Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1877-02-21
FORTY FOURTH CONGRESS-.
Second Session.
House..
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WASHINGTON, February 90
| House met at 10 o'clock. Half an hour was
consumed in calling the roll. Gibson offered an
order that the Hay s electoral vote of Louisiana
| be rot counted.
Seelye said that in the case of the Louisiana
election it seemed to him perfectly clear THAT the
charges made by each party against the other
were IN the main true. No facts ever
proved more conclusively than the fraud and cor
| ruption charged on the one side. and the intimi.
dation and cruelty charged on the other. Which
of the two sides went furthest in their wrong do
| ing, it would be very hard to say. The corrup-
| tion on one side seems as henious as the cruelty
of the other was horrible. and on both sides there
| did not seem TO be any limit to the extent they
went 10, save where the requirements of the case
did not call tor any more.
Granted that the con- mission had clearly inter-
preted and accurately applied the laws, yet what
if the very principles on which the laws must rest
become thereby subverted mo nation" said
Neibuhr, lever died except by suicide, and the
suicidal vice is engendered not much in unjust
statutes of government as in the immoral pI &C
tees OF people which government is unable to
punish and unable to restrain"
Joyce supported the decion of the electoral
| commission, and asked whether anybody sup
posed that if the decision had been the other way
the wang sounds about corruption would have
been heard from the democratic party
Mr. Levy (La.) made appeal to the great
generous American heart in behalf of Louisiana,
in this hour of domestic and national peril, and
he u, nj on N Al uce mi ted nv ha
returning hoard and IN which tho Conmis.;nn
now gave force and effect.
Townsend of Pa e,nressed bis aston;sbmart
at the opposition made to the decision of the cleo.
toral committee by the democratic party, particu-
larry as the commission was tribunal Of demo-
cratic creation. He defended the action.
Mcmahon of Ohio said that in his opinion the
decision in the case of Louisiana was worse in the
consequence To the American neonIe. Tho, the 10.
csion IN Florida shows in that the Com
ton. Now il attempted IN ove,rnIe II lie nod
been TO Louisiana and he could saw that Samnei
I Tilden had carried I ouisana a. fairly and hon
cstIy as Haves had carried Ohio. '"' nun
Mr.. Rice of Ohio. protested araipst wrong and
violence embodied IN the 6ecision and argned
that the whole snbect should hc reierreI hack N
the commission
Crano Of Mass said he wopd defa,d tho mr.
ton OF the returning hoard Int he asked what
must have been the condit;op of s,ata hot mad
srch a hoard necessary. that roouiroJ snch a .,,s
fem in order IN puard against vinlsnce and m mo
tect in their noliiica r;gbt Tho timid tho ignorant
and the ipoffensiye. against the strong. the des.
peratc and the lawless.
Mr. Wa,terson said the cases are open IN tho
majority ON this floor. On The one hand passion.
ate ontcrv nj once ;mno.ant anil ch,Idisb on tho
other hand. without offering needless obstrnction
to the progress of events an earnest. manly but
temperate protest against what we believe great
and trievons wrong In nv Judgment the Later
is our clear and bonndep d1y.
Mr.. Danford defended the decision as one
which. outside of party feeling, would meet the
APPROVAL of the whole American people.
Cox opposed the abortion of the report of ,he
commission. Kelly favored il and Pratt defended
il.
The debate closed at one o'clock and the House
then proceeded to vote on Gbson's resolution that
the decision of the commission be not AGREED 10
Adopted. yeas l72. NAYS 49, a party vote. excent
that Seelye and Pierce of Mas voted win the
democrats
A message was then sent To the Senate that the
House was ready to meet that BODY in Joint con-
venton.