count became more and more certainly a Republican triumph, the anger of the Democrats rose. Some of them were for discontinuing the count; and the symptoms of a disposition to filibuster so that there should be no declaration of the result gave reason for public disquietude. But the conservative members of the party were too patriotic to allow the failure of a law which they had been instrumental in passing to lead to anarchy or revolution, and they sternly discountenanced all attempts to defeat the conclusion of the count. The summing up of the votes was read by Mr. Allison of Iowa, one of the tellers on the part of the Senate, at a little after four o'clock, on the morning of the 2d of March, amid great excitement. That result, as declared, was as follows:

Mr. Ferry thereupon declared Rutherford B. Hayes elected President, and William A. Wheeler Vice-Presi

dent, of the United States. The decision was acquiesced in peaceably by the whole country, and by men of every party. But the Democrats have never ceased to denounce the whole affair as a fraud, and some newspapers have steadily refused to speak of Mr. Hayes as having ever been rightfully in possession of the presidential office. Their anger at the time was very great, and it was excusable, since they honestly believed that Mr. Tilden was fairly clected. It is to be hoped that the patriotism of the American people and their love of peace may never again be put to such a severe test as was that of 1876 and 1877.

XXV.

GARFIELD.

THE disputed election of 1876 led to the introduction in Congress of a large number of propositions to amend the Constitution, and to supply constitutional omissions by law. Not one of these propositions has been passed upon by both Houses of Congress. Neither branch has even voted, since 1876, upon a resolution to amend the Constitution; and, although partial action has been taken upon one or two bills, the Constitution and the law remain precisely as they were in 1876. But it may be well to notice the suggestions which were made during Mr. Hayes's administration, during the special session of Congress, October 15, 1877, and the regular session, which was a continuation of it.

Mr. Cravens of Arkansas offered a resolution of amendment to the Constitution, providing that the people should vote directly for President and Vice-President. Each State was to have a number of presidential votes equal to its electoral votes under the present system, which votes were to be apportioned in each State among the several candidates, in the proportion of the votes given to each; the legislature of each State was to direct the manner in which the presidential vote of that State was to be ascertained; on a day to be fixed by Congress, or, in case of disagreement between the two Houses, on a day to be named by the President, not less than fifteen nor more than thirty days before the 4th of March, a joint meeting of the two Houses was to be held, the President of the

Senate was to open the presidential votes, certified to by the governor of the State, and one list from each State was then to be counted under the direction of the two Houses; a majority of all the presidential votes was requisite to a choice. In case no choice had been made by such a majority, then the two houses, in joint convention, were to elect a president by viva voce vote, each senator and member having one vote, the choice being limited to the two highest on the list, unless two persons should have an equal number of votes next to the highest; one senator and a majority of the representatives from two thirds of the States were to constitute a quorum for the purposes of this election. In case no person should receive a majority of the Congress so voting, the President in office was to continue to be President until a choice was effected. The election of Vice-President was to be made in the same manner, and at the same time as that of President. Whenever the office of Vice-President became vacant, there was to be an election by joint convention of Congress, within ten days after the next meeting of Congress, or within twenty days if Congress should be in session at the time the vacancy occurred.

Mr. Springer of Illinois made a proposition, of which the leading features were: a presidential term of six years, the President not to be immediately re-eligible; each State to have a number of presidential votes equal to its electoral votes according to the present system, except that States having but one representative in Congress were to have but one presidential vote, and States having but two representatives were to have but three votes; a direct vote for President and Vice-President; a canvassing board in each State, with ministerial powers only, — consisting of the governor, secretary of state, and chief justice of the highest court, to aggregate the votes,

apportion to each candidate his proportional part of the presidential votes of the State, and to make return thereof to the President of the Senate; the two Houses to be in session on the third Monday of January after a presidential election, a joint meeting to be held, to be presided over by the President of the Senate, unless he should be a candidate for the office of President, and in that case by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and if he were similarly disqualified, then by a presiding officer chosen by the joint convention; a plurality of votes to elect both the President and the Vice-President; the joint convention to be the judge of the returns and qualifications of the persons who shall be President and Vice-President. If no conclusion upon the returns should be reached by the second Monday in February, the convention was to vote viva voce upon the question who was constitutionally elected President, and who Vice-President,-a majority of those present to determine all questions.

Mr. Maish of Pennsylvania proposed a popular election of President, without the intervention of any electors. The votes were to be returned to the Secretary of State of each State, and to be by him opened in the presence of the governor and the chief justice of the highest court, and these three officers were to apportion electoral votes to each candidate in accordance with the returns. This proposition did not deal with the matter of a count of the

votes.

Mr. Finley of Ohio proposed a direct vote of all the people for President and Vice-President, disregarding State lines altogether; a plurality of votes was to elect in each case, but if two persons had an equal and the highest number of votes, then the House of Representatives was to choose the President from those two; or, if the failure was in relation to the Vice-Presidency, then