National Republican., 1877-03-01
FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
SECOND SESSION.
SENATE.

nication from Nathan Clifford, President Of tho
Electoral Commission notifying the Senate that
the Commission having had under confederation
tho questions arising on the counting Of the Elcc.
toral vote Of South Carolina and having como to
q conclusion thereon, the Commission was ready
to communicate that decision to tho two Houses
In joint convention.
On motion q Mr.: oRA1IN the Secretary
the House that the Senate Is ready to meet
the House to receive the decision.
House appeared in The Senate chamber, and an.
nounccd That tho House had passed a resolution
past tweVS o ss puIpos
OF continuing tho count OF the electoral vote.
=, AZ nine minutes past twelve the oHAIR called
proceeded to the hall Of the House In a body.
The senate returned to Its chamber at thirty
that The Senate having met the House IN ioInt
committee to continue the electoral count, and
objection having been made TO counting the vote
OF South Carolina, tho Senate had Withdrawn,
and the objections to the same would now be laid
before the Senate,
s,s The osieoiiop. were road, and Mr.. ROBERT.
Re,oiysd TIA. The rots h Of Sou,h csrolins bo
M MERRiMUN offered q resolution, that IT
is competent to receive testimony to sustain tho
several exceptions made to the counting OF the
Mr.. EDMUNDS raised the point Of order, that
the Senate has nothing to do with the testimony
under tho law creating tho Electoral commits.
MI: SHERMAN called for the reading Of the
law, which was read.
although the Commission would not receive tes-
timony, II was competent for the Senate to
Mr., EDMUNDs read the law saying that this
decision Of the Commission shall stand unless the
two Houses arc OF the opinion that 1t ought not
Senate to adopt or reject the decision Of the Com.
Mr MERRIMoN hold that the matter could
ha mil RA To fb0 al
have further action on tho question. How, he
asked, is the Senate to know what the facts are!
before the Senate to see IL the evidence bears out
Mr. BAYARD said tha, the two Houses mus.
concur or non.concur In the decision OF the CON-
mission. He had urged that all the facts should
be open to every Senator and Member to each
wise, and ho could not now sustain the Resolution
OF the Senator from North Carolina, for all the
evidence they have Is now before the Senate, and
any such order as contemplated by the resolution
was necessary. The evidence Is now, and has
the @ SoSh Sarona
the resolution Of the Senator is not In order. All
there Is 70 ~ dS ,s e concur OF non. concur:
ator from Delaware. He said tho Senator had
argued on tho assumption that the Senate was In
came before them under the rules, but he did moi
consider the Senate as now in legislative session.
and 1t was competent to have this evidence before
The CHAR believed that the point Of order was
well taken, but preferred to take the sense Of the
The yeas and nays were demanded and called,
and the resolution Of Mr.. MERRIMoN was decided
out oforder.
Mr.. BOGY moved that the testimony bo read.
Mr. LOGAN asked II that was not virtually
the same motion that had Just been voted down.
Mr.CAMERON, tWis.) said there was no tosti-
nony now before tho Senate, as tho COMMITTEES
had not yet reported to the Senate.
The yeas and nays were demanded on the mo.
tion offered by Mr.. Boer, and 1t was lost Yeas,
The question then recurrcd on tho resolution
eided that further debate would now be included
in the uon I've hours u rJ sIlowed By the law.
potcaS eSad bard1 SAD ro. shS average American
make, under ordinary circumstances, a ten min.
utes' speech, and that temptation was none the
makes cannot In the least affect the result, and
now, under the law, IN the brief time Of ten min
u1es we are tS show a. the disgust
of this Electoral Commission. Vituporation and
nyee,iye inv Y, fall e do Justice to the great wrong
and convey he disgust h' and dG''asGS. %iasR
Speculate as we may, and talk as We please, the
closed; aud he did not know but that il was set
tied beforehand. The Democrats trusted with
| faith in the Electoral Commission.
The number seven was considered among the
ancients as very remarkable number, and as
possessing much virtue; put the anclents never
had Returning Board Of eight, with tho Sena.
tor from Indiana at its head TO confront them II
they had witnessed such o sceno as that, the mum.
Der seven would have lost to them its charm.
Hs voted for the Commission, and he did not in.
tend, here or elsewhere, to evade tho full respon
sibility OF that vote He expected TO be denounced
knew all about 1t beforehand, and he expected to
have the sympathy q all those who were not
hs h e
| WHITE took the noor, and yielded to Mr., NC.
CREERY to finish his remarks.
| Mr.. MCDONALD deprecated the decision of
the Commission in not going behind the returns
and investigating the elections. He claimed that
the elections in South Carolina, as well as FlorI.
da and Louisiana, were.carrled by fraud, and this
| fraud.
Mr.. MORTON rcpellcd the talk about fraud.
and said that II there had been fair election
Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas. and Georgia, as
we'll as Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina,
He rsernted with SoSnes pspd otiSs S
tiOn in the South.
Mr.. SALISBURY said we were approaching
| the end OF the c0nsumation OF q great outrage
and great fraud, but that should not deter him
| from denounciny 1t. The frauds in the South
expense was borne BY the United states Treas.
sointo the White House without any title, and and
While NJ Tdsn Would fesi ne prds tS,t N
people had elected him President, although he
had been robbed Of its possession.
| Mr LOGAN said that 1t was not often that a
parent would strike his own child, but we hear
saw the Democrats denOuneing their pet, the
He said there was considerable talk about fraud
and he believed there had been fraud. Yes nc
asked, where can you ind q greater fraud than
that attempted in Oregon, where the name or a
| United States Senator was attached to It as az
nrming It. Such q fraud was attempted in that
| State as would make IN escaped convict blush
| for shame, and then Democratic Senators
come here and talk about fraud. He alluded
N severe terms to the part played by Senator
been censured for less offence than Democrats
| had been excused for. He claimed that the per.
sons who were opposing the decision Of the com.
mission, and who talked about resisting It, were
persons who did not love their country, and had
no patriotism, who would rather SEQ the country
| 20 down in gloom than to see their hopes and
wishes for office thwarted.
Mr. EATON denounced the decision, and said
hc had dispatch from twenty-0ne of his con
stituents calling upon the delegation In Congress
to resist by all the means In their power the con.
| sumation OF fraud.
Mr. EATON said they would resist by all Con
stitutonal means, and he did not intend to aid 10
the cOndonement Of this great fraud.
| Mr. SHERMAN favored the decision, and
thought II was dishonorable for those who favored
the Commission to talk about ignoring its decision
Tilden, he would have resisted, with all hi,
power, any effort to prevent Mr.. Tilden from being
'M Mr. PATTERsoN said tho Republicans Of
South Carolina did not ask any favOfs. They wert
| willing that the Commission should go behind
the returns and II there had been time to inyes
tigate the matter he would have voted for the
| 80 A.