Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-01-26

Tor him, because there were no contrOver-
sizes in those cases, as to the actual result of
the elections. The Constitution said tina:
the votes should be counted. The COnsti-
tutiOnal Convention asked the First Senate,
as it did. to appoint President OF the
Senate for the purpose of counting the
votes. IL did not appoint him for the pur-
pose otjudging the votes If it had it would
have said 80. But ifyou are to give the lam
guago its broade>t possible Interpretation
YOU would find that on that very day each
House OF Congress, by a resolution OF Its
own. provided for the manner in which be
should pronounce that result, and COM
handed him in what form he should make
it known to the persons elected, and he
obeyed the command. Ii he had this in
dependent power that is talked about vested
in him by the Constitution as being the
supreme Judge only in the presence OF in
different witnesses who have no more right
to interfere than witness in court has with
the proceedings of the Judge, would
they have done that ? | do not think
that the idea ever entered their heads.
And as you sweep along down through the
course of cases when there was no contest
or dispute, but merely formal reading and
counting of papers, II IS OF very little con-
sequence to inquire whether the President
OF the Senate read and counted them, W neither
the telers read and counted them, OF
whether nobody read ard counted them, so
that you getat what everybody knew befJre-
hand was the result. But whenever and on
the first occasion that any question arose
as to what was the constitutional vote of a
State. either arising from ineligibiliry or
other questions about its Elect ors, or from
the condition of the State itself. you find
IL. Al ttk
ed on the face of the earth, that he had such
power; and that each House in the alb
sence Of legislation assum6d-l think there
is great doubt about the correctness of their
assumption. but they did assume, either by
the expression of their judgment or by the
dictates of their command-to determine
what should be done, So then. Mr.. Presi-
dent, it cannot be maintained that this bill
is unconstitutional upon the ground that 1t
takes away from the President Of the Senate
or the House of Representatives a power
which the Constitution has vested in them,
free from limit, and free from guide. and
free from regulation to be exercised ac-
cording to their own opinion of what may
be the public propriety of the occasion.
Having said so much, Mr.. President. for
the present dismiss the subject, in the
hope that the Senate will carefully consider
whether it is wise, by stimulating doubts
in their own minds, or by allowing their
wishes to overturn their Judgment, to send
this Republic on the first Thursday in Feb
ruary, or the second Wednesday in that
month, like the mountains which the poet
has spoken of that were tumbllng into the
sea without shore; or whether it IS bet
ter that in the fair course of equal law a
dispute shall be justly settled.
Speech Of Senator Morton.
Mr.. Morton said this bill was product
of the Mississippi plan. The shadow of in
tiridation had entered the Senate Chamber.
lie believed Rutherford B. Hayes had been
elected President of the United States under
the forms of law and according to law and
should DO counted in, as eighteen other
Presidents had been, and inaugurated
There would be no revolution. There have
been many loose opinions expressed. the
first impressions without examination OF tho
question. have done so myself. He classed
the bill with the compromises OF 1870 and OF
1850. He was not an advocate OF State SOW
ereignty, but was of State rights. had
supposed that all agreed that in the absence
of legislation the President of the Senate
must count the votes The President of the
Senate did count the votes for seventy-two
years. The tellers were mere facilities Tor
making the calculations and keeping the
accounts. They counted what the Presi-
dent OF the Senate handed them down to
count. and the handing them down the GER
tifcates to count was the declaration OF the
vote it contained. From 1883 to 1861 the
resolutions appointing tellers provided that
they were to make list of the votes as they
were declared. The counting of the votes
was ceremony to which tho two houses
were witnesses. The Constitution provId 8
that the President of the Senate shall, in
the presence of the two houses. open all the
certificates, and the Vote shall then be
counted, and if no one candidate has a ma
jority Of all the Electors appointed, the
House shall Immediately Proceed TO elect.
The process thus contemplated was very
simple One-slmply to open the certificates
and count the votes, but contemplated no
time or place to try questions OF eligibility,
either Of the candidates or OF the Electors.
Whether the Electors were eligible was a
matter left with the States under the IN
functions of the Constitution. the handing
down of the certificate by the President Of
the Senate was declaration of the vote
contained in it.
Very few Republicans respect this bill.
twill be taken by Republicans, if taken at
all, as. a dose OF castor oil. Senator Ed
munds burned his ships behind him when
he denied the power of the President OF the
Senate to count the vote in the absence OF
leg isation. He thus seemed to make it a
necessity to accept this bill. IL has been
announced BY a member of Congress that
900 20, ho hera n N the llrh nj
February, 10000 to come from Kentucky
alone. hope our Kentucky Senators will
make arrangements to entertain them
handsomely. We hear notes OF preparation
everywhere. Senators are afraid OF vlo-
lence, of sOmo desperate revolutionary act.
We are told that we dare not count this
vote as it was done for the first seventy-two
years of our existence. | feel that am in
the presence of political situation which
| cannot describe. The dangers TO which
we are subject do not spring from violence,
but from weakness on our own part. Geolo-
gists tell US there was period IN the earth s
crust where there were skull-less yerte-
brates. Now We have got to the period
when there arc vertebrateless skulls The
power to count the votes resides IN the
President of the Senate, or in the two
Houses. II it resides in the Houses 1t can
not be delegated to a Commission or to
court. The mere matter OF counting votes
is clerical and may be performed by t Her.
IL any question arises that requires Judg-
ment or discretion 1t cannot be delegated to
a Commission. The decision oil Conference
Committee Is binding only upon being rati-
fed by both Houses. but the decisions OF
the Commission are binding unless reversed
by the action Of both Houses. Ii Is IN
every respect a court invested with high
judicial powers to decide questions OF law.
as well as fact, with right OF appeal
not to another court. but to the
two Houses of Congress. The power
to count the Electoral vote is either
a political or judicial power. lift IS po-
litical power it must be decided by the
political department of the Government,
and cannot be delegated to u court. II 1t is
judicial power it must be exercised by
court, and not by the political department
of the Government, and an appeal must be
made to another court, and not to the two
Houses of Congress Four Judges of the
Supreme Court are selected by circuits. end
the circuits are selected because OF the no.
litical antecedents of the judges. The
Senator from Vermont does not d. himself
justice when no represents that these
Judges have been selected because of their
geographical distribution. and the bull IN
selecting them by circuits instead OF by
name sets up u harmless little sham that de-
ceives nobody. There is no power tn 20
behind tho returns of the election OF Flee
tors as certified by the proper returning or
canvassing officers of the State. State
Courts cannot do IT, nor can Congress, nor
the United States Courts The Electors are
to be appointed in such manner a. tho
Legislatures of the States prescribe, and
when their appointment has been certified
in the manner prescribed by the Leglsla-
lures OF the States, that Is final and bind
ing upon all parties and this without re-
gard to the question whether the votes are
TO be counted by the President Of the Sem
ate or by the two HOUSES. For Congress
or this COMMISSION to 20 behind the de-
cision of the returning officers of the State
would be revolution, utterly suhSersive OF
State rights, and would draw 10 Congress |
the power that was intended TO he lett 10 |
the States. IL would transfer to Congress
the right TO decide " no have been elected |