The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-02-01
THE ELECTORAL BILL BECOMES A
LAW
WASHINGTON. Ian. 25. l87

w WASHlNGION, Jan. 20, lof(.
The opposition to- the Electoral bill
broke down shortly after seven o'clock
this morning, and Mr.. Sargent, saying he
had intended to offer several amendments,
but refrained because he saw none would
be accepted, demanded the yeas and nays.
The bill was passed by larger vote than
was expected by its friends, forty-seven
voting for it, seventeen against and nine
absent or not voting at all.
ANALYSIS OF THE VOTE.
Ofthe yeas twenty-one are Republicans
and twenty-six are Democrats; of the
nays sixteen are Republicans and one a
Democrat. Of those who did not vote
Senator Anthony is i'll and would have
voted for the bill. Senators Harvey,
Hitchcock, Logen, Norwood and Oglesby
are absent from town. Senator Spencer
did not intend to vote. He has held con
stantly that there was no election, that
neither of the candidates is entitled to be
put in and that there ought to be new
election, hence he would not vote for any
measure which acknowledged the right
of either. Senators Paddock and Wad-
leigh were present late in the night ses-
sion and "dodged."
Of the sixteen Republicans who voted
against the bill Senators Bruce, Clayton,
Conover, Dorsey, Hamilton, Patterson
and West (seven) arc Southern, and all
but Mr.. Bruce of the kind called carpet
baggers, who have no political future in
the States they now represent, and do not
represent in any broad sense those States.
Excluding these it appears that, while
twenty Northern Republican Senators
voted for the bill, only nine Northern
Republican Senators voted against it..
Counting by States the vote shows that
Senators from thirty-one of the thirty
eight States voted for the bill, and that
of sixteen States both the Senators sup
ported it,. Senators from fifteen States
voted against it, and of these only two
Maine and Arkansas-cast both the Sen
atorial votes against it. Taken in any
way, the vote is overwhelmingly in favor
of the bill, and the Republican majority
for it is specially overwhelming.
A TEST OF ORTHODOXY.
The attempt of Senator Morton, there
fore, to "read out of the Republican par
ty" all who should support the bill seems
to be conspicuous failure. 1t was a
singular undertaking for him to make,
for no Republican Senator has so often
and so conspicuously opposed the party
policy. He opposed negro suffrage long
and with characteristic persistency, argu-
ing that it would bring ruin on the coun-
try and indeed foretelling many of the
evils which carpet-bag rule has brought
on the South. His currency heresies are
too notorious to need mention, and there
was smile among the Republican Sena-
tors at every allusion Mr.. Morton made
which seemed to assume tu himself great
er fidelity to his party than he was will
ling to grant to others, or the right on
account of such greater fidelity to "read
anybody out"
THE VICE PRESIDENTS POWER.
In another and more important way
the debate has had an unexpected effect
In spite of the constant and vehemen,
assertion of the Republican newspaper
organs all over the country that the Vice
President has the power under the con.
stitution to count the vote, in spite of the
letters of prominent Republican politi-
clans such as General Dix, Mr.. Slough.
ton, Mr.. Collax and others asserting the
same thing, there remained this morning
but a single Republican Senator who
ventured to maintain this doctrine, and
that was Mr.. Sargent, whose opinion has
no particular weight In last nights de-
bate Mr.. Edmunds, who is very thorough
in what he undertakes, read to Mr.. Nor
ton such a number and variety Of that
gentlemans expressions of opposition to
the Vice Presidents counting the vote
that poor Mr.. Morton was obliged to con.
fess that he had never held that he ought
to count it, but only that if the two
two houses, who had the right, failed to
provide way, then the Vice President
must "of necessity" and not by constitu-
tional right, count it. AS to Mr.. Sher-
man, be was asked point blank by Sena.
tor Thurman whether he held that the
Vice President had the constitutional
right to count the vote, and fell into great
and lamentable confusion about it, being
understood to say finally that the two
houses had rights and evidently being
muddled as to what rights anybody had
about it. That ghost, therefore, is laid,
unless Mr.. Sargent should set up as q
witch and try to raise him.
The fact is, the greater part of the Sen
ate was in singular condition of igno-
rance about it in December. Few men
had studied the question fundamentally,
and of those who had Senator Morton,
for his own reasons, abandoned all he had
said in previous sessions. Senator Conk-
ling showed in his speech that he had
profoundly and thoroughly investigated
the question. He was master Of every
detail of it. and he shed light on it
which convinced all who were open to
conviction, except Mr.. Blaine, who is
said to have hesitated up to late hour
last night and at last concluded to follow
Senator Hamlin's advice and Senator
Morton's leadership and vote no.
SPECULATION ON MoRToN's ACTION.
There has been much speculation here
about the reasons which induced Senator
Morton to turn his back so deliberately
and completely on all he had been urg-
ing during several sessions-since 1873,
in fact-about the necessity of a method
of counting the vote, the rights of the
houses over the vote and the extreme
danger to the country of having no meth
cd. 1t is supposed, of course, that he and
those who have been conspicuously with
him have the desire to figure as the most
useful friends of Governor Hayes, in case
he becomes President, but is doubtful it
they have made success of it. Friends
of Governor Hayes here say positively
that the opposition to the Electoral bill
in the Columbus State Journal does not
represent his views; that be, like Mr..
Tilden, has been very careful not to ex-
press an opinion about it, and that the
general opposition of Ohio politicians to
it is not, in any manner, instigated or
counteuanced by him. This statement
comes on good authority, and, if it is ac-
curute, nothing will have been made by
Mr.. MortOn's general denunciation of