The daily Argus., 1877-01-06
The 99aily Argns,
ROCK ISLAND. ...........1LL1no1s.
tContinued from second page. J


government, in 1889, had acted as the
special president of the senate on the
anomalous flrst counting, before any reg
ular procedure had been devised: John
Marshall, afterwards chief justice; Albert
Gallatin, VINO became famous as pub
lietist, as a statesman and as fnancer
and other men who had personal knowledge
and fresh traditions OF the meaning of the
trainers OF the constitution, and Of the
sense by which its provisions were inter-
preted and had been adopted by the states
and the people. The assumption unani-
mously by congress, eleven years after the
constitution was set in motion, that the
two houses possess full and exclusive
powers IN respect to counting the electoral
votes. carries with it therefore the weight
OF the most distinguished contemporaneous
exposition, That debate nowhere exhibits
any question of the authority of tie two
houses to count, and nowhere recognizes
any power whatever on the part OF the
president of the senate to count. In 1878
aud again in 1876 a bill regulating the
mode of counting was introduced into the
senate and received a full and elaborate
discussion in that body, and the affirmative
vote OF majority of the senators. On
many occasions when tie electoral votes
were to be counted, or during the process,
II in some debate to which it gave rise,
the powers OF the two houses have been
more or less discussed. While individual
eccentr1cities of opinion or idiosyncrasies
have exhibited themselves in the advocacy
OF the pretenslon on the part ot
the president of the senate to go
theoretically beyond the limits OF his con-
stltutional duty in opening the packages of
electoral certificates, such instances shaye
never exceeded one il hundred of the
members OF the two houses; never have
made any practical progress or exerted
any practical influence on the opinion of
the two houses; have never interrupted or
modified the uniform current of the pre-
cedents, or IN a single instance inspired
any incumbent of the chair of the senate
to the slightest spirit of enterprise toward
the enlargement of his constitutional pre-
rogative. On the other hand, the exclu-
sive authority of the two houses of con-
gress oyer the counting has been
universally and uniformly assumed and
taken lor granted. And so often as the
members have been tempted into any
Incidental mention Of their opinions, the
0ApteeeAOho dSoeAtIuS sucH executive power
on the part of the two houses have been
overw helmiDg in numbers and in weight
OF authority. Some specimens of such
expressions will be hereafter cited. La
the meantime it is proper to observe that
without finding it necessary or CONVENIENT
on this occasion to discuss the exact limits
OF the powers of the two houses in judging
of the authenticity and validity Of electoral
votes, or of the extent to which their
Investigations may be carried for that
purpose, it is proper to sobserve that the
powers of the two houses in this respect
are not arbitrary powers to be exercised at
their own mere will, but are trust powers
to be exercised under all the solemn
obligations that belong to judicial discretion
IN the most august of human tribunals.
ITO be Continued.