The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-12-04
WHAT Is CONGRESS- GOING TO Do
ABOUT.

SonS ress hsseinOles to-day, anu ~ the
very threshold of its deliberations .meets
some of the gravest and most perplex-
! ing issues ever presented in ths history
of this government. They are grave,
because upon their determination de-
pends the decline or perpetustion of re-
publican institutions; they are perplex'
ing. because the founders of the govern
ment never anticipated such complics-
tions and consequently did not provide
for such contingency, Congress there
fore finds itself in the startling position
of having TO cut way through the
gloom and interminsble entanglements
of the wilderness, or by its failure
to do SO permit the country to drift
in to dynasty or redeem itself by armed
revolution.
We assume,As public opinion has pref.
ty Well settled down to, that when the
votes Of the electoral college gre opened
and counted in February, the face of the
returns will show 1856 electoral votes for
HAYES and lS4 for TILDEN, giving the
former majority o: one, when it will be
a fact, beyond all controversy, that a
majority of the votes cast in two of the
/ States thus counted for HAYES-Louisi-
ana and Fiorida-were cast for TILDEN,
and probably third one-South Caro-
! lima. The face of the returns will show
a majority for one candidate, when, in
fact, the majority is for the othe other
candidate; with this statement of the
case we may well ask, What is Congress
goirg to do about it?'
For our part, we admit In all
candor that we can see no way that Con.
gress can provide an escape from the
verdict of The Electoral College iraudu-
lentlv obtained though it may be.
Admit the twenty-second joint rule TO
be Constitutional, and that'it has never
been repealed, yet We cannot see how II
is to bind two deliberative bodies when
one of them refuses to recognize it as in
force. But suppose that both bodies
recognizes its validity and that either
house can object TO the counting OF the
votes Of State, ard the House of Repre-
sentatiyes insist on throwing out Louis
ANA, Florida and South Caralina, what
- to prevent the Senate from turning
around and under some pretext, which
Radicals are always ready to hatch
up, object to the counting of the
votes OF, say, West Virginia, Indiana
or Kentucky. "Whst is sauce for the
goose must be sauce for the gander.'
We mean by that If one body has the
right and the ground for doing it, the
other will have the right and will find
the pretext. 1t would be a dangerous
precedent, for thus the House would
always have the power to get a Presi-
Dental election into his own hands If 1t
were lot satisfied with the result Of the
popular will.
Independent of this fact we cannot see
where Congress derives any Constitu-
tional power to 60 behind the returns OF
State, except in determining the cleo
t,ons OF IFS own members. 1t is true that
Republican Congresses have gwen us
precedents for doing so, but that does
not make the principle correct, especially
when it is an historical fact that Radical
| CONGRESSES were never in the habit Of
deciding anything upon constitutional
grounds, but parely with reference to
party expediency.
1t NAV be tina: the House may insist
that a State ought not to be counted
against its objection, and then go into an
election itself on the theory that nobody
has been elected. In writing these sug-
oestions. although assuming that HAYES
will be counted in, yet we are discussing
the problem without reference to the
ststus of either candidate. For 1t IS not
impossible that the situation may be re-
versed and MIR. TILDEN counted IN. lr-
regulsrities are so numerous in this cleo
tion, in selecting postmasters ana other
Government officials rs electors, or as
Gov. DAILY weu.d express it, the slip
perv elm bark is lying about so thick,
there is no telling who will slip
up. An Oregon postmaster, or some
other little irregularity may yet slide
Mr., HAYES heels from under him.
If by fraud in Florida and louisiana
the Republican candidate should receive
the returns and Congress in answer to
our question should respond-"Nothl"g'
then the question would come right home
to the American people, What are you
going to do about it?' TAe answer to
this will be easily glver, as there are on Y
two alternatives, SUBMISSION or hE'o-
LUTON. Pre- errlng not to cross bridge
until we reach it, we reserve an expires
sion of opinion on this branch OF the
question until necessity arises.
Drinking Grantism 10 the very
Dre.S.
! From the Springfield Repuelicah'
] rhn Rnnnhlicans of the country are