Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-08-12


The people or politicians may institute
parades in honor of tho event, and public
officials may add to the pageant by assem-
bling troops and banners, but all that only
comes properly after Inauguration, not
before, and it is not q part of il. Our
systom docs not provide that ono Prcsi-
acnt should inauguratc another. There
might be danger in that, and it was stu
diously left out of the charter
But you arc placed in au exceptionally
important position in connection with com
ing events. The Capitol is in my iurisdic-
ton also, but am subordinate and no! on
the spot, aud if were, 30 also would be
my superior in authority, for thcro is the
station of tho general in chief. On the
principle that regularly elected Presidents
term of Office expires with The 3D. of March,
(of which | have not the slightest doubt)
and which the laws bearing on tho subject
uniformly recognize, aud in consideration
Of the possibility that tho lawfully elected
President may not appear until the 9th of
March and a great deal of responsibility
may necessarily fall upon you, you hold
over You will have power and prestige
to support you. The Secretary of War, too,
probably holds ovcT, but if no President
appears he may not be able to exercise
functions in the name Of the President,
Tor his proper acts arc those Of Il known
superior, II lawful President. You act on
your own responsibility and by virtue of a
commission ouly restricted by law. The
Secretary Of War is the mouthpicce of a
President. You arc not.
If ncithcr candid to has constitutional
majority Of the Electoral College, or the
Senate and llousc, on the ocea3ion Of the
count, do not unite in declaring some
person legally elected BY the people,
THERE rs A LAWFUL MACHINERY
already provided to meet that contingency
and decide the question peacefully. 1t has
not been recently used, no occasion pre-
senting itself, but our forcfathcrs provided
1t. 1t has been exercised and has been
recognized aud submitted to us lawful on
every hand. That machinery would proba
Lly elect Mr.. Tidcn President and Mr..
Wheeler Vice President. That would be
right enough, for tho law provides that in
the failure to elect duly by the people the
House shall Immediately elect tho presi.
dcnt aud the Senatc the Vice President.
Some tribunal must decide whether the
people have duly elected President.
presume, of course, that it is tho joint
affirmative action of the Gcuatc aud
House, or Why arc they present to witness
the count if not to sec that it is fair aud lust?
If failure to argrcc arises between two
bodies there can be no lawful affirmative
decision that tho people have elected
President, and tho House must then pro-
proceed to act, not the Senate. The
Senate elects Vice Presidents not
Presidents. Doubtless in case of failure
ty the ilouso TO elect President hy tho
4th Of March, the President of tho Senate
Gf there be onc) would be tho legitimate
person 10 exercise Presidential authority
for the time being, or until the appearance
OF lawful President, or for the time laid
down in the Constitution. Such courses
would DC peaceful, and have a firm belief
lawful.
| have no doubt that
GOV. HAYES WOULD MAKE AN EXCELLENT
PRESIDENT.
have met him and know Of him. For
a brief period he served under my com.
anly likelihood Of his being duly declared
elected by tho people unless tho Senate and
House como to be in accord rs to that fact,
aud the House would of course not other
wise elect him. What tho people want is n
peaceful determination Of this matter,
as fair determination as possible,
and lawful one No other deter
mination could stand the test. The
country, if not plunged into revolution,
would become poorer day by day, business
would languish, aud our bonds would come
homo to find dcprcciatcd market.
] was not in favor of tho
MILITARY ACTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA
recently, and if Con. Rugcr had tclcgraphod
to mo or asked for advice, would have
advised him not, undcr any circumstances,
to allow himself or Lis troops to determine
who were tho lawful members of q State
Legislature. | could not have given him
better advice than to refer him TO the
special message Of tho President in the case
of Louisiana sono timo before. But in
South Carolina he had tho quc0tion
settled by decision Of the Supreme Court
of tho State, the highest tribunal which had
acted on tho question, so that his line of
duty seemed even to bo clearer Than in action
in tho Louisiana case. ] the Federal Court
had iptcrforcd and oycrruled tho decision
of tho State Court there might have been
doubt certainly, but the Federal Court only
intcrfcrcd to coMplicatc, not to decide or
overruic. Anyhow it is no bdsincsa of The
army 10 enter upon such question, and
even II it might ba so in any event, if the
civil authority is supreme, as the Jonstitu.
tion declares it to be, tho South Carolina
case was one in which tho army had plain
duty. Had Gen. Rugcr asked mo for
advice, and if hod given it, I should Of