CONGRESS, UNITED STATES (ELECTORAL COMMISSION). 



218 



Objections were then made to the certificates 

 from the State of Oregon, and referred to the 

 Electoral Commission. 



On February 23d both Houses reassembled 

 in joint session to hear the decision of the 

 commission. 



The Presiding Officer : " The joint meeting 

 of Congress for counting the electoral vote re- 

 sumes its session. 



" The two Houses, having separated pending 

 submission to the commission of objections to 

 the certificates of the State of Oregon, have 

 reassembled to receive and to coincide, or 

 otherwise, with the decision of that tribunal. 



"The decision, which is in writing, by a 

 majority of the commission, and signed by the 

 members agreeing therein, will now be read 

 by the Secretary of the Senate, and be entered 

 in the Journal of each House."- 



The Secretary of the Senate read as follows : 



ELECTORAL COMMISSION. > 

 WASHINGTON, D. C., February 23, A. D. 1377. f 

 To the President of the Senate of the United State?, 

 presiding in the meeting of the two Houses or" 

 Congress, under the act of Congress entitled " An 

 act to provide for and regulate the, counting of 

 the votes tor President and Vice-President, and 

 the decision of questions arising thereon, for the 

 term commencing March 4, A. D. 1877," approved 

 January 29, A. D. 1877. 



The Electoral Commission mentioned in said act, 

 having received certain certificates and papers pur- 

 porting to be certificates, and papers accompanying 

 the same, of the electoral votes from the State of 

 Oregon, and the objections thereto submitted to it 

 under said act, now report that it has duly con- 

 sidered the same pursuant to said act, and has by a 

 majority of votes decided, and does hereby decide, 

 that the votes of W. H. Odell, J. C. Cartwright, and 

 J. W. Watts, named in the certificate of said per- 

 sons and in the papers accompanying the same, 

 which votes are certified by said persons, as appears 

 by the certificates submitt-d to ths commission as 

 aforesaid, and marked " Number One (1) N. C.'' by 

 said commission, and herewith returned, are the votes 

 provided for by t : ie Constitution of the United 

 States, and that the same are lawfully to be counted 

 as therein certified, namely : 



Three (3) votes for Kutherford B. Hayes, of the 

 State of Ohio, for President; and 



Three (3) votes for William A. Wheeler, of the 

 State of New York, for Vice-President. 



The commission has by a majority of votes also 

 decided, and does hereby decide and report, that the 

 three persons above named were duly appointed 

 electors in and by the State of Oregon. 



The brief ground of this decision is that it appears, 

 upon such e-vidence as by the Constitution and the 

 law named in said act of Congress is competent and 

 pertinent to the consideration of the subject, that the 

 before-mentioned electors appear to have been law- 

 fully appointed such electors of President and Vice- 

 President of the United States for the term begin- 

 ning March 4, A. D. 1877, of the State of Oregon, 

 and that they voted as such at the time and in the 

 manner provided for by the Constitution of the 

 United States and the law. 



And we are further of opinion that,by the laws of the 

 State of Oregon, the duty of canvassing the returns of 

 all the votes given at an election for electors of Presi- 

 dent and Viee-President was imposed upon the Sec- 

 retary of State, and uponrle.one else ; that the Secre- 

 tary of State did canvass the returns in the case before 

 us, and therebv ascertained that J. C. Cartwrisrht, W. 

 H. Odell, and'J. W. Watts, had a majority of all the 



votes given for electors, and had the highest number 

 of votes for that office, and by the express language 

 of the statute those persons are deemed elected ; 

 that, in obedience to his duty, the Secretary made a 

 canvass and a tabulated statement of the votes show- 

 ing this result, which, according to law, he placed on 

 file in his office on the 4th day of December, A. D. 

 1876. All this appears by an official certificate under 

 the seal of the State and signed by him, and deliv- 

 ered by him to the electors, and forwarded by them 

 to the President of the Senate with their vote. 



That the refusal or failure of the Governor of Ore- 

 gon to sign the certificate of the election of the per- 

 sons so elected does not have the effect of defeating 

 the appointment of such electors ; that the act of 

 the Governor of Oregon in giving to E. A. Cronin a 

 certificate of his election, though he received a 

 thousand votes less than Watts, on the ground that 

 the latter was ineligible, was without authority of 

 law, and is therefore void. 



That, although the evidence shows that Watts was 

 a postmaster at the time of his election, that fact is 

 rendered immaterial by his resignation both as post- 

 master and elector, and his subsequent appointment 

 to fill the vacancy so made by the electoral col- 

 lege. 



The commission has also decided, and does hereby 

 decide by a majority of votes, and report that, as a 

 consequence of the foregoing and upon the grounds 

 before stated, the paper purporting to be a certificate 

 of the electoral vote of said State of Oregon, signed 

 byE. A. Cronin, J. N. T. Miller, and Joun Parker, 

 marked " No. 2 N. C." by the commission, and here- 

 with returned, is not the certificate of the votes pro- 

 vided for by the Constitution of the United States, 

 and that they ought not to be counted as such. 

 Done at Washington, District of Columbia, the day 

 and year first above written. 



SAMUEL F. MILLER. 



W. STRONG. 



JOSEPH P. BRADLEY. 



GEO. F. EDMUNDS. 



O. P. MORTON. 



FRED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN., 



JAMES A. GARF1ELD. 



GEORGE F. HOAR. 



The Presiding Officer : " Are there any ob- 

 jections to the decision of the commission 1 " 



Senator Kelly: "I have the honor to file 

 certain objections to this decision, signed by 

 Senators and Representatives." 



The Presiding Officer : " The Senator from 

 Oregon having submitted an objection to this 

 decision, it will be read by the Clerk of the 

 House." 



The Clerk of the House read as follows : 



The undersigned, Senators and members of the 

 House of Representatives of the United States, ob- 

 ject to the decision of the joint commission directing 

 the counting of the vote of John W. Watts, an al- 

 leged elector for the State of Oregon, as given for 

 Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, for President of the 

 United States, and for William A. Wheeler, of New 

 York, for Vice-President, and rejecting the vote o 

 E. A. Cronin as cast for Samuel J. Tilden, of New 

 York, for President, and Thomas A. Hendricks, 

 of Indiana, for Vice-President, on the following 

 grounds : 



1. John W. Watts was not elected a presidential 

 elector for Oregon. 



2. He (J. W. Watts) was not legally appointed as 

 a presidential elector. 



3. He (Watts) was disqualified to receive any ap- 

 pointment as presidential elector, or the vote as such, 

 m that he held an office of trust and profit under the 

 United States. 



