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Show j GENERAL. h.i.m:i.(;to.v. ! ipia4-4'li(-M of Morlou uml t'oult I Ki on Ort-uu ule. aluu I 1 Ivth Some tilrouz (tiihiii;; ovrr i-uuin'M Pro- HI' Ki.ril OF JIOliTO.V. Va-hinL!ton, 111. In the discussion , in Hie tenatu over Hie Oregon tleci--ion by the electoral coinmi-ision Morton i-aid: I buhevo it waa not argued by anyho'.ly upon (lie com-mission com-mission th.at Cronin was elected or that 1 ilden had a vote in Oregon, but the minority of tho commission took . ground that there were but two electors elec-tors chosen in Oregon and that Hayes h.td but two vote.iin that state. U'a'ts was postmaster at Lafayette on the 7th of November, It waa argued therefore that he was not elected, and that the election was a failure so far as he was concerned, and tlint but two were elechd. On the lth of November Watts resigned; on the Mth his resignation waa accepted, and on tlio same day the oflice was transferred to another, and to another hiiikliiiL' When tlin eler-lor met. nn the Otli of December, Walts lia;-,ded in his resignation as elector and was afterwards chosen to fill the vacancy and cant his vote. Although Watts was not postmaster or an ullicehnlcler on the Cth of December when tlio elcetora voted, it was argued that there was no such vacancy in the college of electors, as that college bad a right to till and therefore that tho election by the college was a nullity. nul-lity. On tlio other hand Watts, Odell and Carlwriht received majorities major-ities of tho people's votes, ranging over 1,000 above their highest competitors. com-petitors. Tlio secretary or state canvassed can-vassed the voto on December 4th, and made his certificate of tho result, showing the election of Odell, Cart-wright Cart-wright and Watts, which was filed in the olliceoftho eccrclary of slate. Tho secretary cf Btale was tho canvassing can-vassing or returning oflicer for Oregon. Ho then read fiom Lho Oregon statutes na to tho duty of tho secretary, and resuming, said: Mow, in regard lo tho officers named, including members of congress, con-gress, it is delared that the secretary ofstato shall canva.-s tho votes and lho governor isue tho certificate to tho persons having tlio highest number num-ber of votes. Ho is not tho canvass hg oflicer. His duly is simply ministerial, min-isterial, and it is mado his peremptory peremp-tory duty to issue tho certilieato to the persons having tho highest number num-ber of votes. The law delares that tho person having the highest number num-ber of votes is elected, and it requires no dcelaratiou upon Mio part of any oflicer of that result. Then I turii to tho electoral law of Oregon. I tirst read the sixteenth section: "The voles for electors shall be given, ro- CFliwd. ivlnrmvl n,l r-.i h.m,I , the samo are given, returned and can vassed for membera of congress.' That brings it directly under the la that I havo read. The secretary o stato is, in tho caso of members o congress, to be tho returning officer and the secretary of state ia to re tun as elected the persona havinj the highest number of votes nnd ii caso ol membera of congress tho dutj of the governor is imperative to sigr tho list which i3 made out by th( aecretary ol state, who in tho am of members of congress is made the canvassing and returning officer. The governor is no part of the returning return-ing board, has nothing to do with the canvassing of the votes, but is absolutely abso-lutely required to Bign the list made out by the secretary of state. It was contended by the majority of the commission that tho law authorized a majority of the electors to fill a vacancy arising from any cause, from death, refusal to act, failure to elect. It can be imagined that it was tho purpose to give the college of electors the. right to fill any vacancy eo that Oregon should bo fully represented repre-sented ra the electoral college. The college of electors exercised this unquestioned un-questioned right. Watts on the Oth of December was not a federal officeholder; he was as completely1 qualified as any citizen in Oregon. We hold, therefore, that it was wholly immaterial whether he was a postmaster on the 7th of November or not, because if he was not a federal officeholder on the Oth of December; if.be was then qualified, that brought him within tho meaning of the constitution. con-stitution. His election was not invalidated in-validated any moro than the election of a senator would be who was elected before he was 30 years old, but was 30 years old when he took his seat, but that question became immaterial because he resigned tho office of postmaster before tho t!tn of Decern- wn.1,i,.n ijiuiiiieu uul then the college of electors had the f right to elect him to fill the vacancy, To remove auv doubts, he htmsell o resigned tho office of elector so ns tc C make a vacnacy in tho electoral col - :r OONKU.NQ'-j SPEECH. Coukliug said: Mr. President: - Oregon meuit to appoint republican . presidential electors. The peoplo of , Oregon, by a plain, undenied majority, honestly and intentionally voted for s republican ekctors. Two certificates having been received from Oregon, ; the questiou of tho count of her votes . has been examined by the electoral commission. A majority of the commissioners com-missioners have; scut up two things; first, the decision that the vote 0U"bt to be counted, as they declared at The ballot box it should be counted- second sec-ond a statement of the reasons by which tne decision was readied by the commissioners. Iu the first matter thus reported, namely the decision that Oregon's vote shou'd be counted as designed and directed by tne people of Oregon, the senate is caiied to express its judgment. The term of tins expression is nrrmnvrv-l ' the pending resolution. That res -lu-. tion does not, a? I understand it, sum-i sum-i mon any senator to express his opin -Km of tne reasons assigned for the j decision submitted to us. I therefore say notmns about the argument or the masons which appear in the paper read m tne joint meeting to-diy. to-diy. Lvtry senator is entitled, to his I own argument and h!B own mode of arriving at his opinion. I believe Oregon a vote should speak as thoa I wno had a right and power to utter! tne view of that state meant they saould speak. My vote here will! express th:s judgment. All beyond1 this I disclaim. I will do nothing to i defer for a moment the conclusion of tbo presidential count. Oa the con-! frary, I will in everv lawful wiy! Hasten the proceedings so that at ' the earliest hour the vote of the last1 i-ate may be counted and the result' uec;ared under the jaw, quietlv, cer-. taimy and conclusively. ' EEYIEW OF TQE SlTraTiO.V. ! Last night's threatening asDcetof'' tne po.itu-al situation was greatly I 'yigi.tencd tr.is morning bv the ac-l nou oi the torty-two democrats who': receded against tne caucus dctermin-: alioii, and uniting with the republicans repub-licans dc.'eated three consecutive motions tor delay. Still greater en-eouragenieui en-eouragenieui w.ls eiven to the trieuds of a lawiul and orderly completion ol the couiit by tne highly ueJiuble, but very unexpected ruiiugufapcaktr Randall again.it dii.it try moLnns. 1'hia, n aJi.eiid to hy the speaker, will undoubtedly in-ure a completion os the count next week, and thu prob ability ia that fiiibusierers will, after a few more ellorls, abandon their present programme aa hopeless. It is mortuver known that a certain number of democrats for a recess from this morning till Monday morning, morn-ing, witli the sole purpo.jo of making eflorla in the meantime to convince their ra3h colleagues of 'he i npolicy ol resisting the operations of the electoral law by any further dilatory proceedings, whether in the guice of legitimate motions or open filibustering. filibuster-ing. Tho recess finally taken at 5 o'clock bad no political significance, but waa merely the result of tho fatigues of a seven hours' continuous I excited tit-seion. On the whole the ! political situation to-night may be 'summed up as follows: Yesterday's decision in the Oregon case is conceded con-ceded to havo carried away the last democratic hope of securing the presidency nnd Cronin'a nose no longer illumines the way to the white house. Hayes' speedy and Deaceful inauguration is assured unless tho filibuateiers invito revolution and anarchy an-archy by defeating the tribunal's verdict. Such an attempt is possible, but not probable, and even if made will not attain the ultimate object for which it ia counselled and denifnod. In the senate to-day eulogies on the late Speaker Kerr were deferred, Kdmunds objecting to anything which interfered with tlio electoral count, though expressing regret at the exigency of the time anil the highest personal regard for the late speaker. DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS. Alter the bouse racess a democratic caucus was announced, and accordingly accord-ingly to-night about seventy fivo members were present. Some who favored dilatory proceedings in the electoral count were- absent, being dissatisfied with the action of tho majority ot their party to-day in voting vot-ing to continue the count, while those iu favor of continuing the count did not care to meet with those ol opposite oppo-site views. The object of the caucus, however, waa simply concerning the law of 1702 wliicli provides that iu caso of the removal, death, resignation resigna-tion or inability of both the president and vice president of the United Slates the president of the senate, or if there ia none, tho speaker of the house shall act as president until the disability U removed or a president elected. It waa contended in the caucus that should there be no declaration declar-ation before the 4th of March of the election of president upon the electoral returns there would be no such vacancy aa contemplated by law, and therefore provision! should be made for such contingency. Representative Field stated that he had prepared su'jh a bill, which he! explained. After some discussion Lho caucus adopted a resolution instructing in-structing the committee on tho powers of the house to report on Monday Field's bill providing that in case there bo no election of preei- 3 uent ami vice president under thi ; count of the electoral vote, the president presi-dent of the senate elialj assume tin ' functions ol president, and a new ' election is to be held at a lime to b( fixed by the committee. The resolu tion further instructs the committee J to report Field's bill providing fo: i r.(o warranto proceedings beforo the 1 United Stales supreme court, witl ' reference to a fiuul settlement of the J presidential question. There was also some general discussion relative ' lo tho disposal of points of ordei 1 arising during the lurther count ol the electoral vote, but no resolutions were adopted. The caucus then adjourned. ad-journed. STAItTLING. To day the rumor gained circulation circula-tion that an attempt would be made when the senate passed in procession through the rotunda on its way to the house to seize tho two mahogany boxes containing the electoral returns carried by Captain Bassett, assistant doorkeeper oi the senate, in order to prevent a further count. Little credence cre-dence was placed to the report, but Captain Blackford, chief of the capi-tol capi-tol police, placed additional policemen in the rotunda during the passage of the senatorial procession. No attempt was made, however, and probably none was intended. SENATOR EATON SI'EAKS. I Chicago, 2-1. Journal's Washing-' ton: Senator Eaton mude auinilain-J matory Bourbon speech in the senate against counting the electoral vote, this afternoon. Ho said: Before Almighty God, if I possessed the power of Lbe house, I would prevent ihe count going on, and would break up tho commission, which is simply a corrupt returning board. He thanked God that be had opposed the electoral bill, and if it was submittad to the senate again ho would not Stand .'iloiiP nn tho A - t "'tum.i.nii; btUtt IE , voting against it. KELLY AND SAEUEKT. In the discussion in the senate on decision of the electoral commission touching tho vote of Oregon, Sargent submittal the following: X:soh.d, That the decision of the commission tipen the electoral vote of the slate nf Oregon stand as the judgment judg-ment of the senate, the objection made thereto to tho contrary not with standing. Kdly aaid it appeared that the decision of the commission reeitsa lho fact hat on the 7th day of November last John W. Walts was a postmaster m Oregon, but it is said notwithstanding that fact, that he was e igiblo as a presidential elector providing he did not hold the office ;t the time he cast his vole as a mem-her mem-her of the electoral coIIpro on the Clli of December, labia (Kelly's) judgment judg-ment tnat was a plain violation of the constitution of the United States ' He referred to California and K bod o 1 Island cases heretofore alluded J to and argued that a person holding r federal office was not eligible to boN rated for as a nrifia.w;.,! i L next referred 0 the report made t f iW n ,;7andSl1119 Wright, to th efleet hat no person holding the office of postmaster could be chosen a prudential elector, ar.d argS ' Sareent said it struck his mind as a notable circumstance that not a member of the senate had arisen to defend the scheme whereby Cronin was mado an elector and organized h electoral eollege, therefore cot fcrcrf was brought down to the sin nl question as to whether Vat wVoepl |