Year: 1877

the House. 4


The electoral bill has passed the Senate
with only one Democratic vote against
it, and all responsibility for its future
late now rests with the Democratic ma
Jor1ty OF the House. The Republican
minority, can, we suppose, einbarrass
ana delay action upon 1t, but when the
iinal vote comes the Democracy must
bear the honor or dishonor of its victory
or defeat. TheDemocracy of the House
Will not fail to remember that they took
the first steps which have resulted in the
measure; they proposed the joint COM
mittees, and their own committee has
unanimously approved the plan which
the Senate has adopted. The Democracy
VIII also bear In mind that they are re-
sponslble for another committee of the
House, ON the rights, powers and duties
OF the House in dealing with papers pur-
porting to be certificates of electoral
votes. That committee has made both o
majority and minority report. The
conclusions of the Democratic majority
are these M


"ItesOtued, fist, That the Constitution of
the United States does not confer upon the
PRESIDENT of the Senate the power to exam
Inc ana ascertain the votes 10 be counted as
INC electoral votes for President and Vice
president OF the United States.


Stc00d-That the only power which the
constitution OF the United States confers
upon the President of the Senate in respect
70 the electoral votes for President and
Vice President of the United States is to
receive the sealed lists transmitted to him
Dy The several electoral colleges. to keep
the same safely. and to open all the certit-
cates, or those purporting to be such, in the
presence of the Senate aud the House of
Representatives.


''Int'd-That the Constitution of the
United states does not confer upon the
oenate and the House of Representatives
the power to examine and ascertain the
votes to be counted as the electoral votes


"FotTth-Ihat in the execution of their
power IN respect to the counting of the
electoral vote the House of Representatives
is at least equal with the Senate,


"Finh-That in the counting of the electo-
raj votes no vote can be counted against
the judgement and determination of the
House of Representatives


These propositions have, we think, the
cordial and hearty assent of an over
whehning majority of the Democratic
party, as they certainly have our own as
sent. The minority of the committee do
not controvert the third and fourth of
the above resolutions. They insist, how
ever, that the count is ministerial
duty" that the twenty-second joint rule
is not now in force, and that when in
in force, as from 1865 to 1876, it was
dangerous and unconstitutional, The
two resolutions, and especially the last
one, which the minority recommend at
the end of their report, contain very
clear evidence of the drift of Republican
purpose in the House.


aIeeSOlued, first, That 1t Is the power and
duty of the House, conjolntly with the Sen
ate by law or other constitutional method a
mode for Iairly and truly ascertaining and
properly counting the electoral vote ofeach
State, so as to give effect to the choice of
each State In the election of President and
Vice President.


isIeesolred. second That in the absence of
legislative provision on the subject, or au-
thoritative direction from the Senate and
House OF Representatives, the President of
the Senate, upon opening the certificates,
declares and counts the electoral votes for
President and Vice. President OF the United
States.


The Republicans of the House could
not venture entirely to deny any power in |
their own body to interfere with counting
the electoral vote, but they reduce thai |
power and duty to a minimum by main |
tanning that there is no judicial element |
in counting ,which hsimply means thatthere |
is no judicial element In. counting, which |
simply means that the certificates from /
the Executives of Louisiana and of Flo
rida are valid and conclusive upon the |
House, and cannot be inquired into by 1t.
Subject to this condition precedent, the
Republican minority coneede that the
House and Senate should direct the |
counting, but if the two bodies fail to
agree upon which expected failure the
Radical plan of Revolution rested), then
the President of the Senate was to declare
Hayes elected.


Now the Senate debate has uncovered |
Just what the Hayes leaders intended to /
do, and therefore has uncovered the ex-
tent of the perils, before the nation so
graphically painted by Senator Edmunds
Those leaders in the Senate. in the House
in the executive departments, in the
army and navy, and in private life, had
concerted all their plans, which were
based on an expected disagreement be-
tween the two bodies. The course of the
Tribune and Times, and the utterances of
Dix, Wood and Stoughton, attest this
The gathering of troops in Washington
confirms it. But while the debate has
revealed to the country these Radical
batteries in position, which up to that
time had been successfully masked, the
discussion has also made it clear that the
Radical project could not have been ex-
ecuted by the use of soldiers planted at
the doorS of the American Senate Cham
ber as sentinels, as was done in Colum-
bia, or intruded, like the grenadiers of
Bonaparte, into the Chamber, there
would stu have been q majority of
AIneTlCiu OeudtOIS StlSutinlul5 tuO llOtloc
in the election of Governor Tilden and
him as President.


1t was no doubt the vision, or what
they thought to be the vision, of the ap-
terrible peril of such a contest,
together, perhaps, with failure ade,
qnately to appreciate the now revealed
weakness of such II reasonable plot in
the Senate when the day for its execution
came, which persuaded the Democratic
members of the House committee to sur
render for this emergency so large part
of the prerogative rights and powers of
the body they represented. We say "sur-
render" because those Democrats have
certainly surrendered rights and powers
which they found in the possession of
of the House when they entered it. They
have yielded rights and powers which
the Republican party successfully assert
ed and exercised for that body from 1865
onward under the joint rule. The power
of the House to reject single undisput-
ed and uncontroverted return from
State, if indeed State, is chiefly theo-
if it exists, and need not be now
iwelt upon; but the power in case of
double returns toIprevent, of and by itself,