case Of 50
many complications
The latest and most preposterons claim
that has been evolved out oi tie distress at
the Republican situation. Is The one which
| asserts that the President OF the Senate. be-
h.. Io. 1ls, i,h /
the returns, shall also ialge OF their right
IuIncs5 and declare them. Such Il DANGER
ous theory cannot stand for Il moment. 1t
j, opposed alike to common sense and to
all precedent, and is only southern re-
turning board concentrated and placed in
the chair Of the presiding officer of the
Senate. Such scheme requires only
to be stated in order to be rejected by
every man OF ordinary sense. No such
| theory was ever acted upon, on even ser-
ously suggested before the present dis
putes. The power Of deciding upon the
rlghttulness Of returns, when the matter
has been in dispute or doubt has been
held to reside in the two houses, acted
nithar JOINTLY eepe,.atolJ.
In the debate in the Senate on the 18th
inst upon the joint resolution proposing q
constitutional amendment to empower the
Supreme Court to count the electoral vote.
MIR. Randolph Of New jersey brought to
light from the records some very interest
ing lactS, IN reference to the count of the
votes by Congress in 1871, at the time the
question arose upon the validity of the re-
turn from Wisconsin, the electors of which
State had failed i'll consequence of a Storm
to meet upon the day which the law re-
qulred. At that time Nh Mason of Viz
glnia was President of the Senate, and of
course, presided at the meeting Of the two
Houses, and the Record showed 'sthat the
presiding officer proceeded to open and
hand to the tellers the votes Of the several
States for President and President"
Pending the count, Mr.. Cuss of Michigan
said: 81 suggest that it is better to read
the results OF the vote. and not the certili-
cafes be called for" 10 which the presi-
dent responded as follows: The presiding
officer considers that the Unity OF counting
tic roie& has def0lfeH on tie letters under
the concurrent action Of the two Houses:
and he considers further that Mt trilfrS
should determine for themselves in what
way the votes are verified to them, and
Tfai as 2lttch as lhey n0Y Winh proper to
the two Houses assembled"
The Record further showed that 1.-THE
tellera discontinued the reading OF the GER
tilicates in tnll, and merely announced the
vote Of each State. 1t appeared from the
certificate of the elections of The State of
Wisconsin that the electoral vote of that
State had not been cast on the day pre-.
scribed by law Mr.. Letcher, a member
OF the House, from Virginia, addressing
the President Of the Senate, objected to
the reception OF the vote Of Wisconsin,
and Mr.. Jones Of Tennessee said: 81 sup
pose. Mr.. President the proper way would
be for the telers to report the facts 10 the
conre1hion Of the ttco Housps a1aa let than
0ecille." 10 which the President respond
ed 1.-The presiding officer so considers.''
Senator Crittenden of Kentucky then in
CURED: do | understand the chair to de-
eide that Congress has no power to decide
in any form. upon the validity or invaidi-
ty Of a vote ?" 70 which question the
presiding officer replied III the negative.
In the course of the same proceedings,
Mr.. Humphrey Marshall of Kentucky, adj
dressing the presiding officer, said: The
language of the Constitution is, that the
President OF the Senate shall open all the
certificates; and then the phraseology
changes and proceeds, and the votes
Shall be counted not by you, but by atS.''
little later in the debate, Senator
Crittenden said that che had no doubt that
the honorable sense Of duty upon which
the presiding officer has acted in assum-
ing to declare the number OF votes in
wolves the privilege Of determining Pres
idential election and saying who shall be
President" In reply to which remark Mr.
Mason Immediately responded: The pre-
siding officer is utterly unaware that he
has assumed the exercising Of any such
power" Immediately following this en-
phatic disclaimer of the President of the
Senate of any right to interfere with the
counting of the votes. Senator Cass re-
marked: eff there are insuperable diff
culties let us adjourn to our respective
halls. Then let the Senate and House
bring the matter up for action" And SEN