CONGRESS, UNITED STATES (ELECTORAL COMMISSION). 



205 



Townsend, Charles C. B. Walker, Wheeler, Wike, 

 and James Williams 19. 



At two o'clock and twenty-five minutes p. M. 

 the doorkeeper announced the Senate of the 

 United States. 



The Presiding Officer : " The joint meeting 

 of Congress resumes its session. The two 

 Houses separately have considered and deter- 

 mined the objection submitted by the member 

 from the State of New York (Mr. Field) to the 

 decision of the commission upon the certifi- 

 cates from the State of Florida. The Secre- 

 tary of the Senate will now read the decision 

 of the Senate." 



The Secretary of the Senate read the fol- 

 lowing : 



Resolved, That the decision of the commission 

 upon the electoral vote of the State of Florida stand 

 as the judgment of the Senate, the objection made 

 thereto to the contrary notwithstanding. 



The Presiding Officer : " The Clerk of the 

 House will now read the decision of the 

 House." 



The Clerk (Mr. Pettit) read as follows : 



Ordered, That the counting of the electoral votes 

 from the State of Florida shall now proceed in con- 

 formity with the decision of the Electoral Commis- 

 sion ; but that the votes of Wilkinson Call, James 

 E. Yonge, Robert B. Hilton, and Kobert Bullock, 

 be counted as the votes from the State of Florida 

 for President and Vice - President of the United 

 States. 



The Presiding Officer: "The two Houses 

 not concurring in ordering otherwise, the de- 

 cision of the commission will stand unre- 

 versed, and the counting will now proceed in 

 conformity with the decision of the commis- 

 sion. The tellers will announce the vote of 

 the State of Florida." 



Mr. Allison (one of the tellers) : " The State 

 of Florida gives four votes for Rutherford B. 

 Hayes, of Ohio, for President, and four votes 

 for William A. "Wheeler, of New York, for 

 Vice-President. 



The votes of the States of Georgia (11), 

 Indiana (15), and Kentucky (12), were then 

 counted for Tilden and Hendricks, and the 

 votes of Illinois (21), Iowa (11), and Kansas 

 (5), were counted for Hayes and "Wheeler. 



The Presiding Officer : " The Chair opens a 

 certificate from the State of Louisiana, re- 

 ceived by mail, no corresponding one by mes- 

 senger. One of the tellers will read the same in 

 the hearing and presence of the two Houses." 



Senator Allison (one of the tellers) read a 

 certificate of William P. Kellogg, as Governor 

 of the State of Louisiana, to the election of 

 certain electors, and the certificate of those 

 electors that they had met and cast eight votes 

 for Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, for Presi- 

 dent of the United States, and eight votes for 

 William A. Wheeler, of New York, for Vice- 

 President. 



The Presiding Officer: "Having opened a 

 certificate received by messenger from the 

 tame State, the Chair hands it to the tellers, to 



be read in the presence and hearing of the 

 two Houses. A corresponding one, received 

 by mail, is also handed to the tellers." 



Mr. Stone (one of the tellers) read a certifi- 

 cate, signed by John McEnery as Governor of 

 the State of Louisiana, to the election of cer- 

 tain electors, and the certificate of those elec- 

 tors that they had met and cast eight votes for 

 Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, for President, 

 and eight votes for Thomas A. Hendricks, of 

 Indiana, for Vice-President. 



The Presiding Officer: "The Chair having 

 opened another certificate from the State of 

 Louisiana, received by messenger, one of the 

 tellers will read the same in the presence and 

 hearing of the two Houses. A corresponding 

 certificate, received by mail, is also handed to 

 the tellers." 



Senator Ingalls (one of the tellers) read a 

 certificate of William P. Kellogg as Governor 

 of the State of Louisiana, to the election of 

 certain electors, and an accompanying certifi- 

 cate of the electors that they had met and cast 

 eight votes for Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, 

 for President, and eight votes for William A. 

 Wheeler, of New York, for Vice-President. 



The Presiding Officer : " This closes the 

 reading of the certificates from the State of 

 Louisiana. Are there objections to the certifi- 

 cates which have been read?" 



Senator McDonald : " On behalf of the 

 Senators and Representatives whose names are 

 subscribed hereto, I submit the following ob- 

 jections to the counting of the electoral vote 

 of the State of Louisiana as cast for Hayes 

 and Wheeler." 



The Presiding Officer : " The objections to 

 counting the vote will be read by the Secreta- 

 ry of the Senate." 



Mr. Gorham, Secretary of the Senate, read 

 as follows : 



The undersigned Senators and members of the 

 House of Representatives of the United States ob- 

 ject to the lists of names of the electors made and 

 certified by William P. Kellogg, claiming to be, but 

 who was not, the lawful Governor of the State of 

 Louisiana, and to the electoral votes of said Stnte 

 signed by W. P. Kellogg, J. II. Burch, Peter Jo- 

 seph, L. A. Sheldon, Monis Marks, A. B. Levisse", 

 0. H. Brewster, Oscar Joffrion, being the two sev- 

 eral certificates the first and third presented by the 

 President of the Senate to the two Houses of Con- 

 gress in joint convention, for the reasons following : 



I. Because, on the 7th day of November, 1876 ? 

 there was no law, joint resolution, or other act of 

 the Legislature of the State of Louisiana, in force, 

 directing the manner in which electors for said State 

 should be appointed. 



II. Because, if any law existed in the State of 

 Louisiana on the 7th day of November, 1876, direct- 

 ing the manner of the appointment of electors, it 

 was an act of the Legislature which directed that 

 electors should be appointed by the people of the 

 State in their primary capacity at an election to be 

 held on a day certain, at particular places, and in a 

 certain way ; and the people of the State, in accord- 

 ance with the legislative direction, exercised the 

 powers vested in them at an election held in said 

 State, November 7, 1876, in pursuance of said act 

 and of the laws of the United States, and appointed 

 John McEnery, R. C. Wickliffe, L. St. Martin, F. 



