The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-11-30

simply upon the Republican precedent OF
1879 both votes will be rejected. II the
House of Representatives should, for
any cause, resolve to count the elec-
toral vote of that State for 1ilden, 1t
would be for the Senate to take the re-
sponsibility Of rejecting and refusing to
count it. II, ON the other hand, the
tie House should refuse to count the vote
for Hayes, that responsibility would be-
long to it. II, as some people are pleas
e1 to suggest, either house can insist on
a vote being counted, we might then
have the vote of Louisiana counted both
ways, which would give the election to
Mr.. Tlden-l92 to 1856. For it must be
the necessary and nonsensical result of
holding that either house can count the
vote of State, that, whenever there are
two returns from State, and the house
do not agree as to which is the real vote
of the State, It's vote will be counted both
ways.
Throwing the Election Into the House,
If, then, the vote of Louisiana shall not
be counted and Mr.. Hayes should be al.
lowed Florida and South Carolina, he
will have III votes and Mr.. Tlden 1874,
and then either Mr.. Tiden will be elect
ed or there will be no election of Presi-
dent. And it will then become the duty
of the House of Representatives, under
the expi ess direction of the Constitution
to proseed to choose President by the
votes of States, each State having one
vote, and if Mr.. Hayes should then be
chosen President he will be chosen abso-
lutely in striCtest compliance with all the
provisions and forms of law, and will be
absolutely and lawfully President as any
man ever was. So, too, If the House
should choose Mr.. Tilden.
The Constitution has provided for no
person or body to notify the House that
there has been no election for President
by the Electors, nor, by deciding wheth-
er to make or withhold such notifications
to Judge of that fact, but has left the
House sole Judge ofthe happening of the
contingency calling for its action, AS
one of the counters of the Electoral vote
the House must necessarily know whelh-
er that vote has resulted in choice, and,
so knowing, does not require notification
VI JllO ldCJ' AICOIhlbBlJJ hau OhO OOh-
stitution provided for notification to
the House, it would have been to make
it's action in that respect dependent on
some other judmgent of the happening of
that contingency than its own. But in
stead it leaves the House to act upon its
own knowledge, Independent of the ac-
.tion of any other body or person, and di-
rects the House in that contingency, of
which it necessarily has knowledge, and
itself to judge, to proceed to choose a
President.
And to whom could the question of
whether the power was to be exercised
be 80 properly committed as to the body
which is to exercise the power, to that
great popular branch of the government
which specially represents the people,
and whose members, of all those con-
nected with the Federal Government, are
alone elected by the people.
Having, then, the ordinary and usual
authority fevery superior body, invest
ed with the exercise of supreme func-
ton. of determining for itselfthe occasion
when it may be lawfully exercised, and
having, therefore, the authority to decide
for itself wheather President has been
chosen by the electors or not, and, ifnot
to then itselfchoose the President, who
can lawfully dispute the authority of the
President, whom the House of Represen-
tatives may thus choose?