14 



ALABAMA. 



duced into the Senate shortly after the opening 

 of the session last year. The debates upon 

 this subject were frequent, long, and animated. 

 Many among the Senators favored the measure 

 as just and expedient. One of them averred 

 that in a certain county of the State, not a few 

 local offices could not be filled with competent 

 incumbents, on account of the fourteenth 

 amendment. On February 2, 1870, the mat- 

 ter was discussed again at the day and night 

 sessions. A vote being finally taken, the me- 

 morial and resolutions were adopted yeas 12, 

 nays 9. The final action of the Lower House 

 on this subject appears from the report of its 

 sitting on February 18th, as follows : " Joint 

 resolution to Congress for removal of djsabili- 

 ties, a motion to indefinitely postpone was de- 

 feated yeas 57, nays 10. A substitute to 

 remove disabilities from loyal citizens was 

 offered, but not acted on. 1 ' 



On reports of outrages perpetrated on loyal 

 citizens, especially negroes (which reports in 

 some cases were ascertained to be false, and in 

 other cases the charges were reversed), the 

 Governor was urged by certain parties to call 

 out the militia, and he issued a proclamation, 

 threatening to do so ; but he went no further. 

 In the Senate also, the reports of outrages 

 were made the basis of a resolution calling on 

 the Governor for information in writing upon 

 the subject; when he answered by a -mes- 

 sage dated January 27, 1870, which begins as 

 follows : "I have received and duly, considered 

 your resolution requesting information as to 

 what steps, if any, have been taken to organize 

 the militia under the existing laws of the 

 State. For the reasons set forth in my last 

 annual message, I have not deemed it neces- 

 sary, nor proper, to organize any portion of 

 the State militia." 



For the education of youth, there are in 

 Alabama several male and female colleges, 

 academies, and institutes, single or combined, 

 in which various branches of instruction are 

 taught. The East Alabama Female College, 

 at Auburn, last year had 133 students regis- 

 teredon its rolls. 



The public-school system, properly so called, 

 rests on the basis of free tuition, and is car- 

 ried out under the direction of a Board of 

 Education, of which, the State Superintendent 

 of Public Instruction is ex officio president, 

 and which is composed of twelve members 

 two from each 'congressional district. This 

 board is organized after the manner of a legis- 

 lative body. It is, in fact, a small branch of 

 the State Legislature, having the regulation of 

 all matters concerning the public schools as its 

 peculiar province ; whereupon it holds regular 

 sessions to deliberate and make enactments. 

 The new organic law of the State declares the 

 purpose and powers of this board, as follows : 

 " The Board of Education shall exercise full 

 legislative powers in reference to the public 

 educational institutions of the State, and its 

 acts, when approved by the Governor, or when 



reenacted by two-thirds of the board, in case 

 of his disapproval, shall have the force and ef- 

 fect of law, unless repealed by the General 

 Assembly." The members of this board sit 

 also as Regents of the University of Alabama. 

 For the immediate surveillance and manage- 

 ment of the schools throughout the State, each 

 county has a school superintendent appointed 

 by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

 with the consent of the Board of Education, 

 and each township, three school trustees with 

 a clerk, all appointed by the school superin- 

 tendent of the respective county. There are 

 in Alabama sixty-four counties, with 1,485 

 townships. This system is about the same 

 as the previous one, the main difference being, 

 that the old system had no board, vested with 

 legislative powers, at its head, and the county 

 school superintendents were chosen by the 

 people at county elections ; besides, that their 

 salaries were beyond comparison smaller than 

 at present, and the disposition of the county 

 share in the school fund was not left to their 

 discretion. 



For carrying out her school system the State 

 applies "the interest upon the sale of school 

 and swamp-lands, escheated estates, militia 

 fines, and special taxes upon railroad, naviga- 

 tion, banking, and insurance companies : " 



For the same purpose she appropriates, besides, nri 

 annual sum of about $700,000, derived mainly from the 

 following sources, which during the last year yielded 

 respectively as follows : 



Amount of interest on sixteenth-section fund. $130,812 59 

 Interest on valueless sixteenth-section fund. . 7,767 30 

 One fifth of annual revenue (as appropriated 



December 16, 18G9) 137,290 20 



Taxes on polls (at least 180,000, at $1.90 each) 270,000 00 

 Amount appropriated by section 997, revised 



code 100,000 CO 



Retail licenses, as per last report of Auditor 26,514 85 

 From the Tuscaloosa Aid and Alabama Mutual 



Aid Lotteries 12,950 C5 



Total $689,335 09 



This school system, or rather the manner of 

 its management, as conducted in these last 

 years, was loudly complained of and de- 

 nounced. Its officers were charged with wan- 

 tonly wasting and misappropriating the public 

 money destined for school purposes; above 

 all, with doing gross injustice to the white 

 children by depriving them of one-half of the 

 educational means designed for their benefit, 

 and closing one-half of the schools altogether. 



At the session of 1870 "a resolution of in- 

 quiry into the unlawful application of the pub- 

 lic money of any part of the school fund of 

 Mobile County, or other public fund, " was 

 introduced into the Senate and referred to the 

 Judiciary Committee, with power to send for 

 persons and papers. For about two weeks the 

 committee examined witnesses, inspected of- 

 ficial books of account, and heard counsel who 

 appeared before them in behalf of the State 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the 

 School Superintendent for Mobile County on 

 one side, and the School Board of Commis- 

 sioners on the other. In March 3, 1870, they 

 submitted the result of their investigation in 



