The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1877-01-18
For the News.
The Count of the Presi-
dental Vote.
HILLsRoRo. O., Jan. Is, 1871

Mr.. EDITOR Having carefully read all the
Cincinnati, and all the debates in Congress,
which have been presented to public attention
through the press, on the subject of this commnni-
cation, 1 beg leave, through the columns of your
journal, modestly to submit, in q non-partisan
spirit, the convictions of my mind as to the con-
s;itutional and practicable mode of solving the
as to the just result of the late Presidential Elcc-
ton.
CONSTITUTION OF THE U. S. ARTICLE II.
"S-c. /. Each State shall appnint in such man
rer, as the Legislature thereof may direct, num-
Der of Electors equal" &C.
Here is an indisputable delegation of power to
the States, to appoint the Electors, ana the
of making such appointments has bsen also dele
gated to the Legislature of each State, and such
manner previous to the last Presidential Election,
had been defined and settled by the laws of the
several States passed on the subject of Elections.
Iu all the States, at this time. the Electors are
chosen by popular vote, in accordance with the
provisions of the Election laws thereof, and the
result of such vote is ascer!ained by the proper
officers of the law, appointed for that purpose, and
no one be IN Elector unless on the canvass of
the votes by such officers, he Is ascertained, de-
clared and certified to have received such number
of votes entitle him to the Office. So far all are
agreed but arises, in the logical statement of
the premises, a question of the first magnitude in
dispute between the parties, viz: Who is to de-
eide whether the manner, as defined and settled by
the laws of the various States, has been complied
with? Before answering this question, 1 quote the
next Article of the Constitution, amendment KILL
in order to determine the tribunal, the power from
whence an answer can come:
ARTICLE XII.
"The Electors shall meet in their respective
States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice
President" &c, &c. "They shall name in their
ballots, the person voted for President, and in
distinct ballots the person voted for Vice Presi
dent, and they shall make distinct lists of all per-
sons vo ed for as President, and all persons voted
for as Vice President, and of the number of votes
for each, which lists they shall sign and certify,
and transmit sealed to the Government of the Z.
S.,-directed TO the President of the Senate The
| President of the Senate SHALL in the presence of
| the Senate and House of Representatives, open all
| the certificates, and the votes shall then be
counted"
| Obviously, by this Article, the President of the
Senate is made the Presiding officer over the two
Houses at the time of the count, and besides the
usual powers which appertain aud are incident to
the office, by parliamentary law and usages, an
express power is given to ''open all certificates
What certificates to be opened by the President
of the Senate, as he is called (but in law Presi
dent, by clear implication, of the Joint Conven-
vention)? Manifesty, none are spoken of but the
"sealed certificates of the Electors of the distinct
lists of all persons voted for President" &C.,
&C. But of necessity, there must be some other |
certifcates-some written evidence, or some ex-
emplifed manner of their appointment, authenti- |
Gated by the proper State authorities according to
law attached to sealed up with the certificates
of the Electors. which show their right and autho-
rity to present the sealed certificates of the dis
&C., and which alone entite the messenger of the
Electors to demand of the President of the Senate
that the "distinct lists of all persons voted for
as President" &c. "by such Electors, shall be
counted" as the expression of the voice of each
State in the Presidential Election; and being so
attached to or sealed up with the certificates of the
Electors, the President of the Senate, from like
necessity in opening the certificates of such Electors
must also open the certiicares-the written evil
dence-the exemp lied manner Of their authority
and appointment.
This being done in the presence of the Senate
and House, the question at first asked. recurs, viz
Who is to decide whether the certarates-the
written eyidence-the exemplifed manner OF the
appointment of the Electors is in accordance with
The provisions of the Election laws of each State
and entities them to discharge the duties Of the
grandest Office ever conaded to man-the election
of the Ruler over than forty millions OF free
people?
One political party maintains that the President
of the Senate has the sole and exclusive right to
and determine who are lawful Electors-count the
votes, and declare and determine who are elected
President and Vice President of the u s. and that
the Senate and House of Representatives are mere
spectators and witnesses of the decor. US conduct
and announced decisions of the President of the
Joint Convention, without any right or power
whatever IN he cisad bryt =, |
plishment of the work of the great day. ,
The other political party maintains that when ,
the President of the Senate shall have opened all
the certificates before the Senate and House of
then his power is at an end, ex
cept to keep order and announce the result of the
votes of the Senate and House, and that these two
coordinate departments of the Government are to
pass judgment on all the certificates and count the
votes, in such manner as may be fixed by the g,
joint committees of the two Houses and are to de-
termine the result of the count and that in arriy
ing at count of the votes according to law, they
have the right to go behind all the certificates the
written evidence, and the decisions of the State
authorities-examine, correct and purge the polls,
and decide de moro, who have been lawfully chosen
Electors, irrespective of the decisions of the State
authorities.
Both of these claims have some color of right In
them, but in their full scope and in the practical
execution of either of them to the extent of its G
demand, they wholly wrong, and destructive of
all Constitutional limitations. I
LIST. As to the rights and duties of the President
of the Senate.
The history of near one hundred years, has
proven, that the men of the Convention, who
wrote and adopted the Constitution of the o. s..
understood and used all the select words of the 7
English language which were precisely expressive
of their intentions, and it never has been claimed
that through negligence or inadvertence, they
omitted to express any delegation of power, p.
which they intended by the instrument should be
exercised by any officer. Hence, 1t is an unwar- l
rantabe assumption by any logic, law or imp.ica- {
ton, to claim that the trainers of the Constitution
when they were devising mode for the ascertain
ment of the will of the people in the choice of a
President, and when in one clause and one SEN