The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-18

State In the Supreme Court of the United
| States to GUST any incumbent from q political
Office filled by the declaration and decision Of
the two houses OF Congress, clothed with
| the constitutional power to count the cleo
toral votes, and beside, as final tribunal
upon the election of President and Vice PreSi-
dent. The FOrty-fourth Congress selected o
commission to count the votes for President
and Vice President. reserylng TO itself the
right to ratify OF reject such count in the way
prescribed In the act creating such commits
sion. BY the joint action OF the two houses
1t ratified the count made by the commission,
and thus made 1t the expression of its own
Judgment. All the departments Of the Fed
eral government; all the State governments
In their relations to Federal authority; foreign
nations. the people of the United States all
the material interests and industries Of the
country, have acquesced in, and acted In &C
cOfdance with, the pronounced binding OF that
Congress. In the opinion of this committee
the present Congress has nc. power TO undo
the works of It's predecessor in counting the
electoral vote, or to confer upon any judicial
tribunal the right to pass upon, and, perhaps,
set aside the action of that predecessor in re-
ference to purely political question, the de-
cision of which Is conided by the constitution
to Congress.
"But apart from those fundamental objec-
tions to the bill under consideration, there are
features and provisions In 1t which are entire
ly impracticable Your committee can find
no warrant of authority to summon the Chief
Justices of the Supreme Courts OF the several
States to sit at Washington as Jury to try
any case, however grave and weighty may be
its nature. The right to summon must carry
with 1t the power to enforce the obedience to
the mandate; and the committee can see no
means by which the judicial officers Of q State
can be compelled to assume the functions OF
jurors In the Supreme Court Of the United
States.
"There are other objections to the practical
working OF the bill under consideration to
which we do not think 1t necessary to refer.
It may be true that the Stateof Maryland has
been in the late election for President and Vice
President deprived of her full and just weight
in deciding who were legally chosen, by rea-
son OF frauds perpetrated by returning
boards In some of the States. 1t may also
be true that these fraudulent acts were coun-
tenanced, or encouraged, or participated in
by some who now enjoy high offices as the
fruit of such frauds. 1t is due to the present
generation of people Of this country and their
posterity and to the principles on which our
government is founded, that all evidence
tending to establish the fact of such fraudu-
lent practices should be calmly, carefully and
vigorously examined. But your committee
are OF the opinion that the consequence of
such examination, II 1t disglOses guilt upon
the part of any In high official position, should
not be an effort to set aside the Judgment of a
former Congress as to the election of Presi
dent and Vice President, but should be con-
fined to the punishment, by legal and constl-
GuGlOnal means, OF the Offenders, and to the
preservation and perpetuation of the evil
dences Of their guilt, so that the American
people may be protected from recurrence OF
the crime.
"Your committee therefore recommend the
adoption OF the accompanying resolution:
'Res0tUed, That the two houses Of the
orty-fOurth Congress, having counted the
votes cast for President and Vice President Of
the United States, and having declared Ruth
erford b. Hayes to be elected President and
William A. Wheeler to be elected Vice Presi-
dent, there Is no power in any subsequent
Congress to reverse that declaration: nor can
any such power be exercised by the courts of
the United States, or any other tribunal that
Congress can create under the constitution
The above report Is signed by Messrs. Hart
ridge twho prepared it,, Mcmahon, Lynde and
Stenger.
Messrs. Frye, Conger and Lapham submit
the following
"We agree to the foregoing report so far as
1t states the reasons for the resolution adopted
by the committee but dissent from the con-
Guiding portion, not having reference to such
reasons, as not pertinent to the inquiry before
us, and as giving an implied sanction to the
propriety of the pending investigation, Or
dered by majority vote of the House of Rep
resentatives, to which we were and are OPP
posed"
Mr.. Knott Is engaged 10 the preparation of
an exhaustive report entirely dissenting from
the views of the majority Of the committee
Mr.. Butler will also submit a separate re-
mort