220 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES (ELECTORAL COMMISSION). 



Done at Washington, District of Columbia, the day 

 and year first above written. 



SAMUEL F. MILLER. 



W. STRONG. 



JOSEPH F. BRADLEY. 



GEO. F. EDMUNDS. 



O. P. MORTON. 



FRED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN. 



JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



GEORGE F. HOAR. 



The Presiding Officer : " Are there any ob- 

 jections to the decision of the commission ? " 



Mr. Philips, of Missouri : " I send up an ob- 

 jection, signed by Senators and Representa- 

 tives, and along with it I present the evidence 

 upon which the objection is founded." 



The Presiding Officer : " The member from 

 Missouri (Mr. Philips) having presented an 

 objection, it will be read by the Clerk of the 

 House." 



The Clerk of the House read as follows : 



The undersigned, Senators and Representatives, 

 do hereby object to counting the votes cast by C. C. 

 Bowen, J. Winsmith, Thomas B. Johnston, Timothy 

 Hurley, W. B. Nash, Wilson Cook, and W. F. My- 

 ers, alleged electors of the State of South Carolina, 

 in conformity to the decision of the Electoral Com- 

 mission, and as reasons therefor assign the follow- 

 ing: 



I. Because no legal election was held in the State 

 of South Carolina on the 7th day of November last 

 p^ast for presidential electors, in compliance with sec- 

 tion 8, Art. VIII., of the constitution thereof, requir- 

 ing a registration of the electors of the State as a 

 qualification to vote. 



II. Because, in consequence of frauds practised in 

 said election, and the interference with and intimi- 

 dation of the electors in said State by the Federal 

 Government prior to and during said election, sta- 

 tioning in various parts of said State near the poll- 

 ing-places detachments of the Army of the United 

 States, a full and free exercise of the right of suf- 

 frage was prevented, in consequence of which there 

 was no lawful election had. 



III. Because, in violation of the Constitution of the 

 United States, the Federal authorities, at the several 

 polling-places in said State on the day of election, 

 stationed over one thousand deputy marshals of the 

 United States, who by their unlawful and arbitrary 

 action, in obedience to the unauthorized instructions 

 from the Department of Justice, so interfered with 

 the full and free exercise of the right of suffrage by 

 the voters of said State that a fair election could not 

 be and was not held in said State on the 7th dav of 

 November, 1876. 



IV. Because. the certification of the election held 

 by said electors on the 6th day of December, 1876, 

 was not made by the lawfully-constituted Governor 

 of said State. 



V. Because the said Electoral Commission, contra- 

 ry to its duty and the authority vested in it by law, 

 neglected and refused to inquire into the facts and 

 allegations aforesaid, and their said decision is con- 

 trary to the law and the truth. 



VI. Because, at the time of the pretended appoint- 

 ment of the said electors in the State of South Caro- 

 lina, it was under duress from the power of the 

 United States, unlawfully exerted upon it, and said 

 pretended appointments were made under such 

 duress. 



VII. Because the certificate numbered " 1 " was 

 and is void : 



1. For irregularity, in that the electors were not 

 sworn, as by the constitution of the State of South 

 Carolina they were required to be. 



2. The certificate does not state that said elec- 



tors voted by ballot, as required by the Constitution 

 of the United States. 



3. The certificate upon the envelope in which the 

 said certificate and accompanying papers were in- 

 closed was not the certificate required by the laws 

 of the United States. 



T. M. NORWOOD, 



JAMES K. KELLY, 



HENRY COOPER, |- Senators. 



S. B. MAXEY, 



WM. A. WALLACE, 



J. F. PHILIPS. 



HIESTER CLYMER, 



ERASTUS WELLS, 



A. T. WALLING. Represen- 



A. M. WADDELL, tatives. 



JOHN R. EDEN, 



THOS. L. JONES, 



J. R. TUCKER, 



The Presiding Officer: "Are there further 

 objections to the decision of the commission ? " 



Mr. Southard : " I send up in duplicate an 

 objection, signed by Senators and Representa- 

 tives." 



The Presiding Officer : " The member from 

 Ohio (Mr. Southard) submits an objection, 

 which will be read by the Secretary of the 

 Senate." 



The Secretary of the Senate read as follows : 



The undersigned, Senators and members of the 

 House of Representatives, object to the counting of 

 the electoral vote purporting to come from South 

 Carolina in conformity with the decision of the ma- 

 jority of the Electoral Commission, for the reason 

 that the said electoral votes, as well as the votes of 

 the people of said State at the presidential election 

 on the 7th day of November last, were given under 

 duress, caused by the unlawful exercise of Federal 

 power. 



A. S. MERRIMON, 



GEO. R. DENNIS, 



j. E. MCDONALD, 



WM. A. WALLACE, 



C. W. JONES, 



DAVID DUDLEY FIELD, 



M. I. SOUTHARD, 



WM. MUTCHLER, 



JOHN GOODE, JR., 



JESSE J. TEATES, 



JOHN H. CALDWELL, 



S. S. COX, 



R. A. DE BOLT, 



JOHN B. CLARK, JR., J 



The Presiding Officer : " Are there further 

 objections to the decision? (After a pause.) 

 If there be none, the Senate will now with- 

 draw to its Chamber, that the two Houses sepa- 

 rately may consider and determine the ob- 

 jections." 



The objections to the decision of the com- 

 mission were not sustained by the concurrence 

 of the two Houses, and the 7 votes of South 

 Carolina were counted for Hayes and Wheeler. 



Objections were then made to the certificates 

 of the States of Vermont and Wisconsin ; but, 

 not being sustained by the concurrent action 

 of the two Houses, the votes of Vermont (5) 

 and Wisconsin (10) were cast for Hayes and 

 Wheeler, and those of Virginia (11) and West 

 Virginia (5) were counted for Tilden and Hen- 

 dricks. 



Senators. 



Represen- 

 tatives. 



