Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-01-15
oovERgoa ngRaAY's sLUsDEs.

We have already commented on the
grave blunder made by Governor Murray
OF Utah in issuing . certificate OF election
| to Congress to the minority candidate, but
the question Is so serious a one that it can
not be dismissed without further consid-
Grafton. We have shown that Governor
Murray had no authority to inquire into
Cannon's eligibility, and that in doing so
he as once violated the plain letter OF the
law, aud usurped the constitutional preroga-
tive OF Congress Apart from these con
siderations, however, his course is utterly
wrong and indefepsible, for even supp6sing
that ne had been empowered to declare
Cannon ineligible, that authority could not
have justified aim in issuing the certificate
to Campbell There are few points in
American political law more thoroughly
settled than this. Our Courts have re-
psatedly and almost uniformly held that
the ineligbiHty OF majority candidate
does not elect the minority candidate
There is moreover one celebrated
case in point which we should
have supposed a Republican Gov
ernor could not have forgotten. We
refer to that Of Croniu, the Oregon
Eleotor The Electoral Commission adju-
dicated that case, and in line with the posi-.
ton here stated. The Republican counsel
had taken this ground, and their view was
accepted by the Commission. IN this
State there have been several decisions by
the Supreme Court to the same effect, and
in fact it may be said that American law
has taken this stand as fnality. The
justice Of the position Is. we consider, IN
deniable. In every political contest 1t
must be held that the majority not only
vote for the candidate who receives their
suffrage, but aga;ies, the candidate who is
defeated. Should the majority candidate,
therefore. be shown to have been ineligible.
it IS impossible that the minority candi-
date should be entitled to the Office, since
it is clear that he was rejscted by the ma
jority In such case the only tenable
conclusion Is that there has been failure
to elect, and it becomes necessary (suppos-
ing the course possible, as 1t may
not always be- to hold new election.
Governor Murray consequently has com
mitted a twofold error. He has
usurped the prerogative of Congress
in undertaking to pass upon the qualitica-
tons of an elected delegate to that body
and he has issued his certificate in con-
travention of the established law in the
premises. & more fragrant case OF lawless-
ness in an executive officer has in fact sell
dom occurred. For high handed usurpa-
ton and defiance of the rulings of the
Courts, it is only paralleled by the action
of Governor Garcelon of Maine, and it is
rendered peculiarly aggravating by the fact
that Governor Murray is Republican,
and has, notwithstanding, gone counter to
what may be regarded as specially Repub-
lican doctrine. He had no right to refuse
certificate to Cannon. The law allowed
him no discretion in the matter 1t d.
rected him to issue his certificate to the
candidate who had received the largest
number of votes, and it did not empower
him to institute researches of his own mo-
ton into the eligibility of that candidate.