Monday, October 17, 1803.
This being the day appointed by a Proclamation of the President of the United States, of the sixteenth of July last, for the meeting of Congress, the following members of the House of Representatives appeared, produced their credentials, and took their seats, to wit:
From New Hampshire—Silas Betton, Clifton Claggett, David Hough, Samuel Hunt, and Samuel Tenney.
From Massachusetts—Phanuel Bishop, Manasseh Cutler, Jacob Crowninshield, Richard Cutts, Thomas Dwight, William Eustis, Seth Hastings, Nahum Mitchell, Ebenezer Seaver, William Stedman, Samuel Taggart, Joseph B. Varnum, Peleg Wadsworth, and Lemuel Williams.
From Rhode Island—Nehemiah Knight, and Joseph Stanton.
From Connecticut—Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Calvin Goddard, Roger Griswold, and John C. Smith.
From Vermont—William Chamberlin, Martin Chittenden, James Elliot, and Gideon Olin.
From New York—Gaylord Griswold, Josiah Hasbrouck, Henry W. Livingston, Andrew McCord, Samuel L. Mitchill, Beriah Palmer, Thomas Sammons, Joshua Sands, David Thomas, Philip Van Cortlandt, and Daniel C. Verplanck.
From Pennsylvania—Isaac Anderson, David Bard, Robert Brown, Joseph Clay, Frederick Conrad, William Findlay, Andrew Gregg, John A. Hanna, Joseph Heister, William Hoge, Michael Leib, John Rea, Jacob Richards, John Smilie, John Stewart, Isaac Van Horne, and John Whitehill.
From Delaware—Cæsar A. Rodney.
From Maryland—John Campbell, Wm. McCreery, Nicholas R. Moore, Joseph H. Nicholson, and Thomas Plater.
From Virginia—Thomas Claiborne, Matthew Clay, John Dawson, John W. Eppes, Peterson Goodwyn, Edwin Gray, Thomas Griffin, David Holmes, John G. Jackson, Walter Jones, Joseph Lewis, jun., Thomas Lewis, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jun., John Randolph, jun., Thomas M. Randolph, John Smith, James Stephenson, and Philip R. Thompson.
From Kentucky—George Michael Bedinger, John Boyle, John Fowler, Matthew Lyon, Thomas Sanford, and Matthew Walton.
From North Carolina—Nathaniel Alexander, Willis Alston, jun., William Blackledge, James Holland, William Kennedy, Nathaniel Macon, Richard Stanford, Marmaduke Williams, Joseph Winston, and Thomas Wynns.
From Tennessee—George Washington Campbell, William Dickson, and John Rhea.
From South Carolina—William Butler, Levi Casey, John Earle, Wade Hampton, Benjamin Huger, Thomas Moore, and Richard Winn.
From Ohio—Jeremiah Morrow.
And a quorum, consisting of a majority of the whole number, being present, the House proceeded, by ballot, to the choice of a Speaker; and upon examining the ballots, a majority of the votes of the whole House was found to be in favor of Nathaniel Macon, one of the Representatives from the State of North Carolina: Whereupon, Mr. Macon was conducted to the chair, from whence he made his acknowledgments to the House, as follows:
“Gentlemen: Accept my unfeigned thanks for the honor which you have conferred on me. The task which you have assigned me will be undertaken with great diffidence, but my utmost endeavors shall be exerted to discharge the duties of the Chair with fidelity. In executing the rules and orders of the House, I shall rely with confidence on the liberal and candid support of the House.”
The House proceeded, in the same manner, to the appointment of a Clerk; and upon examining the ballots, a majority of the votes of the whole House was found in favor of John Beckley.
The oath to support the Constitution of the United States, as prescribed by the act entitled “An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths,” was administered by Mr. Nicholson, one of the Representatives from the State of Maryland, to the Speaker; and then the same oath or affirmation was administered by Mr. Speaker to all the members present.
William Lattimore having also appeared, as the Delegate from the Mississippi Territory, the said oath was administered to him by the Speaker.
The same oath, together with the oath of office prescribed by the said recited act, was also administered by Mr. Speaker to the Clerk.
Ordered, That a message be sent to the Senate, to inform them that a quorum of this House is assembled, and have elected Nathaniel Macon, one of the Representatives for North Carolina, their Speaker; and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message.
A message from the Senate informed the House that a quorum of the Senate is assembled, and ready to proceed to business; and that, in the absence of the Vice President of the United States, the Senate have elected the Honorable John Brown their President, pro tempore.
Resolved, That Mr. J. Randolph, jun., Mr. R. Griswold, and Mr. Nicholson, be appointed a committee on the part of this House, jointly, with such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to wait on the President of the United States, and inform him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and ready to receive any communications he may be pleased to make to them.
A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have appointed a committee on their part, jointly, with the committee appointed on the part of this House, to wait on the President of the United States, and inform him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and ready to receive any communications he may be pleased to make to them.
Resolved, That unless otherwise ordered, the daily hour to which the House shall stand adjourned, during the present session, be eleven o’clock in the forenoon.
Mr. John Randolph, Jr., from the joint committee appointed to wait on the President of the United States, and notify him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make to them, reported that the committee had performed that service, and that the President had signified to them that he would make a communication to this House, to-day, in writing.
A communication was received from the President of the United States to the two Houses of Congress. The said communication was read, and referred to the committee of the whole House on the state of the Union. [See Senate proceedings of this date, for the Message, ante [page 4].]