Daily globe., 1881-02-03
The Senate.

ports were MADE: by senator MCPHERSON, from
the committee On naval affairs, favorably, the
bill appropriating $4,000, to be used under dl.
rection of the navy department, to prosecute
the search for the steamer Jeanette, of the
Arctic exploration expedition.
By Senator Whyte, from the committee on
Yorktown celebration. favorably, for the pur.
chase of the sword formerly belonging to Geo.
Washington.
By Senator Burnside, from the committee on
military affairs, favorably, House bill for the
relief of citizens of Montana who served with
United States troops during the war with the
Nez Perees, and for relief of the heirs of such
as were killed in said service.
On motion of Senator Morgan the Senate
took up his electoral count resolutions of the
previous day, and at Morgan's suggestion,
make them concurrent and to provide for two
tellers instead f cne on the part of the Sen.
ate.
Senator Morgan in advocating the adoption
of the resolution rs q plan by which peace
full orderly and regular count would be Sc
cured, remarked they followed the precedent
in former instances and were in accord with
precedents running back to 1887
Senator Edmupds moved an amendment for
ate chamber instead of the hall Of the House,
and in support Of his motion referred to the
constitutional declaration that the president
of the Senate shall open the electoral votes
There was but one place where the president
of the Senate was supposed to be and that was
the Senate chamber. Therefore, it followed
that the House should come to the Senate
rather than the Senate should 60 to the House.
As the president of the Senate was custodian
6 n1o - a. fz1 g..
ate chamber was the proper place for deposit.
The time might come again, as it had before,
when carrying these archives distance of an
eighth of mile to the hall of the House
through a great crowd, men whom the Sem
ators didn't know, and in time of great ex-
citement, would be an act imperiling their
safety.
Senator Thurman hoped the amendment
would be voted down. For more than seventy
years the electoral vote had been counted in
the hall of the House and no Senator in going
to or returning from that hall had ever been
molested or insulted. He was especially
opposed to 1t at this time, when but seven days
remained before the Senate would be called to
attend the count as, the introducing subject
about which the two Houses might disagree.
Senator Hoar, in opposition to the resolu.
ton, said One thing in regard to which the
mandate of the constitution was express and
absolute, was that the electoral votes shall be
counted, and it was now sought to get over
this by temporary provision for declaring
the result without counting the votes at all.
He asserted that it was not in compliance with
the constitutional requirements to ascertain
who had been elected or whether there had
been any election, or for the two houses to
say they were satisfied that Gar
field had one or more votes
more than Hancock. 1t might be that the
makc-shift of the committee would suffice to
bridge over the question as TO who had the
right to count the vote, but as precedent il
would pass into history and move as a source
of danger hereafter, and for this rcas on he
entered his protest against it.
Senator Thurman suggested to Hoar that he
offer an amendment If he thought necessary,
declaring who shall make the count in the
sense of deciding it. For one, he had no
donbt the vote of Georgia ought not to be
counted.
Senator ingalls, advocated the amendments
of Edmunds.
After further discussion, participated in
by Senator's Hill, Jones, Edmunds and others,
the amendment of Senator Edmunds was re-
jected, yeas %, nays 25, party vote.
Senator Eaton said he could not support the
resolutions, as they left the question in doubt
as to whether tie president Of the Senate had
the right to count the electoral vote. In order
TO bring the question squarely before the Sen
ate he moved to amend that part of the reso-
t%a gt0ns aouFsa acquiring nsRs ts1srS Of s the of
votes as they shall be declared, by striking
therefrom the words, ''as they shall be de-
clared," and substituting in lieu thereof the
words, Gas the certificates shall be opened by
the president of the Senate"
Senator Eaton said there could be no two
opinions about the words proposed to be in
serted--they we're the words of the constitu-
ton itself. Under this amendment, when the
president of the Senate had executed his duty
in opening the certificates, the officers ap-
and then hand up the lists to the presiding
officer, who would make declaration of the
result.
Senator Garland, in support of the resolu.
tions, remarked, the Vice President, who was
president of the Senate, would not be shorn
of any power devolved upon him by the con-
stitution, as he was made presiding officer of
the convention of the houses and was
authorized to announce the result All con-
troversy Ion that point and also as to Geor.
gia vote was avoided in the plan proposed On
the latter point he would say he didn't agree
with the Senator from. Ohio, Thurman, that
the vote of Georgia ought not to be counted.
He had very grave doubts on 1t. He didn' It
think o State should be disfranchised because
of the negligence of her officials or any like
trivial cause.
Senator Thurman opposed the amendment
as unnecessary, and for the reason it failed to
provide decision in disputed case. Suppose
two returns should be received from State.
1t had happened before, and he had heard that
somebody now had bogus returns from Ore
gon. The Senator from Oregon, Slater, he
said, nodded his head.
Continuing his argument explanatory Of the
troubles encountered in trying to settle the
mode of counting the vote, Senator Thurman
said john Marshall and his associates, in his
day, had tried to settle it and failed. He
(Thurman) had hoped that settlement might
come in his day, but it had not, and now the
committee had reported, as temporary ex-
pedient, plan substantially identical with that
under which we had so far got along.
The debate was continued Mt length by
Senator's Blaine, Hill, Eaton and Thomson,
Finally q vote being taken Eaton's amendment
was rejected, ayes q, nays 33. The vote was
not party one, nor a test of the Senate upon
the merits of the proposition. The affirmative
responses largely came from the Republican
side, while the negative vote included much of
the strength of supporters of the resoltion.
The resolutions reported by Morgan as q
substitute for the original resolution on the
subject, were then adopted on viva voce vote,
and the clerk was directed to inform the
House accordingly.
The pension appropriation bill was taken up,
and Senator VOORHEES, submitted some remarks