The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1877-01-25
SPEECH Or.
GEN. DURBIN WARD.
At Columbus, Jan. sth, 1877.


At Columbus, Jan. 8th, 1877.
My CoUNrRyMEN We assemble on
grand, historic day. consccraied to
the memory of the lion hearted hero,
\ whose motto was "By The Eternal. tho
Union must and shall DC preserved"
We must here be inspired by the same
patriotic spirit, 10 swear, too, by the
Eternal, '.Ihdt the Constitution aud
Tie la,cs shall be enfOrced.', We ask
no more; we will accept no. less. To
follow the Constitution, the laws, the
| time -honored precedents OF the past,
is to walk in the path of duty and OF
safety. From that path we will never
be seduced nor driven. Wherever it
leads there we will travel, cost what
ever it may, for this is the road TO
peace and harmony, Constitutional
Union aud national prosperity.
| NV fellow -citizens, the present cri-
| sis is of grave moment, and yet no. one
which really ought to foreshadOw no
danger, and which can never lead to
violence or disorder if the people and
their representatives are true to the
grand history of the past and the
| grander promise OF the future. Who
is President is comparatively a small
matter, and our deliberations should
rise above mere party spirit, But
though the person who may be chosen
is of small moment, the principle on
which the present contest is settled is
Of vast Importance, and you do well,
my countrymen, to meet and consult
on this question. Itmay involve the
existence of the Republic itself. The
| friends OF each OF two candidates claim
| Al l.
ton to be decided by windy harran-
CUES, or by force or usurpatlon :by the
violent dictates of party spirit, Or the
resolve OF q town meeting. 1t is a
great question of constitutional law,
and can be no otherwise settled than
| by it's rules aud the long established
usages OF the Government. Let them
! be followed and all danger vanishes.
Let them be departed from, aud who
can tell the result. The first and great
est question is WHO has jurisdiction to
decide this contest. The history OF
the past plainly gives the answer. At
the first election for president the
Government was not yet organized, mo
laws had been passed, and the Gov
ernment had to get its machinery into
running order rs best it could, with
simply the Constitution and the gen
eral public law as guides. In 1893 the
tribunal OF decision and the rules OF
procedure were first fixed by definite,
| weli-considered action. Ever since
that time the tribunal and the rules OF
! procedure have been the came. Dis.
pntes have arisen as to many different
questions connected with the acts OF
canvassing and declaring who WAS
elected President, but the two Houses
| IF Congress have uniformly assumed
md exercised all the Jurisdiction that
ever has been assumed and exercised,
1 in verifying and determining who
| the people. through the Electoral votes,
have chosen President and Vice Pres
ident. And so they must do now.
rhe two Houses ot Congre have this
| Jurisdiction, and not the presiding Of
iicer of that body, lie has not even.
except by courtesy. the right 10 pre-
side over the action of the Houses
In free Amirica no one man by his
sovereign fiat is big enough 10 count
| in President over the heads OF the
people. When the two Houses have
thr0ngh their own appropriate means,
examined, eanyassed, aud counted the
votes legally cast, then, by iheir direc-
! ton an,l with their consent, the Presi-
lent of the Senate has the august hon
Jr of being their mouth-piece. and
| ,rcciai:ning, In the forms of law, TO
;he peoples representaiivest the result
Of the peoples choice. 1t has ever
been so and the two Houses, by their
Committees, are now, 10 all appear
inces, preparing To follow the prece-
tents OF the old tiaIea. When The
work OF The two Houses is thus con
| additionally done, the result is final,
and> whoever is electedl-rilden or
tlaves-the people will see inaugur-
ated. To this concurrent action OF the
Two Houses submission is due and
must be given. To the usurpatiOn OF
my other tribunal submission is not
iue asd will not be given. a Presi
dent with n disputed title would not
command the respect of the American
people, and our Constitution aud laws
are no, SO defective nor are our Courts
so powerless as to have in quiet pos
session President whose tenure of
Office is fraud.
When the two Houses take jurisdic
ton of the canvass aud the count, the
rules OF their procedure, subject onl,
to the Constitution, Ihev determine
for themselves. In obedience to those
rules, o: in the absence of any such
rules the two Houses must concur in
counting votes enough to make ma
iority of all the Electors appointed, or
no candidate can be proclaimed as
chosen bv the Electoral College, and
the election of President will then
constitutionaliy devolve on the He ouse,
and that OF Vice-President on the Sen
ate. The votes of the disputed States
1 a
Louisiana-will be canvased-the
wheat winncwed from the chafi: the
law and the voice ot the people re-
spected; the arbitrary, illegal and
fau lulent work of the Louisiana Re.
turning Board will be undone, and
thirteen thoussn} citizens restored tU
their rights. Aud for Que, | have
abiding faith that this constitutions
course will be taken and il it is taken
and the law elects Tilden and Hen
bricks, they will be seated and judg
ment entered up on the peoples ver-
dict.
My fellow Cit z ms. perhaps here
ought TO close, but duty impels word
more. We hear ii every where bruited
about that the President of the Senate
under the direction of set Of partisan
conspirators, resolved not to yield t.
the popular verdict, will arrogaie t(
himself the right 10 receive and decide
which votes are To- be counted; ant
that he will count only such rs ht
knows will elect Hayes, aud then o
his own motion, without the concur
rent action of the two Houses, pro
claim Hayes elected, and that Gran
will enforce his Inauguration by thu
. | military mower of the Gov ernuaent
Bold and nsurping as this scheme is
. it has bee indorse by so grave ant
influential a paper as the New Yor!
!, Tribune, aud is constantly asserted BY
The eighty thousand ofiice-holders o
be party. Aud, though charged o,
t hem, has not been disavOwed by TIN
: | d L L. L. IL e,