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Show J ELECTORAL COLLEGE. THE TWENTY-SECOND JOINT RULE OF CONrjRJESS LETTKR FROM SENATOR MOKTOX EXPLAINING THE PRESENT LAW AND HIS EFFORTS TO PAPS ANOTHER. AN-OTHER. To the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle Sir: To correct some misapprehension mis-apprehension in Iho public press in refiurd to tho lnte twenty-aecond joint rulo of the two houses of congress, con-gress, for counting the electorial voto, I aslc a Bhoit space in your coi um na. Up to January, 18ti5, thare had been no rulo or law regulating the counting of the electoral votes for president and vice-president, and the count had been made under the general gen-eral direction ouly of the constitutional constitu-tional provision. At that time the twenty-aecond joint rule was adopted, providing the lortn and method for making the count and enacting, among other things, that when the two houses assembled in the hall of tbe house to witness the count, if any objection was made by auy member of the house or senate to receiving any electoral vote or votes, the two bouses should immediately separate, and each, in its own chamber, without with-out any debate, vote upon the objection; objec-tion; and if the objection was not overruled by tbe voto of both houses, then the electoral voto or votes objected ob-jected to were not to bo received. It was thus placed IN THE POWER OF EITHER HOUSE, By re-fusing to overrule an objection to an electoral vote, however trivial or immaterial the objection might be, to havo the vote rejected might be, tc . have the vote rejected; aud thus any , state, or all tbo states, might be die- franchised by tbo action of one houm , of cungreaa only. Tu me tins provision pro-vision of the rulo appeared to bt grossly unconstitutional and dangerous dan-gerous to the peace aud safely of Uu country; and I called the attention o tbe senate to its character ns early a; the winter of 1S71-2. When the electoral votes were counted in February, 1873, the danger and folly ot the rulo were Btrongly illustrated. Objection was made to counting the vote ol Arkansas, because the ccr-tilii-ato cigned by the governor was not alti'dti-d by the seal of the state. Upon Ibis objection the two houses voted fccpar.it fly. The house oTre j presctilalivi's overruled the objection, buL the senate sustained it, and tho vote of Arkansas was lost. Objection was made also to counting iTrtuiu vutes from the state of Georgia, which were cast for Horace Greeley, upon the ground that Mr. Greeley was dead. The objection was overruled by the senate and sustained by tiie houae, and bo tliotio voles were nut countul. AT TUB .VF-Xr ShoSIUN f eongn hs I introduced an amendment amend-ment to tho joint rulo providing that o ekvtrmil voto should bo re.Hcted unless by the concurrent action of both bouses, and afterwards reported a bill from the committeee on privileges privi-leges and elections embracing ibis amendment, and providing for a limited debate in each hoii?e upon any objection that might he utlered lo electoral vote, t ins bill, utter much debate, p.i&sed the senate by a large m-ip'riiy ami wit nut re icin d in Hie jou;! lor want or timr. At the tsst -ession ol congress I brought lurward the bill and it ug.-int paed thcaunale. I n its tw-enud p.uwagu it became nearly a parly iptctiun, receiving Only two democratic Yules those oi nator '1 hurman, of Ohio, and Merriman, of North Carulma. Alter the pa.iL;o. and before the bid w.ia i-etit to tiie hoti-ie, St'tiatur Thtirnian niado a nintiun to reconsider the vntr, and upon this iiui'ion no action waj :ii rwanls lu let' ii, tiie nrtion of t:ie iltmncrii'.ic inetiibcr of It e cMialr-mtiknig cMialr-mtiknig it cvrUin llit the honac would n j'-et the b.H. and bo it failed the prcoiid time. Ino tnt ruka ol the seriate anil h.iii'" npire with tne en l of t arh rins;ri. 1 ivy r' imply I1 1 For tiittiudi of a- tiou in r. gaol U-parti U-parti i .nlar tn tL-ra, and nevt-aarily fxpira with liie ci ngrrs. t'r.c 'nigro ranoi't make n-ii mica binding on a cevdnig ronur' ii; tut, aa ltn-e j-iint rul'ia per-tu! per-tu! n in in ja( rrpi cln to in altera nb iu I liici there in no depute, lin; nave Iktu generally mvpled !)' a tirw rnngrrr withmil lo aiiujdion, antl aclol upon hy tointnnn cuin'-iit, with the perff-et n m lr-( fit .(I i ng, hnw rvtr, that it it in the jM-wr ol either hourM) to dicent from noy ono or ah of ihetn. At tii- his: a aaiun I lie leiiat, by n ,ii itn ui, eipr s.y dienleil (ru n thn twenly-fe t,d joint rule, lima taking aav any ar-gumpiit ar-gumpiit of niwent or ad"ptiun that inigiit bo drawn fmni niero nilttuc, 1 tie iniUter now atatula. u if no aiicn rule had rvpr lieii In enali tier, and unless further action it hwl by r.n-greM r.n-greM bffr.re thrdBylinxl formunhng the vole in Keliruary, the rount will li-ivo t'i lc inaile under thn genrral direction of iho cnnalituhonal provision. pro-vision. That pruvmou remit n (! -lows; Till OoNriTlM Mi Tho elect.. os shall meet In their respective) Htntea and v.de b bailot for jircHtilent and vice president, tnr of whom, at le.nl, ahull not bo nn inhabitant ol tlio suimo nl.ito with theniHolvcH; they shall n-uno in llieir liallols thn peMiiii votetl fjr a- pri dent, and in diitim t b illutn tin- prr-aon prr-aon voted for ns vire-prenidenL; anil they shall makn distnicl Iih's of all pernun voted fr na prranlenl, and ol all p'Tiona vi.tnl Inr tw vice president, and of thn number of votes fur e.icli, which JiMts they glmll sign ami ccrlify, and transmit, seahd, to tho seat oi the government of the 1'iiiled HlnteP, dirrc.ted to tlio president of Ihenenale. Tlii prcrtident ol iho aenato shall, in the presence of th0 wnalo and house nft rwprcsentativrs, open all the eer -liticuii H, nnd the voles shall (Hu be counted. Tho pernors having Ihc grculrsl number ol voles lor prenUnt Hhall be the pmddcnl, if mt-U a number num-ber he a majority ol the wholo iiurn bur ol electors appointed; and if no person have such a majority, thru from tho pornonn having thn highest numbers, not exceeding three, on thy lint of Ihimo voted for as president, tho tinuso of repremmlalivus shall chose immcdialoly, by ballot, thn president. IT WILL IIH OIHKItVBI) that this provision leavea several important im-portant things open to eonstniction. Tho votes of Ibo several electoral tvl-leges tvl-leges nro to be sealil up and sent m Iho pn.'Hident of the senate, nnd by him tf) bo opened only, and for the first lime, iu Iho prenenen ol thn two boimes when Ihey are HSReml.led to wilui'is the counting of the vote. It has generally been eonnidornl that Iho two limine- nro iiaanmblrd, lint as a joint convention, or us constituting one bndy matin up ol Ibo members ol each holme, but that each is present in i Im own enpacily lo witners (he cotinlmgofthn v l . Tho president of tbo flcnuto is lo open the puckngen containing tho electoral voles in the presonne of the two hoimrp, "and the votes shall tlitftl bo counted," y whom shall tho votes be counted, And wlio shall determine and pronounce -tho r phi i Ii If the two houses (Inn assembled as-sembled do not coiiiilllutii a Johil ooii- -vcnlion with tho power iu that character char-acter to count th voles and deter- ' minu (ho result, then tbo two bourns n cannot act at all except each iu its separate capacity; aud acting in that way they could take no action which would be of a binding character unless un-less both houses concurred in it. If tho two houses cannot thus dotermine tbe result and count the votes theu it must bo done by tho president of the senate, and it will bo for him to determine and announce the result. When the electoral vote was counted in 1807 objection was made, lo receiving the vote of Wisconsin upon tbe ground that tbe electors had not cast their votes on the day fixed by law, having ben prevented by a snow storm, although the voto was Cttst on tbe next day; but Mr. Mason, president of the senate, decided that the objection objec-tion was not in order, and that nothing was in order but to count tbe voles. His decision created much discussion and excitement at the time, and led to quite- an extended conBid. eration of the whole subject in each house. It may be said that the general gen-eral current of opinion from the beginning has been that the two houses, when assembled to witness the counting of the voto, do not constitute- a joint convention, or a single body composed of the members of each house, but that each house is present in its separate capacity bb witnesses to the counting of the votes. As to what power or control the two homes acting separately may exercise exer-cise over the counting of the votes and the determination as to who has baen elected, has been the subject of i diBcusnon, and about which there has been great difference of opinion, i In tho bill which I presented to the aenato, I assumed that the two ' houses, by their concurrent action, might control the counting of the ' votes. The twenty-second joint rule put it in the power of one house alone 1 to disfranchise auy or all tho states, which I regarded as absurd and dan-s dan-s gerous. O. P. Mokton. I Palace Hotel. San Francisco. Oct. ' 20th. |