In which certain acts adopted during the war might be ratified without infringing upon the Constitution of the United States. Other committees were appointed relative to the State debt, &c. On the 19th the Convention passed an ordinance providing for an election on the first Monday of November, of a Governor, members of the Legislature, and all county officers except Judges of Probate, and for an election of municipal officers in the cities of Mobile and Montgomery on subsequent days. It also authorized and requested the Provisional Governor to issue writs of election for members of Congress, and further provided that the General Assembly so elected should meet at the capital on the third Monday of November. An interesting debate arose on this ordinance relative to the power of the Convention to fix the time of electing members of Congress. The Constitution of the United States requires the Senators to be elected by the Legislature of a State. The day of election for members of the House is also to be fixed by the Legislature and not by a Convention. Three opinions prevailed in the Convention; one, that the Convention was a legislative body within the meaning of the Constitution, and authorized to act as a Legislature in this instance; another, that only the Legislature, i. e., the General Assembly, could appoint the time, and a third opinion that the office of Representative being vacant, the Governor, under the code of Alabama, should order a special election. The question was one of importance, and was strongly debated, because it was apparent that there was hardly sufficient time to obtain a Legislature to fix the time and get the representatives elected and in Washington on the day of the meeting in Congress, the first Monday in December. It was finally disposed of by authorizing and requesting the Governor to issue writs as above stated. In relation to the institution of slavery, a majority of the committee to whom the subject was referred, reported the following ordi nance: Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, That as the institution of slavery has been destroyed in the State of Alabama, hereafter there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in this State, otherwise than for the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall be duly convicted. And be it further ordained, That the Constitution be amended by striking out all provisions in relation to slaves and slavery. And be it further ordained, That it shall be the duty of the Legislature, at its next session, to pass such laws as will protect the freedmen of this State in the full enjoyment of all their rights of person and property, and guard them and the State against any evils that may arise from their sudden emancipation. To this ordinance a substitute was reported by the minority of the committee, consisting of an ordinance in favor of supporting the President's proclamation and the laws of Congress abolishing slavery until they were declared void by the Supreme Court of the United States. The debate which ensued is thus summarily re ported: Mr. Coleman, of Choctaw County, contended that on our action depended the right of the property of the people. The proclamation of the President and the act of Congress had destroyed slavery, but to make it complete required our ratification, and, before doing so, the validity and constitutionality of the proclamation and act of Congress should be tested before the Supreme Court of the United States. He recognized the right of the United States to pass laws for the punishment of crime, but as a State could not commit treason-the commission of that offence being confined to individuals, who were alone responsible-and they could not be deprived of their property except on trial and conviction, those who had not been guilty of treason, could not be deprived of their property, although in slaves. Congress had no right to seize the property of an offender, after death, when it should revert to his heirs. He believed that the acts of some men in their haste to get back into the Union, would cause us to lose the respect of the conservative men of the North. To admit the right of the Federal head by proclamation to nullify the Constitution of a State, was to concede the loss of a republic and the sovereignty of the States. The present course proposed by the majority report was one of expediency, and he was not prepared to sacrifice rights, honor, and property to it, although there was a great anxiety to get members elected to Congress. He denied that the President's Proclamation demanded of the State the abolition of slavery as a test of loyalty, although the bayonet had done its work; that a State could not forfeit its of Alabama, and must be so regarded, yet were it not rights, but citizens might. This was the loyal State through force no member would vote to abolish slavery. We had no guarantee that the sacrifice would be accepted or that our members of Congress icals of the North. He contended that on this great would be admitted; nothing would satisfy the Radprincipie of State rights the North was as deeply interested as the South, and that the precedent of yielding as proposed by the majority report was too dangerous. We should accept the freeing of the slaves by the act of the Federal Executive and the bayonet, and it was not the free and voluntary act of the people of Alabama. He believed that when the country returned to its reason, those who had lost their property and who had not participated in the rebellion, would be compensated, but the ordinance proposed put an estoppel on all reclamations. Judge Foster, of Calhoun County, replied as follows: The war had settled two questions forever, one that of secession, the other of slavery. They had been settled by a power whose decision was binding and final, and from which there was no appeal-the power of the sword. Disputes between individuals could be settled by events, but they have no power to adjust differences between States and nations. They must mitted to the arbitrament of the sword. The debe adjusted by compromise and negotiation or subcisions of the Supreme Court were not respected or obeyed even by political parties. In McEndrick's case the court decided the United States Bank to be stroyed mainly on the ground of its unconstitutionconstitutional, yet the United States Bank was deality. The decision had no power to preserve the Constitution. So in the Dred Scott case, the deci sion gave the South all they claimed on the slavery question. It had no practical effect, only to exasperate the Republican party. The State of Georgia, at an earlier period, set at defiance the mandate of the Supreme Court. The substitute offered by Mr. White proposed to await the action of the Supreme Court. It was im. material what that action was, so far as it secured us any practical benefit. If we went no further than this substitute proposed, the convention have assembled prematurely, and we ought to adjourn. The first ordinance reported by the committee asserted a fact, apparent to every one, that the institution of slavery had been destroyed, not deciding when or how, whether constitutionally or unconstitutionally. Gentlemen could select their own ground. First, the act of Congress and the President's Proclamation; second, by the military power of the Government of the United States-the occupation of our country by armed soldiers-the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau, and the practical severing of the tie between master and slave. The ordinance also asserted the proposition that we would not revive slavery. This was an impossibility. The Government of the United States in every department was unalterably determined that slavery should no longer exist. The edict had gone forth, and we were powerless to resist it. We were a subjugated people, and our conquerors could dictate their own terms. We could not resist the power of the Government. The overpowering force of public opinion at the North, backed by a million of bayonets, and the universal sentiments of the civilized world, were against us. We had tried this in the way of our strength and failed. We could not reduce the negroes to slavery if the United States would withdraw their forces and stand aloof. We were exhausted, and the attempt would lead to a reenactment of the bloody scenes of St. Domingo. The Assembly of France abolished slavery in that island-no insurrection followed. Afterwards the Assembly repealed the law, the planters attempted to subject the negro again to slavery, and then the insurrection broke out in all its force. Such would be the case now, and after scenes of horror, and carnage, and blood, one race or the other would be exterminated and Alabama a desert. The country needed repose. The people had made up their minds that slavery was gone, and were accommodating themselves to the new order of things. It was wrong to awaken delusive hopes that could never be satisfied. Our wisest course was in good faith to accept the situation and restore our relations with the Federal Union-reorganize our State Government, that law and order might again prevail in the land. By industry and energy our national prosperity may be restored, our fields ripen again with the richest harvest, commerce and manufactures revive; our cities rebuilt and schools crowded with scholars; peace, and order, and happiness over our land, and Alabama again become a great State in this great nation. The substitute was rejected by a vote of yeas 66; nays 17. The ordinance reported by the majority of the committee was then adopted, yeas 89; nays 3. On September 22d the Convention adopted the following ordinance relative to the acts of the State Legislature during the war: An ORDINANCE ratifying certain laws of the State passed since the 11th day of January, 1861. Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, That all the laws enacted by any Legislature since the 11th of January, 1961, that have not since been repealed, and which are not in conflict with the Constitution of the United States and laws made in pursuance thereof, or of the Constitution of this State, be and the same are hereby ratified, and declared to be valid from their respective dates; and shall remain in full force and efect until repealed according to law: except, however, all such laws as authorized the issue of Bonds, Treasury Notes, and Change Bills by the State; and all laws which authorized the payment of all debts to the State, for moneys loaned to individuals or corporations in Confederate money or bonds, and the payment of dues and taxes to the State in Con. federate Bonds and State Treasury Notes, and all laws in relation to taxation. Be it further ordained, That in computing the time necessary to create the bar of the statutes of limitations and non-claims, the time elapsing between the 11th day of January, 1861, and the passage of this ordinance, shall not be estimated. This ordinance excepts from ratification all laws authorizing the creation of any debt by bond, or treasury note, or change bills, or authorizing payment to be made to the State of taxes and other dues in Confederate or State Treasury notes or change bills passed since January 11th, 1861. During its consideration a motion was made to except from such ratification all laws author. izing executors, guardians, and trustees to make sale of property, and receive Confederate notes or other currency issued during the war for the same, and all laws authorizing persons acting in such fiduciary capacity to invest funds in Confederate or State securities. The ground taken was that the estate of the orphan had been lost by such investments, and that the guardian or executor should not have invested the estate in such uncertain and doubtful security, and one dependent not only upon success in the war, but upon the popular will to pay so large a debt, even if successful, and because it enabled the guardian or other trustee to re tain the funds for speculative purposes while money was good, and at last to invest in these securities when they had become of little value. The answer was that the guardian, executor, or trustee, was invited or encouraged to make such investment by the State law, under which he he held his appointment; that the whole property of the country and every thing it contained was dependent upon the successful maintenance of the struggle; that there was often a necessity to sell such property in order to support those who were dependent upon it for means to live upon, having often no other resource; that, besides, to disturb the laws on that subject would be to ruin many persons who had acted fairly and in good faith, and that in many cases innocent persons who were security for such trustees, executors, or guardians would be impoverished by it, and in order to protect one set of persons another class must be injured. The latter argument prevailed, and those laws were not excepted from the general ratification. A still more earnest discussion arose upon an amendment to except from the ratification laws authorizing payment to be made to the State in the currency existing during the war, of loans made by the State to corporations and individuals prior to the war. The object of this was to invalidate a payment of $225,000 due to the State from the Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad Company, for money loaned to them out of funds in the possession of the State for purposes of internal improvement, and of which loan was made in specie funds before the war, the State was trustee for such purposes. This and the debt is not yet due, but in 1864 the Com pany by some arrangement between it and the then Governor paid the debt in Confederate notes. As the State was only a trustee as to this fund and bound to act in good faith, and as the debt was paid in currency nearly worthless at the time and before the debt was, in fact, due, it was considered inequitable and unjust to ratify it, and the amendment was adopted. There was also a discussion on the general policy as affecting the whole ordinance. It was shown to be necessary in order to prevent a flood of litigation, uncertainty as to rights and property, and consequent derangement and trouble in every department of business. On the same day the Provisional Governor, in answer to a request of the Convention, sent in a message, calling their attention to the importance of making some provision for the payment of the interest due on the State debt; also for the support of the destitute poor, etc. He stated, that when the war closed the State was furnishing meal and salt to 38,772, the individual members of which numbered in the aggregate 139,042. Forty thousand rations had been given by the Federal Government for the inhabitants of Cherokee County alone. The condition of the State finances on Sept. 1st, he thus reported: Balance in the Treasury 30th September, 1864. $8,713,959 71 8,776,188 57 7,490,148 28 1,830 00 517,889 50 259,004 05 Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, That the so-called ordinance passed by a former Convention of the people of Alabama on the 11th day of January, 1861, entitled State of Alabama and other States united under the "An ordinance to dissolve the Union between the compact styled the Constitution of the United States of America," was unauthorized, and is hereby declared to have been and is null and void; and ask that the same may be adopted in lieu of the ordinance reported by the majority. The report of the majority was, that the ordinance of secession should be declared "null and void." That of the minority was, that the ordinance of secession was " unauthorized, and is hereby declared to have been and is null and void." The 25th was devoted to the consideration of the reports. Mr. Clarke, of Lawrence County, urged that the Convention of 1861 represented only a minority of the people as shown by the popular vote in the election of delegates; that a majority of several thousand voted for the Union and for cooperation; that the Convention refused to submit the question to the people, by whom it would have been voted down; and, therefore, that the people were misrepresented, and that the ordinance of secession was not authorized by them. He further contended that the report of the 11,440 00 majority of the committee left the question of the right of secession without final disposition. That report admitted only that the ordinance of secession was now void, but not that it was unconstitutional and void from the beginning; that if the majority so intended by their report, then they should so state it, fully and fairly, as 532 39 it is stated in the minority report. 858 00 424 00 337 45 $791,345 39 20 89 $791,294 00 $1,766 00 Balance in Treasury of Prov. Government... 253 14 the Ordinance of Secession null and void. Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, That an ordinance adoped by a former Convention of the State of Alabama, of the 11th day of January, A. D. 1861, en titled "An ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of Alabama and other States united under the compact styled the Constitution of the United In favor of the majority report, the general scope of the argument was, that there was no real difference between the two reports other than in the use of the term "unauthorized" by the minority of the committee. The majority declare the ordinance of secession null and void; this satisfied the most ultra Union men in Mississippi and was understood to be satisfactory at Washington; it can mean nothing less than that the ordinance was and is void from the beginning. The words null and void mean of no effect, empty, having no force or validity. If a deed is pronounced null and void, it is the same as to declare that it never had any legal validity, and no rights accrued or duties were imposed by or under it. In reference to the authority of the Convention, it was shown that as early as the session of the Legislature of 1859-'60 joint resolutions were adopted requiring the Governor, in the event of the success of the Republican party in the fall of 1860, to appoint a day for election of delegates to a Convention, which body it was provided, should "consider, determine, and do what the interest, honor, and dignity of the State should require." It was shown that the Convention met under the most regular sanction of law, and were unrestricted in the power conferred: the people voted with the understanding that the Convention might and probably would determine on secession at once as the proper remedy; and the authority conferred under the question submitted to the people in its resolution by the Legislature was ample to do what a Convention as a body should determine to be wise and expedient. The term "unauthorized" was further objected to as implying, first, that the wrongs of the South were not such as to warrant the action of the Convention, whereas that question was submitted distinctly to that Convention; and secondly, that it seemed to deny the right of the people to secede as a revolutionary right -a right inalienable, and that belongs to all people, everywhere, and often the only remedy of those who deem themselves oppressed, a right vindicated by our ancestors in the revolution of 1776. It was said the term might imply an assent to the doctrine of passive obedience, which held no place in this country, and had no sympathy in the Convention. That word was further objected to as implying a usurpation of power by the Convention of 1861, and those who supported the action of that body. It was said, "we thereby impliedly should leave the memory of our dead, who died for their country, or as they deemed for their country, to be branded as traitors and rebels, and turn over the living survivors, so far as we are concerned, to the gibbet." The minority report was rejected by a vote of 69 to 21. After this a variety of amendments were offered, and much spirited discussion ensued upon the majority report. The amendments were, one after another, voted down, and the majority report finally adopted unanimously. The following ordinance was also adopted on the same day: AN ORDINANCE, to be entitled, "An Ordinance declaring null and void certain ordinances and proceedings of a Convention of the State of Alabama, adopted in January and March, A. D. 1861." Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, That all ordinances resolutions, and other proceedings of a Convention of the people of the State of Alabama, begun and teld on the 7th of January, 1861, and on the 4th of March, 1861, together with so much of the Constituten adopted by said Convention for the State of Alabama as conflicts with the Constitution of the United States, are hereby null and void. An ordinance was also passed authorizing the Provisional Governor to act until a sucesssor had been duly elected by the people and installed. The following ordinance relative to the State VOL. V.-2 A debt contracted during the war was adoptedyeas, 60; nays, 19: AN ORDINANCE declaring the War Debt void, and for other purposes. Be it ordained, &c., That all debts created by the State of Alabama in aid of the late war, directly or indirectly, are hereby declared void, and the General Assembly of the State shall have no authority, and are hereby forbidden to ratify the same, or to assume, or to provide for the payment of the same or any part thereof. And be it further ordained, That the General Assembly of the State shall have no authority, and they are hereby forbidden to assume, or make any provision, for the payment of any portion of the debt contracted or incurred, directly or indirectly, by the Confederate States or by its agents, or by its authority. Ordinances were passed declaring void the laws of the State forbidding free colored mariners to leave their ship on arriving within the State; requiring judicial officers to act as agents of the Freedmen's Bureau as to negro cases; legalizing former marriages of freedmer where they live together, making the children legitimate, and requiring the father to support the family; requiring a license to marry; authorizing county commissioners to make provision for indigent, infirm, and helpless freedmen; also an ordinance confirming decrees in courts of record during the war, and judicial sales; and confirming private contracts, but allowing parole proof as to the real value of the consideration; authorizing executors and administrators to compromise for property sold upon the real value, etc. The entire Constitution of the State was revised and amended by the Convention, and many important ordinances of a local nature adopted. The Governor was also requested to reorganize and call out one or more companies of militia to repress disorder and preserve the public peace. On September 30th the Convention adjourned. The submission of their proceedings to a vote of the people was refused in consequence of the delay such an election would cause. The number of persons who had taken the registration oath previous to September 22d, was 65,825. The election for Governor, Members of Congress, and the State Legislature, took place immediately. For Governor, Robert M. Patton was elected. The vote was as follows: Patton, 21,422; M. J. Bulger, 15,234; W. R. Smith, 8,194. Total, 44,850. The total vote of the State at the Presidential election in 1860 was 89,572. The Legislature assembled on November 20th, and was organized by the choice of Walter H. Crenshaw President of the Senate, and T. B. Cooper Speaker of the House. A message from the Provisional Governor was delivered on the 23d. He called the attention of the members to the Constitutional amendment proposed by the Congress of the United States, and to their duty respecting the freedmen, as prescribed in the State Constitution adopted by the Convention, in these words: To pass such laws as will protect the freedmen of this 66 State in the full enjoyment of all their rights of person and property, and to guard them and the State against any evil that may arise from their sudden emancipation." Respecting the proceedings of the Convention he said: Recognizing the fact that slavery and the right of secession had been destroyed by the result of the war, without consuming precious time in useless regrets, or worse than useless criminations, they declared the one forever prohibited, except as a punishment for crime, and quietly yielded the other, notwithstanding one-half of the entire property of the State was invested in the former, and many of them had been educated in the belief that "State Rights" included the latter. Let us indulge the hope that the wisdom of their action may be more and more apparent as each successive year rolls round, and that our children's children for many generations to come will sit in this pleasant land of ours beneath their own roof trees, around their own firesides, in the midst of unnumbered blessings, and call them blessed who had the wisdom and firmness under such trying circumstances, while surrounded by the ruin which attends, and the exhaustion which follows four years of fierce and relentless war, to lay anew the foundations of government, and upon the broadest principles of liberty to all consistent with public good. He stated that the corn and small grain crops throughout the State were not more than onefifth of the usual amount, and that by his estimates there were 250,000 inhabitants in the State who must be furnished with food until they could raise it for themselves. The causes of the small crop were a want of the necessary labor and a severe drouth which prevailed over most of the productive lands. The entire debt of the State is as follows, except the interest on the University and Common School funds. This the State has assumed in perpetuity, and the annual interest is $134,367.80: Outstanding State Bonds issued for the capi- Total......... The annual interest on the bonds payable in New The annual interest on the bonds payable in The interest on the bonds due in New York was Leaving due and unpaid... $1,889,000 00 52,000 00 168,000 00 $8,445,000 00 Measures to preserve and increase the effi ciency of the school system were recommended. The institutions for deaf mutes and the insane have continued in successful operation. The battle flags of the volunteer regiments were deposited in the capitol, and when Montgomery was occupied by Federal troops they were undisturbed. The Governor recommended their preservation, saying: "We should preserve these sacred souvenirs of the courage and endurance of those who went forth to battle under their folds, and who manfully upheld them with their life-blood. They were our sons and brothers. Alas! that so many of them shall never return to us again. Shall we ever forget them? We cannot. We must be more or less than men if we could. "The brave and generous people with whom they fought do not expect it. They do not wish us to return to the Union emasculated, divested of all manhood and natural feeling. They are proud to know that the survivors of the bloody fields on which they fought are willing, as true knights and brave men, to accept the result of the battle, and to rally once more round the Flag of our Fathers. They feel it will not be less secure in the future because our hands and hearts are united with theirs in its support." Among the officers chosen by the Legislature at this session, were three judges of the Supreme Court, A. J. Walker, Wm. M. Byrd, and Thomas J. Judge; John W. A. Sanford, AttorneyGeneral; S. K. McSpadden, Chancellor Northern Division; N. W. Cocke, Southern Division; J. Q. Loomis, Middle Division. The Provisional Governor, Lewis E. Parsons, and George S. Houston were elected Senators to the Federal Congress. The amendment to the Federal Constitution $105,450 00 prohibiting the existence of slavery was adopted in the House by a large vote. The principal 80,370 13 121,800 00 53,400 00 $868,400 00 The bonds due in New York in 1863 were authorized to be extended by an act passed at the called session of 1861. The new bonds were issued, and some of them given in exchange for those in 1863. The interest on the bonds due in London was paid up to and including the dividend due resolution was as follows: Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Alabama in General Assembly convened, That the foregoing amendment to the Constitution of the United States be, and the same hereby ratified, to all intents and purposes, as a of the Constitution of the United States. 3 part |