Year: 1877

The Position of Indiana on the Ouestion. Ex-Governor Hendricks was inter viewed as to his judgment of the con : st1tutionality and efficiency of the meas ure reported by the joint Congressional committee on the electoral count. He said first; -aae

 am gratified that so fair a bill has s been reported. It may not satisfy those Wno demand success in advance, but I : : M tnlnk It will be accepted by the country ;Certalnly the commissioners may make proper and righteous decision under It. It will allow such latitude of inves- tlgatdon and judgment as will compel them to, decide the right. If in its pres ent shape the bill will not allow the commission to consider all matters of evidence as fully as the two houses of rC Congress could do if considering the questions directly, the necessary amend ments can easily be made but it's pro- visions appear ample in that respect You consider, then, that the bill is likely to bring about fair solution of the difficulty P .-i7 e MT. Hendricks--Not exactly that. I say the commission may deliver fair decision. It is clothed with powers sufficient to enable it to do so. Whether It does so or not will depend upon the character of the men who compose it.

 Being asked to give his opinion upon the constitutionality of the bill MT. Hendricks said : .'~ That would require an elaborate dis c1lssion too long for the present occasion. The matter is one in which the powers

 f Congress and the methods in which they should be executed are not definitely prescribed. It may be compared to the admission of States into the Union. The Constitution confers upon Congress the ] power to admit new States but does not prescribe. the method in which 1t is to be exercised. Hence Congress may act through coordinate depal tment of gov ernment, as was recently done in the ad- mission of 8 State by Presidential pro- clamation."

 |" You do not regard. Congress as abdi- . eating it's power then ?"

 MT. Hendricks-Not at all. The power of Congress to count the vote and to decide upon all questions that arise in the progress of the count is exercised directly by itself and through the agency which 1t creates, with final supervision and control by agreement of both houses, --s The caucus of Republican members of the Indiana Legislature, after long ses- sion, adopted the following resolutions, which were presented in the House for action +-'

 Resoloed, That we believe the inter est of the country demands First, 8 fair vote of the people, without fear or favor; second, fair count of the legal votes so cast; and, lastly, willing and prompt submission by all parties to the result so declared by and through the legally constituted authorities estab- hshed for that purpose is necessary to insure peace and prosperity of the coun- try, and we denounce as revolutionary all attempts of leaders of the Democratic party to intimidate the people of the na- tion by threats of anarchy and war un- 2 less the person of their. choice shall be declared elected President. We believe that Rutherford B. Hayes has been elected President, and that William A. Wheeler has been elected Vice-Presi- dent, of the United States, and that it only remains for the president of the Senate to declare the result, according to the Constitution of the United States, and that when the result of the late election shall be so declared, whether such result shall be in favor of the Re. publican or Democratic, candidate, 1t is the duty of all good citizens to acquiesce in such decision. We would remind the Democratic party of the fact that 1t has been but few short years since sey- eral States of the Union, all having Democratic governments, were led into revolution and war by many of the lead CTS who are now at the head of that party, and we would respectfully submit that vast experience in appealing from the ballot box to the cartridge box has proved decidedly unproftable.

 The caucus also adopted resolution indorsing Senator Morton for withhold ing his name from the report of the electoral committee. Senator Morton was the only member who took this posi- tion. Every other member signed the report.