Year: 1873

which he proposed, the people of the sew


erai States shall vote directly for Presi


dent, each State to have as many dis.
tricts and as many votes as it has .Sena-
tors and Representatives in Congress ,and
why the same rule should not be pfeserv-
ed when the election is thrown into Con-
gress it is hard to perceive. His object
was to point out to the Senate and the
country the dangers that lie in the path
way of the nation, contingencies some OF
them not remote, but near anc probable,
which threaten the country with feyolu-
ton and the Government with }estruc-
ton, and to urge that the path of duty is
the path of safety. That now, INA time
of peace and political calm throughout
the nation, we should address ourselves
to the removal of these peI1lOus obstruG-
tions that were hidden to the eyes Of our
fathers, but have been brought 10 our
knowledge by observation and experience
And to sum up, in recapitulation, | would
say that if the system of Electoral Col
leges is to be continued some means sho'd
be devised by which the election in
the States may be contested, so that if it
has been controlled by fraud or violence,
or if there be two sets of electors each
claiming the right to cast the vote of the
State, there may be some machinery or
tribunal provided by which the fraudulent
returns could be set aside or corrected
and the contending claims of different sets
Of electors be settled in advance of the
time when the vote is to be finally coun-
ted, and by which the President of the
Senate may no longer be left to exercise
/ the dangerous powers that seem to be
placed in his hands by the Constitution,
or by both houses of Congress by opera
ton of the twenty-second joint rule Pa
triotic men of all parties must rejoice that
General Grant has been reelected by so
large majority that the electoral votes
of Louisiana and Arkansas are unimpor-
tant to the result, for without intending
here to express any opinion in regard to
those votes, L must be permitted to say
that they are surrounded by such circum-
stances and attended with so much doubt
in the puplic mind that the peace of the
nation would be imperiled if the result
of the Presidential election were to I've
determined by them.


The plan of dispensing with elecroral
colleges and electing the President direct
ly by vote of the people of the whole
country as one community or by dividing
the States up into districts, seems to me
to be a remedy for many of the evils and
dangers to which [ have referred; but
even then some tribunal should be appoin-
ted to settle contested and doubtful re-
suits in the districts or at disputed points,
and this tribunal should be removed as
far as possible from the control of excited
parties. This naturally suggests the Su-
preme Court of the United States, or Cir
cult and District Judges ofCourts of the
United States as such tribunal. Whatever
tribunal might be created it would require
much consideration il regard to details
aud method OF operation, into VIII; q. it is
not important that [ should now attempt
to enter The injustice and danger of an
other election of President by the House
of Representatives voting by States are SO
glaring that it seems to me Congress
should never rest until it has constitution
ally presented to the several States for
their adoption some plan by which itmay
hereafter be avoided. | have, therefore
proposed that the committee shall take
the whole subject into consideration,
with leave to sit during the vacation and
report to the next session of Congress the
result of thier deliberations, and to bring
forward such measures as may be deemed
necessary, whether in the form of statutes
or anne rdmentS to the Constitution OF the
United States