Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-11
faorrnal arlo Courier.
Saturday Morning, Dec. II, 1880.
THE ELECTORAL COUNT

THE EAECVOESAL COUNT Unfortunately the dreary debate now going on in Congress over the electoral count is not likely to result in any satisfactory solution of the problem. The rule which will doubtless be adopted, and which will be followed in the counting of the votes which have elected General Garfield, will not be accepted by the Republicans, and as soon as they regain con- trol of the lower branch of Congress they will reopen the question: and then there will be another dreary debate.
 There is no necessity for such work as this, as there is none for half the contests that take place in Congress. What both parties ought to be seeking is simply the most strict ly equitable and honest entertainment of the vote of every State in future elections, and security that the legal electoral votes shall, and that the Illegal votes shall not, be count ed This, as the Boston Ad0ertiser truthful ly remarks, cannot be had by leaving to the Vice President the privilege of determining whether or not the returns transmitted to him are genuine and accurately represent the vote of the people of the several States, or which, if either, of two rival certificates is truthful in that regard It cannot be had by entrusting the same power to the two houses acting in concurrence Still less by authori- zing either house to put veto upon the counting of particular certificate, and so disfranchise the State. There may be, however, and have been, disputes about the result in some States, the manner in which these disputes are decided may affect the gen. eral result, and decided they must be. The problem, therefore, is to create or dis cover tribunal in which there shall be gen eral confidence, to which all such disputes may be referred as they arise, whose decision shall be final, so that the functions of both the Vice President and Congress, either or both branches, may become purely ministe- rial, as the framers of the Constitution, who never anticipated contests over electoral votes, clearly intended them to be.
 The Advertiser proposes what seems to be a simple and adequate solution of the diff culty. This is an amendment of the Consti- tuition giving to Congress the right to pass laws directing inquiry into cases of contested electoral votes by the highest court of each State or by the district courts of the United States, and making the decision when ren- dered binding upon Congress. Says the Advertiser ''If such an amendment was adopted and law passed in accordance with 1t, a contest over the result of the election would be impossible. In general the cleo toral votes cast by persons certified by the Governor to have been chosen would be ac- cepted without question. All contests based upon illegal voting, intimidation, false count ing, or the ineligibility of electors must have been raised before the time for counting ar rived, they could be tried only before the designated tribunal, the decision of which would be final, and no matter not referred to such tribunal, affecting the right or the vote of any elector, could be brought to the cog nizance of the Vice President or of Con gress.n -~
 Some such mode of depriving Congress of all right to act judicially upon any question concerning the electoral votes ought to be adopted. Until it is we shall be exposed to dangers like those of 1S76