INDEX OF CONTENTS. 



773 



system? 1T6; these inquisitorial, prying, coercive regula- 

 tions contrary to the spirit of our institutions, 176; 

 amendment agreed to, 176 ; motion to strike out lost, 177 ; 

 further amendment agreed to, 177. 



In the Senate, a joint resolution to amend the Consti- 

 tution reported, 177 ; relates to the method of electing 

 President and Vice-President, 177; threatened danger 

 from the imperfection of the pending system, 177; the 

 proposition, 177 ; the election of electors is placed abso- 

 lutely under the control of State Legislatures ; Congress 

 has no power over the election, or to determine any ques- 

 tion in regard to their election, 177 ; with two exceptions 

 everything is left to the States, 178; Congress has no 

 power to provide for contesting the election of electors, 

 178 ; the States have made no provision for contesting 

 the election of electors, 178; the law of 1792 in effect pro- 

 hibited any contest, 178 ; they vote by ballot, 178 ; how ia 

 the vote to be counted ? 179 ; the power given to the 

 President of the Senate, 179 ; how completely the theory 

 of the electoral college has failed 1 179; how has it turned 

 out in practice ? 180 ; dangers and difficulties attending 

 this system, 180; its unfairness, 180; four Presidents 

 have had less than a majority of the popular vote, 180 ; 

 better elect the President by the people, 180 ; the electoral 

 college has never come within ten per cent, of represent- 

 ing the popular vote, 181 ; compare the district system 

 with the general-ticket system, 181 ; illustration of the 

 dangers of the system, 181 ; a large fraud in a city con- 

 trols the election for Governor and for President, 181 ; 

 when you elect by general ticket, no man can vote unless 

 he has a party in the State large enough to hold a con- 

 vention and put a ticket in the field, 182 ; the danger of 

 the present system, 182 ; in 1857 the electoral vote of 

 Wisconsin was not cast on the day fixed by law, 182 ; the 

 danger was escaped because the vote was not needed to 

 decide the election, 183; consideration of the twenty- 

 second rule of the two Houses, 188; the rule, 188; it is 

 grossly unconstitutional, 184; it enables either House to 

 throw out the vote of any or of all the States, 184; the 

 vote of Arkansas objected to at the last count, 184 ; the 

 ease of Texas, 184 ; vote of Georgia lost, 184 ; action in 

 the case of Texas, 185 ; by this rule either House, against 

 the other, may throw out the vote of every State in the 

 Union for President, and disfranchise the people and 

 throw the election into the House of Kepresentatives, 

 185 ; what is an election by the House ? 185 ; it is full of 

 danger, 185 ; summing up of points, 186 ; no method now 

 of contesting a fraudulent election of electors, 186 ; the 

 original theory that the people could not be intrusted 

 with the election has failed, 186; this question is too im- 

 portant to be passed over, 186. 



The dangers have not been exaggerated, 187 ; the re- 

 port provides no sufficient or safe mode of counting the 

 electoral vote, 187; Congress can dispense with the 

 twenty-second, rule, 187 ; not willing that Congress shall 

 have the power to provide for counting the votes, 188 ; 

 the resolution proposes a sweeping change in the mode 

 of electing the President, 188; what are the words of the 

 Constitution ? 188 ; they go to the ultimate result, 188 ; 

 some better mode than this rule should be devised, 188; 

 Congress may provide by law a tribunal which, in case 

 of a dispute, after the Constitution has exhausted itself, 

 of this opening and counting the votes, shall decide who is 

 legally elected, 189 ; the subject considered in reference 

 to the smaller States, 189; the case of Polk, 189; that of 

 John Quincy Adams, 189 ; the election of Jefferson, 190 ; 

 the existing system is an acknowledged failure of the ex- 

 pectations with which it was adopted, 190 ; it restricts 

 the choice of the people, 190; it makes necessary the 

 caucus or convention, 191 ; the machinery is an obstacle 



rather than a facility, 191 ; the amendment proposed se- 

 cures the rights of individual selection, 191 ; a plurality, 

 next to an absolute majority, presents the most natural 

 and fairest mode of election, 192 ; the present system 

 gives immense power to majorities, 192; the danger of a 

 disputed election for President, in a State whose electoral 

 vote would decide the contest, is a most serious one, 198. 

 A joint resolution offered to repeal the twenty-second 

 rule, 198 ; the constitutional amendment reported cannot 

 be adopted before the next presidential election, 198 ; the 

 existence of this rule imperils the peace of the nation, 

 193 ; an amendment moved instead of the repeal, 193 ; no 

 objection to an electoral vote shall be valid unless sus- 

 tained by both Houses, 198 ; the constitutionality of the 

 rule altogether may well be doubted, 194 ; it was passed 

 in 1865, 194 ; where can the power be found giving the 

 two Houses of Congress the right to say whether votes 

 shall be counted or not be counted 1 194 ; the duty of the 

 President of the Senate is simply ministerial, 194; no 

 rule which can be framed that will not be open to defeat 

 by some supposititious case, 195 ; all the votes received 

 must be counted, 195; provisions of the Constitution, 

 195 ; no question of contest before 1872, 196 ; it is said 

 that the decision of the question who has received the 

 votes of a State for President rests with the President of 

 the Senate, 196; the proposition now is to reverse the 

 rule, 197 ; every return should be considered as correct, 

 and not rejected unless both Houses concur, 197 ; take 

 the case of Louisiana, 197; the* question was, who were 

 the electors, 197 ; it is asked, What have you to do when 

 there come up two returns from a State ? 197 ; the amend- 

 ment does not provide for such a case, 198 ; proceedings 

 in the case of two returns, 198 ; fearful temptation to 

 throw the election into the House of Kepresentatives, 

 198 ; suppose the cases of two years ago under this rule, 

 199 ; the rule in its present condition is a magazine that 

 may be exploded at any moment, 199 ; resolution referred 

 to the Committee on Privileges and Elections, 199 ; com- 

 mittee ask to be discharged from further consideration, 

 199. 



A bill reported on the same subject and considered, 199 ; 

 the bill proposes to meet the dangerous difficulty of two 

 sets of electors, 199; all votes shall be counted unless 

 both Houses concur to reject them, 199 ; an opportunity 

 given to raise a false claim to defeat a true election, 199 ; 

 the second section does not meet the want which all 

 recognize as existing in the Constitution, 200; only an 

 amendment of the Constitution will answer, 200 ; sup- 

 pose the second section stricken out, 201 ; both Houses 

 accept or reject, 201 ; cannot heap up the votes of a State, 

 201 ; what must we do where there is more than one re- 

 turn? 202; same as at the last count, 202; the difficulty 

 under the Constitution, 202; what does the bill say? 

 203 ; amendment offered and agreed to, 208 ; not a word 

 been said in favor of the principles of the bill, 204; if 

 necessary, it should be passed at the next session, 204 ; 

 motion to postpone lost, 204 ; nothing partisan in the 

 bill, 204 ; the bill more dangerous than the rule, 205 ; if 

 passed into a law, the President becomes charged with its 

 execution, 205; the Constitution is operative, and you 

 cannot add to or diminish its powers, 206 ; if it becomes 

 a law, how will you get rid of it in future ? 206 ; bill 

 passed, 206. 



In the House, resolutions fixing the term of the presi- 

 dential office to six years offered, 206; the time has ar- 

 rived for such a change, 206 ; suppose the President to 

 die after the first week, would not the Vice-President be 

 ineligible to a second term? 207 ; the people should have 

 a right to elect a man as many times as they choose, 

 207; question taken, 208; lost, 209. 



