The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-02-10

Election ~ President and vlce Pressdent-Hss.
toxical Sketch Of tho various nlect,ous
since Iss8.
The declaration of the election Of President and Vice
President Of the United States by Congress. after
counting the votes Of the Electoral Colleges Of the
several States is an event which Is considered 50
much matter Of course, that it has long since failed
to attract public attention interest. The election
Of the electoral colleges, by the people, in November
is the great point of interest upon which public aten
ton ia concentrated; and when the result Of the
votes of the people is known the great question is
considered as eetted-no doubling that the Pre-
sidental Electors will carry out the viii Of the
people,
1t may be interesting, however Immediately after
the counting Of the electoral votes by Congress which
ceremony took place yesterday, to notice briefly the
various elections of President and Vice President, as
they have been declared by Congress- since the adop
ton Of the constitution, to the present time.
The Congress Of the Confederation, on the 18th
September, 1888, having ascertained that the con-
stituton had been adopted by the requisite number
of States, took measures to carry the same
into effect, by resolving that the first We'd
nesday in January, 1889, should be the day
for appointing electors in the several States that the
the electors to vote for Presidents and that the first
Wednesday in March be the time, and the (then)
present seat of Congress (New York; the place for
commencing the proceedings under the constitution
Elections having been held in the several States
for Presidential Electors and members Of Congress,
proceedings commenced, under the constitution, on
Wednesday, the 4th of March, 1889, by the meeting
of Congress at New York on that day; but a quorum
not being present in either house. the House of Rep
resentatives adjourned from day to day until
Wednesday, the LIST of April, when q quorum, con-
ssting of majority of the members elect, appear
ing they elected Speaker and Clerk and proceeded
to business. The Senate, in like manner, adjourned
from day to day until Monday, the. 9th Of April,
when, quorum of Senators appearing, the Senate
proceeded, by ballot to the choice of President Of
that body for the sole purpose of opening and count
ing the votes for President Of the United States
The electoral votes were accordingly opened and
counted the eth Of April, 1885, in the presence Of
the Senate and House of Representatives. The whole
number Of electoral votes given by ten Of the thirteen
States, New York, North Carolina and Rhode
Island not voting) was 69--which number George
Washington received, and was declared unanimously
elected President. John Adams was elected Vice
President, having received "a votes, and IS votes
were divided among ten different persons. The con-
stitution as originally framed, required majority Of
the electoral votes for President and the next highest
person voted for was to be Vice President, without
regard to the question of q majority. -Four Presi-
Dental elections were held on this plan; but after
the fourth election. in 1901 the constitution was
amended, agreeaby TO its present form, requiring
the Presidential Electors to vote separately for Vice
President.
BY an act Of Congress passed in March, 1892, the
first Wednesday in December was fixed as the day
for the meeting Of the Electoral Colleges in the sew
eral States, and the second Wednesday in February
succeeding every meeting Of electors was the day
appointed for the opening and counting of the votes
for President and Vice President in Congress, and
the persons who were to Gil those Offices ascertaned
and declared, agreeably to the constitution.
The votes Of the Presidential Electors being always
ascertained previous to the day fixed by law for
counting the votes in Congress, that ceremony has
only been regarded with attention by the public on
three several occasions, viz :-Fst in 1897, on the
election Of John Adams, by close vote, over Thomas
Jefferson, there being up to the last moment, some
degree Of uncertainty as to the final result second
the election Of 1901, when Jefferson and Burr re-
ceived On equal vote for President and Vice Presi-
dent, and the House Of Representatives was called
upon to decide the question between them and
third the election Of 1926 when there was no choice
by the Electoral Colleges, and the House of Repre-
sentatves was required to decide between the three
highest candidates. jackson, Adams, and Crawford.
Since the first Presidential election in 1889, the
electoral votes have been counted in Congress on the
second Wednesday in February after the election, in
conformity with the act Of Congress of March, 1892
Fol1n =
given at each election since $780, counted and de-
clared in Congress-
BY the constitution originally, each elector voted
for two persons, without designating which he pre-
fcred for President:
FIRST EEc1roE-lTSe-No OF Electors co.
George Washington. % Samuel Huntingdon. 2
John Adams. "a John Milton .......... 2