The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Mr. Josiah G. Abbott Lucien L. Ainsworth Philip Cook Mr. Albert G. Egbert Aug. A. Hardenbergh Eli J. Henkle Mr. Lucius Q. C. Lamar Mr. Alfred M. Scales Mr. Ezekiel S. Sampson Nelson H. Van Vorhes Mr. William H. H. Stowell William A. Wheeler So the appeal from the decision of the Clerk was laid on the table. The question then recurring on the resolution submitted by Mr. Holman, the same was, under the operation of the previous question, agreed to. Nominations having been made as follows, viz: By Mr. Cox: Samuel J. Randall, of the State of Pennsylvania; The Clerk appointed Mr. Clymer, Mr. Banning, Mr. Banks, and Mr. James Wilson to act as tellers. The House then proceeded to vote viva voce for a Speaker: The following-named members voted for Samuel J. Randall : Messrs. Charles H. Adams, George A. Bagley, John H. Baker, Latimer W. Ballou, Nathaniel P. Banks, Henry W. Blair, Nathan B. Bradley, William R. Brown, Horatio C. Burchard, John H. Burleigh, Joseph G. Cannon, Thomas J. Cason, Lucien B. Caswell, Simeon B. Chittenden, Omar D. Conger, William W. Crapo, Lorenzo Crounse, Lorenzo Danford, Chester B. Darrall, John M. Davy, Dudley C. Denison, Mark H. Dunnell, Benjamin T. Eames, James L. Evans, Greenbury L. Fort, Charles Foster, Chapman Freeman, William P. Frye, Jere Haralson, Benjamin W. Harris, Henry H. Hathorn, Thomas J. Henderson, George F. Hoar, George G. Hoskins, Morton C. Hunter, Stephen A. Hurlbut, John A. Hyman, Charles H. Joyce, John A. Kasson, Alanson M. Kimball, William S. King, Elbridge G. Lapham, William Lawrence, Elias W. Leavenworth, John R. Lynch, Clinton D. MacDougall, George W. McCrary, Samuel F. Miller, James Monroe, Nelson I. Norton, Addison Oliver, Charles O'Neill, John B. Packer, Horace F. Page, William A. Phillips, Henry L. Pierce, Harris M. Plaisted, Henry O. Pratt, Milton S. Robinson, Sobieski Ross, Jeremiah M. Rusk, Ezekiel S. Sampson, A. Herr Smith, Horace B. Strait, Martin I. Townsend, Washington Town. send, John Q. Tufts, Nelson H. Van Vorhes, Henry Waldron, Alexander S. Wallace, John W. Wallace, G. Wiley Wells, John D. White, Richard H. Whiting, George Willard, Andrew Williams, Charles G. Williams, William B. Williams, James Wilson, Alan Wood, jr., William Woodburn, Laurin D. Woodworth. Henry S. Magoon voted for Charles G. Williams, of Wisconsin. Julius H. Seelye voted for George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts. Samuel J. Randall having received a majority of all the votes given, was declared by the Clerk duly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second session of the Forty-fourth Congress. The Speaker-elect having been conducted to the chair by Mr. Cox and Mr. McCrary, said: Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: Called to the position because of the death of the late Speaker, Mr. Kerr, of Indiana, I only express the universal sentiment in saying that he was a good and great man, whose public and private life was characterized by purity, patriotism, and unswerving integrity. Nobody can more completely appreciate than I do the high honor of presiding over the deliberations of the Representatives of the American people, and for this mark of your esteem and confidence I return my profound and heartfelt acknowledgments. In the discharge of the important duties confided to me I shall endeavor to be absolutely fair and impartial. While enforcing the rules and upholding the constitutional prerogatives of this body, I shall at the same time protect each and every member in the rights and privileges to which he may justly be entitled. In the exercise of the parliamentary powers of the Chair, it will be my duty and my pleasure to give true expression in the appointment of committees to the opinions and wishes of the House upon every question presented, believing myself, as I really am, no more than the voice of the House itself. We stand in the presence of events which strain and test to the last degree our form of government. Our liberties, consecrated by so many sacrifices in the past and preserved amid the rejoicings of an exultant people to our centennial anniversary as one among the nations of the earth, must be maintained at every hazard. [Loud applause.] The people look confidently to your moderation, to your patient, calm, and firm judgment, to your wisdom in this time fraught with so much peril. Let us not, I beseech you, disappoint their just expectations and their keen sense of right, but by unceasing vigilance let us prevent even the slightest departure from the Constitution and the laws, forgetting in the moment of difficulty that we are the adherents of party and only remembering that we are American citizens with a country to save which may be lost if unauthorized and unconstitutional acts of executive officers be not frowned down at once with relentless and unsparing condemnation. [Great applause.] The oath of office prescribed by section 1756, Revised Statutes of the United States, was then administered to him by Mr. Holman, one of the Representatives from the State of Indiana. And thereupon The Speaker entered upon the duties of his office. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Sympson, one of their clerks: Mr. Speaker: I am directed by the Senate to inform the House of Representatives that a quorum of the Senate has assembled, and that the Senate is ready to proceed to business. The Senate have adopted a resolution providing for the appointment of a committee, to join such committee as may be appointed by the House, to wait upon the President of the United States and inform him that a quorum of each house has assembled, and that Congress is ready to receive any communication that he may be pleased to make, and that Mr. Anthony and Mr. McCreery have been appointed as such committee on behalf of the Senate. The oath of office prescribed by section 1757, Revised Statutes of the United States, was then administered to Mr. Stephens, a Representative from the State of Georgia. Credentials of members-elect were then presented as follows, viz: The credentials of Levi Warner as a Representative from the fourth congressional district of Connecticut. By Mr. Frye: The credentials of Edwin Flye as a Representative from the third congressional district of Maine. By Mr. Holman: The credentials of Andrew Humphrey as a Representative from the second and the credentials of Nathan T. Carr as a Representative from the third congressional districts of Indiana. By Mr. Clymer: The credentials of William H. Stanton as a Representative from the twelfth congressional district of Pennsylvania. Mr. Banks presented the credentials of James B. Belford as a Representative from the State of Colorado; and Mr. McCrary presented the credentials of C. W. Buttz as a Representative from the second congressional district of South Carolina. Objection being made to administering the oath of office to Messrs. Belford and Buttz, The oath of office prescribed by section 1756 of the Revised Statutes of the United States was then administered to Messrs Warner, Flye, Humphrey, Carr, and Stanton, who thereupon took their seats in the House. Mr. Banks moved that the oath of office be administered to Mr. Belford as a Representative from the State of Colorado. Mr. Springer submitted the following resolution as an amendment, in the nature of a substitute for the motion submitted by Mr. Banks, viz: Resolved, That the credentials of James B. Belford be referred to the Judiciary Committee, and that said committee be instructed to inquire and report at as early a day as possible whether Colorado is a State in the Union, and that until such report is received no person claiming to be a Representative from Colorado be sworn in as a member of this House. After debate, Mr. Springer demanded the previous question upon the adoption of the substitute. Mr. Conger made the point of order that the proposed reference of the said credentials was irregular, and that under the rules the same should be referred to the Committee on Elections. The Speaker overruled the point of order, on the ground that it was competent for the House to refer any subject to any committee that it might choose. Mr. Springer renewed the demand for the previous question; which was seconded. The question was then put, And it was decided in the affirmative, Yeas. 147 95 48 The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are Mr. Josiah G. Abbott Lucien L. Ainsworth Mr. Augustus W. Cutler Mr. William S. Haymond Mr. Henry B. Payne Joseph J. Davis Rezin A. DeBolt Frank Hereford Hernando D. Money N. Holmes Odell James Phelps William H. Stanton |