The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-01-23
Forty Fourth Congressional Session.
SENATE.

ion, Mr.. Merrimon introduced bill providing
for taking testimony and for collecting infor-
nation to be used by Congress. He also SUD-
mitted resolution declaring that it is not
within the lawful duty of the Senate to charge
committees of the Senate with duties to be per-
formed away from the Capitol while the Senate
is in session.
The Chair laid before the Senate from the
Secretary of War the report of Lieut.. Col Gill
more of the engineer corps in regard to the
survey of line of water communication from
the mouth of st. Mary's River Ga, through
Florida by the way of Okofonokee swamp to
the Gulf of Mexico. Ordered printed and to
| lie on the table.
Also certificate of votes given in the New
Hampshire legislature for e. HI. Rollins elect
ed United States Senator from that state for
| six years from March 4th, 1877. Laid en- the
| table,
| Mr.. Cockrell introduced bill granting
pension to the widow of the late Major General
Francis p Blair. Jr. Referred TO the Com
mittee on Pensions.
Mr.. Cameron of Pennsylvania introduced a
/ bill to provide for the distribution of the
awards made under convention between the
| United States and Mexico under convention of
| July 4sh, 1864. Referred to the Committee OF
| Foreign Relations.
Mr.. Boutwell, presented a petition from the
| citizens Of Massachusetts favOring an amicabe
settlement of the Presidential question. Laid
l on the table.
Mr.. Bogy introduced bill to organize the
| territory of Oklohoma and for the better pro
| lection of indians therein. Referred to the
Committee on Indian Affairs.
| Mr. Maxcey presented petition from the
| either of Texas in favor of the government
| assuming control of the telegraph. Referred
| to the Committee on Post Offices and Post
| Roads.
| Mr.. Wright called up the House bill to
| amend sec. 1 of act of May 18th, 1864, for the
grant of lands to the state of Iowa to aid in tue
construction of railroad in said state which
| was amended and passed.
| Mr.. Blame recently elected to ill the unex-
pired term caused by the resignation Of Mr..
| Morrill,, was escorted to the desk Of the Presi-
| dent pro tenn by his colleague (Hamlin) and
the oath administered to him.
A telegram was read from the chicago
| Board of Trade endorsing the compromise bill.
At LIS the Senate resumed the consideration
| of the bill in regard to counting the electoral
| vote.
Mr.. Morton took the floor He said the bill
| was the product of the Mississippi plan The
shadow Of intimidation had entered the Senate
| chamber He believed Rutherford B. Hayes
| hal been elected President OF the United States
under the forms of law and according to law,
| and should be counted in as eighteen other
| Presidents had been and inaugurated There
| would b. no revolution. There have been many
loose opinions expressed, first impressions
| without examination OF the question. l. have
done so myself. have bad habit of saying
what think at the time. but endeavor to atone
l for it by really correcting it when l find am
/ mistaken. l am no admirer of the political re-
ticence of the political owls who keep silent
and look wise until they think they are out of
the woods and then give prolonged boot. =!
legislation that the President of the Senate
| must count the votes. The President of the
Senate did count the votes for seventy-two
| years. The tellers were facilities for making
the calculations and keeping the accounts
They counted what the President of the Senate
| handed them to count and the handing them
down the certificates to count was the DECLARE
| ton of the vote it contained. From I7S9 TO
1861 the resolutions appointing tellers provided
| they were to make list of the votes as they
| were declared. The counting of the votes was
| a ceremony to which the two Houses were wit
/ neSseS. 4.
The Constitution provides that the President
| of the Senate shall in the presence OF the two
| Houses omen all the certificates aud the votes
shall then be cour ted and if no one candidate
has majority of all the electors appointed the
| House shall Immediately proceed to elect The
/ process thus contemplated was a very simple
| one, simply to open certificates and count the
| votes, but contemplated no time or place to try
questions of elie Utility either Of the candidates
| or electors. Whether the electors were eligible
! was matter left with the state. Under the
| injunction of the Constitution the handing
| down of the certificates by the President of the
| Senate is declaration of the vote contained in
1t. Very few Republicans respect the bill. 1t
| will be taken by them if taken at all, as dose
of castor oil. Senator Edmunds burned his
ship behind him when he denied the power of
| the absence of legislation. He thus seemed to
| make it necessity to accept this bill.
1t has been announced by member OF Con-
gress that 100, 900 men were to be here on the
| 18th of February, $1,000 from Kentucky alone.
| hope our Kentucky Senators will make ar
| rangements to entertain them handsomely. We
hear notes of preparation everywhere. Senators
| are afraid of violence, of some desperate revo-
lutionary act. We are told we dare
not count this vote as it was done
| feel that 1 am in the source of politica! sit
l nation cannot describe. The dangers to which
we are subject do not spring from violence but
| from weakness on our own part. The power
| to count the votes resides in the President OF
the Senate or in the two houses. If it resides
| in the two houses it cannot be delegated to a
l commission or to court The mere matter OF
| counting the votes is clerical, and may be per-
formed by tellers. 1t any question arises that
| requires Judgment or discretion it cannot be
delegated to a commission. The decision of a
conference committee is binding onlv upon be-
ing ratified by both Houses, but the decisions Of
the commission are binding unless reversed by
| the action OF both Houses. 1t is in every re.
| spect a court invested with high Judicial power
to decide questions of law as well as facts, with
/ right of appeal, not to another court, but to
the two Houses of Congress.
The power to count the electoral votes is
either political or judicial power. If the
former it must be decided by the political de-
| paltment of the government and cannot be
delegated to a court. If a judicial power it
must be exercised by a court and not by 9
political department Of the government, and
an appeal must be taken to. another court and
| not to the two houses of Congress. -Four
judges of the Supreme Court are selected by
| circuits, and circuits are selected because oil
political antercedents OF the Judges. The SEN
| ator from Vermont does not do himself justice
| when he represents that these judges have been
selected because of their distribution. The
bill in selecting them by circuits instead of by
name, sets up a harmless little sham that de-
| ceives nobody. There is no power to go be-
hind the returns of the election as certified by
| the proper returning or canvassing officers OF
| the state. Courts cannot do it, nor Can Con-
gress, nor the United States Courts. The
electors are to be appointed in such manner as
the Legislatures of the states prescribe, and
| when their appointment has been certified to
| in the manner prescribed by the Legislature of
| the state, that is final and binding on all par
| ties, and this without regard to tie question
whether the votes are to be counted by the
President of the Senate or the TWO houses.
| For Congress or this commission to go behind
| the decision of the returning officers OF the
state would be revolution utterly subversive OF
state rights and would draw to Congress the
| power that was intended to be left to the state.
| 1t would transfer to Ct ngress the right to de-
eide who have been elected by the states in
| stead of leaving that to the states themselves.
As we'll might Congress assume to determin g
who have been elected governor and other
state officers.
The bill is compromise in which the Re-
publican party has yielded the vital point and
| will take place alongside with the cOmprom-
ises of 1850 and 1920 By the compromises of
1920 all the territory south of 36 degrees 80 min
utes, was yielded to slavery and it was repealed
when slavery needed the territory north of that
line. By the compromise OF 1850 the South re
celVed the immediate benefit i'll tie passage of
the fugitive slave law which gave it a prestige
and power that made it aspire to conquest of
the whole country. Compromise measures gen.
orally succeed for the time AMI result disas-
trously. The vital part of the bill and the
most Objectionable is that which confers juris-
diction on this commission. They are invested
with all the powers which belong to both
Houses or to each House acting separately.
| They are instructed to find out which has been
duly appointed or elected as electors, not who
have been properly certified to by the state au-
thorities as having been elected, but who have
in point of fact been elected and are thus re-
qured expressly to go behind the returns from
the state they are uthorized to receive and
consider petitions, unsworn petitions, deposit
tions, other papers and in fact all papers and to
| act upon them, for they have the same power
| to act upon petitions, records and any kind of
l papers that both Houses of Congress, and the