The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-02-01
TIE ELECTORAL BILL BECOMES A
Law,
WAsH:NGToH. Jan. 25. 1877

WASHINGTON, Jan. %, 1877.
ihe opposition 10 tile Electoral bill
broke down shortly after seven O'Clock
tdiss ni"rniug. anu Dir. Sargent, saying ne
had intended to Offer several amendments,
but rcfrained because he saw none would
be accepted, demanded the yeas and nays.
The bill WAS passed by larger vote than
was expected by it's friends, forty seven
voting for it, seventeen against and nine
absent or not voting at all.
ANALYSIS OF THE VOTE.
Ofthc yeas twenty y-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. Senator'S Harvey.
Hitchcock, Logcn, Norwood and Oglcsby
are absent from town. Sc .ator Spencer
did not intend to vote. He has held con
stantly that there WIS no election, that
neither of the candidates is entitled to be
put i'll 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 end lodged"
OF the sixteen Republicans who voted
against the bill Senators Bruce, Clayton,
Conover, Dorsey, Hamilton, Patterson
and West (seven) are 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 i'll 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
Senator'S from thirty-one Of the thirty.
eight States voted for the bill, and that
OF sixteen States both the Senator'S sup.
ported it,. Senators from fifteen States
voted against it, and of these only two
Maine and Arkansas-casi both the Sen.
way, the vote is overwhelmingly i'm favor
of the bill, and the Republican majority
for it is specially overwhelming.
a TEST OF ORTHODOXY.
The attempt Of Senator Morton, there.
fore, 70 "read out Of the Republican par.
ty" all who should support the bill seems
4. to be conspicuous failure 1t was q
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 tho
) evils which carpet-bag rule has brought
, on the South. His currency hereses arc
? too notorious to need mention, and there
was smile among the Republican Sena
tors at every allusion Mr.. Morton made
which seemed to assume to himself great
| mr. fill tfu f<,t t,ra l..
, ling to grant to others, or the right OF
account of such greater fidelity to "rcac
anybody out"
THE VICE PRESIDENTS POWER
In another and more important wn,
l the debate has had an unexpected effect
e In spite of the constant and vehemen
p assertion Of the Republican newspape
organs all over the country that the Vic,
President has the power under the con
7 stitution to count the vote, in spite of thu
e letters of prominent Republican politi
cians such as General Dix, Mr.. Slough
8 ton, Mr. C0liax and Others asserting tn,
same thing, there remained this morning
G but single Republican Senator viii
. ventured to maintain this doctrine, and
that was Mr.. Sargent, whose opinion ha.
no particular weight. In last nights de
|
: in what he undertakes, read to Mr.. Nor
: ton such a number and variety of iha
gentleman's expressions Of opposition [,
. the Vice Presidents counting the vote
that poor Mr.. Morton was Obliged to con
y fess that he had never held that he ough
!, TO count it, but only that if the tw.
- two houses, VIM haG the right, faiied tt
provide Il way, then the Vice President
y must "of necessity" and not by constitu
c tional right, count it. AS to Mr.. Sher
y man, he was asked paint blank By Scns
tor Thurman whether he held that the
j., Vice President bad the constitutions
' right to count the vote, and fell into great
, and lamentable confusion about it, being
f understood TO say finally that the two
n houses bad rights and evidently being
> muddled IA to what rights any body has
about it. That ghost, therefore, is laid
unless Mr. Snrgent should set up as 8
l witch and try to raise him.
c The fact IS, the greater part of the Sen
ate was in singular condition of igno
rance about it in December. Few mer
had studied the question fundamentally
and OF those who had Senator Morton
I Tor his own reasons, abandoned all he hat
said IN previous sessions. Senator Conk
ling showed in his speech that he hat
profoundly and thoroughly investigated
the question. He was master OF ever,
detail of it. and he shed light on /
I which convinced all who were open tt
!. conviction, except Mr. Blaine, who il
said to have hcsitated up to late hou,
last night and nt last concluded to follow
Senator Hnmlin's advice and Senator
e Morton's leadership and vote no.
SPECULATION ON M0RToN's ACTION.
There has been much speculation her,
about the reasons which induced Senntol
Morton to turn his back so delibcratel,
and completely on sl he had been ure
ing during several sessions-since 1878
in iact--about the necessity of "A method
of counting The vote, the rights of III;
houses over the vote and the extrem,
, danger to the country of having no M eth
cd. 1t is supposed, of course, that he ant
those who have been conspicuously will
him have the desire to figure as the mos
useful friends of Governor Hayes, in cass
: he becomes President, out is doubtful i
they have made success of it. Friends
81 Governor Hayes here say positivel,
that the opposition to the Electoral bill
; in the Columbus State journal does mo-
represent his views; that he, like Mr.
Tilden, has been very careful not to ex
press an opinion about it, and that The
general opposition of Ohio politicians t,
1t Ia not, in any manner, iustigated o
conntenanced by him. This statemen
8 comes on good authority, and, If it is nc
curate, nothing will have been made b,
Mr.. Mor,On's general dcnr Nc iation O.
D | Republican Senutora for ~, hal;ay;n,