New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-11-19


Facisg the 1leuaslen.
Appearances indicate that No must await
three doubtful States before knowing
whether certificates will be given to tho
Tilden electors OF the Hayes electors. We
think it our duty to allsy, - far 90 We can,
tke apprehensions of civil disturbance
vhich may be felt by the business COM
munity during the period of suspense. We
are strongly Of the opinion that there will
be NO disturbance. One foundation of this
confident bt lief 10 the peace-loving apd law
sbiding temper OF the American people,
who reprobate renewal Of civil strife.
But there are other arguments even moro
conclusive, resting on the folly, futility and
honeleasnees of resistance to the official
count on the second Wednesday of Febru-
ary. Neither side will be disposed to act
the part of . bull planting himself on rail-
road track to butt and oppose the approach
ing locomotive; for it can be made plain
enough that an attempt to install ~ Presi.
by the regular count would be - seli-de-
structive 90 butting . locomotive. Neither
party will undertake anything 90 insane
after deliberate survey Of the situation.
For the sake of our argument we will
suppose the most dangerous and threaten
ing conjuucture that can arise-namely, the
election of Mr.. Hayes by the votes Of the
three doubtful States. If the local Board
of Canvassers in any ono of them should
award its electoral votes to Mr.. Tilden,
there will be an end to the controversy.
Az each of these boards 10 Republican,
none of them will declare that the Demo
cratic candidate has received majority I'M
lesa that be really the case; and there would
then be no shadow Of reason for declaring
his opponent elected. The only imaginable
source of trouble is such action by ali three
one of the doubtful States to Hayes. It is
that state of things, and that only, which
can by any possibility raise the question of
resistance, and in that case the regularity
of the selection would be disputed BY the
Democrats, if disputed ct all.
We are entirely convinced that If Mr..
Hayes shall be declared elected the Demo.
Gratis will attempt nothing 90 futile and
chimerical % to resist his Inauguration. At
be made President without . revolution,
and his party will not be 20 utterly de-
mented as to court certain destruction by
attempting anything of the kind. We will
90 into NO hair. splitting re6nements - to
che separate powers of the House snd the
Senate when assembled to superintend the
counting of the electoral votes. These are
matters on which the constitution is not
explicit, and which afford abundant scope
for legal ingenuity without any possibility
of reaching solid conclusions. No such
contingency % Q disputed count was in the
contem plstion of the trainers Of the consti-
tuition, and they accordingly made no pro-
vision for it. Whatever ground may DO
taken as to separate authority OF the House
and Senate in such c0ajuncture can be re-
garded only as Q strained and doubtful in.
ference from language which 10, ct best,
ambiguous. Brushing aside all legal cob
webs We will rest our arguments on plain,
broad, unquestioned and incontrovertible
provisions Of the constitution.
It may be disputed what the respective
powers of the tive houses may be during
the progress of the count, but it lie not open
to dispute that NO President can exercise
the functions of his office without the con-
sent of the Senate. The first act of . new
President is to send to the senate the
names of the men whom he proposes -
members of his Cabinet. None Of them can
bs appointed without ''the advice and con-
sent of the Senate;" and . Senate whose
majority believes that . man who sends
nominations has never been elected Presi-
dent, and has NO legal title to the Office,
will not even consider his appointments,
much less confirm them. If, therefore, the
House, by its separate action, should de.
clare Mr.. Tilden elected in defiance OF the
Senate such action would be nugatOry for
any purpose of investing him with the func.
tons of the office. He could do no act a.
President without the support and cooper
alton of q body which rejected and derided
his claims, and which would refuse to
receive any communication from him
in that character. What could he do
then7 Whist could the House do or
anybody do to invest him with &C.
tual athority! just nothing-"precisely
neither more nor less than nothing" Even
if his supporters should be mad enough to
take up arms and attempt to install him by
force it would make no difference, for the
ineurmountable barrier of the Senate would
stand. The Senate would etill share the
power of appointment, and the President,
whose title is denied, would remain with.
out Cabinet, and could not perform the
first administrative act. This conclusion,
we repeat, does not rest on strained con-
struction Of doubtful powers, but on one of
the plainest of the cardinal provisions of
the constitution. Nothing can be more alb
solutely certain that neither force nor fnesse
can make man President whose claims to
the Office are not recognized by the Senate.
1t would, therefore, be sheer idiOcy for Mr..
Tilden's supporters to attempt to make him
President in spite of the official count, be-
cause even Q successful revolution would
not enable him to administer the govern.
ment without q Senate to confirm his ap-
pointmente. We feel as certain as we can
be of anything that the Democratic leaders
will not but out their brains against this
wall of adamant, which they can neither
climb over, flank nor batter down.
This argument, which is so solid aid con-
elusive that nobody who attends to it will
dispute its force, enables us to estimate the
value of the expedient preached in some
quarters of defeating Hayes by the with
drawal of the House during the count. 1t
political spleen, which would neither arrest
the progress of the count nor prevent the
of Mr.. Hayes election by the
only branch of Congress whose co opera
ton he would need for entering upon his
functions. The argument by which this
weak expedient Is recommended is q quib-
BILE. 1t is said that the constitution re-
quires the certificates to be opened I'm the
presence of the Senate and House of Repre-.
sentatives," which is true enough; but it is
equally true that the constitution does not
define what is q quorum of either branch
of Congress for that purpose. The Repub-
lican members of the House will not retire,
and their presence will be sufficient to sat
isfy the requirement.. When q far moro
important duty is to be performed
by the House-that of electing Presi.
dent if there is no choice by the peo-
ple-the constitution declares that "a
quorum for this purpose shall consist of
member or members from two-thirds of the
States" The Republicans have in the pres
emit House q member or members from l
twenty-nine States, and as the constitution
prescribe no quorum for the 'presepce" re-
quired at the opening of the certificates it |