The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-02-18
The EIec oral Count.

MUNDs said:
The President of the Senate will open
the certificates of the several States in
order and now opens the
certificate for the State of Alabama.
He handed the chairman of the tellers
on the part of the Senate The certificate
from Alabama received by mail, and TO
the chairman of the tellers on the par
of the House of Representatives the Ger
tificate received bv messenger. Th,
certificate was read by Senator HoAH
who announced ten electoral votes for
GROVER CLEVELAND for President and
ten electoral votes for THOMAS A. HEN,
bricks for Vice President. BY unani
nous consent only the statement of II
votes cast was read, the formal parts o
the certificates being inspected by the
tellers.
When the vote of Wisconsin had beer
announced Mr.. EDMUNDs rose and said:
81 have now opened the certificates OF
electors of all the States and their votes
have been reported. The tellers will
now make their computation and report
the state of the vote"
After the tellers had devoted them
selves to figuring for several minutes,
Senator HoAR read and handed the re
suit of their computation to the presid-
ing officer, who said:
Senators and gentlemen of the
House of Representatives, the tellers,
have reported to the presidi .
officer the state of the vote, from
which it appears that GROVER CLEVE-
LAND. of the State of New York, re
ceived 2l9 votes for the Office OF Presi
dent of the United States; that JAMES
G.. BLAINE, of the State of Maine, re
ceived IS2 votes for the same office;
that THoMAS \. HESpRICKs, of the
State of Indiana, received 2l9 votes fo
the office of Vice President of the
United States; that john A. LOGAN, OF
the States of Illinois, received 49, votes
for the same office; wherefore | do de
clare that GROVER CLEVELAND of the
State of New York, has received Il ma
iority of the votes Of the whole number
of electors appointed, as they appear il
the certificates read by the tellers and
so appears to have been elected Presi-
dent of the United States for four years
commencing on the 4th dav of March,
1885; and that THOMAS A. HENDRICK-.
of the State Of Indiana. has received a
majority of votes of the whole number
of electors appointed, as they appear on
he certificates read bv the tellcrs. and
l., a IL.
of the United States for four years
commencing on the 4th day of March,
1885, and the President of the Senate
makes this declaration only as a public
statement in the presence of the two
Houses of Congress of the contents oil
papers opened and read on this occasion,
and not as possessing any authority in
law to declare any legal conclusion
whatever"
When the Senate had returned to its
Chamber Mr.. CoNGER said he desired,
as one of the members of the Senate to
say that he entirely dissented from the
declaration that the President of the
Senate or Vice President had no other
power in announcing the vote than to
announce the fact, AID he did not know
by what authority the closing sentence
had been made part of the declaration.
Mr.. SHERMAN said that he desired To
put on record his opinion that the decla-
ration made, was a declaration of a
gentleman who presided on that oc-
casiOn, expressing his own opinion
and should not be taken as precedent.
He believed that the Vice President of
the United States declared and exercised
a constitutional power, when he presided
over the body and counted the
vote, and that his announcement of the
vote is conclusive, that he not only gave
his own opinion az to the result of Ger
tain papers given to him, but he made,
also, the constitutional declaration pro
vided for under the existing law as to
who is to be President of the United
States after the 4th of March
Messrs. INGALLS,, WILSON and LAP
HAM concurred in the views of Mr..
SHERMAN, but Mr.. HoAR dissented in a
speech of some length in which be said
that he thought it proper to remind the
Senate and country, that by very large
majority the Senate of the United State
expressed eight years ago, on the fullest
debate, its dissent from the proposition
that the President of the Senate had
any power to count the votes, and that
the late eminent Senator from New
York CoNKLINGl had stated that every
member of the Senate but eight, had in
his hearing expressed sentiments in con
flictwith those which had been expressed
/ by Messrs. SHERMAN and LAPHAM.
| At the conclusion of Mr. HoAR's re
marks Mr.. INGALLS, offered a resolution
declaring that the Senate does not assen
to the concluding declaration of til,
President of the Senate, and Mr. HoAI
offered resolution declaring that tn,