The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1877-03-07
Two Dollars a Year.


required the presence Of the two Houses
when the vote was counted What sort
OF presence did the gentleman from Ohio
/ say it should be- Why, that they were
to DE here as dull spectators of the count
which the Vice President VS. 10 make;
that they were TO be here with lips clos
ed and minds sealed, and ms one OF the
tive senses able 20 be exercised save those
Of sight and Hearing; that they were to be
here rs witnesses OF the count of the vote
by the Vice President or President OF
the Senate, without power to open their
lips, without power to object 10 wrong,
without power of resisting corruption. and
without power to prevent an unfair re-
turn by the NicePresident OF the United
States.
Why, sir, the proposition of the
gentleman of Ohio is a monstrous propo-
sition, clothing this electoral college uu-
der the Constitution, not with the power
of representing TIM people, but with
despotic power, and saying that though
the Constitution provides that the two
Houses shall be present, they shall be
present without any authority 10 ask
whether the Nice-President has counted
correctly or not This theory is in VIC
lation, as | have shown, of all the pre-
cedents; for invariably in the larger
number of cases since the first election
of President Of the United States il will
be found that in some way or other. by
concurrent action of the two Houses,
tellers haW been appointed to whom,
when the NicePresdent has performed
the function of breaking the seals of the
returns, they have been submitted for
examination and computation.
Can these tellers, the mere creatures
of the House, compute improperly and
yet the Senate and the House be power
less to correct their action or object 10
1t? Suppose the tellers should make
mlscount of a vote actually returned
are the two Houses necessarily dumb
while this wrong is perpetrated by their
owLagents? Should the President of
the Senate, after the tellers have com
puted and ascertained the count, report
to the two Houses that Il different man
was elected from the one whom they
knew to be elected are they to sit
quietly by and see this assumption of au-
thOrity and not be able to control il?
1t was argued by the gentleman from
Ohio that this power was confided to ono
man because the trainers of the Consti-
tuition wanted to devoIve this duty upon
some one who would be amenable to law.
who would be subject to impeachment, .
and thus within the power Of the two
Houses. For this reason, he argued. /
the power was confled not to the two
Houses, but to Il particular individual. /.
80 far is this from being true, that this /
officer is but the agent Of the electoral
colleges, the conduit pipe as it were by \
which the votes of the people, as east by /.
their electors, may be transmitted TO the /.
two Houses.
No uestion, Mr.. Speaker, excited .
protou, der attention in the convention of .
1857 an the manner Of selecting the .
Executive. There was no subject upon
which the trainers Of the Constitution
felt greater Jealousy than the power of
the Executive. 1t was urged by some
Of the members Of that convention that
as the Senate would have the right TO
try any case Of impeachment, the Presi-
dent OF the United States would thus be
tried by his own counselOrs and advisers.
This was the argument made in refer
ence to that body. There was great
jealousy Of its power from the fact that
It was to have the right to confirm the
appointments made by the President.
MIR. Monroe, Of Virginia, who was
member of the convention of his own
state, when he came to discuss the
question Of the Nice-President and his
powers, used this remarkable language
The Vice President is wholly unnecces
AIRY" a very large number Of mem bers
# the convention of 1887 and Of many
If the State conventions were Of the
opinion that the presiding officers Of the
senate should in all cases be an officer
hosen from that body and not elected
rom any outside source. Yet shall il be
aid that this convention would so ieal-
'usly guard the Executive from infring.
ng upon the powers of the legislative de-
'artment by assuming authority not
granted in the Constitution, and vet
would confide to this officer whom one of Z
he most prominent members Of the con {
ention thought unnecessary under our ;
crm of government the power to deter
nine who should be President? Mr..
lonroe, in the course Of his observations
n the Virginia convention, makes the
emark that the Vice President, for
1hom this extraordinary power is
lalmed, would, in many eases, have the
light to make President and that he /
light be interested himself in the result
f an election, J
In the short time allotted to me this {
forming, L shall not be able to cover en- I
rely the ground which would naturally t
e consumed in an argument Of this dis {
ussion; bat so much has been said on q
lis subject that it Is unnecessary to j
ravel over ii. | simply repeat that all !
reeedents from 1893 down TO the pres 0
Mt time show that the mode Of counting {
ne vote for President and Vice-Presl- d
ent has always been fixed by the two (
Houses in some way, and never ar v
anged by them in such a manner that j.
ne two Houses were not present. L d
axe it for granted that the trainers of {
ne Constitution did not intend to make r
n idle provision, and that when they y
rovided for the presence of the two Il
louses they meant that these Houses d
Mould be present for the purpose Of in s
Decting the vote through their tellers or 4
leir agents. 1t il proposed in this in n
ance to do that through a commission n
nd l will say. so far as regards the re a
ort of the committe who have given Us 81
lis bill, that it comes to US sanctioned Fl
y the wisest and ablest men Of our own z
ody, who have devoted to this subject 81
ose study of several weeks, and by the L
isest and ablest men of the other side &
the Capitol, men of both parties, who
elieve that this is the most feasible
lethod of meeting the difficulties that
ow stare US in the face.
Sir, it was said by the gentleman
ON Ohio, in commencing his speech, y
lat he had scorn and contempt for any G.
ling looking like force. | have yet 70 =