Year: 1876




The last act of the Constitutional Con-
vention which framed the Constitution Of
the United States took action in reference
tothe counting of the votes for President
and Vice President, which indicates be
yond the peradventure Of q doubt the
manner in which the. result should be as
certained. In convention at Philadelphia,
September II, 1857, two resolutions were
passed directing the manner Of procedure
in order to make the election operative by
the inauguration of the new Government
The following extract is from the second
of these resolutions, and is all of it that
relates to the counting of the votes:


%.& = That the electors should meet on
the day fixed for the election of the President,
and should transmit their votes, certified,
siened. sealed and directed, as the Constitu-
tion requires, to the Secretary Of the United
States in Congress assembled; that the Sen
ators and Repfesentatives should convene at
the time and place assigned; that the Senators
should sppofnt President Of the Senate for
the sole purpose of receiving, opening and
counting the votes for President, and that
after he shsil be chosen the Congress, together
with the President, should, without delay, pro-
c.ed to execute this Constitution.


Byunauimeus order of the Convention.


(Signed) GEORGE WASHINGTON,


President.


WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.


The following certificate was issued by
John Langdon to George Washington, the
President-elect, and shows how the result
of the election was ascertaiRed:


Be IL kno.H, That the Senate and House of
Representative of the United States of Amer
- L. %h aff, I'd oto of
New York the sixth day of April, in the year
of our Lord enc thousand seven hundred and
eiehty-nine, the uDderHritten, appointed
President Of the Senate for the sole purpose OF
receiving, opening and counting the votes of
the electors, did, IN the presence of the said
Senate ard House of Representatives, open
all the certificates and count all the votes OF
the electors for President and Vice Presi-
dent, by which it appears that George Wash
irpton, ESQUIRE was unanimously elected,
afreeably to the Constitution, to the Office of
President of the United States of America.
In Testimony whereof have hereunto set my
hand and seal. Signed. JOHN LANGDoN.


These documents thoroughly dIspel all
the fog which the pettifoggers, great and
small have raised around this subject by
letting in the Sunshine of truth" upon
the minds of the people. 1t YVES necessary,
in the first instance, to direct the appoint
ment of President pro tsmpors Of the
Senate Cor acting Vice President) for the
performance of this duty, because the
Senate prior to this would be an embryo
body without organization. The Oonsti-
tuition clearly devolved this important duty
upon the President of the Senate for the
reason that he could act impsrtially. If
that officer happened in the future to be
the Vice President, he would not have any
vote for President in the contingency OF q
failure 10 elect by the people. In the event
Of his being successful candidate for the
Presidency himself his native delicscy, IS
well as due regard for the proprietes of
the situation, would prompt him to vscste
the chair and permit President pro tsm-
pore of the Senate to be appointed to open
and count the votes of the several States
1t is absurd to suppose that the convention
intended to empower the House of Repre-
sentatives to defeat an election by throwing
out the vote OF State or States, whsn 1t at
the same time provided that in the event of
no choice by the vote of the electors the
House should Immediately choose Presi-
dent from among the three highest candi-
dates. The use of the numeral three in
this connection precludes the idea that the
contingency in which the House should
choose the President could be possible
when only tOO candidates were voted for
in the colleges. Thus all the historical
facts lead to the opinion that the President
of the Senate, the only person in either
House of the Congress who could vote for
neither President nor Vice President under
any supposed contingency likely to arise in
the future, was named as the proper author
ity TO ascertain and announce the result of
the vote by the electoral colleges.