Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-22
COUNTING IN EXECUTIVES
MR. SHERMAN POINTS OUT THE
DANGERS NOW EXISTING.

Eleven crises In the history oI INC EAASO-
toral College, Which We're Bridged
oyer BY the Merest Chance-The Pro-
posed New Law Declared Entirely In
adequate.
WASHINGTON, Jan. M.-The bill to pro-
vide for the counting Of the electoral vote
WAS taken up to-day.
In the course of his remarks or the bill
Mr.. Sherman said bill that had once or
twice passed the Senate and been sent to
the House of Representatives rather with
a view to gain conference than other
wise was now before the Senate again.
Conference was already defeated by the
unwillingness of either House to abate its
idea on this question. The bill came be-
fore the Senate again at the beginning of
an administration when no party advan-
tage could be derived from our decision
when the Senate was clearly on one side
of party politics and the House of Repre-
sentatives was clearly on the other side.
Now, il ever, this matter should be set-
tied on some basis of principle.
THE BILL NOT OBJECTIONABLE.
In most of its features, MIR. Sherman
continued, the bill was not Objectionable
to any one. The critical points involved
were two-bOth presented by the fourth
section of the bill. That section provided
that in case there was but one return
from a State the two houses should
meet according to the provisions of the
constitution, that the returns should be
opened by the presiding officer of the SEN
{ ate in whose custody they would then be,
and that the votes should then be counted.
That mandatory provision was the only
mandatory provision on this subject In
the constitution; that the votes shall then
be cOunted.p
NO MODE POINTED OUT.
There was no mode pointed out in the
constitution by which the votes should,
or might, be counted, no provision made
as to the settlement of any dispute relat-
ing TO the legality of the votes of the
electors, whether the electors had con-
formed to the law or constitution, whether
one set or another set of electors had been
elected, no provision pointing out any
authority. any person or body to decide
which Of the two sets OF returns should
be counted, whether the votes OF some Of
the electors Con account of the ineligi-
bility of such electOrs) should or should
not be counted, or whether State was ia
condition to have its vote counted.
ONCE PREVENTED By SNOW.
Mr.. Sherman referred TO the fact that a
bnOwstOrm had once lnterlered with the
meeting OF the Wisconsin electors on the
day appointed by law. All these matters,
be said, rested for their decision upon the
single provision contained IN the twelfth
amendment to the constitution. There
was, however, no declaration that tue
>, President OF the Senate, who opened the
returns, should count the electoral votes,
or that the House or Senate should pass
on the question. All that 1t said was that
the President of the Senate, in the pres
ence of the Senate and the House Of Rep
iresentatiVes, would open the certificates
Sand the vOfpG gbqll then bp c0uOtpG -
NOT FOREsEEN BY THE FRAMERs.
SIT was to be presumed that the trainers
OF the constitution did not fOresee the diff
fculties that had arisen since their time
on this question OF the count. The con-
stitutiOnal provision cited proved unsat-
F.. isfactOry to the trainers Of the cOnstltu-
ton, and they changed 1t after the cele-
brated doubt as to whether Aaron Burr
JsOr Thomas Jefferson should be President.
I They saw that this provision was thWart-
ed and undertook to correct it. They adopt
a new provision, but that new proVI-
bon has presented many of the same
difficulties that occurred under the Old;
) and to this day Congress has never been
sble to solve any of them.
ELEVEN PERILoUs PERIODS.
ssSince that time there had arisen eleven
eases Of dispute as to the electoral vote.
In Missouri a case, Missouri having uu-
dertaken to vote for President and Vice
President before being admitted as
a State the question was present
ed whether its vote should becOunt-
-. The difficulty was g0t over
ignoring because it would make
adherence in the result. Again, when
II iscOnsin electors had been prevented by
great snow storm from meeting at the
ne and place appointed, and could not,
erefOre vote according to the cOnstitu-
y n, but met and voted next day anu
at their votes here to be counted, what
lppened?
SCENES OF TUMULT.
H "Iremember," said Mr.. Sherman, 'as
ell as / remember the cOuntenances now
NJ sfore me the scene OF riot and tumult. OF
lsOrder and confusion that arose when
he question about Wisconsin came up at
he time that Buchanan WAS elected Pres
ienGO the United States. / never saw
he/9puse OF Representatives in eondl-
led OF tumult aud disorder more violent
han occurred then, because the President
4 the Senate, Mr.. Mason, undertook TO
i've a construction TO this clause OF the
constitution which was AZ once met by a
doIent Outcry, not only from members OF
be House but Of the Senate, and led to a
separation of the two houses IN confusion
and the meeting OF Senate in this Cham
Der. The only way that the difficulty
could be solved at that time was by pass
ing a resolution that whether Wisconsin
was counted or not the result
was the same--that Mr.. Buchanan was
~ elected. So in many cases that have oc.
\ .curred since that time where the votes OF
the several States were in dispute, espe-
oialiy after the reconstruction period, the
\ same difficulty arose and was settled by
saying tnat in whateyerway the question
twas solved the people had elected GER
\ tam person to be President Of the United
yHtates.
VI THE CRISIS IN 1869.
n .sIn my judgment, if In 1869 the election
III si President Grant had depended on the
III vote Of the State of New York. after It
III had been made public and generally
u known in the country that the elections
ii in1sne city OF New York had been carried
ii ,bvDYerwhelming fraud, ! do not believe
il the people 0i the United states would
III have been satisfied with any result that
HI depended upon the vote Of the state of
MI New York. But then again, fortunately
III fof the country, we were able 10 avoid the
III difficulty by saying that, however New
N Work might be counted, 10 would not
III Jhango the result"
III THE HAYES STEAL.