SENATE.]

TUESDAY, December 27.

Proceedings.

JOHN EAGER HOWARD, appointed a Senator by the State of Maryland, in place of RICHARD POTTS, resigned, produced his credentials, and the oath required by law being administered, he took his seat in the Senate.

JOSIAH TATTNALL, from the State of Georgia,

attended.

Mr. SEDGWICK reported, from the joint committee appointed on the part of the Senate, on the subject of the election of PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT, that, in their opinion, the following resolution ought to be adopted, viz :

"That the two Houses shall assemble in the

[FEBRUARY, 1797. who, having examined and ascertained the number of votes, presented a list thereof to the VICE PRESIDENT, which was read as follows:

For John Adams, 71 votes; for Thomas Jefferson, 68; for Thomas Pinckney, 59; for Aaron Burr, 30; for Samuel Adams, 15; for Oliver Ellsworth, 11; for George Clinton, 7; for John Jay, 5; for James Iredell 2; for George Washington, 2; for John Henry, 2; for Samuel Johnson, 2; for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 1;

Whereupon the VICE PRESIDENT addressed the two Houses of Congress as follows:

In obedience to the Constitution and law of the United States, and to the commands of both Houses of Congress, expressed in their resolution passed in the present session, I now declare that

JOHN ADAMS is elected President of the United States, for four years, to commence with the fourth day of March next; and that

THOMAS JEFFERSON is elected Vice President of the United States, for four years, to commence with the fourth day of March next. And may the Sovereign of the Universe, the ordainer of civil government on earth, for the preservation of liberty, justice, and peace among men, enable both to discharge the duties of these offices conformably to the Constitution of the United States, with conscientious diligence, punctuality, and perseverance.

The VICE PRESIDENT then delivered the votes of the Electors to the Secretary of the Senate, the two Houses of Congress separated, and the Senate returned to their own Chamber, and soon after adjourned.

THURSDAY, February 9.

The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate

the following communication:
Gentlemen of the Senate:

the election of a President and Vice President of the

In consequence of the declaration made yesterday Chamber of the House of Representatives on Wednes- in the Chamber of the House of Representatives of day next, at twelve o'clock; that one person be ap- United States, the record of which has just now been pointed a teller on the part of the Senate, to make a list of the votes as they shall be declared: That the read from your journal by your Secretary, I have result shall be delivered to the President of the Sen-judged it proper to give notice that, on the 4th of ate, who shall announce the state of the vote and the persons elected, to the two Houses assembled as aforesaid; which shall be deemed a declaration of the persons elected President and Vice President, and, together with a list of votes, be entered on the journals

of the two Houses."

WEDNESDAY, February 8.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that they are ready to meet the Senate in the Chamber of that House, agreeably to the report of the joint committee, to attend the opening and examining the votes of the Electors for PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, as the constitution provides.

The two Houses of Congress accordingly assembled in the Representatives' Chamber, and the certificates of the Electors of sixteen States were, by the VICE PRESIDENT, opened and delivered to the tellers, appointed for the purpose,

March next at 12 o'clock I propose, to attend again in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, in of the United States to be taken by the President, order to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution to be administered by the Chief Justice or such other Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States as can most conveniently attend; and, in case none of those Judges can attend, by the Judge of the District of Pennsylvania, before such Senators and Representatives of the United States as may find it convenient to honor the transaction with their presence.

Ordered, That the Secretary carry an attested copy of this communication to the House of Representatives.

Ordered, That Messrs. SEDGWICK, Tazewell, and READ, be a joint committee, with such committee as may be appointed on the part of the House of Representatives, to consider whether any, and if any, what measures ought to be adopted for the further accommodation of the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, for the

next.

FRIDAY, February 10.

[SENATE.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the

Ordered, That the Secretary desire the con-motion made yesterday, that the Secretary of currence of the House of Representatives in the the Senate wait on the PRESIDENT OF THE appointment of a joint committee on their part. UNITED STATES, and notify him of the election A message from the House of Representatives of PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT OF THE informed the Senate that they have agreed to UNITED STATES, to commence with the 4th day the report of the joint committee appointed to ascertain and report a mode of examining the votes for PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, and of notifying the persons elected of their election.

of March next.

of "the Secretary," it passed in the negative. On motion, to insert "a committee " in place And the motion being amended, was adopted as follows:

Ordered, That the Secretary of the Senate

Mr. SEDGWICK, from the joint committee to whom it was referred to join such committee as might be appointed by the House of Represen-lay before the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES tatives to ascertain and report a mode of ex- to the opening and counting the votes for PRESIa copy of the journal of the 8th instant, relative amining the votes for PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, and of no- STATES, and the declaration of the PRESIDENT DENT and VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED tifying the persons elected of their election, of the Senate consequent thereon; and, also a reported that, having further concurred with the committee appointed by the House of Rep-elect of the time, place, and manner of qualifycopy of the notification given by the PRESIDENT resentatives, that, in their opinion, the following resolution ought to be adopted by the

Senate:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be directed to give, by letter, to the Vice President elect, a notification of his election."

On motion, it was agreed to insert the PRESIDENT of the Senate instead of the Secretary; and,

On motion, it was agreed to reconsider the resolution, and to recommit the report from the joint committee.

Mr. SEDGWICK reported, from the joint committee last mentioned, that the committee on the part of the House of Representatives considered themselves discharged from their commission.

Resolved, That the Senate disagree to the report of the joint committee on the mode of notifying the VICE PRESIDENT elect of his election; and that a committee be appointed on the part of the Senate, to confer with such committee as may be appointed on the part of the House of Representatives, on the report of the joint committee above mentioned; and that Messrs. SEDGWICK, LAURANCE and READ, be the managers at the conference on the part of the Senate.

Ordered, That the Secretary acquaint the House of Representatives therewith.

On motion, that it be

"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be directed, and he is hereby directed, to lay before the President of the United States a copy of the journal of yesterday, relative to the opening and counting of votes for President and Vice President of the United States, and the declaration of the President

of the Senate thereon; and, also, to present to the President of the United States a copy of the notification given by the President elect of the time, place, and manner, of qualifying to execute the duties of his office."

ing to execute the duties of his office.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that they agree to the report of the joint committee appointed by the two Houses to confer on a proper mode of notifying the VICE PRESIDENT elect of his election.

Mr. SEDGWICK, from the committee of conference above mentioned, reported that the following resolution should be adopted by the House of Representatives:

"Resolved, That the notification of the election of the Vice President elect be made by such person and in such manner as the Senate may direct."

"

On motion, that it be

be requested to communicate (in such manner as he Resolved, That the President of the United States President of the United States, for the term of four shall judge most proper) to the person elected Vice years, to commence 4th day of March next, information of his said election: "

It passed in the negative.

to by the House of Representatives, relative to Ordered, That the resolution this day agreed the notification of the election of the VICE HILLHOUSE, and SEDGWICK, to consider and rePRESIDENT elect, be referred to Messrs. MASON, port thereon to the Senate.

Mr. MASON reported, from the committee last appointed; and, the report being read, was amended and adopted as follows:

Resolved, That the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES be requested to cause to be transmitted to THOMAS JEFFERSON, Esq., of Virginia, VICE PRESIDENT elect of the United States, notification of his election to that office; and that the PRESIDENT of the Senate do make out and sign a certificate in the words following:

Be it known, that the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, being convened in the city of Philadelphia, on the second Wednesday in February, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, the under

Ordered, That the motion lie until to-mor-written Vice President of the United States and row for consideration.

President of the Senate did, in the presence of the

SENATE.]

Proceedings.

said Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and count all the votes of the Electors for a President and for a Vice President; by which it appears that THOMAS JEFFERSON, Esquire, was duly elected, agreeably to the constitution, Vice President of the United States of America.

"In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 10th day of February, 1797.”

Ordered, That the Secretary lay this resolution before the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

MONDAY, February 13.

On request, the VICE PRESIDENT was excused from further attendance in the Senate after Wednesday next.

WEDNESDAY, February 15. Withdrawal of the Vice-President, (now President elect of the United States,) and his Valedictory to the Senate.

After the consideration of the Executive business, a motion was made that the Senate now adjourn; when the VICE-PRESIDENT addressed them as follows:

Gentlemen of the Senate:

If, in the general apprehension of an intention to retire in that most eminent citizen, to whom all eyes had been directed, and all hearts attracted, as the centre of our Union, for so long a period, the public opinion had exhibited any clear indication of another, in whom our fellow-citizens could have generally united, as soon as I read that excellent Address, which announced the necessity of deliberation in the choice of a President, I should have imitated the example of a character with which I have co-operated, though in less conspicuous and important stations, and maintained an uninterrupted friendship for two and twenty years. But, as a number of characters appeared to stand in the general estimation so nearly on a level, as to render it difficult to conjecture on which the majority would fall; considering the relation in which I stood to the people of America, I thought it most respectful to them, and most conducive to the tranquillity of the public mind, to resign myself, with others, a silent spectator of the general deliberation, and a passive subject of public discus

sions.

Deeply penetrated with gratitude to my countrymen in general, for their long continued kindness to me, and for that steady and affecting confidence, with which those who have most intimately known me, from early life, have, on so many great occasions, intrusted to me the care of their dearest interests; since a majority of their Electors, though a very small one, have declared in my favor, and since, in a Republican Government, the majority, though ever so small, must of necessity decide, I have determined, at every hazard of a high but just responsibility, though with much anxiety and diffidence, once more to engage in their service. Their confidence, which has been the chief consolation of my life, is too precious and sacred a deposit ever to be considered lightly; as it has been founded only on the qualities of the heart, it never has been, it never can be, deceived, betrayed, or forfeited by me.

It is with reluctance, and with all those emotions of gratitude and affection, which a long experience of your goodness ought to inspire, that I now retire

[FEBRUARY, 1797. from my seat in this House, and take my leave of the members of the Senate.

I ought not to declare, for the last time, your adjournment, before I have presented to every Senator present, and to every citizen who has ever been a Senator of the United States, my thanks, for the candor and favor invariably received from them all. It is a recollection of which nothing can ever deprive me, and it will be a source of comfort to me, through the remainder of my life, that as, on the one hand, in a government constituted like ours, I have for eight years held the second situation under the Constitution of the United States, in perfect and uninterrupted harmony with the first, without envy in one, or jealousy in the other; so, on the other hand, I have never had the smallest misunderstanding with any member of the Senate. In all the abstruse questions, difficult conjectures, dangerous emergencies, and animated debates, upon the great interests of our country, which have so often and so deeply impressed all our minds, and interested the strongest feelings of the heart, I have experienced a uniform politeness and respect from every quarter of the House. When questions of no less importance than difficulty have produced a difference of sentiment, (and difference of opinion will always be found in free assemblies of men, and probably the greatest diversities upon the greatest questions,) when the Senators have been equally divided, and my opinion has been demanded according to the constitution, I have constantly found, in that moiety of the Senators from whose judgment I have been obliged to dissent, a disposition to allow me the same freedom of deliberation, and independence of judgment, which they asserted for them

selves.

Within these walls, for a course of years, I have been an admiring witness of a succession of information, eloquence, patriotism, and independence, which, as they would have done honor to any Senate in any age, afford a consolatory hope, (if the Legislatures of the States are equally careful in their future selections, which there is no reason to distrust,) that no council more permanent than this, as a branch of the Legislature, will be necessary, to defend the rights, liberties, and properties of the people, and to protect the Constitution of the United States, as well as the constitutions and rights of the individual States, against errors of judgment, irregularities of the pas sions, or other encroachments of human infirmity, or more reprehensible enterprise, in the Executive on one hand, or the more immediate representatives of the people on the other.

These considerations will all conspire to animate me in my future course, with a confident reliance, that as far as my conduct shall be uniformly measured by the Constitution of the United States, and faithfully directed to the public good, I shall be supported by the Senate, as well as by the House of Representatives, and the people at large; and on no other conditions ought any support at all to be expected or desired.

With cordial wishes for your honor, health, and happiness, and fervent prayers for a continuation of the virtues, liberties, prosperity, and peace, of our beloved country, I avail myself of your leave of absence for the remainder of the session.

THURSDAY, February 16.

The VICE-PRESIDENT being absent, the Senate proceeded to the choice of a PRESIDENT pro

Proceedings.

tempore, as the constitution provides, and the | House, and took your leave of the members of the honorable WILLIAM BINGHAM was duly elected. Ordered, That the Secretary wait on the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, and notify him of the election of the Honorable WILLIAM BINGHAM, to be PRESIDENT of the Senate pro tempore.

situation of our country, ardently to be promoted by
all good citizens.

I pray the Senate to accept my sincere thanks.
JOHN ADAMS.

WEDNESDAY, March 1.

Executive Veto on the Army Bill.

The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES having stated his objections to the bill, entitled "An act to alter and amend an act, entitled' an act to ascertain and fix the Military Establishment of the United States,"" the House of Representatives proceeded to consider the objections to the said bill, and have resolved that it do not

SPECIAL SESSION.

SATURDAY, March 4.

pass.

Installation of Thomas Jefferson as Vice Presi-
dent of the United States and President of
the Senate, and inauguration of John Adams
as President of the United States.
To the Vice President and Senators of

the United States respectively:

SIR: It appearing to be proper that the Senate of the United States should be convened on Saturday, the fourth of March instant, you are desired to attend in the Chamber of the Senate, on that day at ten o'clock in the forenoon, to receive any communications which the President of the United States may then lay before you touching their interests.

[MARCH, 1797.

JACOB READ, from South Carolina.
JAMES GUNN and JOSIAH TATTNALL, from
Georgia.

Mr. BINGHAM administered the oath of office to the VICE PRESIDENT, who took the chair, and the credentials of the following members were read.

Of Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GOODHUE, Mr. HILLHOUSE, Mr. HOWARD, Mr. LATIMER, Mr. MASON, Mr. Ross, and Mr. TICHENOR.

And the oath of office being severally administered to them by the VICE PRESIDENT, they took their seats in the Senate.

The VICE PRESIDENT then addressed the Senate as follows:

Gentlemen of the Senate:

Entering on the duties of the office to which I am called, I feel it incumbent on me to apologize to this honorable House for the insufficient manner in which I fear they may be discharged. At an earlier period of my life, and through some considerable portion of it, I have been a member of Legislative bodies, and not altogether inattentive to the forms of their proceedings; but much time has elapsed since that; other duties have occupied my mind, and, in a great degree, it has lost its familiarity with this subject. I fear that the House will have but too frequent occasion to perceive the truth of this acknowledgment. If a diligent attention, however, will enable me to fulfil the functions now assigned me, I may promise that diligence and attention shall be sedulously employed. For one portion of my duty, I shall engage with more confidence, because it will depend on my will and not my capacity. The rules which are to govern the proceedings of this House, so far as they shall deIn conformity with the summons from the pend on me for their application, shall be applied with the most rigorous and inflexible impartiality, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, above re-regarding neither persons, their views, nor principles, cited, the Senate accordingly assembled in their and seeing only the abstract proposition subject to Chamber. my decision. If, in forming that decision, I concur with some and differ from others, as must of necessity happen, I shall rely on the liberality and candor of those from whom I differ, to believe, that I do it on pure motives.

March 1, 1797.

G. WASHINGTON.

PRESENT:

THOMAS JEFFERSON, Vice President of the
United States and President of the Senate.
JOHN LANGDON and SAMUEL LIVERMORE, from
New Hampshire.

THEODORE SEDGWICK and BENJAMIN GOOD-
HUE, from Massachusetts.

THEODORE FOSTER, from Rhode Island.
JAMES HILLHOUSE and URIAH TRACY, from
Connecticut.

ELIJAH PAYNE and ISAAC TICHENOR, from
Vermont.

JOHN LAURANCE, from New York.
RICHARD STOCKTON, from New Jersey.
JAMES ROSS and WILLIAM BINGHAM, from
Pennsylvania.

JOHN VINING and HENRY LATIMER, from

ware.

Dela

JOHN HENRY and JOHN E. HOWARD, from Maryland.

HENRY TAZEWELL and STEVENS T. MASON, from Virginia.

JOHN BROWN and HUMPHREY MARSHALL, from Kentucky.

I might here proceed, and with the greatest truth, of the United States, that I consider the union of to declare my zealous attachment to the Constitution these States as the first of blessings and as the first of duties the preservation of that constitution which secures it; but I suppose these declarations not pertinent to the occasion of entering into an office whose primary business is merely to preside over the forms of this House, and no one more sincerely prays that no accident may call me to the higher and more important functions which the constitution eventually devolves on this office. These have been justly confided to the eminent character which has preceded me here, whose talents and integrity have been known and revered by me through a long course of years, ed friendship between us, and I devoutly pray he have been the foundation of a cordial and uninterruptmay be long preserved for the government, the happiness, and prosperity, of our common country.*

* A graceful compliment from Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Adams whose competitor he had been in the election, for the Presi

ALEXANDER MARTIN and TIMOTHY BLOOD- dent and Vice President were not then voted for separately WORTH, from North Carolina.

WILLIAM BLOUNT, from Tennessee.

but the person having the highest number of votes became President, and the next highest the Vice President; and in