The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-02-09

tors in Florida, Louisiana and Oregon If |
any such there should be at this election.
The cases of ineligible electors in other
states will not be affected by It, For the
cases of Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and else
where cannot be heard by the commission,
and it is not to be presumed that the re-
publican senate, with the authority OF
Judges Miller and Strong, and Senators
Edmunds and Conkling against the exer-
else of such right, will consent to the re-
lection of the votes of ineligible republican
electors; and with this republican action,
or refueal to act, the presumption that the
democratic house would vote TO reject the
votes of ineligible democratic electors is
equally violent.
But aside from partisan bias, aside from
the weight that the opinions of Judges
Miller and Strong and Senators Edmunds
and Conkling are entitled to, aside from the
excuse that the democrats would be but
following republican precedent, the re-
ceiving and counting the votes of these in
eligible electors could be justified on other
and higher grounds. Under the laws as
they exist, conceding the power and duty
of congress to reject the votes of ineligible
electors, the fact that any Of the cleo
tors-save those in Florida, Louisiana
and Oregon - are ineligible, would
be mere surmise, rest entirely
on assertion without particle of legal
proof to sustain it, and with no power in
congress or elsewhere to receive legal evil
dence thereof in time to be of any avail.
Congress, of course, would not and could
not reject single vote upon an assertion
unsupported by proof.
The vote of Oregon stands upon some
what different grounds than reported a
week ago. The first question will, Of
course, be, whether the governor had the
right to issue a certificate to Cronin. That
this will be decided in the negative would
seem to admit of no doubt. There is no
question, we presume, that Watts was incl
igible to appointment as an elector in No
vember, but it would, alao, appear that he
was eligible to an appointment December
6, for Chief Justice Waite explains that
the decision in the Illinois case has been
inexperienced; the principle of that de-
cision being that officials we're "held to
{" the responsibilities of the office" until
the office was delivere to their successors,
not that they continued to hold office until
their successors were qualified. So that if
the commission go behind the executive
certificate, and decide the matter on the
whole case as presented by the president Of
the senate, the question will probably turn
upon the point whether by the laws OF
Oregon such vacancy existed as could be
filled by the remaining members of the
electoral college.
The case of the Louisiana electors will
present other and different questions. AZ
Stunning it to be settled, for the purposes o.
this election, that no evidence dturade thu
certificates and returns can he received
there still remain questions of law an'
fact to be decided relative to Louisiana
We will not stop, this morning, to conside
them, but will merely suggest them 80 tina
our readers may understand the question
upon which, at present writing, the result
of the presidential election seems to hinge
1t is claimed that, by the laws of Louisians
the Wells returning board had no authorit
> | to canvass the presidential vote, but this
| the canvassing board for this purpose cor
, sisted of the governor, secretary of state
attorney general and district judge this
If the Wells returning board was the prope
canvassing board, in that twas not proper
ly constituted, there being only four, il
stead of five, members, and there being n
, democratic member as required by law
that the protests for intimidation, etc., &c
which the votes of precincts were rejected
were not made within twenty-four hour
, after election, and did not accompany th
; returns as required by law F; that the cal
, vass was made from the wrong returns
that the votes of precincts were thrown Of
D where there We're no protests; ETC., etc.
q We have endeavored, as briefly as pc
o | sible, to indicate the present status of tt
t presidential question and the several que
!, tions upon which its determination seen
J. to depend. 1t will be some days, perhal
l. two weeks, before the question is final
b decided; and it is to be regretted that 6
l. of the many nice and intricate questions i
l. volved should be apparently viewed by Il
e, different members of the commission fro
h party standpoint, and should be final
j. decided by single vote.