The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1877-01-25

THE HIGH-JOINTs.
Report or the JOinl Committee
upon the Manner OF COuntlna
the Electoral Vote.
On Thursday Of last week the report
of the committee consisting of seven
Senators-Messrs. Edmunds, Freling-
huysen, Conkling, Morton, Thurman,
Bayard and Ranson-and seven Rep
resentatives-Payne, Hunton, Hewitt,
Springer, McCrary, Hoar and Willard
was simultaneously made to both
Houses of Congress. The report was
signed by every member of the Com
mittee except Senator Morton, and
after quite lengthy introduction in
which the situation il reviewed and
the adoption of the report urged be-
"cause, "All considerations of inter
lest, of patriotism and Of justice unite
"in demanding of the law-making
power measure that will bring
"peace and prosperity to the country
land show that our Republican insti-
"tutions are equal to any emergency"
the following bill Is offered rs the re-
suit of their labors:
A BILL to provide for and regulate
the counting of votes for President
and Nice-President, and the decision
of questions arising thereon, for the
term commencing March 4, 4. d.,
1877.
BE it enacted by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the United
states Of America, i'm Congress assem-
bled, that the Senate and House OF
Representatives shall meet in the hall
of the House of Representatives at the
hour of l o'clock. post meridian, on
the first Thursday in February, A. D..
1877, and the President of the Senate
shall be the presiding officer. Two
tellers shall be previously appointed
on the part of the Senate, and two on
the part of the House of Representa-
tives, to whom shall be handed, as
they are opened by the President Of
the Senate, all the certificates and pa
pers purporting to be certificates of
Electoral votes, which certificates and
papers shall be opened, presented, and
acted upon in alphabetical order of the
States, beginning with a. and said
tellers, having then read the same in
the presence and hearing of the two
Houses, shall make list of votes as
they shall appear from the said GER
tificates, and the votes having been
ascertained and counted, as in this act
provided, the result of the same shall
be delivered to the President of the
Senate, who shall thereupon announce
the state of the vote and the names of
the persons If any elected, which
shall he deemed a suf-
ficient declaration OF persons elected
President and Vice-President of the
United States, and, together with a
list of the votes, be entered on the
journal of the two Houses. Upon such
reading of any such certificate or pa
per, when there shall be only one re-
turn from State, the President of the
Senate shall call for objections, If any.
Every objection shall be made in
writing, and shall state clearly and
c0ncisely, and without argument, the
ground thereof, and shall be signed by
at least one Senator and one member
of the House Of Representatives before
the same shall be received. When all
objections SO made to any vote or pa
per from any State shall have been re-
ceived and read, the Senate shall there
upon withdraw, and such objections
shall be submitted to the Senate for its
decision, and the Speaker Of the House
Of Representatives shall i'm like man.
ner submit such objections to the
House of Representatives for its de-
cision, and no Electoral vote or votes
from any State from which but one
return has been received, shall be OBJ
jected to except by the affirmative vote
of the two Houses. When the two
Houses have voted, they shall imme-
diately again meet, and the presiding
officer shall then announce the de-
cision of the question submitted.
SEC. = That if more than one re-
turn or paper purporting to be the re-
turn from any State shall have been
received by the President of the Sem
ate, purporting to be certificates of the
Electoral votes given at the last pre-
ceding election for President and
in such State, unless
they shall be duplicates of the same
returns, all such returns and papers
shall be opened by him in the presence
of the two Houses when met as afOre-
said, and read by the tellers, and all
such returns and papers shall there
upon be submitted to the judgment
and decision, as to which is the true
and lawful Electoral vote ofsuch State,
of a Commission constituted as fol-
lows, namely: During the session of
such House OH the Tuesday next pre-
csding the first Thursday in February,
1877, each House shall by viva voce
vote appoint five of its members, who,
with five Associate Justices of the
Supreme Court Of the United States,
to be ascertained as hereinafter pro-
vided, shall constitute a Commission
for the decision of all questions, upon
or in respect of such double returns
named in this section. On the Tues
day next preceding the first Thursday
in February, A. ID. 1877, or as soon
thereafter as may be, the Associate
Justices of the Supreme Court Of the
United States now assigned to the
First, Third, Eighth, and Ninth Dis
tricts shall select, in such manner as a
majority of them shall deem fit, an
other of the Associate Justices of said
~ which Aua naronna shall Ia