Year: 1877

The following is the report of the
commissioners of the Senate and House
of Representatives, appointed under
the several resolutions of those bodies
to prepare and report such measures as
may be best calculated to accomplish
the lawful counting of electoral votes,
and the best disposition of all questions
connected Herewith, and due declar.
alton of result. The commissioners say
that they have considered the subject
named in said resolution, and have
had full and free conference with
each other thereon, and now report
the accompanying bill, and recon.
mend its passage. We have applied
the utmost practicable study and de.
liberation to the subject, and believe
that the bill now reported is the best
attainable disposition of the different
problems and disputed theories arising
out Of the late election. It must be
obvious to every person conversant
with the history of the country, and
with the formation and Interpretation
of the constitution, that wide diversi.
ty of views and opinions touching
the subject, not wholly coincident
with the bias or wishes Of members
of the political parties, would naturally
exist. We have in this state of af.
fairs chosen, therefore, not to
deal with abstract questions, save
so far as they are necessarily involved
in the legislation proposed. 1t is of
course, plain that the report of a bill
implies that in our opinion Legislation
may be had on the subject in accord.
ance with the constitution, but we think
that the law proposed is inconsistent
with few of the principal theories upon
the subject: The constitution requires
that the electoral votes shall be count
ed upon a particular occasion. All
will agree that the votes named in the
constitution are the constitutional
votes of the State and not others, and
when they have been found and ident.
fled there is nothing left to be disput.
ed or decided. All the rest is the
mere clerical WORK of summing up the
numbers, which, being done, the con.
stitution itself declares the con.
sequences. The bill then is only
directed to ascertaining for tn
purpose and in the aid of counting
what are the constitutional votes of
the respective States, and whatever
jurisdiction exists for such purposes,
the bill only regulates the method of
exercising it. The constitution, the
only great instrument and security for
liberty and order, speaks in amplest
language for all such cases, in whatev.
er aspect they may be presented. It
declares that the Congress shall have
power to make all laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying into
execution the foregoing powers and all
other powers vested by the c0nstitu.
tion in the government of the United
States, or any department or officer
thereof. The committee therefore
think that the law proposed cannot be
justly assailed as unconstitutional by
any one, and for this reason we think
it unnecessary, whatever may be our
individual views, to discuss any Of the
theories referred to. Our fidelity to
the constitution is observed when we
find that the law we recommend is COZ.
sistent with that instrument. The
matter then being Il proper subject for
legislation, the fitness of the means
proposed becomes the next subject of
consideration. Upon this we beg leave
to submit few brief observations. In
all just governments both public and
private rights must be defined and de.
termined by the law. This is essen.
tial to the very idea of such a govern.
ment, and is the characteristic dis.
tinction between free and despotic sys.
TENS. However important it may be
whether one citizen or another shall
be Chief Magistrate for period pre-.
scribed, upon the just theories of civil
institutions, it is of far greater mo.
ment that the will of the people, law.
fully expressed in the choice of that
officer, shall be ascertained and carried
into effect in a lawful way.


ltis true that in every operation of a
government the laws, from the most
trivial to of most important, there
will always be possibility that the
result reached will not be the true one.