Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-11-09
counting tho Electoral Votes.


force on the subject except the csnstitu-
tiomal provision which. 80 far AZ the ques'
lion new under consideration is concerned,
reads AZ follows:
Tho President Of the senate shall. in
;hc presence OF the ssusie and House OF
Representatives, open All the certificates,
and The roies shan U,e0 be co"Hted."
That, a. we understand the matter. Is all
The lsw there IA on the subject at present.
An other iaws have been repealed.
Let us nere remind the reader OF Mr..
COMBINES powerful argument Of 1917.
going to show thai the President Of the
senate has no right to count the votes. All
he can do is " to open all the certificates"
Then and there, said Mr.. CcSKLrNG. "h'
Constitution turns rs hGci apOR him.
The reader will see that this d cmpbaiically
the fact; for II is too plain for argument
that II the trainers Of the Constitution had
intended him TO count tlic votes the seciisn
quoted above would have read
"Tbe President OF The senate shall
opeu all the certificates aud count the votes
There are no joint niles now In force
which provide the manner OF counting the
electoral votes for President Of the United
States. The Senate =. Manual" for 1881
Tone year after the las. presidential elcctiOn)
says that the twen,y-secoud Joint Rule.
which provided the manner Of counting
those votes. " was abrosatcd hr the act OF
Congress Of January -, lS,1.' The sam,
Manual says that The question having
risen between the two houses If Congress
IN 1876 whether the Joint Rules OF the two
houses did not require Tor their enforce
ment that they should be reidopted by
each succeeding Congress, the question was
decided Ia The affirmative. The per-
finent history OF the decision is a. fol-
lows The House Of Representatives passed
and sent 10 the Senate in 1876 = resolution
suspending the sixteenth and seventeenth
Joint rules-thus assuming that all the joint
rules were in force. The senate returned
The resolution, and sent along with IL SEN
ate resolution declaring that rs no joint
rules had been adopted for that session
there were "no Joint rules in force The
House Of Representatives acqIiiesced In this
action. II follows thai ~ no Joint Rule reg
ulating the manner of counting the cleo
toral votes for President there are other |
Joint rules) has been adopted 10y the pres
ent Congress. there i no such Joint RUE in |
force at present.
Now. rs the two houses cannot meet to-
gethcr for the purpose al counting and de-
Claring the votes for President without first
providing by law or bya JOINT rule how
this meeting shall be brought about, It iol-
lows necessarily that The House Of Repre-
sentatives. which has Democratic Isa-
iority OF seventy and more, has as nuch |
power In the premises ~ the Republican, |
Senate. This question was decided in 1891, |
when Congress was called upos TO regulate
the manner OF counting the votes for GAR
FIEip aud HANCocs. 4 committee OF the |
Senate having reported resolution,
in which the House Of Representa-
lives was not mentioned. providing
how the two houses should iaeci and CONT /
the vote for President and Nice.PreSidcnt
Of course, but 1t is not necessary TO repeat /,
these last words,) Mr.. MORGAN moved that /
the resolution should be 20 amended rs to
read, " Resolved by the Senate, The House
Of Representatives coacard,q." Note now
the report OF what was said by senator En-
NuSDs, whom we named the other day rs
one senator who would not aid BLAINE 10
Illustrate the viii Of the people as declared
Last Tuesday. We quote;
"Mr. EDMUNpS, Of Vermont: That l..
necessary That il. Ia insert the words.
1.-The House OF Representatives concur
fing."]
sTliE VICE-PREsIDENT The Chair
hears no objection, and that modification
will be made. +"
So the Senate (Mr. BLAINE. lay the way,
being presenD unanimously. or 10y unani-
nous consent, decided lhsl whatever rcso-
tuition the Senate iuay adopt regulating the
manner of counting tue ,oti's for President
81 the United States mus; bee passed by the
House Of Representative, also before il can
have any force.
The House OF ReptoSenlaii,cs has. there
fore. a veto power. 30 To speak. IL can
compel the Senate 10 agree 10 iair resclu-
ton or joint rule regulating The manner OF
counting the votes for CLEVELAND and
BLAINE. For II the two houses do not
meet and count the vote the House OF Re
prcseniatives viii have the power TO elect
President OF the United STATES itself. The
certificates must be opened aud the votes
counted I'm TIE prsS,ae. 81 The House OF
Representatives. 20 SAYS ihc Constitution
OF the United statc..
But supposing that the two houses agree
upon the necessary Joint rub. aud Mr..
BLAINE shall ask the Joint assembly to
throw out the vote OF New York rs certi-
fed by the Democratic state Board Of Can
vssscrs land adopt JoHN J. o'BmgN's ill.,
sress can the joint assembly 20 behmd The
rekurns. The Electoral Commission OF
1877 decided this question In the ae.ative;
and Mr.. EpxrsDS, speaking on the satoe
point in the United STATES senate in 1881.
SAID be agreed with senator MORGAN. Of
Alabama. that she real election had already
taken place, and tina, all the joint assembly
had 10 do was 70 open the certificates and
count the votes. lie said that neither the
President OF the Senate. nor The House OF
Representatives Itself. nor the senate itself,
nor all three together, had the RICH, "to de-
tesminc who had been eiest.dty N. States"
We quote 4
Mr.. EDMrNDs. ~ think myseli
that the Constitution never inteaded 10
leave Il, and never has left Il. by force OF
the Constitution aloLe. 10 anv one or all OF
these three authorities. 70 determine who
has been elected b, the >f0feS-and ] em-
phssize the word - y >ta;es-rights man
TO be the CHIEF Executive Of the nation
for the period mentioned In The Coastltn-
llon."
Such IL the state VI the law OF the case.
II affords no ground upon which BLAINE
and his eo-conspira,ors can Stand TO siiile
the voice Of the people.
Hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
The vote Of New York will be counted fol
Ci.EseLASD In Albany. the capital of New
York, and afterwards In Washington, the
eai,itxl Vt the United States.
We do not desire 70 matc any boasts.
The wropg,loen viii aequiescs. The coun.
~ wll) prosper under Democrats Ad.
n'inis1rs1ten. Al Win be well. Tbs Dem-