stitution and laws, to commence on the 4th day of March next; and, in like manner, it was ascertained that John C. Breckinridge, of the State of Kentucky, had been duly elected Vice-President of the United States for the like term, to commence also on the said 4th day of March next.

Resolved, That it appearing that the vote of the State of Wisconsin having been attempted to be cast by the electors of that State on the 4th day of December, A. D. 1856, instead of the 3d day of that month, as prescribed by law, therefore the vote of said State could not be counted for President and Vice-President without a violation of the second paragraph of the first section of the second article of the Constitution of the United States.

Mr. DUNN. I ask for the reading of the second paragraph of the first section of the second article of the Constitution.

Mr. WALBRIDGE. I object to the introduction of the resolution.

Mr. SMITH, of Tennessee. I rise to a question of order. This question having been disposed of, so far as this House is concerned, no question of privilege can arise in reference to it.

The SPEAKER. The Chair is of opinion that the resolution cannot be received. It appears by the Journal, accepted by the House, that a declaration of the election of a President and Vice-President has been made in the presence of the House. If the resolution of the gentleman from Indiana, reaffirming the fact that an election has been made, be received, a resolution would be received disaffirming the fact that an election has been made.

The Chair thinks the resolution cannot be received without general consent.

Mr. DUNN. I would make this single suggestion. According to the Journal, it is left uncertain whether the vote of Wisconsin is counted or not.

Mr. SMITH, of Tennessee. I object to the

resolution.

Mr. DUNN. These resolutions are intended to declare that a declaration of election in fact took place, as the Journal cites; and in addition declares the further fact, that the vote of Wisconsin cannot be constitutionally counted.

The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks the resolution can be introduced only by unanimous consent.

Mr. WALBRIDGE. I object.

Mr. STANTON. I rise to a question of privilege. I move to correct the Journal, so as to show that during the session of the joint convention of yesterday the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. ORR] moved to reject the vote of Wisconsin; further, that the presiding officer ruled it out of order; further, that the gentleman from South Carolina took an appeal from the decision of the Chair, and that the President of the Senate ruled the appeal out of order. I ask to have the Journal further corrected, so as to show that, during the time the two Houses were together, the Senate, on a motion of the Senator from Illinoise [Mr. TRUMBULL], retired for consultation,

and that in that mode the joint convention of the two Houses was dissolved.

The SPEAKER. The Journal of the House has been read, and approved by the House. Mr. STANTON. I submit that there can be no approval when there was no motion of approval.

The SPEAKER. There has been no motion to approve the Journal; but it is assumed, no question being made. That is the established rule in reference to the reading of the Journal.

Mr. STANTON. Is it assumed that, if the motion to correct the Journal be not made instantly on the close of the reading, the Journal is approved?

The SPEAKER. That has been the uniform practice of the House as regards the Journal. The Chair assumes, instead of stating the question to the House, that the Journal is approved by the House, unless some question be raised.

Mr. STANTON. That is certainly all correct; but suppose a gentleman cannot get the floor to make a motion to correct: suppose there be another privileged question pending

The SPEAKER. No privileged question can arise between the reading of the Journal and its approval by the House. It is a question above all other questions.

Mr. SMITH, of Tennessee. I object, and call for the regular order of business.

Mr. STANTON. Is the approval of the Journal treated as a vote of the House, and, if so, is it not subject to reconsideration?

The SPEAKER. The Chair thinks it is subject to reconsideration.

Mr. STANTON. Then I move to reconsider the approval of the Journal.

Mr. COBB, of Georgia. The Chair was right originally. There is but one time to consider the question of the approval of the Journal, and that is when it is read. When that point is passed, it cannot be reached unless by general consent of the House.

The SPEAKER. It is the established practice in all deliberative assemblies, that when the Journal is read it is considered as approved unless a question be raised. There has been no vote taken; and the rule relating to reconsideration requires that a vote be taken.

Mr. STANTON. Then, does the Speaker hold, that unless a motion be made instantly on the reading-when perhaps a gentleman cannot make it-there is no possibility of correcting the Journal by reconsideration or otherwise?

Mr. CLINGMAN. If other business has been done you lose your chance, of course.

The SPEAKER. It is an assumed vote. It is doubtful whether the gentleman loses a right, under the rules of the House, to bring the matter before the House again by a motion to reconsider.

Mr. CLINGMAN. I take it that it is exactly like the case of the Chair announcing that a vote is carried. Any man may raise a ques

tion, and call for a division; but if the an nouncement is acquiesced in, and the House goes to other business, it cannot come back. After the Journal is read, a motion to amend takes precedence of everything else; but when we go on to other business, we cannot go back to the Journal.

The SPEAKER. This is a case like that spoken of by the gentleman from North Carolina; but there is a further question in this case, whether a member has not the right to reconsider it. The approval of the Journal is a constructive vote.

Mr. STANTON. Then I insist on the motion to reconsider.

Mr. SMITH, of Tennessee. There is a way by which the Journal can be amended. That is, by a regular motion to amend the Journal; and that is to be made as every other motion that comes before the House. As to reconsidering the approval of the Journal, such a thing has not been known in the House.

Mr. STANTON. It certainly is a matter of some consequence that the history of yesterday's proceedings should go on the Journal correctly. It certainly ought to be known hereafter what in fact was done, and let its effects be judged of by it. Whatever was done, whatever was decided, and however the thing is disposed of, is a matter which certainly ought to be entered on the Journal, and approved. It will not occupy much of the time of the House to correct the Journal.

Mr. COBB, of Georgia. I rise to a question of order. Do I understand the Chair as entertaining a motion to reconsider the vote by which the House approved the Journal?

The SPEAKER. It has not been so stated. Mr. COBB, of Georgia. Then, on what point is the gentleman from Ohio addressing the Chair?

Mr. STANTON. On the motion to reconsider, as the gentleman from Ohio supposed. Mr. COBB, of Georgia. Then I submit, as a point of order, that that motion is not in order. No motion to reconsider a constructive vote of the House is in order. You can only reconsider a vote that has been taken. I think it important that this question should be disposed of, and, if the motion be entertained, I propose to take an appeal from the decision of the Chair, in order that it may be decided by the House. I think the difficulty can be reached in a different way-in the usual way. I suggest to the Chair, with the permission of the gentleman from Ohio, that the ruling of the Chair at the commencement of this matter was correct. The proper time to object to the Journal is when it is read. Afterward it is in order to move and amend the Journal; but that is not a privileged question, and you must get in your motion just as any other motion is brought to the consideration of the House-by general consent or by a suspension of the rules. The House having determined that it shall not suspend the rules on this day, the motion can

only be entertained by general consent. A motion to amend the Journal is not excluded; but it is not a privileged question. That is the point I make. I think the Chair ruled very correctly. But I trust that we will not get into the habit of moving, at any time during the day, to reconsider a vote, never taken, approving the Journal. With your experience in the chair, sir, you will readily perceive how often the House will be led into embarrassments by entertaining such propositions.

Mr. STANTON. Will the gentleman from Georgia answer an inquiry?

Mr. COBB, of Georgia. Certainly.

Mr. STANTON. Will he tell me what is the difference between a correction of the Journal and an amendment of the Journal?

Mr. COBB, of Georgia. None whatever. I am only speaking of the time. The gentleman is entitled to move his amendment when the Journal is read. Failing to do so, the House has approved it. Afterward he has the same right to move to amend the Journal, but his motion is not a privileged question. If to-day you could suspend the rules, you might move to suspend them for the purpose of amending the Journal, or the motion can be entertained by unanimous consent. The only point I make is, that this is not a privileged question, as the House has passed on from the approval of the Journal to the ordinary business of the House. That has been the practice of the House all the time, as far as I understand it.

Mr. STANTON. If I understand the gentleman's point it is, that this motion loses its dignity as a question of privilege if it be not made on the instant.

Mr. COBB, of Georgia. Yes.

Mr. STANTON. If the Journal be signed by the Speaker, or ratified, I take it for granted that no subsequent amendment is in order. It cannot be moved at all.

Mr. COBB, of Georgia. Allow me to suggest in reference to that, that the Journal is not approved if a gentleman rises at once and objects to it.

Mr. SMITH, of Tennessee. I object to all debate, and call for a decision on the question. The SPEAKER. If the gentleman from Ohio insits on the question, the Chair will submit the question to the House.

Mr. STANTON. Yes, sir, I do.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Ohio rises to a question of privilege, and claims a right to move an amendment to the Journal. The Chair decides that the Journal, having been examined this morning by the Speaker, approved by him, and read to the House, and no question having been made by the House, is approved; and the Chair further decides that no question of privilege can arise between reading the Journal and its approval by the House; that the question of correcting it is higher than all other questions, and must be first determined. The gentleman from Ohio then claims the right to move a reconsidera

tion of the constructive vote of the House approving the Journal; and the Chair submits the question to the House, "Shall the motion to reconsider be admitted as a question of high privilege, relating to the Journal?"

Mr. EUSTIS. Is it in order to move to lay the motion on the table?

The SPEAKER. It is not in order, as the motion is not received.

Mr. CLINGMAN. Is the question debatable? If so, I will move the previous question.

The SPEAKER. It is hardly a question for debate.

The Speaker then put the question, and the House determined it in the negative.

So Mr. STANTON's motion was not admitted. Mr. SEWARD. I rise to a question of order. On the fifty-eighth page of the Manual I find the following words:

"It is a breach of order for the Speaker to refuse to put a question which is in order.'

Now, the 56th rule of this House is as fol lows:

"When a motion has been once made, and carried in the affirmative or negative, it shall be in order for any member of the majority to move for the reconsideration thereof."

If the House of Representatives by a constructive vote, approved the Journal read this morning, the gentleman from Ohio having voted in the affirmative, and with the majority, has the right to move a reconsideration of that vote. The Chair, therefore, is out of order in not putting the motion to reconsider.

The SPEAKER. No vote has been taken; and no affirmative or negative vote has been given.

President and Vice-President, the consideration of which was objected to by the Senator from Pennsylvania. I desire to have that resolution called up, and if there is to be opposition to counting the votes for President and Vice-President let us know it.

Mr. BIGLER. I made the objection simply because I desired to go on with other business. That was my only reason.

The motion to take up the resolution was agreed to, and the Senate proceeded to consider it. It is as follows:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed by the President of the Senate, to consist of three members, to join such committee as may be appointed by the House of Representatives, to ascertain and report a mode for examining the votes for President and Vice-President of the United States, and notifying the persons chosen

of their election.

The resolution was adopted, and Mr. Trumbull, Mr. Foot, and Mr. Latham were appointed the committee on the part of the Senate.

IN SENATE. Monday, February 4, 1861. ("Congressional Globe," XXXVIth Congress, 2d Session, p. 720.)

The message further announced that the House had agreed to the resolution of the Senate to appoint a committee to join such committee as may be appointed by the House of Representatives, to ascertain and report a

IN SENATE.

Wednesday, February 6, 1861.

IN SENATE.

Tuesday, February 5, 1861.

Session, p. 762.)

Session, p. 740.)

Mr. TRUMBULL. The joint committee appointed to ascertain and report a mode for examining the votes for President and Vice-President of the United States, and of notifying the persons chosen of their election, have instructed me to report in part the following resolution:

Resolved, That the two Houses will assemble in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, the 13th day of February, 1861, at twelve o'clock, and the President of the Senate shall be the presiding officer; that one person be appointed a teller on the part of the Senate, and two on the part of the House of Representatives, to make a list of the votes as they shall be declared; that the result shall be delivered to the President of the Senate, 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 of the United States, and, together with a list of the votes, be entered on the Journals of the two Houses.

If there be no objection, I ask for the adoption of the resolution now. I will state that it is the usual form of canvassing the votes for President and Vice-President, which has been adopted since the foundation of the Government.

The resolution was considered by unanimous consent and agreed to.

Mr. TRUMBULL. If it be necessary, I move that the Vice-President appoint the teller on the part of the Senate. I do not know but that that would follow at any rate. If, however, it needs a motion, I make that motion.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Senator from Illinois moves that the presiding officer of this body appoint the teller on the part of the Senate, for counting the presidential votes. The motion was agreed to by unanimous

consent.

appointed Mr. Elihu B. Washburne, of Illinois, and Mr. John S. Phelps, of Missouri, tellers on the part of the House.

66

IN SENATE.

Wednesday, February 13, 1861. 'Congressional Globe," XXXVIth Congress, 2d Session, p. 882.)

The message further announced that the House had passed the following order:

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
February 13, 1861.

}

Ordered, That the Clerk inform the Senate that the House of Representatives is now ready to receive that body for the purpose of proceeding to open and count the votes of the electors of the several States for President and Vice-President of the United States.

Mr. FOSTER. I present the petitionThe VICE-PRESIDENT. The Chair will state to the Senator from Connecticut that, in pursuance of the order of the two Houses, nothing is now in order but to proceed to the House of Representatives.

Mr. BIGLER. I move that the Senate now proceed to the House of Representatives, in compliance with the order of the Senate.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. It is moved and seconded that the Senate now proceed to the House of Representatives, for the purpose of counting and declaring the electoral votes. The motion was agreed to. The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Chair will state that the usual order of proceeding to the House of Representatives has been for the Sergeant-at-Arms to go in advance; then the Secretary and Presiding Officer, with a messenger bearing the votes; and then the body of the Senate. If there be no objection, that order will be pursued.

The Senate thereupon proceeded to the Hall of the House of Representatives.

At twenty minutes to two o'clock the Senate returned to their Chamber.

The VICE-PRESIDENT resumed the chair, and called the Senate to order.

Mr. CAMERON. I move now to take up the regular order of the day, the tariff bill. ["Oh, no!"]

Mr. TRUMBULL. Before we proceed to the consideration of that bill, which of course will take considerable time to dispose of, I desire to make a report in connection with our business to-day in the other House.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Pennsylvania yield the floor?

Mr. CAMERON. I cannot, unless it is understood that I give way only for that purpose; and that, after that, my motion can be carried into effect.

Mr. TRUMBULL. I suppose it is a privileged question, connected with the election of President, to carry out the action of the two Houses meeting in joint convention. I am instructed by the committee appointed on the part of the Senate and the House of Representatives, to make a report.

Does the

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Senator from Pennsylvania yield the floor? Mr. CAMERON. With the understanding that my motion is to be carried into effect immediately afterward, I will.

Mr. HALE. I do not agree to that. Mr. CAMERON. Then I do not yield. Mr. TRUMBULL. I move to suspend all other business for the purpose of making a report from the committee of the two Houses in connection with the election of President. It is a mere formal resolution, and I suppose it will be adopted in a moment.

Mr. MASON. It seems to me to be but respectful to a coördinate department of the Government that this subject should be acted on promptly.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair has no hesitation in regarding the proposition of the Senator from Illinois as a privileged one, connected as it is with the proceedings of this day in reference to the election of President and Vice-President, and will receive the report of the Senator from Illinois.

Mr. CAMERON. Then I shall give way; because, if it is a privileged question, it does not interfere with my motion.

Mr. BIGLER. Certainly not.

Mr. TRUMBULL. The committee of the two Houses, appointed to devise a mode for canvassing the votes for President and VicePresident of the United States, and for notifying the persons elected of their election, have instructed me to make the following report: That the joint committee, in further execution of the duties with which they were charged by the two Houses of Congress, have agreed to the following resolution, in which resolution their committee recommend to the Senate to concur:

Resolved, That a committee of one member of the Senate be appointed by that body to join a committee of two members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by that House, to wait on ABRAHAM LINCOLN, of Illi

nois, and to notify him that he has been duly elected President of the United States for four years, commencing with the 4th day of March, 1861; and also to notify HANNIBAL HAMLIN, of Maine, that he has been duly elected VicePresident of the United States for four years, commencing with the 4th day of March, 1861. Mr. MASON. I do not know whether that resolution is in the usual form, and I will ask the Senator that question.

Mr. TRUMBULL. It is copied from prior resolutions.

The resolution was considered by unanimous consent and agreed to.

IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Wednesday, February 13, 1861. ("Congressional Globe," XXXVIth Congress, 2d Session, pp. 893, 894.)

Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois, submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to:

Ordered, That the Clerk inform the Senate that the House of Representatives is now ready to receive that body for the purpose of proceeding to open and count the votes of the electors of the several States for President and Vice-President of the United States.

At twenty minutes after twelve o'clock, the Doorkeeper announced the Senate of the United States.

The Senate entered the Hall, preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms, and headed by the VicePresident and their Secretary, the members of the House rising to receive them. The VicePresident took his seat on the right of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and presided over the joint convention of the two Houses.

The members of the Senate occupied seats provided for them in the area of the Hall. Mr. TRUMBULL, the teller appointed on the part of the Senate, and Messrs. PHELPS and WASHBURNE of Illinois, the two tellers appointed on the part of the House, took their seats at the Clerk's desk.

The VICE-PRESIDENT then said: The two Houses being assembled, in pursuance of the Constitution, that the votes may be counted and declared for President and Vice-President of the United States for the term commencing on the 4th of March, 1861, it becomes my duty, under the Constitution, to open the certificates of election in the presence of the two Houses of Congress. I now proceed to discharge that duty.

The VICE-PRESIDENT then proceeded to open and hand to the tellers the votes of the several States for President and Vice-President of the United States, commencing with the State of Maine.

The votes having been opened and counted, the tellers, through Mr. Trumbull, reported the following as the result of the count: