Monday, October 26, 1807.
This being the day appointed by Proclamation of the President of the United States, of the thirtieth day of July last, for the meeting of the Congress, the following members of the House of Representatives appeared, produced their credentials, and took their seats, to wit:
From New Hampshire—Peter Carlton, Daniel M. Durell, Francis Gardner, Jedediah K. Smith, and Clement Storer.
From Massachusetts—Joseph Barker, John Chandler, Orchard Cook, Richard Cutts, Josiah Deane, William Ely, Isaiah L. Green, Daniel Ilsley, Josiah Quincy, Ebenezer Seaver, William Stedman, Samuel Taggart, Joseph B. Varnum, and Jabez Upham.
From Vermont—Martin Chittenden, James Elliot, James Fisk, and James Witherall.
From Rhode Island—Nehemiah Knight, and Isaac Wilbour.
From Connecticut—Epaphroditus Champion, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Jonathan O. Mosely, Timothy Pitkin, jr., Lewis B. Sturges, and Benjamin Tallmadge.
From New York—John Blake, junior, Barent Gardenier, John Harris, Reuben Humphreys, William Kirkpatrick, Josiah Masters, Samuel Riker, John Russell, Peter Swart, David Thomas, John Thompson, James J. Van Allen, Philip Van Cortlandt, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, and Daniel C. Verplanck.
From New Jersey—Ezra Darby, William Helms, John Lambert, Thomas Newbold, James Sloan, and Henry Southard.
From Pennsylvania—David Bard, Robert Brown, William Findlay, John Heister, Robert Jenkins, James Kelly, William Milnor, Daniel Montgomery, jr., John Porter, John Pugh, John Rea, Jacob Richards, Matthias Richards, John Smilie, Samuel Smith, and Robert Whitehill.
From Maryland—John Campbell, Charles Goldsborough, Philip B. Key, Edward Lloyd, William McCreery, John Montgomery, Nicholas R. Moore, Roger Nelson, and Archibald Van Horne.
From Virginia—Burwell Bassett, William A. Burwell, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, John Dawson, John W. Eppes, James M. Garnett, Peterson Goodwyn, Edwin Gray, David Holmes, Walter Jones, Joseph Lewis, jr., John Love, John Morrow, Thomas Newton, jr., John Randolph, and John Smith.
From North Carolina—Evan Alexander, Willis Alston, jr., Thomas Blount, John Culpepper, Thomas Kenan, Lemuel Sawyer, Richard Stanford, and Meshack Franklin.
From South Carolina—Lemuel J. Alston, jr., Wm. Butler, Joseph Calhoun, Thomas Moore, John Taylor, and David R. Williams.
From Georgia—William W. Bibb, Howell Cobb, Dennis Smelt, and George M. Troup.
From Ohio—Jeremiah Morrow.
From Kentucky—Joseph Desha, Benjamin Howard, and Richard M. Johnson.
From Tennessee—John Rhea, and Jesse Wharton.
The Assistant Clerk of the House announced 117 members and one delegate to be present, being a majority of the whole number. He then inquired if it were the pleasure of the House to proceed to the appointment of a Speaker, which being determined in the affirmative, the members proceeded to ballot for that officer, Messrs. Cutts, Helms, and John Campbell, being named tellers.
The tellers, after examining the votes, reported that 117 were received, and Joseph B. Varnum, a Representative from the State of Massachusetts, having fifty-nine of them, was declared to be duly elected.
The votes were given as follows, viz:
Joseph B. Varnum, 59; Charles Goldsborough, 17; Burwell Bassett, 17; Josiah Masters, 8; Thomas Blount, 7; John Dawson, 4; John Smilie, 2; Benjamin Tallmadge, 1; Timothy Pitkin, 1; and R. Nelson, 1.
The Speaker being conducted to the Chair, by Mr. Van Cortlandt and Mr. Alston, addressed the House as follows:
Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:
You will please to accept my most grateful acknowledgments for the honor which by your suffrages on this occasion you have conferred upon me. I am sensible of my own inability to perform the important duties you have been pleased to assign me, in the most desirable manner; but relying on your candor and readiness to afford me your aid, I accept the trust. And be assured, gentlemen, that it will be my assiduous endeavor to discharge the duties of the office faithfully and impartially; and in a manner which, in my opinion, shall be best calculated to meet your wishes and afford me the consolation of an approving conscience.
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. Van Cortlandt, one of the Representatives for the State of New York, to the Speaker; and then the same oath, or affirmation, was administered by Mr. Speaker to all the members present.
George Poindexter, Esq., having also appeared as the delegate from the Mississippi Territory of the United States, 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, were also administered by Mr. Speaker to the Clerk.
A message from the Senate informed the House that a quorum of the Senate is assembled, and ready to proceed to business. Also, that the Senate have appointed a committee on their part, jointly with such committee as may be 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.
Ordered, That a message be sent to the Senate, to inform them that a quorum of this House is assembled, and have elected Joseph B. Varnum, Esq., one of the Representatives for the State of Massachusetts, their Speaker; and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message.
Mr. Bassett, Mr. Goldsborough, and Mr. Masters, were appointed a committee on the part of this House, jointly with the committee 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 communication that he may be pleased to make to them.
Election of Clerk, &c.
The House next proceeded to the election of a Clerk. The same tellers which had been appointed on the former election having been named by the Speaker on this, the members proceeded to ballot, and Patrick Magruder having received 72 votes was declared duly elected.