Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-01-24
The Report Of the Committee of
Fourteen,

pointed by the Senate and Lower
House of Congress to devise a plan
by which the unpleasant wrangle over
the result of the Presidential cleo
ton may be satisfactorily settled, re-
ported last Thursday.
The plan is a good deal after the
plan of the celebrated 22nd joint
rule that was repealed at q former
session.
This is the report OF the commit
tee of fourteen,
A bill to provide for and regulate
the counting of votes for President
and Vice President, and the decision
of questions arising thereon for the
term commencing March 4, 1877.
Be it enacted. by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the
United States of America, Ia Con
gress assembled, that the Senate and
House of Representatives shall meet
in the hall of the House of Repre-
sentatives, at the hour of l o'clock
post meridian on the first Thursday
in February, Ammo Domini 1877, and
the President of the Senate shall be
their presiding officer. Two tellers
shall previously be appointed on the
part of the Senate, and two on the
part of the House of Representatives,
to whom shall be handed, as they are
opened by the President of the Sen
ate, all the certificates and papers
purporting to be certificates Of the
electoral votes, which certificates and
papers shall be opened, presented
and acted upon in the Alphabetical
order Of the States, beginning with
the letter A, and said tellers having
then read the same in the presence
and hearing of the two houses shall
make a list of votes as they appear
from the said certificates, and the
votes having been ascertained and
counted as in this act provided, the
result of the same shall be delivered
to the President of the Senate, who
shall thereupon ANNOUNCE the state
of the vote and the names of the per
sons, if any, elected, which announce
ment shall be deemed a sufficient
declaration of the persons elected
President and Vice President of the
United States, and together with a
list of the votes be entered on the
journals of the two houses.
Upon such reading of any such GER
tifcate or paper, when there shall be
only one return from a State, the
President of the Senate shall call for
objections, if any. Every objection
shall be made in writing, and shall
state clearly and concisely, and with
out argument, the ground thereof,
and shall be signed by at least one
Senator and one member of the
House of Representatives before the
same shall be received When all
objections 30 made to any vote or
paper from State shall have been
received and read the Senate shall
thereupon withdraw, and such OBJ
jections shall be submitted to the
Senate for its decision, and the
Speaker of the House of Represen-
tatives shall in like manner submit
such objections to the House of Rep
resentatives f. its decision and no
electoral votes from any State from
which but one return has been re-
ceived shall be rejected except by the
affirmative vote of the two houses
When the two houses have voted they
shall Immediately again meet, and
the presiding officer shall then an
nounce the decision of the question
submitted
SEC. 2 That if more than one re-
turn or paper purporting to be re-
turn from the State shall have been
received by the President of the Sen
ate purporting to be the certificates
of electoral votes given at the last
preceding election for President and
Vice President in such State unless
they shall be duplicates of the same
return), all such returns and papers
shall be opened by him in the pres
ence of the two houses, when met as
aforesaid, and read by the tellers,
and all such returns and papers shall
thereupon be submitted to the judg
ment and decision as to which is the
true and lawful electoral vote of such
State, of a commission constituted as
follows, namely: During the session
of each house on the Tuesday next
preceding the first Thursday in Feb
ruary, 1877, each house shall by viva
voce vote appoint five of its members,
who, with the five Associate Justices
OF the Supreme Court of the United
States to be ascertained as herein
after provided, shall constitute com
mission for the decision of all ques-
tions upon or in respect of such dou-
bic returns named in this section.
On the Tuesday next preceding the
first Thursday in February, A. d.
1877, or as soon thereafter as may be,
the ASSOciafa ,IuSticeS of the Su