Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-03-07
HOUSE.

out the speaker counting 6alu tner(
was quorum present.
Walling demanded call.
The chair said he considered that 8
dilatory motion, but was bound to
submitit. He said while it was al.
lowablc under the rules of the house
it was not under law.
Wood wanted to offer resolution
but Walling insisted on his motion,
Haskins said if a call could be de-
manded at any time during the pro.
ceedings further business was impos-
sible. Nobody had rightto claim
there was no quorum if the chair as
ccrtained there is.
Walling dislaimed any reflection on
the chair in not accepting his state.
ment, and demanded the yeas and
nays which resulted,- yeas 6S, nays
l69, and the call of the house was re.
fused. This proceeding consumed an
hour and q quarter, and was followed
by O motion to reconsider, which the
speaker entertained, notwithstanding
Woods protest.
The speaker contended he had never
ruled or decided or inferred that a
motion to reconsider was dilatorv.
Wood then raised point of order
that the house must consider the Yer.
mont objections, and Popleton's prop.
osition was out of order.
Caulfield said that was correct un-
less there was an impediment in the
way.
Springer had yesterday offered OBJ
lection together with certificate
which the vice president refused te
open.
Hooker argued against the point o
order and for the admission OF th,
second certificate.
Reagan supported the point Of or
der.
The motion to reconsider was ia
bled-l74 to 65.
Wood, Poppleton, Caulfield and
Mills struggled for recognition
claiming they had questions of tht
highest privilege to submit.
1t seemed the Speaker had recog
nized Wood before the motion for {
call of the House, and Poppletor
presented objections to the certificate
from Vermont. Consequently tht
Speaker arranged with these gentle
men that Poppleton should offel
Woods resolution and that Woof
should move the previous question
In the meantime Caulfield, who wa
not recognized, handed Poppleton {
resolution, which Poppleton sent Il
the clerks desk.
The Speaker suggested that thi
was hardly in consonancc with thu
agreement made, but Poppleton in
sisted on reading it.
1t recites that the Hewitt packag,
of votes from Vermont was dupli
cate of the one which was sent to th'
President of the Senate; that sucl
package had been made part of thu
objection to the certificate of Yer
mont, and still remained unopened
and that the objection cannot be con
sidcred until such package is opened
according to law; that such package
is retained by the President or Secre
tary of the Senate, and, therefore, re
solving that the refusal of the Prcsi
dent of the Senate to open sucl
package in the presence of the tive
Houses was violation of the law ant
privileges of the House, and the count
ing of the vote cannot proceed unit
such vote is counted, and that tn,
Senate be requested to meet the House
in joint session, that the package ma!
be opened.
The Speaker then announced a new
legislative day.
There was brief pause duIin!
prayer, but reading of the journa
gave Springer an opportunity and h,
demanded that a detailed Statement
Of the papers votes sc be not omitted
in the reading.
The speaker stated that that wa
impossible as the details were not cop
pied in the journal.
The speaker refused to entertain
any question until the reading of thu
journal was completed.
When the reading ended Springer
moved that the journal be corrected
and that the paper submitted on thu
Cooley question be inserted.
Wood moved to suspend the read
ing Of the journal and the motion re-
suited, yeas 1S5, naycs IS.
regretted that where his
side had good substantial objections
to the electoral count that any others
could be made which would not com.
mand the respect Of the House.
The Speaker said, with my best re-
spect for all parties concerned, the
Chair considers that q great mistake
| and UrnuO n vvuo a cnvn uNittol vostnr10v
in the joint session of the two Houses
in this that the presiding officer re.
fused to receive even for opening
reading and information package
which had all the surroundings of an
authentic paper in respect to the cleo
toral vote of the State Of Vermont
The Chair does not think in any as
pect of this case he would be called
upon to rule that the action Of thu
presiding officer of tho joint conyen
tion yesterday was wrong. lie doe
not think he possesses the power, mol
does he believe that in a technica
sense the action of the joint conven
ton could be reviewed in this House
in the manner proposed, and yet Their
is above all fact on which this mat
ter rests; that fact is whether thi
House should have possession Of thi
paper. To that extent, and to tina
textent only, the Chair thinks that th'
resolution Of the gentleman from
Illinois (Caulflcld) is in order.
| While the Speaker was delivering
this opinion, there was a subsidenc
of the uproar.