in the
possession and under the control of the two houses who shall alone
dispose of them.

Why, sir, what a spectacle would it be, some ambitious and
unscrupulous man the presiding officer of the Senate, as was once
Aaron Burr, assuming the power to order the tellers to count the
vote of this State and reject the vote of that, and so boldly and
shamelessly reverse the action of the people expressed at the polls,
and step into the presidency by force of his own decision. Sir, this
is a reduction of the thing to an absurdity never dreamed of until
now, and impossible while this shall remain a free government of
law.

Now, Mr. President, as to the measure before us a few words. It will
be observed that this bill is enacted for the present year, and no
longer.

This is no answer to an alleged want of constitutional power
to pass it, but it is an answer in great degree where the mere
policy and temporary convenience of the act are to be considered.

In the first place, the bill gives to each house of Congress
equal power over the question of counting, at every stage.

It preserves intact the prerogatives, under the Constitution, of
each house.

It excludes any possibility of judicial determination by the
presiding officer of the Senate upon the reception and exclusion of
a vote.

The certificates of the electoral colleges will be placed in the
possession and subject to the disposition of both houses of Congress
in joint session.

The two houses are co-ordinate and separate and distinct. Neither
can dominate the other. They are to ascertain whether the electors
have been validly appointed, and whether they have validly performed
their duties as electors. The two houses must, under the act of
1792, "ascertain and declare" whether there has been a valid
election, according to the Constitution and laws of the United
States. The votes of the electors and the declaration of the result
by the two houses give a valid title, and nothing else can, unless
no majority has been disclosed by the count; in which case the duty
of the House is to be performed by electing a President, and of the
Senate by electing a Vice-President.

If it be the duty of the two houses "to ascertain" whether the
action of the electors has been in accordance with the Constitution,
they must inquire. They exercise supervisory power over every branch
of public administration and over the electors. The methods they
choose to employ in comin