Year: 1877

Districts shall select in such manner
as ma jority of them shall deem fit
another of the Associate Justices of
said Court, which five persons shall
be members of SAID commission, and
the person longest in commission of
the said Justices shall be President
of said commission. The members
of said commission shall respectfully
take and subscribe to the following
oath: 81 (blank) do solemnly swear
or affirm, as the case may be, that l
will impartially examine and consid-
err all questions submitted to the COM
mission of which l am member,
and a true judgment give thereon,
agreeable to the Constitution and
laws, SO help me Cod" which oath
shall be filedwith the Secretary of the
Senate. When the commission shall
have been thus organized, it shall
not be i'll the power of either house
to dissolve the same or to withdraw
any of its members, but if any such
Senator shall die or become physic-
ally unable to perform the duties re-
quired by this act, the fact Of such
death or physical inability shall be
by said commission, before it shall
proceed further, communicated TO
the Senate or House of Representa-
tives, AS the case may bc,which body
shall, Immediately and without de-
bate, proceed by viva voce vote to
fill the place SO vacated, and the per-
son so appointed, shall take and sub
scribe to the oath hereinbefore pre-
scribed, and shall become member
of said commission; and, in like
manner, if any of the Justices of the
Supreme Court shall die, or become
physically incapable ofperforming the
duties required by this act, the other
OF said Justices, members of the said
commission, shall Immediately APP
point another Justice of said court IA
member of said commission, and in
such appointments regard shall be
had to impartialty and freedom from
bias sought by the original appoint
ments to SAID commission, who shall
thereupon Immediately take and sub
scribe to the oath hereinbefore de-
scribed, and become a member of
SAID commission to fill Il vacancy SO
occasioned. All t certificates and
papers purporting to be the certiti-
Gates of the electoral vote of each
State shall be opened in alphabet
cal order of the States, as provided
in section l of this act, and when
there shall be more than one such
certificate or paper, as the certificates
and papers from such States, they
shall SO be opened, and, excepting
the duplicates of the same returning,
they shall be read by the tellers, and
thereupon the esident of the Sem
ate snail call for objections, If any.
Every objection shall bemade in wri-
ting, and shall state clearly and con-
cisely and without argument the
ground thereof, and shall be signed
by at least one Senator and one
member of the House of Representa-
tives before the same shall be receiv-
ed. When all such objections so
made to any certificate, vote, or pa
per from a State snail have been re-
ceived and read, all such certificates
votes and papers so objected to, and
all papers accompanying the same,
together with such objections, shall
be forthwith submitted to the said
commission, which shall proceed to
consider the same with the same
powers, if any, now possessed for
that purpose by the two houses, act
ing separately or together, and bv a
majority of votes decide whether any
and what votes from such States are
the votes provided for by the Con
stitution OF the United States, and
how many and what persons were
duly appointed electors in such
State, and may therein take into
view such petitions, depositlons, and
other papers, if any, as shall by the
Constitution and now existing law
be competent and pertinent in such
consideration, which decision shall
he made in writing, stating briefly
the grounds thereof, and signed by
the members of said commission
agreeing therein; whereupon the two
houses shall again meet, and such de-
cision shall be read and entered in
the journal Of each house, and the
counting of the votes shall proceed
in conformity Herewith, unless, up
on objection made thereto by at least
five Senators and FIVE members Of the
House of Representatives., the two
houses shall separately concur in Or
dering otherwise, in which case such
concurrent order shall govern. No
votes or papers from any other State
shall he acted upon until the objec.
tions previously made to the votes
or papers from one State shall have
been finally disposed of.


SEC. 8. That while the two houses
shall be in meeting, as provided in
this act, no debate shall be allowed,
and no question shall be put by the
presiding officer, except to either
house, or a motion to Withdraw, and
he shall have power to preserve Or
der.


SEC. 4. That when the two houses
separate to decide upon an objection
that may have been made to the
counting of any electoral vote or
votes from any State, or upon objec-
ton to a report of SAID commission,
or other question arising under this
act. each Senator and Representa-
tive may speak to such objection or
question ten minutes and not oftener
than once; but after such debate shall
have lasted two hours, it shall be the
duty of each house to put the main
question without further debate.


SEC. 5.-That at such joint meet
ing of the two houses seats shall be
provided as follows: For the Presi-
dent of the Senate, the Speakers
chair; for the Speaker, Immediately
upon his left; the Senators IN the
body of the hall, upon the right of
the presiding officer; for the Rep
rescntatiycs in the body of the hall
not provided for the Senators; for
the tellcrs, Secretary OF the Senate,
and Clerk of the House of Repre-


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