The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1877-01-06
From the NeaO York World.
THE PRESIDENTIAL COUNTS.
COMPLETE HISTORICAL RECORD
OF TaE CONDUCT OF
CONGRESS,
AND OF THE LAWS SINCE THE
YEAR 1889.
Full Opinions of Prominent Republi-
can Congressman on the
Issues Involved.


President and Vice President of the United
States, Together with all Congressional Debates
anon that Subject, with an Analytical Intro.
ducton. New York. d. Appleton & Co. 1877.
The energetic house of the Appletons
begins the New Year well by publishing
for the information of the American PEG.
ple thorough and exhaustive record of
all the proceedings taken in congress since
the constitution went into effect with re
gard to the grave question Of a presi.
Dental election. This volume consists of
go pages 1t begins with a careful
analytical introduction which describes in
detail the action taken by congress, from
the temporary expedlent" of 1889 down
to the most recent cases, involving the
independent power of the two houses in
counting electoral notes.-the effect of q
disagreement of the two houses-joint
ballots and votes counted and refused to
be counted by the two houses" The
value of such compilation, made, as this
has been made, with equal care and con-
scientiousness, cannot be Overestimated at
this time. No doubt it is a tedious bust
ness TO plod thoughtfully through such
work. But it is not an amusing piece of
work TO verify the title-deeds of landed
estate or the accounts of u corporation.
And yet who, beginning in his right mind.
would shrink from such labor if his own
fortune and the future of his children
depended upon it? The fortune of every
citizen of the republic, aud the future Of
republican government, depend upon the
triumph of the constitution and the laws
in this presidential question. The Apple
tons, therefore, we repeat, have deserved
well of their country by putting thus within
every mans reach the means of forming a
serious working opinion on the points in
volved.
While we desire to refer our readers to
the book Itself, which will appear next
Tuesday, we think it well to submit to
them to-day the cleyerly prepared
summary of the analytical preface which
precedes the historical recital of the actual
counts made under the constitution. And
this we supplement with the carefully
stated story of the opinion expressed on
the great points of the case by leading
members OF both houses and of both
parties. Here are the facts and here is
the law! Let every honest citizen possess
himself OF the one and make himself
familiar with the other
A careful perusal of the analytical in
PRODUCTION with which the book begins will
probably surprise most of our readers by
the overwhelming evidence it affords OF
the uniform drift Of serious opinion ever
since the foundation OF our government in
favor of the ground now taken by the de
tenders of popular sovereignty in the press
and in congress against the pretensions OF
such revolutionary leaders as Senator
Morton and Senator Logan. 1t will be
found thai no men have been clearer OF
more emphatic on this subject than the
Republican leaders themselves. No pub.
lie parsonage of weight with the Republi
can party has ever deliberately countereC
the doctrine laid down by Abraham
Lincoln in his message of February 10
1865, referring to the Joint resolution
by which eleven states Of the union were
declared in rebellion and forbidden to b,
represented in the Electoral College o.
1864. On that occasion President Lincolr
emphatically stated it as his conviction
that the two houses of congress, con
vened under the twelfth article of the con
stitution, have complete power 10 ex
clude from counting all electoral vote
deemed by them to be illegal. Blu
without attempting to make further cita
tons from this interesting portion of tn
work now under our hands, we proceed a
once to invite the careful attention of GU
readers to the summary which follows tn
analytical introduction, promising it onl
with the important historical fact state
in the closing sentences of the introductio
that there is no instance Of an obiectio
being raised as to the validity of an
electoral vote by the president of the sen
ate, nor OF his expressing an ofhca
opinion as to the force or propriety Of an
objection raised in either house of cor
gress" The following is an extract from
Appleton's publication:
FtrSt-The exclusive jurisdiction of tn
two houses to count the electoral votes b
their own servants and under such il
structiOn as they may deem proper to Civ
on occasions arising during the counting
or by previous concurrent orders, or b
standing joint rules, or by the 70. nal enact
meuts of law, has been asserted from tn
beginning OF the government; that ey
elusive jurisdiction has been exercised q
every presidential election from l793, whe
regular procedure was first established
until and including the last count
electoral votes in 1873. II was exercise
by concurrent orders of the two house
from 1893 to 1865, and by standing oir
rule in 1865, 500 and 1873. Every count
ing at these twenty-oDe successive pres
dental elections has been conducted undo
and governed by the regulations thus in
posed, Those regulations have prescribe
every step in the procedure; have define
and regulated the powers of every perso
who has participated in any minister,
service in the transaction. They hay
l,l 6 a. 4 n -
senate in respect to the counting, exceT
the single act Of opening the packages
the electoral votes transmitted to him
The colleges, which is special dut
imposed on him by the constitution
During all this long period the exclusiy
jurisdiction OF the two houses, exercise
upon numerous successive occasions, b,
never in single instance been the subje
OF denial. dispute or question.
SecORd-The president of the senat
although he has regularly in person or
some substitute appointed by the senat
performed the constitutional duty of ope
ing the electoral votes, has never, on ar
occasion or IN any single instance attemptt
to go a step beyond that narrow an
limited function. In no instance has |
ever attempted to determine what vot
he should open, but has opened all. al
submitted them to the action of the tv
houses, unless required to omit particul
votes by the concurrent orders of the tv
houses, or by enactments, in the form
laws, in which the two houses had co
CURED. Where duplicate or tripIicate r
turns have been received when retur
from two sets of persons claiming to
electorsl, he has invariably opened al
submitted all of them. As me
temporary custodian, in the absence of Il