172 



Mr Butler, of Massachusetts, the President 

 ordered the result to be announced as follows: 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



The President : " The tellers report that the 

 whole number of votes cast for President and 

 Vice-President of the United States, including 

 the votes of the State of Georgia, is 294, of 

 which the majority is 148 ; excluding the votes 

 of the State of Georgia it is 285, of which the 

 majority is 143. The result of the vote, as re- 



the vote is for Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, 

 214 votes; and for Francis P. Blair, Jr.,^of 

 Missouri, Yl votes. * 



"Wherefore, in either case, whether the 

 votes of the State of Georgia be included or 

 excluded, I do declare that Ulysses S. Grant, 

 of the State of Illinois, having received a ma- 

 jority of the whole number of electoral votes, 

 is duly elected President of the United States 

 for four years, commencing on the 4th day of 

 March, 1869 ; and that Schuyler Colfax, of the 

 State of Indiana, having received a majority 

 of the whole number of electoral votes for 

 Vice-President of the United States, is duly 

 elected Vice-President of the United States 

 for four years, commencing on the 4th day 

 of March, 1869. 



"The object for which the House and Sen- 

 ate have assembled in joint convention having 

 transpired, the Senate will retire to its Cham- 

 ber." 



The Senate accordingly retired from the Hall 

 of the House of Representatives. 



The Speaker then resumed the chair, and 

 called the House to order. 



Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts, said: "I rise 

 to a question of privilege, and offer the follow- 

 ing resolution : 



Resolved, That the House protest that the counting 

 of the vote of Georgia by the order of the Vice-Pres- 

 ident pro tempore was a gross act of oppression, and 

 an invasion of the rights and privileges or the House." 



Mr. Holman : "I object to the introduction 

 of that resolution." 



The Speaker : " The House has the right to 

 adopt such resolutions as it may consider prop- 

 er when it deems that its rights and privileges 

 have been infringed upon. The Chair asks 

 permission to make a statement in relation to 

 what occurred in the joint convention, and has 

 created so much feeling." 



There was no objection. 



The Speaker : " The Chair desires to submit 

 the history of the joint rules, the apparent con- 

 flict in which has produced the excitement in 

 the joint convention of the two Houses. 



" By the Constitution of the United States 

 the President of the Senate presides in joint 

 convention when the electoral votes are count- 

 ed. The Constitution proceeds no further ; it 

 simply provides that 



The President of the Senate shall, in the presence 

 of the Senate and House of Bepresentatives, open all 



majomy is i*d. ine result 01 tne vote, as re- of the Senate and House ot Representatives, open 

 ported by the tellers, for President of the United the certificates, ^nd the votes shall then be counted : 



States, including the State of Georgia, is for 

 Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois, 214 votes ; for 

 Horatio Seymour, of New York, 80 votes. Ex- 

 cluding the State of Georgia, the result of the 

 vote is for Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois, 214 

 votes ; for Horatio Seymour, of New York, 71 

 votes. The result of the vote, as reported by 

 the tellers, for Vice-President of the United 

 States, including the State of Georgia, is for 

 Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, 214 votes ; and 

 for Francis P. Blair, Jr., of Missouri, 80 votes. 

 Excluding the State of Georgia, the result of 



the person having the greatest number of votes for 

 President shall be President 



"And 



the person having the greatest number of rotes as 

 Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such 

 number .be a majority of the whole number of elec- 

 tors appointed. 



" On the 6th day of February, 1865, the two 

 Houses of Congress adopted the twenty-second 

 joint rule, in order, so far as possible, to pre- 

 vent scenes like those which have occurred in 

 the joint convention just adjourned. The sec- 



