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ning of the year, gave the total resources of the Union for the year at $50,396.94.

The fiftieth meeting of the American Home Missionary Society was held in New York City, May 10th. Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Woolsey presided. The treasurer's report showed that the society had a balance on hand May 1, 1875, of $16,830.33, and that its receipts from that time to the 1st of May, 1876, had been $326,875.95; the expenditures for the year had been $326,857.95: leaving a balance still on hand of $16,848.33. According to the report of the Executive Committee the society had in its service 976 ministers of the gospel in thirty-three States and Territories. It had ten missionaries who had preached during the year to congregations of colored people, and thirty-seven who had preached in foreign languages to Germans, Welsh, French, and Swedish congregations. The number of pupils in Sunday schools was 85,370. Ninety-two churches had been organized by the missionaries during the year, and 41 churches had become self-supporting. Fifty-five houses of worship had been completed, and 20 others were in process of erection. The additions to the churches, as near as could be ascertained, had been 4,869 on profession of faith, and 2,967 by letter-in all, 7,836.

The sixty-seventh annual meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was held in Hartford, Conn., October 2d. The Rev. Mark Hopkins, D. D., presided. The Prudential Committee reported that the receipts of the board, for the year ending September 1st, had been: From ordinary donations, $346,118.92; to extinguish the debt, $40,463.60; for the Centennial offering, $7,037.95; from legacies, $64,891.30; from other sources, $6,930.63: total, $465,442.40. The expenditures had been $452,168.66. The debt of the board was $31,052.22, against $44,323.96 at the close of the previous year. The committee reported that the gifts to the board for the year (including the contributions for the payment of the debt and the Centennial offerings) had exceeded those of any previous year since the withdrawal of the Presbyterians from cooperation with the society.

The thirtieth anniversary of the American Missionary Association was held in Fitchburg, Mass., October 25th and 26th. The Hon. E. S. Tobey presided. The report of the treasurer showed that the receipts for the year had been $264,709.03, and the expenditures $261,382.83. The receipts were $8,824.19 less, and the expenditures were $28,943.04 less, than for the preceding year. The expenditures during the year were distributed as follows: For the Southern work, $198,758.35; for the Chinese work, $5,633.80; for the Indian work, $1,542.67; for the foreign work, $12,164.05. In all, fiftysix churches had been gathered in the South through the agency of the Association, with which about 4,000 persons were connected. The number of admissions to membership dur

ing the year had been 665. A Congregational State Conference of twelve churches had been formed in Alabama. Seventy thousand pupils had been taught, in the course of the year, by teachers who had themselves, in many cases, enjoyed the instruction furnished by the higher institutions under the care of the Association. The dedication of Jubilee Hall of Fisk University, at Nashville, Tenn., was regarded as the most important event in the record of the Southern work of the year.

The

In the department of work among the Chinese of the Pacific coast, thirteen schools, sustained at an expense of $5,633.80, had given instruction during the year to 1,536 pupils, among whom more than one hundred had thrown aside idol-worship, and eighty-nine had become converts to Christianity. work among the Indians had been prosperous. The foreign work had been attended with disappointment. A work of exploration, with a view to selecting suitable points for missionstations in Africa, undertaken by the Association, had been interrupted, and for the time prevented, by the death of the Rev. E. P. Smith, to whom it had been committed. A suitable man was needed to supply Mr. Smith's place, and labor as an explorer and organizer. It was desired to send with him three colored missionaries and their wives. Mention was made in the report of the Committee on Church Work of the fact that missionary societies, having in view the prosecution of work in Africa, were being established among the colored people, and that theological students were in training for the same work. Committee on the Foreign Work reported, recommending the transfer of the mission in Jamaica to the Wesleyan, Baptist, and Episcopal missions, expressing sympathy with the endeavor to prosecute the work in Africa with the aid of the negro; and commending the project of finding some healthy localities in Africa, in which all the missionary agencies on that continent could be concentrated.

The

The twenty-third annual meeting of the Congregational Union of Ontario and Quebec was held at Montreal, beginning June 7th. The Rev. Daniel Macallum was elected chair man. The statistics were reported for sixteen months, from January, 1875, to May, 1876, as follows: Number of pastors in office, 53; of churches reported out of ninety really in operation, 81; of regular preaching-stations, 112; total attendance at all stations, 13,420; number of church-members, 5,338; number of Sunday-schools, 81; of scholars on the rolls of the same, 7,195; of scholars in 22 pastors' Bible-classes, 555; number of church-edifices, 72, with 19,495 sittings; number of parsonages, 20; total value of church property, $375,260; total debt on the same, $41,160; total amount raised for all objects, $102,658. The receipts of the Congregational College of British North America for the year ending May 31, 1876, had been $3,680, and the ex

penditures, $3,050. Fifteen students were in attendance. The capital stock of the Provident Fund Society amounted to $16,404. A resolution was adopted approving the action of the Centennial Commissioners in closing the Exhibition at Philadelphia on Sundays. A resolution was adopted

That this Union desires to reaffirm the great principle for which the Congregational churches in Britain and the colonies have so long and so earnestly contended, that there should be an entire separation of Church and state; that the civil ruler ought not to interfere in matters of conscience and religion, and that the teachers of religion should not interfere with the exercise of civil rights, beyond exhorting their hearers to perform their civil duties, as well as all others, conscientiously and in the fear of God; and while rejoicing that this principle is now advocated in this Province by some who were not in favor of it before, the members of this Union earnestly pray that the agitation upon this question which is now felt, and the means to assert and give effect to the principle of religious equality, may issue in the most perfect civil and religious liberty in all parts of the Dominion.

The annual meeting of the Congregational Union of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia was held in St. John, N. B., in September. The reports showed that there were connected with the Union 20 churches. Reports from 17 of these churches gave the total number of members at 1,186. The churches failing to report had about 170 members, making, it was estimated, the total number in all the churches about 1,350. The total church attendance was about 3,600. Eleven churches reported that repairs and improvements had been made upon them. Nine parsonages were reported. The total value of church property above indebtedness was about $100,000. There were 14 Congregational ministers in the two provinces, of whom 10 were connected with the Union. A resolution was adopted urging the discontinuance of the Sunday traffic on the rail

ways.

The Congregational Year-Book for 1876, published in January, gave statistics showing that there were in England and Wales 3,141 churches and "branch churches," and 972 preaching and evangelistic stations, making in all 4,113 places of worship. It was estimated that these churches, etc., provided sittings for 1,354,530 persons. The number of colonial and mission stations was 913, making in all 5,026 churches and preaching-places supported by British Congregationalists. The total amount expended by the county associations for missions in England and Wales during the year was £20,261; amount expended by the Home Missionary Society, £3,723. An expenditure of £1,712 had been made in Scotland for similar purposes. The other disbursements by the churches were: Through the London Missionary Society, £93,327; through the Colonial Missionary Society, £2,536; through the Irish Evangelical Society, £2,311; through the Congregational Union of Victoria, £1,611; through the Canadian Missionary Society and

VOL. XVI.-9 A

Indian Mission, £1,219; through the Evangelical Continental Society, £3,254: total, £129,957, exclusive of local expenditure for missions directly by Congregational churches. In the 27 colleges and institutes there were 397 Congregational students in the United Kingdom and the colonies, and about 500 natives qualifying themselves for evangelistic work in foreign lands.

The forty-sixth annual meeting of the Congregational Union of England and Wales was held in London, beginning May 1st. The report of the secretary stated that the conference on church finance had been held with satisfactory results. The principle of a financial board for the whole country, for the administration of the combined funds of the Congregational body, for the augmentation of ministerial incomes, and for home-missionary purposes, had been approved, and a meeting was appointed to be held, May 15th, to consider the mode of management. Action had been taken in respect to the supply of candidates for the ministry, but it had yet to be submitted to the county associations for approval. The Congregational lectures had been attended with marked success. The accounts of the Union showed that upward of £6,000 had been received from the sale of publications. The Rev. Dr. Aveling presided at the meetings of the Union. A paper was read by the Rev. C. Clemance on the subject of the "Evangelization of the Country," at the close of which the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That it be an instruction to the committee to invite the committees of the several county associations to make inquiries within their respective bounds in regard to the spiritual condition of the people, more particularly in villages and thinly-peofor a pure scriptural ministry of the gospel among pled districts, and the extent to which provision them is lacking, and to report, making suggestions as to the way in which the Congregational churches can best contribute to the want which may be shown to exist.

The subjects of "Organized Congregationalism," "University Reform," and "Temperance,

were also discussed. On the last subject a resolution was adopted, declaring―

the reputed increase of intemperance with That the Assembly regards the prevalence and grave concern; that it is grateful for the measure of success which has attended the efforts of those societies which specifically aim at the promotion of sobriety among the people, whether by inculcating self-refacilities for drunkenness; and expresses the hope straint and abstinence, or by seeking to diminish that some plan will be speedily discovered for the cooperation in the interests of temperance of those who hold divergent views in regard to the question of total abstinence and that of the restriction or prohibition of the liquor-traffic.

The anniversary of the Home Missionary Society was held in London, May 9th. The total increase in the receipts of the society for the year had been £4,802 188. 6d., and the total expenditure £4,492 88. 7d. The reports of the

missions showed that the work of the year had been prosperous.

The thirty-seventh autumnal meeting of the Congregational Union of England and Wales was held in Bradford, beginning October 9th. The Rev. Dr. Aveling presided. The most important work of the meeting was the consideration and adoption of the financial scheme which had been discussed at the meetings of the Union and of the local associations for several years. The object of this scheme was to provide a means by which the congregations and associations of the country could concentrate their efforts to aid and strengthen the weaker churches in the rural districts. Its most essential feature consisted in the institution of a representative council of finance, composed of delegates sent from the county associations and unions accepting the scheme, who should receive and appropriate the moneys which might be raised. The scheme, having been approved by the Union, was remitted to the county associations and unions for further consideration.

The eighty-second anniversary of the London Missionary Society was held in London, May 11th. Henry Lee, Esq., of Manchester, presided. The treasurer's report stated that the contributions to the society for general purposes had been £99,024 58. 11d., and the contributions and dividends for special objects £15,829 138., making a total of £114,853 188. 11d., or, with the balance of the preceding year added, £118,183 138. 6d. The report of the directors reviewed the work of the society as well as the work of Protestant missions in general, in India, Madagascar, China, the South Sea Islands, and Africa. The rearrangements and extended plans adopted by the board for the improvement of the Madagascar mission had nearly all been carried into effect during the year. A wider work had been taken up in the education of the young, and more systematic efforts had been adopted to supply suitable preachers to distant country congregations. The missionaries had gone to reside in the new centres of effort to which they had been appointed. Visits had been paid to new localities. A mission had been started in New Guinea and among the islands at the eastern end of that country. Mr. R. Arthington, of Leeds, had offered the society £5,000 for the purchase of a steamer and the establishment of a mission on one of the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The directors had accepted the offer, and had dispatched an agent to Zanzibar to make preliminary inquiries. They thought it desirable to raise an additional £5,000 before the work should be be

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£152,000, being an average of less than £4,006 per annum. It had now 313 churches, 250 preaching-stations, 232 pastors and evangelists, and three colleges within the British colonies. The receipts for the year had been £4,596 18s. 2d., and the expenses £4,022 138. 5d. In the amount of receipts were included legacies to the amount of £1,300. Three hundred pounds sterling had been granted to the Canadian Congregational Missionary Society, £264 108. to the Congregational College of British North America, and £205 to the Congregational Union and Mission in Victoria, Australia.

In Australasia the Congregationalists have organized "Congregational Unions" for each of the colonies of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasinania, and New Zealand; and they have two colleges, the Congregational College at Melbourne, Victoria, and Camden College, Sydney; and, conjointly with Presbyterians and Baptists, they support the Union College of South Australia.

In Africa there are Congregational Unions in Natal and Madagascar.

There are also a number of independent churches, not formally associated in unions, in the Cape Colony, in the West Indies, in British Guiana, in China, and in India.

The "Congregational Year-Book" enumerates the following churches and societies on the Continent of Europe as "partly Congregational: " I. In France.-1. The Union of Evangelical Churches, formed in 1849: It has 7 chapels in Paris, 41 churches in the provinces, and 8 stations; a general synod of the pastors and delegates of the churches is held every two years. 2. Independent churches, not in connection with the Evangelical Union: There were 9 churches of this class in 1876. 3. The Evangelical Society of France, which was established in 1833 for the diffusion of evangelical truth, without regard to differences of ecclesiastical polity: It supported in 1876 20 independent churches. II. In Belgium.— The Evangelical Society, or Belgian Christian Missionary Church, established in 1838: It had, in 1876, 15 churches and 6 schools. There is an institution for training evangelists at Nice, established in 1874. III. In Switzerland.—1. Geneva-a, the Evangelical Church; b, the Evangelical Society: The latter supports & faculty of theology at Geneva. 2. Vaud-the Free Churches (45 in 1876): They are united on a basis which, though Presbyterian in form, secures the independence of each. There is a faculty of theology at Lausanne. 3. Neufchâ tel-the "Evangelical Church, independent of the state:" It was founded in 1873, has a faculty of theology at Neufchâtel, and was in 1875 composed of 21 churches, with 41 pastors, and 3,001 male members. 4. Bern has 7 independent churches. IV. In Spain.-Nineteen churches had been formed up to 1876, of which 5 were in Madrid.

CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. The first session of the Forty-fourth Congress* com

The following is a list of members at the first session of the Forty-fourth Congress.

SENATE.

Alabama-George Goldthwaite, George E. Spencer.
Arkansas-Powell Clayton, Stephen W. Dorsey.
California-Aaron A. Sargent, Newton Booth.
Connecticut James E. English,*+ William W. Eaton,
Delaware-Eli Saulsbury, Thomas F. Bayard.
Florida-Simon B. Conover, Charles A. Jones.*
Georgia-Thomas M. Norwood, John B. Gordon.
Illinois John A. Logan, Richard J. Oglesby.
Indiana Oliver P. Morton, Joseph E. McDonald.*
Iowa-George G. Wright, William B. Allison.
Kansas-James M. Harvey, John J. Ingalls.
Kentucky-John W. Stevenson, Thomas C. McCreery.
Louisiana-J. Rodman West, (Vacancy).
Maine-Lot M. Morrill, Hannibal Hamlin.
Maryland-George R. Dennis, William Pinkney Whyte.*
Massachusetts-George S. Boutwell, Henry L. Dawes.*
Michigan-Thomas W. Ferry, Isaac P. Christiancy *
Minnesota-William Windom, Samuel J. R. McMillan.*
Mississippi-James L. Alcorn, Branch K. Bruce.*
Missouri-Lewis V. Bogy, Francis M. Cockrell.*
Nebraska--Phineas W. Hitchcock, Algernon S. Paddock.*
Nevada-John P. Jones, William Sharon.*

New Hampshire-Aaron H. Cragin, Bainbridge Wadleigh. New Jersey-Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Theodore F. Randolph.*

New York-Roscoe Conkling, Francis Kernan.* North Carolina-Matthew W. Ranson, Augustus S. Merrimon.

Orio John Sherman, Allen G. Thurman.
Oregon-James K. Kelly, John H. Mitchell.
Pennsylvania-Simon Cameron, William A. Wallace."
Rhode Island-Henry B. Anthony, Ambrose E. Burnside.*
South Carolina-Thomas J. Robertson, John J. Patterson.
Tennessee-Henry Cooper, David M. Key.*†
Tezas-Morgan Č. Hamilton, S. B. Maxey.*
Vermont-Justin S. Morrill, George F. Edmunds.
Virginia-John W. Johnston, Robert E. Withers.*
West Virginia-Henry G. Davis, Allen T. Coperton.*
Wisconsin-Timothy Ŏ. Howe, Angus Cameron.*

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Florida-Josiah T. Walls, William J. Purman. Georgia Julian Hartridge, William E. Smith, Philip Cook, Henry R. Harris, Milton A. Candler, James H. Blount, WilHam H. Felton, Alexander H. Stephens, Benjamin H. Hill.

Illinois-Bernard G. Caulfield, Carter H. Harrison, Charles B. Farwell, Stephen A. Hurlbut, Horatio C. Burchard, Thomas J. Henderson, Alexander Campbell, Greenbury L. Fort, Richard H. Whiting, John C. Bagby, Scott Wike, William M. Springer, Adlai E. Stevenson, Joseph G. Cannon, John R. Eden, William A. J. Sparks, William R. Morrison, William Hartzell, William B. Anderson.

Indiana-Benoni S. Fuller, James D. Williams, Michael C. Kerr, Jeptha D. New, William S. Holman, Milton S. Robinson, Franklin Landers, Morton C. Hunter, Thomas J. Cason, Wilham S. Haymond, James L. Evans, Andrew H. Hamilton, John H. Baker.

Iowa-George W. McCrary, John Q. Tufts, Lucien L. Ainsworth, Henry O. Pratt, James Wilson, Ezekiel S. Sampson, John A. Kasson, James W. McDill, Addison Oliver.

Kansas-William A. Phillips, John R. Goodwin, William R. Brown.

Kentucky-Andrew R. Boone, John Young Brown, Charles W. Milliken, J. Proctor Knott, Edward Y. Parsons, Thomas L Jones, Joseph C. S. Blackburn, Milton J. Durham, John D. White, John B. Clarke.

Louisiana-Randall L. Gibson, E. John Ellis, Chester B. Darrall, William M. Levy, Frank Morey, Charles E. Nash. Maine-John H. Burleigh, William P. Frye, James G. Blaine, Harris M. Plaisted, Eugene Hale.

Maryland-Philip F. Thomas, Charles B. Roberts, William J. O'Brien, Thomas Swann, Eli J. Henkle, William Walsh. New members. † Appointed by the Governor to fill vacancy. Died January 29, 1876, and succeeded by John T. Walt

menced at Washington, on December 6, 1875. The President pro tempore, Thomas W. Ferry, Massachusetts-William W. Crapo, Benjamin W. Harris, Henry L. Pierce, Rufus S. Frost, Nathaniel P. Banks, Charles P. Thompson, John K. Tarbox, William Wirt Warren, George F. Hoar, Julius H. Seelye, Chester W. Chapin.

Michigan-Alpheus S. Williams, Henry Waldron, George Willard, Allen Potter, William B. Williams, George H. Durand, Omar D. Conger, Nathan B. Bradley, Jay A. Hubbell.

Minnesota-Mark H. Dunnell, Horace B. Strait, William S.

King.

Mississippi-Lucius Q. C. Lamar, G. Wiley Wells, Hernando D. Money, Otho R. Singleton, Charles E. Hooker, John R. Lynch.

Missouri-Edward C. Kehr, Erastus Wells, William H. Stone, Robert A. Hatcher, Richard P. Bland, Charles H. Morgan, John F. Philips, Benjamin J. Franklin, David Res, Rezin A. De Bolt, John B. Clark, Jr., John M. Glover, Aylett H. Buckner.

Nebraska-Lorenzo Crounse. Nevada-William Woodburn.

New Hampshire-Frank Jones, Samuel N. Bell, Henry W. Blair.

New Jersey-Clement H. Sinnickson, Samuel A. Dobbins, Miles Ross, Robert Hamilton, Augustus W. Cutler, Frederick H. Teese, Augustus A. Hardenbergh.

New York-Henry B. Metcalfe, John G. Schumaker, Simeon B. Chittenden, Archibald M. Bliss, Edwin R. Meade, Samuel S. Cox, Smith Ely, Jr., Elijah Ward, Fernando Wood, Abram S. Hewitt, Benjamin A. Willis, N. Holmes Odell, John O. Whitehouse, George M. Beebe, John H. Bagley, Jr., Charles H. Adams, Martin I. Townsend, Andrew Williams, William A. Wheeler, Henry H. Hathorne, Samuel F. Miller, George A. Bagley, Scott Lord, William H. Baker, Elias W. Leavenworth, Clinton D. MacDougall, Elbridge G. Lapham, Thomas C. Platt, Charles C. B. Walker, John M. Davy, George G. Hoskins, Lyman K. Bass, (Vacancy).

North Carolina-Jesse J. Yeates, John A. Hyman, Alfred M. Waddell, Joseph J. Davis, Alfred M. Scales, Thomas S. Ashe, William M. Robbins, Robert B. Vance.

Ohio-Milton Sayler, Henry B. Banning, John S. Savage, John A. McMahon, Americus V. Rice, Frank H. Hurd, Lawrence T. Neal, William Lawrence, Early F. Poppleton, Charles Foster, John L. Vance, Ansel T. Walling, Milton I. Southard, Jacob P. Cowan, Nelson H. Van Vorhes, Lorenzo Danford, Laurin D. Woodworth, James Monroe, James A. Garfield, Henry B. Payne.

Oregon-Lafayette Lane.

Pennsylvania-Chapman Freeman, Charles O'Neill, Samuel J. Randall, William D. Kelley, John Robbins, Washington Townsend, Alan Wood, Jr., Heister Clymer, A. Herr Smith, William Mutchler, Francis D. Collins, Winthrop W. Ketchum, James B. Reilly, John B. Packer, Joseph Powell, Sobieski Ross, John Reilly, William S. Stenger, Levi Maish, Levi A. Mackey, Jacob Turney, James H. Hopkins, Alexander G. Cochrane, John W. Wallace, George A. Jenks, James Sheakley, Albert G. Egbert.

Rhode Island-Benjamin T. Eames, Latimer W. Ballou, South Carolina-Joseph H. Rainey, Edward W. M. Mackey, Solomon L. Hoge, Alexander S. Wallace, Robert Smalls.

Tennessee-William McFarland, Jacob M. Thornburgh, George C. Dibrell, H. Y. Riddle, John M. Bright, John F. House, Washington C. Whitthorne, John D. C. Atkins, William P. Caldwell, H. Casey Young.

Texas-John H. Reagan, David B. Culberson, James W. Throckmorton, Roger Q. Mills, John Hancock, Gustave Schleicher.

Vermont-Charles H. Joyce, Dudley C. Denison, George W. Hendee.

Virginia-Beverly B. Douglas, John Goode, Jr., Gilbert C. Walker, William H. H. Stowell, George C. Cobell, John Randolph Tucker, John T. Harris, Eppa Hunton, William Terry. West Virginia-Benjamin Wilson, Charles J. Faulkner, Frank Hereford.

Wisconsin-Charles G. Williams, Lucien B. Caswell, Henry 8. Magoon, William Pitt Lynde, Samuel D. Burchard, Alanson M. Kimball, Jeremiah M. Rusk, George W. Cate.

DELEGATES FROM TERRITORIES.
Arizona-Hiram S. Stevens.
Colorado-Thomas M. Patterson.
Dakota-Jefferson P. Kidder.
Idaho-Thomas W. Bennett.t
Montana-Martin Maginnis.
New Mexico-Stephen B. Elkins.
Utah-George Q. Cannon.
Washington-Orange Jacobs.
Wyoming-William R. Steele.

*Seat given to Josiah G. Abbott, July 14, 1876.
+ Seat given to Stephen S. Fenn, June 23, 1876.

of Michigan, called the Senate to order. In the House Michael C. Kerr was elected Speaker, receiving 173 votes, and James G. Blaine 106, with three scattering votes. (For the President's Message, see PUBLIC DOCUMENTS in ANNUAL CYCLOPÆDIA, 1875, or vol. xv.)

In the Senate, on December 8, 1875, Mr. Morton, of Indiana, proposed the following amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which was read twice, and referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections:

I. The President and Vice-President shall be elected by the direct vote of the people in the manner following: Each State shall be divided into districts, equal in number to the number of Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress, to be composed of contiguous territory, and to be as nearly equal in population as may be; and the person having the highest number of votes in each district for President shall receive the vote of that district, which shall count one presidential vote. II. The person having the highest number of votes for President in a State shall receive two presidential votes from the State at large.

III. The person having the highest number of presidential votes in the United States shall be Pres

ident.

IV. If two persons have the same number of votes in any State, it being the highest number, they shall receive each one presidential vote from the State at large; and if more than two persons shall have each the same number of votes in any State, it being the highest number, no presidential vote shall be counted from the State at large. If more persons than one shall have the same number of votes, it being the highest number in any district, no presidential vote shall be counted from that district.

V. The foregoing provisions shall apply to the election of Vice-President.

VI. The Congress shall have power to provide for holding and conducting the elections of President and Vice-President, and to establish tribunals for the decision of such elections as may be contested.

VII. The States shall be divided into districts by the Legislatures thereof, but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter the same.

In the Senate, on January 31, Mr. Wright, of Iowa, introduced the following joint resolution to amend the Constitution of the United States, which was referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections:

After the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six the President and Vice-President of the United States shall be elected by a direct vote of the people of the several States, and the electors in each State shall have the same qualifications as the electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.

The person receiving the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, and the person receiving the greatest number of votes for Vice-President shall be the Vice-President; but if two or more persons shall each receive an equal and the greatest number of votes for President, then the House of Representatives shall, from such persons, immediately choose the President; and if two or more persons shall each receive an equal and the greatest number of votes for Vice-President, then the Senate shall, from such persons, immediately choose the Vice-President. In such elections, each House shall vote viva voce, and each member shall have one vote; and the person receiving a majority of the votes cast shall be elected; and, in case of a tie, the presiding officer shall determine it.

The election for President and Vice-President shall be held at the time now provided by law for

choosing the electors of such officers, but Congress may prescribe a different time, which shall be the the manner of holding and conducting such elecsame in all the States; and Congress shall prescribe tion, and making the returns thereof; and, in case of failure so to do, that duty shall devolve, in the order named, first, on the President of the United States; second, on the Legislature of each State utive of each State within that State. within that State; and, third, upon the chief Exec

The returns shall be canvassed at the time and in the manner now provided, or which may be hereafter provided, by the joint rules of the two Houses, or by law, by and in the presence of both Houses of Congress, who shall be the judges (each House voting separately) of the returns and election; but in case the two Houses shall not agree, then the matter of disagreement shall be referred to the Supreme Court of the United States, which shall forthwith decide the same, and such decision shall be final.

On the same day Mr. Wright also introduced the following joint resolution to amend the Constitution:

The Senate of the United States shall be com

posed of two members from each State, who shall hereafter be elected by a direct vote of the people thereof for six years; and the electors in each State shall have the same qualifications as the electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature; and holding the election and canvassing the vote. but Congress may, by law, provide for conducting

In the Senate, on March 22d, Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, introduced the following joint resolution to amend the Constitution of the United States. It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

ARTICLE XII. That the twelfth article of the amendments of the Constitution be, and the same is hereby, abrogated, and in the place thereof the following be, and the same is hereby, ordained and established, namely:

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and for all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each; which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of Government of the United States, directed to the presiding justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. And the Supreme Court, at a time and place to be fixed by law, shall publicly open all the certificates and count the votes, and the person having the greatest number of votes for President, considered by the court to have been lawfully given and certified, shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors lawfully appointed; and if no person have such majority, the state of the votes shall be immediately certified to the House of Representatives, and then, from the persons having the highest number, not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by a viva voce vote, the President; but the vote shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; and if the votes of any State shall not show a majority for any one candidate, the vote of such State shall not be reckoned. A quorum of the House of Representatives for the purpose of such election shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice; and if, on the first vote, there shall be a failure to elect, further

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