Year: 1878

tion.


Mr.. Garfield also argued against the
resolution being a privileged one. DE
said the gentleman from New York bases
his claim that it is a privileged question
on the fact that it is memorial from q
sovereign State and is therefore entitled
to very high place IN the
consideration of this House. l think
the gentleman from New York
was unfortunate in planting his
case on that idea. The States OF the
Union are represented by Individual
members who are sent hete to speak
and vote for their States, and in no other
way whatever can State OF the Union
be heard on this floor, except under the
rule (which is a recent mOdifcatIon) that
on Monday mornings call the joint re-.
solutions of the State and Territorial
Legislatures may be introduced for
printing and reference.


The Speaker-Would the gentleman
from Ohio deny to State the night oI pc
tition as gwen in the Constitution?


Mr.. GarfeId-Oh, q State has, OF
course, the right of petition. A memo
rial is a petition, and is provided for IN
! the Constitution, wherein it Is stated that
Congress shall make no law a5ridgiug
the right Of the people to petition the
government for redress OF grievances.
! The Sneakers reference TO the right OF
petition Is entirely unnecessary. That
question was discussed on this very
Msrylsnd resolution, and everybody here
granted the perfect and unquestloned
right of petition, but the right OF action
here on this floor Is quite different
thing, and the question OF whether 1t rises
to the dignity of privileged question
| depends on the right OF action which
somebody can demand from the House.
This is a question of privilege without a
| doubt. provided the mover OF 1t alleges
that he proposes TO follow it up us mat
ter of Impeachment. If he says that THIS
is a proceeding intended 10 pave the way
to Impeachment, then, doubtless, 1t may
be a question OF privilege. If he says
this is a proposition by the House TO
raise and determine the question OF the
title of the President TO the office
which he holds, then l answer that the
question has been determined by the
Joint voice of tho two Houses Ct Con-
gress, and It is beyond the reach OF this
House. If again, the object OF this resc-
luton is merely to organiZe committee
for campaign purposes ito make cam
paign literature for fall then the eXigen-
cies of the political party have never yet
risen to the dignity of questions OF
| privileges. Furthermore, there Is in this
resolution proposition that the commit
tee shall have the right to sit IN recess.
Neither of those two propositions can be
adopted by majority vote, and, l there
upon reserve that point OF order until
the oportunity shall arise. l am glad, at
least after the long threat that has been
hanging over the country, that these
gentlemen, in the language Of Shakes
pesre, have LEFT of their damnable
faces and begun" and now let the play
90 on. [Applsuse on the Republican
| side.


Mr.. Mills argued that the resolution
did not present question OF privilege.
| He could find no shelter for 1t under the
| Constitution unless under that power Of
the Constitution which gave the House
the right to originate an impeachment
against the President for highcrmes and
mlsdemeanor5. But in order to make it
question of privilege under that con-
stLutional provision, the resolution must
contain q charge against the President
of sufficient gravity to justify the House
| in putting him on trial Tor impeachment.
The frauds alleged in the resOlu
| ton had been once investi-
gated and that competent body
under the Constitution had declared the
present incumbent of the Presidency TO
beduly elected under the Constitution and
| law, and that was the end of it. The power
no longer existed in the Forty-FItth
Congress, and any attempt by the Forty
Fifth Congress to exercise such power
over the Presidential election was
usurpa.ion. This Congress had no power
at all over that question. Whatever
power the Constitution vested in
either house of Congress on such subjects,
had been exercised by the Forty-Fiith
Congress, and there remained not Il
shadow OF right on the part Of this Con
gress to exercise such power. The only
power which the House had over the
President was the power to impesch him
for some crime which he himself
had committed, but not for frauds which
others had done in bringing him to the
Presidency. If this House had the power
to investigate the question as to how
HAYES obtained the Presidency. 1t also
/ l -, ivy bn
by which James X. Polk obtained il,
and it might also 20 back TO the days Ot
George Washington, and brig the facts
OF mis- election before the people. lie re.
peated that any attempt by tbs House to
investigate and undo what had been done
by the For y-Fourth CougTes. in declsr-
ing who wss President was nothing
short of usurpstion. Applause on the
Republican side


Mr.. Cox, OF New York, read an ex.
tract from the decision OF the Electoral
Commission on the Florida case, and
charged Mr Garfield Zone Of the COM
missouers) with having either couver-
lent conscience or convenient logic. 1t
seemed to him Cox taat whatever steps
III - III Dt thhtA ~ lChNu NLav = Cav II hils-
action, the gentleman from Ohio held
that they were outside the record
aliimde. So tar as the question OF prlyi-
lege was concerned, this was q question
Of high privilege.


Mr.. Potter held that the privilege
asked for was only the privilege Of having
now considered the resolution presented.
The privilege to which the resolution
was entitled arose from the fact Lnat j.
| had been set in motion frat by
public formal action, and secondly from
the nature Of the subject to which it re.
ferred. The gentlemen on toe other side
had been Guck to declare thstiF ne POI
teri would say thst the purpose OF the
resolution was to impesch and unseat the
/ President they would sdmi. it was In
order; that he declined. To declare tha:
the construction given to the rule by the
gentleman from Maine Hale was
right that the Limitation OF privilege in
reference to Presidential inquiry was in
reference to his election before ne Is seat
ed or with view 10 unsestIng him J, that
WAS construction which would