The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-12-09
President of the Senate for that "sole


"Senate is now ready, in the Senate
Chamber, to proceed, IN the presence of
the House, TO discharge that duty, aud
that the Senate have appointed one of
their members to sit at the Clerks table
TO make list Of the votes as they shall
be declared, submitting ii to the wisdom
of the House to appoint one OF more OF
their members for u like purpose"
But the ''wisdom of the House"
deeming such appointment unnecessary,
Mr.. Madison, then a member OF the
House, addressing the Senate, said:
'sMr. President: L am directed by the
House of representatives. TO inform the
Senate that the House have agreed that
the notifications of the election of the
President and Vice President of the
United States should be made by such
persons, and in such manner, as the
Senate shall be pleased to direct"
The two Houses convened, the Presi-
dent of the Senate received, opened and
counted the votes in the presence of the
Senate and House Of Representatives,
"whereby 1t appeared that George
Washington was unanimously elected
President of the United States of Amer
ica;" all of which was minutely set forth
in q special certificate prepared by the
Senate and signed and sealed by its
President, John Langdon. And thus
/ lot tnI tipct q nf
first President OF the United States.
And in all this the members of the two
Houses Of Congress were treated as be-
ng, and claimed to be, no more than OIL
cial witnesses to the official act per-
formed by the officer designated there
unto. And all this being done by men
many of whom had assisted in framing
the Constitution which they were now
putting into operation, it could scarcely
be presumed that they did not them
selves comprehend the meaning Of their
own words used in the provisions of the
Constitution on this subject.
The next count of the Electoral vote
occurred February 13, i703, at which
time John Adams, as Vice President,
was President of the Senate, and as such
presided at the count, although it thus
idevolved on him to declare himself elect
ed Vice President. That count was con-
Quoted under this rule-."that one per-
son shall be appointed teller on the
part of the Senate, to make a list of the
votes as they shall be declared; that the
result shall be delivered to the Presi-
dent of the Senate, who shall announce
| the state of the vote and the persons
elected to the two Houses assembled as
aforesaid, which shall be deemed dec
laration of the persons elected Presi-
dent and Vice President, and together
with list of the votes, be entered on
the journals of the two houses"
! This rule was the work Of Rufus
King, one OF the trainers of the Consti-
tuition, and then a Senator from New
York; and again the two Houses as
sembed on notincation and remained
as witnesses OF the official acy of the
President of the Senate without in any
other manner participating in the
/
Iington was declared elected President,
and John Adams declared himself
elected Vice President.
1t furthermore happened that at the
third count of the Electoral vote, i'll
| 1897, John Adams, as President of the
Senate, was again required to preside
at the count, and this time declared
himself elected President of the United
States. Thls was done with the unani-
lmous approval of both Houses OF Con-
gress, the act being deemed purely
functional and ministerial.
The fourth counting Of the Electoral
vote, in 1871, was attended with extreme
lexcitement. 1t was the crisis OF the
Hong contest between Aaron Burr and
Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, being
Vice President, was President Of the
Senate, and therefore must preside AT
the count of the vote, although he was
one Of the two contesting candidates for
the Presidency.
But no attemptwas made by Congress
Ito, in any manner, interfere with this
IUuJy. They remembered the words of
| Charles Pinckney,one OF the members of
| the convention that framed Lhe Consti-
tuition, uttered just before, that--"ro
| give to Congress, even when assembled
! in convention, IA right to reject or admit
!
have been 30 gross and dangerous an alb
surdity as the trainers of the COustitu-
Uion could never have been guilty Of"
| But in this instance jefferson could not
| declare himself elected President. The
vote between himself and Burr was Il
tie. Though the vote OF each was ma
i1rity OF the Electoral votes, yet the ma
iority of each was exactly equal. SO the
election went to the House of Repre-
| sentatives, where, after seven days oil
balloting Jefferson was elected Presi-
dent and Burr became the Vice PIesi-
dent. 1t was directly after this critical
difficulty in the election that the Con-
stituLion was amended in this regard.
The counts of the Electoral votes of
the succeeding elections pursued the
same course of precedent till 1917, when
Monroe was elected. In that instance
an event occurred that stands first of
its kind as precedent. While the
count was in progress, member Of the
House from New York, named Taylor,
arose and addressed the Speaker OF the
House, who by courtesy was seated at
The lett hand oil the President OF the
senate, objecting to the vote OF Indiana
being received ON the ground that she
was not State in the U Union, that State
having been admitted into the UHion in
1916 as Colorado has now In 1916, dur
ling the Presidential canvass. The
Speaker OF the House, Henry Clay,