Monday, November 4, 1811.
This being the day appointed by a proclamation of the President of the United States, of the twenty-fourth day 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—Josiah Bartlett, Samuel Dinsmoor, Obed Hall, John A. Harper, and George Sullivan.
From Massachusetts—Ezekiel Bacon, Abijah Bigelow, Elijah Brigham, William Ely, Isaiah L. Green, Josiah Quincy, William Reed, Ebenezer Seaver, Samuel Taggart, Peleg Tallman, Charles Turner, junior, Laban Wheaton, and Leonard White.
From Rhode Island—Richard Jackson, junior.
From Connecticut—Epaphroditus Champion, John Davenport, junior, Lyman Law, Jonathan O. Mosely, Timothy Pitkin, junior, Lewis B. Sturges, and Benjamin Tallmadge.
From Vermont—Martin Chittenden, James Fisk, Samuel Shaw, and William Strong.
From New York—Daniel Avery, Harmanus Bleecker, Thomas B. Cooke, James Emott, Asa Fitch, Thomas R. Gold, Robert Le Roy Livingston, Arunah Metcalf, Samuel L. Mitchill, Benjamin Pond, Peter B. Porter, Ebenezer Sage, Thomas Sammons, Silas Stow, Uri Tracy, and Pierre Van Cortlandt, junior.
From New Jersey—Adam Boyd, Lewis Condit, Jacob Hufty, James Morgan, and Thomas Newbold.
From Pennsylvania—William Anderson, David Bard, Robert Brown, William Crawford, Roger Davis, William Findlay, John M. Hyneman, Joseph Lefevre, Aaron Lyle, James Milnor, William Piper, Jonathan Roberts, William Rodman, Adam Seybert, John Smilie, George Smith, and Robert Whitehill.
From Delaware—Henry M. Ridgely.
From Maryland—Stevenson Archer, Joseph Kent, Peter Little, Alexander McKim, Samuel Ringgold, and Robert Wright.
From Virginia—Burwell Bassett, James Breckenridge, William A. Burwell, Matthew Clay, John Dawson, Peterson Goodwyn, Aylett Hawes, John P. Hungerford, Joseph Lewis, junior, William McCoy, Hugh Nelson, Thomas Newton, James Pleasants, junior, John Randolph, John Roane, Daniel Sheffey, John Smith, and Thomas Wilson.
From North Carolina—Willis Alston, William Blackledge, Thomas Blount, William R. King, Nathaniel Macon, Joseph Pearson, Israel Pickens, and Richard Stanford.
From South Carolina—William Butler, Langdon Cheves, Elias Earle, William Lowndes, Thomas Moore, and David R. Williams.
From Georgia—William W. Bibb, Howell Cobb, Bolling Hall, and George M. Troup.
From Kentucky—Henry Clay, Joseph Desha, Richard M. Johnson, Samuel McKee, Anthony New, and Stephen Ormsby.
From Tennessee—Felix Grundy, and John Rhea.
From Ohio—Jeremiah Morrow.
From Mississippi Territory—George Poindexter, Delegate.
From Indiana Territory—Jonathan Jennings, Delegate.
And a quorum, consisting of a majority of the whole number of Members, being present, the House proceeded, by ballot, to the choice of a Speaker; and, upon examining the ballots, it appeared that Henry Clay, one of the Representatives for the State of Kentucky, was duly elected; Whereupon,
Mr. Clay was conducted to the Speaker's chair, and 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 to him by Mr. Findlay, one of the members for the State of Pennsylvania; after which, he made his acknowledgments to the House, in the following words:
"Gentlemen: In coming to the station which you have done me the honor to assign me—an honor for which you will be pleased to accept my thanks—I obey rather your commands than my own inclination. I am sensible of the imperfections which I bring along with me, and a consciousness of these would deter me from attempting a discharge of the duties of the Chair, did I not rely, confidently, upon your generous support.
Should the rare and delicate occasion present itself, when your Speaker shall be called upon to check or control the wanderings or intemperance in debate, your justice will, I hope, ascribe to its interposition the motives only of public good and a regard to the dignity of the House. And in all instances, be assured, gentlemen, that I shall, with infinite pleasure, afford every facility in my power to the despatch of public business, in the most agreeable manner."
The oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States was then administered, by the Speaker, to all the other members present.
George Poindexter, and Jonathan Jennings, having also appeared, and produced their credentials as the delegates from the Mississippi and Indiana Territories of the United States, the oath was administered to them by the Speaker.
The House proceeded, by ballot, to the choice of a Clerk, and, upon examining the ballots, it appeared that Patrick Magruder was duly elected, and the oath, together with the oath of office, administered by the Speaker to the Clerk.
Thomas Dunn was then re-elected Sergeant-at-Arms, and Thomas Claxton, Doorkeeper, without opposition. Benjamin Burch was also chosen Assistant Doorkeeper.
The usual messages were interchanged with the Senate on the subject of their being formed and ready to proceed to business.
Mr. Mitchill and Mr. Pitkin were appointed a committee on the part of the 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 communications he may be pleased to make to them.
Mr. Mitchill, from the joint committee appointed to wait on the President of the United States, reported that the committee had performed the service assigned to them, and that the President answered, that he would make a communication to Congress to-morrow at twelve o'clock.