.JN^ 'vi*^i^^ i "^ ;g^r o* r AJ DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure %gom Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from Dul7 — -^ V? o ^ JOURNAL. The Convention convened at the Capitol in the city of Jackson, on Monday the seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- one, .and of the iiidcpcudencQ of the United States of America tlie eighty-fifth, in pursuance of an act of the Legislature of said State entitled an act to provide for a Convention of f1io T^eoplc of the State of Mississippi. MONDAY, January, 7th, 1S6L At twelve o clock M., Mr, Gholson called the Convention to order, and on liis motion, 11. T. Ellett was called to the Chair. The Rev. C. K. Marshall opened the Convention with prayer as follows : Almighty and Everlasting God, we come into Thy presence on this solemn occasion, so freighted with the interests of all wehold dear as a people — so momentous in high pur- poses, and holy resolves— most humbly and earnestly to implore Tiice to look down upon us in compassion and mercy, vouchsafe to these Thy servants assembled in General Con- vention, the guidance and support of Thy Holy Spirit. This is a day of sore trial to Patriots and Christians, and we are gathered together here to devise measures of govern- ment for our protection and well-being, and we fear to trusi the issues of the conflict on the formation of our plans to mere human wisdom and prudence. We, therefore, devoutly look up to Thee, praying tiiat Thy Fatherly blessing may so inspire this body tliat by thoir action and labours the cause of liberty, religion, agriculture, commerce, government, our domestic peace and 'general prosperity, may ])e promoted and maintained. And grant, Oh! God, that in the performance of their weighty obligations, these Thy servants may consu- mate such measures as shall result in the establishment of C— 2. the jirinciitle.s of justice, equity aiitl Ijrotheily concord — lliat national strifes, railinur controversies, bittoi- recriminations and animosifios nuiy be Ituuislied fioni the land, while the vital doctrines ol' ciiuality. seltVovernnioit and constitutional freedom .shall be niaintninod inviolable and handod down to jiosterity as a Heaven-orchiined le^rucy. [Thuu, Oh! God. has seen the malifrn ami miirhly acrencic- which many of the sister States of this li'reat national lamily have for years past employed for our aiuioyancc. reproach and overthrow, as equals in the Confederated L'ikju : and how they have pursued the purpose of deprivinu' us of ouj- just rights, and destroying in our midst the institution which Thy Providence has solemnly bound iv to uphold, defend and proteci. We have cried. Oh! ]j(M-d. to 'riif".'. atzainst wrong and' discord, fanaticisu) and fratricidal ^trifc: and we now beseocli ^J'lioe. hear the voice of our c()ni|»faint and grant us Thy favor/ Endue the hearts and understandings of the members of tins Convention with wisdom from aliove : teach them as the Princes of Tiiy people, tlu* pi'ecejjts of Thy Law. and help them in this momentous r-risis to lo(jk up to 'i'liee and rely on Thy blessing, that they nuiy lay aside all passion, preju- dice and unkindness. and in calmness, and self-forgetfulness discharge the duties imposed by their higli otfice. May they be so guided by Thee, that the issue of their labors sitaJl result in mea.-^ures of iirosjicrity. jiublic tranijuility and domestic repose, and. if as a State and a ])eoplc we shall again resume the concessions which bind us to-day to the Federal Union, and in new, untried relations, go fortli in pursuit of the rights and privileges lost in the Union — Gf)d of our Fathers leave us not to ourselves — be Thou our Leader, and our defense — raise u]) for us great and worthy men to utter tlie words of Thy providential Teaching — shield us from every menacing danger — give unity of sentiment and liarmony of action to all thepieoitle — deliver us from the j)0wer of dur enemies, and from the sword of our brethren abroad. But if their sword be drawn against us, Oh! God of .Tustice and Mercy. •b(^ to us a very present help in the dav of conflict, and victoi-ious in arms we will ascribe the glory of our (lelivcrance to Thy Great Xame. And. n(i\\. jbnivenly Father, we conimend to Thy sy)ecial caio and lile.^sing, the welfarf and interests of the several nationalities, of oui-. own. and distan! lands. Bring the day of general peace — stay the hand that seeks the blood of a brother— let truth and charity prevail that Thy name may i ^ ■ , bo glorified in all tlie cartli. Forgive all our sins; let tlieni not be visited retriljutivoly on our lionios, or our country. Make us Thy people and deliver us from all evil — and may we never have occasion to regret the steps avc arc about to take in the great work tliat now lies before us. Tliese favors, and blessings, we humbly implore in the name, and througli the merits of our Lord .lesus Clirist. aVmen! On motion, Mr. H. H. Tison was u]»poiiited Secretary pro tern. The roll of counties was then called. The folhnviug dolegates came forward and registered their names : Ad(ims (\tiiitlii — A. K. Farrur. .1. Winchester. Attalo—Yj. a.' >»5anfi.'rs. .1. W. ^^^..)d. AmUe—Vi. W. Ilur-l. Bolivar— M. W. McGeliec. Carroll— .^. Z. George, W. Booth. ('h(Lhor7ie—H. T. Ellett. Coahoma — J. L. Alcorn. Copiah — P. S. Catchinsr, B. King. Clarke— S. H. Tcrral. '^ Choctaw— ^V. V. Braiitlev, W. H. Witty. J. IT. Edwards Chid-asair-,]. A. Orr, C. B. Baldwin. * Covington — A. C. Powell. Calhoun — AV. A. Sunnier, M. D, L. Stephens. DcSof<->—J. R. Chalmers. S. J). Johnston, T. Lewers. FranMin—D. H. Parkcj-. Green — T. J. Roberts. Hinds— W. P. Ilari-is. W. P. Anderson, W. B. Smart. Holmes — J. ]\r. Dyer. W. L. Keirn. Harrison — I). C. Glenn. Hayuvck — J. R, r>eason. hsaqnena — A. C. fiibson. Itawamba— 1\. 0. Reone. A. B. Bullard, W.H. ll.Tison, M. C. Cummings. Jasper — 0. C. Dease. Jackson — A. E. Lewis. Jefferson . Jone^^- — J. FT. Powell. Kemper— 0. Y. Xeely. T. B. Woods. Lawrence — W. Gwin. LownrJes—W. S. Barrv, G. R. Clayton. Leake~W. B. Colbert. Lauderdale — J. B. Ramsey. F. C. Semmes. C-3 6 Lnfaii. J. Gholsou, F. M. Rogers. Marion — IL Maypon. Noxuhie — Lracl Wel.^li. Neshoba — 1). M. Backstrom. Neirfon — M. M. Kcitli. OJclihhJia—T. C. Booktor. Pcrr//—\\ J. Mycr.-^. Plfa—.L M. XcL^on. " i Panda— .h B. Fiscr, B.' F. McGekcc. • Pontotoc— C. I). Fontaine. J. B. Herring, II. R. Miller, R. AV. Floumoy. Ran/an — J. J. Thornton, AV. Denson. Sunflotn r — E. V. Jones. Simpson — W. J. Dougla?;. SrnUli — W. Tliomjtson. Sr.,tt--C. W. Taylor. Tallahatchie— X . Pat tcr-^on . Tis/tomincrn—X. E. Reynold^, W. W. Bond?. T. T\ Young, J.A.Blair. Tunica — A. iSIiller. Tippah— 0. Davis. J. H. Berry, J. S. Dayis, B. B. Wriglit. Washington . Wilkinson— \. C. Holt. Wayne — W. J. Eckford. .» Warren— W. Brooke, T. A. Marshall. Winston — J. -Kennedy. W. S. Boiling. Yallolmsha—F. M. Aldridge, W. R. Barksdale. Fr/coo — H. VauLdian, G. B. Wilkinson. On motion of ^Ir. Gholson tlie Convention proceeded to the olcction of a Pre-'idont liy Imllot. The Chaii-man aitpointcH A[os«rs. Anderson, Berry and Nelson, to act as tellors. Upon the first "ballot Mr. W. S. Barry received 27 votes, •■ S.J. Gholsoi, • 10 •' •• H. T. EUott 12 " • n. R. Miller 12 • '• A. M. Claytoii 10 " D. C. Glenn li " " W. P. T-Tnrric 3 Mr. J. L. Alcorn " 17 votes, ■" J. S. Ycrger '• 1 " " W. Brooke - 2 " '• G. R. Clayton • 1 ■ Whole nnmber of votes cast 1)7 Necessary to a choice 40 " No one having received a majority of the whole number east, the Convention proceeded to a second ballot, which resulted as follows : Upon tlie second ballot Mr. W. S. Barry received 41 votes, " Alcorn ' 13 " " A.M. Clayton • 8 - - Ellett ' # ■• 8 •' '• Gholson •• 9 -^ '' H. R. Miller - 14 '• " Ycrger ■ 1 " Clapp 1 •' • " Harris 1 '• " Glenn ' 1 ' >• Whole number of votes cast 97 '• Necessary to a choice 49 " No one having received a majority of all the votes cast, the Convention proceeded to a tliird Ijallot : W. S. Barry received 58 votes, J. L. Alcorn " .14 " A."M. Clayton " 1 '• H. T. Ellett '' 5 " H. R. Miller '■ 12 '' S. J. Gholson •■ 6 " S. Benton 1 " Whole number of votes cast 97 " Necessary to a clioicc 49 " Mr. Barry having received a majority of the whole num- ber of votes cast, was declared President of the Convention. The Chairman appointed ]\ressrs. Alcorn and Miller to conduct him to the Chair. ' Mr. Barry on taking liis teat addressed the Convention. On motion of Mr. Welsh, the Convention proceeded to tlie election of Secretary, liy ballot. Nominations being in order, Mr. Lamar nominated F. A. Pope, of Holmes county. • C— 4 FIRST BALLOT. F. A. Pope received 45 votes, B. F. Liddell • 36 " Dozier ■ 9 " A. Rowc ■' 7 Whole number of votes cast 97 " Necessary to a choice 49 " No one receiving a majority of all the votes cast, the Convention i)rocecd to second ballot, with tlie following result : SECOND BALLOT. F. A. Pope received 60 votes, Liddell " 36 " Dozier " 1 " Howe " 1 " (( Whole number of votes cast 98 " Necessary to a choice 50 " Mr. Pope having received a majority of all the votes, was declared to be elected Secretary of the Convention. On motion of Mr. Harris, the Convention proceeded to the election of a Door-Keeper. Mr. Harris nominated S. Pool. Mr. Ellctt nominated J. W. Clingan. Mr. Alcorn nominated W. M. Israel. FIRST BALLOT. Mr. Pool received 43 votes, " Clingan " 15 " " Israel " 36 " " Denson " -. 1 " Whole number of votes cast 95 " Necessary to a choice 48 " No one having received a majority, Mr. Ellett moved that Mr. Pool Ije elected by acclamation, which was adopted and Mr. Pool declared duly elected Door-Keeper of the Con- vention. On motion of Mr. Welsh, the Convention proceeded to the election of a Sargeant-at-Arms. Mr. Walter nominated J. J. DenBon, of Hinds. 9 Mr. Clapp nominated B. F. Liddcll, of Carroll. Mr. Dyer nominated A. V. Rowe, of Holme?. Mr. Dease nominated Mr. Dozicr, of Jasper. Mr. Smart nominated Mr. Farish, of Hinds. Mr. Welch nominated W. Ivy Westbrook, of Noxubee. FIRST BALLOT. Denson received 35 votes, Westbrook " 42 " Farish " 13 " Rucker " 3 " Whole number of votes cast 93 " Necessary to a choice 47 " No one receiving a majority, Mr. Welsh moved that Mr. Westbrook be elected by acclamation, which was adopted, and Mr. Westbrook declared duly elected Seargcant-at- Arms of the Convention. Mr. Ellett offered the followi]ig resolutions, Avhich were adopted, to-wit : Resolved, That the President be authorized to appoint two pages, and to remove them at his pleasure. Resolved, That the Rules of the House of Representatives of the State be adopted, so far as applicable, for the gov- ermnent of this Convention. Mr. Lamar introduced the following resolution : Resolved, That a connnittcc of fifteen be appointed by the President with instructions to prepare and report as speedih' as ])Ossible, an ordinance jnoviding for the with- drawal of the State of Mississippi from the present Federal Union, with a view to the establishment of a new Confeder- acy, to be composed of the seceding States. Mr. Lamar moved the previous question, which being sustained, The question was then taken on the adoption of the resolution and decided in the affirmative. On motion of Mr. Welsh, Resolved, That the Door-Keeper furnish each member with a copy of the Rules of the House of Representatives. Mr. Clayton of Lowndes, ofiered the following resolution; wliich was adopted : Resolved, Tliat a connnittee consisting of three be ap- pointed by the President to wait on His Excellency the Governor of the State and inform him of the organization C— 5 10 ul" the Convention, and ascertain from him whether any communications have been received in liis department w;hich lie deems necassary to bring before tlie Convcution, Tlie Pi"esident appointed on t^aid eonmiittce the following crentlcmen. to-wit : G, R. Clayton, A. M. Clayton and J. L. Alcorn. On motion of Mr. O. Davis. The Convention adjourned Iniiil to-iuorrow mornins' at 10 o'clock. TUESDAY, JvxLTAiiTSTH, ISlU. The Convention met pursuant to adjournment. Prayer by the Rev. Mi-. Harrington. The minutes of the proceeding day were read and adopted. Mr. Chalmers oflcrcd the followmg resolution, which was adopted : Ik'solved, That the President of tlie Convention be authorized to grant admission to this Hall to such of the Reporters of the ]Kiblic Press a.-^ \\q may deem fit. and to j-emove the same at his pleasure, until it should be otlicrwisc o]-dered by the Convention. On motion of Mr, Rogers, Bc.'iolved, That a conunittee consisting of live be appojiited on Elections and that the certificates of membershiji of this Conventiou be referred to said committee. The i'residcnt ai)pointed as said eonmiittce, Messrs. Rogers, Wilkinson, Yerger, Reynolds and Bookter. On motion of ]\Ir. Clayton of Marshall, lienolvcd, That the Couimissioner from the State of South Carolina, as well as the Commissioners from g-ny other States be invited to scats on this floor. Mr. Walter of Marshall, oflcrcd the follow;ii§ : BfSfjkicd, That a committee of — ^members bo a[tp(jinted by the President to re])ortto this Convention an amendment to the Constitution of the State, authorizing it to borrow money for the jiurjto.se of military defense, and pledge? 'the faith of the State ibr the repayment of the Joan, or to report Buch other meafin'-'>-;v- (]w.,.o„,r,,;H„..„,., .- ,i.w,,,, .,,i,;_.,i.]p for this purpose. 11 Mr. Wright moved to amend by adding "together with the existing means for the defense of the iState." Mr. Glcmi offered the following substitute for the fore- going reRolution and amendment, whicli wai^ accepted and adopted : Bcsolvcd, That the' following Standing Ciinnnittees, each to be compoFcd of seven mcml)erF!. l>e appointed by the President, to-wit : 1st. A Committee on Citizenship in Mississippi. ' 2d. A Committee 'on Federnl Jnrisdiotin- <^-v' ri(»;>(.Tty in the b^tatc of Mii^sissipi)i. 3d. A Connnittec on Postal Alfairs. 4th. A Committee on the State Constitiitioii. oth. A Committee on Militaiy and Xaval Affairs. l)th. A Connnittee on the formation of a Southern Con- federacy : And that said committees inquire into the matters proper- ly pertaining and to report thereon by ordinance or other- Avise. V The President then announced the names of the Conuuittce of Fifteen to report an Ordinance of Secession under the resolution offered by Mr. Lamar on the first day. The committee consists of the following members : L. Q. C. Lamar. W. P. Harris. S. J. Gholsoii. .1. L. Alcorn, H. T. Ellctt, W. Brooke. H. H. Miller, J. A. Blair, A. M. Clayton, Alfred Holt, J. Z. George, E. H. Saunders, Benj. King, G. R. Clayton. Orlando Davis. Mr. Clayton of Lowndes, from the special committee of three made the following report : The committee appointed under resolution of the Conven- tion to Avait upon his Excellency the Governor and inform him of its organization and ascertain if any communications have l)een received by him which he considers necessary and proper to lay before this body have performed that duty and report they received answpr from the Governor that com- niunications had been received which he would place before the Convention in due time. Mr. Harris offered tlie following resolution : Hesolvcd, That the Poor-Keejier be instructed to furnisli each member of the Convention with one copy of the Daily Mississippian during the session. Mr. Mar.^hall moved to amend by adding "and also the Vicksburg Whig." The amendment was lopt. The resolutiou as originally read was adopted. C— G 12 On motiou of Mr. Rogers. Resolved, That the Judges of the Higli Court of Errors and Appeal.s, and the Judges of the Circuit Courts of this State be invited to seats within the l»ar of this Convention. On motion of Mr. Ahlridi:*'. Resolved. Thai a connnitUr of thi'i-c \k' a)»}KiintO(l to notify liie Connuis.sioners of various States who may attcnil this Convention of the iia.f. into secret session an<1 aeni(]ofl in the affirmative. EVKXIXO SEStSIOX. HALF-P.\ST 4 o'CLOCK. Convention met pursuantio adjournmtu.- On motion of Mr. Rogers, Bcsolvrd. That a connnittee ol hve l.e apponitcd a> a Connselon l)ehalf of this Convention to coiifcr wiUi his Excellency the Governcn- upon such grave matters as lie ma> submit for tl^eir consideration. u 14 Tm,. Pi-esident appointed as s^aid coniniittcc,- Messrs. loom, Clayton of lyiarshall, Ilairip and Holt. -Ml. liuiiiar from the Committee of Fifteen to whom was referred thef^ul>jeotof jireparinp; the Ordinance of Secession reported ''an Ordinance to dissolve the Union between- the State of ^Iis?i?.sippi and the States nnited Avith her under the compact entitled (he "Constitutio]i of tlie United States." with the recommendation that it do pass. Mr. Lamar moved that the report he received and agreed to. A divisioi* being called for. The report was received. Mr. Yerger offered an amendment by way of substitute entitled "an Ordinance ]»roviding for tlie inial adjustment of all difficulties between the free and slave States of the United States l»y securing fm'ther Constitutional guarantees Avithin the present Union." The question was taken on the adoption of the suljstitute and decided in the negative l)y Veas and nays as follows : Ayes. — Messrs. Brooke, Blair, Bonds, J5ullard, Cummings, Farrar, Flournoy, Herring. Hurst, Marshall, McGehee of Bolivar. Myers, Parker, Reynolds, Sanders, Sunnier. Stevens. Thornton, Winchester, Yergcr, Young — 21. Nays. — Mr. President, Messrs. Alcorn, Anderson, Ald- ridge, Barksdale, Baldwin, Backstrom, Booth. Brantly.. Benton, Beene, Berry, Boling, Bookter, Clayton of Marsliall, Clayton of LoAvudes, Catching, Chalmers, Colljcrt, Clapp, O. Davis, J. S. Davis, Dease, Denson, Douglas, Dyer, Deason, Eckford. Edwards, Ellett, Fizer, Fontaine, George. Glenn, Gibson, Gholson, Gwin, Harris, Hill. Holt, Isom, Johnston of DeSoto, .Johnston of Jefierson, Jones, Kcirn. Keith, Kennedy, King, Lea, Lamar, Lowers, Lewis, Mayson, McGeliee of Panola, Miller of Pontotoc. Miller of Tunica, Xeely, Nelson, Orr, Pattison, Powell '^f Coving-ton, Powell of Jooes, Bamsey, RobertiB, RuiTgers, Semmes, Smart, Terral, Tison. Taylor, Thompson, A^aughan, Walter, Welsh, Witty, Wilkinson, Woods, Wright— 78; ^ >^^^;ZZ£i^ S> Ordinance of Scce..ion ™1nMTf^^A'''.'-';'''!';'''*'"''="'-'i'''«'"''feOrdinanceRliallnot ?ro into cffcct-until nt least the States of Alabama Geoi-o-ia nlits^eih"?"" ^"?" Z'"-™?" "-"■ >-^pocti;rc''on; reTumrtCt^eSgX^ '™'" *"' ^^'^-l Union, and 15 The vote being taken by ayes and nay?, tlic amendment was lost by the following vote : Ayes.— Messrs. Alcorn, Beenc, Bonds, Bullard, Cummings, Dcnson, Over. Farrar, Herring, llurst, Johnston of DcSoto, McGehee of Bolivar, McGchee of Panola, Myers, Tarker, Powell of Jones, Reynolds, Santlers, Sumner, Stevens, Tison, Thornton, Winchester, Yerger, Young— 25. N^^YS.— Mr. President, Messrs, Anderson. Aldridge, Barksdale, Baldwin, Backstrom, Booth, Brantley, Brooke, Benton, Blair, Berry, Boling, Bookter, Clayton of :Mars^ll, Clayton of Lowndes, Catching, Chalnicr,-;. Colbert, Clapp, 0. i)avis, J. S. Davis, Dease, Douglas, Deason, Eckford, Edwards, Ellett, Fizcr, Flournoy, Fontaine, (ieorge, Glenn, Gibson, Gholson, Gwin, Harris, Hill, Holt, Isom, Jolmston of. Jefferson, Jones, Keirn. Keith, Keiuicdy, Kuig, Lea, Lamar, Lewers, Lewis, IVlarshall, May son, Miller of Pontotoc, Miller of Tunica, Ncely, Xelson, Orr, Pattison, Powell ot Covington, Ramsev, Roljerts, Rogers, Semmes. Smart, Terra! , Tavlor, Tliompson, A'anghan, Walter, Welsh, Witty, Wni- chcster, Wilkinson. Woods, Wright— 7-1. Mr. Brooke offered the following, amendment : Provided that this Ordinance shall not take, effect until the same shall have been ratified by the qualified electors of the State and to this end an election shall be held at the various election jirecincts of the State on the second Monday of February 18G1, under the rules and regulations now in force ill regard to the election of State ofilcers. Those voting for the Ordinance shall endorse on their tickets the word ^'ratification" and those voting against it the words "no ratification." Tlie Governor shall issue writs of election to the several Sherills of the State and a ]}roclamation didy notifying tlic pcojde of the holding of said election, ' The vote being taken liy ayes and nays, the amendment was lost by the following vote : Ayes.— Messrs. Alcorn, Aldridge, Barksdale, Brooke, Beene. Blair, Bonds, BuUard, Cummings, Dcnson, Farrar.^ Flournoy. Herrina-, ILirst, Isom, Marshall, McGehee of Bolivar, Myers, Parker. Powell of Jones, Reynolds, Sanders. Sumner, Stevens. Tismi. Thornton. Winchester, Yerger,' Ynnno-— 20. Nays. — y\r. Presido'iil. Mo.-sr-s. Anderson. Baldwin, liackstnnn. Uofitli. Brantlov, Benton, Berry, Bolinir, Booktor. Clayton ol" -Mai'f?hall, Clayton of Lownde,'*. (Patchings. (Ujalmei-s, Colbert. Claitp. 0. Oavis, J. S. Davi?. Pea.se. l)ouprln«. Dyer. Dcnson. Eokford. Edwardr^, Ellett, 'Fixer. Fontaine. Cicorire. Glonn, (Jil).«on. (rliol.^on. Gwin. Harris. Hill, Holl. .Iolin.<(on of DcSoto. .Jolm.ston of Jeiferson. .Jones. Kfii-n. Kcitli. Kennedy. Kinti*. L(\i, Lamar. Lewert*. Ijewis. .Mayson. Me(Jo!iee oi" Panola. Miller of Fontotoe. Miller ol" Tuniea. Xeelf. Nelson. On\ l*atti.?on, Powell oi" Covinjrton. Ram.^ey, Robert.'^. Rogers, Semnies. Smart. Tcrrail, Taylor, 'riiom])son. A'anglian. Walter, Welsh. Witly. Wilkinson. Woods. Wright — 70. The question was then lakrn on agreeing to Mr. ij;(iii:ii's lOjiort. and dci-ided in the allinnative. The (|n('stion wns llien laken on Ihi- iiiiopiioii i)\' [\\o Ordinanee of Secession and deoidcd in Ihc anirnialivc liy yeas and nays as follows : AvKs. — .Mr. l^i-esidcnl. .Ucoin. Aml^i.-on. Aldriiigt-, Uarksdale, Baldwin. Backs! i-om, Booth. Brantjy, lii'ooke. Bentoit Bcenc. r>erry, lioling, Booktor. Clayton of Marshall. Clayton oi" Lowndes, Caleliings, CliMlmcrs. (^olbert. Claj)]). (). i)avis. .L S. Davis. Dease. Dcnson, Donglas. Dyer, Dea- .son, Eckforil, Edwai-ds. I'^llett. Fizer. Flournoy, Fontaine George. Glenn. Gibson, Gholson. (iwin. Hariis. Herring, Hill, Holt, Isom. .Fohnston ol' DeSoto. Johnston of Jeilerson, .lones, Keii-n, Keilli. Kennedy. King, Lea, Lamar, LcAvcrs. Lewis. !M:>y!^on. MeGehee of Holivar. ^leCJehee of l*anola. Miller of Pontotoe. ^liller of I'nniea, Neely. Nelson, Oir. Pattison, I*owell of Covington, Powell oi' .'lones, Ramsey. Roberts. R.ogei's. Sennns, Smart, Sumner. Sievcn.s. Tei'rall. Pison. Taylor, Thompson, Vavighaii, NVahei'. ^VelsIl. Witty. Wilkinson', Woods, Wright — S4. N.ws. — Blaii', IJonds, Ibdiard, Cmnmings, Farrar. Ilursi. .Myers, Marshall. Parker. Ileynolds. Sanders. Thornton. Wiiichestei-. Yerger. Young— I o. ()n moiidii of .Mr. Foiilaiiic the President was reqiicsled t(? have the Ordinance eiii-ollecl on jiiii'eliiiicnl. On moti(ni of Mi-. Anderson, licmlvcd, That the President Ije I'etjuested to telogra))h the action of tliis Convention upon the Ordinance of Scces- y 17 sion to the Cilovcrnors of all the slavcholdinir Statct^, aiul the (Iclcg'atcs in Congress from this State. On motion the Convention then ndjonrned until to-morrow moTiiinu- at 10 o'eloek. % THURSDAY, 'Januat^y 10th. ] Mil . The Convention met pursuant to adjonrnment. Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Hunter. The l*i'esldci>t announced (h<"< following- standing commit- tees : Connmtiec on t'itize7)sJiip ;'?/ Alississippi. — Messrs. Bi'ooke, Orr, Clavton of Lowndes. K. P. McGeliee. Hill. T)ver and Xeely. Ciymmittee on Feihrul -hirisdiii'mn and Froptrty. — Messrs. Harris. AV:iltcr. Mar.-^hall. Ceorge. Wilkinson, Wright and Stephen.-. CommltUc on Postal, Findncial end Coninicrcial Affoin^. — Messrs. Clapp, Gholson. ^reOehee of Bidivnr. .Tories, King, Keirn and l^ullard. Committee on the State (.'/;/;a/,7aldwin. Beene. Boling and Her- ring. Ou Militarij and Naval Ajfairs. — Messrs. Chahuers. l>rantl\'. Welf^h. Fontaine, Smart, Fiser and Tison. On a SoufJnrn donfcdrmcy. — ]\[cssrs. Glenn, Lamar. Hurst. Aldrige, Douglas. Jolnison of JelTer.-^on. and Lewis. On motion of .Mr. Orr, Besolved, That the Hon. Armstead l-Jurt, Connnissioner from the Republic of South Carolinn, and Hon. E. W. Pet- tus, Connnissioner from the State of Alaliama. lie requested to address this Convention, and that a connnittee of five be ;!l>])ointed to make the necessary arrangements and to Avait ujion those gentlemen and ascertain whether it should l.-.c desirable to thrm that the Convention should go into sec]'et session when it may suit them fo address th(^ Convention. ?ilessrs. Orr, Nelson, Fckford. Woods and AYitty, were appointed as said committee. Mr. Welsh offered the following resolution and moved its reference to a special committee : 18 Jic it Jicsohed. That it is tlic opinion of this Convention, that the Lcfrislaturc of this State, ^liortly to convene, ought to pass an acl, which will effectually i)rcvent the introduc- tion of slaves into tliis Stale, from any other State or coun- try whatever, unless the .owner of said slaves accompany them, with the bona fuh. intention of l)ecoming- a citizen of the Stale of irississipjn. Mr. Kiniir offei-ed tlie following amendment as a substi- tute : Jh'.folvcd. That th(T Commillec on Stale Constitution be instructed to lake into cqpisideration tlie subject of the inter- state .slave trade, and report Ij}- ordinance or otherwise. • On motion of Mv. Fontaino, the resolution and substitute were laid on tlie taljlc. ^Ir. Dyer offered the following resolution : Bcsdvexl, That the Conunittee on Military and Naval Affairs, be and are hereby instructed to inquire into the propricty*of erecting batteries at A'icksburg, Natchez, Mis- sissippi City, or at sucli other ])oints on the Mississippi river as may be thought best, and if they shall lie of opinion that it is advisable, they arc hereby instructed to report a resolu- tion directing His Excellency, the Governor, to have the same jn-ojjcrly erected at such points as may be designated, and to be mounted with as many guns as may be proper. The resolution was laid on tlie table. On motion of Mr. Harris, Resolved, That the Committee on Military and Naval Affairs, be instructed to enquire into the expediency of re- porting an ordinance to this Convention creating a Military ■ Board, and amending the Constitution of the State in the 5th article, so as to authorize volunteer companies to orga- nize into battalions, regiments, brigades and divisions, and to elect field officers. Hon. A. Burt presented his credentials as Commissioner . from the Republic of South Carolina, ^Ir. Gliolson read to the Convention his letter to the President of the United States, resigning his position as Judge of the Federal Courts for Mississippi. On motion of Mr. Chalmers, Rfiolvcd, That Major Earl Van Porn be invited to a ^L•uL within the bar of this Convention. On motion of Mr. Gibson, Resolved, That the Hous. L. P. Conner and John Perkins, delegates elected to the State Convention of Loui.siaua, be invited to seats within the Bar of this Convonlion. and that 1'.! a committee of three ho nppoiuted to inform the gentlemen of the invitation. On motion of Mr. (l]K)l>;ori. -the Convention went into secret session. On motion of ]\lr. IJiirris, liesolveil, That the Po.stmasters and other .olliccrs, and agents connected witli tlie ^lail service in this State, be rc- (inested to continne to discharge their duties. until otherwise ordered by tiiis Conven-tion. % On motion of Mr. Harris, the injunction uf secresy was removed from this rcso'lution. On motion, the Conyentiou adjourned until to-morrow mornin'T 10 o'clock. FRIDAY, Januar^Htii. 18G1. The Convention mot imrsuant to adjournment. Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Caskie. Procecdiiifis of yesterday read and apjjroved. On motion of Mr. Orr, RcHolvefh That the fik-esident appoint an engrossing and enrolling connnittee, each to consist of tliree members. The President appointed as the Connnittee on Engrossed Ordinances, Messrs. Deason, Woods and Mayson. On Enrolled Ordinances, Messrs. Barksdale, Winchester and Ramsey. Tlic Cliair presented a communication, Whicli was referred to the Committee on Military Af- fairs. On motion of Mr. Gholson. Resolved, Tlmt a connnittee ui' iJirec ihj a^'i-ointed to re- ])ort on the enrollment of the Ordinance to dissolve the Union between the ^State of Mississippi and otiicr States united with her under tlio compact entitled the Constitution of tlic United States. The Chair iiunounccd the following gentlemen on said committee : Messrs. Ellctt, Harris and Clayton of Marshall. The Cliair aiuiouuced the following connnittee of Ways and Means : 20 Mc^>r?. Wriu'lit. Bcnlon, Anderson. Catchine;, Alcorn. Gih>on and Donsou. Mr. P>rooke (dlVrcd the IblloAvinir resolution : Ivsd/ral, That a connnittec of three l)e ai»})t)iiite(l by tin' Chair, to jirovide a room for the acconnnodntion of this ("oincntioii. durinir the sessifui of tlio Le.ffislntnro. Whidi was lost. On motion of Mr. Andei-son. Ri'.so/vnf, That the signing of the ( )r(liii;iiHc he postj^oned until to-iuorrow, at 12 o'cl^lc, !M. Mr. Benton offered the Kmowing' resolution, which, On his motion. Avas referred to tin- conniiittee on citizen- .slii]> : Rr-suhutl, That all citizens of the I'liitcd Stales, domiciled u itjiiu this Stale, on the adoption of the Ordinance of sej)- ara,lioii. January llth, 18G1, be re,£>-arded as citizens of Mis- sissipiii^entitled io all the rig'hts and i>rivilep:os. and subject to all the liabilities incident thereto. Mr. C'la])]). tVom tiie coininittee on Postal Aflairs. reported, an ordinance, whicii. Oji his motion, was laid on the table and 2ll(.) (■o])ies were ordered to be •iTi'niled, and made tlie si)ecial oi-der for three o'clock this evening. Mr. J3aldwiu offered the following resolution. Which was lost : ll/:stJv(u}. Thai the rules ado]»ted for the gtjvurnment of this C'oViVention. be amended liy 1h^ ado])tion of the follow- ing : "That no ordinance shall be put upon its iinal pa>sage until it has l)een read three times and reierred to, ami acted upon by the conunittee of reference ; that an additional standing committee shall be ap]3ointed by the President, con- sisting of three mnnber *n be known as the Committee of Reference. Mr. Miller of Poniuioe, offered the following resolution : Rrsolv((l^ That His Excellency, the Governor, be requested to ]>rocure suitable Halls foi- the accommodation of the Leg- islature about to assemble. Mr. Tison offered the following amendment as a substi- tute : Bc'-ioloed, That the President of this Convention appoint a connnittec of three to prepare a Hall for the accommoda- tion of this Convention during the sitting of the Legisla- ture. Mr. Ramsey moved to lay Itoth the resolution' and substi- tute on the table. Which was Io:t. 21 The question was then taken on the adoption of the amendment and decided in the affirmative. The President ap))ointed as said committee, Messrs. MiHer of Pontotoc, Tison and Anderson. Mr. Chiyton of Marsliall. made the following- report : Mr. President : The committee to whom was assigned the duty of com- paring the Ordinance of Secession as enrolled witli the orig- inal ordinance as adopted, beg leave to report tliat they have performed tlie duty entrusted to them, and that they find the Ordinance prepared for the signature of the dele- gates to be a true and perfect transcript of the original. On motion of Mi'. Oeorgc, liesolvcd. That the resolution heretofore adopti'd by this Convention inviting Judges of tlic Tligli Court of Errors and Appeals to a seat in this Cmivention, l.)e so exleilded as to include all ])ersons who liave herctofoj-e held that office or tlic ofTico of Justice of the Old Supreme Court of this State. The lion. A. 13urt. Commissioner from tiie sovereign, free and Independt'nt State of South Carolina, was intro(hu^ed by the President, and addressed the Convention. On motion of Mr. Orr, the Conveiition adjourned until to-morrow morninG: lf> o'clock. SATURDAY, Jaxuaiiy 12th, ISlil. The Convention met pursuant to adjournnu^nt. Prayer by Rev. Mr. Snow. Proceedings of yesterday read and ajiproved. Mr. Dyer offered the following resolution, wliich, on his motion, was referred to committee on Ways and Means. Resolved, That the couunittec on Ways and Means, enquire into the expediency of this State issuing bonds to an amount not exceeding dollars, in sums ranging from one hundred to one thousand dollars, to be signed by tlie (iover- nor, or such other officer as may be designated for that pur- j)Ose, and made payable to such person as may be named, to bear eight per cent, interest per annum, from the time of ilicir iK'ii'nuaiKMi. ;ui(i me iiiifii'^L iimi one-leutli of the prin- cipal ol" i=nid Itoiulr^: Provided, they shall be sohl or disposed of. to be annually paid in the State tax of tlie lioldcrs therc- ul". if it bo sufficient, but if not. then the lialancc in money; .said boiKJs to be sold to citizens of this State, and the money arising from their sale to lie expended in the military dcfeuce of the State, if needed for that pm-pose ; and should said committee approve of the issuance of such bonds, they are hereliy instructed to report an ordinance directing the same to bo 'done, or if certificates to be issued by the Treasurer of the State should be deemed proferaV>le, then they shall bo issued instead of ^aid bonds. ilr. Chalmers, from the connuittee on Military and Naval aiVairs, made a report, which, on his motion, vras laid on the table, and 1200 copies ordered to be printed. Mr. Brantley reported an additional ordinance, which was likewise laid on flie table, and ordered to be printed. On motion of Mr. Ellett, Ikfiolvcd, Tliat all ordinances that may be passed ])y this Convention, shall be enrolled by the Secretary, ■ in a fair hand, on suitable paper, an^lshall be signed by the President, with the date of the passage thereof, and deposited in the office of the Secretary of State for preservation, entitled an ordinance in relation to tin- Chickasaw. Choctaw. Creek, and Cherokee Nations. Mr. Fontaine offered an ordinance, whicli, on his motion, was referred to committee on a Southern Confederacy. On motion of ^Mr. Ellett, Resolved. That the signing of the ordinance of secession be ])ostponcd until Tuesday next, at 11 o'clock. Mr. Clayton, of IMarshall, offered the following resolution, which, on his motion, was referred to committee on State Constitution, with instructions to report thereon, as early as practicable. We, the people of Mississippi, in Convention assembled, do ordain and declare that the ninth section of the seventh arti- cle of the Constitution of this State be, and the same is hcrcl)y altered and amended, so far as to suspend the force and effect of that part of said section which required the action of two succc'^sive Legislatures to pass a law to raise money and pledge the faith of the State for the payment thereof, until the difficulties now existing between this State and other foreign States or Governments are adjusted. Mr. Smart oflercd the following resolution : 23 That the committee on ]\rilitaiy affair?, be instructed to report an ordinance to form out of the troops provided to be raisqf]'!)}- an ordinance entitled, " An ordinance to regu- late the Military System of the State.'"' One brigade of regular troops to consist of two Regiments of Infantry, three Squadrons of Cavalry, and one Battalion of Light Artillery, to be organized, armed and equipped as in the army of the United States, to be commanded by one of tlic Brigadier Generals — to be subject to all the rules and regulations pro- vided for in the ordinance above refoji'red to. On motion of ]\Ir. Chalmers, The resolution, and the information accompanying it, was laid on the table, 200 copies ordered to be printed, and made the special order of the day for Tuesday, at 1 1 o'clock. Bcsolvcd, That the following words be by the enrolling clerk, appended at the end of the ordinance of secession : ' " In testimony of the passage of vrliich, and the determina- tion of the members of this Convention to u|)hold and main- tain the State in the position she has assumed by said ordi- nance, — it is signed by the President and members of this Convention, this the day of January, A. D. 1861." On motion of Mr. Gholson, Iksolvcd, Tliat the Auditor of Public Accounts be instruct- ed to report to tliis Convention the number of acres, and value of land, including town lots subject to taxation; also the numl)er of negroes, and the value of other personal pro- perty, includiug the amount of the sales of merchaiidi/e. nnd amount of money loaned at interest in this State. [See Table in Appendix.] . On motion of IMr. Clapp, the Convention resolved itself into committee of the Whole, to consider the ordinance on Postal amiirs : Mr. Miller, of Pontotoc, in tlie chair. After some time spent tlicrein, the committee rose, rcjiorted the ordinance back to the Convention, with two amendments thereto, and recommended its adoption as amended. Mr. Miller, of Pontotoc, moved that the report be received and agreed to. A division being called for, the report was received. The question was then lakon on the adoption of the fol- lowing amendment offered by Mr. Clapp, in committee of the Whole, and decided in the affirmative, to-wit: Amend by striking out the Avords. "prior I"," in (h(> sixih line, and insertinir the word " at." 24 The «iiK'Stion was llicn taken on tlic adoption of the tbllow- in.^ anienolling oflered the following amendment: it^W(v(?, That if postal arrangements shall be disturbed or discontinued by the United States, then and in that case the existing contracts of the United States, in the Republic of Mississip])i, or so inucli as may be necessary, l)e assumed V)y the Republic of Mississippi, until other I'Cgulations. shall be made. Wliich was lost. ^Ir. Ellett offered the following amendment: Amend the ordinance by striking ont the word " the.'" at the commencement of tlie l-2th line, and insert the word "that," Which was adopted. Mr. lOllett <)nered the following amendment: Amend bv sulistituting the word " that," licfore the word "nil." in tlie l;^th line.' Whicli Avas lost. On motion of Mj-, Tison. the oi-dinaiKC as amended, was ord(M-ed to be engrossed, and made the special order for Mon- day, II) o'clock. On motion of Mr. Ijamar, the Convention Avent into secret session. 'I'hc injuncijoii of secresy Avas removed from the folloAving proceedings. .Mr. Harris olVereij ilic following resolution. Which Avas unanimously adopted : Resolved, 'Hiat the pcoi)lc of the State of Mississippi, re- cognize the i-ight of the free navigation of the Mississipj)!- 25 river for commercial pm'poscs, in time of peace, by all the States occupying its banks, and they are willing to enter into proper stipulations to secure the enjoyment of that riglit. The Convention ilien adjourned until ^londay morning. MONDAY. January 14th, 18G1. Tlie Convention met pui-suant to adjournment. The Journal of 12th instant read and ajiproved. On motion of Mr. Tison, the Convention proceeded to consider the ordinance, entitled an ordmance to provide for postal arrangements in Mississippi. Mr. Boiling oflfercd the following amendment, by way of ryder to the lirst section: ' And furtlier — That if contractors shall be disturbed or discontinued by the United States Government, or be in dan- ger of losing their compensation for carrying the mails with- in the borders of tlus State, then and in t!iat case, the exist- ing contracts of the United States with^ said contractors, shaUbe assumed by the State of Mississipjti, upon proof that, said disturbance and discontinuance has not been caused by the neglect or failm^e of the contractor to discharge his duty: That said assimipsit shall end and deteimiue when further postal arrangements shall be made by the Congress or Con- vention of the States forming the Southern Confederacy. On motion of Mr. Gholson, The amendment was laid on the table. The question was then taken on the passage of the ordi- nance, and decided in the affirmative. Ordered that the title of the above ordinance stand as stated. Mr. Harris, Chairman of the committee on Federal Juris- diction and Property, made a report, which, on his motion, was laid on the table. Two hundred copies of the ordinance ordered to be printed, and made the special order for Wed- nesday, 16th, at 11 o'clock. Oii motion of Mr. Chalmers, the Convention resolved itself into committee of the Whole, for the purpose of taking into consideration the ordinance ou Military affairs, Mr. Gholsou in the chair. 2(> After some time spent therein, the committee rose, reported back tbo ordinance, with the following amendments, and asked that it be made special order for Thursday, at 12 o'clock. Amend the tii'st section by inserting the words, "order of," after the word by at the end of the second line, and liy strik- ing out in the third line the words, " for the period of five years, unless sooner discharged," and insert the words, " to serve until discharged as hereinafter provided for." Amend tlic fourth section, by inserting in the 23rd line, be- tween " them and out," the words, " or any of them," and after the word tliem, insert the words, " or officers of any company or companies;" and further amend by striking out in tlie 80th line, the words, " the compensations of members of tlic Legislature," and inserting the words, " live dollars per day." Further amend by inserting in the 29th line, after the word army, the words, "until altered by the Legislatui'e of the State." ' Amend section fifth, by inserting in the 39th line after the word " thereof," the following words, " and to assign to eacli Brigade, Regiment and Squadron the requisite field offi- cers, elected as hereinbefore provided, designating the officers ^ly name, to be assigned to each particular Brigade, Regiment and Squadron. Further amend by striking out all after the word "State," in tlio forty-second line." Amend section eight by striking out all after the word "when," in the 60th line, to the word "between," in the 61st line, and insei't, " friendly relations by treaty or otherwise, shall be established." Amend ninth section by adding thereto the words, " and shall continue in operation until repealed by this Convention, or by the Ijegislaturc of the State, after this Convention shall have fmally adjourned. The report of tlic committee was received and agreed to, and the ordinance made tlie special order for Thursday, at 12 o'clock. On motion of Mr. Jones, lii'Holved, Tliat a committee of three be appointed to. pro- pose to the House of Reiu'csentatives that the use of this Hall be yielded to this Convention from and after the liour of 2 o'clock, P. M. eadi day Avhile both bodies are in session. 'jQie President appointed as said committee, Messrs. Jones of Sunflower, 0. Davis, and Young. Convention went into scciset session. * 27 . TUESDAY, January 15th, 1861. The Couvention met pursuant to adjoimimcnt. The procccding-s of 14tli instant read and approved. Mr. Glemi, Chairman of the committee on Hie formation of a Southern Confederacy, made a report, Which was received and agreed to. On motion of Mr. Glenn, The report was laid on the table; two hundred copies wore ordered to be printed, and made tlie' special order of tlieday for to-morrow, at 11 o'clock. The Convention proceeded to the consideration of its spe- cial order, to-wit: the resolution otfcred by Mr. Smart: That the committee on Military aifairs be instructed to re- port an ordinance to form out of the troops provided l>y. an ordinance entitled, "An ordinance to regulate the Military System of the State," one Brigade of regular troops, to consist of two Regiments of Infantry, three Squadrons of Cavalry, and one Battery of Light Artillery, to be organized, armed and equipped as in the army of the United States, to be commanded by one of the Brigade-Generals, and to be subject to all the rules and regulations provided for in the ordinance above referred to. The question was taken on the adoption of the resolutioii, and decided in the negative. The President announced the following as a counnittec on Indian affairs: Messrs. Fontaine, Benton, Reynolds, Orr, and Keith. On motion of Mr. Rogers, Resolved, That the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and John A. Wilcox, a mem- ber elect to the Convention of the State of Texas, be invited to take a seat within the )jar of this Convention. Mr. George offered a letter, which ho desired to have re- ferred to the Governor's Council, and it was so ordered. Mr. Brooke offered a report from the committee on Citizen- ship, Which was received and agreed to. On his motion, the report was laid on the l.ri):f, a ad iw > hundred copies ordered to lie ]unnted. Mr. Clayton, of Marshall offered the following resolutions, Which were adopted: Resolved, That when the Convention proceeds to sign the ordinance of secession, it be first signed by the President, and attested by the Secretary of the Convention. That the coun- 28 tics then be called in alphabeUcal oidor, and tlic delegates affix their signature^^ in the order in which their counties and their own names arc called. liffiofvrd a/.9o, That the Governor of this State, and House of Rei»rc'scntative,s l>c invited to he present at the time tlie sanu: is signed. On niotion of .Mr. Jirantley, IicsoJfcd, That the President of the Convention ajjpointa i-oinuiittoc of three, to inform his Exccllcnc}^ the Governor, that the Convention is about to proceed to sign the ordinance of secession, and invites hini to be present. The President apj)ointed as said committee: .Messrs. Brantley. Bootlie. and Tisou. • Tlie connnittee to inform the Governor of the invitation of this Convention to l)e])resent at the signing of the ordinance returned, and tin-ongh iMr. Tison, reported that the connnittee had discharged their duty, and that tlie Governor accepts tlie invitation. On motion of Mr. Ellett, the members of the Convention proceeded to sign the ordinance, it beirig the s^^ecial order for this hour, to-wit. 11 o'clock. A. j\r. Mr. Ellctt oifered the following rC'^olalion. Will eh was adopted: R<-^(jh-af, That the Secretary of State lie requested to cause the ordinance of secession to be suitably framed for its better ) -.reservation in his office. Mr. Lamar ottered the following resolution: Resolved, That the Commissioners appointed by his Excel- lency the Governor, in pursuance of a resolution of the Legis- lature of the State of !Mississi])pi.i)roviding for the appoint- ment of Commissioners, etc., approved November 30th, 1860, l)e furnished each with a copy of the ordinance of secession adopted by this Convention, and that they be requested to .■-ubmit the same to t!ie Conventions of the States to which they have been accredited, and solicit the co-operation of said States, with the action of South (^^arolina. Mississippi, Florida, and Alabania. On motion of i\Ir. Tjamnr, the resolution was laid on the table. Mr. Walter offered the following re.-oliitions. Which were adopted: fiesoivcd. That the State of Mississippi recognizes the State of Florida as d Sovereign and independent Nation, and will correspond and treat with her as such. 29 Resolved, That tlio State of Misifdssippi recognizes the State of Alahmna as a povoreign and indepciidcut nation, and will coiTO.-^pond and troiil with hor n>^ snclu Mr. Wriuiit. 'Voni iho coinimttpo of Way,-; and ^Icanp, made a ro)>orl, Which was l•oeei^('d and atiiced to, laid, on Ihc^dilc, and "200 coj^ios oi-dcred to l)e jn'inted. Mr. AU'orn. IVoni the r^amcconnnittfo. staled he v/ould \^vc- sent a ilinorily ro])ort. to 1)0 ron^idorod witli the majority. On his motion, it was hiid on tl)o tnltlo. and "200 copios ordered to Itc jirinted. On motion of ^Ir. (Jlcnn. Remlvcd That the eommittre on a Southern (.'onredci'iicy lie instrneted to enquire a?; to the propriet}' of appointing- a Comn.Hssioner.'or Comniissioner.s. whose duty it shall lie to visit tlie CityofWashingtoii, and layltefore the President of \hc United States, an authentic copy oT the ordinance of se- cession jiassed by the Convention, and confer Avith hinnipon the future I'clatioiis and intercourse of tliat froverniumt. and ai-k.=(lalc made tlic following report, Which was received and agreed to: Tiie committee on Enrolled ordinances, beg leave to report, l;;at they have had under examination au ordinance entitled, ** An ordinance to provide for po;stal arrangements in Missis- sip])i." and find the same correctly enrolled. On niotbn of Mr. Harris, the Convention resolved itself into committee of the Whole, for the purpose of considering an ordinance concerning the jurisdiction and property of the United States of America in the State of Mississippi, Mr. Gholson in the chair. After some time spent tlierein, the committee rose, reported back the ordinance, with the Ibllowing amendments, and re- commended its passage as amended. Amend section 2d, as follows: After the word '' same," in the 3rd line, insert the words, "or pertaining to lands heretofore granted or sold by the said United States."' Amend section 3rd: After the word "com'ts,"' in iifth line, insert, " or of the Supreme Tlourt of the United States, in which a citizen of this State is a party." Amendment 3rd as a substitute for section 5, " That tlu- late lilarshals of the United States for the Northern and Southern Districts of lliis State, and tlicir assistants, be, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to continue the ^crcise of their duties as far as may be necessary to complete the census returns of the United States, but no further." The report was received and agreed to, and the ordinance, as amended, ordered to be engrossed, and made the special order for to-rnorrow, at 11 o'clock. On motion of Mr. Glenn, the Convention resolved itself into committee of the AVhole, to consider the report of the "committee on a Southern Confederacy," Mr. Clayton, of Marshall, in the chair. After some time spent thei'ein, the committee rose, reported jtrograss, and asked permission to sit again at 7 o'clock this evening, Whidi was received and agreed to. On motion of ,Mr. iTolt. tlie Convention wi-nt into secret session. SEVEN o'clock, p. M. Tlic Convention met pursuant to adjournment. 31 Oil niolion of Mr. Anderson, Ilesolved, Tliat when the Convention goes into secret ses- sion, tliat it shall be only on such matters exclusirely as should be considered in secret session, and that all other matters be ruled out of order by the President. On motion of Mr. Glenn, the Convention went into com- mittee of the Whole, to consider the ordinance inrclation to a Southern Confederacy, Mr. Clayton, of Marshall, in the chair. After some time spent therein, the connnittce rose, reported the ordinance back, with various amendments, and recom- mended its passage as amended; Which was received and report laid on the table for the l)resent. Mr. Jones made the following report: The committee appointed to confer with the House of Re- presentatives in regard to the use of this Hall, have performed the duty assigned them, and beg leave to report: Tliat the House of Representatives have by resolution, agreed to yield the occupation of the Plall to this Convention from and after the hour of 2 o'clock, -P. M. on each day, while both bodies are in session. On motion of Mr. Gholson, the Convention adjourned. THURSDAY, January ITtii, 1861. The Convention met pursuant to adjournment. Proceedings of yesterday read and a])proved. On motion of Mr. Chalmers, the Convention resolved itself into committee of the whole, to consider the Ordi- nance regulating the Military Affairs of the State. Mr. Gholson in the chair. After some time spent therein the committee rose, reported progress, and asked leave to sit again at 7 o'clock this even- ing. Which was received and agreed to. On motion of "Sir. Fontaine, Resolved, That F. A. Pope, the Secretary of this Conven- tion, and T. S. Hardee, who obligingly and gratuitously enrolled on jiarcHment the Ordinance of Secession adopted by this body, be and they are hcreliy invested with the ex- elusive ri^lit to lithrograpli for tlicir joint use and ))enc^;t, the said Ordinance and tlic signatures thereto. A connnunication from the Auditor of Public Accounts was submitted, which, Ou motion of Mr. Gholson, was laid on the table and two luiudred copies ordered to be printed. Mr. Deason, chairman of the committee on Engrossed Or- dinances, made tlie following report : JIr. President : The Committee upon Engrossed Ordinances have had under examination, an Ordinance concerning the Jurisdic- tion and Property of the United States of America in the State of Mississippi, and liog leave to report that the same is correctly engrossed. Tlie question was then taken on the passage of the Ordi- nance reported as al)ove and decided in the affirmative. On motion of Mr. Glenn, the report of the Connnittec of the Whole on Southern Confederacy, was cjilled from tlie table. The (piestion being on agreeing to the report of the Com- mittee of the Whole, the following amene printed. On motion of Mr. Wrigiit, tlie Convention rosolved itself into Committee of the VVlioIe for the purpose of considering- the Ordinance to raise mean^' for the defence of the State, Mr. in Ihe Chair. After some time spent therein the Committee rose, re- ported back the Ordinance tos'ether with a resolution offered by Mr. Berry, and asked h^avc t-j sit aa'ain on Monday at 1(1 ocloek. Which was received and a.ureed tv». On motion of ^fr. Harris, livfio/cvfL That tiie late Clerks of tiie District and Circuit Courts of the United States be and they arc iiereby author- ized to make ami certify transcripts of the records of said Courts as heretofore provided by law, and be authorized to allow insjjcction of the records and files of said Courts, under the regulations heretofore customary. Mr. Orr informed the Convention that Hon. W. S. Barry would necessarily be absent from the city on ]\Ionday morn- ing, and on his motion the Hon. H. T. Ellett was elected President pro A'»?. of the Convention. Tlie following gentlemen obtained leave of alisence : Messrs. Witty, Gwin, Myers, Catching and Nelson, On motion of Mr. Alcorn, the Convention adjourned to meet again at 7 o'clock in secret session. SEVEN o'clock T. JI. The injunction of secrecy was removed from the following proceedings had in secret session. Mr. Harris introduced, An Ordinance entitled '' An Ordinance to authorize the Governor to borrow a sufficient amount of money to sustain the troops of this State now in tlie field." On motion of Islr. Harris, the rule was suspended the Ordinance read a second time and passed. Mr. Lamar introduced the following resolutions, which were adopted unanimously : Resolved, That this Convention, sympathizing \nth South Carolina in her present condition, accept her invitation to meet with the seceding State-e for the purpose of forming a Southern Confederacy. Iksolval, Tiiat the Proaident be requo>:ted to furnish the C~10 40 Hou. Annistcad Burl, Commissioner from the State of South Carolina, to the State of Mississippi, -vrith an authen- tic copy of tlio Ordinance of secession ; and an authentic copy of tlie resohition recoi^nizing the State Soutli Carolina as Q sovereign and inde])endent nation and an authentic copy of the resolutions to provide for the formation of a Southern Confederacy adopted l)y this Convention, and that he be requested to submi'to tlie same ttthe Executive authority of the State of South Carolina. lirsolvrd, That we perform a jileasing duty in testifying to the authorities of South Carolina our a]:»preciation of the very able and accejjtabie manner in which their Commis- sioner, Hon. Armistead Burt has fuHilled the important duties of liis delicate mission. On motion, the Convention adjourned until 10 o'clock Monday morning. MONDAY, January 21th. l^()[. The Convention met ])ursuaut to adjournment. Journal of Saturday read and approved. Mr. Clayton of Lowndes, offered the following resolution: Resolved, That tlie Secretary be required to furnish the Senate and House of Representatives, now in session, copies of all Ordinances passed by the Convention, requiring any action on the part of the State Legislature. On motion of Mr. Anderson, the resohition was laid on the table. On motion of Mr. Fontaine, the Convention went into Fccret session. After some time spent therein the doors of tlie Conven ion were opened. Mr. Glenn, from the Committee on Southern Confederacy, made a report, which on his motion, was laid on the table and 200 copies ordered to ho printed. On motion of Mr. Wright, the Convention resolved itself into Committee of the Whole to consider the report of the Committee of Ways and Means. After some time spent therein the Committee rose, reported progress and asked leave to sit again at 3 o'clock P. M., which was received and agreed to. ^ n On motion of Mr. Alcorn, Mr. Power, Reporter for the Mimssippian, was allowed a- scat in the Convention during secret session. On motion of Mr. Miller of Pontotoc, the Convention adjourned until 3 .o'clock P. M. THRKE o'clock P. M. The Convention met pursuant to adjournment. On motion of ^fr. Miller of Pontotoc, the Convention resolved itself into Conmiittee of the Whole to consider the re])ort of the Connnittee of Ways and Means. After some time si)ent therein the Committee rose, and reported the Ordinance back to the Convention without recommendation. Mr. Ellott offered Iho following resolution : EesohoiJ, That the Committee of Ways and Means be instrncted to prepare and report au ordinance providing for the collection of a special State tax of 50 per centum on the present State tax, to be collected as speedily as possible ; and further providing for the issuance of treasury notes or certificates of loan, in such sums as may be applied for by any person desiring to loan money to the State. To an amount not exceeding one million dollars; one-third redema- bLc in one year, one-third in two years, and the other third in three years. Bearing interest at 10 per cent, from date, and further providing for the collection of a special State tax for the redemption thereof as the same may fall due. Mr. Clayton of Marshall, offered the following amendment as a substitute : Besolved, That the ordinance be recommitted to the Com- mittee of Ways and Means, with instructions tx5 report an ordinance providing for tJio issuance of bonds and treasury notes to the amount $ , and further to report in favor of a direct tax to be laid on all tlie taxable property in the State, and to be collected in the • fiscal year, sufficient to raise the sum of $ . Mr. Berry offered the following amendment to the amend- ment : JRcsolvcd, That the Conmiittee of Ways and Means be instructed to adhere to the subjects of taxation, and the rates of taxation fixed by the present revenue system of this State, and to prepare an ordinance for immediate taxation for a sum sufficient to meet the present exigeuciee of the State. C— 11 42 A call for the previous question being sustained, the (luestion was taken on tlio adoption of the -anicudment to the amendment, and decided in tlie negative. ^ The (jncstion was then taken on the adoption oi Mr. Clavtons amendment, and decided in the neu-atisc. The question was then taken on the adoption of ihc original resolution, and decided in tlic ailirniativc. Mr. George oil'ered the following resolution : Resdved, That the Committee on Ways and .Means lie instructed in the ordinance they have been directed to report, to provide tisat .slaves .shall bo taxed one dollar per head in- stead of lil'ty ])er centum on tlie present State lax. On motion, the re.-olution was laid on the table. Mr. Baldwin olVered the following resolution : liciolvaL That the Committee of Ways and Means be instructed to exempt all }>olls from taxation. Which was lost. On motion of Mr. Glenn, the report of the CouuniLteeoii Southern Confederacy was made the special oi'der for 12 o'clock to-mori\;)Av, Mr. Chalmers, from tli(^ Committee on Military and Naval Affairs, offered a report, which on his motion, was laid on the table and two hundred copies ordered to be printed. On motion, the Convention adjourned to 10 o'clock to- morrow. TUESDAY, January 22(1, ISGl. The Convcndon met pursuant to adjonnimen!. The Journal of yesterday was j-ead and apjiroved. Mr. (Jholson moved that the following instruction be given to the Committee of Ways and Means : " Instruct the committee to report so as to increase the tax on negroes to two dollars — or one dollar iuul twent}'- five cents additional .tax. Also taxbig allmoney now vested or that may be employed or deposited out of this State belonging to citizens of this State — ahso all mone}- in this State — also all bonds, bills of exchange, or securities for the payment of money due or to become due, in this State, and discriminating against all property of non-residents." 43 Mr. Orr moved, tliat the rosolutiou of instruction be laid upon tlio table. The yeas and nays beintr called thereon, the motion was sustained by the following vote : Ayes — Mr, President. Messrs. Alcorn, ISaekslrom, Booth.' Brooke, Blair. Bonds, Bookter, Clayton of Lowndes, Catch- inp-, Chalmers. C-ummines. Colljcrt, CUapp, Dease, Douglas. Dyer. Eekford. Elloll, Fizer. Fh-iuriioy, Gibson. Harris, Holt. Hurst. Keirii. Keith. Kennedy. Marshall. Mayson, McGhee of Bolivar. McGhee of Panola. Xeely. Orr, Pattison, Powell of Covington. Roberts. Sanders, Serames, Smart, Torral, Taylor, Thompson, Vaughan, Walter, Welsh. Wilkinson, Yerger and Young. — 45. _ . -,,/. Nays. — Messrs. Anderson, .-tldridge. Baldwin, Brantley, Beene. Berry. Boiling, Clayton of Marshall, 0. Davis, J. S. Davis, Denson, Edwards. Fontaine, George, Glenn, Gholson, Gwin, Isom. Johnston of Panola, King, Lea, Lamar. Lewcrs, Miller of Pontotoc. Miller of Tunica, Nelson, Powell of Jones. Ramscv, Rogers. Sumner, Stevens, Tison and Woods. 33. ' ■ "^ ■. ., . .,i ••■ Mr. Mayson submitted the following report : Mr. President : The Committee on Engi'ossed Ordinances beg leave to report that they have had under examination an ordinance entitled " An Ordinance to regulate the rights of citizen- ship in Mississippi,"' and find the same correctly engrossed. On motion of Mr. Brooke, the Ordinance of Citizenship was recommitted to the connnittec. On motion of Mr. Chalmers, the Convention took'^ip the Ordinance on Military Affairs, and that tlie Ordinance be acted upon liy sections. Mr. Woods offered the following amendment : Amend bv changing the county of Kemper from the Eight Regiment to the' Fifth. Which was adopted. Mr. Brooke ofl'ered the following amendment : Amend by changing the county of Jefferson from the Seventh Regiment to the Third. Which was adopted. Mr. Aldridge offered the following amendment : Amend by changing Tallahatchie front the First to the Fourth Regiment. Which was adopted. C— 12 44 Mr. Glenn oflered the following amendment : Amend by changing Ilancok from the Seventh to the Eighth Regiment. Which was adopted. Mr. Miller offered the following amendment : Amend bv striking out the word " divide," in the thir- teenth line of section six and insert the word " organize.'' Which was adopted. Mr. George offered the following amendment : And provided, further, That the whole amount of the compensation of the commissioned officers per annum shall not exceed the following rates : Major-General, $2,500 ; Brigadier-General, $2,000; Col- onel, $1,200 ; Lieutenant-Colonel, $1,000 ; Major, $800 ; Captain, $000 ; 1st Lieutenant, $400 ; 2d and 3d Lieuten- ants, 300 each; Adjutant, $400. Which on motion of Mr. Boling. was laid on the table. Mr. Rogers offered the following amendment : Amend section jseventh by inserting after the word '' board," in fifth line, the words " except the Governor.''" Which was adopted. Mr. King offered to amend by striking out the word '"five," and insert the word four. Which was adopted. Afr. Gholson offered to amend as follows : Amend seventh section by inserting in the third line after the word " officers," the words " the pay of privates shall be twenty dollars per month." Which was lost. Mr. Baldwin offered the following amendment : Amend third line of section seven by striking out tlic words " and privates," and inserting the words '' llie privates shall receive fifteen dollars per month," after tlie word army. Which was lost. Mr. Gholson moved, to amend section seven by inserting in the third line, after the words " officers," the words " pay of privates shall be twenty dollars per month." Which was lost. Mr. Chalmers offered the following amendment to section seventh : Strike out volunteers and insert officers' in 1st line. .Strike out "and privates," and insert after the word army, in 5tli line, " that the pay of the privates and non- commissioned officers shall be $16 per mouth, together with the rations and clothing allowed in said army. Which was adopted. 45 ^ Mr. King offered the following amendment : Amend section eight by striking out all after the word " fill/' in the second line, and insert " vacancies in the offices of Major and Brigadier Generals shall be filled by the appointment of the Governor subject to the approval of the Senate of this State." Which was lost. Mr. Barksdale offered the following amendment, which was lost : Amend 8tli section by striking out the words "and Gover- nor." in 4tli line and inserting instead thereof, a majority of the Military Board. Mr. Nelson ofi'ered to amend section eight by striking out " Major General" and substitute " General." Which was lost. Mr. Holt offered tlie following amendment to section nintli : Amend in tlie sixth line by striking out the words " two years" and insert '" one year." Which was adopted. Mr. Dyer offered the following amendment by way of additional section : Amend liy adding the following after tlie 9th section : Sec. 10. That all such officers and privates as may be disabled while in actual service, before tlie formation of a Southern Confederacy, sliall lie entitled to one years pay after their discliarge from the service, and the widows of those who shall be killed in the service shall also receive the for one year, the compensation that their husbands -Avould be entitled to if living. Which was adopted. Mr. Brantley offered the following amendment : Amend by inserting in the third line of the seventh sec- tion after the word " army." the words " until the Southern Confederacy is formed, after whicli time both officers and men shall receive sucli pay as may be allowed to the officers and men of the army of said Southern Confederacy. Which was ado])ted. Mr. Fontaine offered to insert the following amendment to the nith section : And provided further, That the term of office of all com- missioned afficers ])rovidcd for in tliis ordinance shall con- tinue for one year after lieing enrolled into actual service in their respective appointments and no longer. Which was lost. 46 Mr. George oftcfcd to amend the eleventh section l»y strikinir out all after the words " State Legislature." Wiiich was lost. No further anieiulmeiils being oflered. the ordinauoe as amended Avas ordered to be engrossed and made tlie special order for to-morrow at 10 o'clock. Mr. Wright, from the Conunittee of Ways and Means, made a report, which on liis motion, was laid on the table and two hundred copies ordered to be printed. On motion of Mr. Welsh, The Convention adjourned until 3^ o'clock p. m. HALF-PAST THREE o'CLOCK P. M. The Convention met pm-suant to adjournment. On motion of Mr. Orr, liesolved, That Capt. Lipscomb, t!io Reporter of the Vicksliurg pa])ers and the New Orleans Crescent, be allowed a .seat on the lloor of the Convention. . ' Mr. Barlcsdale. Chairman of the Connnittee on EjjroUed Ordinaces, made the following report : The Committee on Enrolled Ordinances have had under examination an ordinance entitled •' An ordinance concern- ing Federal property and jurisdiction i)i Mississippi," and hnd the same correctly enrolled. On motion of Mr. Glenn, the Convention proceeded to coiLsidcr tlie repoi't of tlio Committee on a Southern Con- federacy. Mr. Clayton of Lowndes, offered the following amend- ineiit : . Strike out all after tlie word "Delegates," in 2d line of first resolution to the words "whose duty,"' in 3d line. Whicli was adopted upon a call of the yeas and nays : Yeas. — Mr. President, Messrs. Anderson, Backstrom. Bootli, Brooke, Benton, Berry, Bookter, A. M. Clayton, G. 11. Clayton, Catchings, Chalmers, Clapp, Dease, Deason, l^ckford, Ellett, George, Glenn, Gholson, Gwin, Harris. Holt, Ilurst. Lsoni, Jones, Keith, King, Lea, Lamai-, Mar- shall, McGeliee of Panola, ]\Iiller of Tunii-a. Neelv, Nelson. Or.-. Patlison, Kogcj-s, Tliompson, Tei-ral, Taylor. AVoods. Vauglian. AVilkinson, and Yerger — 46. Nays— Messrs. Aldridgc, Barksdale, Brantley, Beene, Blair, Bonds, Boiling, Bullard, Cummings, Colbert, J. L. Davis, Denson, Douglas, Dyer, Flournoy, Fontaine, Hill. 47 Johnston of DeSoto Keirn, Kennedy, Lower?, Mayson, i*owell of Covington, Powell of Jones, Ramsey, Roberts, Reynold^!, Sanders, Semmes, Smart. Snmner, Stevens, Ti.son, AValter. Welsli, and Young-— 86. Mr. Ellelt otTered the foUowinu" amendment. Which was adopted: Strike ont the words, "^n the day of , at {\\Q hour of ," and insert "immediately after tlic pas- saue of these resolutions."' Mr. Claytou; of Marshall, oflered the following: amend- ment, wjiieh was adopted : Fourth sei-tjon — After tlie Avord '" therein,'"' in the ninth line, insert the words to be composed of delegates, elected hv the people of said States, in such manner as the said Convention, or the Legislatures of tlic several States may prescribe. Mr. King offered the following amendment to the fourth section, which was lost : « Amend bv striking out the word '.' Southern,"'" between the words ""other"' and " States," in the (ith line of the 4th resolution. ^[r. Rogers offered the following amendment : Strike out all after the word " therein," in the 3rd line of the 5th section, and insert the following : Then such Constitution, or Plan, shall be referred to the people of this State for ratification or rejection, to be assem- ]>led in Convention, by a call made either by the convention assembled at Montgomery, or by the Legislature of this State. ..' ' Mr. Clayton, of Marshall, offered the following amend- ment as a substitute for Mr. Rodgers/ which was lost. Fiftli section— In 4th line, strike out all after the words, " referred to," and in lieu thereof, insert, '• to a Convention for ratification or rejection, which convention shall be com- posed of delegates, elected by the people of said States, in such manner as the said convention at Montgomery, or the Legislatures of the several States may prescribe. Mr. Glenn moved to lay Mr. Rodgers' amendment on the table, which was decided in the negative, by yeas and nays, as follows: Yeas — Mr. President. Messrs. Alcorn, Anderson, AI- dridge, Barksdale, Booth, Brantley, Brooke, Beene, Blair, Chalmers, Dease, Dyer, Dcason, Edwards, Ellctt, George, •48 Glemi, Gwinn, ilarris. lluivt. Keiiii, Kcitli, Jjoa. Lamar, Lewers, Miller of Tunica, Neely, Nelson, Orr. Powell of Covington. Ranisav. Robert?. Semmcs!, Thompson. Vaughan. Walter. Welsh. Wilkinson, and Woods— 41. Nays — Me.>sr.-. Baldwin, Rackstrom, Benton, Berry. Bonds. Bollinjir, Bullard. Bookter, Clayton of Marshall, Clayton of Lowndes, Catchings. Cnmmin.u-s, Colbert. Clapp, O. Davis, J. S. Davis, Denson, Douglas, Eckford, Flournoy, Fontaine, Gholson, Hill, Holt, feom, Johnston of DeSoto, Kennedy, King, Marshall, Mayson, McGehee of Panola, Pattison. Powell of Jones, Rodgers, Reynolds, Sanders, Smart, Sumner, Stevens, Terral, Tison, Taylor, Wright. Yergcr and Young — 44. On motion, the Convention adjourned until 7 o'clock this evening. SEVEN o'clock r. M. The Convention met pursiiant to adjom'nment. And resumed tlie consideration of the re])ort of the Com mittee on Southern Confederacy, The question being on the adoption of tlie amendment oflfered by Mr. Rogers, Mr. Fontaine offered the following as a substitute for the amendment of Mr. Rogers, which was accepted and the resolution of Mr. Rogers withdrawn, to-wit : Strike out all after the word '■ thereon," in the third line and insert : Then such constitution or plan shall be referred to the people of this State for ra\ Benton. Berry. Bookter, (Clayton of ^larshall, '" '...wnde-.-. Catching. Chalmers, Clapp, 0. Davis, Ml. Kckford. Ellelt, George, Glenn, Gholson,i (;wi... 1 1... lis. Holt. Hin-st. Isoni. Jones, Lea. Lamar, Mar- hallM:-v n!i M.MJi-liecof Panola, Miller of Tunica. Necly, • -.111. PoNvell of Covington, llauL-^ey, Roberts, Tcrral, Taylor. 'I'liompson. Yauglian, Waiter, Welsh. Wilkinson, Woods, Wright and Yergcr.— 52. Mr. Glenn offered t!»e following amendment : A'li.-nd tlic fourth .section l>y striking out the word • Soutliern." before die word '• State?,*' in tlie .^ixth line. Which was ado])ted. Mr. Glenn moved, that Ihi^ ordinance be considered as eii;rroy-ed and the ordinance put upon its passage. Which was adoi)tcd. The «|in-stign wa.s then taken on the passage of the ordi nance, and deciiled in the aftirmativo. . On motion of Mr. Glenn. // ' That the Convention go into the election ol I)i ': . the Montgomery Convention to-morrow at 11 oVl»>* k. On motion, the Convention adjoiu-ncd until to-morrow a^ 10 o'clock. WEDNESDAY. J.wtJARY -iaui). IStJi: ' Convention met pursuant to adjournment. ■' "f prececding day read nnrl approved. !i of .Mr. Glenn, T •! the Conunltteo on a Southern Confederac) Ik - c'U<|uirc into the propriety or expediency o ha\ nig Uiii State represented in such Provisional Govern XOTA IJEXA. In oxj>l;m:itiou of thi> followiii'j- ballots, tlio Printor l:iUt'-- llic libcrlv of iiiscrtiiiir the lullowiii.ir oxtracts IVoni tlic rc- visod reixii-ts of the Couvculioii, us pubHshcd in the Mis- si ssipj/iaii : IJctorc the Convention in-ococtleil to Imllot. Mi: Dyer said, it was well known that th(! dGlcgatcs rcp- mscntini^ the oounties emhraeod iii the 4th (reotrraphieal ])istrietrhavc reconiinendiMl to this l»ody >FaJ. K. IJarlvsdah" as a proj)er person (o be seleetcd to represent the State in l.art in the Monttroincry Cf>nvention. This Tact has made his name prominent in the list from whieh selections \v\]\ lie made. Jndrder tliat ntcmhers may not cast their ballots under a misajipreliension (d* his wishes, ho was authorized and reipiested to announce to this body that it is iiiiIr."Ellett then rose ai\d said that l)y rerinestot Mr. (rlonn liis name could not ir«) before the Convention. Mr. Glenn havino; been unanimonsly luuninated by the menibers from his nrstrict, the statement was proper as it was in withdrawal was unconditional", and that while he was grate- ful for the preference whieh a large number of members had indicated for him, he did not desire the position. That cir- .•umstances rendered it impossible for him to serve even if .'leeted bv the partiality of the Convention. Mr. l*UESH>KNT :— L lifivo up Ut this tiinp. in (lofpi-oiKM^ t(. Uio .su«r<'C?tioiir of friends niid aLralnst tlio |ii'(>iu])lin.t>-s of my (}\vn incliuatio|i, n'lVaiii('(l Worn witlnUawiii^r n^y naim^ ^-''''.'t the liallotinirs in wiiicli avc arc fMiuaiiviJ, but I foel that it is ijur lo llio ('onyiUi/rK}! andto myself to say, that -whilst 1» recoiruiiio tlic ])oc;it.ion of Ucle.u-atc.lo the Mont«romn-y (Vjn- ycntiou, c>T^[K'ci ally, when couterrcd % a bmly ontitlen>found rcs^i^pct ^s this, as one of hv^h (iistinHion-- an iionm-of vfliich any. gojitlcinan hb .itoomI roason to lotH prou'l: ret I,havo.at lhe\sa^uo tiii.0 ivorardc^i it as a frnj^t invol\ii45'S4fli (Iclic'a.tc i^intics and hi.trh rc^jxnvsibiHtfo^. a>> ])e neittwr soiight nor ccnirtcd : ami as o-nf of nn- distin- 'guishetl'. wlleagms has bo«.-n alroad>- soWtod ns ono of th(>^ houoreil repre^j^eiitativcs of the State, Avhilst tendering my uratefid acknowledgments to those gentlen^en avIio hJiSx> irfjomplimented mc with their votes, 1 rOf|a€St tliat i»iy naiiW d^e Av.i.thdrawu. •'■„'''.*'*' ,,'V'" '.' " ' iduii/, . •J ,, ,", 51 , mciit as may be formed by the Coiiventiou at Monto-omery, and the best mode by vrhicli such representation can be had, and report by resoUrdon or othen;^'ise as soon as practicable. The President announced llio folIowiDti' Committees : Committee to prepare (lag and coat of arms ior tlio State, Messrs. Ch\i>p, Ellett. Thompson, Ramsey and Yonng. Committ«.'e to prepare an address to the people of the State in reference to planting, Messrs. Clayton of Lowndes, Vaughau, M. McGehee, Keirn and Lea. On motion of Mr. King, Hcsolved. That the lions ^ A. G. Brown. Jefferson Davis, Reuben Davis. John J. McRac. Wm. Barksdale and 0. E. Singleton, the Senators and Representatives in Congress, be invited when present to seats upon the iloor of this liouse during all the sittings of this Convention. Mr. Clayton of Marshall, offered the following ordinance, Whicli was refei'red to the Committee on State Constitu- tion : Be it ordained and declared, cnid it is hereby ordai7ial and declared by this Convention. That if any part of the ]>resent Constitution of the State of Mississippi, shall lie in conflict with any ordinance passed by this Convention, such })art of said Constitution shall l>e held tx) be abrogated and auiiulh^il to the extent of such conflict but no further. On motion of Mr. Glenn, i^Cc C. 1). Fontaine . . ; 1 C. P. Smith 8 J. Z. George 2 W. MeWillie 2 D. B. Wrjnlil 4 J. A. Or.- 3 ri. J. Glinlson 2 Hurst a Welsh 3 Sale 2 Aleoru P» W. R. Harri- 1 Houston 1 Glenn 1 J. R. C'liakrier.s 1 H. W. Walter 1 J. Drane 1 SKCOND IJAl.LOT ClOXTIXUED. VOTES. O. Davis \ 1 WIiolc iuiuii>;'r oi votes cast ....... ■•*! Necessary to a clioico. ''• Messrs. Wilson and Brooke receiviu'2; a inajuiily ol" all the votes ca«t. were (loci a red eloctctl. , - The Convention then proceeded to a third -ballplt with the folh)vriug yo-^\\]i : TiiiUn ii\\J.\^\'. W. l!^. Barrv ;JS J. W. Cla])]) .:i9 J. A. r. Campbell 2d. A. M. Clayton r,Z A. G. Brown -2'.. J. T. Harrison 2i: W.L.Harris 2 F. M. Roffcrs 24 H. R. Miller 20 Cassidy ' 4 J. Thompson 25 G. H. YonuL-- 1 W. 11. mii.^. 7 A. K. Blvthc 11 G. R. Clayton '..:.... 9 Jeff. Davis W. Yerj^er 1. E. Barksdalc. . 1 D. C. Glenn 1 J. W. Matthews 1 Benton ... 4 F. Anderson ... 7 S. S. Boyd ... 3 Alcorn .1 Featherston 6 H. W. Waller. 2 .r. L. Autry 1 Gholson 4 W. Anderson 2 Baldwin 2 THIIJD jJALLOT COXTINUED; VOTES. C. R. Crusoe 1 H. J)ickin>on 1 R. Becnc 4 Claytou 1 Dilwortli 1 W. McWillio 1 Hurst : .... 2 McRac 1 Dowd 1 Sale 1 D. B. Wridit , 2 J. A. Orr^ 4 Whole nuiii})er of votes cast 92 Necessary to a choice 47 Mr. A. M. Clayton liaving received a majority of all the votes cast was declared elected. No one else having- received a majority the Convention proceeded to a fourtli liallot with the ibllowino- result : FOURTH BAT.LOT. VOTES. W. S. Barry 41 Ro.siors 32 Campbell 30 * J. W. Matthews 11 IT. R. Miller 25 d. Thompson 28 A. K. Blythe 7 Clapp 27 . J. T. Ilarrisoji 28 A. G. Brown 16 W. L. Harris 4 D. B. WnVht 4 Fcatherston 4 G. R. Clayton 5 Baldwin 2 Jeff. Davis 3 F. Anderson 7 Walter 1 Autry 1 57 FOURTH BALLOT CONTINUED. VOTES. Boyd 4 W. R. Hill 3 Benton 1 H. Dickinson 1 J. A. OiT 2 Crusoe 1 Whole number of votes cast 92 Necessary to a clioicc 47 No one rcceivinn; a majority of all the votes cast the Con- vention proceeded to a lifth V)allot. Pending which, Tlic Convention adjourned until 3^- o'clock, p. m. THREE AND A HALF o'CLOCK, T. l\. The Convention met pursuant to adjournment, And resinned the l.tallot for Delegates to the Montgomery Convention. The fifth ballot resTtlted as follows : FIFTH BALLOT. VOTES. W. S. Barry 42 F. M. Rogers 41 J. A. P. Campbell 43 J. T. Harrison 41 G. R. Clayton 8 J. Thompson 28 H.R.Miller '...37 W. R. Hill 7 . D. B. Wright 5 E.G. Walthall 1 Featherston 3 Clapp 7 Brown 4 Benton .* 1 Welsh..... 1 Boyd 2 Orr . 2 F. Anderson 4 58 FIFTH BALLOT CONTINUED. VOTES. S. Oliver • 1 Foiilaiiic 1 W. L. Harris. . . 1 Whole number of voles cast 94 Necessary to a choice 48 Xo one recciviii.c: a majority of all tlie votes cast the Con- vention proceeded to the ;-ixth ballot Avitli the following re- sult : .^ix'i'ii i;ai.i.(»t. VOTES. W. S. Barry 47 F. M. RoicVfS 4(1 J. A. P. bampbcll 47 J. T. Harrison 47 H.R.Miller 3'J J. Thompson 10 <:'lapp Wright :' 4 Clayton o Hiii ^ Lea 1 West 2 Featherston W. L. Harris Aldridge Lowi.s •. Gholson Brov.ii, Uenton . Orr -Vutry Whole number of votes cast •>! Necessary to a choice 46 Messrs. W. S. Barry, J. T. Harrison and J. A. P. Camp- bell, having received a majority of all tlie votes cast, were declared duly elected. Mr. Glemi, from the Committee on Southern Confederacy submitted a gorkiii of rosoUitinns, which, 59 On his motion, were laid on the table and 200 copies ordered to be printed. ^ On motion of ]\Ir. Cliabners, the Convention took up the ordinance to reg'ulato tlio Military system of the State of Mississippi. The question was then talccn on the passage of the ordi- nance and decided in tlie affirmative. On motion of Mr. Chahners, the Convcntiort iprocecded to the clectioji of a Major-General by ballot. Tlie President appointed Messrs. GholF(m, Anderson and Beene, to act as tellers. Upon the first ballot, Jefferson Davis received ... . . 88 votes. Reul)en Davis .1 " Earl Van Dorn ! Whole number of votes cast ...''■' Necessai'y to a choice -iti Jefferson^ Davis having received a majority of all the votes cast was declared elected Major- Ger^ral. On motion of Mr. Clialmers, the Convt ution proceeded to the election of four Brigadier-Generals. On motion of Mr. Welsji, the election was conducted by ballot. (;, I ^ , Messrs. Gholson, Anderson and Beene, acting as tollers. The Convention proceeded to ballot with the following result : FIRST BALLOT. VOTES. W. C. Faulkner 8 C. Clark 19 D. R. Russell 1 .Earl Tan Dorn 20 J. L. McMannus 3 C. H. Mott 7 J. L. Alcorn 18 J. C. Russell 1 John H. Miller 2 A. K. Blvthe 1 Thomas W. Harris 2 n. H.Miller.: 2 Charles H. Abert 1 W. F. Gaines 1 60 FIRST BALLOT CONTINUED. VOTES. J. R. J)avirf 1 Richard Griffith 1 Wliolo number of votes cast 89 Xcce.-sar}- to a choice 45 No one liaving received a majority of the whole the Con- vention proceeded to a second ballot with the following result : SECOND BALLOT. VOTES. Charles Clark 2-i Earl Van Doru 35 J. h. Alcorn 24 H. PI. Miller 1 J. L. McMaunus 2 C. H. Mott 3 T. W. Plarris 1 Whole number of votes cast 90 Necessary to a choice 46 No one having received a majority of all the votes cast the CouYcution proceeded to a third ballot with the follow- ing result : THIRD BALLOT. VOTES. Charles Clark 11 Earl Van Doru 61 ,1. L.Alcorn 19 "Whole numljcr of votes cast 91 Necessary to a choice 46 Earl Van Dorn having received a majority of all the votes cast was declared elected Hrst Rrigadior-General. The Convention tlion ])rocecdc(l to ballot for 2nd Briga- dier-General with the following result: 61 FOURTH BALLOT. VOTES. J. L. Alcorn 42 Charles Clark 36 C. H. Mott R. Griffith 2 T. W.Harris 2 H. IT. :\Iillcr 1 Whole uuiuber of votes cast 89 Necessary to a choice 45 No one having' received a niajority of all the votes cast the Convention proceeded to a fifth ballot. Pending the ballot, On motion of Mr. Fontaine, the Convention adjourned until 7^ o'clock, r. m. BEVEN AND A HALF o'CLOCK, P. M. The Convention met ])ursuant to adjournment. On motion of Mr. Clenn, the i-csolutions from the Com- mittee on Southern Confederacy, were made tke special order of tlie day for 10.^ o'clock to-morrow morning. Mr. Clapp offered the following resolution, which, On motion of Mr. Orr, was laid on the table : Resolved, That each member shall vote for three persons at one time, and the highest shall be declared lirst elected, provided he gets a majority of the whole vote cast, and in case of a tie it shall he determined by the Convention who shall be first. The Convention tlien procee led to a fifth ballot for 2nd Brigadier-General with the follcuving result : FIFTH BALLOT. VOTES. Charles Clark (U J. L. Alcorn 27 C. H. Mott. 1 Whole number of votes cast 02 Necessary to a choice 47 Charles Clark receiving a niajority of all the votes cast was declared duly elected second Brigadier-General. .62 The resiilt of sixth ballot was as follows : SIXTD HALLOT. VOTES. .1. ].. Alcorn 52 R. Griffith 5 W. C. Faulkner 7 H. H. Miller 3 T. W. Harris 8 C. H. Mott 12 Wm. Griffith 1 J. If. Miller 2 Whole number of votes cast 90 Necessary to a choice 46 •L L. Alcorn having received a majority of all the votes cast was declared duly elected third Brigadier-General. The Convention then proceeded to ballot for a fourth Brigadier-General with the following result : *feEVENTH BALLOT. VOTES. T. W. Harris — C. H. Mott 37 H. H. Miller 4 J. H. Miller 2 W. C. Faulkner 7 C. H. Abert 1 A. K. Blythe 3 Richard Griffith 2 Wm. Griffith — J. L. McMaunus 2 T. Harris 7 Whole number of votes cast 94 Necessary to a choice 48 No one receiving a majority of all the votes cast the Con- vention proceeded to ballot with the following result : 63 EIGHTU BALLOT. VOTES. C. H. Mott 48 T. Harris 2 W. H. :\riller a W. C. Faulkner 31 McMaiiiniH -> B^tlic 1 R. Griffith 1 J. H. Miller 3 Whole iiimiber ol' voles east 02 Necessary to a choice 47 C. It. Mott liaving receiveil a majority of the votes.cast was declared duly elected fourth Brigadier-General. On motion of Mr. Gholson, the Convention adjoui-ned until to-morrow moruiiijjf at !() o'clodc. THURSDAY. January 24th. 1861. Tlie Convention met pursuant to adjournment. .Tournal of preceding- day read and approved. Connnunications to tlio President were read and referred to the a|)propriatc committees. Mr. Clapp submitted an (n-dinauce from the Committee on Postal Aftairs. Which was laid on the table and 2U() copies ordered to be jirintcd. Mr. Orr olTercd the following- rer.-olution : Resolved, Tliat a special committee of five.bc ajipointed to enquire into the expediency (.)f suspending the execution of decrees, judgments, executions, mortgages and deeds of trust for twelve months ; also, the laws for instituting suits in the various court^tf this State, except tho attachment laws. Fending which. The Convention, on roorioa of Mr. Glenn, proceeded to the consideration of the special order, to-wit : the resolu- tions c!^ the Committee on Sontliera Confederacy, 0)4 Mr. Ellctt offered an aiiiendincnt thereto, which, On his motion, wa^ hiid on the tal.tlc and two hundred copies ordered to lie ]>rintcd ; and the whole subject was made tlic special order tor ten o'clock to-morrow. On motion of Mr. Fontaine, the Convention went into secret session. After some time spent therein tlic doors of tlic Conven- tion Avere opened. On motion of ^[r. Wright, the Convention resolved itself into Connnittee of tlie Whole, to take into consideration the ordinance reported by the Committee of Ways and Means, entitled an ordinance to raise means for the defense of the State. Mr. Orr in the chair. After some time spent therein the committee rose and re- jioi'tcd back the' ordinance without any recommendation. Wliich was received and agreed to. Tlio Convention proceeded to the consideration of the ordinance by Hcctions. ]Mr. George offered the following amendment to the first section : ''ProvidoL that in order to make the State tax on slaves equal to the State tax on other personalty and on land, the above mentioned tax of fifty per centum on the present State tax, shall not apply to slaves, but instead thereof an additional special tax of one dollar and twenty-five cents be imposed on each taxable slave, to be collected and dis- liursed as the other taxes herein provided for. ^Ir. Chalmers offered the following amendment to tlie amendment : "And that the regular tax on slaves be and it is hereby so changed, that the ta\x assessed on each taxable slave shall be the same as on taxalile land, and that no slave shall be taxed who is over sixty or under ten years of age, and that slaves shall be so assessed at the next regular assessment of the property of the State." Mr. moved to lay the amendment and the amendment to the amendment on "the talile. A division being called for, ^ The question was lirst taken on laying the amendment to tlic amendment on the tabic and decided in the affirmative. The question was then taken on laying the amendment of Mr. George on the talile, and decided in the negative by yeas and nays, as follows : (^5 Yeas.t^Mcssts. Al<^ru, Anderson, Barksdale, Backstrom. Booth. Boiling. Clrivton of Lowndeh'. (.'olbort. Clapp, Beaso. J)vev. Ellotl, Fi/,«'V. Flounioy, Harrii^. Hill, Holt, Hur^^t. Jones, Kcirn. Kennedy. Kiiiu'. Lamar, Marshall. McGelieo of Bolivar, MeGehee of Panola. Xi^ely, rattisoii. Roberit--. .' Sander8,8(mnnes, Smart, Terra]. Taylor, Thompson. Vaughan. • Walter, Wilkinson and Yerecr — 38. ' Nays. — Mr. President, Messrs. Aldridgc, Baldwin, Brant- . ley, Brooke. J^entoii. Blair, Berry, Bonds, Bullard, Clayton of Marshall, Calehing. Chahners, Cumminirs. O. Davis. .). S. l)avis. Deuson. Douglas, Deason, Ecklbrd. Edwards. Fontaine, (leorjre, (Jieun, (ijiolson. ,(twju. Ilcrrinsi-. Isom, Johnston of DeSoto. Keith. Lea. Lewers. Eewis, Miller of Pont£)toc. MiHer of Tunica, Nelson, Orr. Parker, Powell of Coving-ton. Rainse\', Rogers, Reynolds, Sumner, Stevens, Tison, Witty. Wocvls. Wright and Yonng — 17. 'Iin l\fy') '>ll' Pending fin'ther action. The Convention adjourned until three o'elock this even- ing. ■•^' TTTREE o'clock, P. M. " . The Convention mel j)ursuanl to adiournmenl. ■f'vt Mr. Herring asked to Inuc his votx' recorded in thef neg- ative on the proposition to lay the amendment of Mr. •'iCredrge on the table. li- Mr. Eekfoi'd offered the following resolution : Eesohhrf. That the Governoi- ho and he is hereby author- ized to appropriate to the use of Volunteers when called into, service or Ix^fore if he may deem it necessary such cloth or other material manufactured in the Penitentiary and now on hand, or which may ]»e hereafter manufactured, aa may be suitable for clothing said troops or making tents for the sara(\ Mr. Walter ottered the following amendment as a substi- tute : • Jicso/vcd. That the ^[ilitary Board created by the ordi- nance passed by this Convention be autliorized to employ so much of the labor of the l^enitGntiary for making tents, clothing. iK^ai4u.£!;, rlii'' hiiTli('f''.';'in wa- (li:^j)ori«o. Ji('.S'>lir(l,T\int \ho Pr(V-:i«lf'i.i ,,|.|..i;,, .^ r.iiiiuillce oC ihrcc. \vlu).se duty it ;^liall Ix; lu <'.\iMiiiin' tlu' locui-ils of tliis Couven- tion, enh-pof any ci rur.-. it anyrlicicin. ;i!t(i ]iro]-)are the paliie for amplication. On motion o\' Mr. lltilt. . V I{('.s()/i:c(l. 'j'liat . tlu; ( Jovciikh- \>r iicn-lty requested to fcr- \rard iironnttly to tlie Ivvccntiviv ul the Xortli-we^'torn State.^j, an authenticated copy of tlie onliiyincp |)a:-sed by this Con- vention, declaratoi'V of our detcnninalion not to obstruct in any manner the ])ec('iiltK' naviualion .if the Mississippi riv^r, within (un- limits. On motion of Mr. (Mt. the rcsoliitioii in i-dation tO a Navy law Avas taken np. Mr. Fontaine moved to lay the resolution on the table : Which was decided in the af!irmativ'\ by yeas and nays, ns follows: Yeas- — Mr. President. Messrs. Ah-oni. Aidridge.Barksdale, Backstrom. Booth. Brooke. Benton. Beciie. Bonds, Boiling. BuUard, Clayton. Chalmers of Mai-siiall, Clayton of Lowndes Cumming-s.Clapp. 0. Davis. Douglas. Dyei-. Dcason. Kekford. Edwards. Ellett. Fizer. ri(.)uraoy. Georiiv. Cibson. Gholson. Cwin, ilenry, Holt. Hiu-st, Johnston of DeSoto. .Tones, Kcirn. Kennedy, King, Lea, Marshall. McGehee of Boli^ ar. McGohee of Panola. Myers, Xelson. Parker, Pattisou. Powell of Jones. Ramsey, Roberts, Rogers. Reynolds. Sandei-s. Sennnes, Tison. Taylor, Thornton,Thom))son.A'aughan. Walter. Welsh,Witt.y. Woods and Yerger — fio. , Nays — Brantley, Berry, Catchiugs, Dense, ilenjon, Keith, Lewers, Neely. On*. Powell of Covinglou. and Terrall — 11. Mr. Brooke presented the following ordinance : Be it ordomed by the- people of the Sf'ffn o'' Mississippi, in Convention assembled. That no law for tlie purpose of hinder- ing or delaying the execution of legal prr»cesf for the collec- tion of debts, or postponing the foi-oclosure of mortgages, or deeds, of trust, shall be passed by the Legislature, un- less the same shall be passed by three-fourths of each House. On his motion, the ordinance was referred to the com mittee ou State Constitution. ' '" ' ' ''■" --••-;--.:'' t.'-'^: 69 Mr. .Tone? offered die tbllowing re^olutioi). wliicb, on mo- tion of Mr. Bollino-, Avas laid ou tliC table : Remlved, Tiiat the "coniniittee on the State Constitution." be instructed to consider and report, whether any. and if any. wirat '^amendment to the constitution is advisa1)le. in order to (Miablc the Legislature to enact sucli laws for the collection of rexcnue to be derived from real estate, as sliali avoid the difficulties arising under constitutional cpies- tions in the courts, which have heretofore d(>feated tlie validity of titles to lands, sold in this iState. for default of owners, in the nou-]»aym<>nt of tlicir tiixos. The (Convention proceeded t<^ the con^ideraiion of the special order. l>eing an ordinance to raise means lor the defense of the State. Mr. (reorge offered tJie following anicndnici|t to 1st section : Add to the I SI section, "Provided that the above-men- tioned ti'.x of tifty per centum on the present State Tax, shall not ap})ly to slaves; but, instead thereof, an additional sj)ecial tax of one dollar and twenty cents 1)e imposed on each taxable slave, which shall be collected, disbursed and accounted for in the same manner as the other taxes herein provided for. A motion being made to table the amendment, the yeas and nays wei-e demanded, and the motion prevailed, by the folloAving vote : Vf:AS — Messrs. Alcorn. Anderson, Barksdale, Backstrom, Bootli, Boiling, Bullard. Clayton of LoAvndes. Catching, Cummings. Clapp, Dease. Dyer. Eckford, Edwards, Ellett. Fizer, Elournoy, Gibson, Owin, Harris, Holt, Hurst. .Tohu- ston of DeSoto, Jones, Keirn, Keith. Kennedy. King. Bewers, Marshall. McGehe'^ of Bolivar, McGehee of Panola. Xecly. Powell of Covington, Roberts, Sanders, Semmes. Terrell. Tavlor. Thompson. Vaughan. Walter. Welsh, and Witty— 44." Xays — Mr. President. Aldridge. Baldwin. Brantley, Brooke, Benton. Bcene. Blair. Berr} . Bonds. Clayton of Marshall. Chalmers. 0. Davis, Denson. Douglas. Deason. Fontaine. George. Gholson. Herring. Ison). Lea. Miller of Pontotoc, Miller of Tunica. Xelson. Pattison, Powell of Jones, Ramsey. Rogers, Reynoldr^. Stevens. Tison, Thornton, Woods and Young — 3". Mr. King olBfered the follovdng amendment : C— 15 70 Strike out the first ai?etioij, and insert in lieu tlierooi", the following : Section 1. That it shall be the duly of the tax-collectors of the several counties in this State, forthwith after the passagi' of this ordinance, to collect, in the manner now provided by law for the collection of other taxes, from every tux-payer in his county, an additional special State tax of lifty per centum on the regular State tax of such tax-payer, and also a tax IVoni every inhabitant of this State of three per ccntuni n\)ou all money owned or controlled by sucli inhabitant, and deitosited. loaned or employed in the purchase of not(^-•, bills, stocks, or any securities for the payment of money, witiiout the limits of this State, or kept from circulation witliin the same, at any time during tlie fiscal year, and to pay the same into the State Trea- sury, subject to all the laws, restrictions and penalties that ajiply \p and regulate the collection and payment of other State taxes; and the money so collected sliall con- stitute a Military Fund, and a separate account thereof shall be kejtt by the Auditor and Treasurer, and the same shall be disbursed V)y Avai-rant, issued on the order of the Governor, and shall be applied by the Governor to such purposes of defense and military service of this State as may be authorized by law, this Convention, or the Legisla- ture : Provided that the money invested in the loan to the State, authorized by tlie second section of this ordinance, shall be exempt from all taxes, whether the same be State, county, mimicipal, special, school or military : And pro- vided further, that money temporarily dejiosited without the limits of this State, or kept from use and circulation within the same, in contemplation of use, other than for loan or employment in the purchase of stocks, bonds, bills, or other evidence of debt or permanent deposit without the limits of this State, shall be exempt from said tax of three per cent : And provided further, that the Boards of Police of such counties as shall have a surplus of money in tlieir respective count}' treasuries, shall apply such surplus money by ca.using ihe same to be paid to the proper tax-collectors, in or towards the discharge of said tax of fifty per centum, in their respective coimties. The question was taken on the adoption of the a-mend- meat, and decided in the afSrmative. Mr. Clayton of Marshall, offered the following amend- mfint to SGcticn second, which was lost : 71 In section 2nd, 4tli iuio, strike out tlie words, one, two, and three, and insert twt three and four years, and in fifth line after the words 1861, strike out the words, bearino- in- terest at ten per cent, per «nnum from date, and insert, with coupons of interest attachci at the rate of ten per cent, per annum payable ammally. Mr. Barry offered the fol)wing amendment to the fourth section, Which was adopted : lind it shall be the duty oteach tax collector who shall have on hand any money collated under the provisions of this ordinance to receive and ^y any treasury note or cer- tificate of loan issued in purs^nce of this ordinance, and which sluill be paya})lc at thteml of the fiscal year for which tlie tax in the hands oi ho assessor was collected • and if anv tax collector haviuj,' .ufficient money on hand arising f^m said tax shall refu. to pay anv certificate or note as aforesaid to the holder oun-esentation and demand thereof, he shall be liable to thcoldcr thereof in a sum equal to the amount of the said nip o^ certificate to be re- covered on an execution in any mrt having jurisdiction thereof. Mr. King offered the following ?^ndmcnt bv way of ad- ditional sections, Which was adoj^ted : Section — . That it shall be th^uty of the tax collec- tors when collecting the taxes leviecy this ordinance until the assessors shall make other assesonts of personalty, to assess the said tax of three per cent.ion all money owned or controlled liy the inhabitants of t State aTid deposited loaned (n- employed without the liminf this State or kept from use and circulation Avithin the s;c at any time during the fiscal year, and to require suchhabita'nts to give in the said assessment under oath to Kdministered by said tax collectors, and to return one oo]i)f said assessment to the Board of Police of the proper coiy and one to tho Auditor of Public Accounts, and fjiousuch inhabitant fa'I or refuse to give in said assessmenl tlisaid collectors shall levy and collect from such inliabitjnt c sum of • Provided, that the tax collector|=fha for their compensai tion for collecting the taxes raiseaiy is ordinance receiVo three per centum upon the amcjit dlected from the tax payers and nothing for receiving c mounts that shall be paid by the Boaid of Police in dihar;e of the eaid tax of 50 per centum. I C-.16 r-i to be /Hoctcd and ])aid over as lierein tl/followiiiu' auieiulmciit to section Sec — That each assessor of taxes hi this State in all pubsequcnt assessments for taxcsiintil said treasury notes arc' paid shall roqair<' each hihabtant of his county, to ren- der on oath to be bv hiui adniinifcred, the amount of money owned or controlled bv him. lud deposited, loaned, or em- ployed in the purchase of notes/jiUs, bonds, stocks mortga- ges or any securities for tiie payncnt of monies without the limits of this State or kept fror iLse and circulation within tlie same at anv time duriiV the fiscal year as aforesaid, and should said' tax payer /ail or refuse to render said amount or take said oath, /en said assessor shall assess acrainst him or her the su^of ?o,0()0, as taxes lor money dSpositod. loaned, or empVfl without tlio State or kept from use and circulation >thin tlie same as aforesaid, and which sum so assessed s\ll bo.collected and paid over a*5 other taxes are before provided. Mr. Jones offered first, Which was lost :',.,., , Provie U frt>' wdainerl. That immediately on the passage of this opncc each Sherifl' and Tax Collector in this State shall exW a bond, with good security, pay- 73 able to the State, and in a penalty equal to the present State tax of his county, and conditioned for the due and faithful performance of the duties inij)o.-'ed on him by this ordinance, which said bond shall ho approved, filed and recorded in the same manner as Sheriifs' bonds are now required by law to be approved, filed and recorded. Sec. — . Be it further ordained, That if any Sheriff shall fail to execute said bond, with security, as provided in the last preceding- section of this ordinauce, by the 1st day of March next, his office shall thereby become vacated, and the vacancy thereljy occasioned shall be filled as other vac4incie3 in the offices of Slieriff are now required by law to be filled. On motion of Mr. \V right, the ordinance as amended was ordered to be engrossed and made tlie special order of the dav for 10 o'clock ttvinorrow morning. ^Ir. Barksdale from the Committee on Enrolled Ordi- nances, reported the Kesolutions on Southern Confederacy correctlv enrolled*. Mr. ftarris, from the Committee on Federal Jurisdiction and Property, i-eported an ordinance supplemental to an ordinance com'erning the jurisdiction and property of the United States of America in the State of ^Mississippi, passed on the day of January. 1861, and recommended its passage. Which was received and agreed to. On his motion, the ordinance was made the special order of the day for ?» o'clock to-morrow. Leave of absence was granted Messrs. Chalmers, Deason, Ramsey, Myers and Tison. On motion, the Convention adjourned until 3 o'clock p.m. THREE o'clock P. M. • Tlie Convention met pursuant to adjournment. Mr. Brantlev submitted an ordinance relative to the " disbursment of the Military Fund." Which on his motion, was made the special order for 3 o'clock to-morrow. On motion of Mr. Glenn, the Convention then took np the report of the Committee on Southern Confederacy. Mr. Glenn offered the following amendments, which ^cro adopted, to-wit : Amend the first section by inserting in third line after the word " appoint" the word " immediately." C— 17 74 After the wdrd election iu second section, third liue, insert the word '' immediately.'' Amend third section by inserting aftei- the word election, in the 3d line, the word " immediately.'' Add the following section : Sec. 4. That all laws providing fur the election of Senators and Representatives in the Congress of the United States, are hereby annulled so far as they autliorize the election of Senators or Representatives in the said Con- gress ; but such laws shall continue in force so fai- as to authorize and regulate the election of Senators and Repre- sentatives in the Congress of any new Confederacy or Government of which this State may become a member. Mr. Ellett olfered the following amendment : Amend by striking out the first, second and third sections, and inserting in lieu thereof the following : Amend by striking out all after the word " Resolved,'' in the first line, and insert the following. to-\vit: That Jefi'erson Davis and Albert G. Brown, be and tliey are hereby appointed Senators to represent the State of Mississippi in the Senatorial branch of any Congress, or other legislative body, of any Confederacy or Government to be formed between the State of Mississippi and other States, as contemplated by the action of this Covention ; and that they hold their office until the end of the next regular or called session of the Legislature, when their suc- cessors shall be chosen in the manner now provided by law for the election of Senators in the Congress of the United States ; and should any vacancy occur in tiie meantime, the Governor shall make an appointment to fill such vacancy. Sec. 2. That Reuben Davis, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, Wil- liam Barksdale, Otho R. Singleton and John J. McRae, be and they arc hereby appointed Representatives of the State of Mississippi, in the Representative liranch of any Con- gress, or other legislative body, of any Confederacy or Government to be formed between the State of ]Mississippi and other States, as contemplated by the action of this Convention ; and that they hold their office until superseded by election to be held in the manner hereinafter provided ; and if a vacancy shall happen, or if the State shall be entitled to more than five Representatives, such vacancy or deficiency, shall be filled for the unexpired term, by a special election, to be ordered, conducted and returned in the manner directed hj law for filling vacancies in any State office. holding the next regular State olectioii, fnt' tho iiumbcf of Representatives to which this State may be entitled in the Congress of any new Coufederacy or (joverument of which the State may become a member, to hold for such term as the Coustitutiou of such Confederacy may prescribe ; if entitled to live Represeutatives. the election shall be by Districts as now established by law ; but if the number of Representatives to which the State is entitled be increased above five, then one shall be chosen in each District as now organized, and the additional number shall be chosen by the electors of the State at large ; and if the number of Repre- sentatives be diminished, then the whole number shall be chosen by the electors of the State at large ; but the Legis- lature may in the meantime reorganize the said Districts, and increase or diminisli the stwne if necessary, and the election shall be held accordingly. j The yeas and nays being called for, the amendment WES' adopted by the following rote : Yeas. — Mr. President, Barksdalc, Backstrom, Booth, Brooke, Benton, Berry, Bonds, Clayton of Marshall, Catch- ing, Cummings, Clap}), 0, Davis, Dease, Eckford, Edwards, Ellett. Fizer, George, Gholson, GAvin. Herring, Holt, Isom, Johnston of DeSoto, Keirn, Keith, Kennedy, Lea, Lewei's, Marshall, McGehee of Bolivar, McGehce of Panola. Miller of Pontotoc, ]Miller of Tunica, Neely, Nelson, Parker, Pattison, Powell of Covington, Powell of Jones, Ramsey. Roberts, Rogers, Scmmes, Smart, vStevcns, Terral, Taylor, Vaughan. Walter. Welsh, Witty, AVoods and Wright — 55. Nays. — Messrs. Aldridge, Brantley, Beene, Blair, Boiling, Clayton of Lowudea, Douglas, Flournoy, Fontaine, Glenn, Gibson, Harris, King. Reynolds, Sanders, Sumner, Thomp- son and Woods — 18. On motion of Mr. Orr, the Ordinance as amended was ordered to be engrossed and made the special order for 7 o'clock this evening. ^fr. Holt offered the following resolution : Bcsolved, That all officers in the military service of the late United States who have or shall hereafter resign their commissions in said service and shall eidist in the military ser-sice of the State of ]\Iississippi shall, until in actual service, receive such pay as their rank entitles them to receive at the time of said resignation. C-18 7(> On motion ol" ^Ir. Flournoy. the resolution Avas laid on the table. On motion of Mr. C'lapi). the Postal Ordinance was taken up. Mr. Clapp oftered the tollowinu" aniendiiieiu : Amend Sec. 1, by adding thereto a.s Ibllow.s : And all laws passed and regulations made by the authori- ty of the United States which are in eordliet with such pos- tal arrangements as may be adopted T)y the (jrovernor and officers of State aforesaid, in the conting-ency herein ])rovided for. are hereby repealed and annulled. Which was adopted. Mr. Clayton of Marshall oiTered the t'ollowing amend- ment : In Sec. 1, line 4, strike out the words, "and his council/' and insert the words the Secretary of State. Auditor of Public Accouuts, Treasuer and Attorney General. And same amendment in Sec. 2, line 2. ^ Pending further action, the Ordinance and ameudnientt* were recommitted to the committee. Mr. Benton offered the following resolution : jResolved, That the Governor's Council be instructed to report an Ordinance providing for a permaneut Council of the State, of three in number, and defining tlie duties of said counsellors, and })roviding a reasonable com])ensation for their services, .said counsellors to contiTnie in office until n Southern Confederacy is established. Mr. Fontaine offered the following amendment : Strike 6ut that portion of resolution which refers to ''compensation" of counsellors. Which was adopted. The question was then taken on the adoption of the resolution as amended and decided in the affirmative. Mr. Clayton of Marshall, offered the following resolution which was referred to the Committee on Postal Afft^irs, to- wit : Resolved, That an officer be appointed by this Convention to be called the Postmaster-General of the State of Missis- sippi, whose office and duties shall commence when the present postal system is abolished, with powers to provide mail facil ties for this State, and to that end, that he be invested with power to make contriftds and raise the rate of postage to meet the wants and requirements of that service. Mr. Ellett offered the following resolution, which was adopted, to-wit : i i Jiesolved hy ihe Pcopk of' Jj/ssis.sippi in Convention As- sembled, That tlio delegates to the General Com-ention of the seceding- States, be entitled to receive the same compen- sation and mileage .now allowed by law to menibeivs of the Legislature, the mileage to l)C computed by the estimated distance from the residence of the delegate to the place of meeting of said Convention, l)y the most direct route of travel ; and the Auditor shall issue his warrant therefor, on the written stntenient liy each delegate of tlie amonnt due hiin. Mr. Verger ofiei'cd the following resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Postal Affairs, to-wit : Besolvc(h That the Committee on Postal Affairs be and .they are hereby ■ instnu'ted to report an Ordinance for the issuance of Post office stamps and tlie rate of postage to be stauijx'd on the enve1o]tes so that all postal matter may be prepaid before its transpoi-tation or conveyance Ijy mail ; ])rovided that such Ordinance shall not go into etfcct nor bo in forofi unless tlic ])resent p<.)stal service 1)0 suspended or su})erseded by Congress. On motion, the Convcntio)vadiournf'yor and Colliert ashed and obtained leave of al)sence. Mr. Ki-ooke from Ihc Conunittce on Citizenship reported An Ordinance to regulate the right of citizeusliip in the 'State of Mississippi, and recommended its passage. The report Avas received and agreed to. On motion of iMr. Brooke, the rule was snspen(kNl. the Ordinance read a second time and passed. Ordered that tht^ title stand as stated. Mr. Fontaine moved that the Convention go into secret session. Which was adopted. 'The injunction of secresy was removed from tlu^ following proceedings had in secret session. Tl Mr. itolt oiBred the followlog ycoolutton i Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention it is not the purpose or policy of the people of the StAte of Missisaip- pi to r-eopen the African f;lavc trade. Mr. Miller of Pontotoc moved to lay the resolution on the table — the yeas and nays being demanded, the motion to lay on the table was lost by the following vote : Yeas. — Messrs. Barksdale, Backstrom, Brantley Beene, Bullard, Catching, Cummings, Clapp, Deasc, Douglas, Eck- ford, Ellett, Fontaine. George, Gholson, Gwin, King, McGehee, Miller of Pontotoc, Miller of Tunica, Neely, Pat- tison, Semmes, Terral. Witty, Woods — 20. #f AYS, — Mr. President, Messrs. Alcorn, Anderson, Ald- ridge, Baldwin, Booth, Brooke, Benton, Berry, Bonds, Boiling, Clayton of Marsliall. Clayton of Lowndes, 0. Davis, Edwards, Fizer, Flournoy. Glenn, Gibson, Harris, Holt, Hurst, Isom, Johnston of DeSoto, Keirn, Keith, Kennedy, Lea, Lamar, Lewers, Marshall, Nelson, Orr, Par- ker, Powell of Covington, Roberts. Rogers, Reynolds, Sanders, Smart, Sumner, Stevens, Taylor, Thornton, Thomp- son, Walter, Welsh, Wright, Yerger, Young — 50. The previous question being moved and sustained, The question was then taken on the adoption of the reso- lution, and decided in the affirmative by yeas and nays as follows : Yeas. — Mr. President, Messrs. Alcorn, Anderson, Ald- ridge, Baldwin, Booth, Brooke, Benton, Berry, Bonds, jBolIing, Clayton of Marshall, Clayton, of Lowndes, Catch- ing, Clapp, b. Davis, Dyer, Douglas, Eckford, Edwards, Ellett, Fizer, Floiu-noy, Fontaine, Glenn, Gibson, Gholson, Gwin, Harris, Herring, Holt, Hurst, Isom, Johnston of DeSoto, Keirn, Keith, Kennedy, Lea, Lamar, Lewers, Marshall, McGehee of Bolivar, M'cGehce of Panola, Miller of Tunica, Nelson, Orr, Parker, Pattison, Powell of Coving- ton, Roberts, Rogers, Reynolds, Sanders, Semmes, Smart, Sumner, Stevens, Taylor, Thornton, Thompson, Yaughan. Walter, Welsh, Wright, Yerger, Young— 66. Nays. — Messrs. Barksdale, Backstrom, Brantly, Boene, Bullard, Cummings. Dcase, George. King, Miller of Ponto- toc, Neely, Witty. Woods— 13. The doors of the Convention being opened, Mr. Glenn offered the following resolution : 79 Reeved, That when this Convention adjourns, that it do 90 subject to be reassembled upon the call of the Presi- dent of the same whenever in his judgment the public necessities may require it. nnd in case of the death or resig- nation of that officer, then u})on the call of a majority of a Committee of three now to be named by the President, and unless reassembled on or before tbe 1st Monday in June, A. D., 1861, then and in tliat case, it shall stand adjourned mie die. Mr. Ycrger offered the folhnving amendment : Amend by striking out all in tlie resolution after the word "adjourns" and inserting "that it adjourns sitte die not sub- ject to be reassemble by the order of the President thereof or the Governor of this State. On motion of Mr. Glenn tlie amendment was laid on the table, upon a call of the yeas and nays as follows : Yeas. — Mr. President, Messrs. Alcorn, Anderson, Barks- dale, Booth, Brantley. Bi-ooke, Blair, Berry. Catching, Clapp, 0. Davis. Dease, Douglas, Eckford, Fizer. George, Glenn, Gibson, Gwin, Harris, Herring, Keirn, Keith, King, Lea, Lamar, McGehee of Bolivar, McGehee of Panola, Miller of Pontotoc, Miller of Tunica. Neely, Nelson, Orr, Powell of Covington, Roloerts, Sanders. Semmes. Smart, Sumner, Ter- ral, Tavlor, Thompson, A^aucrhan, Walter, Welsh, Witty, Woods^ Weight— 50. Nays. — Messrs. Aldridge, Baldwin, Backstrom, Beene, Bonds, Boiling, Bullard. Clayton of Lowndes, Cumrajngs, Flournoy, Fontaine, Gholson, Holt, Isom, Kennedy, Lewers, Marshall, Parker, Pattison, Rogers, Reynolds, Stevens, Thronton, Yerger, Young — 25. Mr. Miller of Pontotoc offered the following amendment, which was adopted. Strike out "1st Monday in June," and insert "1st Monday in October." The question Avas then taken on the adoption of the resolution as amended, and decided in the affirmative. The President appointed as said committee, raised under the resolution of Mr. Glenn, Messrs. P. S. Catching. A. P. Hill and W. P. Anderson. Mr. Ellett offered the folly wing resolution : Resolved by the people of the State of 31ississip2ji in Con- vention assembled, That the reconstruction of the Union of the United States of America is impracticable and undesira- 80 hie, and ilial lu'rc'it'trr .\ii.^.-i-.-ii>[)i oiiuht to ooiifederato only with Stiiltw luiviim- similai; doincHitie iustiUitioiis to herovru. Mr. IJerrv moved to lay tlio i-osiolutioii on tlie table. [. The }ea.s and nay.'^ beinsr called for. the iT-idiitlon vvas.h tabled l)y the followinsr vote : n ^'Yeas.-I— Mr. Prosideni. Mes.sre. • iibidei-^Oit, Baldwiu,") Brantley. Brooke. Boene. Blair. Berry. Bonds. Bollina'. Biilnw lard. Clayton of Lowndes. Cuumiings, (.). i)a\is, ]^ouglas,il Fizer, Fh^rnoy. Herring, J.soni. Jolinstoii of DeSoto, Keith. l- Kennedy, King. Lea. Lninar, Lewers. Marshall,- MeOehee, of Bolivar. Parker. Powell of Covington. Keynolds. Sander.^. .Sumner, Stevens*. Terral. Taylor, Thornton, I'hompf^ou, Taughan. Walter. Witty. Wright. Yero-ci- and Vonng. — 44. Xayks. — Messrs^. Alcorn. AhJiidge. Bark.sdale, Baekstroni, Catching. Olapi). Dease. Eckford. EUelt. Fontaine, (leorge. Glenn, (xibson, Ghol; therefor the word "Legislature,'" Which amendment was adopted. =• ■' On motion of Mr. Brantley, the rule was suspended, thM f)rdinance read a second time and ])assed as amended," •*"?''' '^ Ordered. That the title stand as stated. -.xhiOtifT Mr. Walter moved to reconsider the vote by whicli the Convention lixed the hour of 2 P. M. for adjouinmcnt. '' Which was carried. On motion of Mr. Harris, tiie Convention took up the ordinance entitled " An Ordinance sup])lemental to an ordi- nance concerning the jurisdiction and property of tlic Tnited States (d' Amei-ica in the State of Mississippi." Mr. Clayton of Lowndes, offered the follovriiig amcMid- ment : . -* Provided, That notliing herein contained shall impair the right of any ])erson having title to pre-emption, according to the laws of the United States, in force, on the Otli day of January, 18GL Which Avas adopted. 81 On ni*)tioii of Mr. JTavris. tlic rulo wa? sn^^pendcd, the ordinance ^•••didsa seooiid-timf^and yta^Jed.'OSffimondcd. : • : ". Ordered, Tlmt the (itic siinid a- stateti. . ' ■ On nuttioii of Mr. Wvkdit, tli" rrtnv(»nti(iaii't)6(ik up the ordinfiiwt- m)1il!f'd:'f5A1ri.'OvM - '. r ihe delV'iis^o of die State" '•' .^Mr. Atidl'rson oli'eml ' lli«* lodowiiiv; i^jiit'iuhiuint Lry .way additional f-JctioTt. \Vhidi«wivirtdopte nil irww«raiH(id iJii'illift-t mft\>. have' been. ufc;ed;6r finployod I. : ' lo?H)*'i(:!i in the pnrclia&e of notes. bili> ■ »• -hot. Ik^,,. 'nritie.? during tlic ])a3t Hseal ye-a.r. ajulM he parties sn('!n-og'al<'d -^hall aiidw*-!!-. under oatii. 1o be adiuini-UM-ed !>y lhO"'J'ax ToHcetory and*', all uioiiey so' uped' ■or (?inph»v(i#l.' m)t3lier(vtotbro assessed .fis^ money iGahed nt intei(>.usf)iL'nded,.'Oie oi'dinanee icad » fecoud time e.nd ])a^-.s??d fis amended.' .nuvu^. Mr. (Mapp, from the Comniittee on {*o>:ia!'AlVairs. reported an ordinaiir-e I'oi- po.-tal arranLT n;(^nt>i in -, "Mi^.-ii^ivt])!. and reeommendcd it.^ jta.ssaee.' . Which wa.'^ received and a.u'roeil lo. •'Mr. €la.pp mowd to amend tbv'flliin.u' the^ blank iu Iho' lirst section of tlii' ordinari:-'' \,';' '.' vor-' ■ tyrenty-iivo-j iuMidred. •''! Mr. Wrio-hi UMV.cdlo ainfMud l)y tillina' 'ii^' bh\nk with the words '■ t(Mi thousand;"":" ':' ■' ■ - '^^ The question \va,s first l4ken oii tlie v adoption of. Mr*^ Wright's amendmcut. and (kx'ided in the uejrative. .^ '■' The amendment of Mr. Clap]) was then adopted. Mr. Clap]) moved to fill thr hlnnlc in the second section with the Avord " (piintupV."' •'"•• Which was adopted. On motion of ^fr. ('lanp. tiie blank in (h<' third section was tilled with the words'" one hundred lliousand dollarp/"; The ordinance as aiftendcd was then pa.^sed. '. - --'i Ordered. That the title stand as stated. /'-'^ On molfon of Mr. Miller of PontotfSc. the Convon I ion- took u]) the" re]>ort of the Conmiittee on State Constitution.! Mr. Miller, of Pontotoc, moved "to" {imend'liy way ol' additional section. ....»• i Which was ado]ited. ' '' 'On motion of Afr. ]\filh"r of Pontotoc, the rule was sJi?' •c" i 82 pcuded, the ordinance read n second time and passed ae amended. Ordered. That the title )»e ns follows : '• An ordinance to amend the Constitution of the State of Missis;^ippi in certain particuhirs." Mr. Miller of Pontotoc, made the followinj^ report, whicli on his motion was received and agreed to. to-wit : Mr. I'hksidkxt : The Committee on the State Consiitution have had under consideration an ordinance to amend the Constitution of the State in relation to the powers of the Legislature, and have instructed me to report the same to the Convention and to recommend its adoption. Mr. Anderson moved to lav the ordinance on the table, Which motion jirevailed })y yeas and nays as follows : Ykas.— Mr. President. Messrs. Anderson. Baldwin, Back- strom, Booth, Brantley, Berry, Boiling, Clayton of Marshall, Catching, Clapp. 0. Davis, Dease, Douglas' Eckford, EUett, Edwards, Fizer. Flournoy. Fontaine, George, Glenn, Gholson, Gwin, Harris, Isom, Johnston of DeSoto, Keith, Kennedy, Lea. Lewers, Marshall, McGehee of Panola, Miller of Tunica, Neely, Orr, l^irker, Pattison, Powell of Covington, Powell of Jones, Reynolds, Sanders, Semmes, Sumner, Stevens, Terral, Taylor, Thompson and Welsh. — 49. Nays. — Messrs. Aldridge, Barksdalc, Brooke, Bonds, Ballard, Clayton of Lowndes, Gibson, Herring, Holt, Keirn, IjCwIs, Miller of Pontotoc, Nelsson, Roberts, Thornton, Walter and Yergor. — 17. Mr. Waltei- offcreil the following resolution, which WOS adopted: Besolvod, That the Secretary of the Convention forward to each member of the Convention two copies of the ordi- nance in reference to revenue, heretofore ordered to be printed, wIumi the same is printed, and that said Secretary have printed immediately three hundred additional copies of said ordinance, and that as soon as the same, are printed, tiiat he forward two copies of the same to the Sheriff and Assessor of Taxes of each county in this State. On motion of 3Ir. Anderson. JicmU-fd , That the Address herewith setting forth the declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify the secession of Mississippi from tlie Federal Union and the V Ave. , , The t^resident appoilited its isaid coiiiiiutteb, Messrs. A. M. Clayton, W. P. Anderson, I). (1. Glomii L. Q. C. Lamar and J. L. Alcorn. Mr. Barksdale subnittted a resolution with the following title : Resolutions to provide for publishinfr the Ordinanoot^ aiid Journal of the (convention. Mr. Fontano moved to amend l)y striking out the word ^' Resolutions" and substitute the words " An Ordinance.'' Which was adopted. Mr. Rogers offered a substitute for the ordinance, which On motion of Mr. George, was laid on the table. On motion of Mr. Inirksdiale, tlio rule was suspended, tlie ordinance read :i •f*<-niid time and passce allowed the sum of four dollars per day, during the session of this Convention, for the rc})orts of its pro ■codings wliich have a|i[)earcd in the Daily 3/?.v.v/.s.sj'/>/;k/». Mr. Miller of Pontotoc, submitted the following rejMDrt : Mr. President : The Committee on the State Constitution to wliich was referred " An ordinance in reference to the power of the Legislature of tiie State of Mississippi.'' proposing to confer uponthe Legislature power to alter or abolish ordinances of this Convention, with certain exccj^tions, have had tlie same under consideration and have instructed me to report the same back to the Covcntion with the recommendation that it be not adopted. Sec. On motion of Mr. Miller of Pontotoc, the report was received and agreed to. On motion of Mr. Glenn, the Convention took up the resolutions to provide for the representation of the State of Mississippi in the Congress of a Southern Confederacy. On motion of Mr. Gleim, the rule was suspended, the rcvsolutions read a second time and adopted. Mr. Marshall offered the ibllowing resolutions, and moved their adoption, to-wit : Jicsdved, That the proposition ol" the Mayor and Council of the City of Vicksburg for the erection of an Arsenal near that city, be and the same is hereby recommended to the favorable consideration of the ^Military Board ; and if tlicy deem it (\\[tOilic'ni ;o establish an Arsenal at that place, tliey are licn-ltv anthoi'v/cd to take siieli ptcpp for llic reeom- plifhiTienl of tiiat nul as they tliiiik necei^^ary. Should the iSonrd (letenniiie to ercot said- luiildrnjr and the eost exceed lh(< uniount ppo)>osed M'ho'jriteii l)y the Oity of Viclcabiir*;' ;ind county ol" Warrnventioii reconnuend 1ho City Hofjpital at Virksbury- to tin; favorable consider-ationof the LegishUnre. ain^ sn^'gest the jr.M'.ii'rv of mokiim- n snutat)lo ;!ftjiro])riatioii innid Ihe^eof. A divipiou of the question I )cino; called ibr. the question was taken on the adoptiow of 4he first re?olutioii and decided in the 'n^^{^titt>. ■ ' j i;^, :. •..!( t ]:»;■■ . ■■.ji> The question was then taken'oh the ado]>tion of the seeotid refolution. and doeidod in the alfirihativc. Mr. Cleoni'e sulimitted the' followint; ])rotest and asked and obtained l^aNe to hnve the siVine spread ii])on thedournnl of the {■onveiition The undersig-ned j-espeetiuily aBk Iwive ut'tiiis (.'on\entio]i to enter on the Journal of the Convention the following protest agninst the resolution ])assed l)y this body on thi- subject of the A^'icam f?lavo trade :'iJ '«o ■'"' Tho nndoi-it>-n('d respectfully protect no-ninsf ; i^l r(^^ohi- tion for the foliowiiia" reasons : - "■ *. . ? 1st. The resolution undertakes to dechire the policy and purpose of the people <:4" this State -in relation to a matter which, so far rts the nndersiglled know, was not made the subject, of disciission or deTaate in the canvass for tiie election of delegates to this Convenlioji ; juid hence tlie people of lWs'St!iSt<>. iil'pai'd eleotiWji.'hafeinKt declare<1, or nnthorized I his body to dcclai'c any policy or inirpose on that subject. 2d. The policy'Of tV' -people "of thi::; iHtute on that subject "^■haii'bCen declared by the .!/PgiBlature--the only department of the government >Avhieli'}mf< authority to do ^o. This policy isdeclnred to be. ficlare a policy on J^fbJ^J'ftubjoct. it can declare just such policy us it deems '' i nie Journal>: ol th^"^ ''-'^f^'- ' .'i.vmiv AV. F. lUfAXTLEY. n. y.yvFA^y HITOfT F. ^"'f ■■ I'l:. J. A.BL' A;B.m'r.!..\K^». r^. TT. TER'KATi. On niotio!!, lh^''(^rinveT)T'r>n fKlio!^r-*"^d ruti' ■ ■ . ''. The Convciii ion nu'i imr-iniu l<> adjoiii' Onmotion. of ^^r. Olayton' of LqAVUdi " "> RrjioIrr^J. ^rhatlhe Committee' 'ajipoi'nted lo ]•; m A'fldress in relation' to the importance fcVi'-rr-r^dnci Sta te provisidnfJ ?ufflcien ( for it?' Avants, fi i <: ])lanting interest refereiic-^'i'^' lh1<^ fsubjr • crop of the present y< nthonV ' Address aftertho'adjoiii mu m of th-e Ctvnvuiv. ■' furnish the same to tiie papers for publication. On motion of ^.Tr. "^V ' ' • . , • -^ . folloTTS, to-wit : Whereas, The Mobile avidOiiio Railr [p^^'^Mi generously olTcred the /'/re i'r<(' of their c;'i ' -'att*P*1!Bl! Governor of this State, for the transportation of troops and the munitions of war ; threforc be it M upprociatlon of this act of patriotic liberality bn tho partof eaid Railroad Company, and hereby tender to the Directors and General Superintendent of said Company the thank3 of tlie people of this State* On motion of Mr. Gholson, the Convention took a recess for one hour. The recess having expired tlie Convention resumed its session. Mr. Clayton of Marshall, from the eonnnittee to whom wad referred the subject of preparing an address, setting forth the causes whicli induce and justify the secession of Mississippi from the Federal Union, submitted the following- report : A DECLARATION OF THE IMMEDIATE CAU- SES WHICH INDUCE AND JUSTIFY THE SE- CESSION OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI FROM THE FEDERAL UNION. In the momentous step which our State has taken of dis- solving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course. Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest of the world. Itg labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the larg- est and most important portions of the commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to tlie tropical ■un. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civiliza- tion. Tiiat blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There 'W9A no choice left us but sulnnission to the mandates of abo- lition, or a di.«ssolution of the Union, whose principles had beon subverted to work out our ruin. That we do not overstate the dangers to our institution, a reference to a few unquestionable facts will sufficiently prove. The hostility to this institution commcncod before the adoption of the Constitution, and was manifested in the woll-known Ordinance of 1787, in regard to the North- western Territory. 87 The feeliug increased, uutil, in 1819-20, it deprived tli« South of more than half the vast territory acquired from France. The same hostility dismembered Texas and seixed upon all the territory acquired from ^lexico. It has grown until it denies tlie right of property in slaves, and refuses protection to ^hat right on the high seas, in the Territories, and "wlierever the government of th« United States had jurisdiction. It refuses the admission of new slave States into tlie Union; and seeks to extinguish it by confining it within its present limits, denying the power of expansion. It tramples the original equalitv of the South under foot. It has nullified the Fugitive J^lave Law in almost every free State in the Union, and has utterly })roken tlie compact which our fathers pledged their faith to maintain. It advocates negro equality, socially and politically, and promotes insurrection and incendiarism in our midst. It has enlisted its press, its pulpit and its schools against us, until the whole popular mind of the North is excited and inflamed with prejudice. It has made combinations and formed associations to carrj out its schemes of emancipation in the States and wheriTor ©Ise slavery exists. It seeks not to elevate or to support the slave, but to des- troy his present condition without providing a better. It has invaded a State, and invested with the honors of mflrtyrdora the wretch whose purpose was to apply flame* to our dwellings, and the weapons of destruction to •ur lives. It has broken every compact into which it ha.s entered for our security. It has given indubitable evidence of its design to rain our agriculture, to prostrate our industrial pursuits and td destroy our social system. It knows no relenting or hesitation in its purposes ; it stops not in its march of aggression, and leaves us no room to hope for cessation or for pause. It has recently obtained control of the Government, by the prosecution of its unhallowed schemes, and destroyed the last expectation of li-\nng together in friendship and brotherhood. Utter subjugation awaits us in the Union, if wt should consent longer to remain in it. It is not a matter of choice, but of neccssit)-. We must either Bubrait to degradation, iind iM I *\vin ;:i inir billious of money, or we n\\}- • l.'iilon trnmed bv our fathers,' to SBCii' c'o'thef sp6i>1ci>!-of;|)ro]3(?t-ty: ''Fdf- far -n fV.HiP:-; separated froTn"th(J ChrQwiT" '.I.'-: •'. ■ : ''^ OiH .:. .u their foo«.: with the ftitl **t] «» rrf our course, and tho tiudOiibt- iagi.ioii_; (>! uwr aiiility l>) mftiiltaiii it- Mbrf>*^'»i)lin>\ Af. Mt*. iCM.rvl'nM' (M' Marfiliall. ilu' report wa^^ 'iiv t'ht«i)»peJf?i''at coiiMiultee i»r Ihe liovornbr's 'mi ordfehno' i--<'<'-] '*:in ordliiancb pVo- >"id 1 nut '.(Otiiieil fur ihr (Jovernorof ■;''- "^ ■<'c<)ini)»endod it- :uiO[)tinii. .'■oi^'lj^i-], civi'd and {)":re''«<^l ti^. ' On .t.^ Mr. Ifarri,^. thW otsdii-uitii'p As'aHiUoiisidered Mt^t^i, tlni^rdiiipiMv iidoptod-' ' ■■ •■ '•'• ■ ' tc'Mfii H^wjf* vmoTCiI that ?tJlb''.(*oiivoiifioiJ' proceed to the "lectici !■ .■!.>M Tm. :n;|e,- ;i;v(j ( ,.rdinf)i}re bV ballot. atld p^^ii''' \f»<.ointed Auditors, with au- ftfanriAr 1© niuJit' aiid allow accounts for such incidental oxpcwsfs n.-- jiinv linvo broM incurred bv-thc officers of the ■•m 89 Oonventiou-^'fiiwltliat the Auditor of iruWi.G.'A^ci&iriiriti' bo dii'CctQtl to it;*\iO;liis wnvvnut in- I'nvov of tKe p t'^od loswiioiii suoli accounts iiuiy " ' ^ eextilicfi' ' ndi- torri...,,j ;,.. ,.,, :(,, ■ ■• ,• ■ ;,Oii niotiou of Mr. l>oiri4ju, i ; Resolved, That the Sec-rotary «,'^ i...- •, jjivcutioiilje. lallowcd Ijve (lays aftfr the acljoui'iintojit (>i';l;he; OonVeiitioal to.' com- plete the duties as^uned him^iftud that ±io be alio (wod.tiu' c,Qui]>euHatU)u jixod by lO-NV'.to b't pUid out of auyrr jiopeylJu thc: Treasury not otlpierwi ,■B.'\iHi,injcatioB t>o'. it in connexion Avith the public iuterest.v.") .. -n../ ;.•' - , ■! -.ckj The President appointed ds ^:ni'' cfrir-iilt \ Me--srH. U:^. ALiller, 0. Davis and Eckford. v On motion of Mr. Dyer, ' / i • BesoJveil, That our SeuatoriS and K^pi^ st/jaitative.-^ in tlu^ Congress of the Southern Confedemcv,- vinorr it aliall- be formed, be, and they are hereby rcquestod i> /> tise thMr influ- ence to have established, in the South; a. J!i]i'Jitar>'' Academy .similar to thiat of the; United- Staites .at '^lA'est Point'anil that the Cadets froni the i^eeeding State.>=, D' -w or rec^nti.v^ f\t West Point, upon applicatioiL be trantferr! d ^ s-aid Acade- my, and that otherti be received therein fr m\ .i;nie to time, in accordance witKulJic iproivisiousof the sr,to9 Conp^^s establisiiing it. ,,' ' ' , . • -i Be it further resolved, That the Seere :tary of "this Cpn- veutiou furnish said Scnatoifi and Repr- ?.*ritativeaigwitt}i'a copy of these resolutions. • , i-';,i'v crJiud .,.:Mrx..Clapp submitted the folio-wing rcji r ; : 'isq ■,M '\'< ,'1 " . (Y) Mr. President : .. ,i,. .,-,.;. ; <."iw)viKK> The special committee appointed to prepare a suitable Flag and Coat of Arms for the State, re port that thej have had the subject under con.sideratiou, and thev recommend for suitable Flag the following : A Flag of white ground, a ifaguolia tree iii the centre, a blue fieHin the upper left hand corner with a white star in the centre, the Flag to be finished with a red border and a red fringe at the extremity of the Flag. . For a coat of arms, the committee recommend the one accompanying the communication of the Governor to the President of tliis Convention which was referred to the comraitiee, and is retm-ned along with this report, except that tl.e committee recommend that the recumljent figure designwl to represent "the father of waters'-' be omitted, and » CAnnon and plough appropriately engraved be substituted. On motion of Mr. C'lapj), tiie rcjjort was received and agreed to. Mr. Miller, from the connnittee to wait on the Governor, reporteo that His Excellency had no further communication 'iK That the i-igh thereby declared ande?tablisiied 'hall iiof ])'■• •io con^^nipfl a-^ to excuse the actr^ of lii'i'ii" •■ -i ikconii^istent wiili |!ie \: H'. Si-:c. 4. No preference shall ever be ylven by law 1<> any r<'li.irion.'? sect or mode of worsliip. rr.r. . That A7>)iei'k)n shall be molested for ills (i[iiiii()iis on any subject whatever, nor suffer any civi! or j^olitical inoniuuMtv. or acciuii'C any civil or N{^:] ■ ■ " ■ •nisefujciicc of such opinion"^ ~fC' . _ ■ - ;1 roiviii this coiislitution. .' Sec. G. Every ciiizen may freely s]>eak. write f *^^, ,?T '*'"^ publish his sentiments on all subjects, being '^'^^ '■ responsible for the aj^use of that liberit'y. Sec 7. No law shall ever be ]>assed to curtail or restrain the liberty of speech or of the press. .•'i:t . '. . In all prosecutions or indictments for ',/•■. iiic truth may 1)o c,'iven in evidence : and if it i'ruih'to shall appear to tlie jury that the matter cliarg-ed as »' J .iriveii in Kbclous is truc, and was jiublislied with good motives • vKlencu and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; m nn pro-^i^^i ^j^^, -^^ shall. have. the riglit to determine the for libel ^^^'^ '^^^^^ ^'^^ lacts. Sec. 9. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and pos.-:essions. from unrea- sonable seizures and searches; and that no warrant , to searcii any place^ or to seize any person or thing, shall issue Avititout describing the place to be .,r.'r. "! virT t^r. pcrsoji Or tlilug lo bo seized, .{US iior without probable cajisc, pup- 1 ••itcii iiy (tail! or afSnnatiop.'.. ": . '; . .' ,.' '. Sec. 10. Tha 1 1 n all crimiiia 1 'prdseciitloh^.';, i\\e ./l^tigy^ >('.'? cnscVi hatli a right to', be heard by himself, or •e*M»li'ji'<'''^''i n.=^'r^. or Iroth ; to demand the' ilaturc and caiij^ \imtia^iii < • -nsation : to be confronted by the withcssoF; and con-;, 't •' to liave'a'Pon'inulsory procossfor ob-' '''''^*"^- I ":i his'fayOr ; and! in all pi-osecu- T^ it or infoTiBatipii, a speedy afid ,' impartial jiiry^' of the country w.'ier^ !!>.':' o!tCLice-was -eoiiimitted ; that he cariiiot lie compelled to give evidence against himself; nioir cfJTi hf be deprived of his life, liberty oi* |)r6'perty£ but'bv' due course of law. ^ ■ ^ ■ ••,■ ■ ''^'^.; .jriotiicrrzo iffir'J C0NSTITUTI0>7 OF MlS^ISSIPn. 03 Sec. 11. Xo-p' 'I '6o'''*een?"ecl-'M'e.4e(] ^^ ordetaiiiod,HN'<"''' ^'-rlained by law, and ii.(^(^6j-dinfr to i h* 'ji^ne- Ua-* '^i-r^-, sl-nl^Wl :' tind- >)-. ;rT-(.:i ;i;':: ' -' •--- ^-■■' '-vi h*> virtue of a law p«l;il)lii"H<'d and ' trt'^lio (H-ffen^'p,' n^id H^'ia^V a^ijitioii. -Str. 1:2. tin^ iKMKT-v>.. ;,, oflico. ■>^Kr. 1;;.. No i)ci.-Mvi -dnii. lor \-{v sa'vic- (TiVfiirc. Itn t-\Vicf' ftitffti ir(V,»aVdy of Hfo tii* Hinh : Hoi- J^iiall anv por.-oy"s])r<)|ierh- lir fal(i;u oi' api'liod to ]nd>li> mt' ' x\'it!iouf the (*on,/f*nt i-^f (he: LrjrislatvH-e. aiid , Avitliout just (•oiii])eiifMioii Ite'iiiir iir?t made th^rofor. Src'. 11. Tli\U all coui't? 'liltall oneii. aiid <'\--' ]iors!)n. 'Tor anIV'jnry (loiioMiiiV^iil lifjs''lai1rlk -j person 01* re]intatibn.'." ^lir^ll lijive Veniedy liy •Im^- course of laV. aiid Vi'^lif and'jfr-^tTi'p adniinistored Aritlioat sale, denin' (M- do":;i- ' • '•' ' Skc. 1.'). Tlia; no |•o^■ ■ "lintr law*! shall be exercised •e'teefrt In'tiK'-lTi'irisiivlnrp or it?! aiithoi-ity. "^ '•.'. ' "*'•■■• f'EC. IC). Th'a't (i'xe ol;shilll not' bo Ve- Excessive quired, nor exc0f<.'i|vc"^iii>> Mu-HtsWlv nor f'-- ^' -vn-bail. ishrncpt^ intlictod. , ' Skc. 17. That-'aUpn-v ■ ,if^ hein,,. n-u- Mailable.- ^^ietion. bo b-ailable by suf:: • 'irttiesi; excri-t J'^^^J^g'V-:,' (Sf rapital oflonce?^ V'hcw the pr(>'»l"i>'e\-ident. or ppj-p^g ^f. the pre:>niuprion great : and the yirjvileo-e of the' ■v^'it'oF liabea'fs cnirprt?;' shall hof'bCn^hsp.ended^. lin- lep?, AA'hen in n '••-■• ..!" --■'./-i''-" ■-• ;v>v-..c ;.-,,-, f.j,,. public safety !• SE'n.- 18." 'That !.:•:■ pcL■^'^^. : '^rlien Whea there i? hot strntna" prc-'^nSipfion ■ IT r^o't debtor not be cletainr>■• the L'''!IlslnTn ;''• s'lij; nrv - to i'!:i ot ^^ '''iiriHr"!';'/^,?^ pant facto law. nor law for impairing' tho o!.)]icra>if^r{" of c'^'Uracts, 94 CONSTITUTION OT MISSISSIPPI.. Sec. 20. No property qualification for eligibil- ity to office, or for the riglit of suffrage, shall ever be required by law in this State. The es- Sec. 21. That the estates of suicides shall de^ tates of gQ(in(j Qj. yQj;^ r^g jj^ Qapcs of natural death ; and if suicides. ^^^ person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof. The right Sec. 22. That the citizens have a right, in a of petition peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good ; and to apply to those invested with tlie powers of government for redress of grievan- ces, or other pur])oses, by petition, address or re- monstrance, liieht to ^^^' ^^' ^^'^U citizen has a right to bear aims hear arms, i'^ defence of himself and of the State. Sec. 24. No standing army shall be kept up No stand- without the consent of the Legislature ; and the ing army, military shall, in all cases and at all timc^, be in except, itc«;^j.JQ^ subordination to the civil power. Sec. 25. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, or in time of war, but in the manner to be prescribed by law. Sec. 26. That no hereditary emoluments, privi- leges or honors shall ever be granted or conferred in this State. Emigra- ^^^' ^"^ • Emigration from this State shall not tion, &c. be prohibited, nor shall any free white citizen of tliis State ever be exiled under any pretence what- ever. Trial by Sec. 28. The right of trial by jury shall re- j»ry- main inviolate. Sec. 29. No person shall be debarred from pro- Prosecu- pecutingor defending any civil cause for or against suits. ^'^™ ^^' herself, before any tribunal of tliis State, by him or herself or counsel, or both. Tenure of ^EC. 30. No person shall ever be appointed or office. elected to any office in this State for life or during good behavior ; but the tenure of all offices shall' be for some limited period of time, if the person ap- pointed or elected thereto shall so long behave well. CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. 95 CONCLUSION. To guard against tranngn'ssions of the liigh powers herein delegated, we i>kclare that every- thing in this article is exce) tted out of the general powers of govci'niiicnt, and shall forever remain inviolate : and that all laws contrary tliereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void : ■ ARTICLE II. DISTRIBUTION OF POWHUS. Sec. L The powers of the government of the Distriba- State of Mississippi shall be divided into three dis- tion of tinct departments, and each oC them confided to aP*''^^'^' separate body of magistracy, to-wit : those which are legislative to one, those which are judicial to another, and those which are executive to another. Sec. 2. No person, or collection of persons, be- ing of one of those departments, shall exercise any power pro})erly belonging to cither of the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly direc- ted or permitted. ARTICLE HI. I.EGISI.ATIVR DEPARTMENT. Sec. 1. Every free white male j)erson of the Qualified age of twenty-one years or upwards, who shall be electors, a citizen of, and shall have resided in this State one year next preceeding an eleciion, and the last four months within the county, city or town, in which ho offers to vote, shall lie deemed a qualified elec- tor ; and any such qualified elector, who may happen to be in any county, city or town, other than that of his residence, at the time of an election, or who shall have removed to any county, city or town within four months prececding the election, from any county, city or town, in which he would have been a qualitied elector had he not so removed may vote for any f^tate ov district officer, foi* whom ho could have voted in the county of his residence, or the county, city or town from which he may have 80 removed. ' I - •(' -li-' :' ' /.o!l.linv",'(.t '.M» CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSirPI. Eleciors. Sec. 2. Klcctorp shall, ill all cashes cxce])! in thosf hef treason, feloay, or broach of the peace,. be privi- loffod fvbin ai'i^o?5t(liii*iiiti,- their uttondaiico on olrc- tioiis. and iroinp' and relurniiijr lioni liio same. Ski'. ;',. Tlio first olcctions .4iall Ite- by liallot, and all I'niuro eiootions by'tho poojiie'shall bo regu- hited by law. ' i''t i- .nturrM.-w? )H'.iit--n\>t '>i{i Src. 4. The legislative ])o>vers of this State rfiall be vested in twoi distinct bitmches : the one to be styled '"the "Senate." the other, "the rioiise of Re])- reseutativcs,''and ])Oth toaetlier "the Leuishiture of the State ol" Mississippi ;"' anil the stylr of their ' laws shall be, ••■i?e ii d/nnctcd-ln/ fftr- Jy^'iris/atfrno/' the fllate of' MifiyissippiJ^"' i Sec. 5. The' lueinbcrK' o^-llic tlouse ol Kepre- :i seutativds shUll lie chosen by Ihc ijualilii'd electors. '>-a.l\d shall sei'vc for the term of two years, from the I'day of thi? vQommencement of the frcneral election. ■ "ftiKl no'loDC'er. •■ • •■■ /•),.■ vff;. Sec. B. The representatives shall br chosen .-ioven- two years, on tlie first Monda^^-anii day fol- 'lowinii' in No\-cmber. ; • - tion.s " ^^^' ''• ^^0 P^i'^oii ^li^^l be a TCprescntative un- less he be a citizen, and shall ha^"e been an inhabi- tant of this State tsvvk^ > yfeitjl next preceediiifr his election, and the last year thereof a resident of the eonnty. city or; to'wiB*foi^ which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained thf? age of twenty-one years. ElectionsvlJ fr^EfU'-^V'EleeJious 'ilbr representative^ for the ..where ^-j^rvei-al counties F^hall be held at the ]>laeos of hold- "®^*^' ;.iiig their r(!s]>ective corn-is. or in the several election di.stricts 'into which 'Wie-coimty may be divided ; Wh • 'i^ro rider/, that' when it shall appear to the Icgisla- city or "'*"'''' that any city or tOM-ji has a number of free town cnti- wliite rnhabitants eqdal to the ratio tlien tixed, such tied to sep- city or town shall Jiavo a separate representation, arate rep- nccording to the rinmbcr of free white inhabitants rescnta- theiv^n, whi<;h shall be retained so long as such city '*'"■ or town shall -contain d^ number of free white in- . habitants equal to theexisting ratio, and thereafter, I i'"'and during the existence ofihe right of separaterep- rCsentation in such city or town, elections for the (50untv' in Avhich such city or town, entitled to sepa- rate representation, is situated, shall not be held in such city or town : And 2:)rovkled, that if ihe residu- CONSTITUTION OP IHSSISSIPPI. 97 um or fraction of any city or town, entitled to scpa- Eesiduum rate representation, shall, when added to the residu- *^- um in the county in which it may lie, be equal to the ratio fixed by law for one representative, tlien the aforesaid county, city or town, having the largest residuum, sliallbe entitled to sucli representation ; And provided, also, That wl^en there are two or more counties adjoining, which have residuums over and above the ratio then fixed by law, if such residuums, wlicn added together, will amount to such ratio, in that case one representative shall be added to the county having tlic largest residuum. Sec. 9. Tlie legislature sliall, at their first ses- sion, and at periods of not less than every four, nor ■?.^"'^^'^" more than every six years, until tlie year 1845, fii^d j^^j^j^. thereafter at periods of not less than every four nor nient. more than every eight years, cause an enumeration to be made of all the free white inhabitants of this State, and the whole number of representatives shall, at the several periods of making such enumeration, be fixed by the legislature and apportioned among the several counties, cities oi- towns entitled to sep- arate representation, according to the number of Number free white inhabitants in each, and shall not bo Icss^^^*?'^** than thirty-six nor more than one hundred : Provi- vided, however, That each county shall always be entitled to at least one representative. Sec. 10. The whole number of senators shall, at the several periods of making the enumeration Senators, before mentioned, be fixed by the legislature, and **^- apportioned among the several districts to be established by law, according the number of free white inhabitants in each, and shall never be less than one-fourth nor more than one-third of the whole number of representatives. Sec. 11. The senators shall be chosen by the Number qualified electors, for four years, and on their being &c convened in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided by lot from their respective dis- tricts into two classes, as nearly equal as can be ; and the seat-s of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year. Sec . 1 2 - Such mode of classifying new addition- ^°^ *^°' al senators shall be observed as will as nearly as pes- Jj^j^J^^ uibla prtfservd au boualiiy of mumbens in ^^acK cImbiSj ii 98 CONSTITUTION OP MISSISSIPPI. .Sec. 13. When a .rcnatorial di.?trlct shall be ooinposed of two or more conntio.-. It sliall not be entirely separated by any comity belonging to anothci- di.^trict. and no county sliall be divided in forming a district. , ., Sec. 14. Xo pt r.-ou .-liainie a .rfaatoi-unlesslie 9'^*^'^^' be a citizen of. and shall luivc been an inhabitant .senators, ^^^ ^''^" State tor (bur year- next preceding his election, and the la.'^tyear thereof a resident of the district for which he slnill Itc chosen, and have attained the ago of iliii-ty yeai's. Sec. 15. The llonse of lAcpre.<seiit member.", in such manner andundrr sncli pcnaltif-; aa each house may provide. Powers Sj:;c. 1G. Each hou.-e niay determine the rules of of eachJt^ q-^-yi proceedings, puni.sh members for disorderly hous. beliavior, and, Avith the consent of tv r>-third>i, expel a member, but not a second tinn' lor thesaniecause: and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the legislature of -.\ frecjitative6 shall, in all cases, except of treason, felony, or breach of the Privileged P®^"^^- ^^ Pr^"^'i^^fi'*^^ fr-'^m nrre^t during the session froiaar-of the leg-i«lature, and in going to and returning rest ; ex- from the same, allowing one day for every twenty ception. ruilcs such member may reside from the place at which the legislature is convened. CONSTITUTION OP MISSISSIPPI. 99 Sec. 2U. Each house may punish, by imprison- meut during the session, any person, not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior in its pres- ence, or for obstructing nny of its proceedings : Provided, such imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed forty-eight hours. Sec. 21. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions of great emergency as. in the opinion of the house, may rcrpiire secrecy. Sec. 22. Neither house shall, without tlie con- sent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in -which they may be sitting. Sec. 2''. Bills may originate in either house, and be amended, altered or rejected by the other, but no bill shall have the force of a law until, on three sev- eral days, it be read in each house, and free discus- sion be allowed thereon, unless four-fifths of the house in which the bill shall be pending may deem it expedient to dispense Avitli this rule ; and every bill, having passed both houses, shall be signed by the speaker and president of their respective houses. Sec. 24. All bills for raising revenue shall origi- nate in the House of Representatives, but the Sen- ate may amend or reject them, as other bills. Sec. 25. Each member of the legislature shall Compen- receive, from the public treasury, a compensation for nation of his services, which may be increased or diminished ^^^ °^®^" by law, but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the session at which such increase shall have been made. Sec. 26. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed to any ^^1^ -^jl civil office of profit under the State, which shall ^ q^cq, have been created, or the emolimients of which shall have been increased dm'ing such term, except such offices as may be filled liy elections by the people ; and no memlDer of either house of the legislature shall, after the conmiencement of the first session of the legislature after his election, and during the remainder of the term for which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the appointment to which may be made, in whole or in part, by either branch of the legislature. C-20 100 CONSTITUTION OP MISSISSIPPI. Officers Sec. 27. No judge of any court of law or equity, ''u\ ^^\^' ^^^^^^^^7 of state, attorney -general, clerk of any lature ^^^ court of record, sheriff or collector, or any person holding a lucrative office under the laws of this State, shall be eligible lo the legislature : Provided. That officers in llic militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, and the office of the jus- tice of the peace, shall not be deemed lucrative. Defaulters Sec. 28. No person who has heretofore, or here- after, been a collector or holder of public moneys, shall have a seat in either house of the legislature until such person shall liavc accounted for, and paid into the treasury, all sums for whicli he may l)C accountable. Sec. 29. The iirst election for senators and IjIj^^^^*^' representatives shall be general tlu'oughout the hold'en. State, and shall be held on the first Monday, and day following, in November, 1833 ; and thereafter there shall be biennial elections for senators to till the places of those whose term of service may have expired. Sec. 30. The first and all futm-e sessions of the Seat of legislature shall be held in the town of Jackson, in govern- ^j^g county of Hinds, until the year 1850. Dm-ing the first session thereafter, the legislature shall have power to designate, by law, the permanent seat of government : Provided., however, That unless such designation be then made by law, the seat of govern- ment shall continue permanently at the town of Jackson. The first session shall commence on the third Monday in November, in the year 1833; and in every two years thereafter, at such time as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 31. The governor, secretary of state treas- urer, auditor of public accounts and attorney-general shall reside at the seat of government, ARTICLE IV. « JUDICIAL department. fc -. Sec. 1. The judicial power of the State shall Sower ^^ vested in one high court of errors and appeals, ' and such other courts of law and equity as are hereafter provided for in this constitution. CONSTITUTION OF mSSISSIPPI. 101 Sec. 2. The high court of errors and appeals High Bhall consist of three judges, any two of whom shall c o ^irt of form a quorum. The legislature shall divide the ^"^,^19^" Statf ; into three districts, and the qualified electors of e: ich district shall elect one of said judges for the term of six years. k"'jEC. 3. The office of one of .-Jaid judges shall .judges, be vacated in two j-ears, and one in four y eai's. how elect- an d one in six years — so that, at the expiration ofed.termof ev ery two years, one of said judgej? shall be elected, office, as J aforesaid. Sec. 4. The higli court of errors and appeals y ""sdic- ^ ,hall have no jurisdiction l)ut such as properly be- longs to a court of errors and appeals. Sec. .5. All vacancies tluit niav occur in said vavon^^c court, froui dcatli. resignation, or removal, shall be Qualifica- lillcd ])y election as aforesaid : Provided, hotvever, tions. That if the unexpired term do not exceed one year, the vacancy shall be Hlled by executive appoint- ment. Sec. (5. No person shall be eligible to the ofiicc Where of judge of the liigh court of errors and appeals, Golden, who shall not have attained, atihc time of his elec- tion, the age of thirty 5'ears. Sec. 7. The high court of errors and appeals shall be held twice in each year, at such place ^s^j^^..^^^*' the legislature shall direct, until the year eighteen hundred and thirty-six, and afterwards at the seat of government of the State. Sec. 8. The secretary of state, on receiving'all 'i^Qrm of the official returns of the first election, shall pro- office, ceed forthwith, in the' presence and with the assis- tance of two justices of the peace, to determine, by lot, among the three candidates having the highest lumiber of votes, which of said judges shall serve for the term of two years, which shall serve for the term of four years, and which shall serve for the term of six years ; and, having so determined the same, it shall be the duty of the Governor to issue commissions accordingly. Sec. 9. No judge shall sit on the trial of any -^y j^ g ^ cause when the parties or either of them shall bcju^gg (jjg, connected Avith him by affinity or consanguinity, or qualified, when he may be interested in the same, except by consent of the judge and of the parties ; and when* C— 21 102 CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. ever a quorum of said, coun are .■T^ituatcd as afoi'es^aid. ilie Governor of tlic State shall in such ca se es- pecially commission two or more men of hnv knowl- edge, for tlie dolerjuinatioii ihereof. Sec. 10. The judges of said court sluill ree'eive Siabries. c,^. {\^(,\y f^orviees a oomi»ensalioM to V»e fixed by I'aw. which shall not 1)0 iliuiiiiished (hiriiia- thoir eon tin- :iiicc iu oflice. Skc. 11. The judges of the circuit ccjurt sh.iill Judegfts i^^j elected by tlie qualified electors of each judici al o'ourr'' district, and hold their offices for the term'of four years, and reside in their respective districts. Sec. 12. Xo person shall 1><" eligible to the' Qualifica- office of judge of the circuit court, who shall not at tion;?. the time of his electiou. have attained tlic age of tweuty'six years. Sec. 13. The State shall be di-\"ided into conve- Circuits. uieut districts, and each district shall contain not less than three, nor more than twelve counties. Sec. 1-1. The circuit courts shall have original .Turisdic- jurisdiction iu all matters, civil and criminal, within tion, &c. ^jjj^ State ; but in civil cases only when the princi- pal of the sum in controversy exceeds fifty dollars, p,, , , Sec. 15. A circuit court shall be held in each courts!^^'^ county of this State, at least twice in each year ; and the judges of said court shall interchange cir- cuits witli each other, in such manner as may be pre- scribed by laAv, and shall receive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not })e diminished during their continuance in office. Sec. 16. A separate superior court of chancery Jurisdic- j^hall be established, with full jurisdiction in all mat- t'on- tor of equity : Provided, however, The legislature may give to the circuit courts of each county equity jurisdiction in all cases wdiere the value of the thing or the amount in controversy does not exceed five hundred dollai's ; also, in all cases of divorce, and ibr the foreclosure of mortgages. The chancellor shall be elected by the qualified electors of the whole State, for the term of six years, and shall be at least thirty vears old at the time of his election. Sec. 17. The style of all process shall be "The Style of State of Mississippi,'' and all prosecutions shall be process, carried on in the name and by the authority of "The State of Mississippi," and shall conclude, "against the peace and dignity of the same." CONSTITUTION OF JUSSISSIPPT. 103 Sec, 18. A court of probate? shall be e5tabli*li- Probate ed in eacli county of tlie State, with jurisdiction in court, all matters testaiuentarv. and of administration in orphans' business, and tJie allotment of dower, in cases of idiocy and lunacy, and of persons 7?o?i com- .."^^^" y«f two years. Si;c. -Jil. The (pin!iticctor> of cadi county Board of shall elect hve jieison^^. loj- th(>, term of two years, ^^^^^®" A\lio >ha!l constitute a board of police for each 5. The clerk of the court of jU'oljate shall )K\the clerk of the board of police. f Se( . 21. No person shall be eligible as a mem- Qualifica- bc)- of said Ijoard, who shall not have resided onetion. year in the county : but this qualification shall not extend to such Jtew counties as may hereafter be established, until one year after their orpranization; ^^'^"^'^'^ and all vacancies tliainuiy occur in said board shall be supplied by election as afon-said to lill the unox- j'ired term. Sec. 22. The judires of all the courts of this ^^J^^^-'^^g State, and also the mcmljers of the board of thcpgace. county police, shall, in virtue of their offices, be con- servators of the peace, and shall be, liy law, vested with ample powers in this respect. Sec, 23. A competent number of justices of the Consta- pcace and cou^-tables sliall be cliosen in each county, bles. by the qualiMcd electors tlicrcof, by districts, who shall hold their offices for the term of two year:: ; the jurisdiction of justices of the peace ^hall be lim- J"*^ices of ited to causes in which the principal of the amount *'®P®*°®' in controversy shall not exceed fii'tv dollars ; in all 104 CONSTITUTIOX OF MISSISSIPPI. causes tried by justice.- of tlic peaee, the right of ajtpeal shall be secured, under sucli rules and i-egu- lations as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 24. The legislature may, from tiuie to time, establish such other inferior courts as may be deem- II enor. ^,^| ^^jp^.^j^j^j.y r^^^■^^\ abolish the same ■whenever they deem it expetlienl. Vttornev- ^'^^^ '^''' '^''"'^'*' '"''"^^^ ^^^ ^'^ attoi'uey -general general. *''e('ted l)y the qualified electors of the State, and a (•omi>etent uuiiilici- of disti-ict attorneys shall bo elected l»y the qualifu.'d voters of their respective districts; wliose compensation and term of service shall be pre.i- determining contested elections of judges of the •.ections. |,jj_,.j, (.,„,|.( of ci-i-ors and appeals, of the circuit and probate coiirls. ami other oiHcers. _ >FA\ 27. The judges ol' the several courts of this >,«^ ^T^' Stute, foi' willful neuleet of dutv or other reasonable no w r e - in. ' ■ i ■ • .i i moved. cause, sluul be removed by the governor, on the ad- dress ol' two-thirds of both houses of the legisla- ture ; the address to be by joint vote of both houses. The cause or causes for which such removal shall be required, shall l»e stated#t length in such ad- dress, and on the journals of each house. The judge so intended to Vie removed, shall be notified and admitted to a hearing in his own defense, before any vote for such address shall pass ; the vote on such address shall be taken by the yeas and nays, and entered on the journals of each house. ^_ , Sec. 28. Judges of probate, clerks, sherifis. and indicted^^' ^^^'^^^^ County officers, for the willful neglect of duty, or misdemeanor in office, shall be liable to present- ment or indictment by a grand jury, and trial by a petit jury ; and, upon coiiviclion. shall be removed from office. ARTICLE V. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. Sec. 1. The chief executive power of this t n M^*of ^^^^^ shall be vested in a Governor, who shall 1 CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. lOS Sec. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the How dec- qualified elector;? of the State. The returns of every *^<^' election for governor shall be sealed up and trans- mitted \o the seat of government, directed to the ••Secretary of State, who shall deliver them to the sj^eaker of the House of Representatives at the next ensuing session of the legislature, during the Ih^st week of wliich session the said speaker shall open and publish them in the presence of both houses of tlie legislature. The person having the highest number of votes shall 1)0 Governor : but if two or more shall be equal, and highest in votes, then one of tliem shall be chosen Governor by the joint ballot of both houses of the legislature. Con- tested election for Governor shall be determined Contested by both houses of the legislature in such manner as ^^*^^^o° ''^'^ prescribed by law. Governor. Sec. H. The Governor shall be at least thirty ^ ,.« years of age. shall have liccu a citizen and shall ^jq^s. have resided in this Statcat least five years next l)rcceding the. day of his election, and shall not be capalde of holding the office more than four years ill any term of six years. Sec. 4. He shall at all times receive for his ser- vices a compensation, which sliall not he increased Compen- or diminished during the term for which ho shall be^**'*°"' elected. Sec. 5. He shall be commander-in-chief of thCp, army and na.vy of this State, and of the militia. °^^fn " Sec. r». He may require information, in writing, chief, from the officers in the executive department, on any sul3Jcct, relating to the duties of their respec- tive offices. • Sec. 7. He may, in cases of emergency, convene Governor the Legislature at the seat of government, or at a to convene rovidcd for in thi- Constitution, shall be filled in such mannor as the Legislature may prescribe. Sec. 1-L The Secretary of State shall iio ."lected Secretary y^y tlie qualilied electors of the State, and shall con- of State. tijj^jQ jjj office during- the term of two years. He shall keep a fair register of all the official acts and pro- ceedings of the Governor, imd shall, when recpiired, lay the same, and all ])apcrs. minutes and vouchers relative thereto, before the liOgislature, and shall perform other duties as may berequiredof hiin bvl-aw. Governor Sec. 15. Every bill Avhich shall have passed to sign or ijQ^i^ i^ouses of the Legislature, shall be presented to bills; ° ^'^^ Governor : if he approve, he shall sign it, bul if not, he shall return it. with his objections, to tin house in which it shall have originated, whi(,'h shall enter the objections a I; large npon their journals, and proceed to I'cconsider it : if. after such recon- sideration, two-thirds of tlie house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, t<> the other house, by which it shall likewise be recon- sidered : if approved by two-thirdsof that house, it Veto. shall become a law ; but iu such case, the vote of CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. 107 both houses shall be dclcrmiuod by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on^ the journal of each house respectively : if any bill shall not be returned by the Governor "within six days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it. unless the Legislature, l)y their adjournment, prevent its return ; in which case it shall not become a law. Sec. 1(5. Every order, resolution or vote to which the concurrenceof both houses may be neces- sary, except resolutions for the purpose of obtain- ing the joint action of both houses, and on questions of adjournment, shall be presented to the Governor, and. before it shall take effect, be approved by him, or, being disap])rovcd. shall be re-passed by botli houses, according to the rules and limitations pre- scribed in the case of a bill. Sec. 17. Whenever the office of Governor shall office of become vacant, by death, resignation, removal from Governor office, or otherwise, the president of the Senate vacant &:c shall exercise tlie otiice of Governor until another Governor shall be duly qualified : and in case of the deatli,, resignation, removal from office, or otlier disqualification of the ])residcnt of the Senate, so exercising the office of Governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives shall exercise the office until the president of the Senate shall have been chosen : and Avlien the office of Governor, president of the Senate, and speaker of the House, shall be- come vacant in the recess of the Senate, the person acting as Secretary of State for the time being, pm-ther sliall, by i)roclamation, convene the Senate, that a provision, president may be chosen to exercise the office of Governor. Sec. 18. When either the president or speaker of the House of Representatives shall so exercise said office, he shall recoive tlie compensation of the Governor only : and his duties as president or speaker sliall be suspended, and the Senate or House of Representatives, as thecasc may'be,shall fill the vacancy until his duties as Governor shall cease. Sec. 19. A sheriff and one or more coroners, a treasurer, survevor and ramrer. shall lie elected in 0—24 108 CONSTITFTTON OF MT^STS^TPPT, each county, by tlic qualified electors thereof ; who shall hold their offices for two years, unless sooner removed : except that tlie coroner shall hold his office until his successor be duly qualified. Sec. 20. A State Treasurer and Auditor of and Audi- ^"^■'^^^ Accounts shall be elected by the qunlihed ^j. ' electors of the State, who shall hold their offices for the term of two yeai'S, unless sooner removed. MILITIA. Section. 1. The Legislature shall provide, by Militia, law, fo;i' organizing and disciplining tlie militia of this State, in such manner as tliey may deem expe- dient. Sec. 2. Commissioned officers of the militia Militia (^staff officers and the officers of volunteer compa- ^^^' nies excepted.) shall be elected by the persons liable to perform military duty, and the qualified electors within their respective commands, and shall be corn- Powers of ^^^^^^*^^^®^ ^y ^^® Governor. GoTernor Sec. 3. The Governor shall have power to call to call out forth the militia to execute the laws of the State, to militia. suppress insurrection, and to repel invasion. ARTICLE VI. impeachments. Impeach- SECTION 1. The House of Rcprcsoutativcs shall ment. j^g^yg ^j^^ j^^^j^, po^^er of impeaching. Extent of, Sec. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the etc. Senate : when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation : no person .^hall be convicted Avithout the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Sec. 3. The Governor and all civil officers shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualifi- cation to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under tho State ; but the party convicted shall nevertheless, be subject to indictment, trial and punishment, accoi-diug to law, as in other cases, CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. 109 ARTICLE VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS. Section 1. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, shall take ^^^^ ^^ the following oath or affirmation, to-wit : "I do ^ ' solemnly swear, (or affirui, ns the case may be,) that I will support the constitution of the State of Mississippi, so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully discharge, to the best of my abilities, the duties of the office of , according to law — So help me, God." Sec. 2. The Legislature shall pass such laws to prevent the evil practice of dueling, as they may Dueling, deem necessary ; and may requii-e all officers, before they enter upon the duties of tlieir respective offices, to take the following oath or affirmation : "1 do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I have not been engaged in a duel, by sending or accepting a challenge to fight a duel, or by fight- ing a duel, since the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, nor will I be so engaged during my continuance in office — So help me, God." Sec. 3. Treason against the State shall consist m only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his own confession, in open court. Sec. 4. Every person shall be disqualified from Bribery at holding an office or place of lienor or profit under elections, the authority of this State, who shall be convicted of having given or offered any bribe to secure his election. Laws shall be made to exclude from office ^°,°\^^j^ or suffrage those who shall hereafter be convicted ^^'^^"^'^ of bribery, perjury, forgery or other high crimes or uiisdemeanors. The privilege of tlie free suffrage uffrage. shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue in- tluenccs therein, from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper conduct. Sec. 5, No person wlio denies the being of a 110 f'ONSTITUTION OF mSSTSSIPPI. Atheist. God. or a future state of reward.« and ))unishments, sliall hold any ofllce in the civil dopartiuont of this State. " • When ^-^Q^ (3 >;q \^^y^ ^^^ j^ crcueral nature, uule^^s jj^'^^J^^g^^ otherwise j>rovided for, shall be enforced until sixly ■ days after the passage thereof. Money ^^EC. 7. Xo money shall be drawn from the drawn treasury, but in conseciuence of an approj>riation from trea-made by law : nor .shall any appropriation of money sury. for the support of an army be made for a longer term than one year. Sec. 8. No money from ilie treasury shall be appropriated to objects of internal improvement, unless the bill for that purpose be passed by two- thirds of both branches of the Legislature : and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of public money:- A\aW be published annually. Sec. 9. No law shall e\er be [.assod to raise a State loan of money upon the credit of the State, or to loans. ])ledge the faith of the State for the redemption of any loan or debt, unless such law be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and be agreed to by a majority of the members of each house, and entered on the journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and bo icfcrred to the next suc<'eed- ing Legislature, and jtublished foi- three months pre- vious to the next regular eleciion, in throe newsi»a- pers of this State ; aiid unless a majority of each l>rauch of the Legislature so elected, after such publication, shall iagree to and pass such a law ; and in such case, the yeas and nays shall be taken and entered on the journals of each house : JPro- vided. that nothing in this section shall be so con- strued as to ])rcvent the Legislature from ii('g<>tiat- ing a further loan of one and a half millions of dol- lars, and vesting the same in stock reserved to the State by the charter of the Planters' Baids of the State of Mississip])i. And provided further. That the Legislature may raise a loan of money and pledge the faith of the State for the i)aymeni thereof, Avhen j'cquired to suppress insurrections, repel invasions, or provide for the defense of the State. Suits Sec. 10. The Legislature sliall direct, by law, CONSTITUTION OK MISSISSIPPI. HI hi wliat mauuer. and in avIkii ('ourt?^, suits may be against lironglit against, the Siato, the State. r^EC. 11. Absence on business of this State, 01*^-,.,. , .. on a visit, or necessary private business, shall not ''^^'P' cause a forfeiture of citizensliip or residence once olitained. Sec. 12. It shiill lie ilie duty of the J-iGgislaturc j^g^ygj-jQ^ lo reo^uhite. ])y hnv. the cases in whicli deductions from sala- -liall be made from suhirie« of j)uV)lic officers forries. lioo'lcci of duty in tlieir oflioinl capncity. and the amouui of -juch deduction. •* Sec. I:'.. No person hoKh'ug- any office of prolit Who dis- or trust uadcr any foreign power, shall hold or cx-^"*^^^^ ercise any ollii^'' of trust or profit under this State. ^^^^ ^^ Sec. 14. b'clieion. morality aiul knowledge ^^o- g^j^^^jg ing necessary to good Liovernmcnt. the preservation and edu- of liberty and the happiness of juankind. schools and cation, the means of education shall forever be encouraged in this State. Sec. 15. Divorces from the bonds of matrimo- Divorces, ny shall not Ite granted but in cases provided for by law. by suit iji cljanccry. ' Sec. lii. Returns of all elections by the people Election sliall be made to the Secretary of State, in such returns, numner as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 17. Xo new county shall be established by ^^ the Legislature, whii'h shall reduce the county or jjgg counties, or cither of them, from which it may be taken, to less contents than live hundred and sixty- six sfpiarc miles ; nor shall any new county be laid off of less contents. Sec. 18. The Legislature shall have power to lu^jang, admit to all the rights and ])rivileges of free white citizens of this State all such persons of the Choc- taw and Chickasaw tribes of Indians as shall choose to remain in this State, upon such terms as the Legislature may from time to time deem proper. r-TAVES. Section 1. The Legislature shall liave no pow- j^mancipa cr to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves with- ^j^^ ^f out the consent of their owners, unless where the how made slave shall have rendered to the State some distin- 112 CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. guishcd service, iu whicli case the owner shall be paid a full equivalent for the slave so emancipated. They shall ha^ e no ]»owor to prevent emigrants to this State from bringinu: with them such persons as are deemed slaves by the laws of any (Hie of the United States, so long as any person of the same age or description shall be continued iu slavery by the laws of this State ; Provided, that such person or slave be the Imna fide pro]ierty of such emi- gl^ygg cQ^ gi'ants : and, provided, cdso)\t\\i\t laws may be passed victed of to prohibit the introduction into this State of slaves crimes, who may have committed liigh crimes iu other States. They shall haxQ power lo pass laws to permit the owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the rights of creditor.s, and preventing them from becoming a public cliarge. They shall have full power to oblige the owners of slaves to treat them with humanity, to provide for them necessary clothing and provisions, to abstain from all injuries to them extending to life or liml), and in case of their neglect or refusal to comply with the direc- Treatmo't ^ions of such laws, to have such slave or slaves sold of slaves, for the beneht of the owner or owners. Sec. 2. The introduction of slaves into this Slaves as State as merchandize, or for sale, shall 1)e prohib- merchan- ^^^^ fYoni andr«sftcr the first day of May, eigliteeu ^^^' hundred and My^^^i'ce ; Provided, that the actual settler or settlers shall not Ije prohibited from pur- chasing slaves in any other State in this Union and bringing them into this State for their own individual use, until the year eighteen lumdred and forty-five. Sec. 3. In the prosecution of slaves for crimes f on^°of' ^^ '\vhich the punishment is not capital, no inquest slaves. ^^y ^ gi^'^iiitl jury shall be necessary ; but the pro- ceedings in sucli cases shall be regulated l\v law. MODE OF llEVISING THE CONSUTUTION. Whenever two-thirds of each branch of the legis- Constitu- lature shall deem any change, alteration or amend- tion, hoWjj^Qj-^^ necessarv to tliis constitution, such proposed change, alteration or amendment shall be read and passed by a majority of two-thirds of each house respectively on each day for three several days ; CONSTITUTION OF MISSISSIPPI. 118 public notice thereof phall tlieu 1)C given l)y the secretary of state, at L .ist six months preceding the next general election, at Avhich the qualified elec tors shall vote directly for or against such change; alteration or amendment : and if it sluill appear that a majoril}- of the qualified electors voting for members of tlie legislature shall have voted for the proposed change, alteraliou or amendment, then ii shall be inserted, Ijy tlie next succeeding legisla- ture, as a part of this constitution, nnd not other- wise. SCHEDULE. Sec. 1. .Ul rights vested, and all liabilities ill- KighLs currcd, shall remain the same as if this constitution vested, had not l)een adopted. Sec. . 2. All suits at law or in C(]uily, now pend- ing in the several courts of this State, may be trans- ferred to sucli courts as may liave proper jurisdic- tion thereof. Sec. ?>. The Governor, and ail officers, civil Offic's,&c. and military, now holding commissions under the authority of this State, shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices until they shall be superseded pursuant to the provisions of this con- stitution, and until tlicir successors lie duly qual- itied. Sec. 4. All laws now in force in the State, not repugnant to this constitution, shall continue to operate until they shall expire by their own limita- tion, or be alteretl or repealed Jiy th(.^ Legislature. Sec. 5. Inmiediately u])on the adoption of this constitution, the president of this convention shall issue writs of election, directed to the shcriils of the several counties, requiring them to cause an election to be held on the first Monday and day following in December next, for members of the Legislature, at the respective places of holding elections in said counties ; which elections .shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the existing election laws of the State ; and the members of the Legislature, thus elected, shall continue in office until the next gener- al election, and shall convene at the scat of govern- ment on the first Monday in January, eighteen lum- 114 CONSTITUTION OF MliJSISSlPPI. (Irotl and thivly-thrce : and slinll, al tlioir first ses- sion, ordor an election to be lield in every county <»f this-Slate. on the lirst Monday of May and day tbllowin^'^<^'* until the sncceedin.u" .ti'cneral election, and after, in hrst elect- ijjj^ same manner as if the election had taken place ed to con- ^ ,i ^. i , ^ • i tinu* in ''^ ^''*^ ^^"'^ ^''^^ atorCf^aul. office. Sec, (». Until the lir^t cnunieraiion shall be made, as directed by this constitution, the appor- tionment of senators and representatives among the several districts and counties in this State, shall remain as at present fixed by law. P. RUTILUS R. L'iJAY, rrcsiderit of the ■Convention, and * Reprc^'Oifafive from tJ/e Convfy of Hrincock. Attest : John H. Mallory, Secretary. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. SLAVES. The Jjcoislature shall have, and are hereby vested Avith power to pass such laws regulating or prohib- iting the introduction of slaves into this State, as may be deemed }iroper and expedient. Adopted. February 2d, 184('>. l!OAHJi OK POLICE. The qualified electors of each county shall elect five persons, by districts, for the term of two years, Avho shall cojistitute a Board of Police of each county, a majority of whom may transact business; which liody shall have full jurisdiction over roads, liiffliAvays, ferries and bridges, and all other matters AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 115 of couutv policy : and shall Older all county elec- ^ tions to fill vacancies that may occur in the offices of their res]icctive counties. The clerk of the Court of Prolxite shall he clerk of the Boards of County Police. Adopted. :March 12th' 18.52. CHANCERY COURT. Chancer}" Courts, with full jurisdiction in mat- ters of equity, shall be hold in each judicial district by the circuit judge thereof, at such time and place as may be directed by law. The Superior Court of Chancery, and the several Vice- Chancery Courts, shall continue as now orf Mississippi, in Conven- tion assembled. (Jo ordain ami declare, and it is herchy ordo.ined and dcekn-ed as foJIows. toHot: Section 1st. TIidI. all the laws and ordinances by which the s^aid State of ^fissi^sippi liecame a member of the Federal Union of the United States of America be, and the panic are hereby rgpealed, and that all obligations on the part of the said State or the people thereof to obserre thcsame, be withdrawn, and that llie said State doth hereby rcsimic all the rights, fmictions- and powers which, by aiiyof said laws or ordinances, were conveyed to ttie government of the said United States, and is absolved from all the obligations, restraints and duties incurred to the said Federal Union, and shall from henceforth be a free, sovereign and inde- pendent State. 120 ORDINANCES OF MISSISSIPPI. Section 2nd. That so nuicli of the first section of the seventh articlo of the Constitution of this State as requires members of the Legislature, and all officers, cxeaitive and judicial, to take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States, be, and the same i? hereby abrogated and annulled. Section 3rd. Thai all rights* acquired and vested under the ('onstitution of the United States, or under any act of Congress ])assed, or treaty made, in pursuance thereof, or under any law of this State, and not ineompatiljlc with this Ordi- nance, shall remain in force and have the same effect as if this Ordinance had not been passed. Section 4th. That the people of the State of Mississippi hereby consent to form a Federal Union Avith such of the States as may have seceded or may secede from tlic Union of the United States of America, upon the basis of the present Constitution of the said United States, except such parts thereof as embrace other portions than such seceding States. Thus ordained and declared in Convention the Uth day of January, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight ITundrcd and Sixty-one. IN TESTIMONY of the passage of which. and the determination of the members of this Con- vention to uphold and maintain the State in the posi- tion^ she lias assumed In/ said Ordinance, it is signed hy the President and Members of this Con- vention this the ffteenfh dof/ of f/amiary, A. D., 1861. W. S. BARRY, President. Adams County — A. K. Farrar, J. Winchester. Attala— E, H." Sanders. Amite— D. W. Ilurst. Bolivar— 'M. IT. McGehee. CarroU-.T. Z. George, W. Booth. Claibornr—U. T. Ellett. Coahoma — J. L. Alcorn. Copiah — P. S. Catching, B. King. Clarke— S. H. TerraL ORDINANCES OF mSSISSIPPI. 121 Glwctaw—W. F. Brantley, W. H. Witty, J. H. Edwards. Chickasaw — J. A. Orr, C. B. Baldwin. Covington — A. C. Powell. CmJJioiin — W. A. Sumner, M. D. L. Stephens. DeSoto—J. R. Chalmers, S. D. Johnston, T. Lewers. Fmnldin — D. H. I'arker. Green— i:. J. Roberts. » Hinds— W. P. Harris, W. P. Anderson, W. B. Smart. Holmes — J. M. Dyer, W. L. Keirn. Harrison — D. C. Glenn. Hancock — J. B. Deason. Issaquena — A. C. Gibson. Itawamba— R. 0. Beene, A. B. Bullard, W. H. H. Tison, M. C. Cummings. Jasper — 0. C. Dease. Jackson — A. E. Lewis. Jefferson — J. S. Johnston. Jones — J. H. Powell. Kemper— 0. Y. Neely, T. H. Woods. Lawrence — W. Gwin. Lowndes — George R, Clayton. Leake— W. B. Colbert. Lauderdale — J. B. Ramsey, F. C. Scmmcs. Txifayette — L. Q. C. Lamar, T. D. Isom. Marshall— A. M. Clayton, J. W. Clapp, S. Benton, H. W. Walter, W. M. Lea. Madison— A. P. Hill. Monroe — S. J. Gholson, F. M. Rogers. Marion — H. Mayson. Noxubee — Israel Welsh. Neshoba — D. M. Backstrom. Newton — M. M. Keith. Oktibbeha— T. C. Bookter. Perry — P. J. Myers. Pike— J. M. Nelson. Panolor—J. B. Fizer. E. F. McGchee. Pontotoc— C. D. Fontaine, J. B. Herring, H. R.. Miller, R. W. Flournoy. Rankin — Wm. Denson. Sunflower — E. P. Jones. Simpson — W. J, Douglas. >• mt j'/i-- W , I'hompson , 122 ORDINANCES Of JHSSTSBIPPI. Scott— 0. W. Tavlor. Talhh(ttclde~^\, JPattisoii. l^ishomUtro—k.Y.: Rc}TiolcL?, W. W. P...,,.]-. T. P. YonucT, J. A.Plair. Tmi'ira—,^. Miller. Tippah— 0. Davis. .1. 11. BeiT\ . .1. S. Davis. D. B. VVriglit. Washington — .f. S. Yorirci . ini/dmon—A. (\ HoU. [r(;V"t->— W. J. Eckford. IVa'n-cn—W. Brooke. T. A. Mar.^hall. iT^/,^s/o,i_j. Kenncdv, W. S. Bolliji--. Yallohu^ha—P.'M. Aldriclg-e, AV. P. Bark.-tdale. VV^roo — IT. Yanii'liai). d. P. Wilkinson. riTATTPl? IT. AN ORDINANCE to rci;ulalc the Military System of the State of Mississippi. Of orean- ^KCTION.l. /jr ii u/ciu/nd mj //ic j»(>/)lr. o/' the feation. State of Mis^iisbippi iji Coiiveiofion aiScmUecL That one flivi.=^ion of A^oUratcer.-? be a.-= early as practica- ble enlisted and muf-lertxl into ^:e^vicc by order of tlic Mjljlai-y Board horcinufter Cyonstitutcd, to .«crvc ^ until discharged ;u^ hereinafter i)rovided, and to consist of four brigades? ; ea.ch brigade .to be com- jiosed of two regiment-^, and (jai'li regiiiient of ten companies of infantry, oj- i-iflemeu, apd each com- pany of not les.-< than fgrty-eight, r.or inorc than ouo hundred men, and also not exceeding ten com- panies of cavalry of not less than tifty men each, I and not exceeding ten companies of artillery of not, less than sixty men each, and that the volunteers so enlisted shall not be ?ubjcct in any manner to the officers of the militia., ■, ',:,-.: Infantry, ^EC. 2. That tlio-.eight 'Regiments of Infantry howrai'eJ or Riflemen shall be raised a;^ follows, tp-wit : First Regiment from tliC'cqunties of DeSoto Marshall, Tunica, Coahoma, Panola, and Lafayette ORDINANCES OP MISSISSIPPI. 123 Secuiid Regiment from llio counties of Tippali. Tishomingo, Pontotoc jmd Itawamba. Tliird Rpginiont fvom l)olivnr. Sunliower. Wash- ington, Ls=a(|iioiia. Ynzoo. Wan-en. (Uaihorne and Jefferson. Fourth Regiment IVoin Yalk>l)nsha. Oallioun, Cav- roll, Clioctaw. Hohne^. AMla and Tallaliatehie. Fiftli Regiment from Oliickasaw. Monroe. Ok- tibbeha, Lowndes, Winston. Noxubee. Xe.4u»l)a and Kemper. Sixtli Regiment from Mailison, Ijeake. Scott. Hinds, Raidvin. Copiah and Simpson. Seventh Regiments from Adams, Franklin. LaAv- rence, Wilkinson, Amite, Pike. Covinj;^ton and Ma- rion. EightJi Regiment from i\ewton. Lauderdale, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, Jones, Wayne. Perry, Trreene. Harrison. Jackson and Hancock. And the Companies of Cavalry and Artillery shall be raised indiscriminately from the State at* Cavalry, large, and in case any of the Regimental Di^ rricts as °^ ^^^ ® aforesaid shall fail to fm^nish ten Companies, the Military Board are hereby authorized to raise from other portions of the State. Companies snfiicient to complete such Regiment. Sec. 3. That there shall be one Major General Of officers, and ^ur Brigadier- Generals of Voluntee] •;, to be elected each in succession by this Convention. One Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel, one Major for each Regiment, one Captain and three Lieutenants for each Company, who shall be elected by a major- ity of the Volunteers within their respective com- mands, and that the Division, Brigade, and Regi- mental Officers shall appoint their own Staffs, and each Captain shall appoint as many Sergeants and « Corporals as may be necessary. Sec. 4. That all officers of Volunteers of erpial Of lauk. grade shall take rank and precedence according to priority of election which shall be evidenced liy the priority of commission, to be issued by the Gover- nor of the State to all officers elected, as heretofore provided and to their staff. Sp]C. 5. That the Volunteers after being mus- of fur- tered into service as provided for in the first sec- lough, tion of this ordinance shall be considered as on -^ 124 ORDINANCES OP MISSISSIPPI. fui'lough, subject however to ho drilled at such times and places within their respective counties as their couipany officers may order, until called out for drill or actual service by their ^Major-General, who, when ordered by the Governor, shall have powei- and authority to order all or any portion of said Volunteers or "their officers out for drill at any time and to any place subject to the limitations hereinafter provided. Of Milita- '^^^- ^- That the Governor of the State, ex-offi- ry Baard. cio, the Major-General, and Brigadier-Generals elected as heretofore provided, shall constitute a Military Board, any three of wliom shall be a quo- rum, to be assembled on tlie call of the Governor, and said ])oard shall have power and authority To make all needful rules and regulations not Powers of contrary to law, for the government and discipline Board. ^^ ^^^^ A^oluiiteers, including articles of war. subject to the approval of the Convention or of the State Legislature after this Convention shall have finally 'adjoui'ned. To prescribe the uniform arms and equipments of the Volunteers ; Provided, that the Companies now organized if mustered into service, shall be permitted to retain the arms and uniforms which they have adopted. To order the number and rank of Division, Brig- ade and Regimental Staff. To organize Engineers, Ordnance. Quarter-Mas- ter, Commissary, Medical and Pay Department, and to appoint the officers thereof and designate their rank. To organize the Regiments into Brigades, and to assign the Brigadiers to their commands. To determine how the Qavalry and Artillery Companies shall be disposed of, and, if they deem it necessary, to order the election of field officers for said corps ; Provided, that the Major-General when in actual service may at any time alter the disposition of troops as he may deem fit. To order the time and mode of electing all offi- cers to be chosen by the Volunteers and making returns thereof. And to have entire control over all the arms and military property of the State, until otherwise or* ORDINANCES OP MTSSISSIPPL 125 dered b}'' the Convention or by the State Legisla- ture aftor the ConA'cntion shnll have iinally ad- journed. Sec. 7 . That the officers enlisted under this Compen- ordinanC'.e when in actual service or when on drill satiou of by order of the Major-General. shall receive the'^™*^^"- same co miiensation as is now yirovided and allowed by law to tlie officers of the United States Army ; that th'C pay of privates and non-commissioned offi- ^ . cers shall be sixteen dollars per month, together ^^j^j*^'^^^'^ Avith tlie rations and clothing allowed in said army, ^ ^ ^ ^^ is. until the Southern Confederacy is formed ; after sioned of- which time both the officers and men shall receive ficers. such ]:.ay as may be allowed to tlic officers and men of thoard. Se(^ 8. That in case any vacancy sliall occur Of vacan- in an;r office l)elow that of Brigadier-General, the^^^^- vacancy shall be supplied as tlie office was original- ly filled. Any vacancy in the office of Brigadier- General shall Ije filled by the appointment of the Majjor- General, and a vacancy in the office of Majoif-General, shall be filled by the appointment of th'B Governor, the appointment of each being subject to the approval of the State Senate. Sec. 9. That all Volunteers enlisted imder this Ofexemp- ordina.nce shall be allowed such exemptions and'io^s- compansation as are now allowed by law to the Voluateers in the manner noAv prescribed, and also be exempt from poll tax, and shall be entitled to their discharge when -friendly relations shall be established by treaty or otherwise between the vState 0'.f Mississippi, or any Confederacy of which she is a member, and the non-seceding States of the late Fed'.eral Union ; Provider/, that said Yolun- teers sluill not be required to serve more than one . 3'ear after being called into actual -service. p ^^ Sec. 10. That all such officers and privates as disabled may be disabled while in actual service, before the rolunteera 126 OIIDINANCES OP MISSISSIPPI. foriuation of a ^fouthern Confederaov, sli£ill be enti- tled to one year's pay after their diseharge froui the ?;ervice. and tlie wido'ws of those ^\'hc> shall be killed in the service shall also receive for one year, the compensation that their hnsband-j \,'oiild be entitled to if livinu-. J^EC. 11. That all parts ol' ihe Constitcilion. all acts and all laws in conflict with this on linance. and so much of the Constitution as may Limit the right of any \'olunteers from electing- tlif/ir own field officers in any manner prescribed by tlhe Leg- islatm'C. be and the same arc hereby abrogai'ed and annulled. This ordi- *'^^*^* ^'"^' I'^^'^t this ordinance shall tak< 3 effect na'ce.how'^i'^'^ be in force from and after its passage, and con- altered, tinuc in operation until changed, altered or jimend- (!d liy this Convention, or the State Legiirlatnrc after this Convention shall have lin;ilh- n.liounifd. Adopted. January 23d, 1861. CHAPTER lil. AN ORDINANCE to raise means for the defense of the State. The people of Mississippi, in- Convention assembled, do declare and araain, asfolloivs, to-ioil : Section 1. That it shall be the duty of .the Tax Tax how Collectors of the several counties in this State collected, forthwith, after the passage of this ordinance, to collect, in the manner now provided by lav; for the collection of other taxes, from every tax payer in his county, an additional special State ta:x of fifty per centum on the regular State tax of sucli tax payer, and also a tax from every inhabita nt of this- State of three-tenths per cent\un upon .'all money^ owned or controlled by such inhabitant, find depos- ited, loaned or employed in the purchase of notes, bills, stocks, or any securities for the ipayment of money, without the limits of this State, ar kept from ORDINANCES OP mssissippi. 127 use and circaiatioii within the same, at any time tluriug the fiscal year, and to pay the same into the State Trea^un'. subject to all the laws., restrictions and penalties that apply to and i-egulate the col- lection and payment of other State taxes ; and the Taxes u» iiioiiev so collected shall constitute a Military Fund, constitute, ami a separate account thereof sliall he kept by the what. Auditor and TreasMrer, and the same shall be dis- bursed by warrant issued on the order of the Governor, and sliall Itc ajiplicd l)y llie Governor to such jmrposes LetjIssliUre. ORDINANCES OF mSSISSIPl*!. 1^9* Sec. 6. That the money raised upon the said Money certificates and notes shall Ije paid into tlie Treasury 1^°^' P*"^ of the State, and shall constitute a part of the '"" Military Fund, and shall be applied to the defense and military service of the State in the manner directed in the first section of tliis ordinance. Sec. 7. Tliat it shall be the duty of the tax collectors of tlie several counties in this State, in Tax in every year connnencing with the fiscal year begin- May coi- ning on the first day of May next to collect from lected. every tax payer in his comity, in the manner county taxes arc required to lie collected, an additional special State tax the same as is provided in the first section of this ordinance, and to pay the same into the State Treasury, subject to the same laws, restrictions and penalties that apply to and regulate the collection a]id payment of other State taxes ; and the amount of such special tax, shall constitute a special fund for the redemption of the princial and interest of the certificates and notes to be issued in pursuance of tMs ordinance, and shall be Tax how faithfully applied tb that purpose, and the said taxapplie(i. shall be irrepealable by the Legislature, until such certificates and notes shall be fully paid and satis- fied, at which time the collection of said tax shall cease and determine: Provided, however, That if Tax when on the first day of December, in the present, or any *° ^^^^' subsequent year, it shall appear that so large an amount of tax as is contemplated by this ordinance will not be required to pay the principal and interest of said certificates and notes falling due and ?*" properly payable out of the tax of that fiscal year, it is hereby made the duty of the Governor, by proclamation directed to the tax collectors of every county, to reduce the said tax to an amount suffi- cient to pay such certificates and notes so falling due and payable, and to direct the collection of a smaller per centage on the State tax ; and when the certificates and notes authorized by this ordi- nance shall be fully paid, the Governor, by like proclamation, shall direct the collection of such tax to be discontinued. Sec. 8. That it shall be the duty of the tax collectors when collecting the taxes levied by this ordinance until the assessor shall make other C-25 130 OBDIMANCES OPJmISSISSIPPI. Money, assessments of personalty, to assess the said tax &c., outofQf three-tenths of one per eent. upon all money ^Q^ 'j^,^ owned or controlled by the inhabitants of this State and deposited, loaned or employed in tlie purchase of notes. ])ills, bonds, stocks, mortgages or any securities lor tlie payment of money without the limits of this State, or ke})t from use and circu- lation within the same at any time during the liscal year, and to require such inliabitauts to give in the said assessment under oath, to be administered by said tax collectors, and to return one copy of said assessment to the Board of Police of the proper county and one to the Auditor of Public Accounts, and should such inhabitant fail or refuse to give in said assessment the said collectors shall Pggg Qf levy and collect from such inhabitant the sum of collector. fi'^'S thousand dollars : Provided, That the tax col- lectors "shall receive for their compensation for collecting the taxes raised by this ordinance three per centum upon the amount collected from the tax payers, and nothing for receiving the amounts that shall be paid by the Board of Police in discliargc of the said tax of fifty per centum. Oath re- ^^*^" ^' '^^^^^ ^^^^h assessor of taxes in this quired. State in all subsequent assessments for taxes, until said treasury notes are paid, shall require each inhabitant of his county, to render on oath, to be by him administered, the amount of money owned or controlled by him^ and deposited, loaned or employed in the purchase of notes, bills, bonds, f stocks, mortgages or any securities for the payment of money without the limits of this State, or kept from use and circulation within the same, at any time during the fiscal year as aforesaid, and should said tax payer fail or refuse to render said amount or take said oath, then said assessor shall assess against him or her, the sum of live thousand dollars, as taxes for money deposited, loaned or employed without the State or kej)t from use and circulation within the same as aforesaid, and which sum so assessed shall be collected and paid over as other taxes are to be collected and paid over as herein- before provided. Sec, 10. That when any of the said certificates or notes shall fall due, it shall lie the duty of the Auditor to issue his warrant iu favor of the holder ORDINANCES OP iHSSISSIPPI. 131 thereof for tlie amount due tliereou, and shall there- Certifi- upon take up and cancel such certificates or notes, ^^^^> ^^- and shall endorse tliereou tlie amount of interest P®°^^^ °*- allowed, and if at any time there shall be money in the Treasury applicable to the redemption of such certificates or note?, the Governor sliall cause notice to be given by proclamation, to the holders of such certificates or notes, that tliose of certain descrip- tions or denominations, will be redeemed on pre- sentation, and all interest shall cease thereon after sixty days from the date of the publication of such notice. Sec. 11. Thai the sum of twenty-five hundred ^ .^ dollars is hereby set aside from any money in the ^^^^^ ^^, State Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to celled, defray the cxi)ense of engraving, issuing and nego- when, tiating said certificates or notes. The Auditor sliall issue his warrant for such sum within said maxinmm as the Governor may certify as necessary to be supplied for engraving, and while the com- pensation for negotiating and labor performed by the agents of this State shall be fixed by the Legis- lature, the same uot to exceed the appropriation. Sec. 12. Be it farther ordained, That imme- Collector's diately on the passage of this ordinance, each bond, sheriff or tax collector in this State shall execute a. bond, with good security, payable to the State, and . in a penalty equal to the present State tax of his county and conditioned for the due and faithful performance of the duties imposed on him by this ordinance — which said bond shall be approved, filed and recorded in the same manner as sheriffs' bonds are now required by law to be approved, filed and recorded. Sec. 13. Be it further ordained. That if any sheriff shall fail to execute said bond with security as provided in the last preceding* section of this ordinance by the 1st day of March next, his office shall thereby become vacated and the vacancy thereby occasioned shall be filled as other vacajicieB in the office of sheriff are now required by law to he filled. Sec. U. Be it further ordained, That the tax now imposed by the present revenue law on money loaned at interest be so amended or construed as C— 26 132 ORDINANCES OP MISSISSISSIPPI. to include all inouoy used or that may have been used or employed Ijy bein<( loaned at interest or in the pnrcliase of notes, bills of exchange, bonds or other securities during the jtast fiscal year, and the parties so interrogated shall answer under oath, to be administered by the tax collector, and all money so used or em|>loyed, notlieretofore assessed as money loaned at interest shall ])e taxed three- tenths of one percent. Adopted, January '2(1. 18G1. CHAPTER IV. The State of Mississippi : At a Convention of the people of the State of Mississippi, began and liolden at Jackson, in said State, in the year of our Lord 1S()1. Kesolutions to provide for the formation of a Southern Confederacy. IVe the people of Mississippi in Convention assem- hied (to declare and resolve and it is hereby declared, find resolved : First, Tiiat this Convention \vill, immediately I^^^SJi^-^s after the passage of tliis ordinance, proceed to the to^be dec- dection, l^y ballot, of seven Delegates, wliose duty it shall be when elected to represent the State of Mississippi in a Convention of those States which have seceded, or wliich may hereafter secede, from the Government formerly known as tlie United States of America. Place of Second, That tliis Convention receives and adopts holding the suggestion, that the Convention hereby con- Conven templated, shall meet and hold its sessions in the "°°- city of Montgomery and the State of Alabama, and that the time for said meeting shall be th^ 1st Monday and the •Ith day of February, 1861. Third, That this Convention accept the sug- gftstiou that each of the States seceding from the ORDINANCES OP MSSISSIPPI. 13B Government of the United States and concurring Apppoint- in the formation of a Soutliern Confederacy by ™ ® ^^ <^ ^ ^ said Convention, .«hall be entitled 1o one vote in ^^'^S'^'^^*'- the said Convention upon all questions which may be acted ujion therein, and that each .State send as many Deh-ji-ates to i-aid Couvenrion as are e({ual in number to tlie number of Seiuitors and Representa- tives to -which it Avas entitled in (lit; Congress of the United States. Fourth, That the said ]>elegates be authorized Form of to provide for the formation of Provisional Govern- Govern ment for the States represented in said Convention, "icnt. to be organized ami put in operation as s{>eedily as ])0ssible, to submit to the said Convention ' the Constitution of the United States of America as a Imsis of sueli Provisional (Jlovcrnment, and to ]irovide in the plan of said Provisional Govern- ment, or otherwise, that as early as conveniently :ind properly may be, a Convention of the States forming such Government and such other States as niay have seceded and may then desire to attach themselves thereto, shall be assembled to revise the C'onstitution and Plan of Government so established, propose amendments and alterations therein, and adopt a Pei-manent Plan of Government for such States to be submitted for ratification to Conven- tions of the scvcyal States represented therein, and 10 be composed (\{ Delegates elected by the people of said States iu such manner as the said Conven- tion or the Legislatures of the several States inav prescribe, and that the said Provisional Govern- ment shall continue until the said Permanent Plan of Gover\\uAent shall be adopted and established. Fifth. That in case the said Convention to be assembled iit Montgomery, as contemplated in the second of the preceding resolutions, .^hall proceed .^''^*'^^^'''' to consider and adopt a Constitution or Plan for a \^^^ Permanent Government, establishing a Sonlliern jnent Confederacy between the States represented therein, then such Constitution or Plan shall be referred to to this Convention for its action : Prodded. That if this Convention shall then have adjourned sine die, the said Constitution or Plan shall be referred to the people of this State for ratification in such 0-27 Tovi-nv 134 ORDINANCES OF jnSSTSSIPPI. manner as tlie -an I Convention at Montgoiliery .-hall prescribe. Sixth, That in the event tho Convention of >ccc/>/ in Conventwn assem- hled ordain and it ifi hereby ordained, Tliat the Governor 1)C ompoAvcred to borrow a sufficient amount of money to defray the expenses of the troops of this State now in the liehl, and to secure such loan, the Auditor of Public Accoimts be, and is hereby required, to issue his vdrafts or warrants on tlie Sheriffs of any of tlio several counties of this State, which warrants so drawn shall 1)C paid by the said Sheriffs out of any State taxes in their hands collected for the present iiscal year or received by them for the State taxes of any person presenting the same : Provided, however, That not more than ten thousand dollars of such warrants shall be drawn. Adopted, January 26, 1861. CHAPTER VIII. AN ORDINANCE to amend the Constitution of the Stat« of Mississippi in certain particulars. The people of the State of Mississippi in Conven- tion assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the Constitu- tion of the said State be amended and altered, in t/ie foUmoing pati.ic^dars, to-ivit : 1st. That tlic words "the United States" where they occur in the hrst section of the third article of the said Constitution, be stricken out. 2nd. That tlie words "the United States" in the seventh section of the third article of the said Con- stitution, be stricken out. ORDINANCES OP MISSISSIPPI. 137 3rd. That the words "the United States" iu the fourteenth section of tlie third article of the said Constitution, be stricken out. 4th. That the words "the United States, or" in the twenty-seventh section of the tliird article of the said Constitution, be stricken out. 5th. That tlie words "the United States for twenty years" in the third section of the lifth arti- cle of the said Constitution, be stricken out, and the word "and" inserted instead of tlie words so stricken out. t)th. Tliat the words 'except when they shall be called into the service of the United States" in the lifth section of the fifth article of the said Consti- tution, be stricken out. 7th. That the words "not incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the United States in relation thereto." in the first section, under the title "militia" in the said Constitution, be stricken out. 8th. That the words "the Constitution of the United States and" in the first section of the sev- enth article of the said Constitution, be stricken out. 9th. That the words "or of the United States" in the eleventh section of the seventh article of the said Constitution, be stricken out. 10th. That the words "the United States (the office. of Post-Master cxco])tcd) or any other State of the Union, or under." in the thirteenth section of the seventh ai-ticlo of the said Constitution, be stricken out. lltli. That the ninlh section of the seventh arti- cle of the said Constitution l)e amended by adding thereto the following additional proviso, to-Avit : Additional And jJi'ovided further, That the Legislature may P^*'"^'^*'" raise a loan of money and ])ledge the faith of the State for the payment tliereof, when required to suppress insurrections, repel invasions, or ])rovide for the defense of the State. 12th. That the words "or member of Congress" in the first section of the third article of the said Constitution, be stricken out. 13tii. That the words "members ol Congress, nor any" in the thirteenth section of article seven of said Constitution, be stricken out. C— 29 138 ORDINANCES OP MISSISSIPPI. Htli. That the words "Representatives iu Con- gress and" in amendment fifth, to the f^aid Consti- tution, inserted liy act of tlie Leu;islature, approved February the 2ud, 1S50. l»e stricken out. , Aiditioual ^-^tli. That the Lcgishitun; shall have power to section, lix the time of holding all elections, and may ad- Just the terms of ofiSce to conform to any chanj»'es liereafter to be made ; and may fix the time for the commencement of its biennial sessions. Additional • 16th. Be it ordained and declared, and U is section. Jicreby ordained and declared^ That if any part of the present Constitution of the State of Mississippi shall be in conflict with any ordinance passed by this Convention, such part of said Constitution shall be held to be abrogated and annulled to t)ic extent of such conflict, but no further. Adopted, January 26th, 1861. CHAPTER IX. AN ORDINANCE to provide for Postal airangements in Mississippi. Whereas, It is pi'oper and necessary to avoid as far as practicable any disturbance of existing ar- rangements and contracts for carrying, deliver- ing and distributing the mails ; therefore, Section 1. The people of Mississippi in Con- vention assendiled do ordain and declare, and it is hrrehy ordained and- declared, That all laws, con- tracts and regidations made by the authority of the United States foi- carrying, delivering and distrib- uting the mails, and for the protection thereof against depredations, which were subsisting and in force at the date of an ordinance adopted by the people of Mis.sissippi, in Convention assembled, on the ninth day of January, one thousand eight hun- dred and sixty-one, entitled, "an ordinance to dis- solve the Union between the State of ]Mississippi and the States united with her und^v ,thc compact ii<* n ORDINANCES OF msSISSIPPI. 139 entitled, 'The Constitution of the United States of iVmQrica/ '' })e and the tsanie are hereby continned in full force and cllect so far as tliey arc not iucom- l^atible with the terras and intent of said ordinance, or with the jtrovisions liereiiiafter made ; and por- ,^ons charged with the duties imposed by said con- tracts and regulations, shall continue to discharge the same, and all violations of the penal laws afore- said, shall be prosecuted in the name and by the authority of the State of Mississippi, in the Courts (^f said State haviug jurisdiction of crimes and luisdemcanors, in the same mnnner as other prose- cutions are now conducted aud determined by the laws of this State. Sec. 2. Be it further oixhif/eJ, That this ordi- ]iaucc shall take effect from and after its passage, and shall continue in force until repealed by this (convention, or superseded by such laws, or trea- ties, as may be adopted, or assented to. for that purpose by the State of Mississippi. Adopted, January 14th. 1801. CHAPTER X. AN OEDINANCE further to provide for Postal arrange- ments in Mississippi. Section 1 . Be it ordained hy tJie people of Mis- ■'c next I'ooular State election, for how etcc- ^^^^ numl)cr of Repre.-icntatives to Avliich this State ted. luay be entitled in tlie Congrotjs of any new Con- federacy or Government of Avhich the State may become a mcinlier, to hold for such term a.s the Constitution of such Confederacy may prescribe ; if entitled to five Rejircsentatives, the election shall be by Districts as now established by law, but if the number of Representatives to Avhich tlie State is entitled be increased above five, then one shall be chosen in each District as noAv organized, and the additional number shall be chosen by the election of the State at large, and if the immber of Representatives be diminished, then the whole number shall be cliosen l)y the electors of the State at large, but the Legislature may in the meantime reorganize the said Districts, and increase or dimin- ish the same, if necessary, and the election slmll be held accordingly. Sec. 4. That alf laws pi'ovidiug for the election of Senators and Representatives in Ihe Congress of the United States, ai-e hej-eby annulled so far as they authorize the election of Senators or Repre- sentatives in the said Congress, but such laws shall continue in force so far as to autliorize and regulate the election of Senators and Representatives in the Congress of any new Confederacy or Govcrmnent of which this State may become a member. '"••'' Adopted, January 26th, 1861. ORDINANCES OF MISSISSIPPI. 143 CHAPTER XII. AN ORDINANCE providing a permanent council of three for the Governor of this State. The people of the State of Mississippiin Conven- tion assembled, declare and, ordain, and if is hereby declared and ordcdned, That there be, and is hereby established, a council of three persons, to be elected by this Convention, whose duty it shall be to ad- vise the Governor upon important matters of state concern : wlio shall continue in office until the for- mation of a Confederacy between this State and other seceding States, and receive for compensation five dollars per day while actively engaged in their duty. Adopted, January 26th, 1861. CHAPTER XIII. AN ORDINANCE to provide for Surveys and Fortifica- tion of Military sites within the State of Mississippi. The people of the State of Mississippi in Conven- tion assemhled, do ordain and declare, and it is hereby ordcdned ami declared as follows, to-ivit: Section 1 . That the Military Board established under the provisions of an ordinance of this Con- vention, entitled, "an ordinance providing for the military defence of the State of Mississippi," shall cause all necessary surveys to be made of military sites within this State. Sec. 2. That after the surveys shall have been made, as directed in the foregoing section hereof, the said Board shall report the same to the Legis- lature, designating the fortifications necessary to be erected, with estimates of the costs of the same, and thereupon the Legislature may make such order in reference thereto as they may deem advisable. Adopted, January 26, 1861. 144 ORDINANCES OP MISSISSIPPI. CHAPTER XIV. AN ORDINANCE to regulate the right of citizenship in the State of Mississippi. Section 1 . Ik it ordained by the jJeople of the State of Mississijjpi in Convention asseiahled, That all citizens of the United States domiciled within this State on the adoption of the Ordinance of Secession, viz: January 9tli, 18G1, be regarded as citizens of Mississippi, entitled to all the rights and -privileges, and subject to all liabilities incident thereto. Sec. 2. And be il furl her ordained. That all free white persons born within the limits of the United States, or made citizens thereof by natm-al- ization or treaty, coming into this State with intent to reside therein, shall become citizens of the State according to the constitution and laws of this State now in force, and as to all other persons coming into this State with the intent aforesaid, the pre- sent naturalization laws of the United States shall apply and be in fOrce, except that their oath of al- legiance sliall be taken to the State of Mississippi instead of the United States, and that all such per- sons who have made their declaration of intention of becoming citizens of the United States in any of the Courts of this State, or any of the other States or Territories of the United States, may at the expiration of the time prescribed by the natu- ralization laAvs aforesaid, })orfect their natui'aliza- tion in any of the courts of record in this State. Sec. 3. And hi it further ordained, That this • ordinance shall be subject to such laws on the sub- ject of naturalization as may hereafter be adopted by the constitution and laws of such Confederacy as this State may hereafter become a member, and after the formation of such Confederacy, any citi- zen of such Confederacy may become a citizen of this State, according to the provisions of the pre- sent Constitution of this State. Adopted, January 20th, 1861. ORDINANCES OP MISSISSIPPI. 145 CHAPTER XV. AN ORDINANCE to provide for the purchase of arms, munitions find military equiiifncnts, and for other purpo- ses. Section 1 . Be it ordained hi the people of Mis- Of cont'cts sissippi, in Convention assemhled, That the Gover- nor and Military Board of this State be. and they are hereby autliorized and empowered to enter into any contract.-;, on behalf of this State, for the pur- chase of all arins, munitions and military equip- ments, which may be necessary for its defence, and to provide suitable arsenals and magazines for se- curing the same, and that they be also authorized in their discretion to purchase for tliis State sepa- rately or jointly with any other State or States all such machinery as may bo necessary in the erection and completion of an armory for the manufacture of fire arms, and to appoint any agent or agents under tliem to carry into effect any of the forcgo- ino- provisions. 'Sec. 2. And be. it further ordained. That all f'^'''^^^ sums of money which may be expended by the said ^^ ^"" ' Crovernor and ]\Iilitary Board for any of the pur- poses mentioned in the foregoing section of this ordinance, shall be paid by tlio Treasurer of this State on the warrant of tlic Auditor to be issued on the re(piisition of the Governor, out of the fund to be collected by virtue of 'an ordinance entitled, "an ordinance to raise means for the defence of the State." Sec. 'i. Be ifj'urfhcr ordained, That the Mill- r^^^j^^j.^^ ^j^ tary Board is im-ested with full authority, in the jjj°'' 1,5 execution of the powers herein conferred, to erect, establis'ed oi- cause to be ertjcted, if, in their o])inion the safety of the ]">ublic re(]uircs it, lines of telegraph commu- nication upon the Eastern bank of the Mississippi river, or in such other portions of the State as the j)ublic safety, in the ojiinion of said Board, may requjr(|. Adopted, January 2C)th, 1801. 146 or>DiXANCEs OP jnf?sissrppi. CHAPTER XYT. AN ORDINAXCE to provide for publishing the Ordinances and Journal of the Contention. Duty of Be it ordained hy the jx'ople of 3Iisftissippi in Con- Secretary. I'cnlion assrnihleiJ.' Tliat. the Journal of this Con- vention f^liall be (lei)osited by the SocD?tarv, iu the office of the Secretary of State ; and the Ordinan- ces parsed, and the .*iaid Journals shall be printed ))y the State Printer, and the style and manner pre- scribed by law for the publication of the laws and Journals of the Legislature, except that the Ordi- nances and Journals shall be bound in one volume in the style prescribed for the Ijinding of the laws. Two thousand copies of said Ordinances and Jour- nals'^ shall be published, and the Printer shall be allowed the same compensation as for ])rinting the How dis- laws and journals of the Legislature. AVhen print- tributed. ed the Secretary of State shall transmit by mail to each member of tlie Convention, one copy thereof, and shall distribute the residue pro rata to the several counties, as the laws and journals are dis- tributed. Adopted, January 26th, 1861. CHAPTER XYIL Jurisdic- tion re- sumed. AX ORDINANCE concorniuj; the jurisdiction and property of tlic United States of America in the State of Missis- sippi. The iieopie of the State of Mississippi in Conven- tion assembled, declare cnvd ordian, and it is here- hy declared, and ordained n^s folJmcs, to-wit: Section 1 . The title to the waste and ifnappro- priated lands, fortifications, light-houses, hospitals, custom-houses and all other property owned or held by the said United States, within tlie limits of the State of Mississippi, on the 0th day of January, ORDINANCES OF MISSISSIPPI. 147 18GJ, and all jiirisdictuMi over the same, arc hereby resumed and vested in the State of Mississippi. Sec. 2. The Legislature shall have power to Powers of j)as3 all laws necessary for the preservation and ^^S'*^^^*'^- disposition of said lands, fortifications, light-houses, hospitals, custom-houses and other property, and die records ])ertaining to the same, or pertaining t(t lands heretofore granted or sold 1»y the said United States, and may provide for the adjustmei'.t of the claim of the said United States thereto. Sec. 'P>. The Legislature shall have power loofjudici provide by law for the custody and preservation of ary. the records and judicial proceedings of the Circuit ^ and Disti-ict Courts of the United States in this State, and to jiroscribe (he maunev in which suits and ])rocecdings. civil and criminal, now ])endingi?i said Coui'ts, shall be tried and determined, as well as to prescribe the manner in which the Judgments of said Courts, or of the Supreme Court of the United States in Avhich a citizen of this State is a pai-ty. remaining unexecuted, and the judgments, mandates, and decrees of the Supreme Court of the United States, in cases now pending therein, in • (' ^ which a citizen of this State may bo a part\-, shall be carried into eflect. Sec. 1. The Judicial ])uwer of this State shall extend to cases of admiralty and maritime juris- diction, and the Legislature shall provide in what courts such jurisdiction shall be exercised. Sec. 5. That the late Marshals of the LTnitedDuty of States for the Northern and Southern Districts of Marshals, (his State, and their assistants be, and the\' are hereby authorized and empowered to continue tlie exercise of their duties so far as it may be neces- sary to complete the census returns of the United • States, but no further, WILLLOl S. BARRY, F resident of /hr. Convention. - Adopted, January 17th, 1861. I CERTIFICATE.] This is to certify that the foregoing printed Ordinances and Resolutions a(hipted at a Convention of the State of Mississippi, liolden in Jackson, in the month of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- one, are just and true copies from the originals now on file in my office. Given under my hand and the great seal of the State of Mssissippi, at the city of Jackson, this 8th day of Februarv, 1801. ■ ^C. A. BROUGHER, Serrclari/ of Sfntc. APPErai [DOCUMENT A.I Jackson, Mississippi, January. 12th, 181)1. His Excellexoy J. J. PETTUS, Governor, &c. Sir: — I have the honor to inform 3'our Excellency that in ]iursuance of my appointment as Commissioner to Tennessee, I arrived at the Ca]iitol of that State on the 5.th inst., and proceeded at once to lay before His Excellency, Governor Harris, the evidences of, and enter npon the duties assigned to mo in my appointment. The Legislature assembled in extraordinary session on the 7th inst. On the following day Governor Harris scut in a special message, accompanied by my credentials, and informing the body that I was ready to communicate Avith them. Thereupon a resolution was passed by the two houses inviting me to meet and address them in joint convention. .That duty I performed, and herewith present to your Excellency a copy of the Address I delivered on the occasion. I am gratified in being able to state that there is a growing patriotic sentiment in favor of the stand assumed by the seceding States in resistance to the domina- tion of a sectional majority which is about to assume the reins of government over the States which may consent to remain in the Union. I cannot doubt that the gallant and chivalrous State of Tennessee will consider that honor and duty alike require thai she shall cast her lot with the States which have, and will renounce allegiaucc to a Government no longer willing, 150 if indeed able, to afford that protociioa ti) tiu' iiitere^i.s ami institutions of the Swith which of riirht ))olonc^ to them. T liave the honor to )jo. Very resi)ectfull\ , Your obedient servant. T. J. WHARTON. A1)1)HE.S<. J\]r. Presiihnf und Gentlemen of the Soialc and of tin House of Representatives of Tennessee : — Returning to my native i:^tatc, after many year.s residence aliroad, 1 am i)ro- Ibnndly grateful for the cordial rece))tion extended to meby his Excellency, the Governor, and tho assemlded Represen- tatives of the people. I know, however, and am proud to acknowledge that the compliment is not intended for mc personally, but for the .^tate which T have the honor to re])resent on this occasion. In her name, and by Jier authority, 1 come to commune with you in reference to tlie fearfnl jiolitical ci-isis which has be- fallen our common country, in the hope tiiat the co-operation of Tennessee may be secured in the effort to preserve the rights, the honor and independence of the slaveholding States of this Confederacy. ' I am charged, in tlie language of my commission, to inform your honoral)lo body, and the people of the State you represent, that the Legislature of 3Ii.ssi.^sippi has passed an act calling a Convention of th<; people of the State to consider the })resent threatuing r(.'lations of the Northern and Southern sections of the Confederacy, aggravated by the recent election of a President upon principles of hostility to the States of the South, and to express the earnest liope of Mississippi that Tennessee will co-operate Avith lier in the- adoption of efficient measures for the common defense and safety of the States thus threatened. That Convention assembled on the 7th inst., and is now in session deliberating u])on th(; action contemplated by the Legislature in the act which called it into being. I am charged also to present certain resolutions adopted, almost without a dissenting voice, enumerating the grievan- ces of which they complain, and prescribing the remedy for the same. Each of the measures thus adopted has received the sanction of the people, in an election held on the 20t]i ult. A popular majority of not less than 18, 000, and a majority 151 in the Convention of from OU to 70, have cordially endorsed the action of the Legislature in the premises. Notwithstanding the dijBferences of opinion that exist amongst us as to the character of the remedy ]n-o])osed, ihere is but one sentimeril as to tlie necessity of prompt and effi- cient action. That unanimity of sentiment ])revailed e\Tn before the recent startling events which have occurred in South Carolina. Probably there is not in the State a man who does not feel that the argument is exhausted; that it is in vain longer to remind the dominant majority of tlie Nortli of their repealed \'iolations of the Constitutional rights of the South, of tlie consideration upon Asdiicli the South acqui- esced in the compromise measures of ISnO-Gl, which at the time convulsed and so nearly dissolved the Union. The most distinguished leaders of the party opposed to theiimnodiateand separatesecessionof the Stjite, unhesitating- ly denounced the election of Mr. Lincoln as a declaration of war against the Southern States, and indignantly repelled the thought of submitting to it. ■ Indeed, they pointed to the necessity of a Southern Con- federacy, and only sought the co-operation of Southern States, and to secure that recommended that a Convention of such States should be held. Her sovereign voice can only be inferred from the known and declared sentiments of the delegates who hare been elected. In a few days, if not ere this, the Convention will give expression to it in the most solemn and authorativc form. When that has lieen done it will be the conmiand of the sovereign, Avhich, like the fiat of the Omnipotent, chal- lenges the obedience of every citizen. That obedience will be rendered, not grudgingly, but with alacrity. Already the public mind is expecting it, and is prepared for it. Forgetting all past political dissensions, her sons will gather round lier standard, and vieing with each other in demonstrations of loyalty and aficction, there swear eternal lidclity to lier sacred cause. Without i-epcating the almost innumerable instances in which the anti-slavery sentiniciit of the North has invaded the constitutional riglits of the people of the South, many of whicli arc set forth in the preamble to the resolutions adopted by the liCgislattu'c of Mississippi, I may say its aggressive spirit has culminated in the recent Presidential election. 152 The election of a sectional candidate, by a dominant sec- tional niajoriiy, on a platform of hostility to the constitu- tional ritrlits of the people of lifteon sovcreipi States, was an event which never entered Ihe minds of the framers of the Constitution. Like parricide amongtst the Grecians — there was no law to pwnish it, as they supposed no child could be so unnatui-al as to murder his ])arent. So, ike sages who Iramed the Maijna Charta of our liberties, never imagined that the time would come when it would be possil)l<.\ in a Government of equal, confederated, sister .sovereigns, that a majority .organized u])on principles of deadely lioslility to the domestic institution of the minority, would obtain the ascendancy. The cardinal principles upon which the tlicory of govern- ment i-ests which tliey inaugurated was the absolute ecpiality of the States, in all political rights and privileges. To establish that principle, the battles of the Revohition were fought. It was worth all the blood and treasure, pri- vations and suffering it cost. When it. has l>cen ^urrendered, nothing accom])lis]ied by the Revolution worth preserving will remain. Mississippi has detei-mined to cling to it, " as the mariner clings to the last plank, wheii night and the tempest have gathered around him."" It is not the mere election of Lincoln — insulting as that of itself would be, in view of the oflensive sentiments he has ulterod. and is known to entertain — which has awakened that tornado of ])opular indignation which is now sweeping over llie South. It is not the mere platform, upouwhich he was nominated — infamous as that is to the Southern man — but it is the determined, aggressive spirit of Abolition, under- lying and sustaining the party which has secured his triumph and tlie overthrow of the Constitution. It is the nnapjieas- ableliuti-ed which that party cherisiies, and has ever cherished, for slaveiy and (ho slaveholder, that proclaims to us that thei-e is an " ii'repressible conflict"' between them and us. It is that the Chair of State, once occu])ied by Washington, is to l)e desecrated by the chief of a ])arty which has risen uj)on the ])rinciple of denying to the citizens of fifteen sovereign States that equality of rights secured to them in the common property of all the States. It is that an insti- tution existing at the formation of the Constitution, and now the foundation of the wealth, jn'osperity and happiness of twelve millions of pco})le, is to be outlawed, and the moral sentiment of the world invoked to make it, and those who tolerate it, hateful. It is that the President elect owes his 153 triumph to such a party, that he has pandered to such a sentiment, and tliat tlio Government is to be administered for sucli a purpose, that the State of Mississippi has resolved —whatever may be the issue — fearlessly to appeal to the God of liattles, the justice of her cause, and the arbitrament of mannkiud. Come what may, though it should cost every drop of blood and every cent of property, she will never submit to the domination of sucli a party and of such a chief. In that appeal, she invokes no symj)athy or compassion. She has fully counted the cost of resistance. She has not rashly taken her positioii. A necessity too stern and imperi- ous to l)e disreg-arded, demands that she should assume the ,u;uardians1iip of her own rights and honor. She will never consent that cither shall be under the control of a govern- ment hostile to her and hers. She ardently desires the co-operation of her sisters, having a common interest and destiny. She dclies and despises the malice of her foes. She has sent commissioners to all the slaveholding States to invite their co-operation in defense of common riglits against a common enemy. She bids me, as her representative, say to her chivalrous sister, Tennessee, that she has too often illustrated her heroism in arms, and her wisdom in council, to doubt that, as upon the deatldess plains of Chalmetteand at the storming of Monterey they stood shoulder to shoulder, they will be separated now when the holies (> cause that ever inspired the human heart, summons them to the conflict. Mississippi knoAvs and appreciates the loyalty to the Union which has ever distinguished her sister. The sentiment has an abiding place in her own bosom. To it she is ready to sacrifice everything which a proud sovereign State may or dare sacrifice of ease, comfort or convenience. Her honor ami constitutional rights she may not, dare not surrender. For the honor of the National Government, slie has sacrificed hecatombs of her best sons. To vindicate her own honor she is ready to sacrifice her last son, and herself disappear from the map of nations. She bids me say that " she loves and cherishes the Union ; that she remembers, with the kindest feelings, our common origin, with pride our common achievements, and has fondly anticipated the conmion great- ness and glory which has seemed to await us ; but that origin, achievements and anticipation of coming greatness, are to us as nothing compared to this question ; that it is to us a vital question : that it involves not only our liberty, but what is greater (if to freemen anything can be) existence 154 itsellV vSo. viowinu; it. niul (li>:pniring- of n roturning i-ensc of justice with hoi- lianglity and vit-lorlous foe, she liaB (loterinined to wclconio doalii i-ather than submission. She consider.s a dissolution of tlio Union a great thongli not tho greatest calamity. In tlie language of her own AA'arrior statesman, the fearless, the ciiivalrous Davis. "iShc would cling tenaciously to our constitutional (lovernment. seeing as she docs, in the fraternal union of c(jual States. *he liencfit to all, and the fulfillment of that high destiny which our fathers hoped foi' and left it foi- their sons to attain. She has seen the national flag surrounded J)y the flags of foreign countries and the i)ulsations of her heart have lieat quicker with every breeze whicli displayed its honored stri])es and brilliant constellation. She has looked with veneration on those stripes, as recording the original size of our political family, and MTth pride upon that constellation, ay juavkiug the family's growth. She glories in the position her own star liolds in the group, but sooner than sec ifs lusti-e dimmned : sooner than see it degraded from its 'prcsejit equality, she would tear it from its place, to be set even on the perilous ridge of Ijattle, as a sign round which her bravest and best should gather to the harvest home of death." What has transpired since the election to encourage the hope that the dangers apprehended from the triumph of the Black Republican party are disappearing or diminishing ? Whilst prayers and supplications are going up from the hearts of patriots that He who stillcth the tempest and rules in the armies of men, would disperse the dark storm-cloud which overshadows the land ; whilst the silent watches of the night have attested the zeal of venerated statesmen to concert measures to preserve alike the Union of the States and the rights of the South, what indication have our ene- mies given of a willingness on their ])art to recede from the l)Ositioji which has caused all the danger? Go to their organs — of the public press — and to their speakers on the floor of" Congress, and catch the haughty contempt with wliicli they treat a suggestion that their platform shall be modified, or the oficnsive State enactments of Avhich we complain, repealed. They are themselves ready to denounce their chosen chief as a traitor, if in the ])olicy upon which he shall administer the (jovernment, he fail to carry out the platform on wiiich lie was nominated, or should, for a moment, yield to the " insolent dcnuindsof a hateful slave oligarchy." Catch the exultant note with which they hailed his election, as the final OA'crthi-ow of slavery. Hear the swelling chorus 155 borne on every breeze to every laud proclaiming the first triumph of tlie party which should, at no distant day, inau- gurate the reioii of equality of all races and colors, and the universality of the elective franchise. Look at their Presi- dent elect, whose silence since his election, and during the canvass, has been as profound as it is ominous. Read liis last r?e^{i;(?ra??cowerful as are the links which hold it together. AbolitioTi and the Union cannot co-exist. As the friend of the Union, I openly ])roclaim it. and the sooner if is known the better. The ibrmer may now be controlled. Imt in a short time, it will be beyond the power of man to arrest the course of events. We of the South will not. cannot surrender our institutions. The sul> version of them will drench the country in blood, and extir- liate one or other of the races. I quote his words, and as ! repeat them who is not struck with the inspiration of his utterance, and ihe fullillment of his prediction? What heart does not send up the prayer, 'vl would his counsels and warnings had been heeded.'' But they were regarded at the time as the sickly abstractions of a dreamer and metaphy- sician. Men. in their impotence to j-each the height of this great argument, not gifted with his far reaching sagacity, adopted the opposite policy. "Others, for .a while, seemed struggling "neath their arguments, he. from above, dosconding stooped to touch tlie loftiest tliought.'' 1 have purposely avoided a discussi(ni of the remedy pi-o posed in the resolutions adopted by the Legislature of Mis sissippi. 1 know full well thf sentiment which has long prevailed in Tennessee on that subject. 1 coidd not hope to change it, and T would not l)e understood as presuming to dictate. Besides, practical re:>ult.s are more to be desired than discussions of abstract propositions. It will make uo diffci -ace as to the form of the remedy, or the name by which 158 it is called, if wc arc animated by the same determined pur- pose, to maintain the riglits oC the South at whatever liazard orlcost. We may lind ourselves borne along by the current of events, and forced to defend what we might be imwilling to aid in producing. My lirstand great concern, the chief object indeed of my mis- sion, is to kiiov that Tennessee, like Mississippi, will bear all. brave all. Init nevci* submit to be ruled over by a Black Re}tublicun Administration. Events are crowding upon each other with startling rapidity. The Kubicon is already passed. Nulla reirorfium vestigia, is inscril)ed upon every shield and every helmet. South Carolina — aptly denomina- tt^d the Harry Percy of tlie Union — lias Hung to the wild winds free her banuei" of State independence, and back from the Spirit laud comes the cheering Avar cry which nerved the arms and hearts of her Snmjitei's and Marions, her I^ickens and Rutledges, now echoing in tones of thunder in the ears <;if thoir descendants — "Strike, till the last armed foe expires, Strike for your altars and your fires, Strike for the green graves of your sires — God and your native land." Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida. Texas, will catch the swelling refrain, and high above the croaking voice of submission, they will pledge hearts and hands to South Carolina — together march to victory and indepen- dence, or when the "last torch of liberty shall burn then sleep the night of death." Aye, and Tennessee will enter the grand carnival — not with slow and measured tread, but with all her l.ianners waving and ready to charge with all her chivalry. Before I could doubt it, I should have to ob- literate the brightest pages of my country's history — ignore the undying laurels with which fame decked the brow of the immortal Jackson, on the plains of Chalraette and the more recent, but undying harvest of glory which were gathered by her sons amidst the siorming of Monterey. If such a doubt were foreed upon mj' mind — as a native of the Stato — 1 would throw myself upon her bosom, and in thelangiiage of another. I would exclaim : Oh Earth, Earth, Earth ! as did tlie Ilcbrciw Pi-ophet when wearied out with the perver- sity of his countrymen, he turned to his native soil and ad- jured that, to see if he could not arouse within it some answering spirit. If such an appeal was made to the soil of Tennessee in such a case, it seems to me that the very genius of the place would spring forth, and trumpet-tongued, 159 rfOimd the call, which from the topmost height of her mouu- tains to the depth.^ of lier valleys would >iuumon her sous to the rescue. That souicthiug must ho done, and speedih done, a,ye, be- fore the reins of Government shall ])ass into the hands of our haughty and insolent foes, the lamest submissionists admit. Yielding to the sentiment of resistance, Avhich wells up from the great popular heart of the South, her statesmen and ])atriots — men of Avisdom and p'!hidenc^\ Avho "hold the helm when ],)assion l)lows the gale.'"' haAC exhausted every effort to restore peace to a distracted country. Their very ])raycrs and su]>plieations on behalf of the Constitution, and the co-equal rights of the States have been insulted anil derided 1)y our ouMuies whether addressed to a throne of grace orto theirown adamantine hearts. If appeals are made to their sense of patriotism — if they arc reminded of a coumion ancestry and a common revolutionarv struggle, of the purer days of the Republic, when Wasiiington and Adams, Jefferson and Hancock, and their illustrious compeers, met at the same shrine ajid presented their offerings on the same altar, with pharasaic piety they turn away disdaining fellowship with slavery, and sLiAcholders. When reminded of their breaches of faitli hi the observance of solemn coven- ants and violations of plain provisions of the Constitution, and exhorted not to drive us to extremities in the defence of (Hu- rights, our exhortations are denounced as threats. A paper wielding, perhaps, a wider influence over Northern senthnent than any other, and which, from the part taken by its editor in securing his nomination, may be presumed to express the feelings of Mr. Lincoln, and the party of which it is the accredited organ — (the New York Tribune) repels with ridicule all such appeals. The only answer made to the South is to justify all that iias been said and done by the ])arty. It protests that they have elected a President by honest legal "s'otes, on the largest ])oll ever known, and after the most heated canvass ever had in the country — that they have done just exactly what (hey had a right to do, what they ought to have done, and what should liave given peace and prosperity to the Union, and that all the distress and danger now existing spring IVom the fact that, the factions they have fairly beaten, insist that they sliall repudiate their principles and surrender the just fruits of their triumph, or that they will lu'cak up the I'nion. It hails with acclama- tions of rejoicing the failure of the committees of Congress to devise any plao.p,f .adjustment. It tliroys ba^clf upgn ttie, 160 South tho rcsponsil)ility (or nil the dan2,'crr< which exifst, and rlonoimccs it for trca.^^on and disimion. Why talk to such people about new guarantees, auiend- nientfj of tho Con.-stitution, <^-c. ? In the first place, we know how they would lie met ; crimination and ridicule arc the i-oply they make ; denying* that the evils complained of exist — liut, if they (k). that they are of our own creation. In the second place, what reason have we to suppose, if our de- mands were accepted, that the amendments and new guar- antees would lie more faithfully ohscrved than the plain pro- visions of the Constitution and the Fugitive Slave Law have been? ' They have been educated, for the last forty years, in the nurseries, in the Sunday schools, from the pulpit, at the bar, in the legislative halls, and from the hustings to loathe slavei-y and the defenders of it. This has all to be undone. It is impossible to "eradicate the sentiment from the minds and hearts of the present generation. With the masses, the sentiment has been engendered by religious fanaticism, and by appeals to their prejudices. They have been taught that sraveholders disdain labor, and look with contempt upon the laboring classes, regarding them alike, whether white or black, as an inferior caste in society. With the leaders, it originates in a contest for political supremacy, and a jealou- sy of the influence which the South has exercised by her wisdom in council and her heroism in arms. Of what avail would all the constitutional compacts in the world be when coming in contact with a sentiment such as that imbedded in the hearts of the people? All laws de- pend for their efficacy and enforcement upon the consent and loyalty of those who administer them, and those for whose government they were intended. Such being, then, the sentiment and feelings of the pai'ty which will be charged with the administration of the Gov- ernment after the 4th of March, what safety or protection will there be for Southern men and property, seeing that new guarantees cannot be obtained, and if they could be, would never be oliserved. Slavery, of all property in the world, most needs the pro- tection of a friendly government. As well commit the lamb to the protection of the wolf, as slavery to the protection of a Government hostile to it. Besides, all these propositions involve delay, and delay now is fatal. It is not wonderful, indeed it is most natural, that up to this timo wo should have held back— that we 161 should have tried to keep others back until the wisest and most prudent counsels had calmly surveyed the whole field, and had failed to discover a remedy for the disorders pre- vailing. That nnich deliberation was due to the sacred trust committed to us, and to the cause of human liberty throughout the world. But events of the past* fcAv days ad- monish us tliat but little time remains for deliberation and decision. Some may deplore the course of South Carolina as precipitate and ill-advised — others may regard it as un- just to her sisters, having an equal interest and a common destiny with her — others again, may hail it as the magic wand which shall extract the forked lightning from the storm cloud and convey it harmless to the eartli, or, as "a bright Iris o'er the boiling surge." Whatever may be the view taken of it, whether approved or condemned, her lone star has been unfurled and ]n'oudly courts the breeze. Mis- sissippi has sent her word of cheering. "On ye brave, who rush to glory or the grave. Wave, South Carolina, wave, all thy banners wave, and charge with all thy chivalry." God grant that Tennessee, the synonym of patriotism and dauntless heroism, true to her own high instincts, lier his- toric renown, and the fame of her illustrious chieftain, who has rendered her own and his name immortal, may also arm to the teeth and resolve to tlie death in defence of her gal- lant sister, the Queen of the Atlantic ! What said the illustrious ex-President Fillmore in his speech at Albany, in 1855, wheu contemplating the very event which has occurred — the election of a sectional Pres- ident — and which, though not the cause, is the occasion of the wide-spread excitement at the South : "can they," (refer- ring to the people of the North,) "have tlie madness, or the folly, to believe that oiu' Southern brethren would submit to be governed by such a Chief Magistrate ? Suppose that the South, having a majority of the efectoral votes, should declare that they would have only slaveholders for President and Vice-President, and should elect such by their suffrages to rule over us at the North, do you think you would sub- mit? No, not for a moment. Do you believe that your Southern brethren are less sensitive on this subject than you are, or less jealous of their rights? If you do, let me tell you you are mistaken ; and therefore you must see that if this sectional party succeeds, it leads inevitably to the des- truction of this beautiful fabric reared by our forefathers." Again, in his speech at Rochester, the same season, referring C— 31 162 to the same crent, he said : "the success of such a party with such an oliject, must be a dissolution of the Union,'' What said tlic lion. Mr. Vallandiffham, member of Con- gress from Oliio? "'I tell you, a? a Western man, and I tell the gentleman from Tennessee, (Mr. Nelson.) tliat when you of the South sliall have attained the numerical power and strengtli in this Union, and shall organize a Southern party on a Southern basis, and, under the forms of the Constitu- tion, shall elcci a Southern President, for the ])urpose of controlling the vast power and patronage and influence of the Government by action or non-action, for the advance- ment of Southern interests ; and above all, for the purpose of extending slavery into States now free. I will meet you as the Irish putriot would liave met the invaders of Ireland — with a sword in one hand and a torch in the other ; dis- pute every inch of ground — burn every blade of grass, till the last intrenchraent of independence shall be my grave. I will not wait for an overt act. What! Do I not know that fire will burn ; that frost will congeal ; that steel and poison. will do tiicir work of destruction to the human sys- tem : and shall I await the slow process of experiment to a.-:certain their rational and inevitable effects?"' This was spoken in answer to tic quo-tion wlicther the South would be justilied in resisting the election of a Northern sectional candidate on a sectional jdatform. 1 quote a passage from a single other Northern statesman, (Hon. Caleb Cashing,) on the same point. After arguing to them the ])nu'tical result of the election of such a candi- date, he says : "I repeat, confidently, if Mr. Lincoln is elect- ed, the Republicans will have to break up at once, or attack the domestic rights of the South. What, then, will the people of the Southern States, attacked ill their constitu- tional rights, their doyiestic peace, their ])roperty, and their persons do? What will they do? Will they pas.sively sub- mit to be conquered sultjects of New England ? No. I do not hope, believe or doubt what they will do. I know they will defend themselves to tlie uttermost — first with constitu- tional means, in fine, with all the mcaiis of defence which God and nature have committed to them ; and if they were not to do it, they would be recreant to the blood of Wash- ington, of Henry, of Carroll, of Rutledge ; they would be unworthy of the name of American." The issue i^ made. We could not avoid it if we would We fearlessly appeal to God, to our consciences, and to the enlightened opinion of mankind to vindicate our course. If 163 war result. th«; responsibility will not be upon us, but upon those M-ho are intent upon the overthrow of our constitu- tional rights. If "we must pass the dread ordeal — if the tocsin of civil war is sounded, and the land is drenched with tlie blood of brothers, "I trust in God that there is a redeeming: spirit in the Constitution which will be seen to walk with the Soutli through the flames, and preserve her unhurt by the conflagration." [DOCUMENT B.j Jacksox Mississippi. January 12th, 1861. To His Excellency, JOHN J. PETTUS, ' Governor of Mississippi. Dear Sir : 1 have the honor to report to you that acting under the commission, which you conferred upon mc as Commissioner from the State of Mississippi to the State of South Carolina, under a resolution adopted at the Extraor- dinary session of the Legislature of Mississippi of 1 860. I proceeded to the Capitol of South Carolina, where I arrived on the loth day of December, A. D., 1860, and im- mediately laid before His Excellency, William Gist, Gover- nor of the State of South Carolina, my credentials as such Commissioner, together with the act passed at the Extraor- dinary session convoking the sovereignty of Mississippi, and the resolutions on Federal Relations, and the resolutions authorizing the Executive of Mississippi to appoint Com- missioners for the State of Mississippi to the slaveholdiug States. Governor Gist reported my arrival to the Legislature of South Carolina, then in session, and a committee of the two houses was appointed to wait upon me, and signify to me that the Legislature was prepared to receive any communi- cation I might desire to make to them, and to extend to me as such Commissioner the hospitalities of the State. I re- plied to the committee, returning my thanks, for the courte- sies and civilities extended through me to the State, I had the honor 1o represent ; and said to them that as I was ac- C-B2 164 credited by the term.-* of luy coniinis?ion "to the authorities of the State of South Carolina, and as the hi^^hest authority of the State Avas to assemble iu "Convention on the following Monday, I Avould make my connnunioations to the Conven- tion. Tlie Sovereinfii Convention of South Carolina met on Monday, the 17th day of December. A. 1)., 18()0, and was organized Ity tlie election of Gen. Jajnison as permanent President, and ^Mr. Arthur as Clerk, ^fy credentials hav- ing been transferred by His Excellency, Gov. Pickens, the recently elected Governor of South Carolina, to the Presi- dent of the Convention. A committee was appointed to wait upon the Hon. Mr. Elmore, the Commissioner from Al- abama, and myself as Commissioner of Mississi}>])i to South Carolina, and signify to us that the Convention v*a< pre- pared to receive any communications we might have to make to the authorities of South Carolina, inr the respective States we represented. .1 endeavored to express in plain and simple terms the at- titude of the people of Mississippi, and have the honor to submit herewith my remarks to the Convention of South Carolina, made under and by virtue of the Commission which you did me the honor to confer upon me. In consequence of a prevailing epedcmic at the Capital of the State, the Convention and Legislature adjourned the respective bodies to Charleston. Having been invited to attend the deliberations of the Convention, at the point to which the Convention had adjourned its sittings, I pro- ceeded to Charleston, where on the 20th of December, A. D. 1860, the Ordinance of Secession was reported by Chancel- lor Inglish, the chairman of the committee of seven, appoin- ted to draft the ordinance, and iu an assembly composed of one hundred and seventy members, embracing the highest talent of the State, upon the call of the }eas and nay* there was not a single absentee, nor a single no, and the unanimity which so happily characterized the jDroceedings of the Cou- vention, was but a reflex of the unanimity. v,'hich exists among the people of South Carolina. I have the honor to b^ ?ir, Very respoctfully, Your ob't serVt. CHARLES EDWAED EOOKEF. 165 {Reported for ihe Charlesfon Paper8,'\ ADDRESh^. Gtntleiiuit of tfic Conrriifioii of SontJi Carolina: — Com- ing to you as Hic r<'|)re?;out;Uivo of a sister sovereign State, at this most iniitoi'tant and critical jtoriod of our liistory, I feel it, uentlenien of the Convention, to bo my duty to speak to you what I know to lie Ihe sentiment of the people whom I represent. I feel it my (hity to possess this body with the exact eonditicm of thinus wliieh exist in Mississippi at this important crisis of our liisiory. \ h.ave bren profoundly irratilied at tlie cordial welcome and tiie kindly hospitality which has met me in the houi'> of my nativity, and I have been more profoundly uraiilied when 1 reflected that it has been vi^iled ujioii me not so much as a matter of personal com})liiiient, but an indication of that homogeneous disposi- tion of the people, to the strong ties of affinity vrtiieh bind mei^of Mississippi to men of Carolina. (Applause.) I am deputed, gentlemen of the Convention, to speak the senti- ments of the State which 1 have the honor to represent, by virtue of a resolution which passed both l)ranclies of our Legislature without a single dissenting voice. 1 have also the honor to announce to you that the bill convoking the sovereign people of the State of Mississippi, in Convention, was also ])assed by both branches of our Legislature Avith- out a single dissenting voice. (Apijlause.) Coming, there- fore, thus authorized by the Legislature of the State, and speaking what 1 know to be the sentiments of the people of Mississippi, I feel authorized to say to you it gives me pro- found gratification to be able to say that, coming back to the home of my nativity, I listened to-day with a proud pleasure and gratification to the words of wisdom and patriotism that fell from the lips of the Governor elect, and I i)ropose to say to you that there was not one sentiment in his memo- rable address to the Legislature which would not have le- ceived the sound, hearty plaudits in Mississippi that it met from the men of Carolina. (Applause.) And yet I have felt that I would have been untrue to my mother and fake to the instincts of the soil upon which I was reared, did I not give a hearty response to CVC17 sentiment. I have also felt and known that I would be equally untme to the home of my adoption and the sentiment that reigns, that rules the hearts of the people, did I not give, on her part, a cordial approbation to every sentiment that fell frojn Ws lips. (Ap- C— 33 166 plause.j I do not know, Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention, that tlie occasion require? q^- d< niands that I ghonld go into a general discussion of the political ethic« of the country. I would deem it somewhat inappropriate w the occasion — inappropi-iate, alone, however, because I- come ijiiiiply to ?peak to you the ?entimentsfcf the people of Mis.-is>i|)pi, and convey to you wimt was the authoritative action in oin- Legislature, ajid when 1 have done this I shall have felt my mission ended. IJut there is a question prosen- tefl by your very convocation here, and one wliich, perhaps, has not l>cen understood in most of the Southern and South- western States of the confederacy to the extent and depth in which you understand it in South Carolina. I mean the qm^stion of lio\\' the feature-; of tint federal government, or ilif ties of its existence, are to be changed. There is, how- ever, a izreat principle underlyina: all constitutions and gov- ernments — I mean tlic great principle which is enumerated in the vety second article of the bill of rights attached to the Couiititution of Mississippi and most of the States^ the confederacy — to claim that it is the right of the people to alter; to change, to amend, aye, to abolish the form of gov- ernment whenever to them it shall seem pi'oper. (Appkiuse.) That, gentlemen of the Convention, is the great principle which underlies not only your federal constitution, but which lies at the basis of all your State constitutions — the right of the people, the power of the people, aye. and the duty of the people, to resume the powers of go\'^ernmcnt with which they have entrusted their agents whenever those agents have proven and manifested themselves to be unfaithful in the dis- charge of the trust. (Loud applause.) I say that it is a great principle which underlies alike the powers granted to the federal governmeut and the powers granted by the }:>eo- p'c to State governments, and when it shall fail to be recog- uizsd, when it shall fail to be admitted, tlicn the existence of the government is a mere question of the power of tlic gov- ernment to perpetuate itself. (Applause.) ■ And, in refer- ence to the federal governmc-nt, v\diile it exists somewhat under differe;it forms from State governments, it still exists, dependent upon this great general principle, V7hichw6 0f Mississippi have always contended to belong alike to the federal and state governments. We seem to be almost ob- livious to the fact, and this great question of the right of the sovereign states of the confederacy, each acting for her- self and by herself, and bound only by her own act. We 806m almost to have been forgotl\il of the origin of the gov • 167 ornment itseif? This great right of the sovereign parties to the compact, whenever the federal government has depar- ted from the orbit in whicli the constitiitipn bids it move, in f he language of join* great statesman, it is not a simple riglit. bnt it is tiie duly of the sovereign creators to speak to it in the language of master, and bid it move back again in the orbit in whicli the constitution lias directed it to move. (A])plaupc.) I say that it is t'hc great principle wliich un- derlies the federative government alike, as the other great principle "which I have enunciated underlies the state con- stitutions. As i\nder the state constitutions the power of the people at all tim^js exists to resume tlie autliority entrusted to its agents, and to resume its government of the Conven- tion in the mode 8.nd manner in whicli they invested them with it — so the j^'ight. and the power and the duty exists on the part of the state.'*, to resume the authority"^ they have gTanted to the federal government, whenever that federal government shall seek to pervert it. The two great princi- ples are alike in their application ; and what I had occasion to say at home I will repeat here, that if the pen of the his- torian shall ever record their downfall, not merely in the govxjrnraent, not merelv in the Un".on, but their downfall in the hearts of the people, that that Kct recorded by him will be as much owing to the truculeucy of the minority in the g-overnmeut as it will be to tlie aggressive acts of the ma- jority. AV^o have been taught to think and believe in Mis- sissippi that all governments are but agencies established by the people to effect certain great pm^pose-. and ends, and, therefore, being but agencieS; and especially your federal government being an agent, acting under the strict letter of the constitution, whenever that agent exceeds '.ts authority, and assumes a power never granted, the sta+es must be untrue to themselves if they fail to speak to thtt govern- ment in the language of master. This is our idea u Missis- sippi of the character of the government. We have been taught to believ^, gentlemen of the Convention, that it orig- inated precisely as your State government originated—by the consent of th.e people. Your State government, haAnng its origin hy the consent of the people, your federal govern- ment owes its existence to the consent of the sovereiga States that made it, and I say the same grand principle mx- derlies them both, only in different degrees. In refereuco to a State government, the consent of the governed gives power to the Governor. The Governor coes not become the people, but their agent ; and so in the federal govern' 168 ment this power exists by the cousent of the sovereign States -who framed it. Aye, I may say, in the language of the noted Mr, Randolph, of Virginia, that ''the States are the breath of its n6stril<, and have the power to put an end to it to-morrow by a bare rffusal to elect Senators and Rep- resentatives." (Applause.) 1 have (hus stated these two propositions — one of which pertains to State governments, and tlie other to the federal government — in order to show that when we adopted the existing constitution — when the States met in solemn convocation in Philadelphia, in 1787, and framed the constitution, they acted by Siates, they vo- ted by States, and they voted clause by clause that constitu- tion into power : but when that Convention had met, acted and adjourned, the Constitution of the L'nited States was an idle piece of parchment, devoid of life and vitality. It required the sovereign masters of that Convcntiour— the sep- arate States — to breathe into it its vitality and power of existence. (Applause.) Hence it was that the ninth article of the Constitution is known as the Ratification article. It required nine of the eleven States of the Union to adopt that Constitution. I mean to say, that with all the wisdom and all the patriotism thai reigned and ruled in that Con- vention, when Washington and Madison, and the Rutledges, and all the great men of power in the days of the Revolu- tion, lived— I moan to say, that even after they had per- formed their duties, and favored the existence of the present constitutional goA'crmnent, it was referred back to the sov- ereign States, eacli to act for herself and to be bound alone by her own act. (Applause.) I mean to say that when it was referred to the people of South Carolina they had a right, if in thiir Judgment they thought proper, so far as they were c(?ncerned, to have defeated its adoption, because, by the article of ]"atification, that constitution was a com- pact only between the States ratifying the same. (Applause.) Thus you see it was in the power of four of the smallest State? of the confederacy, with a population of something less ^han three hundred thousand, absolutely to have defeat- ed die object of the constitution itself. And then, too, by this article of ratification, no State that did ratify it pos- sessed the power to ratify it for any other State, but only to ratify it as to herself ; and hence it was that Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, and various other States of the confed- eracy, in their articles of ratification, declared that when- ever the power of the government should be perverted to the destruction of the liberties of the people of the State, 169 they had the right and authority, and the duty devolved upon them, to resume these bonds. (Applause.) This being- then the character of the government, the question arises whether or not the exigency has arisen wliich requires that the sovereign States of the confederacy ^vho made the fed- eral government by tlieir sovereign act. ought to resume to themselves the power, and authority, and duty, with vrliich they have invested tlio federal Union. And while 1 refer to the existing state of things in speaking to you. gentlemen of the Convention of South Carolina. I may speak some- what in advisory terms, but not intentionally upon my part; and should I do so, it is only because I believe, aye, 1 may say I know, that the interest and welfare, and destiny and fate of South Carolina, is the interest, welfare, destiny and fate of Mississippi. (Loud applause.) The question arises simply as to whether or not the exigency has arisen which makes it the duty of the sovereign States of this confedera- cy to resume the powers Avith which they entrusted the fed- eral government. I hope that it is uunecessary in speaking to Carolina to say, if she has the right to form the govern- ment, she has also the right to change it, and then your government exists alone to the extent and capacity and power which it ]iossesses to make itself perpetual. In other w'ords, I mean to say that if the authority with which you have invested the federal government is not suliject to re- sumption, and if that federal government, Avhether acting through its legislative, executive or judicial departments, possesses the power to determine your existence in it, then you have no other authority to reverse that government, or annul it, than have the serfs of Russia to change the form of government under which they live. I say, if the authority and right does exist under the rights of the States to re- sume the powers with which they entrusted the federal gov- ernment, whether acting as one, two or three States, then they have the ability to resist the act by all the means in their power. We have thought, in Mississippi, that in all probability the great princijile that all government is based upon the consent of the people, would be recognized by the federal authority ; it would not be questioned that it would not be doubted, that no Viody of men, in any State, would be found who would question it. On that we may be mis- takeu. It is barely possible that the federal government as now constituted, or as it will be constituted on the 4th of March next, will forget the great fact that it is based upon the sovereign States who made it, that it owes its origin C— 35 170 and daily existence to the voluiitiiry act of lliose States re- in lining in the Union. I say they may object, but as was so well alluded to by the distinguished Governor elect to-day, which I had the honor to hear : "We must remember that this government was created principally for tiie conduct of our loreigu relations — principally to give strength to ut^ abroad, and in ordei- to constitute us a power on tlic earth." Now, what has been the history of the federal government for the last three years? Has it been an effort to give to the people of the United States, as a people homogeneous, a like political interest, and social welfare and elevated position on the page of history? No, iny coun- trymen : it has been a disgraceful squabble on the iloorij of the national Legislature to make one portion of this people oT despotic power a controlling element in the government, in order to oppress the other portion. (Applause.; 1 have b3en told that the history of the Union was a national his- tory, around which, in spite of the opposition to it, clung the Avarmest affections of our people ; and I have begged leave to remind" the friends who made the suggestion to me. that, in the Declaration of Independence, our fathers saw fit to declare, not that the people of the United States, but that these colonics arc and ought to be IVee and independent States. The history of the Revolution shoAvs nothing more than that they established tlie great doctrine of mutual in- dependence. (Applause.) They never intended that State lines should ])e obliterated; and when the mind of New Eng- land, with a great constitutional lawyei', a man of lofty and proud intellect and enormous power, stood in the Gongres.s of the United States contending f(jr this as a government operating upon the people of a State — we say it with res- pect — he stood there as a partizan warrior udvocatiug the interest of his client ; and a great statesman of the West, he whose name indeed has become national, and Avhose fame be'ougs to the country at large, when he stood in the Con- gress of the United States claiming the authority of the Constitution of the United States, and arguing the powers of tae government to inaugurate and force it, he stood there as a great popular orator, but also as a partizan lawyer, de- fending tlje case of his client — (applause,) — but when your own imuiortal statesman, who spoke not fot the glory, aye no, and not for the generation, but who spoke for all time to come, wlio spoke ex catheclya, liecause he spoke the truth, the simple truth — when your own great Calhoun was heard, he established, at least in the hearts of the people of Caro- f in m^ ciM liGi* ftist£?y 6vA\.ei Uic great principk limt ih\n ^nji ti e^rirernmont ba.«cct iipou the cnr)?i. which I had the honor to present to tlie Executive, were inli-oduced not l>y an old States rights man, but one reuardcti as with tlie opiH>sition; and without whom we were not I'crtain. even in Mississippi, of success. I will not weary you by reading the long pre- amble to those resolutions, lor we stru(;k it out ant! let the simple resolutions stand by themselves. 1 do not mean to state that every man in the State is pledged to it, because there are some who have said, ''we are with you, we are Minute Men witli you, and stand by you ready when sum- moned to aid the Southern States. Take the advance move- ment and we will lie there as readily as you States rights or secession men, but Ave believe it will be a war of revolution instead of a peaceful resumption by a sovereign State of the powers invested in the general government." We have told them, "we have no quarrel with your motives ; we will not ask you to assign a reason. We know you to be wrong in regard to the reasons which animate you, but still we know that in the final hour, in the day of trial, you will stand heart to heart, shoulder to shoulder, hand to hand with us." The resolutions were passed by the Legislature by an overwhelming majority, but not with the entire una- nimity of the Convention bill, dr the resolution authorizing the Executive to appoint commissioners to the various States, but still with a majority so overwhelming that, although division was called for, but a few feeble voices, here and there, dissented to it. ] will read the resolution to which I refer : Resolved by the Lcgislai tne of the Slate of Mississippi, That in the opinion of those who now constitute the State Legislature, the secession of each aggrieved State is the proper remedy foi' these injuries. (Loud applause.) I have the pleasure to announce to you, gentlemen, that this was not an idle rcs:olution — it was not one adopted without calmness and forethought, and reflection and delib- eration — for I beg to assure you that the people I have the honor to represent are not in a passion upon this question, but have acted considerately, resolutely and in a determined form. There is no excitement upon this question amongst my people. The principle of that resolution, declaring that the appropriate and proper remedy is the separate secession of each aggrieved State, is the principle which will be found m the ruling and the oontrollvtig clement in the Convention which will meet on the 7tli nf January next. (Applause.) And wliilc there may b<-^ — while there doubtless will be, some few dissenting' voiees — for, as I have said heretofore, wo have not the pleasure of having that unanimity you have — even the opposition party of Mississip})i, the frankest man of that parly, tlie man of the most formidable intellect and most tremendous jxjwer — a man 1 know and respect as a citizen, but difler from in "})olitics — has not hesitated to declare, and in jirint as Avell as by speech, that the election of Mr. Lincoln even he regarded as an open declaration of war on tlie part of the Northern people. (Applause.) I present this to yoti, gentlemen of tlie Convention, in order to })roper]y cxiihiin tlie attitude of even the opposition men in Mississippi. Kven tiny feel that the emergency or exi- gency has arisen which imperiously requires of her, in her sovereign capacity, to resume the authority entrusted to the federal government. We have been anxious, Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention, to secure co-operation in every Southern slaveholdiug State. It was recommended by our Governor, in a message sent to our Legislature, that a bill 1)0 revived whicii formerly stood on the statute books of Mississii)pi, interdicting the introduction of slaves from border slave States. We felt tliat the true policy at thisj time, and in this emergencv, and under the circumstances in whicli we arc placed, that we should do aught which indica- ted the slightest distrust of any slave State of the confeder- acy, and therefore, that portion of the message was not favorably act^d upon by the Legislature. I have said that we earnestly desired co-operation ; and while I say this, as I feel it my duty to say to you, we have not thought of ob- taining it. I beg to say again, that even the opposition par- ty have said tiiat while they demanded that this co-opera- tion should b(? invited, it did not follow that we should refuse to act. The argument advanced is simple, and is intended to give out that we do not intend to attach our- felves to anybody but who are assimilated to ourselves. (Applause.) And therefore I say, gentlemen of the Con- vention, as a simple act of courtesy to the other slave States, the Executive has appointed, or will appoint, delegates to all these States, simply soliciting action, but not to feel that Mississippi is bound by any refusal to act. (Applause.) Al- low me to say that, acting upon a principle which has been inaugm-ated in Mississipi>i years age, that, profound as is our respect, deep and abiding as is our love f5r that State If4 irhlcli has ryrr «tonrl in the firet rank in rtrfciidJUg the lib- erties of the country, even South Carolina could not control Mississippi. (Applailse.) In other words, she claims for herself the riglit to act upon this matter us you claim for yourselves the right to act. We learned the' lesson from, you, geutlemen, that it is not only the right, but the solemn duty of each State, now ihat a Northern sectional majority has, or will have control of the i>r)vernment, to declare for secession. AViiy longer continue in this government ? May I not say, in the language of an elociuent Virginian, "Why stand you here idle ?•'" We stand here to-day on the face of the earth, with all the financial embarrassments which su^ round us, the sole and single people who have, by their so- cial system, explained the relation between capital and labor. Why, at the North and in England there is a constant war- fare. The simple s 1 said before, gentle- men of the Convention, is as to whether or not you will resume the powers with which you have invested the federal government. We had hoped, in Mississippi, that avc would be able to take action with you simultaneously. We had hoped that we should hear a voice coming from the land of flowers, and the prairies of Texas, and from the banks of the great Father of Waters wliere it washes the shores of Louisiana and Mississippi, and from Georgia and Alabama, all at the same tiino : but eircuniiStances having convoked your Convention at a period soiftewhat prior to that at which the Conventions of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi were to act, the question' is presented whether or not South Carolina should declare her own separate independence. — Upon this subject, gentlemen, 1 have modestly made my sug- gestions to some gentlemen of the Convention. At one time 1 thought it miglit be politic and proper that the States should all act together, but since my arrival I doubt wheth- er the postponement of the (juestion would not have a ten- dency to throw a damper upon the South and the Southwctt. (Applause.) I believe that the people of South Carolina will snatch her star from the gahixy in which it has hitherto mingled and plant her (lag earliest in the breach of the bat- tle, sustaining revolution by the Ijold hearts and willing arms of her people. Should the govrrnuK'nt forget its ori- gin, forget that it is based upon the consent of the sovereign States, and appeal to force, the first federal gun fired at the bosom of the mother will boom across the continent and bring back U> her defence the willing hearts and ready ai'ms of a thousand true sons — (applause) — and side by side along 1X5 with them will come hmidreds whose footsteps ucA-er pressed your soil, but whoso hearts are deeply imbued wtth the great living principle of government whicli owes its origin to the soil of South Carolina. (Loud applause.) [DOCUMENT C] New Orleans, La., December 13, 1860. His Excellency J. J. PETTUS, Jackson, Miss. Sir : — In discharge of the duties imposed by my appoint- m nit as Commissioner to tlic State of Louisiana, 1 beg to r 'port to your Excellency, that 1 repaired without deUiy to Ba'on Rouge, the Caintal of tiic State, where the Legislature had convened in extraordinary session on the 1 Otii inst. On my arrival I promptly notihed the Governor of Louis- iana of my presence and the objects of my mission by addressing him the inclosed communication. Governor Moore immediately responded to my note by requesting a personal interview in tlie Executive Chamber, to which I repaired, and was most cordially and courteously received by himself and the Hon. T. J. Semmes, Attorney General of tae State. Li an unwavered interview of an hour with them, I ex- p''ained, to the best of my ability, the views of your Excel- lency regarding the present grave crisis in our political affairs, and the action of the Legislature of JNIississippi in reference thereto at their late extra session. 1 dwelt upon the unanimity which characterized their proceedings, the overwhelming public sentiment by which they were sustained in the State, and tlie certain prospect of the prompt secession of Mississippi from a Federal Union, which must become, under the Black Republican regime soon to be inaugurated, the engine of the degradation and destruction of the South. I solicited the co-operation of Louisiana in the action Mississippi proposed to take as the only means left for the protection of Southern Rights and honor. I was gratified to learn from these distinguished patriots and statesmen that 176 the action ^id predominant sentiment of Mississippi met with their cordial sanction and sympathy, and that they had every confidence the people of Louisiana Avould vindicate the constitutional rights of the South by the action of their State Convention, During my interview with Gov. Moore I was waited upon by a committee of both branches of tlie Legislature and invited to a seat within the bar of their respective chambers. On the day following at 10 o'clock, I Avas formally received by the Legislature in joint session, when in reply to the remarks I had the honor to submit, Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Hyams, President of the Senate, made an able and eloquent address, a copy of wiiich I herewith furnish as indicative of the sentiment of Louisiana. After further conference with the Governor. Lieutenant- Governor, Attorney General, and the members of the Leg- islature, I took my leave of them, and shall ever cherish the most grateful recollection of tlie courtesy, kindnes8 and cordial hospitality I received at their hands. The Legislature, by a unanimous vote has called a Con- vention, to assemble on the '23d of January proximo, and I think I may with entire confidence, predict that within a few days tliereafter slie will assume licr })lace in the great Southern column, fi-eed of Federal shackles, and resolve to submit only to such a Government as brave and honorable men can a])prove. I have the honor, sir, to remain. Your obedient servant, WIRT ADAMS, Commissioner. Harney House, Baton Rouge, La., December 11, 1860. To His Excellency T. 0. MOORE, Governor of La. Sir : I have the honor to ])lace herewith in the Iraiids of your Excellency my credentials as Commissioner from the State of Mississipi)i to the State of Louisiana, and accompa- nying the same a copy of the Resolutions passed by the Legislature of my State, under the sanction of which His Excellency the Governor of Mississippi has made this and other appointments. In discharge of the trust thus confided to me, it will afford 177 me the highest pleaaure to communicale with your Excellen- cy in writing, or by a personal interview, at such time as may be most consistant witli your convenience and pleasure. 1 have the lionor, sir, to subscribe myself, Your most obedient servant, .WIRT ADAMS, Commissioner. ADDRESS. Mr. President and Oentlemrn of tJir Senate and House of Bepre-S'ntatives of the State of Louisiana : — In behalf of the State of Mississi})pi, I tender to your Executive, to your Honorable bodies, and to the pe{>])lo of Louisiana, my pro- found acknowledgments for the distinguislied courtesy and kindne>s which have been extended to her representative. I have been commissioned by the Governor of my State to communicate formally and officially to the authorities and people of Louisiana, "that tlic Legislature of Mississippi has passed an act calling a Convention of the State to consider the present threatening relations of the Northern and South- ern sections of the Confederacy, aggravated by the recent election of a President upon ])rinciples ofliostility to the States of the South ; and to ex])ress the earnest hope of Mississippi that Louisiana will co-operate with her in the adoption of cffi<'ient measures for their common defense and safety." In addition to the act calling a Convention, which passed both branches of the Legislature of Mississippi by a unani- mous vote, a scries of resolutions v/erc adopted by a vote ap- proaching the like unanimity, which after reciting the grievances of the Southern States, declared secession to be the only remedy. The discharge of this im])ortant trust, sir. has been ren- dered no less simple than grateful. The reconnnendations of your enlightened and patriotic Plxecutive, contained in his message, followed as they have been l\v the prompt and wise action of this Legislature, in calling a Convention of the people of Louisiana, and making a munificent appropria- tion for arming the State ; the manifestations of an almost unanimous public sentiment, which I witness around me, render any words of argument or exhortation from me, more than superfluous. As well, sir, might I attempt to swell the volume of the majestic stream which pours its resistless tide 17S past your boiiuiilul cupito), by adding one drop to its waters, a^ essay to decpon the convictions or conlirni the unalterable resolves ol'your noble and y;allant State. Siie has well cx- emidified the maxim that tlie time fur arg-uinent in this con- test with the North has uone by Ibi'ever, and tlie time for action has come. It is Init doing her justice to say. that everywhere in this broad land, has she been distinuuished for the moderation, conservatism and patriotism of lier people. And could slie give more signal proof of this well-deserved character, than in her ])resent determination to preserve the rights, the honor, and the interests of her citizens intact, in the gravest and most perilous juncture that was ever presen- ted to a free peo))lc? I rejoice, Mr. President, at these unmistakable indications of her purpose, and shall bear back the intelligence of your action to the Governor and people of ray State with no or- dinary gratification. And amongst tlie popular manifesta- tions which I have witnessed, I shall not forget that your imperial city of New Orleans, whi«h reposes by the river side and the sea. has recently emblazoned aloft her sentiments, and elevate 1 above the Crescent of her commercial grandeur th ! rac'iait Cioss of the true Southern faith. ;• It is peculiarly proper, sir, that the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, contiguous in territory, and l)ound together by the closest commercial and social ties, should stand and act t02-ether in tliis contest with a malignant and ruthless foe. Upon the plains of Chalmette and the fields of Mexico, their gallant sons, in the past, have locked their shields ; and now, in the midst of perils far greater, involving life, honor a id ])roi)erty, 1 fervently hope they will bo found in the future, in opinion and action, united in bonds fraternal and indissoluble. At the close of this address, the Assembly, and the large crowds ill the lobbies and galleries, greeted the Mississippi Commissioner and his sentiments with loud applause. Lieutenant-Governor Llyams then incited the Commission- er from Missi.'^sipiji to ascend the Sj)eaker"s stand, and wit!i great earnestness addressed him in the folloAving speech : »,> SijB, : — 1 welcome you, as the Commissioner from the Stat<' of- Mississippi, to the Halls of the Legislature of Louisiana, assembled in joint session for the occasion — to take counsel tDgether this day, when a ruthless majority of the people of t.'.ic Nor I hem States, regardless of the rights of the Southern States, are about to inaugurate a policy which utterly sub- verts their c<'|uality in the Unioiit and will at no distant day b.ttm!ti«{c h) iTttiiciiJj^, %tti lo s ct'tiditinn .fmMi-«i'gc fhwi. colonial vji«!f5alpgO! A it^^f o, lo»ij? trnin of i^juric!*, abli^cf and usurpationsi olii' sturdy ancestry broke the yoke of British doMiination, and (staVdislied wiili their blood tiu^ in- dependence ol" the l^tates, and siibi^eqneidly adopted tlid Constitntion of the United State?, in order to form a nion; perfect union, establisli justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, "promote the ceneral wel- fare and «ecui't' tlie blofj^ing^; of liberty to tliem^elves and their pof^terity."' IToav have the majority of tlie people of the 'N'orthorn States kept the borrinciples -o destructive to the rights, libertie?, property and lives of the people of fifteen of the soveriirn States of the ••ri#!Wleracy. tliat if pronnd crated in person to their slave population, in the spirit of the party to which lie owes his elevation, Avould subject him tocoudien punishment — and in Louisiana, by her statutes, to imprisonment for. life, or death, at the dism-etiou of her courts. Can any citizen of the South, or 'any true American, contemplate the humiliating spectacle and not hide his liead with shame, if lie does not resist juid throw off such disgrace- ful yoke at all hazards, and at every cost? Sir, this«revolution is determined ujion by all true South- ern men. and the best means of its Jiccomplishment is the TTnton of the SouTir for the sake of the South, and to further that great end. we understand to be the object of your mission. Louisiana, therefore, welcomes the Commis- sioner from Mississippi to her councils, to prepare for and maintain Southern independence, and like our fathers of old, we will jtledge in the cause, "our ii\es, our fortunes, and om' sacred honors."' •^ ifo [DOCUMENT D.] Jackson, Januarv 10. l86l. His ExcELijixcv JOUX J. PKTTUS. Governor of the State of Mississippi. S'r : — 1 have the honor to rojjort to you, that in execu- tion ot' tlic trust reposed in me by your Excellency, as Con missioner to tlie State of JIaryland under the act of the Legislature of this State at its recent session, 1 visited the State of Maryland without delay after receivincr my com- mission at your hands. I visited the Executive of that State, who had before my appointment, came to the determination not to convoke the Legislature of his State ; and 1 also addressed him in writing desiring to be informed whether in the present emer- gency of public affairs, he would call together the Legisla- ture. Li my jiersonal interview with him. I respectfully, but earnestly urged many considerations which appeared to demand an assemblage of the Legislature ; but he replied insisting that the emergency did not demand or justify such action; and in reply to my written communication, he addressed me the letter which I herewith transmit, stating his views upon the subject\ind his determination not to call together the Legislature, under the circumstances then existing. I was not surprised al this, as 1 was aware at the time the comnnssion was tendered to me by your Excellency, that the Executive of Maryland, had taken his position not to convoke the Legislature ; and, therefore, in accepting the commission, I stated to your Excellency that I was not hope- ful of doing any good to the cause of Southern rights through the direct action of the Executive of that State; but that I hoped to make known to the ])eople there, the views enter- tained by this State in relation to our rights and duties in common with all the Southern States ; and in order to do so, that I should address the people upon the subject. Accordingly after visiting the Executive, I visited several parts of the State, and made addresses to the people, setting forth, in my feeble manner, the views and position of this State, and inviting the co-operation of the people of that State. I am very ha})py to believe and to be able to say, that the people of Maryland are in heart and in interest with the ifti State of Miseiissippl, and that llioy ivill ultimately be witii us in political union. A large number of the most eminent men of tlni State agree Avitli us in principle ; and the true course of the South, as avc regard it here, is gaining strength and force every day. The peculiar local situation of the State — having a long line of a non-slaveholding State to ■which she is exposed, and having the Federal Ca])ital within her limits— now operates to restrain speedy action in support of tliu course which we, of this State, deem the proper one in the emergency ; and to this may be. added the persistent refusal of the Executive, against .all petitions, remonstrances and j)rotestatious. to allow the peo])le to express their will, by the only mode in wliieh it can V)e Ibrinally done — a course which sn])presR''s for the time tlu' sentiment of the people and parali/.es their action. But from the cordial reception that sound doctrine met at the hands of that gallant tind patriotic old State in the address 1 made them, and in my personal communications with them, 1 doubt not that, as soon as she shall be relieved of. or is ai'oused to bid defi- ance to, the Executive contumney which now paralizes their efforts and tlieir Avill. she will wheel into the line of the Southern Confederacy, and add the old " Mai-yland line" to the fortunes and destiny whei-ii lier rights, her princij)l(^s and her interest find a congenial home. The lvevulution.ary spark has touched their hearts and will never beextinguishcd until it accomplishes now what it achieved in the day of its original glory, the establishment of her rights and her honor, by a re-union with the Southern States whose feelings and interests are identical with lier own. I have the honor to remain with high respect, Your Excellency's obedient servant, A. II. HANDX- STATE OF MARYLAND, Executive Chamber. I Annapolis, December 19, 1860. f Sir: — Your letter of the 18th instant, informs me that you have been appointed by the Governor of Mississippi, in pursuance of a resolution of the Legislature, a Conmiissioncr to the State of Maryland : and that the occasion of your mission is " the present crisis in she national affairs of this country, and tlie danger wliich impends the safety and rights of the Southern States, bv reason of the election of a m .^^HHHtiBt pfttifltdftk' tij'flic n^cc of President oj ths Km^\} MMrft, and upon n platlbrtti of principles dp'tructivr of our Constitntinnai riglits ; and Tvliioli. in the opinion of the State o!" >[i.-sis?ippi calls for jmnnpt and (leci?ivo ;iii fnr the purpoj^e of our protection and future security." You also inform me that ^IisrJi.ctt»d our General Assembly will lie called for that purpose. "In the conversation 1 had with yon this morninu-, yon were trood enoup-h to explain, more Inlly, the -views and intentions of Mississippi in this matter : her desire that onr Iie<:islature should also ajjpoint Commissioners to meet those of other Southern States : and that action at once be had.- by all the Soutliern States, for the formation of a ncAV q-ov- ernmcnt among themselves. The position of Maryland, as a small, Southern Border Stnte. renders the exercise of any power 1 may possess, for the purposes indicated by you. a matter of very longer : not until every honorable, Constitutional and lawful effort to secui'e them is exhausted,— will they cons>enfc to any effort for its dissolution. The people of Mar\dand are aiucious that time, be given, and an opvjor^miity aiforded, for a fair and honorable adjust- ment of thojfe difficulties and grievances of which they, more than the people of any other Southern State, have a right to '■omplaiu. And, in ray opinion, if the people of this Union really desire its continuance and perpetuity, such adjustment may be effected. I hope, and believe, it will be effected ; fmd promptly ; and until the effort is proved to be vain, I 183 cannot consent, by any precipitate or revolutionary action to aid in the dismemberment of this Union. • When I sliall sec clearly that there is no hope of siu^h adjustment, and am connneod that the power of the Federal Government is to V»e perverted to the destruction, instead X)\' being used for the protection of our rights: then, and not till then, can I consent so to exercise any power with which I am investCid, as to ajQbrd even the opportunity of such a proceeding". . , u, r.i-. Whatever powers 1 may have, 1 shall u.so only after full consultation, and in fraternal concert, with the other Border States, since we, and they, in the event of any dismember- ment of the Union will suffn- more 'than all the others combined. 1 am now in conespondcmv wiili tlM> Glovernors of those ►States ; and I await with solicitude, for tlie indication of the course to be pursued by them. When this is made known to mc 1 shall be ready to take such sto])s as our duty and interests shall demand ; and 1 do not doubt the people of Maryland arc ready lo stand with the jjcopleof (hose States for weal or woe. \ I fully agree with all that yuu have said as tn the neces- sity for protection to the rights of the Soutli ; and my sympa- thies are entirely with the gallant pcojile of Mississi})pi who stand ready to meet any infringement of those rights. But I earnestly hope they will act with ]n'udcnce as well as with courage. Let us show modoi'ation as well as firmness ; and be unwilling to resort to extreme measures, until necessity shall leave us no choice. I am unable to inform you when the Legislature of this State Avill be called together ; for until I can perceive the necessity for such a step, I am not willing to awaken the apprehensions, and excite the alarm, which such a call, at the present time, could not fail to excite. I have the honor to be. A\'i*v respeclfhlly, Your obedient servant, TIIOS. H. ITfCKS. Hon. A. H. Haxjjy. Coiii iiyt--.'>uiin r I if .Mi'^'ii-'i-nppi. 184 [DOCUMENT E.l Washington, D. C. Dec. 26. 1860. His Excellency JOHN J. PETTU?^, Governor of Missis.sippl Sir: — The package you were pleased to forward to me containing my appointment of Commissioner of Mississippi to the State of North Carolina. I had the honor to receive on the I'Uh instant. In ol)edience to your instructions, I set out for Raleigh, the Capital of the State, on the 17th., and arrived thereon the 18th. Immediately on my arrival, His Excellency John W. Ellis, complimented mo -with a personal visit, and in our first interview 1 made known the object of my mission. He welcomed me to the State in the kindest terms, and dm-ing the same evening I addressed him a com- munication ill which, in dispassionate Ijut decisive language, I attempted to set fortli the apprehended evils of which Mississippi complains, and invited the co-operation of North Carolina in devising a remedy. This comnmnication was laid before the Legislature with a short message, on the 20th, a copy of which is herewith enclosed. Your Coiiiuiissioncr Avas received with great cordiality, courtesy and consideration l)y the Legislature of the State, and sympathy and i'es])ect for oui- State and her people Avere manifested on all sides. On the 20th, however, tiie Legislatuj-e adjourned over for the holidays until the 7th of January proximo. After my arrival, a i)ill a})])ro])riating $^300,000 for the purchase of arms for the State j^assed the Senate with only three dissent- ing votes, and when it was sent to the House of Commons several test votes were taken upon the bill Avhich demon- strated that an overwhelming majority of that body favored the appropriation. This bill will be tire first business in order on the re-assembling of the Legislature. There was a strong feeling, however, with many members to increase the sum from $300,000 to one million dollars. The })ill providing for a call of the Convention of the State had been deferred v\'hen I arri^ved until the 7th of January. I feel confident that l:)oth these measures will be passed. The prevailing sentiment of the Legislature and the people is that all the distracting questions arising out of our con- 185 stitutional rights to property in slaves must be now settled for all time to come. An anxiety is felt to maintain the Union of these States, if that can be done without a forfeit- ure of honor and endaufrci-ing our property. But to keep North Carolina in tlic Union something dooisivc must be done, and tliat at an early day, to effectually arrest the carrying into effect the policy of the Black Republicans. As soon as all hope of a satisfactory adjustment of the slavery issues is abandoned, the voice of Nortli Carolina ■will be well nigh unanimous for a Southern Confederacy. There is already a very large, spirited and tahmted pro- portion of the i)eople of the State in favor of separate State action and immediate secession. This feeling is growing daily ; the mountain districts are zealous and enthusiastic ; the low country, where the large slave population is found is slower and more cautious. But the spirit of the patriots of Mecklenburg in 1775 is entering the hearts of the people everywhere, and it will carry them to its legitimate con- clusions of resistance to wrong and the maintenance of our Constitution in its purity against the revolution threatened by an irresponsible majority. Should the election ever be presented whether North Carolina shall continue her con- nection with the non-slaveholding States of the North or join her Southern sister States on the Gulf of Mexico, she will follow the promptings of her heart and unite her desti- ny with us. In Congress, no disposition for accommodation is shown, and if there be no change, and I cannot believe there will be. North Carolina will be ready to act decisively by the 4th of March next. As far as I could ascertain the feelings and wishes of North Carolina, it was that Mississippi, wore she inclined to adopt the line of separate secession, should postpone the day on which her ordinance of separation should take effect till the 3d of March, at which time, by reason of the failure of all efforts at accommodation, she will be ready to become her ally and confederate — and it is further my opinion, that as goes North Carolina, so will go all the liorder slave States. Thanking you for the confidence you have reposed in me, and ready now and at all times, to sacrifice life, fortune and all I hold most dear for our beloved sovereign Mississippi. 1 have the honor to be. Your friend and obedient servant, J. THOMPSON. 186 Kalekjii, X. C. Thursday, Dcccmbn- 20. 1860. To THE IIOXOnABLE. THE GeXERAL ASSEMBLY OP THE STATE OF XORTII CAnOLTNA. Gentlemrii : — Herewith I transmit a coramunication from the Hon. Jacob Thompson, a distiurriii?hcfl oitizcn of the State of Mississippi, now present in this city as a Commis- sioner from that State to the State of North Carolina. The communi(^ation discloses in firm yet dispassionate language, tlie sentiments of Mississippi upon the subject of our national troubles, and will, T doubt not, meet with a cordial response u])on the part of the people of North Caro- liga, believing as 1 do, that it is a settled conviction with them tluit all controverted questions touching the institution of African slavery in the United States, should and must now be deiinitively adjusted, and the agitating subject forever removed from the minds of men. . ' . Apart from the grave character of the mission, it is 'a pleasing circumstance that Mississippi should select, as her messenger to us a native of North Carolina, upon whom she lias heretofore conferred the choicest honors in the gift of her people, aud it is witli high satisfaction that I now iiiake a public recognition of this courtesv.- I'i^'iiJ '>" ' JOHN W. EUJS. Executive Pepartmcnl, Doc. 20. 1 '-'<>o ADDRESS. Raleigh, Nf C Dec isr>0. jflTS EXECELLENCY JOHN W. ELLIS, Governor of the State op North Oaikilina. . Sir: — 1 have tiio honor to inform you that T have l)een duly a])pointed a Commissioner from the State of Mississippi to the State of Noi-th Carolina. I have been instructed by the Grovernor o( Mississippi, to rejjort myself, in per.son, to your E.\cellcncy and through your kind offices, to inibrm the people of tills CommonAvealth "that the Legislature of Mississippi has passed an act calling a Convention of the people of the State, to consider the threatening relations of the Northern and Sontheru sections of the United States; 187 aggra^'ated by the recent election of a President upon prin- ciples of hostility to the States of the South, and to expresr* the earnest hope of Mississippi that ^lorth Carolina will co-operate with her. in the adoption of efficient measures for the common defence and safety of the South.'' It ajffords nie great pleasure to accept this appointment, and to obey these instructions ; yet I most sincerely regret tjic public necessity wliich impels my adopted State to ask for the counsel and co-operation of my native State. Com- mon dangers threaten the peace, honor and safety of both : and it is certain that an unresistiug su))raission to the agres- sivc and hostile policy of the Nothern States will inevitably' involve botli in a common humiliation and ruin. The ci'isis demands action. It is unbecoming a free people to close their cyc:^ to the issue forced upon them, and to cry peace, peace, when there is no peace. The antagonism of opinion, upon t.he questions growing out of the recognition by the Constitution of the right of property in slaves, so long and' angrily discussed, has at last culminated, in the adoption, by a majority of the Northern peo]:)le of the doctrine of the •■ irrepressible conflict." The leading idea of this creed is that the Union of these States cannot endure, half of them slavcholding, and the other half non-slaveholding. This conflict is to be inaugurated under the forms of the Consti- tution on the 4th of March next, and if adhered to and carried out, the assertions of its most violent advocates that ■ freedom is triumphant" and " that slavery is overthrown.'" arc self evident propositions. It is admitted that each State muf t decide for herself, botli the mode and measure of redress for present and prospective evils and grievances. One destiny, howeuer, awaits all the slaveholding States of this Union, and fate has iudissolubly linked their fortunes together : Therefore, it is meet, and wise, and proper and expedient, that they shoidd consult and advise together, for their common defense and general wel- fare. Thus the hasty and precipitate will be checked, the laggard and spiritlc'ss aroused to action, and a universal confidence will be felt, that our rights will be secure, and our government placed on the safest and sm-est foundation. Mississippi is content with the compact which cm- fathei't framed. The Constitution of the United States already affords guarantees which are ample for our security. But they are found on parchment only. Tlie r«ople of the Northern States have not kept faith with us. Not only have a majority of the non-.slaveholding States rendred all' legis- lation for our protection nugatory and inoperative by State 188 • enactmentsVbut on the 6tli of November last, a majority of the people of all the free State,- endorsed a plu'tfurni oi" principles in direct conflict Avith the Constitution and the decisions of the Supreme Court, and thus the will of u numerical majority — a majority trained fi'om infancy to hate our peo[)le and their institutions, are to be substituted in their stead. }frhQ Executive and Judicial departments of the govern- ment, and the Senate of the United States have always held that property in shaves was reco,i!'nized l»y the Constitution, and tiierefore, under a common tla<; was entitled to protec- tion, Tiie dominant ])artp deny this pro])osition. and thus by their construction, tiie Constitution will bo chang-ed. this common Government Avill lie revolutionized, and instead of throwing its broad shield over all the citizens of all the States, protecting each and all equally in the possession ann enjoyment of their rights of property, it will be perverted into an engine for the destruction of our domestic institu- tions, and the suljugation of our people. The question which is now submitted lioth to Mississippi and North Carolina, is this, shall we sit quietly down without a murmur, and allow all our constitutional rights of jiroperty to be taken away by a construction of the Constitution which originates in hostility and hatred, or shall we. as men who know^ our rights, liestir ourselves, and by a firm, united and cordial "co-operation,'' fortify !ind strengthen them, that they may be transmitted unimpaired to our children, and our children's children, throughout all generations. Wisdom dictates that all the (juestions arising out of the institution of slavery, should be settled now and settled forever. A people jealous of their liberty will detect danger while it is yet afar off and provide the remedy. If ever there was a people answering this description the past glorious history of North Carolina will point out your fellow-citizens as that people. I bear this message of Mississippi to you, and through you, to the people of North Carolina ; and I hope that you •vrill allow me to inform Mississippi that North Carolina is fully alivo to the importance of the present crisis, and "will cooperate with her in the adoption of efficient mcasm-es for the common defense and safety of the South." I have the honor be, with great respect, Your obedient servant, J. THOMPSON, Commiasioner from Ifississippi, 189 [DOCUMENT F.] Little Rock, Arkansas. J.)ecombcr 22, 1860. His Excellency J. J. PETTUS, Sir : — I have only time to day to ti-ansniit to you the action of the authorities of Arkansas concerning the ob^ec^t* of the mission with wliich I liave been entrusted. A bill calling a Convention of the people has just passed the Hous(> of Representatives V)v a nearly unanimous vote and it is l)elieved will ])ass the Senate on to-morrow or at an early day. Reserving the privilege of making a report and d3tail of the events connected with my visit to the Capital of our sister of Arkansas. I am, with sentiments of high respect and consideration. Your obedient servant, 0. R. FALL, Commissioner. Special Message from the Governor nla'ive to C >n m'ssioncr from Mississippi. Mr. Speaker : — I am instructed by the governor, to deliver to the House of Representatives the 'o lowing mes- sage and accompanviusr documents. W. M. MATHENY. Private Secretary: December 18. 1860. Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Rep^e- f=!ENTATiVES : — For the information of your honorable body, I beg leave to communicate to you, the following letter, addressed to me by the Hon. George R. Fall, a commission- er deputed by the anthorities of the State of Mississippi, to the State of Arkansas, to inform the people of this common- wealth of the action taken by the legislature of said State, touching the present threatening relations existing betweeTi the Northern and Southern States of the Union. Also the letter of appointment or comniissioB, givea by his cxcell^cy, John J. rettuB, Governor of the State of Mississippi, to said couunissioner. 1»0 Also, the convention bill, anU federal resolutions, pi*sed by th • l3gi?laturo of that State, and delivered in pcrso \ by the said Hon. Geo. 'R. Fall.oomuii>sioner. to me this morniuo-. HENRY M. RECTOR. ^ ..-.^; • LiTTLK Rock, ARKANSAiJ, December 17. 1860. flis ExcELLKNCY, H. M. RECTOR. T ; *S'Cr : — It lias I teen niade my duty to iut'orm your e.xcelleu- cy. that tiic legislature of the State of jMississippi, '"has pa?Bcd an a(5t calliup,' a convention of the people of the State tp consider the present threatening relations of the Northern and Southern sections of the confederacy, aggravated by tlie election of a president upon principles of hostility to the States of the South, and to express the earnest hope of Alissis.si}>])i, that those States will co-operate ^vith her in the adop ion o'" efficient measures for tlieir common de.e;nce and safety.'' I herewith present that act, and also a preamble and resolution, passed by the same body, upon a subject of vital interest, not only to the people of Missitjsippi and the slaveholdiug Stales, but to the people of all the States of the Union. ' I take the occasion to remark, that the action of the Mississipjii legislature was marked, I believe, by entire miauimity. On the eve of great e^•eut5, that bodj* resolved to bury old partizan feuds, and as members of the same family to*make a united and concentrated efiforts to receive south- ern co-operation and southern resistance in defence of south- ern honor and institutions. Doing nothing rashly — making no issue for her sister States, she seeks their earnest and eovdial co-operation, with a view of obtaining a full and final settlement of this grekt question of the century ; but if, after a reasonable delay, her propositions are rejected, she will resume her sovereignty, and meet the sti'ife alone, let the consequences be what they may. Trusting, sir, that in the approacliing conflict, the ^roat State of which you are the hoeen beaten down and driven to private life. Nevertheless, the evidences of a determination on the part of Arkansas to co-operate with tlic Southern States on the formation of a Southern •onfederacy are of the most cheering and substantial character. The people are moving in their primary assemblies in all sections of the State, and the Executive and Legislative branlices of the government, recognize the necessity of })rompt and early ac- tion in view of the threatening relations which exist between the Northern and Southern sections of the confederacy. In my intercourse with the authorities of Arkansas, I have kept constantly in view the chief object of my mission, and have not failed, on all proper occasions, to respectfully urge the views and policy of Mississippi : and it will be gratifying to your Excellency to l)e informed, that your Commissioner, oflicially as avoII ns individually, was always received with the greatest kindness and the highest consid eration. 1 have the honor to be. Your Excellency's Obedient servant, G. R. PALL, Commissio)ier from Mis&wsippi. 195 [DOCUMENT H.] Fkankfort, Ky., Dec. 19th, 1860. His Excellecy B. MAGOFFIN. Sir:—] hej-ewith transmit to \oiir Excellency a series of resolutions pa.-j?ed by the Legislature of Mississippi, at a called session thereof, on the 30th day of November, 1860. By these resolutions the Governor of Mississippi is author- ized and requested to appoint as many commissioners as in his judgment may bo necessary to visit each of the slave- holding States and inform thcmjtliat the Legislatnreof Missis- sippi had passed an act calling a Convendon of the peopio said State to consider the present threatning relations of the Northern and Southern sections of the Confederacy, aggra- vated by the recent election of a President on principles of hostility to the States of the South, and to express the earnest hope of ^fississippi, that those States will co-operate with her, in the adoption of eJEcient measures for their common defense and safety. ^ The resolutions further provide, "that should any Southern State not have convened its Legislature, the Commissioner to such State, shall appeal to the Governor thereof to call the Legislature together, in order that its co-operation may be immediately secured." In discharging tjie duty which devolved on the Executive of Mississippi l\y the resolutions referred to, His Excellency John J. Pcttus, has conferred on me the appointment of Commissioner to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I am now ready to lay before your Excellency my credentials, and to enter into the conference contem])lated by the Legislature of Mississippi in creating and filling the mission, I have the honor to await your Excellency's reply. Very respectful Iv, W. S. FEATHERSTON. Holly Springs, Jan. 2d, 1861. HiR Excellency JOHN J. PETTUS. ^StV.— Immediately on the receipt of my credentials a« Commissioner to the State of Kentucky, I visited the Capitol 196 of that Commonwealth. 1 learned in conference with His Excellency Governor Magoffin, that tlio Legislature of that State, liad not been convened, a?? wi'll as the reasons which had restrained him Iroiii issuing his proclamation for that purpose, f noAV have the pleasure, however, of announcing, that liis proclamation has since that time been issued, and that the Legislature of Kentucky will convene in extra session on the ITth of this m(jntli. I was assured by Governor Magoffin, that Kentucky was as emphatically pro-slavery as any one of her Southern .sisters. And, in the event of a ilissolution of the Union, and of Ken tncky's being forced to nuike her election between the two sections of tlie Confederacy, she would tmquestion- ably go with the South. He also assured me, that a very large majority of the people of that State, would not favor the secession of Kentucky until in their judgment all lionor- ablc means of securing their rights, and saving their honor within the Union, had bCcn exhausted. That, they desired a Convention of the Southern States, in order to agree upon such additional guarantees or amendments to the Constitu- tion of the United States as Avould settle iinally and foi-ever this sectional controversy, upon a basis satisfactory to the South. If these rights thus asserted l)y a Southern Con- vention, should not be promptly conceded by the Xortli, Kentucky would then l)e ready for secession. Such is the present state of public opinion there, as 1 learned from every reliable source of information. I was ):>roud to witness there, however, the same indications of a rapid change in public opinion that are now seen in all of the Southern States. Kentucky is evidently moving in the right direction. Her people are a proud-spirited, chivalric race who are disposed to submit no longer to Xorthcrn aggression. The prompt secession of the Cotton States, would, in my judg- ment, speedily unite the entire South in one Confederacy. I have the honor to be, very truly, Your obedient servant, ^V. S. FEATHERSTON. P. S. — I transmit to your Excellency lierewith, copies of the only correspondence which ensued between Governor Magoffin and myself. Verv trulv, W. S. F. 107 [DOCUMENT I.] Jackson. Dec. 81st, 1860. His Exckllexcv J. J. PETTU.-. GoVEHNOlt i)F THE StaTE OF MISSISSIPPI. l.)(.'(ir iStr: — l ha\c lir- lnuKir lu report herewith the pro- oeedinu's of the Leu'ishitui-e <>t' the State of (Jeorgia, on my reee|ition as eoinmipsioiier. hy your appointment, from the State of Missi>sipiii. Al.«t a cdpy of my Address delivered before that body. 1 shouhl (hi iiijjisiice lu !n\ own feeling.s — to the peopleof Miiisissippi — aiui liiure than all, to the authorities and people of the State of Georgia — if I failed to make known here, t'lo distinguislied kindness, and promjit attention, with wliicli your (^mmissioner was greeted, at the Capitol of Georgia. As a native son of Georgia, 1 felt proud of the dignity, generosity and fraternity, of her lionorcd sons, in their reception of your agent, and iheir cordial response lo the message of !Mississip]>i. whieli I had llic honor to eonununi- cate : and as an iuU){)ted son of ^lississippi and lier accredited agent. 1 was efjualiy pruud, to 1)C tlie recipient, for her, of tlic friendly greeting and assurance, unanimously extended — and herewith communicated to your Excellency. It affords me ])lcasure to add, that while there may be differences among her distinguislicd sons and their respective sup]")orters. as to some minor matters, there is but mie roir> in Georgia as to /irr secession, in fhc event that Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, shall hair taken that step, before the meeting of her Convention, em the 16/A Jemuary. I have the fullest coniidence. that Georgia will never separate her- self from licr sisters and her cliildiTii. e>j the Gulf States. Nothing but hesitation, indecision, or delay, upon their part, will impede her onward march irii/i them, to vindicate our common rights and redress our conunon wrongs. Very resjiectfully. Your obedient servant. WILLLUl L. HARRIS, Commissioner from the State of Mississippi to the State of Georgia, C— 30 19$ EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, ( MlLLEDGVILLE, C.A.. Dl'O. ]o, 1860. j \ Tof/ir (j'cmrdl ^■'f.scmbly: — I have the pleasure to iDfonu you, that tlie Hon. William L. Harris, Avho has boon jippoiiilf'd liy the Governor of llie Stali; of Missi>.-;ip})i, l.iy auth(trity of the L(.'gi«;viL!.K, G.\., Deceml.ter 15. 186(K Whereas, A message from His Excellency the Governor has informed us that th(? Hon. William Ij. Harris, a Commissioner from the State of Mississippi, to the State Georgia has arrived at the Capitol : Bcfiohrd, That a connnittee be appointed Ity the Speaker. to wait upon the Hon. "William L. Harris of Mississippi, and tender him a seat upon the floor of this House, iind also to act in concert with a connnittee to bo appointed by the Senate, to inform him tliat the General A.'^i^embly of tlie State of Georgia, will be ready to receive and hear him in the Representative Hall on Monday next at 12 o'clock M. Resolved. That the SenaJ.c Vie requested to concur in this action of the House of Rcprescutatives. ■ The committee appointed under the foregoing resolutions, consist of Messrs. Hartridge, Smith of Towns, Fannin, Ely and Tatum. SENATE CHAMBER. .\rii,LKrH!viL(,K. Ga.. December 15. 1800. Uu moiiou of Mv. Billuji,-', the Senate coiioun-od iii the resolution of llie Ilouse, and appointed Messr.'^. Billup?, Me- GeUee and Tracy, a committee on the part of the .Senate, to act in concert witli tlie committee of the House under, said resolutions. On further motion, Hon. William L. Harris was invitcMJ to a seat on tlic floor of the Senate. After the committee had discharged their duty : the two Houses Jiiet in convention, wlien the Hon. William 1j. Harris. Commissioner of tlic State of Mississippi, was introduced and delivered his Address. When on motion, the Senate i-eturiicd to their Chamber. * Tlie follo\\-ing' resolutions were then oflcred in the Senate by the Hon. Thomas Butler King. Rcsohc/I. That a Joint Select Committee lie appointed, of six on the part of tlie Senate and seven on the part of the House of lvepresenta4ivcs, to consfder and report the proper form and terms in which to express the opinion of this General Assembly in response to the friendly and important communication from the State of Mississippi, through her Commissioner the Hon. W. Ij. Harris. The connnittcc appoited under said resolution are Messrs. King, Moore, Briscoe, Holt, Lawton and Printuj). On motion of ^Iv. Hartridge, the House concurred in the resolution of the Seiiate, and appointed Messrs. Hartridge, Lester, Fannin. Lewis. Anderson, Barnes and Harris, a com- mittee to act in concert with the conmiittee of the Senate under said resolution. ^Iv. King from the Joint Select Conmiittee, to whom was 2-eferred the communication of the Governor of Mississijipi to tlie Governor of tliis State, asks leave to submit the following report : Whereas, A large portion of the peoiile of the non-slave- holding States, have for many years past, shown in many ways a fanatical spirit bitterly hostile to the Southern States, and have through the instrumentality of incendiary jmblications. the pulpit and the newspai)er press, finally organized a political party for the avowed purpose of destro.ying the institution of slavery, and consequently spreading ruin and desolation among the people in every portion of the States where it exists ; C— 40 • 200 And ivlurects, This j^pirit of lanatieism lia> allied itself ^vifh a desijin loiii^ cnterlainecl by leading politicians of the Xortli. to wield the taxin*;- ])ower of the (lovernment, for the purpose of pi'olectiii.i^" and fostering tlie interest of that secti(jn of the Union, and also, lo appropriate the common territories of the L'nilcd States to the exclusive use of northern emigration, for the purpose of extending, cousolidating, and reudering that power irreversible : Aiu^whercas, These designs and movements have attained ascendency, sucli as to combine a large majority of the Xortheru people in this sectional party, which has elected to the Presidejicy and Vice Presidency of the United States, candidates who are pledged in the most solemn form and the plainest, repeated declarations to wield all the influence and power of the Federal Government to accomplish the objects and puri>oses of the party, by * which they have been elected : A))d ichcreas. ^[any of the slaveholdiug States arc about to assemlde in Convention for the purpose of adopting measures for the protection of theii' rights, and the secu- rity of their institutions: And tcIicnrLs. The State V)f Mississippi has, in a noble spirit of fraternity seat a Commissioner to comnmnicate to this General Asseml^ly, her desire in the emergency in our Federal relations ; Therefore be it, Resolved, 1st. Tliat the Genei'al Assembly of Georgia, has listened with sentiments of profound sympathy and respect to the message of .Alississippi, on the subject of the present threatiiing relations of the Northern and Soutliern sections of the United States, communicated by her distin- guished Commissioder, the Hon. William Tj. Harris. Resolved, 2d. That believing as we do, that the present crisis in our national affairs, demands resistance, this Gene- ral Assembly, at its prescntsession, has, with great unanimity, passed '• An act providing for the call of a Con^•ention of the people of Georgia, to assemble on the 16th day of January, 18()1, for the jnirpose of determining on the mode, measure and time of that resistance. Resolved, 3d. That we cordially respond to the patriotic hopes of Mississipi)i, so earnestly expressed by her Legis- lature, and so ably comnnniicated by her Commissioner, and we do hereby give our sister State, the confident assurance, that in our judgmeid, (^e(jrgia will prom])tly co-operate Avith her, in the adoption of efficient measures, for the common defense, safety, aud honor of the South. 201 Resolved, 4tli. Thai ^CC. 17 th, l^Ull. Gentle /iir/t: — Yours ol" this date, requesting, on behalf ol' the House resent, as well as youi- pei-sonal kindju.'ss to her luunble representative, to prolong the discussion of a subject which, however impor- tant and absorljing, has, rlVciicd this rt-vtilntion, only awaits the 4th of .Mai-ch lor iIm- iiianiiiira(i<»;i oPtlu' new frovernniont. the new jirinriph'.-. and the new policy, upon the sue<;e?:« of Avliidi they have pi-oelainied IVeedoni to the slave, but eternal de^n-edation for you and for us. Xo revolution was ever nu)re complete, thoniili bloodless, if you will tamely j^uhmit to the desti'uction of tliat Constl- lution ami thai Union oui- fathers made. Our fatiiers made this a ii-overnment for the white man, icj«'c-tiny- the ne^;ro. as an if^norant. inferior, barbarian race, incapable of self-government, and not. therefore, entitled to be associated with the Avhite man u])on terms of civil, political, or social equality. The new administratian comes intf.i power, under the solemn pledge to overturn and strike down this great fea- ture of our Union, witliout which it would never have l)een formed, and to substitute in its stead their new theory of the universal e(|uality of the black and white races. Our fathers secured to us, by our Constitutional Union, now being overturned by this Black Reimblican rule, pro- tection to life, liberty and ]iroperty, o/l aver fhe Union, and wherever its flag was uidurled. whether on land or sea. Under tins wretched, lawless spirit and policy, now usurping the control of that government, citizens of the South have been deprived of their ]n-operty, and for at- tempting to seek the redress ])romised by the compromise laws, have lost their liberty and tlieir lives. Equality of rights secured to white men, in equal sover- eign States, is among the most prominent features of the Constitution under Avhich we hav(^ so long lived. This equality has l)een denied us in tlic South for years in the connnon territories, while the Xorth has virtually distrilmted them as l»ounties to abolition fanatics and foi-- eigners, for their brigand service in aiding in our exclusion. Our Constitution, in uinnistakal)le language guarantees the return of our fugitive slaves. Congress has recognized her duty in this respect, l)y enacting pi'oper laws for the enforcement of this right. mti the North came uudcr rcne\? rd obligations to enforce them, has been faithlessly (lisrbgardf'd, and the gOA'ernmeht and its? ofl&cers sc't at defiance. Who now expects these i'ebels ri^diiist the IttWs passed by their own consent and prdcnrenient — rebels against justice and common lirinesty — t(i l)ecome pious patriots hy tlie ac- quisition of power? Who now ex[)ects Mr. Lincoln to be- come conservative, wlu^n the oidy secret of his success, and the oidy foundation of his authority, is the Avill and com- mand of tliat roblter clan, Avhose mere instrument he is, who have n(•hie^■ed this revolution in our government by treading under their unlmllowed feet our Constitution and litws and the Tnion of our fathers, and by openly defying high heaven liy wilful juid corrupt perjury? Ami, above 'all, avIio is it hi the South, born or descended (jf Revolutionary sires, who .so loves i^nchco^iqmiuj, as that he will long lu^sitate before lie can obtain the consent of a vir- tuous and ])atriotic heart and conscience to separate from them forcirr? Mississippi is lirinly ('fiiivinccd ihal there is but one alter- native : This new union with Lincoln Black Republicans and fi-ee negroes, inthnnf do.rery ; or, slavery under our old constitu- tional Ijond of union, mthout Lincoln Black Republicans, of free negroes either, to mole,st us. If we take the former, then sulunission to negro equality is our fate. If the latter, th(>n .scccs-.s-ton is inevitable — each State for itself and by itself, but with a view to the imme- diate formation of a Southern Confederacy, under our pre- sent Constitution, l)y such of the slaveholding States as shall agree in their Conventions to unite with us. Mississippi seeks no delay — the issue is not new to her ])Cople. They have long and anxiously watched its ap- proach — they think it too late, now. to negotiate more com- ])romises with brankrupts in })olitical integ-rity whose recre- ancy to justice, good faith and constitutional obligations is the most cherished featuce of their political organization. She has exhausted her rights in sacrificial offerings to save the Union, until nearly all is lost but her honor and the courage to defend it. She has tried conventions until they have become the ridicule of both om' friends and our enemies — mere instruments of fraudulent evasion and delay, to wear out the spirit of our people and encourage the 206 hopes of our common enemy. In sliort, she is sick and lired of the North, and pants for somo rospito from eternal disturbance and disquiet. She comes now to you. — our ffhirious old mother, — the land of Baldwin, who tirst detiontly asserted and preserved your riirhts as to slavery, in the Federal Convention, in oppo- sition to Messrs. Madison, Mason, and Randolph, and the whole Union exce])t tho two Carolinas. — the land of Jack- son, who innnortalized himself by his bold exposure and succ€.s.sful overthrow of a leirislative fraud and usurpation upon the rights of the people, — the land of Troup, the sternest Roman of them all, who, sinirle-handed and alone, without co-operation, without consultation, but with truth and justice, and the courage of freemen at honu' on his side, defied this National Government in its usurpation on the rights of Georgia, and executed your laAvs in spite of the threats of Federal coercion. It is to you we come, — the brightest exemplar among the advoetites and defenders of States rights and State remedies, — to take counsel and solicit sjTopathy in this hour of our common trial. / ask yoi', sliall .Mississippi folloio in (lie foofsti/)s of Georgia, when Jed by her gal/anf Tronp? Or, is it reserved for thi^generatiou to repudiate and expunge the lirightest page in the history of my native State? Tmpossil>le ! God forbid it! Forbid it, ye people of all Northern and Western Georgia, who, to-day, o.no your existence and unparalleled prosperity to the maintenance of your rights at the risk of civil war. I see around me some gallant s]»irits who l^ore their share in the dangers, and now wear with honor, here to-day in this Hall the laurels won on the side of their State, under the banner, inscribed " Troup and the treaty" in that memorable struggle. Need I appeal to them in behalf of my adopted State, to know on what side they will range themselves in this struggle of right, against usiu'pation, of brute force, against the Constitutional rights of a sister of this con- federacy of equal States? I make no such appeal ; T know where you stand. To doubt it would be to offer you the grossest insult. In this school of old republican orthodoxy, I drew my first breath. It was here, I first studied, then embraced, and next feebly advocated the principles of State Rights and State remedies of resistance to tyranny — of the supremacy and sovereignty of the peo})le of a State, and the subservi- ency of governments to their peace and happiness and safe- 207 ty. Theso principles will descend with mc to the grave, where this frail tenement of dust must perish, but they will live on with time, and only perish when tyranny shall be no more. I need not remind your great State, that thousands and thousands of her sons and daughters, who have sought and found happy homes and prosperous fortunes in the distant forests of her old colonial domain, though now adopted children of Mississippi, still cling with the fond embrace of filial love to this old mother of States and of statesmen, from whom both they and their adopted iStatc derive their ori- gin. It will be difficult for such to conceive, that they arc not still the objects of your kind solicitude and maternal sympathy. Mississippi indulges the nwat c<)njident expectation and belief, founded on sources of information she cannot doubt, as well as on the existence of causes, operating upon them, alike as upon her. that every otlier Gulf State will stand by her side in defense of the position she is about to assume ; and she would reproach herself, and euery Georgia sou within her limits, would swell with indignation, if she hesi- tated to believe that Georgia too, would blend her fate with her natural friends ; her sons and daughters — her neighbor- ing sisters in the impending struggle. VVhatevc* may be the result of your deliberations, I beg- to assure her from my intimate knowledge of the sipirit and affections of our ])Cople, that no enemy to her constitutional rights, may consider his victory won, while a Mississippian lives to prolong the contest. Sink or swim, live or die, sur- vive or perish, tlie part of Mississippi is chosen, she tuill never submit to the principles and policy of this Black Republican Administration. She Iiad rather see the last of licr race, men, Avomen and children, immolated in one common funeral pile, than sec them sulijectcd to the degradation of civil, political and social equality with the negro race. 208 [DOCUMENT J. I A D I) U K S S () F FULTON ANDERSON, ESQ., Commissioner of Musaissippi, Before the Couventioii of YirLrinia, in the City of Rich- inond. Fcl)ruary 18. 1801. Gentlemen of the Convention : — Honored by the Goveni- ment of Mississippi with her commission to invite your co- operation in the measures she has been compelled to adopt for the vindication of her rights and her honor in the pre- sent perilous crisis of the country, 1 desire to express to you, in the name and behalf of her jteople, the sentiments of esteem and admiration which they in common with the whole Southern people entertain for the character and fame of this ancient and renowned Commonwealth. Born under the same confederated government with your- selves, and ])artici])ating in the common inheritance of Con- stitutional liberty in the achievement of whick your ances- tors played so distinguished a part, we take as umch of l)rido and pleasure as you, her native son?, in the great achievements and still greater sacrilices which you liavc made in the cause of the common government, which has in the past united them to you ; and nothing which concern-^ your honor and dignity in the future can fail to enlist our deepest symj^atliies. In recurring to our past history we recognize the State of Virginia in the first great struggle for independence ; foremost not only in the vindication of her own rights, but in the assertion and defence of the en- dangered liberties of her sister colonies; and by the (elo- quence of her orators and statesmen, as well as by the cour- age of her i)eople, arousing the whole American people in resistance to British aggression. And when the common cause had been crowned with victory under her great war- rior-statesman, we recognize her also as the leader in that great work by whicJi the emancipated colonies were united under a written Constitution, which for the greater part of a century has l)een the source of unexampled progress in all that constitutes the greatness and the happiness of nations ; nor do we forget that that progress has been due in a pre- eminent degree to the munificent generosity of Virginia, in 209 donating as a free gift to her country, tliat vast territory north-west of the Ohio river, which her arms alone had conquered, and which now constitutes tlie seat of enij^ire, and, ahas, too, the seat of that irresistible power, which now erects its haughty crest in dciiance and hostility, and threat- ens tlie destruction of the honor and the prosperity of this great State. I desire also to say to you, geutleinen. that in being com- pelled to sever our connexion with tlie government which has hitherto united us. the hope which lies nearest to our hearts is that, at no distant day, we may be again joined with you in another Union, which shall sjiring into life under more favorable omens and with happier auspices than ac- companied that which has passed away ; and if, in the un- certain future which lies before us, that hope shall be des- tined to disappointment, it will be the source of enduring sorrow and regret tu us that we can no more hail the glori- ous soil of Virginia as a part of our common country, nor her brave and generous people iis our fellow-citizens. Fully jiarticipating in these sentiments myself, it is with pride and pleasure that I accepted the connnission of my btate for the purposes 1 have indicated. Though, when ] consider the gravity of the occasion, the high interests which are involved, and the influence which your deliberations are to have upon the deslinie-; of present and future generations, I confess my regivl that the cause on \s'hich 1 am come has not been entrusied to abler and worthiei- hands. In setting forth to you. gentlemen, the action of my State and the causes which induced it, J shall be compelled to speak in terms of condemnation of a large portion of what has hitherto been our common country ; but in doing so. I wish to be imderstood as exce]»ting from whatever terms of censure i may employ, that large body of]»atriotic and conservative men of the Northern section, who have, in all our struggles, manfully defended the constitutioiuU rights of our section. For them, tlie peojde of my State, have nu cause of complaint, and whatever the future may bring forth, we shall ever remember their eftbrts in behalf of the Consti- tution and Union, as we received them froin their ancestors and ours, with admiration and gratitude. Our grievances are not from them. Imt from the dominant faction of thf^ North which has ti-ampled them under foot and now strikes at us from the elevation it has obtained upon the prostrate bodies of our friends. 1 propose, gentlemen, in discharge of my mission to you, 210 ' briefly to invite your attontion to a review of the events whicli have tran.-pirod in Mississippi since the fatal day -when that sectional Xorthorn ]iarty triunijihcd over the Constitu- tion find I'nion at th<' recent ehvtion, and afterwards to the causes wliieli have induced the action of my State. On the 'JWtli of XovenduM" last, the Legislature of Missis- sippi, by an unanimous vote, called a convention of hei- people, to take into consideration the existing relations lietween tlie Federal (Tovernment and heiself, and to take such measures for the vindication, of her sovereignty and the protection of her institutions as should appear to be de- manded. At the same time, a preamble, setting forth the grievances of tlie Southern people on the slavery question, and a resolution, declaring that the secession of every aggrieved State, was the proper remedy, was adopted by a vote almost amounting to unanimity. The last clau.'^e of the preamble and resolution, arc as follows : •'Whereas, they (the people of the non-.slaveholding States; have elected a majority of electors for President and Vice- President, on the ground that there exists an irreconcilabh^ conflict l)etwecn the two sections of the Confederacy, in reference to their respective systems uf labor, and in pursu- ance of their hostilit}^ to us, and our institutions, have thus declared to the civilized worhl that the powers of the gov- ernment are to Ijc used for the dislionor and overthrow of the Southei-n section of this great Confedcracv. Therefore, be it ''Raoh^ed, by the Legislature of the Slate of Mississippi, That in the opinion of those who constitute said Legi-slature, the secession of each aggrieved State is the proper remedy for these injuries.'* On the day fixed for the meeting of the Convention, that body convened' in Jackson, and on the 9th of January, 186L proceeded to the adoption of an ordinance of secession from tlie Federal Union. l)y whicli the State of Mississippi Avith- drew fi'om the Federal Government the powers theretofore confided to it, and assumed an independent position among the powers of the earth : determined thenceforth to hold the people of the non-slaveholding section of the late confedera- cy as slie holds the l)ahin('C of mankind : enemies in war, and in peace friends. But at the same time, and by the same ordinance, it was provided "that the State of Mississippi hereby gives lier cfmsent to form a Federal Union Avith such of the States as may have seceded, or may secede, from the Union of the United States of America, upon the basis of the present Constitution of the T"''nited States.'' 211 Thia action of the C.'ivcntion of Mississippi, gentlemen of the Convention, was ilie inevitable result of the position which she. with other slavelioltini!f States, had already taken, in view of the anticipalcd resuK of the i-cciMit Presidential election, and ninst have Vieen furesecn liy every intellitrent observer of the progresn of events. As early as the it>th pf February, 18G1I. her LegislaiuiT had, with the cfeneral ap]>rohation of hev peoj)1e, a(h->ptod the Ibllowincr resohition : Resolved. That the election of a Pi-esidt-nl of the Initod States bv the votes of one section of the rnit)n (tnly, on tiie ground that there exists an irrcpressililc coiiHict between the two sections in reference to tlicir respective systems of labor and with an avowed purpose of hostility to the insti- tution of shivery, as it exists in the Southern States, and as recogni7.ed in the compact of Union, wonhl so threaten a destruction of the .-nds for which the ('onstitution was formed as justifv th(; slaveholdinc^ States in takiniz' eounsel tOi>ether tor their -(^parate protection and satety." Thus wa< the jrround taken, not only l)y .\Iis.sissi])j)i. but liy other shivcholdintr States, in vi(^w of the then threatened purpose, of a party foinided u])on the idea ol iinreh'ntinrincipU^ of liostiHty to our fmulaniental iustitutions. and upon the avowed ])olicy of their destruction, with a candidate thus ]-e])resentiug that princijdc and policy, has succeeded in the Presidential elec- tion, by obtaining a large majority of the votes of the ])eo}»le of the non-slaveholding States, and on the 4t]i of March next, would, unless ])rcvented, have taken possession of the power and patronage of our comnum government to wield them to our destruction. In contemptuous disregard of the principle on which that government was founded, and received our assent, to insure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare, and, within the limit of its constitutional power, to exercise a fostering and paternal care over every interest of every section, it was to become our foe and our oppressor, and never to pause in its career of hostility and opi)rcssion until oiu' dearest right.^, as well as our honor, were crushed beneath its iron heel. We, the decendants of the leaders of that illustrious race of men who achieved our independence and established our institutions, were to become a degraded and a subject class under that government which our fathers created to secure the equality of all the States — to bend our necks to the yoke which a false fanaticism had ])re})ared for them, to hold our rights and our ])roperty at the sufferance of our foes, and to accept whatever tliey might choose to leave as a free gift at the hands of an irrepressible jiower, and not as the measure of our constitutional rights. All this, gentlemen, we were expected to submit to, under the fond illusion that at some future day, when our enemies had us in their [jower, they Avould relent in their hostility ; •214 that faiialici?in wuulJ |»auso in its caroor witiiuiit Jiaviug ai.- ooinplished its i)urpo?e ; that the f^pirit of opj)rc5?ion woulil be exercised, and. in the liour of its triumph. Avouhi (h-op it.> weapons from its hands, and cea.se to wound its vii-tini. Wf were expected, in the laiii:uaii"t' of voui- own inspired oratoj*. to "induliie in the fond ilhi.-ions of hope : to shut our eyes tu the painful truth, ami listen to ihr sontr of that ,-yien uutil it transformed us into lifa,sts." But we in the i>tatc of Mississij>iii arc no h)n,f!:er imder that illusion. Hope has died in our hearts. It received it^; death-l)h>w at the fatal liallot-lio\ in Xovi'iiiher last, and the son^ of the syien no Ioniser sounds in our ears. AVe have thouglit lonu' and maturely upon this .-^ubject, and we have made uji our minds as to the course we should adopt. We ask no eom]tromise and we want none. We know that we should not j^et it if we were base enoufih to desire it, and we have made the irrevocable restdvr to take our interCjSts into our own kec]»in;jc. I have already said that twelve montlis since the State of Mississii>pi, in coiniexion with other slaveholding States, had taken a jjosition, in anticipation of the result t)f the recent Presidential electioji, from which they could not recede if I hey were base enough to desire it. 1 shall be pardoned by you, 1 trust, for adding that an event, of then recent occur- rence, which deeply concerned the honor and the dignity of A'irginia. exercised a controlling influence in consolidating tilt? Soutlieiji mind on this subject. Whcm the exasperation was at the liighest. wliieli had been caused by the long and weary struggle which the Southerji peo}»le had been com- pelled to make in defence of their institutions, the daring outrage on your soil, to which I allude, w as perpetrated. This State, relying on the faith of constitutional obliga- iions and of those friendly relations which they were created to uphold and maintain, unconscious herself of any senti- ment less nol>le than that of nuwavciing loyalty to her constitutional oldigations, and, therelbre, wholly unsusjncious ')fany treasonable design against her own peace and wel- fare, was, in a moment of fancied repose, in a time of pro- foimd peace, to her own amazement and that of the whole Southern j)eople, made the scetie of a foray by a band of conspirators ami traitors from the Noj-Lhern States, whose purpose was to light up the fires of a servile insurrection, and to give your dwellings to the torch of the incendiary and your wives and children to the knives of assassins. The disgraceful attempt, it is true, ended in ignominious failure. 215 True that }'Our ylaves proved loyal, and liy a prompt ex- ecution of your laws you vindicated your dignity and exac- ted from the wretehc'd criminals the just forfeiture of their lives. But the event had, nevertheless, a terril)le signiiicauoe in the minds of the Southern ])eople. It was justly consid- ered as the necessary and logical result of the princi])les. l.»oldly and recklessly avowed by the sectional jmrty which was then gras]iing at the reins of government and which i.- now aliout to l.»c inaugurated into power. Let it not lie supposed that I refrr to (his «Hsgraceful event with a desire to stir up a spirit of hostility or revenge, or to re-awaken those sentiments of just indignation which the fact is so well calculated to excite. 1 refer to it as a necessary and legitimate result of the irrepressiljle conflict which has been proclaimed, of which the President elect gave a true exposition when lie said "There is a judgment and a conscience at the North against slavery, which nmst find an outlet either through the jx-acefid channel of the Ijallot-box or in the multiplication of .lolm Brown raids." 1 refer to it as a warning to tlie i)eo])le of the Southern States, and to you the people of Virginia, of what they and you are to expect in the future Mhen t;liat party, whose principles thus give encouragement, aid and comfort to felons and traitors, shall have firmly established its dominion over you. These are some of the causes, gentlemen, ■s\hich have at last convinced the people of Mississip]ii that the hour has arrived when if I ho South Avould maintain her lionor. slie must take her own destiny into her own hands; but let it not be supposed that they have not always felt a strong attachment to the Union of the Constitution, provided, that instrument could be administered in the spirit in which it was created. That form of (Tovernment, (Ui the contrary, is dear to their Jiearts. and its necessity to them and their posterity has received the sanction of their judgment. Lov- ing it not wisely, but too well, they have clung .to it long after its obligations were abandoned ).)y those who were the chief recipients of its bcmcfits, midcr the fond illusion that a returning sense of justice and a restoration of fraternal relations foi'merly existing, woidd secure to them their rights. They long and vainly hoped that the time would again return, when each and every section of the Confederacy would recogiii/.e the rights and interests of all, and that ^yv might in harmony with each othev have continued to rejoice over what had been achieved of glory and prosperity in the past, and to look forward with imited hope to the bright 216 and glorious prospect "wliicli an olr^ervanco (^1' the principles of the Constitution pronii.assions of 217 their spus, and that 1113' only consolation is to be that I live not to weep over it."' But, so far were the northern peo]ile from being warned by these sad proplietic words, that at each renewal of tlic struggle the sentiment ol" hostility has acquired additional strength and intensity. The passions enlisted in it have become more ])itter, the disregard of constitutional obliga- tions more marked, and the i)urposo to destroy our institu- tions more fixed and deruiite. An infidel fanaticism, crying out for a liighcr law than that of the Constilutiou and a liolier Bible than that of the Christian, has been enlisted in the strife, and in every form in vrhich the opinions of a people can l)c fixed and their sentiments perverted, in the school room, the pulpit, on the rostrum, in the lecture-room and in the halls of legislation, hatred and contempt of us and our institutions, and of the Constitution Avliich ]>rotects them, have been inculcated upon the present generation of Xc>rthern people. Abo^■e all, they have been taught to Itclievc that we are a race inferior to them in morality and civilization, and tliat tliey are engaged in a holy crusade for our lienefit in seeking the destruction of that institution whicli they consider the chief impediment to our advance, but which we, relying on sarredand profane history for our belief in its morality, lielieve lies at the very foundation of our social and political fabric and constitutes their surest support. This, gentlemen, is indeed an irrepressible conflict which we cannot shrink from if we Avould ; and tliougli the Presi- dent elect may congratulate himself that the crisis is at hand which he predicted, we, if we are true to ourselves, will nuike it fruitful of good by ending forever the fatal struggle and ]jlacing our institutions beyond the i-eacli of further hostility. I know not what may tie your views of the subject, nor what your purpose in this crisis ; but I have already told you what the people of Mississippi have resolved on, and to that determination, you may rely upon it, they will adhere through every extremity of prosperous or advei'sc fortune. They, like you, are the descendants of a revolutionary race, which for far less cause raised the banner of resistance against a far mightier power, and never lowered it until that victory which the god of battle gives to brave men in a just cause, had crowned their efforts and estaldished their independence ; and they have, like them, decided that the time has arrived to trust for the safety of their honor and 218 rights only lo llicir own strong arms und stout hearts rather than sulimit to jihicing tlio.^o ])ri('clt:'ss l>les>in State? or individuals, pro^'ed faithless to the obligations it imposed? In what point liave they fallen sliort of the full measure of duty and comity to their sister States? Wliat indulgence ha^-e they not shown to the insulting prejudices and unrea- soning fanaticism of the other section ? Wliat sacrifices of blood and treasure have they not made in the common cause, and what efforts to bring back the liarmony which in tlic language of one of her most elocpieut sons, reigned in those days when Massachusetts summoned Washington to lead the armies of New England, and when Virginia and Carolina sent supplies of corn and rice to their famishing brethren in Boston ? But such a form of government lieiug demonstrated to be impracticable with the Northern people, all tliat is left u^ is the creation of a great and powerful Southern Union, composed of States inhabited by homogenous populations, and having a common interest, common sympathies, common hopes, and a common destiny. This is the inevitable destiny of the Southern people, and this destiny Virginia holds in her hands. By uniting herself to her sisters of the South who are already in the field, shr will make that a peaceful resolution which may otherwise l">o A'iolcnt and bloody. At the sound of. her trumpet in the r.anks of the Southern States, '" grim visaged war will smooth his wrinkled from," peace and prosperity will again smile upon the country, and we shall hear no more threats of coercion against sovereign States asserting their indepen *^i»L* 220 donco. The Southern people, under your lend, '^ill agab bt united, and liberty, prosperity and power, in happy umOn, will take \\\) their al)ode iu the .u;reat Southern Republic, to which we uiav ^^a^ely yntrnrft our destinies. These are the noble gifts which V'iroinia can again confer on the country, by pronii.t and decided action at tlie ])resent. _ _ In conclusion gcntleniei). let me renew to you the invita- tion of mv State'and ])eople, to unite and co-operate with your Southern sisters who are already in the field, iu defense of their rights. We invite you to come out from the house of our enemies, and take a ju'oud ]iosition in that of your friends and kindred. Come aiul 1)0 received as an older brother wliose counsels will guide our action and whose leadership we will willingly follow. Come and give us the aid o¥ your advice iu counsel and your arm in battle, and be assured that when you do come, as Ave know you will do at no distant dav, the signal of yoiu- move will send fi thrill of joy vibrating' through every Southern heart, from the Rio Grande to the Atlantic, and a shout of joyous coiioTatula- tion Avill go up which will shake the continent from its centre to its circumference. STATEMENT Showin of Personalty in the State of i^Iississippijtogetlier with Number of Acres anil Vahie of Taxal)le Lands, for Year ' '377 ;» 5U25 1600 3315 ^jj ;;;";| 1 uor. m. s. 2. 2, ] 2. ? 3,S92 n,5aa 2,8M «,S«2 4.782 l.3'2l 5.3SI 1.910 7,000 i.eoi 3 I J r s. ^ § a. ll 8 ■s « s •a 2. on U0.0D5 ■17,001 B- 10.W0 4.003 n, 13.530 746 4000 24,238 40,000 33,774 31^298 ' 43',390 4850 , 560 ' 10.872 , 3.231. 1.598. 1.073'. -I i 3 i,«an 1,740 1,749 10 6 3,7uft 6.413 3,031 1.703 ■e 1 7 1 1 2.820 1.223 731 017 4.310 2.015 890 3,908 * 4 7.007 1 1.070 2.7.17 0.901 t 2,050 n 10 0,007 3M 25» 200,787 00" 30,i)flU 12 fiM 2,75(1 1 1 J ii • i vw ll saoiil....! n.53»| (1 ■••■! m 'i 0,130... 10,5lfl 35,000 3,704 •S0,I70 00 IV:^ Hr,fi Auditor's Office, Jackson, I ]91issis§ippi, January 16tli, 1861. V UlkhU, MluwUl •143,000,000— ToUlTu 9;iu,:70 00 ^ ^ ♦ ANNtlAL KEPORT OF THE AD.UTTAXT (JIONERAL OF THE STATE OF Ml^^SISSIPPT. GENERAL HEAD-QUARTERS, STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; Ap.iutant-Generaf/8 Office, ) .rvCKsox, January the IStli, 1861. f His Excellkncv John J. Pettus — Governor and Cominonder-m-Chifrf Mistisaippl AiiWiti. ^7r;— PuiMiant to an act of the Legislature, prescribing the duties of the Adjutant (rcncral, I have the honor to -ulimit tlie follow'iug report for the year ending December. .^tiO, and from January the 1st, 1861 to January the iTth inclusive. The past year was as remarkable for the military organ- i7.ations effected in the State, as for the great political changes wliich took place throughout the country. The precarious condition of political aifairs in thii« country, occasioned by Northern aggression upon the insti- tutions of the South, aroused the peophj of the Soutlicrn States to a sense of their imperfect security ; »and their Legislatures by wise coucil, made anijjle provision lor the purchase of arms and munitions of war for the defense of the States. The Mississippi Legislature being duly impressed "with a sense of her insecurity, and aroused by the action of John Brown, and his confederates at Harper's Ferry, in their 222 attempt to stain and drench the soil of Virginia in inno- cent blood, raadc an appropriation in December, 1859, of * 150,000, lor tlie purchase of arm?, in order to prepare her 10 resist effcctuall}' such a fanatical raid, should an attempt be made to perpetrate sucli an act within her borders. So soon as the passage of the act appropriating the gum of $150,000 for arms was known throught the State, military organizations commenced springing up from her Northern borders to the Sea-Coast. Those organizations of Volunteer Companies progressed steadily : tliough slowly during the spring and summer months ; organizing at the rate of some two companies per month ; the military ardor aroused by l!ie John Bi-own raid abating to some extent. Within the post two months the political excitement awakened l)y tliC election of a Black llepublican to the I'^osidency, being uprecedented, and without parallel in the history of this country, these expiring military fires are being rekindled, and companies are orgahizcd and have been organizing, at the rate of from seven to eight per week ; numbering from fifty to sixty men, ready to march TO the fild of battle to defend the soil of their birth or adoption from the ignominious taunts of the Black Repub- lican hoi'de — and anxious to place her among the nations of the earth as a free, independent and sovereign people, discarding and disregarding the Union of the States upon the present inequality of rights. While appreciating their love for independence and State pride, 1 regret that the existing military law does not empower the Governor to call them into service, except within the limits of the State; the law is adapted to home service, or more particularly, to parade, and inapplicable to actual service on the field. A few suggestions and recommendations on this point will be detailed in a subsequent paragraph of this re}>ort, to which special attention is requested. The military fires enkicdled within the chivalric sous of Mississippi within the past year are unprecedented in her military annals. The number of companies organized up to the 16th January, 1861, dating from January 1st, 18G0, amounts to sixty-five ; of this number, fifty-five organized as rifles, but some three or more h;ive bccu furnished the altered purcussiou musket, and others will be compelled to resort to the same arm. Of this number only one company organized as Infantry, and one as Light Infantry (Monroe Light Infantry and " Enterprise Guards as Infantry,'' with rifled muskets). The number of Cavalry Companies formed amounts to eight. The number of Artillery three. As (,o the exact number of ineu composing tliese compa- nies, it is impossible to state definitely, for the reason that the law upon whicli these orgranizatious were effected has been waived, for the past few months, owing to the exigen- cies of the times, and again in petitioning for organization, the companies frequently cari'y out (he law to the extent only, to entitle them to organization, that is only getting thirty-two signatures to tlie petition, when the company numbers, probably, hfty jnen or more. I therefore state the number of regular uniformed Volunteers will be based upon the arm distribution, (and by approximation for companies not holding arms) wliich is the surest method of arriving at an estimate of the number of iiion. The impossibility of procuring the Mississippi Rifle, with sabre bayonet, has produced much dissatisfaction among the companies, and while it hiss caused the disbandment of some, prevented the organization of others, and has, there- fore, been prejudicial in two distinct ways. Relative to the Mississippi Rifle, it is but justice to state that every effort has been made to procure tlioni within the power of this Department. This arm being renowned for the brillaut victories achieved upon the battle fields of Mexico, in the hands of the First Regiment of Mississippi Riflemen, lias derived the appella- tion of " Mississippi Rifle," and is the principal arm called for by the Volunteer corps. In consequence of the numerous applications ibr this rifle, the Adjutant-General flj t',om[)liance with verbal in- structions, proceeded North in May last for the purpose of making contracts for this i-ille, to supply the demand existing up to the time of d'Ji)arture. This was effected after much difficulty, in finding a suitable armory for its manufacture. On the bth of June a contract was closed with Eli Whitney, of Connecticut, for fifteen hundred of these rifles, with l)ayonets, onr thousand of wliich were to be delivered by the 1st of December, lb 60, At the time of the first delivery of arms (Oct. I5t!i,) said Whitney raised a point relative to the inspection, fearing an inspection by an officer of the Army, and refused to have them examined, and, therefore, shipi)ed out GO of^aid arms, as samples he said of what he could furnish. The arms were received and examined, and proved to be old guns fixed up. Such an act being a violation of tlie letter and spirit of the contract, none of the arms were tiken as a part of the contract, though the (iO were taken ^ 224 as an experiment. The atlair is uow being adjusted between a U. S. Senator and said Whitney, but owing to the bad faith of Whitney the arras will probably never be received, and the companies will have to resort to whatever can be furnished. The number of conunissious issued to officers of Volunteer Companies approximates two hundred and fifty-five, of this number sixty-live were issued to Captains, and one hundred and ninety to Lieutenants. Several companies were organized and commissions were issued early in tiic spring, but owing to causes but partially reported, they disbanded within a few months after their organization — among them " Sharon Rifles,'' of Madsion county ; " University Rifle Company," Lafayette; " Chicka- saw Dragoons, Chikasaw: "Home Guards," Lowndes; and a few others. The commissions to the officers are not in- cluded in the aggregate of commissions. The number of men regularly organized into uniformed companies of Volunteers amounts to two thousand and twenty-seven, armed. Of the thirty-eight companies unarmed, allowing fifty men for an average of each, we have ninteen hundred unarmed Volunteers — which number added to the number of armed men, gives an aggregate of three thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven men belonging to the Volunteer companies, which approximation will vary but little from the correct number. This force, armed and properly offi- cered, would, on the field, be formidable to an advancing foe. The number of arms in the hands of the troops amounts to 2,127 stand ; of rifles 1,256,; of percussion muskets 391; of flint about 60; of pistols 462; of sabres 360; and will be classified in the schedule marked A in the appendix. The States qxiota of arms from the U. S. Government for the year 1860, amounting to 315 muskets, or their equivalent in other arms, was drawn in field artillery, amounting in all to 6 six pownder bronze guns, and two 12 pownder howitzers, all of which were dismounted, save one 6 pounder, with carriage limber and impliments and equipments complete, and 1 set of harness for four horses. These guns have all been mounted at the State Penitentiary, and are ready for the field with the exception of harness, caissons, battery wagon and forge. Special attention is called to the caissons, battery wagons and forge. There is not a caisson, battery wagon or forge in the State ; (at least no record of Buch in the office) and a fild battery is incomplete, and but partially efifectual without them. The harness is being 225 made, and the caissons, ! of the Balialion : — for Cavalry, the s<'hool of the 'I'rooicr, &c. : — for the Artillery, Light Artilloiy t«cti<--. Owing to the probability of a war between the two sections of the country, I would re- commend to the Companies who expect to engage in it, a thorough system of drilling, and practice in the advance in line of battle, " for the history of the application of modern tactics in battle gives the lesson that courage is dependant upon instruction." The existing military law, with some alterations — while it would meet tbe exigencies of the Volunteer corps in time of peace, is wholly unadopt- ed to the tield in time of war ; for while it allows the Captain commanding tbe Division, to order parades, en- campments, &c., it does not authoiize the Commander- in-Chief to call them into service except in the State, and thei'C being no probability of any necessity for their ser- vices ia the State, thoy cannot be called to assist jnother State. Such being the case, I suggest the projiri(-^ty ol making no further distribution of arms, until some other arrangements better adapted can be made, and will i-ceom- moad that in the event a Southern Confederacy is formed, and active hostilities are commenced between the South and the North, that the Military organizations that are formed for the service, be organized, irrespective of the existiuii law, and with strict conformity to Miliiary law, — the Company, composed of 100 men, being the basis of organization. The Legislature of 185S ])assed an act ap])ropriating the sum of $l25,0i) to Volunteer Companies of Infantry, and $150,00 to Cavalry, after the performance of certain du- ties. Under this appropriation has been drawn the follow ing amounts, viz : 0-45 280 Quitman Light Infantry, $125,00 " Guards 125,00 Covin.a;ton Guards, 125,00 Col. B. Adams' Light Guard, 125,00 500,00 Tiiiy act has been repealed, and another substituted in lieii thereof, appropriating the sum of $9 to each member of a Volunteer Company - that performs within twelve months nine days military duly. Under this act of appropriation, the following sums have been drawn, to wit : Jiiloxi Rifle Guards, $370,00 Quitman Guard?, 234,00 Home Guards, 324,00 Gainsville Volunteers 342,00 O'Connor Rifies, 567,00 Irrepressible?, 567,00 $2,404,0) 1 would recommend that a sufficient sum to supply the ofificersof Volunteer Companies with tactics be appropriat- ed, aiid wriiild su!2\a:est the purchase for this purpose, of •' Gilham's Manual for Volunteers and Militia," a work re- C3ntly published by authority of the State of Virginia, comprising the tactics for each arm of the service, as com- piled by officers of the infantry, artillery and cavalry of the regular service. The duties of Quarter-Master General devolving upon this department, a passing notice relative to the business of the departtneui is necessary. In the month of March last, the old arms and accoutre- ments (a pile of rubbish) in the arsenal, were overhauled and examined, cleaned and stored away for an emergency ; but it is hoped that an emergency that would bring them into requisition mny lu^var arise. tShould, however, such take place, then we might truly exclaim with the Latin poet, that " man is never conscious of the danger he has every moment to avoid." A list of these arms and accoutrements is on file in this office, but is unnecessary to be made in this report The following is a list of tlie arras, of which were issued to the *' Enterprise Guards." 231 Cartridge boxes, pistol and musket, 315 Rifle, pouch, and flask belts, 214 Waist belts 5G Sabre belts, 106 " knots, 107 Gun slings, 119 Dragoon shoulder belts, 276 Holsters, 60 Rifle pouches, , 116 Powder flasks 88 Flint lock muskets, browned barrel, 160 " " " bright " 72 Sabres, 106 Most of the cartridge boxes, sabres, belts, holsters, pouches, flasks; etc. &c., have been distributed. The arsenal is iu bad condition, the floor being worth- less from dry rot. a>id the building totally insecure. On the 0th of June, closed a contract with the "Ames Manufacturing Company," of Massachusetts, for seventeen hundred sets of accoutrements — five hundred of vv'hich have been received. On the 15th of December, in compliance with verbal instructions, proceeded to the Baton Rouge Arsenal, to examine a lot of the U. S. altered percussion muskets, with a view to the purchase of live thousand stand. The arms were examined, and proved satisfactory, and on the 'iilst of December, the linal arrangements were closed in New Orleans, between the U. S. Government and the State of Mississippi. These arms have all been received, and arc now stored, awaiting orders relative to tlieir distribution. The Secretary of V/ar, in November last, addressed a communicatiou to His Excellency, relative to the distribu- tion of a lot of books, (" Revised Instruction for Field Ar- tillery," ) which were stored by the U. S. Quarter-Master at Philadelphia, awaiting orders. The quota amoun ng to 43 volumes, was ordered to be forwarded to this dep>urt- ment, and lias been received. There arc about one hundred and fifty stand of percus- sion rifles in the State, that are not included in the Abstract of Arms, longing to the State and in good order. The Company originally drew from tlio State sixty muskets, six of which, however, were taken, and worthless when received. Very Respectfully, L. C. MOORE, Jr., Comniandins: Volunteer Southrona. Statement of txpenditures for arms, accouirenmits, ^c: State of Mississippi in account with Ames' Manufacturing Company, I)r. 1860. To 500 Setts Accoutrements, " " 200 Cavalry, Sabers and Accontreiuents, " " 100 Sergeant's Swords and Belts, " " 200 Thousand Percussion Caps, " " 200 Sabre- Bayonets, &c. " " Packing Boxes, &c. $5,952 90 " 200 Colt's Pistols, Holstes, Packing Boxes, &c. " 200 Whitney Pistols Packing Box- es, &c. " 60 Percussion Muskets, " 50 Artillery Swords, &c. " Traveling Expenses of Adjutcnt- General on Official Business, " Freight, dray age, &c. on arms and accoutrements, . . - " Adams' Express Co. for freight on pistols, . . . - " Freight on 5000 muskets - " N. , J. & G. N. 5. R. Co. - " Southern Rail Road Co. " TJ. S. Gov. for 5000 muskets - 4110 00 2425 00 285 00 137 50 301 8R 162 50 118 00 486 75 210 36 307 80 12,500 00 $26,900 48 C2 At inspection. *Pouches. Whitney Rifles, Minnie baD. Musquetoon Caisson Carriage Artil'ry Sword Belts.. Artillery Swords Limber 12 pdr. Howitzers.. . Harness Timber 6 Pdr. Bronze Gun. tx5 Waist Belts and Plate 10 UiO ^^ «£> Bayonet Scabbards.... Non-C-Ofii. Sw. & B. "* • "^"^ Gap Pouches lO ^ t-U3 ^«5 Sabre Bayonets g§ § « gg 55 Cartridge Box Belts... 1 -5 S§ S^§S •«1 1— ( Cartridge Box's & PL | ^ g g |J § g Altered Percus. Rifl's Percussion Rifles .... CD ^ lO ^ CO -«*< M< CO U3 lO ^ CO U. S. Longrange Rifl's Percussion Muskets... OiO CO l> IPowder Flasks ^ -^ \a% > •< O Whitney Pistols Holsters Sabre Belts Pistols Sabres 05 53 1 Columbus Riflemen 2 Covington Guards 3 Noxubee Riflemen 4 Quitman Light Infantry 5 " Rifle Guards.. 6 Vicksburg Sharpshoot's 7 Port Gibson Riflemen... 8 Volunteer Southrons... 9 Adams' Light Guard.... 10 Irrepressibles 11 Mississippi Rifles 12 Biloxi Rifle Guards.... 13 Gainsville Volunteers.... 14 Home Guards 15 Chickasaw Guards s Musquetoon . . . ^._._. Caisson . . • -^^j^';' • •_! iCarriage | j Artil'r y^word Bel ts.. | Artiller y Swords | iLimber I '12 pdr. Ho witzers... | : Harness | iTiraber I 16 Pdr. Bronze Gun.. | Waist Bel ts and P late I Bayonet S cabbards . . Swr. &- B. I M ;Non-C-Offi ■■* "^ ^rfH ^H ^7< ^^ Cap Pouches _. |_^__w_%$_S 8 Sabre Bayonets. .. .^|_ 00 _„-^_^_-^_"* CartndgelioxJ^^^ ICartridgc Box's & PI. | 12 § ^ § § AUered Pcrcus . Rifl 's. | Percussion Rifles.... | ^ U. S. Longrange Rifl's ! Percussion Muskets... Powder Flasks ...... "o o o ■^ -^ '^ ^ PSH Artillery Sword Belts Artillery Swords. . . . Caisson Carriage *. Limber 12 pdr. Howitzers. Harness Limber 6 Pdr. Bronze Guns 6~77~7rr. Gun Slings. . . . Waste Belts~cf"Plates Bayonet Scabbards. . Non'^Com."Offir& BltsL Cap Pouches, .. Sabre Bayonets.. Cartridge Box Belts. . Cartridge Box's «fe Pis. Altered Percus. Rifl's Percussion Rifles . .77 U. S. Lo^g^R.' Rjfle"s7 Percussion MusketsT Powder Flasks o O O U5 O 00 CD t- lO o Whitney Pistols. . Holster's & Pistols. Sabre Belts . . . . , OoirPistols. . . . O OO C-J lO CO -^ CD -^ " ' Oi 00 "^8 Sabres . Q 0} o 60 >>S D 3 O c <- t- 00 a> O rH c< N cJ o 2 S •« •^ £ o P3 0?Xo. Gun Slings |?ISC; Artillery^Swords (W ^ SeVlmplements . Set Harness. 12 Pounder Howitzers Limber. Caisson. . ^. ._■ ■j_- — Carriages ■ — • • • - • 6 Pounder B ronze Gun. ■ Altered Percussion Rifles Non-Commissioned Officers Swords and Belts Bayonet Scabbards l-i-l X CC \X> ^ Waist Belts and Plates. Cap Pouches « «a o Cartridges Boxes, Plates andBelts. Percussion Rifles . — ^r U. S. Long Range Rifles Sabre Bayonets O C<1 r> O O C£ Altered Percussion Muskets e5S2 »0 CC5 Percussion Muskets and Bayonets JS !2 Cartridge Boxes. Wliitney Pistols. Colts Pistojg._ >'4 '<1 ' «1 (Hi at o H ^m J3,a vS •2 mt INDEX TO JOUBIAL [A.] ABSENCE— leave of granted Messrs. Jolmslon and Parker 3o leave of granted W. S. Barry 39 leave of granted Messrs. Witty, Gvrin, Myers, "Catching and Nelson 39 leave of granted Messrs. Chalmers, Dea- son, Ramsey, Myers and Tison 73 ADJOURNMENT— resolution in relation to 79, 90 [C] COMMITTEES— to report ordinance of secession 9, 11, 13 to wait on the Governor, &c 9, 11 on elections 10 to amend constitution 10, 35 standing— appointed— on citizenship, federal jurisdiction, postal affairs. State constitution, military and naval, and Southern Confederacy, 11. 17, 35, 63. to notify commissioners, &c • . 12 engrossing and enrolling 19 on ways and means 20 to provide room for Convention .. 20, 21 on occupancy of Hall 26, 31 COMMITTEES— appointed on Indian Affairs 27 appointment on coat of arms and flag 5L89 appointment in relation to planting . . 51 in relation to Delegates to ]^Iont- gomery Convention 51 to 58 referring to committee Address setting forth the immediate causes of secession 88, 80 COMMISSIONERS— from other States, 10, 13, 17,18, 21,37 resolution to appoint 12 CONSTITUTION— to amend in relation to borrow- ing money 10 [D.] DOOR-KEEPER— election of S. Pool 8 [E.] ELECTIONS — of delegates to Montgomery Coven- tion 51 to 58 of Major General 59 of four Brigadier Generals 59 to 63 of permanent council for Governor. . . 88 [J.] JOHNSTON, J. S.— took his seat. 12 JUDGE FEDERAL COURT— letter of resignation of S. J. Gholson 18 [M.l MEMORIAL— of Mrs. Gibbs 12 MESSAGES— from the Governor 13 [0.1 ORGANIZATION— from 3 to 10 ORDINANCES— of secession reported 13, 16, 23, 36 providing for the final adjustment of difficulties 14 of secession passed and enrolled, to telegraph passage of ordinance of secession 17 in relation to introduction of slaves 18 in relation to erecting ])atteries in this Statfi 18 in relatioa to duty of postmas- ters, <^-c ' 19 in relation to room for Conven- tion • 20 in relation to room for Legisla- ture 20 in relation to signing ordinance, 20, 29 in relation to citizenship 20 in relation to issuing bonds bv State ' 21 in relation to enrollment of ordi- nances 22 to appoint engrossing and enroll- ing committee 19 to appoint committee on enroll- ment of ordinance 19 instructing committee on Military affairs... ' 23 adding clause to ordinance of se- cession 23 in relation to taxable property, 23, 32 in relation to navigation of Mis- sissippi 24 in relation to occupancy of hall, 26, 38 in relation to framing the ordi- nance of secession 28 in relation to Commissioners, iU 28,29,37 recognizing independence of Flo- rida 28 recognizing independence of Ala- bama 29 of inquiry in regard to defence of sea coast, Islands, &c 29 INDEX, 251 RESOLUTIONS. — in relation to such business only as shall be acted on in secret , session 31 conferring copy-right on F. A. Pope and T. S. Hardee 31 requiring Auditor to furnish cer- tain information 36 instructing military committee to re])ort arms, '&c., of State, . . 3G in relation to planting interest of State 36, 51, 85 in relation to procuring magazine, 38 in relation to United States Cir- cuit and District court clerks, 39 in relation to action of South Car- olina 30, 40 in relation to furnishing copies of ordinances to Legislature . . . 40 instructing committee to report ordinance to raise special tax, 41 providing for issuance of bonds, , f --^ f «^r%; ■^.j«^^ '■■'♦«'. ^ 'J>^:i^- ^ r jvj, - ^?-^ >^' ^j ^ J2^ ■■^i ■^^ ^^> :: jl M ' ...\.^ tr^ ■ " ■T^'