The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-02-12

galls). lnmy Judgment the dnsy
| posed upon the vice-president. in ;,ornt-
Ing ana announcing the result ~ lis
presidential election, is a high constitn.
sionat uuty, and the declaration mada
oy tne president, pro tenn, of the sen.
a.. aeo, acuorulug 10 my, Judgment is not
10 accordance with the Requirements ~
the constitution" y
Mr.. LAPHAM: "I had occasion eight
years ago 10 examine this question. /
lounu from the records that this clausa
OF the constitution in relation 10 eoint.
ing the electoral vote as voted unon and
adopted, read: That the president az
ene senate should then and there oman
~, az me certificates and the votes should
sieh % counted In the presence of the
e so,''st anu the mouse, making the
sonate ana Tue house OF epresentatives
mere mere witnesses TO the ast To be nar-
iorit'su i oy the presiding officer. Follow
lhS that, the first resolution adontad ~
the SUBJECT was the Resolution of tLa
continental congress, in whlch thav
recommend that president pro tenn. of
.le senate should be appointed for tha
soie purpose OF receiving. opening and
cunning tne electoral vote and that
pas pas uone ana next following vicej
PRESIDENT Adama counted tho Vote anJ
declared the result and announced h;n,
sell elected president OF the unitsd
states. | believe sir, 1t was tho intan
tion OF the trainers OF the constitntior
that the presiding officer Of this hodv
should perform that duty.
Mr. HoAR: 81 do not think il profit
aole at this stage of the session to re-
open tne great debate of eight wears
ago, but think, as suggestions SO far
nave oeon made on one side of the ques-
s slon, Is proper to remind the
ny very large majority
the senate expressed eight Years
ago, on the fullest debate, It's dissent
irom the propositions which have bean
auyahced by the last senator, UIapham1
ana IN that concurring with ! me OF the
greatest constitutional authorities WA
nave ever had in this coun-
N.Y. including, | believe, John
Marshal W and oliver Ellsworth,
NY recolectlOn is not at fault, Dam
lei webster and Abraham LincoIn and
The late eminent senator from Naw
York, in my hearing, expressed senti.
unehts which wore in conflict with
those which have been expressed
ny the senator from Ohio
lShefman) and the senator from Nav
YORK tLapham) and, at any rate. .wheth-
or That be true or not, computation
whlch ! myself made showed that All
the then senator's of the United
States, with eight exceptions IN
very small minority of that bodyl
were on record as expressly and ais.
tnctly declaring that the President of
tho senate had not the power 90 connt
the vote under the constitution In anv
sense OF the term, Counting the vofal
winch Implies the right to decide yhn
should or who should not be taken
into consideration in ascertaining
the constitutional result. myself.n
Mr.. Hoar continued, "beleve that the
president OF the senate derived from the
count OF to-day an authority from a con-
current resolution, which the two
branches have passed, and that his
declaration of tho count, which the
TWO branches witnessed, and which
was the result OF the report of
the tellers representing the two
branches in their presence, without
their dissent, uttered, by authority of
the two branches, was constitutional
declaration and proclamation of the
result Our ancestors added
Mr' Hoar, "were Jealous of
the executive power. The constitution
Is crowded with safeguards and accuri-
Ties. The constitutions Of the several
states are crowded with safeguards and
securities against executive power.
They were in the habit OF con-
unuing persons in public service
year after year and term
after term. | believe they would have
deemed 1t monstrous If the supposition
was presented to them that the presi-
dent of the United States, the constitu-
tlonal president the senate, who, as
they originally established the
leading candidates for the Of
flee of the presidency, because
there was no voting for yice-president
IN these days, as everybody remem-
bersi and who, of course, would, in the
ordinary course of things, DO one of
tho leading candidates at the election,
a result which was to be-
declared. should be clothed with the
enormous power, under the oonstitu-
ton, OF determining the question
whether he himself were the duly
tue laws of the United
states, no possible appeal from
his decision. | hold that the PROPOSE
ton is repugnant, utterly, TO ali we
Know OF the opinions, practices and
conduct OF our ancestors, who framed
the constitution, and II is true
that in almost every state
in the Union, with one or two
oAueptlousi ab tnNt Tune, rs tt Is
true IN large number OF states since
that time, that the two houses OF the Leg
islature ascertained the result of the
election OF the executive. So in
my own state, so In Virginia,
and so think In every
state but New York" Mr.. Hoar added
that he did not wish 10 enter into a dis
cussion AT length, but merely TO give his
opinion. He believed the words alluded
to rs used by the presiding officer,
formed no part of the constitutional pro-
ceeding, but were expressed as his
Judgment as TO the scope aud the mean
ing of the official act done by him, and
II seemed to Mr.. Hoar that IL was en-
tirely proper for the constitutional Off
Ger 10 make that declaration, although
no part OF the proceedings,
because otherwise he might be
supposed TO be undertaking to do what
as ue viewed the question, would have
been an act of usurpation.
The president of the senate, said the
chair, begs leave to state, with the in
dulgence of the senate, that the senate,
Ia the opinion OF the chair, is
IN nowise responsible for the dociara-
ton oil the president of the
senate, made on the occasion referred
to. Neither the senate of the United
states, nor the house of representatives,
mad conferred any authority upon the
president of the senate To
mako anything. There Is no
law within the Knowledge of
the present senate, that provides for
the proceedings of to-day, except tho
constitution. The president OF the sem
ate was OF the opinion, aud still Is, that
u concurrent resolution Is not law,
aud IL a concurrent resolu-
tion, providing for this oc-
caslon, had contained any direction
Of the president of the senate that was
inconsistent with his views of consti-
tutional duty, he would have been
bound TO disregare 1t; or preferably,
as he certainly would do,
would have resigned his
Ollce and allowed the senate freely TO
elect some gentleman whose opiuion CO.
inclded with that OF the majority,
50 that no gentleman needed