[193] Ib. 91-92.
[194] Annals, 7th Cong. 1st Sess. 99.
[195] Morris notes in his diary that, on the same day, the Senate resolved "to admit a short-hand writer to their floor. This is the beginning of mischief." (Morris, ii, 416-17.)
[196] January 27, 1802.
[197] Annals, 7th Cong. 1st Sess. 149.
[198] Annals, 7th Cong. 1st Sess. 150.
Burr's action was perfectly correct. As an impartial presiding officer, he could not well have done anything else. Alexander J. Dallas, Republican Attorney-General of Pennsylvania, wrote the Vice-President a letter approving his action. (Dallas to Burr, Feb. 3, 1802, Davis: Memoirs of Aaron Burr, ii, 82.) Nathaniel Niles, a rampant Republican, sent Burr a letter thanking him for his vote. As a Republican, he wanted his party to be fair, he said. (Niles to Burr, Feb. 17, 1802, ib. 83-84.) Nevertheless, Burr's vote was seized upon by his enemies as the occasion for beginning those attacks upon him which led to his overthrow and disgrace. (See chaps. vi, vii, viii, and ix of this volume.)
[199] Annals, 7th Cong. 1st Sess. 178-79.
[200] See Appendix A to this volume.
[201] Annals, 7th Cong. 1st Sess. 179.