Middletown transcript., 1877-01-27
THE ELECTORAL COUNT.
The ELEUTUkAL UUUNT.
The Practice for More Than Eighty Years
A Power More Potent than Congress.
From Speech By tie Hon. Lyman Tfum6uH at
the Great Mass Msafing in ChieggOcf
December 30.


! power of the two Houses over the coua
Of the votes for President and Vice
; President, and their authority to receive
and reject votes. By what authority
did Republican Senators vote for these
measures brought forward by Mr.. Ed.
munds and Mr.. Morton, if the COBsti-
tuition gives the President of the Senate
the right to count the votes? Every
Congress from the days of Washington
to the present time has asserted it's
power over and provided for the count
Of the electoral vote. There is scarcely
a member of the present Senate who
has not asserted and acted upon this
same power, and the claim now set up
in some quarters that under the Consti-
tuition the President of the Senate has
the authority to make the count is an
assumption at war with the practice Of
the Government for more than eighty
years, aDd is revolutionary in character.
For Mr.. Ferry and other Republican
Senators to assent to such claim would
be to stuliify themselves.
1t being, then, the duty of the Senate
and the House Of Representatives to
make the count, they can no more
escape it than they can any other duty
imposed upon them. In acting upon
this subject they must act as independ-
ent bodies in the same manDer as they
do other business. The Constitution
knows no such body as a joint conyen-
tiOn Of the two Houses Of Congress.
When the certificates containing the
electoral votes are opened, it is in the
presence of the Senate as an organized
body, With its President presiding, and
by the House of Representatives, With
its Speaker presiding. The President
of the Senate has no more right to
preside over the House when the two
bodies assemble in the same room than
wheh they are in different rooms nor
has be any more right to preside over
the two Houses when in the presence
of each other than has the Speaker Of
the House. For convenience, to pre-
serve order. and prevent confusion
when the two Houses assemble in the
same room, it has been usual to provide
by concurrent resolution, adopted sep
arately by each House, that the Prssi-
dent Of the Senate shall preside over
both, but this is o matter of agree
ment between the Houses Whstevsr
is done BY either House must be done
separately, whether they act in the
presence of each other or not. But it
is said that the counting of the electoral
vote BY the separate action of each
House is impracticable; that they will
never agree. As we'll might it be said
that they would not agree to pass ap-
preparation bills or to any other meas
ures necessary to carry on the Govern
ment. The concurrence of the two
Houses Of Congress upon many ques-
tions is essential to the existence Of the |
Government, and when the time comes
when either House of Congress per-
sistently refuses to cooperate in meas
ures of legislation necessary to the exist
euce of the Government, our system is
failure. Such state of things is not
to be supposed, nor is it to be supposed
that the two Houses of Congress cannot
agree upon some mode of counting the
electoral vote that shall not only have
the forms of law, but be just and right.
No man is fit to represent the people Of
this country in either branch of Con-
gress who is not willing to unite upon
some method that will insure fair and
honest count of the electoral vote. Let
Us demand this of our Senators and
Representatives. 1t is a reproaeh both
to their intelligence and patriotism to
suppose that they cannot adjust their
disagreements No man can have
stronger convictions than l have that
Mr. Tilden is honestly and fairly en-
titled to the electoral vote of Louisiana,
and therefore elected President, but /
was never afraid to submit good case
to fair tribunal for decision, and to
agree to abide the result. believe
the Returning Board of Louisians had
no jurisdiction under ~the State law to
canvass the vote for electors Of Presi-
dent and Vice President and reject votes
in its discretion Others think differ
entity. If there be no other way of ar
irving at decision of these questions,
let Congress ask the Supreme Court or
my other impartial tribunal what the
meaning of the Louisiana law is, and
ne will be a bold Congressman who,
lfter that opinion is obtained, shall set
up his own opinion against it. 1t is
rot for me to suggest what method the
wo Houses shall adopt to bring about
IN adjustment of pending disagreenents
out the people have right to demand
hat they find some method of doing it.
There is power in this country more
'Otent than the arbitrary scts of Re-
urning Boards, the edicts of party load
RS. and the demands Of nartisan dam