MISSOURI. 



569 



other changes similar to those generally adopt- 

 ed in the Northern States. It was made a sec- 

 tion of the Constitution that the Legislature 

 should have " no power to make compensation 

 for emancipated slaves." It was further pro- 

 vided that the Constitution should be submit- 

 ted to the approval or rejection of the people 

 on June 6th ensuing, and if approved by them 

 it should take effect on the 4th of July. The 

 voters in the military service of the United 

 States were authorized to vote, whether within 

 or without the State, after choosing two of their 

 officers to act as officers of the election. No 

 person was to be allowed to vote unless he was 

 a qualified voter under the terms of the second 

 article of the Constitution, as above mentioned, 

 the same as if this article had been previously 

 adopted, and was in full force and effect, in- 

 cluding the oath above mentioned. The Con- 

 vention also passed an ordinance, declaring va- 

 cant on the May 1st ensuing, the offices of the 

 judges of the Supreme Court, of all circuit 

 courts, and of all courts of records, established 

 by any act of the General Assembly, and those 

 of the justices of all county courts, of all circuit 

 attorneys and their assistants, and of all sheriffs 

 and county recorders. The vacancies so created, 

 and all others which might occur, were to be 

 filled for the remainder of the term of each by 

 appointment by the Governor. Every person 

 so appointed was required to make affidavit, as 

 prescribed in the ordinance adopted June 10, 

 1862, which disfranchised all persons engaged 

 in rebellion subsequent to December 17, 1861. 

 The ordinance further provided as follows : 



No person shall be prosecuted in any civil action, 

 or criminal proceeding, for or on account of any act 

 by him done, performed, or executed, after the 1st 

 day of January, one thousand eight hundred and 

 sixty-one, by virtue of military authority vested in 

 him by the United States, or that of this State, to do 

 such act, or in pursuance of orders received by him 

 or them from any person vested with such authority ; 

 and if any action or proceeding be brought or insti- 

 tuted against any person for the doing of any such 

 act, the defendant may plead in bar thereof, and give 

 this ordinance in evidence. The provisions of this 

 section shall apply in all cases where suits are no\r 

 pending, in the same manner and with like effect as 

 in suits or actions hereafter brought. 



On the motion to strike out the word " white " 

 as a qualification for voters, senators, and rep- 

 resentatives, the Convention was so evenly di- 

 vided, that the question was lost by one vote. 

 One of the Senators in Congress from the State 

 (Mr. Brown), in a letter on the Constitution, 

 thus refers to the qualification of color : 



Other and subsequent efforts to abolish the phrase- 

 ology in the Constitution recognizing distinctions, 

 foun'ded on color and race alone, in the matter of 

 electors, were made and with the same result, show- 

 ing about an equally divided sentiment in the Con- 

 vention. 



Still, failure as the attempt was to open up the 

 franchise to the attainment of all, it left in the minds 

 of nearly all the Radical members of the Convention 

 a keen appreciation of the need of so doing at an 

 early day, and without doubt this was one of the 

 moving considerations for empowering the Legisla- 

 ture to initiate constitutional amendments by a ma- 



jority rote, ratified by the people. Let it be borne 

 in mind that this power to alter embraces the subject 

 matter of suffrage and elections as well as every other 

 part of the Constitution. Authorizing the Legisla- 

 ture, therefore, to liberalize and extend the franchise 

 was in effect a reference back to the people of the 

 question of universal suffrage, leaving the approxi- 

 mations to be regulated by the popular demand.. 

 Certainly this is no limitation on the power of the 

 people, and they who are most strenuous for uni- 

 versal suffrage nave no cause to complain that the 

 right of appeal to the people is forever reserved to 

 them by the Constitution itself. They do and will al- 

 ways deplore that a Convention of Ra'dical men com- 

 missioned to build up the foundations of a great 

 commonwealth anew should have foregone so provi- 

 dential an opportunity to link their names with 

 immortality and set the example of true and noble 

 reconstruction, by establishing an equal freedom as 

 the ground-work of their structure. They believe, 

 furthermore, that it will hereafter be a source of 

 equal mortification to many who are responsible for 

 this omission, and that they too will derive their 

 chief consolation from the fact that the facility of 

 amendment guarantees a speedy success to that agi- 

 tation which can only end when here in Missouri, as 

 all over this Union of States, all men stand equal be- 

 fore the law. 



On March 7th, Gov. Fletcher issued a procla- 

 mation, stating that no organized force of the 

 enemies of the Federal Government existed in 

 the State, and calling upon the civil officers to 

 resume their duties in all parts of the State, 

 under the laws thereof, and to arrest and bind 

 over all offenders against the criminal laws of 

 the United States, as they were authorized to 

 do. On March 17th, Maj.-Gen. Pope, in com- 

 mand of the Military Department, issued his 

 orders to aid in carrying out the proclamation 

 of the Governor. All provost marshals were 

 relieved from all duties except those of a mili- 

 tary character, whenever notified that the civil 

 courts were in operation, and required to turn 

 over all matters, not military, to the civil au- 

 thorities, and render their assistance when de- 

 sired. 



The total vote on the new Constitution, on 

 June 6th, was 85,578, of which 43,670 were in 

 favor, and 41,808 against it. It was therefore 

 adopted by a majority of 1,862 votes. In 1860 

 the vote of the State for President was 131,462, 

 and in 1864 it was 104,428. 



Some exciting scenes ensued upon the adop- 

 tion of measures to enforce the ordinances of the 

 Convention and the provisions of the Constitu- 

 tion. The first arose under the ordinance above 

 mentioned, vacating the public offices. The 

 judges of the higher courts declined to vacate. 

 The Circuit Court of St. Louis County decided 

 that there was no legal validity in the ordinance. 

 New judges, David Wagner and Walter E. Love- 

 lace, were appointed by Governor Fletcher to 

 the bench of the Supreme Court of the State, 

 in place of Judges Bay and Dryden. An order 

 from the new judges was served on the clerk 

 of the court on June 12th, demanding the de- 

 livery of the records. In consequence, the old 

 court in session issued the following order, 

 which was attached to the doors of the clerk's 

 office and of the court-room : 



