168 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



ner, James, Frank Jones, James T Jones John S. 



.111113. ilill/^u^n, " <=. ' /^IXT 'II 



Morse, Muller, Neal, Norcross, Oliver, Neill, 

 Overton, Pa^e, G. W. Patterson, T, M. Patterson, 

 Peddie, Phillips, Pollard, Pound, Price, Pugh 

 Ruim-v, Randolph, Ren, Reagan, Reed, Reilly, Wil- 

 liam \V. Rice, Kiddle, Kobbins, Roberts, G. D. Rob- 

 inson, Ryan, Sampson, Sapp, Sayler, Scales, Sexton, 

 Shallenberger, Shelley, Sinnickson, Smalls, A. Herr 

 Smith, Sparks, Starin, Steele, Stenger, Stephens, 

 Stewart, John W. Stone, Joseph C. Stone, Strait, 

 Thompson, Throckmorton, Amos Townsend, M. 1. 

 Townsend, R. W. Townshend, Tucker, Turney, 

 Vance, Veeder, Waddell, Wait, Ward, Watson, 

 Welch. Harry White, Michael D. White, Whitthorne, 

 A^S. Williams, Andrew Williams, C. G. Williams, 

 Richard Williams, Albert S. Willis, Benjamin A. 

 Willis, Willits, Wilson, Wood, Wren, Yeates, 

 Young 215. 



NAYS Messrs. Blackburn, Bliss, Boone, Bragg, 

 Cook, Samuel S. Cox, Ellis, Fuller, Hamilton, Har- 

 denbergh, Henkle, Henry, Abram S. Hewitt, May- 

 ham, Phelps, Pridemore, Robertson, William E. 

 Smith, Southard, Springer. Warner 21. 



NOT VOTING Messrs. Acklen, Ballou, Benedict, 

 Bland, Buckner, Butler, Cain, Camp, Candler, Alvah 

 A. Clark, Collins, Davidson, Eickhoff, Elam, Fort, 

 Frye, Glover, Gunter, Hale, John T. Harris, Hart- 

 ridge, Hazelton, Hooker, Joyce, Kimmel, Knapp, 

 Knott, Loring, Luttrell, Lynde, Manning, Martin, 

 McMahon, Money, Muldrow, Potter, Powers, Quinn, 

 Americus V. Rice, M. S. Robinson, Ross, Schleicher, 

 Singleton, Slemons, Swann, Thornburgh, Tipton, 

 Turner, Van Vorhes, Walker, Walsh, Wigginton, 

 James Williams, Jere. N. Williams, Wright 55. 



So (two thirds voting in favor thereof) the 

 rules were suspended, and the resolution was 

 adopted. 



Mr. Hartridge, of Georgia, said: "I rise to 

 a question of privilege. Some time since the 

 House referred to the Committee on the Judi- 

 ciary a hill introduced hy the gentleman from 

 Maryland (Mr. Kimmel), numbered 4315, to 

 provide a mode for trying and determining by 

 the Supreme Court of the United States, the 

 title of the President and Vice-President of 

 the United States to their respective offices 

 when their election to such offices is denied by 

 one or more of the States of the Union. On 

 the same day the House referred to the same 

 committee a resolution of the Legislature of 

 the State of Maryland, instructing its attorney- 

 general, so soon as Congress had passed a law 

 like that offered by the gentleman from Mary- 

 land, to cause proceedings to be taken to test 

 the validity and legality of the title of the 

 present incumbents of the offices of President 

 and yice-President. The Committee on the 

 Judiciary have considered those measures, con- 

 sidered them together, both the bill and the 

 resolution, and the committee have instructed 

 me to make a report to this House, and accom- 

 panying that report a resolution. 



" I desire to say here, as a matter of personal 

 explanation, that this morning I was instructed 

 to make this report: but as the chairman of 

 the Committee on the Judiciary, the gentle- 

 man from Kentucky (Mr. Knott), was detained 



in his bed by sickness and had asked me to 

 put off the report until to-morrow, that he 

 might make a dissenting report for himself, 

 I had determined to yield to that request as a 

 matter of courtesy. But, sir, as this matter 

 has been brought before the House for its con- 

 sideration, I now bring before the House the 

 report and resolution of the committee." 



The Clerk read the report and resolution, as 

 follows : 



The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom were 

 referred the bill (H. R. No. 4315) and the resolu- 

 tions of the Legislature of the State of Maryland 

 directing judicial proceedings to give effect to the 

 electoral vote of that State in the last election of 

 President and Vice-President of the United States, 

 report back said bill and resolutions with a recom- 

 mendation that the bill do not pass. 



Your committee are of the opinion that Congress 

 has no power, under the Constitution, to confer upon 

 the Supreme Court of the United States the original 

 jurisdiction sought for it by_ this bill. The only 

 clause of the Constitution which could be plausibly 

 invoked to enable Congress to provide the legal 

 machinery for the litigation proposed is that which 

 gives the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in 

 "cases" or "controversies" between a State and 

 the citizens of another State. The committee are of 

 the opinion that this expression "cases" and "con- 

 troversies" was not intended by the framers of the 

 Constitution to embrace an original proceeding by a 

 State in the Supreme Court of the United States to 

 oust any incumbent from a political office filled by 

 the declaration and decision of the two Houses of 

 Congress clothed with the constitutional power to 

 count the electoral votes and decide as a final tribunal 

 upon the election of President and Vice-President. 

 The Forty-fourth Congress selected a commission to 

 count the votes for President and Vice-President, 

 reserving to itself the right to ratify or reject such 

 count, in the way prescribed in the act creating such 

 commission. By the joint action of the two Houses 

 it ratified the count made by the commission, and 

 thus made it the expression of its own judgment. 



All the departments of the Federal Government, 

 all the State governments in their relations to Fed- 

 eral authority, foreign nations, the people of the Uni- 

 ted States, all the material interests and industries 

 of the country, have acquiesced in, and acted in ac- 

 cordance with, the pronounced finding of that Con- 

 gress. In the opinion of this committee the present 

 Congress has no power to undo the work of its pre- 

 decessor in counting the electoral vote, or to confer 

 upon any judicial tribunal the right to pass upon and 

 perhaps set aside the action of that predecessor in 

 reference to a purely political question, the decision 

 of which is confided by the Constitution in Con- 

 gress. 



But apart from these fundamental objections to the 

 bill under consideration, there are features and pro- 

 visions in it which are entirely impracticable. Your 

 committee can find no warrant of authority to sum- 

 mon the chief justices of the supreme courts of the 

 several States to sit at Washington as a jury to try 

 any case, however grave and weighty may be its na- 

 ture. The right to summon must carry with it the 

 power to enforce obedience to the mandate, and the 

 committee can see no means by -which the judicial 

 officers of a State can be compelled to assume the 

 functions of jurors in the Supreme Court of the Uni- 

 ted States. 



There are other objections to the practical working 

 of the bill under consideration to which we do not 

 think it necessary to refer. 



It may be true that the State of Marvland has been, 

 in the late election for President and Vice-President, 

 deprived of her just and full weight in deciding who 



