Year: 1877

when the electoral vote was cast IN the
several States. All this bill did was to
prescribe the method and ascertain what
was the law and the fact at that time. 1t
had been said this tribunal might go be
hind the returns from State. If the two
Houses of Congress had powerto do that
thing, the tribunal would also have such
power; but if the two Houses of Congress
had no right to overhaul the action of a
sovereign State, then this tribunal would
have no such rights. The committee
agreed that this presidential contest must
be settled upon the principles of law that
existed when it took place, Nothing
could be more fair than leaving disputed
questions to such a tribunal. If they
should be left to the two Houses Of Con-
gress, as was proposed in the bill which
passed the Senate at the last session, the
result would be to leave them with large
bodies of men who would 60 with the
swift current of warm debate and warm
feeling. This bill made no new law. 1t
only created a commission to decide upon
the old law.


Mr.. Edmunds read the sixth section of
the bill, providing that nothing in the act
shall be held to impair or affect any right
now existing under the Constitution and
laws to question by proceeding in the
judicial courts of the United States the
right or title of the person who shall be
declared elected, or who shall claim to
be President of the United States, if any
such right exists. Commenting, he said
the committee endeavored to be so care
iul that the rights of no man should be
injured, that it provided that after all
this had been gone through with, and it
had been declared that A or B was Pres
ident of the United States, the other can.
didate might under the constitution and
laws test the question whether such
President was true or false one, His
right to do so should not be prejudiced
by the passage of this bill. 1t had been
contended by some gentlemen that the
Constitution committed the right of de-
Gliding who should be President of the
United States to one or more persons or
bodies. If that was true, it was fatal to
this bill He had no doubt all Senators
could sayif the Constitution did repose
the power of deciding who should be
President in the President of the Senate
that they would not desire better judge
than the present occupant OF the chair


Mr.. Ferry ; but if the Constitution had
not reposed that power in the President
OF the Senate, no matter how learned
and just the occupant Of the chair might
be, it would be an invasion OF the rights
of constitutional government to declare
he had such power, The Constitution
carefully enumerated every power OF the
judicial and executive authorities of the
Government. If the trainers OF 1t de-
signed to confer such power upon the
President of the Senate, how unfortunate
it was they did not say so, which might
have been done by two words. 1t stag
gered human credulity to believe the
trainers of the Constitution had thus de-
signed to turn the President Of the Senate
into Judge on the most critical case
which could befall the Republic, and
should not have said so. If the power
to open certificate from State implied
the power to decide upon its contents
when opened, then the President of the
Senate had power to declare who was
President. But he Edmundsl denied
that the power to do one thing implied
the power to do another. The Constitu-
ton declared that Congress should have
power to pass any law to carry into exc
cution any power vested in any depart
ment of the Government. The Consti-
tuition left it to the law-making power OF
Congress to carry all these great forces
into execution. He then read from de-
cisions of the Supreme Court to show
that the bill was Constitutional The
right to decide who was President did
not rest with the President of the Senate,
neither did it rest with Congress conclu-
sively, until a law should be passed to
that effect. He denied emphatically
that the President ofthe Senate had al
ways opened and counted the electoral
votes For the first forty years of the
Government there never was an instance
where an electoral certificate was drawn
into question The bill did not take
from the President of the Senate or from
the House of Representatives any pow
er which the Constitution had rested in
them, and therefore was not unconstitr-
tionai In conclusion he hoped the Sena'
tors would carefully consider whether it
was wise, by stipulating doubts in their
own minds, to send this Republic like
the mountains which the poet spoke of,


tumbling in the sea without shore,
or whether, in the fair course of equal
law, the dispute should be justly set
tied.


The Senate went into executive session
and soon adjourned till Monday.


vaE HOUSE.