Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-02-16

WV
The Electoral Commission decided on
Saturday last by a strict party vote that
the vote Of Florida had been cast for
HAYES and Wheeler. The following are
the
POINTS OF THE DECISION.
First. The commission, exercising the
powers of both houses under the law, and
examined all the certificates and
papers referred to them, find that they haVe
no authority to hear evidence allundl, or
in other words, to hear evidence outside OF
the certificate of the Governor of the State
of Florida, founded upon the determina-
ton of the canvassing board OF the State
as to it's vote. Second. The commission
could not consider as evidence any act OF
the Legislature or courts in determining
whom the state had appointed as elections
after the day the said electors gave thei
vote. Third. In regard to the alleged ineli
gip:lity of f. G. Humphreys there wa:
not sufficient PROC that ne held office Oh
the 7th of November.
THE ODD MAN.
A letter to the Baltimore Sun, says;
On Friday in the secret session of tht
electoral commission it is understood that
one of Democratic Senators, who was ter
ribly in earnest in his appeal that the right
full vote of Florida should be cast, made
some a~llusiom to the fifth judge and the
fifteenth man which. while not impugning
the motives of Justice Bradley, were Of
sucI! a nature as to draw from him a very
I,A1l,I avrracrjnp ne llc inf ont inn To do
what he believed to be right, Irrespective
OF any pressure from without or within.
The result only car tell whether the opin-
ion is we'll founded, but some of those who
know Justice Bradley most intimately
ave their confidence that he cannot bring
himself to disgrace his W judicial record
by unfolding any portion Of that Louisiana
infamy, more than one phase of which he
has so s%cathingly denounced in his judicial
opinions.
THE DISSENT OF TIE HOUSE
The House was occupied nearly four hours
Monday in 1isposing of the question
whether the decision of the electoral com
mission in tile Florida case should be sus-
tanned. The electoral bill permits only If
two hours discussion, but the call OF the
! yeas and nays occupied almost as much
more time. The most peculiar speech in
the debate was that of Mr.. Carr, of Indi-
ana, the successor OF the late Speaker Kerr.
He administered a very severe lecturet to his
| democratic associates, and bulldoZed them
at a great rate for voting to create the
electoral commission and then expressing
disappointment at its findings. His re-
marks were constantly greeted with roars
of laughter from the republican side, where
his lecture was enjoyed amazingly. The
democrats, however, joined the merriment.
The House by q vote Of 15S to 1903 decided
that the decision Of the commission should
not stand, but that the democratic electo.
| raj vote should be counted. This only serv-
ed. of course, to express the opinion of the
House, as the decision Of the commission
stood by reason of tie Senate on Saturday
voting to sustain it.
The Senate was then notified that the
House was ready to It ceive 1t. That body
had been sitting idly since 10 O'Clock in
the morning. waiting to be called over tt
the House-as The presiding officer had de
cided that no business could be transacted.
The Senators received the message with
alacrity, and took very little time in get
ting over. When they had entered the
House hall and were seated, the President
| of the Senate took the chair OF the Speak
er and opened the proceedings of the third
day of the j,int convention for the cunt
of the electoral vote. The Florid vote
was then counted foe Hayes. Then came
Georgia with eleven votes for Tilden, and
illinois with tWenty-one votes for Hayes.
Statements had been made that objection
would be raised 20 the vote of oie of the
Illinois electors, OF the ground chat he
was Ineligible, and there was some curios-
ity to see from whence the objection would
come. But nc Sucts motion was made.
The fifteen votes Of Indiana were then re-
corded for Tilden, the sixteen Of Iowa and
Kansas for Hayes, and the twelve Of Ken
lucky for Tilden. The next certificates
that were opened were from Louisiana
There were two Republican certificates
from Louisiana which seemed to read ex
actly alike, and then the Democratic Ger.
~tificate. Then to
H SURPRISE OF EVERY ONE.
the p esident Of the Senate stated that
there was a fourth certificate, which will
be laid before the JOINT convention. This
was opened and read, and found to be a
builesque account of the proceedings OF
all imaginary electoral college, composed
entirely of John Smiths, and who cast
eight votes for Peter Coorer.
The reading of the paper produced much
me"riment, and several members arose at
different periods of the reading to demand
UiliG III D6 ulSCUiloliiueG W WHO'LL CGlldiOl
Ferry stated that he had no discretion but
to order the reading all papers IT gularly
addressed TO him as President Of the SEN
ate and purporting to be certiicatesof cleo
! toral votes. Afterwards. by a unanimous
consent, he ordered that all mention of
the paper be suppressed in The official re-
cord. Objections We're severely presented
to the reception of the democratic and the
republican vote from tue two sides of the
chamber. These. with ali the papers in
the case. were then ordered to be trans
mitted to the electoral commission, and
the joint convention once more separated.
THE NORTHERN Res ON THE FLORIDA
DECISION.
The New York "World," in comment
ing on the decision of the electoral COM
mission in the Florida case, says:
THE decision can only be accurately de-
scribed in Mr.. Evarts' own words as a plain
attempt to 'supersede the sovereignty of
the people by q government Of judges in
capable of the judicial temper and unequal
to the great trust repOsed in them by a
people weary Of partisan strife, and slow
to believe that the virtues of patriotism
and public honesty have gone clean out of
their public servants"
The New York Herald says:
1t was hardly to be supposed that so Sc
lect q tribunal would act and vote as parti-
sans in a controversy Of such magnitude
and dignity. or that any decision would
depend IN the solitary vote Of the fifth
judge of the Supreme Court.-l5ut tile first
important vote showed this was a delusion.
1t tt Ell bee me evident that the fourteen
members first appointed would act through
out as thick and thin partiSdis, and that
the fifteenth member holds in his single
hand the power to determine who shall
be the next President. On ali really es-
sential questions Judge Bradley has thus
far voted with the republicans, and that
he will pursue this course to the end there
is 10 good reason to doubt. The demo-
Gratis. after their decisive defeat in the
first battIe-the Florida case-have little
To hona for In the two which are to fnllnW :,