ELECTORAL COMMISSION. In United States history, the body of men provided for by an act of Congress. approved January 29. 1877. to settle •eertain disputed questions in regard to the electoral votes of several States in the Presi dential election of 1S7(i. As the counting of the (doctoral Votes in the presence of the two Douses of Congress proceeded aceording to eustom, it had been found that there were eontlicting cer tifieates from different States—Florida, Lonisi•na. Ore.on. and South Carolina: and the two Houses were unable to :donee in any case wide]] should be received as genuine. The Senate at the time was controlled by the Republican Party. the House of Representatives by the Democratic Party. and there Was thought to be danger of civil disturbances on account of certain questions likely to arise in the counting of the electoral votes. Under these circum stances, a majority of each of the two political parties in Congiess agreed to create a commis sion to he composed of five Senators chosen by the Senate; five members of the Itemise of Repre sentatives, chosen by that bode: and five asso ciate justices of the Supreme Court. four of whom were designated by the act of Congress, and the fifth of whom was to be selected by the four—to which commission should be referred, for judgment and decision, the question which of two or more conflicting certificates received from any State of the votes cast by the electoral college of such State for President and Vice President in th• election of Isili was the certifi cate provided for in the Constitution of the United States. The judgment of the commission in any matters referred to it, unless set aside by the concurrent action of the Houses of Congress, was to be final. The proposed law was the re upon enacted, and the Senate appointed three Republicans and two Democrats, and the Douse of Representatives three Democrats and two Republicans as members of the commission. Of the four associate justices of the Supreme Court who were named in the 1:IW, two were understood to be Democrats and two Republicans; and these selected as the fifth associate justice to serve with them upon the commission. Mr. Justice Bradley, a Republican. The commission was constituted as follows: Justices Clifford. Strong. :Miller, Field, and Bradley; Senators Edmunds, :Morton. Frelinglmysen. Thurman. and Bayard;
and Representatives Payne. Ifunton, field, and Il•iar. Upon the illness of Senator Thurman, his place was tilled by the choice of Senator Tiernan. The and accom panying papers were successively referred to the commission, which proceeded to hear argument upon the questions involved. notable group of distinguished lawyers participated in the con duct of the case, William M. Stanley Matthews, E. W, Stoughton. and Samuel Shelia barger representing the Republicans. and .Judge J. S. Black, II. C'arpenter. Charles IrConor, J. A. Campbell, Lyman Trumbull, Ash bel Green. :Montgomery Blair. George lloadley, William C. Whitney, R. T. Merrick. and .k. P. More representing the Democrats. The result in the case of each State was a decision of tile commission, by a vote of S to 7—the vote fol the line of party division in the body— that the certificate of the electoral votes east for Hayes and Wheeler. the 'Republican candidates for President and Vice-President. was the ce• titieate which contained the lawful electoral vote of said State, an I that the other certificates were illegal and void. The Republican Senate con curred in this judgment in each ease, while the Denmeratie Douse of Representatives dissented. The decision of the eommission, therefore, ac cording to the terms of the statute. beeame irrevocable; the electoral votes were vented accordingly: and Rutherford B. Hayes and Wril Bain .k. Wheeler were found duly elected, by a majority of one electoral vote, respectively Presi dent and Vice-President for a term of four years, from :March 4. 1877. The controlling question before the commission was whether—an electoral certificate being in form according to law, as those in favor of the Republican candidates were--it was competent for Congress or the com mission to go behind the same and take evidence modifying or explanatory in support of alleged irregularities and fraud- committed before such certificate was issued. l'pon this question the Democrats in Congress and in the commission took the affirmative, while the Re publicans took the negative. The full proceed ings of the commission were published as part iv.. vol. v. of the congressional accord of 1877.