St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-01-26
A National Returning Board.

Qu0SbiOu Juicy care ldT ltSS WHO Is u
be President. The Conference Com
mittee at Washington seems to thinl
that they also care far less whether o.
not the Constitution is obeyed. AnC
we presume it does not mistake thu
temper of the public. 1t is an unmis
taxable fact that the news of an agree
ment by the Communicating matter OF
what basis, constitutional or unconsti
tutional-was received by great many
people with great delight; and thai
the influence of patriotic anxiety and OF
commercial interests will combine to
urge the adoption of the Conference re-
port. 1t now seems almost certain to
be carried through.
We do not regard the question which
candidate is to be declared elected, as
of so much consequence, since the cir
cumstances will to some extent make the
victory of either barren one; but we
do not believe that this report provides
a constitutional method of counting the
electoral vote, and shall regret its adop-
ton as precedent full of peril. There
can be no doubt that it will be sus-
tanned in good faith, and from the best
of motives, by many excellent men,
from whom we shall regret to differ.
Nevertheless, we beg to commend to
them some considerations, against it
that seem to us weighty =
l. 1t is revolutionary. 1t sets up a
| United States Returning Board, clothed
with powers not conferred by the Con-
stitution upon any man or body of men.
That the proposed tribunal is not con-
templated by the Constitution, nor in
any sense warranted, will not be denied
even by those who fail to realize the
dangerous consequences of this revolu-
tiOnary measure. These consequences
we have in part explained.
IL. 1t involves the possibility of an
election either by cheat or by lot 1t
is at least possible that leaders of one
party or the other have private knowl-
edge as to the position and probable
action of some member of the contem-
plated commission which they believe
will insure their success, 1t is not i'm
possible that both parties believe that
they have the best of it. In that case
''the bitter bitn will deserve no sym-
PATTY, but in either case an election by
a cheat will be substituted for an cleo
ton by the people. Upon the face of
the bill, however, 1t contemplates the
selection of fifth justice by the four
named as members of the commission,
and these four are Justices Clifford (who
will preside a Bourbon Democrat, and
Field, a Democrat, and Miller and
Strong, Republicans. The two Demo-
Gratis will vote for Justice Davis In
view of his past intrigues with Demo-
cratic leaders, Republicans would hesi-
tate to accept him as an impartial
judge. If the two Republicans insist
upon Justice Bradley, one of two things
must happen-either the dispute will
not be settled at all, and in that event
the commission cannot be constituted,
or it will be settled by lot
LII. The commission, if once con-
stituted, has power to investigate and
to send for persons and papers, like any
one of the lOng-winded committees now
at work, but its duty will be to gather
and pass upon all the facts for which
those committees are searching, as to |
all the questions at issue. Either these |
committees are an impertinence and a |
nuisance, or the task of this commission |
will involve labor of weeks or months. |
No limit is set for its action. In decen-
cy and justice none can be set, for if |
certain men who have not examined
the questions at issue are to have the
right to decide them at all, it would be
Infamous to require them to decide
without full inquiry and discussion.
When can we reasonably expect this
commission to pass upon half a dozen
questions, each involving disputed
issues of law and matters of fact upon
which the evidence already fills many
printed volumes2
~. The commission may OF NAV
not get organized and may or may not
reach judgment before March 4; but
If it does, that Judgment must still be
and passed upon by the two
Houses separately. In either, the same
possibilities of unlimited delay exist
which we have often pointed out as
incident to any plan which comedies to
the two Houses the power to 90 behind
the certificates of a state. In either
House there will be minority opposed
to the judgment of the commission.
And that minority will have power. bv
few days of time, to pre- &,
vent any decision prior to March 4.
V. Its altogetherprobable that, either .
through failure to organize the commits {
'Ion or through the long delay incident
20 inquiry and discussion, first in the ,
commission and afterward in each {
House, no result may be reached prior ;
20 the 4th OF March. In that event, the ,
senate VIII hold that its President, who ,
nay be elected for that purpose by a {
majority OF its members, will become
lctlng President. Thus, until another
election can be held, a man not voted ,
or by single one of many millions of
1oters can retain the executive office. !
We do not say that there is conspiracy :
% prevent the Inauguration either of :
Mr.. Hayes or Mr.. Tilden, but if such !.
did exist, this bill would be :
ldroitly contrived to that end.
vi. When all is done, what have we
gained We have set aside the Con- !!
titutlon of the United States, which 4
equlres that the votes of such electors
Is the states may appoint "shall be !
'Ounted," and not such votes as a !
United States Returning Board NAV {
ecept. We have broken down those d
nipple provisions under which the
athers acted, and which, they believed. a
would not only secure an Executive in
dependent of Congressional control. but C
preclude the possibility of DELAY and t
lispute as to the result of an election. d
We have established precedent under v
which, if special election should be r
eld in November next, precisely the p
anne machinery could be used to DELAY
declaration of the result until after the +
ext 4th of March, when the President 3
+ the Senate could take another lease 4
+ power, and the people must 90 d
through the farce of a third election. il
hat all these are possibilities, under e