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.