Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-02-02

and train his rifle bands, and threaten to
| daIuge the land with blood, and there will
be nothing to do but to compromise every
venerable and sacred consideration that
has held us in the past and promised safe
ty in the future, in the interests Of peace.
We give but an abstract Of the speech OF
Mr.. Garfield, but sufficient to show what
some of the best points made were:
This first objection was against the
gradual control which Congress was
assuming of the Presidential cleo
ton. The method of electing
President had been the first to meet
the constitutional Convention.
There were many times as much
space devoted to it in the record of
the convention debates as to all 9TH
er subjects. The great question
which arose at once was whether
the Chief Executive should be ap-
pointed by Congress. He argued
that the one great purpose held in
view by the trainers of the Consti-
tuition was to keep as far as possible
the selection of the Executive from
any interference by the National
Legislature. This was why they
prohibited members of Congress
from being Electors. They so guard
ded the Constitution that Congress
could not interfere with the EIeetor-
al College, and beyond fixing the
time of the meeting of the Electoral
College, and the casting of the Elec-
tOral vote, Congress had no control
over the Electors, who are absolute
and supreme as any despot, in the
work assigned them. When the
College has performed its work, it
is final, and there is no power of re-
view. The election is over on the
day fixed for casting the vote. The
College dissolves when its vote has
been cast, and no power can reach
it. Its record is made up and must
be declared as it was made. After
tracing the working of the Elector-
al College through the various
steps provided by the Constitution,
he referred to the laws of the various
States, and showed that 81 of the 38
provided that the executive officer
of the Government should count and
declare the votes for State officers,
and in these 81 States this was held
TO be an executive act. He cited a
case in Ohio where the election of
Governor depended upon the vote
of a disputed county. When the
vote came to be counted, the Lieu
tenant Governor, being President of
the Senate, reached down, took the
votes from the hands of the tellers,
counted them, and declared the re-
suit. When the circle of States is
called, and the voice of the people
ascertained, there is nothing left but
a sum in arithmetic. The trainers
of the Constitution designed, in
creating the Electoral College, to
make a President, and made the
machinery to produce the result.
Congress may do many things, but
it cannot engraft a judiciary system
upon the word "count," or build up
on it a Star Chamber. If the work
of the Vice President ends with the
word "count," the presence of the
two houses ends then. The adop-
tion of the pending bill, he believed,
would overturn the pyramid created
by the Constitution and stand it up
on its apex. 1t authorizes the COM
mission to go down to the election
returns, and vests it with authority
to consider all manner of reports.
1t makes it the duty of the Presi-
dent of the Senate to invite objee-
tions to returns, and leaves it in the
power of the two houses to throw
out the vote of any State, no matter
how regularly its vote may have been
cast. Under the third section he
showed that certificates might be
fabricated by anybody and sent to
the President of the Senate, and
such fabricated certificates would
form. the basis of an objection which
would turn that State over to an ir-
responsible commission. As a COM
position in English, and as an argu-
ment, this speech was equal to any
yet delivered in this debate, and, in
some respects, surpassed all others.
1t was impressively delivered, was
free from turgid ornament and
theatrical effect, and yet a crowded
gallery remained till IL o'clock to
listen to it with close attention, and
the House unanimously extended
his time and listened to the end. He
spoke in a manly way, recognizing
the merits in the bill; but he was
particularly happy in opening, when
be exposed the unworthiness of the
motive which would lead Congress
to act from threats of civil war. The
Congress should never act under
compulsion of such threats, no mat
ter from what quarter they might
arise. The threat of civil war he
heartily despised. His speech ended
the debate for the evening.