. • THE ELECTORAL VOTE. l loss should occur * * * than to•at tempt to encourage any doUhtful legiela Mr. Howe.. said: ."The Constitution' says that the man . who has, the majority of votes shalt be President ; . not the' man ' whom . the President : , of the cot) v ! =lition' shall assert has the majority; not the man , . • whom the joint convention:..shall say has the majority; riot i the. man whom the two houses *. but the Man who has te,:mainrity,! Therfore I think, myself, that by: the . express 'letter' of the ConstitutiOn this question is it judicial question, and ullijie legislation you want iasrich as may siniplify and expedite, the trial and the determination of Mr, Burnside said: "Stich legislation should he had here its,to remove all doubt as to the prima facie .: legality, if i may. say so, of.* these returns could be submit ted by: the President'of •the Senate to - the Supreme Court • * * • the Court. .* *• could send for witnesses, and issue: all necessary processes tt4deterinine*Which were the legal retiirns." • Il is evident from !the' foregoing exptess- - , ions of leading - Republican Senators that . tla• Opipion.is almost if • not•quite univer sal . among them that 'the . President of the Senate deeanotpossess the extraordinary power .under the :Constitution: to count: • the electoral Vote,. 'without --the interVen- . tion of both houses of CongreSs,- • ever :may be claimed bY:.the.calisPirators . '.lo4.,Arp•llMltupow - ,:ceiunting in Hayes at sll hazards: : - In our last . issue we gAve oar read ; erE strong Republican testimony in regard ; to the actual . .ote,cast; in the three disputed . States, We now propose to shOp , what othinaa: leading. ..13.4publicau ;Senators, hive heretofore taken in ngard to the po*ers of the President of - the . Senate in counting the - Efectoral Vote. . At. the last session . of • Congress,..Senator 11°119.117-in- tiodtie6il a bill"to pro tide for and zega. late - the counting of . votes. for Proident- - , anct,Vice President; and the decisiOn of Auestions arising thereon.' ..During. the- debate, which occupied the Senate for ten dap, Mr. Morton said ;: #11,3 regard to two sets !cif eleCtors in a State, when: two sets of VO,tes come here, • * * two bodies of wen Claiming to be electorS. . Two packages come here. Somebody must . - settle that question. * * 'You cannot leave it to oue house alone. They do not Agree.' . You cannot read both sets,. 1! '# 1 !` unless tht;re is some tri bunal to Settle which voteshall be count ed. , You cannot count both, and there. fore you caithot count either. :Y04:1 must ~have some trthunal -to settle that, diffi culty, and-wh! f at .is safer . --;than the two houses of Congress. 'there is' a, tie 'iotO in the. Senate ,the;Vice President can cast the deciding •vote; - but it is not in conformity with the spirit of our Con- - atitution to p for some officer who shall settle between'tbe two nouses,when thay'disa j tree.',* 111 :got to • leave this - disputed questioh souitiWhere, attd . is it uot safer ; to leave it to ,the two honies than ; t9 any sizigie . officer ?" Frelinkhayaifi said "h had al- Pt ways appeared to - :me that the prUvisiOns of the twelfth article of amendoenti to the Constitution, which declares that the President of the Senate shall, in the pres .sence.of the Senate and House ot;Repre 'sentatives, open al} the Certifica,ied, and omits to say that he shall do anything more, wat equiyalent to the exclusion of the idea that any 'other duty *as to be —periortned by hitn. Ism satisfied * t * that the Constitution floes not contem plate that the President of the Senate should .count the vote." . • Mr. Edmunds said shall be , the deciding board iu case of. a dispute in reference . to the very act.of reaching the result, not in reference .to„.wbo may. have.the title afierward, because we do undertake. to dispose of th4t in. any 'may except.aiii the COnstitntion.d oes, that :the man who has got .the m'oSt....electoral , - .votes—and. f coarse that meads legal an Constitutional votes-shill be .P.resident ? Nobody would contend if one wits de. ...Oared by the Pregident .of .the Senate: to have.. been elected and it turned oat-that the returns Thom half the St.tib - -!;..Were en tirely fabricated * that the..person • he So declared, to be elected, on..,tiott. day was constitutionally the Preiddent." . Onristiancy 'Said . : "It is not e expressly provided that the ,tWo,.honses shall meet, though this Is cleal;ly.impiled 48 tile' Votes , are to be opened and count ed in the pr - evnce of both , houses. It 'eDes not say by -wtoin the. votes shall be. counted:: and as it does expressly pro '-vide that the President of the Senate sball open . all the certificates, and then Attimediatelv declare that the votes shall then be counted,without saying by whom, there is, as it seems to me, a fair," * inference that it is not made the duty of ::the President of - the Senate to count „them, because if this had been intended, the language in that connection would naturally Kaye been : 'Tne Prt:sident of ' , ::,the Senate shall open all the certificates and count, the votes.', Now, as.., this counting is required to be in the p . resence et both houses, and as no provision it .made by whom the actual count shall be made, it seems , to me that the counting may be coniddered as,-in legal e.ffect, the work - of the two houses, for which each ;jilt responsible."' Mr. Mr. BOutwell said: "I do not accept suggestion that the Vice President of the Unite States has anything more to Ao in the business of counting the votes • for Preaigletit and Vice-Presidernt than that speefic duty which is prescribed fors and enjoined upon him by the Constita— tion. That duty is in the presenCe of the • &nate and llouse .of Representatives to • Open the c'erlificateY. There being no of her duty imigned to him Ix infer naturally that fie has to do nothing mere." .1 Mr. Dawes said : "I think that the , :Constitution means that they '(the votes) shall be counted - by the two houses. I • cannot quite agree * * * that they - are to be counted by the Presidentof the -fleriate." Speaking of the second section • the bill be said: "If, however, it • means to meet the case - of two return's coming from a State, purporting. to be 'the action of two sets of electors appoint , ed by the State, what is to be done under this bill ? _ * * * •Itis a question of fact lying deep down, surrounded by 'difficulties and to be determined, not up - on inspection Of the papers, but upon evidence to be taken outside of the pa pers. t, Mr, Wright says: '"Now when -the two houses, acting honestly, faithfully, , with a ',sincere desire to -arrive at what is right, - as we assume they are thus impressed, are unable to determine, why not there have the question ? * * * It is said that it is unfair, and that it is unjust to ,`4,'State that its electoral vote shall be re jected, and that unless you provide some tribunal it 'may occur, the two Louses dis agreeing, that the vote cannot be count. ved: NowP suppose that. shall occur.. It occurs after au-honest and faithful effort on the part of, thi,hoises to agree * * * . dad st wilier and better,that the Dealt* On the Rail. About 8 o'clock the evening of the' 29th .ult. the Pacific , express train on the" Lake - . Shore Railroad, due at Cleveland.' OhlOtit:7:lo'ot.lock went through the iron bridge, at quarter of a mile east of Ashtabula ~ station wheri:the road crosses Ashtabula cre ek..Thelrain. in cluded eleven oars, and was drawn by two engines. • A blinding snow storm was falling,' driven before a furious gale. and made it impossible to see more than a skirt dii-- tance. Of the eleven cars six were coaches ,and dining-room cars, all Of which went down a sheer plunge of seven tv-five feet,and,as far as can now be learn. ell, were burned. There were one hun dred and seventy-Live passengers on the - train, of whom one-third were killed out right: The train .was drawn by two engines. One of the engines remained On the. bridge, but everything else went down. A- special train with. officers of the road, all the physicians that could be hastily summoned, and appliances . for the care of the wounded, left Cleieland at 9 o'clock. T!le conductor of the train was in a- baggage car, and is safe. No cause for the accident can be ascertain ed. • - The train, while imoving.slowly, 'broke: throii -h t4be bridg.-. Ev:rything but the: leading engine, went down. '..The killed are estimated at '6O, with .many wounded, ' , The scene cif - tilt - horrible accident was the. valley of the 'creek which; flowing down 'past the. eastern margin of. Ashta bula village passcs - under the, railway 300-or 400 yardi , east of the . station. Here for many years after the Lake Shore Road was built, there was a long wooden trestlework,•but when the ion( was im proved, aboutago;thiswas superseded with .an d iron Howe trtiss;buift.: at • the Cleveland shops, .and..resting at either end upon , : high. ,stone pi, rs, flanked by heavy,earthen ..em ban k then ts, , The iron structure was, :a.. single spat of 159 feet, Crossed .by a' double track, !Al feet aboi , e . th e e' water, which at that poit4 is from three. to . six..feet deep, and cover ed 11th eight inches orice.. The desCent to the valley of. either side ier.precipitoue and as the hills and slopes are piled. with heavy drifts of 'shot; there ,iras noaittt difficulty In reaching the- wreckiiftei the disaster became known... HOW THE DISASTER OCCURRED. It was about 8 - o'clock.'' The train was moving at a moderate. rate, of speed,lhe Ashtabula station beeing pet this side of -the ravine. Suddenly, without warning, 4he train plunged into the abyss, .the'for ijiward locombrive alone getting across in 'safety. Almost instantly the lainps and stoves set fire to the cars, and many who doubtless were' only --stunned and who might otherwise have been saved, tell vic tims to the fury•of the flames. On the arri val of. the Cleveland 'train the surgeon of the road organized a corps of assistan ts,and made a tour of the various hotels where the wounded were attended to, such, help being given to each as was possible. The peOple of Ashtabula lent willing hands, and All that human skill could do to save life or ease pain was done. The train which 'came from Cleveland for this pus pose was immediately backed ' into posi tion, and long before daylight the persons least wounded were being prepared for transportatiOn to Cleveland to be sent to the hospitals or their homes. The same among the wounded was almost as sug gestive of horrctr as the wreck in the val... ley. • The two hotels nearest the station con tained a majority of the wounded. They were scattered about on temporary beds on: the floors Of the dining-room, parlors and offices.. Ia on' place. man with a broken leg would be under the hands of a surgeon who rapidly and skilfully per formed his work. Another man, cover ed with bruises and_ spotted with plaster,. _looked as though he had been . , snowed upon except where the dark 'lines of Moot:. across the face or limbs told a different story. In another corner a poor woman moaae,d from the pain 'she could not conceal, while over all there brooded the hush- .of awe which always , 'accorn-. parries calamities - of this '-character. - . To *ards morning the cold- increased and the wir it blew, a fearfulgale; which v iclz the snOwthattad drifted- waist-.deep..at`p.)ints along theroad, Made the works extremely difficult. At 6 , O'ciock the. beds.iii, steeping-car . of.theSpetiiid train Were, made up, ;and. such--of the; wounded as could. be :moved ,Were trans, ferred to the car. • - LATER. . AS.I,ITABITLi, •Dec.:3l.—During the, en tire day over one hundred -men have con tinued the labor of clearing away . , the de bris of the wrecked train and , bridge in the Ashtabula •river. Only two • more' bodies and - some tiarecOgnizable burned pieces of flesh have been • recovered. s, The belief is gaining grotind. that many of the passengers were totally or almost . wholly, consumed. = lntense .excitement prevails, and scores of pefsons hay arrived here from the East and West in sHarch of in 7 formation regarding thei.r.missing friends, tint little satisfaatiori',"pan be - given,them.. Telegrams are also being constantly re ceived,, asking for news of absent The bpxes in the. 'freight house co h tain ifrg,'the. bodies were, numbered: to-day, and white paper - labelS placed on those that, have been •:, BODIES. IDENTIFIED. There are 3'6 bodies, or masses-of char red and blackened . flesh in the building; of these,' the , following - :are supposed to be idsutified : Mrs. E. Cook; Wellington Maggie L. Lewis, St. Louis.; Lucy Thomag, Buffalo ; Mrs. .E.. Palmer, :Binghamton, N. Y.; Isaac .Meyer, Cleve land ; Birdie Meyer. Cleveland . ; L. Waite, Buffaln ; Clarence Gage, Charles. ton, 111, ; M. r. -ooos Chicksge ,` L. W. Hart. Akron, O.; Dr. Ai burn. Cleveland.; 'L. J. :Barnard, -rector of. Grace Episcopal Church.- Buffalo ; Mies . Minnie Hirer, Buffa lo; . hire. George, matron of Huron street lbspital, Cleve land ; Hattie George, Cleveland ; George A.HErriugton,express messenger, Buff*lo; 'John Pickering, Xhiettgo ; . Bellevue. _ A Convent Burned. I*SivrREAL, - 26.—. Las - • night - at 8:45, the Sister. Superior of the - con vent madethe usual vjair...through - the whole convent- and .noticed nothing . unusual. All the community were in bed, .when ; at twenty minutes past pine the. whole vent.wai in- flames. '.All that could' be dolielin* all persOns, inside was :o hurry thane pd. Nuns as well -as children had only ime to. save theniselve© without. their dOthes: It lel believed that the fire origin ited'. between the floors: Tht!'re 'were forty-eight boarders in the convent Thirteiri- 'persons. perished in- the flames. 'At Ont,lo'clock eight . bodies- had been taker - ;rani the iui4s, all burnt to a crisp. Some.or.the . ,parenis were present seek ing to'reCognize their children from frag,-- mews of clothing clinging to the bodies. Elizabeth Gravel, One of the - victims was Out of the Convent while it was in flames but re-uitered to render assistance. The Sister Superior persisted in remaining in the Convent to save the Vchildren and only.escaped with difficulty. The Con vent was situated--at St. Eliiabeth, nine miles fromJnliettj and wa&under manage ment of the.. Sisters of Provide;,ce com munity. The . building - formed- two- wings, the Sister and fifty lady burderboccupy ing one, 'while ,_ the other, was occupied by some. fifty orphans and it persons. The atracture 7 was Of wood, and there :being no fire apparatus in the village,the fire coulduot be checked: - Nothing .was saved froit the . building. There, xas an insurance on the property of . 04,000. . Lost in the Waves. Ninv Yong, December 31..---The ship Circassian, with.thirty-two souls on board went to pieces on the Bridgehamton bar in the gale.yesterday morning, and tvien ty-eight lives we lost. The ship was formerly the American steamer Circassian 14,071 tons-regiiiter and was owned in Liverpool.. She was tinder command of Richard Williams, and had a general cargo of fourteen thousand tone. On , the morningi of the" 11th . of December, : by au error of the :pilot:She was strand; ed on the Btidgehampton bar, the crew being rescnet by m i n - from the neighbor ing life-saving stations. The , Coast Wrecking Cempiny, in whose hands the ship was put, took out six schoonei loads of the freight, employed thirty men 'be sides sixteen a the ship's company. The ship remained in good ctindition until Friday morning, having been hauled to the outer bar ; but *hen Friday's gale began blowing - from the east, C. A. Pier son, the wrecking company's agent, left the vessel at ten o'clock in the morning with the tug Relief, leaving thirty-tiTo men on board, under charge of Captain John Lewis.. Ten of these men belong ed to , the . Shiimeoook :tribe of Indians. Of the crew of the Circassian on board were Captain Williams, the first, second and third mates cook and. steward, sail maker,-boatswain and carpenter, seaman and four apprentice boys. A Washington sTedal to;the Cincinnati Enquirer silys:; The tide of sentiment is firmly settled that Tilden will be peaceably inaugurated. The more moderate -re publicans concede that they car. not carry Hayes throtighlkith hand, and that if it was attelOptid: it would be the death knell—oi th - e pSrty. - Agents wanted for our Nev/ Rook Great 0112NTIENNIAL EXHIBITION ILLUSTRATED. Demand equals the crowds at the Exhibition, One agent sold 40. two 80 each in one day.