Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-02-21
JOINT CONVENTION.

JOINT CONVENTION.
AT 10 o'clock the House met and
took recess till 10: IS, the time being
occupied in preparing for the recep-
ton of the Senate.
The galleries were crowded as
usual on the days when the connt is
to proceed.
Precisely at II the Senate arrived.
The presiding officer said the Joint
Meeting Of Congress resumes its ses-
sion. The objections presented to the
certificates from the State of Louisi-
ana having been submitted TO the
Commission, the two Houses have re-
convened to receive and consider the
decision of that tribunal in writing
by a majority of the commissioners
and signed by a majority of the COM
missioners agreeing thereto.
The decision given was read.
1t is in language the same as the
decision in the case of Florida, with
this difference that where the latter
recites "the Commission has decided"
the words of the present decision are
"the Commission has by majority
NOtC uCCIucOs liz OilCIdl COHlIllu-
nication continues, and says the
ground of this decision is that it ap-
pears upon such evidence as the Con-
stitution and the laws, called the
Electoral Law, considers competent
and pertinent to the consideration of
the subject, that the aforementioned
electors appear to have been lawfully
appointed such electors for President
and Vice President of the United
States, for the term beginning March
4th, 1877, of the State of Louisiana,
and that they voted as such at the
time and in the manner as provided
for by the Constitution of the United
States and laws. The Commission has
by majority of votes decided that it
is not competent under the Constitu.
ton and laws, as it existed at the date
of the passage of said act, to go into
evidence alieundi of the papers open
ed by the President Of the Senate in
the presence of the two Houses, to
prove that other persons than tho &c
regularly certified to by the Governor
of the State of Louisiana and accord
ing to the determination of their APP
pointment by the returning officers
for elections in said State, prior to the
time required for the performance of
their duties, had been appointed cleo
tors, or by counter proof to show
they had not, or that the determine
ton of said returning officers was not
in accordance with truth and fact.
The Commission by majority of
votes being of the opinion that it is
not within the jurisdiction of the two
Houses of Congress to count the votes
for President and Vice President, to
enter upon the trial of such question.
The Commission by majority vote
is also of the opinion that it is not
competent to prove that any Of said
persons so appointed electors as af0re-
said held offices of trust or profit I'M
| der the United States at the time
when they were appointed, or that
they were ineligible under the laws
of the State, or any other matter,
offered to be proved dlieunde said
certificates and papers. The Com
mission are also of the opinion by a
majority vote that the returning
officers who canvassed the votes at the
election for electors in Louisiana,
were lawfully constituted body by
virtue of constitutional law, and that
the vacancy in said body did not
| vitiate its. proceedings. The Com
mission has also decided and does
hereby decide by a majority of the
votes, and reports accordingly, upon
the ground before stated, that the
paper purporting to be the certificate
Of the electoral votes of said State of
Louisiana, objected to by T. @.
Howe and others, marked N. C.. No.
2, by the Commission and herewith
returned is not the certificate of votes
provided for by the constitution of
the United States, and that they
ought not to be counted as such. The
signatures are Saml +. Miller, w.
Strong, Joseph p. Bradley, Geo. +.
Edmunds, o. p. Morton, Fred X.
Frelinghuysen, Jas. A. Garfield, Geo.
+. Hoar.
The decision having been read the
presiding officer asked whether there
were any objections t, decision. Glib
son presented objections to decision
on the ground that The Commission
had refused 10 receive the evidence
which had been offered and had de-
cided that the votes mentioned in cer-
tificates l and 3 should be counted
for Hayes and Wheeler, such
evidence to the contrary notwith-
standing. The paper cites at great
length the proceedings Of the COM
mission but the point of it is the re-
lection of the evidence. 1t is sign
ed by most of the democrats in both
houses and occupied an hour
in, reading and was SO rem
arkably dry that after the
first five minutes, conversation began
and nobody paid the slightest atten-
ton to it. Finally it was concluded
amid considerable uproar and men,
bers were given an opportunity to
sign it which added to the noise.
Al IL AS the joint convention was
again called to order and the pre-
siding officer asked whether there
were any further objections to the
decision. Senator Wallace presented
objections which were read. They
are:
First-That the decision is in viola
ton Of the electoral act, in this, that
by the act the commission is required
to decide whether and what votes
from such state are votes provided
for by the constitution and what per-
sons were duly appointed electors,
yet the commission refused to exam
inc and ascertain who were duly ap.
pointed electors in the state of Louis
lana and what votes from that state
are within the provisions of the con-
stitution Of the United States.
Second-Because the act creating
the commission was and is to the end
that the commission would hear and
examine the evidence and honestly
decide what electors in any disputed
state were fairly and legally chosen
whereas the commission refused to
hear and consider the evidence offer
ed to show the electors whose votes
the commission had decided should
be counted, were not duly chosen but
that they had falsely and fraudulent
ly acted as such electors and also re-
fused the offer to show that the pre-
tended certificates of election were
obtained by corruption and were
wholly untrue.
The presiding officer having called
for other objections to the decision,
Tochraua nrnsanta1 nhio.fsors onI