ates having received a majority in the electoral colleges, the
election devolved on the House of Representatives. This took place on the
9th of Feb., 1825.

On the morning of that day, the House met at an earlier hour than usual.
The galleries, the lobbies, and the adjacent apartments, were filled to
overflowing--with spectators from every part of the Union to witness the
momentous event. It was a scene the most sublime that could be witnessed
on earth. The Representatives of the People, in the exercise of the
highest right of freemen, were about to select a citizen to administer the
Government of a great Republic.

All the members of the House were present, with the exception of one, who
was confined by indisposition. The Speaker (Henry Clay) took his chair,
and the ordinary business of the morning was attended to in the usual
manner. At 12 o'clock, precisely, the members of the Senate entered the
hall, preceded by their Sergeant-at-arms, and having the President of the
Senate at their head, who was invited to a seat on the right hand of the
Speaker. The Senators were assigned seats in front of the Speaker's chair.

The President of the Senate (Mr. Gaillard) then rose, and stated that the
certificates forwarded by the electors from each State would be delivered
to the Tellers. Mr. Tazewell of the Senate, and Messrs. John W. Taylor
and Philip P. Barbour on the part of the House, took their places, as
Tellers, at the Clerk's table. The President of the Senate then opened two
packets, one received by messenger and the other by mail, containing the
certificates of the votes of the State of New Hampshire. One of these
certificates was then read by Mr. Tazewell, while the other was compared
with it by Messrs. Taylor and Barbour. The whole having been read, and
the votes of New Hampshire declared, they were set down by the Clerks of
the Senate and of the House of Representatives, seated at different
tables. Thus the certificates from all the States were gone through with.
At the conclusion, the Tellers left the Clerk's tables, and, presenting
themselves in front of the Speaker, Mr. Tazewell delivered their report
of the votes given.

The President of the Senate then rose, and declared that no person had
received a majority of the votes given for President of the United States:
that Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and William H. Crawford, were the
three persons who had received the highest number of votes; and that the
r