Letters and Literary Memorials of Samuel J. Tilden, v. 2

by Samuel J. Tilden

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECLARING TILDEN THE PRESIDENT ELECTED

The following is the text of the declaration of the House of Representatives that Samuel J. Tilden has been duly elected President of the United States, and Thos. A. Hendricks Vice-President of the United States:

"whereas, It is not disputed that the electoral votes of the following-named States, to wit., Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, amounting in all to 184, were in conformity to the Constitution and laws of the United States cast for Samuel J. Tilden, of the State of New York, for President, and for Thos. A. Hendricks, of the State of Indiana, for Vice-President of the United States, by legally qualified electors appointed by said States, and severally in the manner directed by the Legislatures of said States, lists of which said votes were duly signed, certified, and transmitted sealed by said electors respectively to the seat of government, directed to the president of the Senate and by him opened in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, as required by the Constitution of the United States; and

"Whereas, The evidence taken and reported to this House in pursuance of the orders thereof, shows conclusively that on the 7th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1876, the following-named persons, to wit., Wilkinson Call, J. E. Yonge, R. B. Hilton, and Robt. Bullock, each of whom was in all respects legally eligible and qualified to be appointed elector for President and Vice-President of the United States, were duly appointed electors by the State of Florida, in the manner directed by the Legislature of said State; and, whereas, the said Wilkinson Call, J. E. Yonge, R. B. Hilton, and Robert Bullock, after having been so appointed electors for President and Vice-President of the United States by said State of Florida, in the manner directed by the Legislature thereof, did, on the 6th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1876, meet in the city of Tallahassee, in the said State of Florida, that being the time and place fixed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of the State of Florida, at which the electors appointed by said State should meet; and having so met, as the electors duly appointed by the State of Florida as aforesaid, did then and there, in pursuance of the Constitution and laws of the United States, cast by ballot four votes for Samuel J. Tilden, of the State of New York, for President of the United States, and in like manner cast four votes for said Thomas A. Hendricks, of the State of Indiana, for Vice-President of the United States, naming in separate and distinct ballots the person voted for by them for President and the person voted for by them for Vice-President, and then and there made distinct lists of the persons voted for by them for President and Vice-President of the United States, and of the number of votes cast for each, which lists were by said electors signed, certified, and transmitted by them sealed to the seat of government, directed to the president of the Senate, and by him opened in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, as required by the Constitution of the United States; and

"Whereas, The evidence taken and reported to this House, in pursuance of the order thereof, conclusively shows that on the 7th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1876, the following-named persons, to wit., John McEnery, R. C. Wickliffe, L. St. Martin, E. P. Poche, A. De Blanc, W. Seay, R. G. Cobb, K. A. Cross, each of whom was in all respects legally eligible and qualified to be appointed electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, were duly appointed electors by the State of Louisiana, in the manner provided by the Legislature of said State; and

"Whereas, The said John McEnery, R. C. Wickliffe, L. St. Martin, E. P. Poche, A. De Blanc, W. A. Seay, R. G. Cobb, K. A. Cross, after having been so appointed electors for President and Vice-President of the United States for the State of Louisiana, in the manner directed by the Legislature thereof, did, on the 6th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1876, meet in the city of New Orleans, in the said State of Louisiana, it being the time and place fixed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of the said State of Louisiana, at which the electors appointed by the said State should meet, and having so met, did, then and there, as the electors duly appointed for the State of Louisiana, as aforesaid, in pursuance of the laws and Constitution of the United States, cast by ballot eight votes for Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, for President of the United States, and in like manner cast eight votes for Thomas A. Hendricks, of the State of Indiana, for Vice-President of the United States, naming in separate and distinct ballots the persons voted for by them for President, and the person voted for by them for Vice-President of the United States, and then and there made distinct lists of the persons voted for by them for President and Vice-President of the United States, and the number of votes cast for each, which lists were by said electors signed, certified, and transmitted by said electors sealed to the seat of government, directed to the president of the Senate, and by him opened in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, as required by the Constitution of the United States; and

"Whereas, The evidence taken and reported to the House in pursuance of the orders thereof, shows conclusively that certain persons who pretended to have been appointed electors by the State of Florida, and who pretended as such to cast four votes for Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, for President of the United States, and four votes for William A. Wheeler, of New York, for Vice-President of the United States, to wit., F. C. Humphreys, C. H. Pearce, W. H. Holden, and T. W. Long, who were not appointed by the State of Florida, but were falsely and fraudulently declared elected, when in truth they had each and every one of them been defeated by a clear majority, as was well known by the then Governor of Florida and the other canvassing officers of that State, who falsely and fraudulently made such declaration; and

"Whereas, The evidence taken and reported to this House in pursuance of the orders, further shows conclusively that certain persons, namely, William Pitt Kellogg, J. H. Burch, Peter Joseph, Lionel A. Sheldon, Morris Marks, A. B. Levisee, O. H. Brewster, and Oscar Joffrion, were falsely, fraudulently, and corruptly declared to have been appointed electors by the State of Louisiana, and did falsely, fraudulently, and corruptly pretend to cast eight votes for Rutherford B. Hayes for President, and eight votes for William A. Wheeler for Vice-President of the United States, when in truth and in fact they had never been appointed electors by the said State of Louisiana, but had been defeated by a majority of several thousands of the legally qualified voters of said State, at a fair, peaceful, and legally conducted election, held in pursuance of the law of said State, all of which was well known to the Board of Returning Officers, who made the false, fraudulent, and corrupt declaration of their pretended appointment as electors, and who, under the Constitution and laws of the said State of Louisiana, had no jurisdiction or authority to make any such declaration or statement; and

"Whereas, The pretended votes were given by F. C. Humphreys, Charles H. Pearce, William H. Holden, T. W. Long, William Pitt Kellogg, J. H. Burch, Peter Joseph, Lionel A. Sheldon, Morris Marks, Aaron B. Levisee, O. H. Brewster, and Oscar Joffrion, electors, now, therefore, in view of the foregoing facts, the truth of which is attested by an overwhelming array of sworn testimony, as well as by the intelligence of the American people,

"Resolved, By the House of Representatives of the United States of America, that it is the duty of the House to declare, and this House does hereby solemnly declare, that Samuel J. Tilden, of the State of New York, received 196 electoral votes for the office of President of the United States, all of which votes were cast and lists thereof signed, certified, and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the president of the Senate, in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States, by electors legally eligible and qualified as such electors, each of whom had been duly appointed and elected, in the manner directed by the Legislature of the State in and for which he cast his vote as aforesaid; and that said Samuel J. Tilden, having thus received the votes of a majority of the electors appointed as aforesaid, he was thereby duly elected President of the United States of America for the term of four years, commencing on the 4th day of March, A.D. 1877.

"And this House further declares that Thomas A. Hendricks, having received the same number of the electoral votes for the office of Vice-President of the United States that were cast for Samuel J. Tilden for President, as aforesaid, the said votes having been cast for him by the same persons who voted for the said Tilden for President, as aforesaid, and at the same time and in the same manner, it is the opinion of this House that said Thomas A. Hendricks, of the State of Indiana, was duly elected Vice-President of the United States for a term of four years, commencing on the 4th day of March, A.D. 1877."