The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1877-03-08
CONGRESSIONAL.
HRov'aE.

| private nature were presented. Several
were passed, and the house went into com.
mittee of the whole, Mr., Cox IN the chair,
on the private calendar. The committee
rose and passed the bill supplementary to
'be net entitled an act to carry into effect
| the convention between the United States
and China, con'luded at Shanghi and to give
the court Of claims jurisdiction in certain
| cases IL allows certain American insurance
companies to go before the court of claims to
| make their case against the China indemni.
ty fund Recess until tomorrow.
In the house on the 18th, the speaker
laid before the mouse communita-
ton from Judge Clifford, president of the
electoral commission, informing the house
lhat the Commission had arrived at decision
IN the lIouisiana case, and transmitted their
oe clsAon to the president of the senate, tc
DC opened and read in the presence ol the
'.wo hOuscs. Mr.. Lamar oAertd resolution
directing the clerk Of the house to inform
the senate II wcald be ready to receive that
body Al u o'clock Monday next. for ,te pur.
pose 0t proceeding with poontihg of the
electoral votes. The resolution was adopted
yeas, 1872 nays, al, Among the nays were
the following delnocrats Anderson, Goodin,
Heyward, Fotters, Southard, TarboS, Wall.
ing. Wells, Of Missouri Whitehouye and
Whiting Mr.. Lamar moved that the hoMse
take recess till Monday at 10 owlons. Mr..
hamar'S motion was agreed ". Yeas, l40;
nays, lO7, and the house took Recess
In the house Oh The 18th, at 10 O'Clock
the house met and took Il recess till 1850.
the time being occupied "preparing for the
reception of the senate, The galleries were
crowded, as usual on days when the count
is to proceed. Plesisely at II o'clock the
senate arrived. The presiding os'ceF said :;
Ibe joint meeting of congress resumes its
session. The objections presented to the
certificates from the state of Louisiana hav.
ing been submitted to the commission, the
two houses have recOnvened to receive and
consider the decision of that tribunal in
writing by 4 majority of The commissioners,
and signed by a majority of the commission.
ers agreeing thereto. Itisin language the same
as the decision given in the case of Florida,
with the difference that where The latter re-.
cites "the commission has decided" the
words of the present decision are, "the com,
mission has by a maiority of votes decided" ."
The official communication continues: "The
brief ground of this decision is that it ap.
pears upon such evidence as by the consti.
tuition and law named in said act of congress
and the electoral law is component and per.
tinent to the consideration Of the subject
| hnf ,ot t,ti
pear to have hecn lawfully appointed such
electors Of president and vicc.presdent of
the United States for the term beginning
November 4, 1877, of the state Of Louisiana,
and that they voted as such ne the time and
in the manner provided for by the c0nStitu.
ton OF the United states and the law and
the commission has by majority of votes
decided' 'thatit is not competent under the con.
StitutlOn and law as it existed at the date of
the passage of said act to 60 into evidence
aliunde OF the papers opened by the presi-
dent of the senate Is the presence of the
two houses to prove that other persons than
those regularly certified to by the GOV.
ernor OF the state, OK and according to the
determination of their appointment by the
returning officers for elections in said state
prior to the lime required Tor the perform.
ance of their duties had been appointed
| ''SSlVlp' VI ny 'TUoi W hllOW tHHJ
they had not, that the determination of said
returning officers was not in accordance with
truth and fact. The commission, by a ma
iority of votes, being of the opinion that it
IS not within the jurisdiction of the houses
OF congress assembled to count the votes for
president and vice-presdent, to enter upon
the trial of such a question. The commits
sion, by ma Ority of votes, is also Of opin-
ion that it is not competent to prove that any
such persons appointed as aforesaid, held an
office of trust or profit under the United
States at the time when they were appointed,
or that they were ineligible unuer lhe laws
Of the state, or any other matter offered to
be proved aliunder by said certificates and
papers. The commission is also of the opin-
ion, by majority of votes, that the return
ing officers of the election, who canvassed
the votes of the election for electors in Louis
lana were lawfully constituted body by
virtue of constitutional law, and that the va
cancy in said body did not vitiate its pro-
ceedngS. The commission has also decided
and does hereby decide by majority of
votes and report as a consequence of the
foregoing and upon the ground before stated
that the paper purportlng to be the certiti-
cate OF the electoral votes of said state of
Louisiana, objected to byT o Howe and
others, marked N. c. No. 2 by the commits.
sion and herewith returned, is not the Ger.
tifcate of votes provided for by the con.
stitution of the United States, and that they
ought not to be counted as such. The sig
natures are Samuel Miller, w Strong,
Joseph P Bradley, George F Edmonds, o ?
Morton, Fred l. Frelinghuysen, James
Garfield George T Hoar. The decision hav-
ing been read, the presiding officer asked
whether there were any objections to
| H,A hat
the commission had refused to receive the
evidence which had been offered and had
decided that the votes mentioned in certif.
Gates one and three should be counted for
HAYES and Wheeler, such evidence to the
contrary, II, twithstandlng. The papers re-
cites, at great length, the proceedings OF the
commission, but the point of 1t is the reiec'
ton of the evidence. 1t is signed by most
of the democrats OF both houses. The read.
ing of the paper occupied Just an hour. II
WAS the drfest of legal documents, repetiti
tions of various forms in which evidence had
been offered to and refused by the commits
sion. No one after the frNt five minutes,
made the slightest pretence Of listening to or
attempting to understand it. The hum OF
. conversation prevailed on the floor and in
. the crowded galleries to such an extent that
the presiding officer several times appealed
for order and silence. Finally, when thel
; reading was ended, opportunity was given
members who had not yet signed the paper
to step to the clerks desk and affiI their
, names. This used up more time and added
) TO the uproar The senate having Withdrawn
| Mr.. Wood made motion, but the speaker
;nterfered. the new legislative day beginning
after PRAYER and reading of the journal of
SATURDAY.. Mr.. Wood then moved
! that the house take u recess till
, 10 am. tomorrow. Before putting the ques-
, ton the speaker desired to present some eD-
ROLLED bills, but Mr. Conger objected. The
: yeas and nays were called on Mr.. Woods
motion and it was agreed to-yeas, 140; nays
130, The following democrats voted in the
negative: Messrs Ainsworth, Anderson, John
III Rnpley. Bel. Campbell, Carr, Finley, Good.