CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



177 



The Vice-President : "The Chair hears no 

 objection, and that modification will be made." 



Mr. Morgan : " I also move to strike out the 

 words ' one person,' where it reads 'that one 

 person be appointed a teller on the part of the 

 Senate,' and to insert 'two persons,' and 

 changing ' a teller ' to ' tellers,' so as to make 

 it read ' that two persons be appointed tellers 

 on the part of the Senate ' ; so that the Houses 

 shall be equally represented." 



Mr. Edmunds: " That is right." 



The Vice-President : " Is there objection to 

 this amendment? The Chair hears none, and 

 it is agreed to." 



Mr. Morgan: "Mr. President, it is just one 

 week from to-day until the Constitution and 

 the law will require that the two Houses of 

 Congress shall assemble at some place for the 

 purpose of counting the vote of electors for 

 President and Vice-President. In May last 

 the Senate sent to the House of Representa- 

 tives a rule upon this subject, which the House, 

 so far as we are advised, has failed to take 

 action upon. The time is drawing so short 

 for the preparation which is necessary for this 

 very important constitutional event that I sup- 

 pose, in fact, I know, that Senators on both 

 sides of the Chamber consider that it is time 

 that we should take some measures for the 

 purpose of bringing the two Houses together, 

 so that the votes of thd electors may be 

 counted. 



" The committee, I will say the majority of 

 the committee, have concurred with the Sena- 

 tor from Kansas [Mr. Ingalls], who offered the 

 resolution for which the committee offers a 

 substitute, in the opinion that it is now neces- 

 sary for us to go back to some of the old prece- 

 dents of the fathers in order that we may get 

 together in due form with as little of irritation 

 and as little of debate as possible for the pur- 

 pose of performing this important duty. 



" The Senate is aware of the fact, morally 

 convinced of it, that some difficulty exists in 

 reference to the electoral votes from at least 

 one State ; and while this matter has not been 

 revealed to us, can not be revealed to us in 

 any authentic form till the opening of the cer- 

 tificates that have been sent to the Vice-Presi- 

 dent, still we know so well the existence of 

 the fact that the State of Georgia did not cast 

 her vote on the same day that the other States 

 of the Union cast their votes, that it becomes 

 an important matter that some step should be 

 now taken to prevent controversy, when the 

 two Houses have met together, over that vote. 

 Fortunately for the country, that appears to 

 be the only irregularity, the only difficulty, 

 that is presented in respect of any of the votes 

 of the electors from any of the States. 



" I think the country is to be congratulated 

 that, after we have had so many difficulties in 

 the past, we at last have an election where 

 there appears to be but one question which 

 can give rise to controversy or difference of 

 opinion in the counting of the votes of electors. 

 VOL. xxi. 12 A 



For my part, so far as I am advised, I am ready 

 to admit, upon all the facts that have been 

 made public, upon that sort of history which 

 is recognized by all men in this country, that 

 Mr. Garfield and Mr. Arthur have been elected 

 President and Vice-President of the United 

 States ; that the people of the United States in 

 the respective States have chosen electors who 

 have cast the electoral vote in such a way that 

 they have received each of them a majority of 

 all the votes for the offices for which they have 

 been respectively chosen. I would not put the 

 slightest embarrassment in the way of a peace- 

 ful, regular, and orderly count of that vote, 

 and the transmission of our highest office from 

 the hands of the gentleman who now holds it 

 to the hands of his successor ; and I believe 

 that in the expression of this sentiment I shall 

 receive the cordial accord on the part of Sena- 

 tors on both sides of this Chamber. 



" The question in reference to the State of 

 Georgia is one of such serious importance, con- 

 sidered in reference to itself alone, considered 

 in reference to the nature of the question, as 

 that it might require properly long and care- 

 ful deliberation for this body and the other 

 House to come to a conclusion as to what was 

 the true constitutional rule to be adopted. 

 There are very grave differences of opinion on 

 this question, because the question itself is one 

 of great gravity and one of great importance. 

 It seems to me impossible at this time, in the 

 brief period which must intervene between 

 this and the counting of the electoral votes, 

 that we should arrive at a constitutional set- 

 tlement of that question. Indeed, the tribunal 

 which is to make a constitutional determina- 

 tion of that question is itself a matter of seri- 

 ous disputation, and has been for a great 

 number of years. The manner of arriving at 

 a solution of it, whether by an independent 

 expression in each House, or by a concurrent 

 resolution, or by a joint resolution, or by a 

 law, is also a matter of serious disputation, 

 and has been for a great many years. 



" It was, therefore, thought better by the 

 majority of the committee and I dare say 

 that in this also there is perhaps a concurrence 

 even of the minority that a precedent which 

 had been acted upon in one form or another 

 during three controversies of this kind should 

 be adopted. It being certain, as we under- 

 stand, that Mr. Garfield is elected President of 

 the United States, without reference to the 

 question whether the vote of Georgia is counted 

 or not counted, it seems to be the duty of the 

 two Houses now to arrive at, to ascertain, to 

 declare, and to enforce the result in which the 

 country will find its peace, and I hope and 

 trust its satisfaction. We, therefore, have 

 thought that it was not inappropriate, that it 

 was not a transgression of the traditions of this 

 country, that indeed it was the best thing to do 

 under the circumstances, to adopt that rule 

 which was adopted in 1837, and which is sub- 

 stantially adopted in this resolution, with the ex- 



