New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-11-16
is IT sUCH 4 GREAT WBONGP

| StltutlOn ana the ldNS.
is IT SUCH CHEAT WBONG!
Public excitement upon the all-engrossing
subject of the Presidential election has very
yisibly toned down during the past two or
three days. The average voter who neither
! holds any Office nor expects any has begun 10
look with philOsOphic CalmncSS upon the whole
! situation and to settle himself to the bcllrI
that upon the whole there is no such cmcI-
gency existing as calls for angry discussion or
! for any further waste Of time and temper Inc
! number of people who have worked themselves
ND to white heat in the matter and IN
duged in threats and blustcr Is not large,
and is mostly confined TO few Democratic
newspapcr offices where the hopes of certain
gentlemen. who write violent English for Il
change from hard work and poor pay To -
Mace ON n Government payroll, have been
suddenly blasted They continue to be quite
N earnest and to say the people will never
stand il to have President who has received
minority of the popular vote De
clarcd elected simply because lac has
carried minority OF the electoral
vo,cS. They are not now 80 much IN FAVOR OF
the recognition of thr States Ia their sovereign
capacity. They are in favor oi State rights to
bc sure, hut not oi that kind Aside from
these earnest patriots, who muttnr OF custom
house, and post-oicc, IN their sleep ana
threaten dilclul things awake, there - at THIS
moment no great excitement. The reasonable
men of both paqtlc, are calm and patient ard
have no disposition to do anything except SIT
down .uictly under whatever decision may be
rcEdUcd
! There seems to H., however, TO be view OF
fine question which. if the gentlemen who lay
"a much stress upon tine fact OF the popular
vote will consider it calmly for one moment,
MAY mulify their opinions Is To the injustice
and WONG Of giving the election to what they
call "minoIity President me fact, 10 hc
sire. i, that the Constitution has not only
made "minority PRESIDENT possible, bat has
made it impossible under certain crcum-
stances. -. for instance, such as Row exist. 10
declare any other than minority
{ " President" elected. And rs has be-
for, been shown, the present cas" Is
not without precedent. II il is wrong.
then, IT i, one erected by the Constitution.
and one winch WI. deliberately set up with
fuli KNOWLEDGE of the possible consequences.
Ii is no accident, nor i, It the result 81 amy
unforeseen or mimagincd combination OF ell
cum-tanccs. The Statesmen Who enacted That
the President and Nicr-Prc~doat should be-
chosen hy The States and not by IA" people,
knew what they were about and that JAS TIE
thing might take place which has happened
now, and not now for the first time. AN
matter of constitutional law there Is ana
/ there can he no manner Of question rs
to the LEGALITY Of the election al GOV. Hayes,
should a majority of the vote, of the electoral
colleges bc cast for him. The right ana wrong,
the Justice and injustice, the fairness and un-
! fairness of it were discussed long ago aud
settled. 50 far as the wisdom of thc fathers
conld settle it. l. is to Late now to 20 back
of their decision. II Is consolihg to think. too,
chat the party which has made the most Of
this feature of the Constitutions and thi, doe
time in politics is the one which j, called upon
now at Inc cost of some little sacrifice 10 main
tain and defend it.
More than tins: when one considers all the
facts in the case; contemplate, the figures OF
this popular majority, about which 80 much
has been said; notices carefully the list ct
states in which the majoritcs were given, and
then reviews the history OF those states Tor ia"
past sixteen years, the wrong OF compelling
tho men who fought SO desperately III dci"hsc
J 81 tho dogma of State sovereignty To submit
! TO the operation Of their own rule
and the enforcement OF their own
NET doctrine does not orcm 80 terrible wroHS
after all. The States which opposed the ear
rying ont or the doctrine Of state sovereignty
70 IFS logical results, it viii he found, have
| given a large popular majority for the R"pub-
/ Ijcan candidates. The States that undertook
to break up the Government because their
notions of their own sovereignty were
not recorded, are the ones lhat have
piycn Mr.. TIldcn his excess OF votes.
| If there is any injustice in this matter they
surely cannot complain of it. And as Tor
! the North we are certain there will he no dis
yosition 10 ob,trIct the operation of the con
! situtioual provision which relates To the pro-
cess of election. We have 40 DOUBT that with
a fair and honest election, and a
! free vote in all the States, Hayes and
! wheeler would have a handsome popular
majority. We have no doubt that as it il
they nave carried Il majority Of the electoral
votes. And when we look at the State which
have voted for Tidcn and the majoriics they
have cast, and consider that they are most Of
them the same that not long ago attempted 10
break up the Union, We cannot feel ycn sorry
that they have been defeated OF their designs
| in this instance and hoist by thclr own
| "pvtId'
THE CONVERSATIONS or DEFEdT