Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-02-12
The Electoral Vote Counted-Cleveland
and Hendricks Declared Elected.

The Electoral Vote Counted Cleveland
and Hendricks Declared Elected.
WASHINGTON, February 11th.-On mo-
| ton of keifer the Clerk of the House was
directed to inform the Senate that at II
| o'clock the House would be prepared to re-
| ceive that body in conformity with the
| provision of the concurrent resolution re-
| lating to the counting of the Electoral vote.
| At few moments before l. o'clock the
| Speaker pro tenn requested the members
to clear the two first rows of seats for the
accommodation of Senators.
At precisely II the Senate of the United
| States was announced, and headed by Mr..
| Edmunds and the officers of that body, the
Senators filed in and took the seats as
| signed them, the President of the Senate
seating himself by Acting Speaker Black
| burn.
Edmunds, III calling the assembly to or
| der, said: I" The two houses of Congress
| have met in pursuance of the Constitution
and laws. and the concurrent resolution,
| for the purpose of executing the duty re-
| quired by the Constitution and laws, in the
matter of counting the Electoral votes for
| President and Vice-President of the [ nited
States, cast by the electors of the several
States. for the term commencing on the
4th of March, 1885. Tellers who were
appointed by the two houses will please
| take their places
Senators Hoar and Pendleton and Rep
resentatives Clay and Keifer having taken
! their places at the Clerks desk, Edlnunds
said The President of the Senate will
| open the certificates of all the several
States in alphabetical order
The call of the States then proceeded
| alphabetically.
! When New York was reached the GER
| tifcate was read by Clay of Kentucky and
| as some vague rumors were in the air this
morning that trouble would be made over
| the counting of the vote of New York, a
murmur of relief went up when Clay
| finished the reading and announced that
| the certificates of the Electors were certi-
| fled to by Grover Cleveland, Governor. A
| slight manifestation of applause was
promptly suppressed by Edmunds, who
| ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest any
gentleman or other person who disturbed
! the order of these proceedings by applause
or other manifestations.
| The call of the States then proceeded,
| and when it was finished the presiding Off
! GER of the Senate announced that Grover
| Cleveland ana Thomas 4. Hendricks had
| received a majority of the Electoral votes
for the respective offices of President and
| Vice President of the United States The
| declaration, he said was made only as
| public statement, in the presence of the
| two houses of Congress, and not as possess
| ing any authority of law to declare any
legal conclusion whatever.
When the final vote was declared the i'm
| mense audience broke into applause and
cheers which the presiding officer attempt
ed to suppress, but with little success.
The Senate then returned tO its cham
Der, and the House took a recess for fifteen
| minutes.
United States Senate.
WAsHIEGroN, February 11th.-At 155
P. NJ. the Senators returned to the Senate
chamber. and the President pro tenn of that
body having resumed the Chair, the Tellcrs
on the part of the Senate (Iioar and Pcndlc-
tom appeared and on their behalf Hoar re-
ported the result of the Electoral count
When the 1eier's report was completed,
the President of the Senate repeated YER
batim the closing sentence of the announce
ment made by him in the House of Repre-
sentatiycs relating TO the declaration of the
vote.
Congcr said he desired, as one of the
members of the Senate, to say that he en-
tirely diSsented from the declaration that
the President OF the Senate or Vice resi-
dent had no other power in announcing
that vote than to announce the fact, and he
did not know by what authority the SEN
tence quoted had been made part of the
declaration.
Sherman said: Ialso wish for myself.
having put ON record my opinion on this
question at other times, To again assert and
put on record my opinion that the dcclar-
alton made was the declaration of gentle
man who presided on that occasion, eX
ehI
be taken as precedent, except so far as it
may command the judgment of mankind
hereafter. | believe the Vice-President of
the United States declared and exercised Il
constitutional power when he presided
over that body to-day and counted the vote,
and that his announcement of the vote is a
conclusive end to all argument upon the
question. and that in doing so, he not only
gave his own opinion as to the result of
certain papers given to him, bat he made
the only constitutional declaration provided
for under the existing law, who is to be
President Of the United States after the 4th
of March"
After remarks by Hoar, Lapham, Wilson
and ingalls, on the subject, the Chair ed
mundsl said he regarded the Senate as in
no way responsible for the declaration
made by him. He had performed his con-
stitutional duty, and had on his response
bility, made the declaration referred to.
The resolution offered by Ingalls, declar-
ing the Senate does not attend to Edmunds'
declaration, went over until tomorrow, as
did the resolution of Hoar, approving his
course.
The Senate in Committee of the Whole,
resumed consideration of the bill to repeal
the presumption and timber-culture laws.
Several amendments to the verbiage OF
the bill were made.
The bill was reported to the Senate, and
some of the amendments rejected III Com
mittee of the Whole were rcoilercd.
Pending their discussion, the Senate went
into executive session, and soon adjourned.
House of Representatives.
WASHINGTON, February l1th.-On the
House being called to order, keifer offered
resolution reciting the result Of the joint
Convention of the two Houses, and declar-
ing it the sense of the House that the Con-
stitution and laws had been duly executed,
and that no further declaration of these
facts is necessary.
Springer said it seemed from the an
nouncement of the presiding officer of the
Joint Convention that there was no declara-
lion of the vote. Contrary to all precedent.
the Vice-president has simply declared that
il appeared from the count made hv the
tcllers that Grover Cleveland had received
certain number of votes, but had dis
claimed any intention to make any official
declaration of the result of that vote. He
preferred the matter should be referred to
the Judiciary Committee, with instructions
to report such a resolution as may be ncces-
sary for the purpose Of making known the
result of the election.
Speaker pro tcm.-The presiding officer of
the joint convention, in making the an
nouncement of the votes, announced the
result that had been found and simply
added disclaimer 10 any authority on his
part as presiding officer OF the Senate or
joint convention to make any declaration
at ali.
Springer-I move that the whole matter
be referred to the Judiciary Committee.
The Speaker-In the judgment of the
| Chair the declaration made by the presd-
ing officer was exactly what it should have
been.
springei-I have not asked the Speaker
for his opinion.
The Speaker-Tbe Chair, acting as an
officer representing the House in joint con-
vention, would have made protest if any
improper declaration by the presiding officer
had been delivered
Randall said the vote of the Electors
had been announced, and that any minis
terial proceeding was not essential to the
main fact that Grover Cleveland had been