, 1877-01-28


the length end breadth of the land upon th
definite adoption of the scheme for arbi
trating tho count of the Electoral vote.
is not yet determined whether HAYES o
TuDEN shall be President for the next fou
years; that is for the Commission Of Su
preme Judges to decide. But fair ant
/ peaceful settlement is assured, and that i
all the American people have desired Thu
great advantage to tho country is that botl
parties aro concluded BY the agreement t.
abide by the decision of the tribunal up
pointed, and that both arc prccluded from
the right Of contest, or even Of protest, ne
matter what the result may be. The agree
ment has brought the country the assurance
that neither ofice-holders nor ofice-seekerf
| can appeal to party passions to sustain {
resistance to the peaceable Inauguration o1
the NEXT President, whether he be Mr. TIL
DEN or Air. HAYES, but that ho will take the
| place with rs much authority as if lie had
| received majority Of one hundred Elect
! oral votes instead Of one, and with the
unanimous assent of tho American people. d
There was no other way than by IN agree
u,ent to arbitrate that this glorious result
could have been attained Suppose the
counsals of the extreme Republicans had
been obeyed, and the Senate had sustained
its presiding officer in exercising judicial
prerogative by discriminating in all cases
where two sets of returns have been made; sup
pose Gov. HAYES had thus been declared elect
ed by q single vote aud suppose the Demo-
Gratis, simply to avoid civil strife and blood
shed, had permitted him to be inaugurated
President under these conditions, what
hope would there have been for his Adninis-
tration, for the Republican party, or for the
country? Every Democrat in the land would
have felt in lis heart that he had been cheat
ed, and to the Democrats would have been
added large class Of Republicans who hare
not been able to persuade themselves that
the Constitution authorizes and much less
enjoins upon the President of the Senate
the count Of the Electoral votes. HAYES
would have been denounced as usurper, and
ell those who assisted him to his Office in
that manner would have been branded as po-
Gtical advcnturers and scoundrels The
country would not have heard the last Of it
during the four years OF his term, even if he
were allowed to retain the Office SO long.
The issue would have been fought over at
every State, county, city, and town election
throughout the United States, and the pco-
pie would have been distressed and the busi-
ness of the country continually depressed by
IN interminable political uproar. HAYES
would have entered upon the administration
Of the Government with Congress opposed
to him, and feeling warranted, under the cir
cumstances, to hamper and annoy him at
every step. No policy he could have adopt
ed, no matter how wise or patriotic, would
have conciliated the public so long as he
should be regarded as usurper. HAYES him.
self would have retired finally under discom-
fture, and his party would have been SO
overwhelmingly defeated that recovery
would have been the toll of years.
On the other hand, suppose the counsels
of the extreme Democrats had been follow
ed; suppose the Democratic majority in the
House of Representatives had assumed the
right to elect Mr.. TMnEN without awaiting
an agreement that there had been a failure
to elect by the people; and suppose the Re-
pubicans had submitted to this high-handed
proceeding rather than resort to violent re-
sistance, would TnDES have been less
usurper, and would his Administration hevo
been beset with any fewer cmbarrassments
Then the whole Republican party would
hnve protested, and they would have been
joined by the conservative Democrats who
have not made up their minds that a Con-
gressional cabal in one House may with i'm
punity override the laws and the Constitu-
ton The entire country would have
lived under the apprehension that SO
desperate scheme would not have been re-
sorted to without some ulterior design of
even more sinister character, and the dread
Of Rebel raid on the United States Treas
ury would have deprecated the Government
credit. The battle in that case would like
wise have boon fought over at every local
election during the four years, and nothing
that Mr. TnDEs could say, and nothing that
his friends could do, would have suficed to
quiet the public fears or satisfy the popular
clamor for an atonement for the wrong doue |
to justice. The Democratic party in this
case would have paid the penalty of its rash-
ness in subsequent defeat; but the business
Of the country would have suffered all the |
same. |
As it is, tho man who shall be inaugurated t
President on the 4th of March next will |
have clear title to the Office, and enter upon
his duties and responsibilities with the con-
sciousness Of rightfu1 possession and the best
wishes of the people for the success Of q
patriotic policy. We believe that tho Presi-
dency will be awarded to Gov. HAYES; and.
if it prove to be SO, be will receive it under
conditions that will enable him to admins
ter the Government without the thralldon of
the extremists Of his own party as well as
without the factious opposition Of the Dem
ocrats in Congress. He will be free from
the outset to inaugurate policy OF recon-
ciliaton Us to the South, and of civil-serrice
reform IS to the whole country. No poll
ticians or place-hunters will be able to say to
him that he owes his position to them, for