ALABAMA. 



17 



event of the success of the Kepuhlican party in 

 the fall of 1860, to appoint a day for election 

 of delegates to a Convention, which hody 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 sanc- 

 tion of la\v, and were unrestricted in the power 

 conferred : the people voted with the under- 

 standing that the Convention might and prob- 

 ably 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 deter- 

 mine to be wise and expedient. 



The term " unauthorized " was further ob- 

 jected 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 revolu- 

 tion 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 coun- 

 try, 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 amend- 

 ments were offered, and much spirited discus- 

 sion 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 declar- 

 ing null and void certain ordinances and proceed- 

 ings of a Convention of the State of Alabama, 

 adooted in January and March, A. D. 1861." 

 Be it ordained by the people of the State of Ala- 

 bama, in Convention assembled, That all ordinances 

 resolutions, and other proceedings of a Convention 

 of the people of the State of Alabama, begun and 

 held on the 7th of January, 1861, and on the 4th of 

 March, 1861, together with so much of the Constitu- 

 tion 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 suc- 

 cessor 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 adopted- 

 yeas, 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 as- 

 sume, or to provide for the payment of the same or 

 any part thereof. 



And be it further ordained, That the General As- 

 sembly of the State shall have no authority, and they 

 are hereby forbidden to assume, or make any pro- 

 vision, 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 au- 

 thority. 



Ordinances were passed declaring void the 

 laws of the State forbidding free colored mar- 

 iners to leave their ship on arriving within the 

 State j requiring judicial officers to act ae 

 agents of the Freedmen's Bureau as to negro 

 cases ; legalizing former marriages of freedmen. 

 where they live together, making the children 

 legitimate, and requiring the father to support 

 the family ; requiring a license to marry ; au- 

 thorizing county commissioners to make pro- 

 vision for indigent, infirm, and helpless freed- 

 men ; 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 num- 

 ber of persons who had taken the registration 

 oath previous to September 22d, was 65,825. 



The election for Governor, Members of Con- 

 gress, and the State Legislature, took place 

 immediately. For Governor, Kobert M. Pat- 

 ton was elected. The vote was as follows : 

 Patton, 21,422 ; M. J. Bulger, 15,234 ; W. E. 

 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 pro- 

 posed 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 pasa 

 such laws as will protect the freedmen of this 



