The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-08-06

| person legally elected Dy the people there
is lawful machinery sIreasy provided
to meet that contingency and decide the
question peacefully. ID has not been re.
Gently used, no occasion presenting itself,
but our forefathers provided it 1t has
been exercised and has been recognized
and submitted to ~ lawfal on every hand.
The machinery would probably elect Mr..
Tilden President and Mr.. Wheeler Vice
President. That would l,e, right enough,
for the law provides thati in the failure to
elect by the people, the House shall i'm
mediately elect the President and the
Senate the ce-Presidenk. Some tribu-
nal must decide whether the people have
duly elected President. / presume, of
course, that it is in the joint affirmative
action of the Senate and House, or why
are they present to witness the count if
not to see that it is fair and just? If a
failure to agree arisee between the twu
bodies, there can be no lawful affirmative
decision that the people have elected a
President and the House must then pro-
ceed to act, not the Senate. The Senate
elects Vice-Presidents, not Presidents.
| Doubtless, In a case of failure by the
House to elect President by the 4th of
March, the President of the Senate, if
there be one, would be the legitimate per-
son to exercise Presidential authority for
the time being, or until the appearance of q
lawful President, or for the time laid down
in the Constitution. Such courses would
be peaceful aud, have the firm belief,
lawful. have no doubt Governor Hayes
would make an excellent President. l
have met him and know of him. For a
a brief period he served under my COM
mand But as the matter stands, can
not see any likelihood of his being duly
declared elected by the people, unless the
Senate and House come to be in accord
as to that fact, and the House would of
course not otherwise elect him. What
the people want is peaceful determine
tion Of this matter, as fair determination
as possible and lawful one. No other
determination could stand the test The
country if not plunged into revolution
would become poorer day by day; bust
ness would languish and our bonds would
was not in favor of the military action
in South Carolina recently, and if Gen.
Ruger had telegraphed to me or asked
for advice, | would have advised him not,
under any circumstances, to allow himself
or his troops to determine who were the
lawful members of State Legislature. /
could not have given him better advice
than to refer him to the special message
of the President in the case of Louisiana
some time before but in South Carolina
he had the question settled by decision
of the Supreme Court of that State, the
highest tribunal which had acted on the
question, so that his line of duty seemed
to be even clearer than in the action in
the Louisiana case. If the Federal court
had interfered and overruled the decision
of the State court, there might have been
a doubt certainly, but the Federal court
only interfered to complicate, not to de-
eide or overrule. Anyhow, it is no busi-
ness of the army to enter upon such ques
tions, and even if it might be 80 in any
event, if the civil authority is supreme as
the Constitution declares it to be, the
South Carolina case was one in which the
army had plain duty. Had Gen. Ruger
asked me for advice, and if had given it,
l should of course have notified you of
my action Immediately, so that it could
have been promptly overruled if it should
have been deemed advisable by you or
other superior in authority. Gen. Ruger
did not ask my advice, and / inferred
from that and other facts that he did not
desire it; or that being in direct commu-
nication with my military superiors at
the seat of government, who were nearer
to him in time and distance than l was,
he deemed it unnecessary. AS General
Ruger had the ultimate responsibility of
the action, and had really the greater dan
ger to confront In the civil action in the
matter, did not venture to embarrass
him by suggestions. He was depart
ment commander and the lawful head of
the military administration within the
department, but besides, | knew that he
had been called to Washington for con-
sultation before taking command, and was
probably aware Of the views of the admin
istration as to the civil affairs in his COM
mand. ! knew that he was In direct COM
munication with my superiors in authority
in reference to delicate subjects presented
for his consideration, or had ideas of his
own which he believed to be sufficiently
in accord with the views of our common
superiors to enable him to act intelli-
gently according to his judgment, and
without suggestions from those not on the
spot and not as fully acquainted with the
facts as himself He desired to be free to
act, as he had eventually the greater re-
sponsibility, and so the matter was gov
erned as between him and myself. AS
have been writing thus freely to you,
/ may still further unbosom myself by
stating that have not thought IL lawful
or wise to use Federal tcoops in such
matters as have transpired east of the
Mississippi within the last few months,
save so far as they may be brought into
action under the article of the Constitu-
ton which contemplates meeting armed
resistance or invasion of State more
powerful than the State authorities can
subdue by the ordinary process, and then
only when requested BY the Legislature,
or If it could not be convened in season,
by the Governor; and when the Presi-
dent OF the United States intervenes in
that manner it is state of war not peace
The army is laboring under disadvan-
tages, and has been used unlawfully at
times in the judgment Of the people, in
mine certainly, and we have lost great
deal of kindly feeling which the commu-
nifty at large once felt for us. st is time
to stop and unload" Officers in command
of troops often find it difficult to act
wisely and safely, when the superiors in
authority have different views Of the law
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