CONSTITUTIONAL SOLUTION. 5<> 



"The electors shall meet in their respective States, arid vote by 

 ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom at least shall 

 not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall 

 name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct 

 ballots the person voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make 

 distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons 

 voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each ; 

 which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat 

 of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of 

 the Senate, the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the 

 Senate and house of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the 

 votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number 

 of votes for President, shall be President, if such number be a majority 

 of the whole number of electors appointed." 



The following language of Marshall C. J. (in Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 

 Wheaton E. p. 188) expresses a sound rule of construction of this 

 organic Law, viz: "As men whose intentions require no concealment, 

 generally employ the words which most directly, and aptly express 

 the ideas they intend to convey, the enlightened patriots avIio framed 

 our constitution, and the people who adopted it, must be understood 

 to have employed words in their natural sense, and to have intended 

 what they have said. If from the imperfection of human language, 

 there should be serious doubts respecting the extent of any given 

 power, it is a well settled rule that the objects for which it was 

 given, especially when these objects are expressed in the instrument 

 itself, should have great influence in its construction." 



With no other motive than to arrive at the truth, and from no 

 other standpoint than reason and patriotism, what is the meaning of 

 the provisions quoted above? From the very language of those pro- 

 visions the electors shall be appointed in such manner as the legislature 

 may direct, in such number as shall equal the number of the Senators 

 and Representatives, but no Senator or Representative, or person 

 holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be 

 appointed an elector — and these electors under article II, £-4, of the 

 constitution, and the acts of the Congress in pursuance thereof must 

 be chosen on the same day; and these electors must cast their ballots 

 for a President and Vice-President in their several States respective- 

 ly on a uniform day named. And the same qualifications; are required 



