Year: 1877




The opposition TO the scheme of a
commission to review the election of
President was from the first foriorn
hope in the Senate. Only one Demo-
cratic Senator is recorded against It.
with sixteen Republicans. The vote for
the bill was forty including both
Senators from each Of the fifteen States,
and one Senator from each of the seven
teen States; twenty-one of the support
ers of the bill were Republicans, and
twenty-six were Democrats. 1t will thus
be seen that the measure received ma
! jority Of the votes in its favor from the
Democratic party, and that all its oppo-
nents but one were Republicans. The
fact is significant, and goes great way
to explain the course of events by which
plan, wholly outside of the Constitu-
| tion, without a shred of support in that
| instrument, based on a principle never
before thought of in the administration
of our Government, and directly conflict
| ing with some of the most important and
most firmly established principles of our
system, has been forced upon the coun-
| try. The essential motive force in this
strange proceeding is the desire of the
Democratic leaders to secure possession
of the Government at any cost. For
that purpose it vas necessary to set aside
the time-honOred methods of declaring
the electoral vote, and to find some
means by which the choice of the States,
made and ascertained in accordance with
the laws of the States, under the direc-
tion and with the sanction of the Ma
tional Constitution, could be reviewed,
and to accomplish this it was necessary
TO win, in some way or another, the sup
port of Republicans. The policy adopted
can readily be traced in the history of the
past three months.


The first step was, by the concerted
action of the Democratic journals and
committees in every part of the country,
regulated by the agents of Mr.. Tilden, to
create The impression that majority in
the Electoral Colleges had been obtained
for their candidate. That attempt was
defeated. The next step was to claim
the election in spite of the facts;
to make the most extreme pretensions
concerning the powers of the House of
Representatives, and to fill the air with
threats regarding the disorders which
would follow the disappointment of their
hopes. The country was vexed from





and with seditious threats. The business
community was frightened with the pros
pect of disputed succession, with
prolongation of stagnation in trade, with
tainted public credit, and with Interrupt
tion of the profitable commercial rela-
tions that had at least begun to spring up
with the South. In Washington the game
of " bluff" was played with great bold
ness and skill. The managers pretend
ed to be holding in leash the passions of
the rank and file. Mr.. Tilden was repre-
sented as counseling moderation"
while the statesmen from remote regions,
the temper of which could be safely ex-
asgerated, represented that their con-
stitucncies would not listen to such
counsels. The Northern leaders were
reported to be laboring with the Southern
leaders to keep their tempestuous dis
positions in bounds; the Southerners re-
piled that they would wait for their
Northern friends to begin, but that there
was a limit beyond which they would
not be responsible for consequences.
AS n foretaste of the confusion which
would flow from denial of Democratic
claims, an imposing demonstration was
got up in New Orleans, while vague
threats were circulated regarding Hamp-
toms intentions in South Carolina.


Meantime, the people of the country,
who, if anyone, must bring about the
dreadful state of things which we were
told was upon US, were going about their
affairs as usual. No one could be found.
who had any intention of making trouble;
the only fear was that some one else, not
nd 1pdiccouoro bla ~.
violent, and this fear the Democratic
managers encouraged to the utmost. The
Republican Senators and Representatives
were found, in the majority Of cases, un-
able to face the terrors of this purely
theatric storm. To them the sheet.iron
thun 1er and the gunpowder lightning,
provided by the Liberty Street Bureau,
seem to have been real and impressive.
They were persuaded that it was better
to do almost anything that could be asked
of them rather than to stick to their
posts and sail the ship of State by the
ancient way-marks quietly and steadily
through these imaginary dangers. To
this causeless dread were added other
motives. Some of our friends saw no
other way of proving their freedom from
partisanship than TO support Demo-
cratic scheme. No one could then &C
cuse them of a narrow devotion to the
Republican cause, end if they threw
away the solid interests of the country
for this cheap and ieeting qualification,
let US hope that they did not know the
evil they were doing.


1t would be unjust to the Democratic
Senators not to acknowledge that at the
last moment they dropped the mask, and
left the Republicans no room for doubt
as to the intent of the bill. Mr.. Ed
munds, in his opening speech, had de-
clared that there was nothing in the bill
which affirmatively gave the commission
the right to go behind the vote of the
electors of a State chosen, in the Ian
guage of the Constitution, in such
manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct" An amendment was offered
| forbidding the commission to undertake
any such usurpation, whereupon Mr..
| Thurman declared that the amendment
! was " a dagger in the heart of the bill, I"
and that no Democrat in the Senate or
House would support the bill so amend
ed. And so the act has passed the SEN
ate and the House, giving to the COM
mission unlimited authority to exercise
powers which Congress dares not assert,
and making it the arbiter of questions
solemnly and expressly reserved to the
| States. Whatever may be the result
and even if Mr.. Hayes shall through it
come to his rights-the bill is amonstrous
wrong. In any possible event, we shall
be much mistaken if the terrified Re-
publicans who are responsible for it are
not yet made to deeply regret their
action.-N Y. Times.