Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-02-01
not A COMPROMISE.
ISt. Louis Times

The Democratic position has been that in
the case of conflicting returns it rests with
Congress to determine which shall be count
ed, and if the two Houses are unable to
agree, the vote Of the State is lost. This
position has not been abandoned. The two
Houses are to exercise their power by re-
ferring all conflicting returns TO committees
of their W bodies, which are to act upon
them precisely as Congress might act. To
prevent the possibility of disagreement, and
to impart q judicial character to the decision,
the committees are to be reinforced by five
Justices Of the Supreme Court, just as a
number OF ''eXpeyts'' were added to the
Silver Commission. This tripartite COM
mittee will have owe TO decide between
conflicting returns, and to count that which
appears to be the true and lawful vote
of a State, and in this respect Congress
becomes able to exercise the power
which Democrats claim for it much more
eifectualIy than it could be exercised by the
concurrent action Of the two houses, as it is
not to be expected that Congress could sue
coed in doing more, in the case of a false re-
turn, than to throw out the vote Of the
State.
As Senator Edmunds we'll says, the right
to declare who shall be President does not
rest with Congress exclusively until 3 law
shall be passed to that effect. This law has
been prepared for the purpose Of carrying
into execution the power conferred by the
Constitution, and it is so fair and just that
it might well, with some notifications, be
enacted into a continuing law. Without
such a iaW-even laying aside any asSump-
ton OF power by Mr.. Ferry-there must in
evitably ensue a deadlock between the two
Houses, and in that event it would at least
be a matter of serious question whether the
election would necessarily be thrown into
the House OF Representatives.
FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIONS TO THE BILL.
cincinnati Insuirer.l
II the House OF Representatives consents
to the passage of this bill, it will be guilty
of a grave fault-of 4 political blunder.
The report confesses that the Constitution
clothes the President Of the Senate with no
power, the two houses with all power, TO
count the votes. II the w houses have not
the power, they can not delegate it to SUI
preme Judges. II the power IS deVOlVed upon
Congress by the Constitution, it can not
delegate the power to a commission outside
of itself. The Congress could as properly go
a-fishing and select q commission 10 enact
laws for the people of the United States.
The objections to the bill are funN amentai.
1t would drag the Supreme Court Of the Unit
ed States into a political brawl, by hauling u
majority of its members into this Wrangie.
Whether they should decide with Or against
their respective parties, their motives
would be questioned, and respect for the
Court would be weakened. 1t comedies the
right, which is also the duty, Of
the two Houses to count the votes, and in
the same breath proposes to surrender a
part of that right, which might, in effect,
be all of it,. Mr.. Tilden has been elected,
or he has not been. The Constitution has
appointed a board of arbitration, a COM
mission, to determine this fact. That
commission is the Congress, as the pro-
posed bill comedies. The Congress is COM
petent to decide the question without for
eign aid not only, but it has no power to re-
fer the question to an outside board. The
bill is q pernicious one in itself. and would
be dangerous as a precedent. The result Of
the arbitration would enrage, and not sat-
isfy, either party. The bill would be the
humiliating confession that, after a Presi-
lent has been elected, the Constitutional
arbitrator, $40 men, with all the facts in
their possession, with their osths recorded,
are unable to, or dare not, declare the re-
suit Of the election without lawless as
Sistance.