The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1877-01-11

the Senate, and by him opened. There
is no power given. either expressly or by /
necessary implication, that any man, or /
set Of men, or either, or both Houses of |
Congress, shall have possession Of the /
certificates, or take the slightest action |
whatever with them, or with the count. |
1t does seem so strange that nearly every |
body has got an idea that Congress, as a
joint convention, or each house sepa-
rately, shall have something to say or do
in the matter. The Democrat Of the
present day will declare that to give the
President of the Senate the power to
count the vote, is to give him the power
to elect President; forgetting that he
does not vote, but that he only counts
the votes already given by the Electors,
who have been appointed by the States
Then it is asked, should this one man
have this tremendous power, and is there
no power beyond him, to whom an ap-
peal can be taken2 What power? Is it
a great power to count the votes from
the several States?
It seems that the makers Of the Con-
stitution contemplated that the States,
and the Electors by them appointed,
would do their duty. 1t is one Of the
oldest principles of law, that every man
is presumed to be innocent until proven
guilty. 1t is principle fully as well set
tied, that public officers are presumed to
be honest, and to perform their duties in
a legal manner. 1t is the presumption
that each State will appoint its Electors
in a legal manner, and that the Presi-
dent Of the Senate will honestly count
the votes
Why is not the President Of the Sen
ate as capable of counting the votes as
Congress, or either House Of Congress ?
Take the present situation. The Presi-
! dent Of the Senate can decide which GER
tificate has the regular legal indorse-
ment upon it, and that, and that alone.
! is the one he shall open. Who has the
power, under the Constitution, to die
tate to him what certificates he should
= open, or not open? Last week the news
5 came that the certificate from one Of the
r States, perhaps Arkansas, had no proper
Endorsement upon it, and that the Presi-
dent Of the Senate refused at first to re
ceive it. He was clearly right Suppose
that j. N. Free, /. T. Monahan, Private
Dalzell and George Francis Train, should
meet and cast the vote of Ohio for Hayes
in part, and Tilden in part, and take il
: to the President of the Senate. Would
he be compelled to open it to be countedi
Surely not; yet this is precisely the Ore
gon case, which is by few rascals claim
! ed to be valid
The great trouble with all writers upor
> this subject seems to be, that they think
J the two Houses of Congress ought to at
tempt to do something, because the Ger
u tiicates are to be opened and the votes
counted in their presence. Mr.. Collar
= says they are to be witnesses, the same
' as witnesses to deed. Judge West, in I
very able argument. addressed to Attor
ney- General Taft, falls into the same er
j ror. If the Constitution provided fol
' the opening and counting Of the sertifi
u Gates in the presence of the two Houses
and said nothing about what the two
/ Houses should do, there would be much
force in this view of the matter; bu
the Constitution expressly provides fol
!, what purpose the two Houses shall b'
= present. and it is a very essential pur
4 pose. They are there-let it always b'
borne in mind, not as a joint convention
:, but always in their separate capacity
. and the purpose for which they are pres
ent, requires-not Congressional action
but the separate and distinct action o
each House. The trainers OF the Consti
:, tuition intended that there should be
President elected. When. in the pres
ence OF the two Houses, the President o
= the Senate opens the certificates, anC
the votes are counted if any one has
e majority of all the Electors appointed
he shall be President, and there is moth
! ing-absolutely nothing. for either Hous,
Of Congress to do. If there is, pleas,
point it out in the Constitution Blu
take the case Of 1901, and 1926 where n,
one had such majority, and there it i
> !, expressly provided that the House (whicI
is there ready for that purpose, and tha
only,) shall Immediately choose a Presi
dent, and that the Senate, there for tha
purpose only, shall choose Vice Presi
dent.
1t is amazing how prejudice and pub
lie clamor, will warp the judgment o
II men of ability. A few weeks ago Har
|. per's Weekly contained two articles upoI
?, this subject. In the first one find this
a The directions OF the Constitution are per
fectly plain up 10 certain point. The Presl
II dent OF the Senate Is TO "Open all the cerfifi
- Gates that he has received sin the presence o
II the Senate aud II louise OF Representatives" II
has no discretion TO decide what certificates n
will open. The Constitution SAYS "all the Ger
certificates. But IL does not authorize him 4
e decide which are valid, nor does IL give tina
power To the two Houses. But here, as Genera
Barlow remarks, arises an important judica
function which all ministerial bodies may hay
r. To perform. IL arises from the necessity OF tn
case The tribunal must decide which Of tw,
e bodies claiming To be the electors OF IA State re
ally are such electors. Il is obvious that her
p is a question which must be decided, and whicl
can be decided onlS by the two Houses actin
as what General Barlow calls a Board OF Ma
tional Canvassers. The point which the House
" are to ascertain Is determined by the genera
principle that the results OF the election In eael
o State are to be determined as the State ma,
provide. The Houses therefore, are limited q
the inquiry, which of the two sets of elector
has been declared chosen by the state tribunal
The question is not what the State tribuna
ought 10 have done, not what the evidence be
fore IL should, In the opinion Of Congress- hav
compelled IL TO do, but what did IL do: whicl
be elected? Having ascertained this, the fur
ther duty of Congress is indisputabe. II Is 4
. count the vote returned by the valid body o
e electors; and the valid body Is that which tn
State tribunal has declared 10 be such.