Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-01-25

IIOSCOE CONkL1Nd,
A. G.. THURMAN,
49,. T. F. BAYARD,
, ... M. w. RANSOM,
Of the Senate Committee"
. H. B. PAYNE, .....
EPPA HUNToN,
A. S. HEWITT,
-, s WM. M. SPRINGER,
~. GEO. w. -McCRARY,
. .a. GEO. F. HoAR,
GEORGE WILLARD,
.... Of the House Committee"
bill to provide for and regulate the counting Of
votes for President and Vice. President, and the
decision ofquestions arising therefrom, for the
term commencing March 4th, A. D. 1877.
Be it enacted, &C., That the Senate and
House of Representatives shall meet in the
hall of the House of Representatives, at the
hour of clock, P. NJ, on the first Thursday
in February, A. D. 1877, and the President
of the Senate shall be their presiding officer.
Two tellers shall be previously appointed by
the Senate and two on the part of the House
of Representatives, to whom shall be handed,
as they are opened by the President Of the
Senate, all the certificates and papers pur.
porting to be certificates of the Electoral votes,
which certificates and papers shall be opened,
presented and acted upon in the alphabetical
order of the States, beginning with the letter
A, and said tellers, having read the same in
the presence and hearing Of the two Houses,
shall make a list of the votes as they shall ap-
pear from the said certificates, and the votes
having been ascertained and counted as in this
act provided, the result of the same shall be
delivered to the President of the Senate, who
shall thereupon announce the state Of the vote
and the names of,the persons, if any, elected,
which announcement shall be deemed su&.
cient declaration of the persons elected Presi.
dent and Vice-President of the United States,
and, together with list of the votes, be en-.
tered on the journals of the two Houses. Up
on such reading of any such certificate or pa
per, when there shall be only one return from
State, the President of the Senate shall call
for objections, if any. Every objection shall
be made in writing, Ad shall state clearly
and concisely, and without argument, the
ground thereof, and shall be signed by at least
one senator and one member of the House of
Representatives before the same shall be re-
ceived. When all objections so made to any
vote or paper from State shall have been
received and read, the Senate shall thereupon
withdraw, and such objections shall be sub
mitted to the Senate for its decision and the
Speaker Of the House of Representatives shall
in like manner submit such objection to the
House of Representatives for its decision
and no Electoral vote or votes from any State
from which but one return has been received
shall be rejected, except by the affirmative
vote of the two Houses. When the two hous.
es have voted, they shall Immediately again
meet and the presiding officers shall then an
nounce the decision of the question submitted.
Sec 2. That if more than one return or pa.
per, purporting to be return from State,
shall have been received by the President of
the Senate, purporting to be the certificates
of Electoral votes given at the last preceding
election for President and Vice.President in
such State, unless they shall be duplicates of
the same return, all such returns and papers
shall be opened by him in the presence of the
Houses when met as aforesaid, and read by
the telers, aud all such returns and papers
shall thereupon be submitted to the judgment
and decision, as to which is the true and law
full Electoral vote of such State, of commits.
sion constituted as follows, namely: During
the session of each House on the Tuesday
next preceding the first Thursday in Februa-
ry, 1877, each House shall by viva voce vote
appoint five of its members, who, with the five
associate justices of the Supreme Court of the
United States, to be ascertained as hereinafter
provided, shall constitute commission for
the discussion of all questions upon or in re-
spect of such double returns named in this
section, on the Tuesday next preceding the
first Thursday in February A. D. 1877, or as
soon thereafter as may be, the associate justi-
ces of the Supreme Court Of the United States
now assigned to the first, third, seventh and
eighth circuits shall select, in such manner
as majority of them shall deem fit, another
of the associate justices of said court, which
FIVE persons shall be members of said commits.
sion, and the person longest in commission of
said five justices shall be president of said
commission. The members ofsaid commission
shall respectively take and subscribe the fol-
lowing oath:
"I do solemnly swear Tor affirm,
as the case may be) that will mpartially exam
inc and consider all questions submitted to the
commission Of which am member, and true
judgment give thereon, agreeably to the Consti-
tuition and the laws, so help me God"
Which oath shall be filed with the secretary
of the Senate. When the commission shall
have thus organized, it shall not be in the
power of either House to dissolve the same, or
to withdraw any of its members but, if any
such senator or member shall die or become
physically unable to perform the duties requir.
ed by this act, the fact of such death or physi-
cal inability shall be by said commission, be.
fore it shall proceed further, communicated to
the Senate or House or Representatives, as the
case may be, which body shall Immediately
and without debate proceed by viva voce vote
to eli the place go vacated, and the person go
appointed shall take and subscribe the oath
hereinbefore prescribed and become member
of said commission. And in like manner if
any of said justices of the Supreme Court shall
die or become physically incapable of per-
forming the duties required by this act, the
other Of said justices, members of the com.
mittee, shall Immediately appoint another
Justice of said court member of said com.
mission, (and in such appointments regard
shall be had to the impartiality and freedom
from bias sought by the original appointments
of said committee) who shall thereupon i'm
mediately take and subscribe the oath herein.
before presented and become member of said