The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-01-05

| 90 make the count. The senator's wef.
not then sworn into Office, nor vas tho oa s!
administered to them until january 30 !os
lowing. AT WashinCton's second elee
ton. In 1893, the yery frst election Wnics
took place after the; Government went Ing
operation under the Constitution, the HOUSE
| passed q resolution, which was concurree
| la by the Senate, to appoint coEmlttee
| soin such committee as might be appointed
lby the Senate to ascertain and report mou:
toi examining the votes for President ano
yice.Preside The committees were apt
pointed, and reported mode for canvass!ng
the vote, which has been substantially ioI
lowed ever since. Here was dtrect ASSET y;
ton OF the power of Congress over tne
counting Of the electora! vote, Wnlcn has
never been departed from"
In the foregoing extract 1t will be seen
that Mr.. TRunBULL has been reading the
proceedings Of the Congress Of the old Con
federation prior to the adoption Of the Con-
stitution, and that he exposed the error Of
CoLFAx and others in quoting those pro
ceedings as authority for the action OF the
two houses Of Congress under the Constt'
tuition. Judge MEREDITH and ourselves
called attention to this point on Wednesday
Mir. TRuMBULL refers to acts Of Congress
since the war, showing that the leading
Republicans have declared by their votes
TINT Congress has power over the counting
Of votes. He names Messrs. EDMUNDs,
FERRY, MORTON, ANTHONY, CAMERON, CoNK'
LING, FRELISGHUYsEN, MORRILL, Of Maine,
MORRILL, Of Vermont, SHERMAN, and nearly
every Republican senator present. And
were Mr.. FERRY and other Republicans tc
assent to the claim that the president OF the
Senate had authority to make the count
they "would stultify themselves" said Mr.
TRUNBULL.
Mr.. TRuMBULL contends that, " it being
ssthc duty Of the Senate and of the House
"to make count, they can no more escape
1T than they can any other duty imposed
"upon them y; but upon this subject they
act independently, he says, "by agree
ment," and, whether in the presence Of
each other or not, they act separately. Yet
they must cooperate. There arc cases in
which the concurrence of the two houses is
necessary to the existence Of the Govern
ment. and when the time comes that either
house Of Congress persistently refuses to CO.
operate in case like that "our system is {
failure" ....r
Mr.. TRUMBULL thus concludes his
speech:
"No man is tit to represent the people Of
this country in either branch Of Congress
who is not willing to unite upon some
method that will insure fair and honest
count Of the electoral vote. Let us demand
this OF our senators and representatives. II
is reproach both to their intelligence and
their patriotism to suppose that they can.
not adjust their disagreements. No man
can have stronger convictions than I have
that Mr.. Tilden is honestly and fairly en-.
titled to the electoral vote of Louisiana, and
therefore elected President, but was never
afraid to submit good case to fair tribu.
nal for decision, and to agree to abide the
result. IbelieYe the Returning Board OF
Louisiana had no jurisdiction under the
State law to canvass the vote for electors
OF President and Vice-President and re-
ject votes in its discretion. Others think
differently. II there be no other way OF
arriving at decision of these questions lei
Congress ask the Supreme Court or any
other impartial tIibunal what the meaning
of the Louisiana law is, and he will be q
bold congressman who, after that opinion
is obtained, shall set up his own opinion
against it. It is not for me to suggest what
method the two houses shall adopt to bring
about an adjustment of pending disagree
ments; but people have right to demand
that they find some method OF doing it.
4, 90 n ~, h
tent than the arbitrary acts Of Returning
Boards. the edicts Of party leaders, and the
demands of partisan demagogues-it is
the power of public opinion demanding
what is right. There is q voice which
senator's and representatives, however
blinded by party passion, and conspirators
against fairness and honesty, how ever high
in authority, will heed. 1t is the voice OF
the people. Let that voice be heard at Wash.
ington through resolutions OF public meet
ings and monster petitions to Congress, de-
handing OF that body to adopt some means
which will prevent the Inauguration of any
man as President through force, fraud, OF
corruption; and that will give effect to the
voice of the American people, as constitr-
tionally expressed. If, unfortunately, the
two houses should finally fail to agree as 10
the count OF the vote from particular
State, the result would necessarily be that
the vote would not be counted; and the
president of the Senate, in such case,
would have no more power to count it than
he would to pass bill about which two
houses disagreed.
"Mr. Dawes, in the debate on Mr.. Nor.
toms bill last session, has shown this very
clearly. He said: II question arises about
the opening OF vote, whether you shall
count it or not, and those on whom the Con.
stitution has devolved the duty of deciding
it fail to agree. the legal consequence is pre-.
cisely what this bill says shall be the con.
sequence. 1t cannot be counted, because
those upon whom the Constitution has
devolved the power OF determining ii
have failed to agree that it shall be
counted, or how ii shall be counted
And because they fail to agree, and because
the Constitution has not gone further to
dispose Of the question, we propose to do
so by statute. The ingenuity Of members
of the Senate and the House may be ex.
hausted upon selecting the best and the
safest tribunal; but still it will lack consti.
tutional authority, and, lacking constitu-
tional authority, it is naught, and being
naught, to set up man as President OF the
United States without authority is another
definition Of usurpation.'"
This speech is very important one, and
will have its effect. Such man rs TRUM-
BULL must be respected. His integrity and
public deyotion-his ability and excellent
legal judgment as constitutional lawyer
entitle whatever he says to great weight with
the public councils and the people.
DoGs.-A great dog show has just taken
place in Baltimore. We learn that it was