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The Democratic Legislature Of South

The Democratic Legislature Of South image
Parent Issue
Day
22
Month
December
Year
1876
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Carolina has elected Gen. M. C. Butler United States Senator. Not a happy choioe. TlIE Senato commitees investigating at Columbia, New Orleans, and Tallahassee, hold secret sesssons. Not a satisfactory proceeding. It is qiveït out that the Senate Finance Committee does not propose to con8Íder the House Silver bilí until after the Silver Comraission shall report. ____ Will not some of our Republican journalÍ8tic friends who aifect to make light of the allegation that Michigan has lost one electoral vote by Kepublican blunders give us the law authorizing the Michigan Electoral College to fill a vacancy caused by a failure to elect ? That would be better than horse-laughs. In May last one Marble saw a negro knocked down with a stone at Petersburg, Va.; in October he reported the same to Attorney-General Taft, Taft sent him with the story to Gen. Sherman, and Sherman sent troops to Petersburg. Did our readers ever hear recited the affecting nursery tale of Henny-penny, Cock-a-locky, and the falling sky ? If so they know why troops were sent to Petersburg. This f rom the Lansing Republican: " Bagley has 24 oompanies of 'welldrilled and armed Michiganders hungering for battle " : that is, ready to enlist under the banner of Gen. Chandler and aid iu enforcing the inauguratiou of Hayes whether honestly or dishonestly declared elected. Perhaps the Republican is correct, but we'll wager a brace of nickels that the writer of its item doesn't belong to a military company. Men of his brag and bluster never hunger for battle. TnERE is n't a bit of doubt that Michigan was entitled to elect eleven Electors, and to cast eleven votes for President and Vice-Preaident, but we know of no law wbich compela the voters of Michigan to elect the full number of Klectors, and if the Republican leadere have cheated them out of óne by nominating an ineligible candidate let them lay the blame where it belonga. It certainly don't look well for ignorant and blundering leaders to insist upon an open and willful violation of law to inake aruends for their blunders. Mr. Ortou, of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and his Republicah admirers and adviaers, have just discovered that there is something sacred in the telegraphic messages cominitted to the care of his subordinates, and that it would be a violation of right and duty to surrender them to the examination of a House Committee. We are inclined to think that Mr. Orton is more than half right, but as the Republican officials and Republican committees have been acoustomed for years to ransack the telegraph offices without objection, it is singular that this conviction of duty and right had not dawned upon Mr. Orton before. Otjr amable friend of the Lansing SeptMican (himself a practical illustration of the Josh Billings inaxim he quotes, " it is better not to know quite so inuch than to know so many things that are not so ") plumps this sentence and conundrum at us : " As to Florida, which is also claimed for Tilden, the Democratie Attorney-Oeneral, one of the State Board of Canvassers, officially signs the declaration that the Hayes Electors have 324 majority. Does n't he know a little more on the matter than the Argus editor." Undoubtedly, and when the editor of the Republican will show us such a declaration signed by Attorney-General Cocke we will also concede that he has eome justification for his impertinence. We TOULD mildly suggest to the Postoffice Department at Washington, that instead of spending valuable time in atteinpting to worry the Honse into making appropriations for " fast mails,'' it set its officials at work to regúlate the present mail facilitics. On Tuesday moruing last we received New York City dailies of Friday morning, Saturday evening, and Suuday morning, and on Tuesday evening the New York dailies of Saturday morning carne to hand. A little more intelligence in making up the mails at and dispatching them from the New York postoffice, with ordinary intelligence and care on the part of route agents, ought to insure the New York mails coming through by the nearest and quickest routes, and in their regular order. More regularity and certainty would cortainly compénsate the public for a delay of three hours, and but three hours were ever gained by the 80-callod fast mail : that is to thia locality. At a recent meeting of the Union League Club in New York, that eminent civil service roformer Dormán B. Eaton asked for an appropriation of $5,000 to reimburse Zach Chandler for certain expenditures in the Southern States during the recent campaign, and in doing so criticised very severely the Democratie party and individual Democrats. Mr. L. C. Lodyard, a grandson of Gen. Cass, protested agninst the language, declared himself a Democrat, and said that he voted for Tilden, whereupon Jackson 8. Schultz, no doubt another civil service reformer, and certainly a patriot after the model Republican's heart, advÍ3ed Ledyard to " get out " or he would be insulted, and he, Schultz, " should be the ouo to insult hiin." Mr. Barnard, another Democrat (out of place in the club), also entered his protest against Eaton's ravings, or tried to, but that ancient inariner, Geo. W. Blunt, came to Eaton's support, and there being a good prospect of a general war President Choate summarily adjourned the meeting, lt is said tbat 300 of the 1,000 members of the Union Laagua Club ars Demócrata. In Febrcary, 18G5, Cotogress, then Elepublican in both branches, adopted oint rule No. 22, tho rule which reguated the counting of the electoral vote, and which placed it in the power of either branch of Congress to objeot to and have thrown out or rejected the ïïleotoral vote of any State. If this oint rule then adopted, and observed n 1865, 1809, and 1873, was oonstitutional, just, and right, how is it that we are now told that the President pro tempore is the man to determine the legitmivcy of certifieates, oount the electoral votes, and declare the result, and that neither Senator nor Seuate, Representativo or House, can question or object? The joint rule couid not tako constitutional powers away frotn the President of tho Senate, nor could it confer unoonstitutional powers upon him. Neither oould it give or take away the constitutional functions of either Senate or House. It bimply marked out the way for a discharge of those funotions and that is all : they are the same as in February, 1865. Besides, the Senate at its last session acted npon and passed the Morton bill, which fully recognized and readopted the prominent provisions of the joint rule, and which is to-day on the files of the Senate, the pending motion being to reconsider. This bill was voted for by Senator Anthony, both the Camerons, Christiancy, Fielinghuysen, Hainlin, Logan, Sargent, Shermau, other leading Republicans, and Ferry, hiinself. Were these men acting and voting intelligently, or wero they laying an unconstitutional trap under which they hoped to throw out. Democratie electoral votes on February next ? That is the question now before the poople. In discüssino the contested Oregon Elector, in the Senate on the 7th iust., Senator Morton, of Indiana, after quoting certain authorities to maintain his position that the ineligibility of a candidate did not opérate to elect the opposing candidato, said : "As stated here, there has been no case where when a man elected to CongresB or to any legislativo body or to any office has been held disqualified the minority candidato has been d or hos received the office because the majority candidato was ineligible. ín such a case there is simply no election. This i$ the universal rule in Vongress." And this being the " universal rule " it must prevent the Senate, the House, the two houses in joint meeting, or his omnipotence, the President pro tempore of the Senate, from recognizing aiiy official character in Michigan's bogus Elector, or from counting bis vote for Hayes and Wheeler. Daniel L. Crosstuan is his name. He was elected without authority of law, to fill a vacancy caused by a failure to elect an ineligible candidato. Mr. Morton ought to be good authority with all Republicana, and according to Mr. Morton Benton Hanchett being ineligible " there was siinply no election." And not having been elected, he, Mr. Hanchett, by neg lecting to appear ai the Capítol at the appointed hour did not and could not créate such a vacancy as the statute of Michigan authorized the Electora present to fill. The statute provides : "And if there shall be a vacaucy in the office oi an Elector, " üccasioned by death, " Refusal to act, ' Neglect to att-'nd by the hour ot twelve o'clock noon of that day, or ' On account oí any two ot such Electora having received an equal and the same nuinher oí votes, " The Electors present shall proceed to fill," &c. That and nothing more. Result : Election of Mr. Crossman a farce, and only ten legal votes given to Hayes and Wheeleer. The New York Evening Post isn't exactly satisfied with the Communications of President Grant and Gen. Shorman accounting for the sending of troops to Petersburg, Va., to supervise the recent election, - the cali having been made not by the Governor, but by one Marble, a colored Virginian, sent to Gen. Sherman by the Attorney-General. The Post proposes the following constitutional amendment to meet such emergencies : The United States shall guaranty to every St ite in this Union a republican form ot government and shall protect each of them against iuvasion ; and, on application of a gentleman from the Attorney-Guneral, against domestic violence. Our Republican friends will forgive the Post when we assure them that it was only its " off day." It never Iets its censure settle down into confirmed antagonism. Hobace White, late of the Chicago Tribune, and one of the ablest journalists in the country, don't take stock in the Repablican effort to elect HayeB and Wheeler by the fraudulent and villainous action of the Louisiana Returning Board. He says : " I voted for the Hayes Electors and the Republican State ticket in Illinois without exception, but I acknowledge no allegiance or fealty to any party, and shall not vote the Ropublican ticket again if the action of the Louisiana Returning Board receives the sanction and support of the party." Will the declaration of Horace White have any influence upon the Republican conspirators at Washington '( Not much. Proctor Knott's bill providing a system for counting the electoral vote seems to be uunccessarily verbose. It should be coudensed - on grounds of " retrenchmeut " into tliis compact shape : Be it enacted, etc, That the Coustitution shall bo and is hereby suspended, and teat the House of Itepresentatives uhull do as it pleases m regard to the couutiug of the electoral vote." - Detroit Tribune. Has the Tribune itemizer ruad the joint rule now the bone of contention between the Senate and House 'i Has he read the Morton bill passed by the Senate at its last session and now pending in that body, - on a motion to reconsider 'í If so, can he teil in what single provisión the Kuott bill suspends the Constitution, if the joint rule and Morton bill were constitutional ? Or what powers the Knott bill gives the House that it was not given by the joint rule or the Morton bill f Lot us have a categorical answer. CoLD C0NS0LATION : the letter and report of Gen. Barlow, who was present at Tallahassee and witnessed the proceedings of the canvassing board. Pointing out in detail precincts and counties in which he should have been compelled to have decided differently from the board, he is torced to the conclusión that there was a majority for Tildan in Florida,

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus