The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-02-15
THE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL.
The EuII Text Of the Bill Reported 10y the
Joimf Committee Of Congress.

Tie following is the complete text ot
the bill agreed upon by the Joint com
mittee on counting the electoral vote Of
the United States
A bill to provide for and regulate the
counting of votes for President and
Vice President, and the decision Of
questions arising thereon, for the
term commencing March 4, 4. ID.
1877:
BE 1t enacted, etc., That the Senate
and House of Representatives shall meet
in the hall of the House of Represen-
tatiyes, at the hour of one o'clock P. NJ,
on the first Thursday III February, A.
D. 1877, and the president of the Senate
shall be their presiding officer. Two
tellers shall be previously appointed sn
the part of the Senate and two on the
part of the House of Representatives, to
whom shall be handed, as they are open-
ed by the president of the Senate, ell
the certificates and papers purportlng to
be certificates of electoral votes, which
certificates and papers shall be opened,
presented, and acted upon III the alpha
betical order of the States, beginning
with the letter 4, and said tellers having
then read the same in the presence and
hearing of the two houses, shall make a
list of the votes as they shall appear
from the said certificates, and, the votes
having been ascertained and counted as
in this act provided, the result OF the
same shall be delivered to the president
of the Senate, who shall thereupon an
nounce the state of the vote and the
names of the persons, II any, elected,
which announcement shall be deemed a
sufficient declaration of the persons elect
ed President and Vice-President Of
the United States, and together with a
list of the votes shall be entered on the
journals of the two houses. Upon such
reading of any certificate or paper, when
there shall be only one return from the
State, the president of the Senate shall
call for objections, if any. Every OBJ
lection shall be made in writing, and
shall state clearly and concisely and with
out argument the ground thereof, and
shall be signed by at least one senator
and one member of the House OF Repre-
sentatives before the same shall be re-
ceived. When all objections so made to
any vote or paper from State shall have
been received and read, the Senate shall
thereupon withdraw, and such objections
shall be submitted to the Senate for its
decision, and the speaker of the House
of Representatives shall i'll like manner
submit such objections to the House Of
Representatives for its decision, and no
electoral vote or votes from any State
from which but one return has been re-
ceiyed shall be rejected except by the
affirmative vote of the two houses. When
She two houses have voted they shall im-
mediately again meet, and the presiding
officer shall then announce the decision
of the question submitted.
Sec. 2. That if more than one return
or paper purporting to be return from
State shall have been received by the
president OF the Senate, puIporting to
be the certificates OF electoral votes given
at the lust preceding election for Presi-
dent and Vice President i'll such State,
unless they shall be duplicates Of the
same return, all such returns and papers
shall be opened by him, III the presence
of the two houses, when met as afore:
said, aid read by. the tellers, and sil
such returns and papers shall thereupon
be submitted to the judgment and deci-
sions as to which is the true and lawful
electoral vote OF such State of commits
sion constituted as follows, namely:
During the session of each house on the
Tuesday next preceding the first Thurs
nav in February, 1877, each house shall
by rira roce vote appoint five of It's
members, who, with the five associate
justices of the supreme court OF the I'M
ted States, to be ascertained as herein
after provided, shall constitute com
mission for the decision of all questions
upon or in respect of such double re-
turns named in this section. On the
Tuesday next preceding the first Thurs
day of February, A. d. 1877, or as soon
thereafter as may be, the associate JUS
tices of the supreme court OF the United
States now assigned to the first, third,
eighth and ninth circuits shall select, in
such manner as a majority of them shall
deem fit, another of the associate JUS
tees of said court, which five persons
shall be members of the said commits
sion, and the person longest in commits
sion of said five justices shall be the
president OF said commission. Members
of said commission shall respectively
take and subscribe the following oath
81. -, do solemnly swear Tor
affirm, as the case may be- that ] will
impartially examine and consider all
questions submitted to the commission
of which I am member, and a true
Judgment give thereon, agreeably TO the
Constitution and laws, SO help me God.
Which oath shall be filed with the secre-
tary of the Senate.
When the commission shall have been
thus organized it shall not be in the
power of either house to dissolve the
same or to withdraw any OF its mem-
bers; but if any such senator or mem-
ber shall die or become physically I'M
able to perform the duties required by
this act. the fact of such death or physi-
cal inability shall be by said commission,
before it shall proceed further, communl-
Gated to the Senate or House Of Repre-
sentatives, as the case may be, which
body shall immediatel Sand without de-
bate proceed by riro uOce vote to fill the
place SO vacated, and the person ap-
pointed shall take and subscribe the
u;,Sh hereinbefore prescribed, and be-
come @ member Of said commission.
And, in Ike manner, if any OF said JUS
tees of the supreme court shall die or
become physically incapable of perform
ing the duties required by the act, the
other of said justices, members of the
said commission, shall Immediately ap-
point another justice of said court a
member of said commission, and in such
appointments regard shall be had to the