Smyrna times., 1878-05-29
The Presidents Title.

, lauIC with the Ste because we do ,,ot nv NV
ti IHe way TO ousting President Haves fronC
v fne ftiS ollce quite as clearly as they do. bove
ro;tS nG;tSo'teh' somehow, the facts connectod
WI WIN the case, the discussion in the nross
@ anu III ooth houses of Congress wbicI,
, tho 80 'he passage of the electoral bill
onea; ono ternlS OF the bill ITSELF and the nro'
~insS uhder 1t. 1t is necessary to re.
member these things before nndoTtoI 10
rashly to decide how the resnltS "f C'Nt til
electoral bill may be nullified and tbo 1Ilo jo
IlSloh OF the commission created bv i Y,a,,
oe reviewed and set aside. Take fon 10y n':
%npie; The case of our correspondent ,vho
ol9hs hlmself "Old Times" whose oona
nl"llici'tion we print to-day. There 10 ~
al an argument that he adduces in rae,-,,.t 80 ~
me erect OF false and Fraudulent oIpoto,SI
certincates which was not exhausted J',H;.H "I
tne debates before and after the noesaTa &c
lne Dlli. Before the bill was ever tIrM.t. i.
OIL Judge Black and other, argnad eil
quehtiy and ably that an electoral w.
oaseu upon false and fraudulent retnrns NV,
nv nv 'o'e at all and ought not to be conntoJ
Ina! l"t was the argument of the able danoo'
Cr@tic GTI counsel, Judge Campbell. CbarIos
t ooll!lot ana others before the electoroI
oF tha i1 mat was the able argument
,,li,si sno "eahGcratlc members of the com.
I'IJ @n, ~, oi justices Clifford and Field. of
EIoriG ELusG thurman and Senator Bayard in the
Ioa. ~" I anu louisiana cases. Neyertbe |
less, oy majority of one. bv vote of ai1Et
70 seven, the commission decided tl.a93 -
was not competent under the constitntion ~
a. alu laws, to receive any evidence oE,nI,
'he certificates themselves to show tbot os.
persons other than those regularly cert;Ga3
" nave been appointed electors h., +I,
HoFeFIor OF the State, were so appointed on
oy counter-proof to show that tbo,, 80 ~
not Tins was the decision in tho EIon;Jo
case ana 1t was repeated in the Ton;S;a,'
case, with the ah(7,dt,n that il ..yvaS 'at
competent to show that the determinnt;o,
.i oi the State returning officers. unon yyL;oii
'"e Governors certificate was based ,yns
noV no III accordance with truth and f,ct"
lne u majority of the commission "bo;n, ~
lne opinion that it is not within tho ;,Tr;. !
'Ictloh OF the two houses assembled -
iouIiC ~ the votes for President and Voc,
- iesIueht TO enter upon trial of sucb |
! !. ,,. lierc was q fiat decision. II l
: nv i""teFlal now whether it was RIGHT or '
'lo"s. ~ was decision rendered by y '
,,;o,. majority OF one, and which brought $
're'ous disappointment to the hearts Of
majority Of the American neonIo H. ~ u
was decision rendered strictly w;tI,;, ~ t
ne ne scope OF the act Of January 30 1877 b
ne electoral bill, which referred the Flor;da a
ma LOUISIANA cases to the electoral con- n
HlssIoh, with "the same power. r. ~, n
possessed by the houses of CONGRESS. octino t
VP"IateIy or together. 1t was n dacisioTS7 p
men, oy the terms of the act, was to stand a
mess reversed by the concurrent vote of
he Two houses. 1t was not so raversc.J 81
no n under that decision, by the admiss;,n CT
false and fraudulent votes. if Won rIoosa C;
rutherford b. Hayes became Presidont n
MESS the act of January %. 1877. itsaIf II
as unconstitutional and void. Presidant d.
Is, ana would seem must so remain mill NJ
le close OF his regular term. should he W
" resign or death interpose. The act was 9
'9seu oy ooth houses, a large majority of W
tlnocrats-and OF the best lawyers in the IS
for it. 1t was signed bv the A
reSlueht' Five jndges-a maioritv-of Sc
y 3u upreine court accepted and performed Ia
- auIles imposed by it, thus affirming its pc
~, 1t Is too late to question ia
wv the validity Of the act, or what was WI
'ne under it. The commission NAV bo,'" ge
red as to the facts and as to the law
lt Congress accepted their decision-tbot
elght against seven-as final. Tho he
,nintry so accepted it, and it is too late 10 bu
lk ABOUT Mr.. IIayes's title beinp ,r;o,, til
20 merely, the decision being matter of an
:m, and that nothing was settledweverWv. W. if
ing lett open-by the electoral bill. which of
e whole country regarded as n gettlc,ncoI fift
u not postponement merely of the GU
estlons at issue. All this, however, an
ows the absolute necessity and duty Of oal
ngreSs now to provide against any such aut
orr hereafter in disposing of a possibly sta
pI'eu presidential election. A proper tai
:, SnoGlu 6e passed, or if deemed neces. eve
10 = |
institutional amendment should bo snb' wei
tied to the people by the present Con. VIII
IS for meeting and disposing of all nossi. sup
contingencies and issues in connection arc
D the count and declaration of the votes str0
vi future presidential elections. Con. the
IS will be inexcusably DELINQUENT if il ten
10 make proper provision in due time as
ms most important matter.-Bah S,n, said
23d Gre