New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-01-24
THE CONSTITUTIONAL METHOD.


the Presidential question, the Constitution OF
tbo limited States shall be scrupulously OBJ
served. Only by that course can we hope 10
arrive at settlement which shall coniiliahu
the respect and confidence OF Intelligent men.
But what does the Constitution require
There are differences of opinion, as is NATURAL
considering human frailty. Ii would be TOO
much TO EXPECT of many statesmen that they
would stouty adhere to IN Interpretation "iich
would bring defeat to all their hopes, because
they had adopted that Interpretation at time
when il was essential to their interests. Ac-
cordingy, we find that Democratic Senators, VINO
have hitherto been conspicuous as defenders OF
State rights, and who stoutly denounced the
throwing out of the vote of any State even on
the ground that it had rebelled and was not
in political relations with the Union, are now
among the most Jealous in urging the right OF
one house Of Congress to throw out the vote
of q State at pleasure. On the other manu-,
we find Republicans who asserted during ana
after the war, hastily, loosely, and almost wlti-
out limit the supervisory power OF Congress
over the returns from the States, and VINO
now uncompromisingly deny the right OF Coil-
gress to go behind the returns. In these CIR
cumstances is il not right for us to look be'
hind these interpretations, shaped by the poit-
zeal interests of recent years, and to accept as
true and binding that Interpretation which was
given to the Constitution by the men who
framed It2
Hundreds of extrac is might be made
from debates IN convention, documents, ana
speeches of the early days, proving that the
controlling object of the trainers OF the Consul
tuition, in devising the electoral system, was 10
remove the Executive as completely as pos
sihle from legislative control. But these ex-
nress,ons of the views of individuals. however
influential and distinguished, all seem inslg
nifcant in authority compared with the lor-
NAL declaration of the Constitutional COnVeh-
ton as a body, and this, fortunately, we ma
in the resolution adopted on the 18th OF Sep
TENDER, 1877. 1t appears in an appendix to
an edition of The Federalist published in 1872,
and was adopted under circumstances which
give it peculiar weight. The convention
had completed its draft of the Constitution,
and that instrument had passed from It's hailds'
to be adopted or rejected 10y the States Then
it was urged that the provision respecting the
counting Of electoral votes was liable TO q
construction hostile to the views OF those WHO
desired to maintain the independence of the
Executive and the rights OF the states III the
choice of a President. And thereupon, as an
Interpretation, and, so to speak, codcll Oi
the Constitution, the very convention which
had framed that instrument formally adopted
the following:
RtsOred That il is the opinion Of this Convention that
as soon as the conventions Of nine states shall have rail-
fed this Constitution, The United States, In Congress as
sembled, should Xix day on which the electors shouu
be appointed by the States which shall have ratine te
same and day on which the electors should assemble
20 vote for the President and the time and place for
commencing proceedings under this Constitution; that
after such publication the ect should be appointed,
and the Senators and Representatives elected; that the
electors should meet on the day fixed for the election OF
the President and should transmit their votes certified
sjgued scaled and directed as the Constitution re-
rc- to Secretary of the United states III Congress
asscmbl that the Senators and Representatives should
convene at the time and place assigned mat he Senators
sio,ld appoint President Of The Senate for the sole
purpose Of ycceirg, opening and counting The rotes Jor
Frcstd,nt aud that alter he shall he choSen the Con
gress together with the President should, without de-
lay proceed TO execute this Constitution.
With this authoritative Interpretation, the
Constitution was submitted to the States.
With this understanding of its meaning it
was adopted and no one can review the his
tory Of that time without the conviction that.
had any Interpretation less favorable to the
rights of the States been given to it, the Constr
tuition could not have been accepted. Upon this
Interpretation, Also the Constitution was en-
forced at the first election, and George Wash
ington, who had signed the resolution above
quoted, WAS declared the first President of the
United States by ga President OF the Senate
for the sole purpose of receiving, opening,
ard c0,mting the votes" Nor is this all, for
precisely the same form WAS followed at sub
seQucnt elections; proposal once made III
the House TO assume a limited power over the
counting of the votes was in that House voted
down, and until 1901 the Interpretation of the
Constitution here given was never seriously
DISPUTED. The most concise and authoritative
statement of the opinion of the trainers of the
Constitution, next to the resolution quoted, is
found IN the speech of Mr.. Charles Pncliney
OF South Carolina, an eminent member of the
Convention, who said, in discussing the Flee
toral bill proposed but defeated lii 1901:
II sa serious inv aston OF OF the important
rights sOcmnIy and explicitly reserved by the COnstu
ton to the state Legislatures IL Is bill more alarming in
sconsouueuces than even the Alien Seliton law
knowing that il the intention of the Constitution to
the President completely independent Of the Fed
craI legislation, ,cc remember WrS hc object is
at yyeseof not 0y The SPIRIT but Nc letter ~ mat tiSb1
10 grc to Congress no interference IA, or CONTROL rsr
the ,Iecton Of q President II never was i'll
tended nor could il have been safe, in tho Constitution
70 have given to Congress thus assembled in convention
the rylt to object TO any vote, or even to question
whether they were cousttutOnaly or properly given
This right of determining on the manner IN which the
electors shalt vote, the inquiry INTO the duaincaiions
and the guards necessary 10 prevent dsquaied or I'M
o,r p.rsons from voting and Ia insure the votes being
ecay given rests and is exclusively vested In the state
Legislatures