Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1883-12-06
THE MAYO-GARRISON CASE.

THE MA1O-GARRlSON CASE.
In the House Of Representatives, yeSter-
day, when the consideration of the resolu-
ton providing that all certificates and pa
pers in the Garrison Mayo contested elcc-
ton case be referred TO the Committee on
Elections when appointed, with instruc-
lions to report which claimant has the prima
fucic right thereto, reserving to the other
party the privilege of contest upon the
merits OF the case Mr. Tucker spoke in
favor of the resolution as follows 1.-THE
objections which have been made to this
resolution by The gentlemen on the other
side desire to answer this morning, with
ont any reference TO anything that was said
by my colleagues from Virginia The
whole difficulty, as stated on the other side,
l.; that the House has acted upon this uues-
ton by allowing the sitting member TO he
sworn in. desire To show TO the House
the confusion involved in this statement
and the distinction to be made in reference
to this point. All the preliminary proce-
dure Of swearing in of members is under Il
law of Congress passed for the purpose OF
preventing the DISCRIMINATION of IL public
body ,oras more accurately stated passed that
its organization may not be prevented; and
the swearing in Of members under the law
depends upon the regularity Of the certi-
cafes presented. This is procedure pre-
liminary to organization but rs soon as
the members arc sworn in upon the prescn
tatiou of Ger tilicates which on their face are
regular, then the House is organized, and
organized for the first time. When organ
lied it is no longer under the law as il dis
organized body Of members elect, but it is
under the Constitution Of the United States.
Under the Constitution the House thus
organized has Il right to judge of the cleo
tons, returns, and qualifications of its mem
bers. Now, | put to gentlemen this ques'
! ton : If il appears that member who has
been sworn in is an alien. has he the right
because there is no contestant of his seat, TO
sit here during whole Congress when the
Constitution disqualilies him? Though his
return may be in regular form, and though
he may have been sworn in, the House has
the right to Judge whether such a return can
constitute him Il member of this corporate
body-one Of the branches of the Leg sla
ture Of the country. The other question is,
what is n return? Here is a return made
BY the Secretary Of the Commonwealth,
| based upon the action Of the CanvasSing
Board: and the question is whether that re-
turn is tainted with fraud, irrcgularity, il
legality, or based upon a mistake OF facts.
IL IS not question Of the election because
! that goes back to the voting at the polls.
| The question is as to the counting of the
votes and the counting Of the votes by this
Canvassing Board was a miscount, because
it left out part ofthe constituency that was
to he represented"
Mr. Mayu-"I call the gentleman to order
The Speaker The gentleman will state his
Mr. May"-':Thc gentleman is undertaking to
state before the House facts which he has no
| right H. present here
The Speaker That is not a question Of order.
| The gentleman occupying i'll" floor has the right
| Ia make his statement in his own way
| Mr. Tuckcr.-"l call the gentleman to order.
| Mr.. Spcakcr...l say the papers which have pre-
scntcd show that this ClnvaSSing Board excluded
the vote of Il whole county that would have
| elected Judge Garrison and by the exclusion of
| the vote of that county the gentleman the
| other side, Mr.. Mayo holds his seat in this
| House. And sag the exclusion Of that county
| WAS made on Il technically Su trivial that this
| House, when i'll Committee on Elections has
made report "n the subject, will not hesitate to
| say il was without foundation and was null and
| vuid and Of no effect. Therefore. Mr.. Speaker
the whole question is whether that county ought
| properly to have been counted or not. Hon the
| face of the certificate il appeared that county
| was not counted, then the gentleman should not
| have been sworn in but the genIcna:t ro,s &C.
cupyimg tho seat having been sworn in because
that fact did not appear Oh the face of the ccrif-
| cate the question now is whether We have not
the right To present the facts to show that the
gentleman who now urcuplc. the seat for the
intermediate period between the swearing in Of
Members and the report of the committee is not
entitled L. it, and that the gentleman who i en-
| ,.,I. L a. A.. 4
| ed to come in and take hi, seat And that is the
whole purpose of the resolution which have
offered. 1T IS not Il question oi the final deter
mInaIion of the contcstcd-elcction case, which
will come up hereafter, but whether Mr. Garri-
son is not entitled In take hi. seat from which he
has been obstruced by the action Of the Return
ing Board II this he 50, this House has the
right to Judge of the validity OF that return, and
upon the facts Ia say that il was invalid, null md
VOID, and of no effect And that is the whole
question | call upon this House to decide. Gen.
tlcmen ray there is no precedent for it. / hope
Mr.. Speaker, there never will be precedent Tor
any such case us this. Now, Mr.. Speaker ]
have nothing to say about what was said by tho
gentleman the other side yesterday Mr.
Mayol-that he sought nothing but Justice |
tell you that the Democratic party in this House
will do insticc Ia him and to all others in these
election cases. am not prompted by any mo-
tive 10 do him injustice, and he knows it. He
knows | have no personal snimosly to him
Ny only feeling is that it is the right Of the
House to vindicate itself by saying Il man shall
not hold scat here who holds it under Il
return which is invalid. McCrary in his book
on elections, sections 20i d., says that before
and in the course Of the procedure for the
organization of the House no Member has the
right 10 question any others Members title, OK
ccpt on the face of the certificate; because the
law has provided that the on Y test on the swear
ing in of Members shall be whether the Member
hold. certificate clean on its face This is in
order to prevent anarchy in order To secure m
organization, and therefore no objection Of this
kind shall be made at that time But when We
get into the House, when the House is organized
by swearing in the Members, and it becomes |
Incorporated rs one of the branches of the legis
lativc department of the Government, then the |
House has the right which the Members in their
unorganiZed condition did not have before il |
WAS organized. to determine as to the returns Of
Member. 1t Is not question depending on
how many votes have been received but it is |
whether on the vote returned the Canvassinc |
Board ought TO have given the certificate to Mr.. |
Garrison rather than 10 the gentleman on the |
other side. And that is all | have to s:y.''
Mr.. Buckton submitted n resolution that the
resolution of Mr.. Tucker be committed to the
Committee on Elections, when formed with in