300 



FLORIDA. 



State, the Supreme Court awarded^ a judgment 

 of ouster against him, declaring him " not to 

 have been properly elected, and not to be Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor of the State." He brought 

 the matter before the Supreme Court of the 

 United States, and still continued to preside 

 over the Senate, signing as Licutenant-Governor 

 the acts passed by that body. 



On the 16th of February, 1870, a resolution 

 was offered to the Assembly by one of its mem- 

 bers, " that James T. Maybee, Judge of the 

 Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, be 

 impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors, 

 malfeasance and incompetency in office." The 

 resolution was adopted, and a select committee 

 of five appointed to inquire into his official 

 conduct, " with power to send for persons and 

 papers, and take testimony under oath." A 

 lengthy report, signed by three of the com- 

 mittee, was presented to the Assembly on the 

 17th, concluding with offering and recom- 

 mending the passage of a resolution to impeach 

 the judge. Together with this report, they 

 laid before that body the written and oral evi- 

 dence produced during the inquiry, and sub- 

 mitted also the draft of five articles of impeach- 

 ment, wherein Mr, Maybee is substantially 

 charged with arbitrary and vindictive use of 

 his judicial power in fining and punishing cer- 

 tain persons ; with arbitrarily removing, or 

 unduly requesting the clerk of the court to 

 remove, from the list of jurors, certain indi- 

 viduals, though competent and willing to serve, 

 and put others designated by him in their place ; 

 also, with causing the cost of divers articles, 

 purchased for his private use, to be charged to 

 the State as expenses made for the court all 

 which was read. On February 18th the reso- 

 lution to impeach, and the five articles of im- 

 peachment offered by the committee, were 

 adopted, by a vote of 24 to 3. On the same 

 day, a committee from the Assembly appeared 

 before the Senate and formally impeached 

 Judge Maybee ; and at a later hour another 

 committee presented to that body the articles 

 of impeachment. The Senate entertained the 

 case, and adopted the following resolution : 



Resolved, That the Senate of the State of Florida 

 will organize itself into a court of impeachment at its 

 next regular session, for the trial of the case of im- 

 peachment this day presented by a committee of the 

 House of Eepresentatives * * ; and that a committee 

 of this Senate be appointed to inform the House of 

 Eepresentatives of the action of this Senate. 



The Legislature adjourned on the 19th of 

 February, leaving urgent financial measures 

 incomplete. It was said they had " failed to 

 pass the necessary amendments to the Tax Bill 

 so as to provide for its practical working ; " be- 

 sides that, the passage of the interest-bearing 

 Scrip Bill, which was not enrolled, had pro- 

 duced the effect of depreciating the scrip in 

 circulation, "to a nominal sum of twenty 

 cents." On this account, and because the va- 

 lidity of the acts passed by the Senate, and 

 signed by William H. Gleason as Lieutenant- 



Governor, was regarded to be at least exceed- 

 ingly doubtful, Governor Reed issued a proc- 

 lamation on May 14th, reassembling the Legis- 

 lature for the 23d of that month. They met, 

 and their sitting continued eleven days, the 

 first four of which they spent in organizing. 

 The Senate began with refusing to allow Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor Weeks to preside. He called 

 the Senate to order at its first meeting, and 

 caused the proclamation of the Governor con- 

 vening the Legislature to be read by the Sec- 

 retary ; but, as he ordered the call of the roll, 

 one of the Senators moved to adjourn, declared 

 the motion carried, and left the chamber, fol- 

 lowed by many others, among them the Sec- 

 retary. The Senators who had remained were 

 less than a quorum. On the second day, Mr. 

 Weeks found the chair occupied by one of the 

 Senators, and seated himself beside the acting 

 President, when a motion was offered " That 

 the Sergeant-at-Arms be instructed to arrest 

 Edmund 0. Weeks and keep him under arrest 

 until released by the Senate." Two colored 

 Senators having remonstrated against this as 

 indecent, a substitute was proposed and adopt- 

 ed, "That the Senate do not recognize the 

 appointment of Edmund C. Weeks as Lieuten- 

 ant-Governor, and, consequently, his right to 

 preside over this body." Mr. Weeks retired. 



On May 26th, a joint committee of the two 

 Houses informed the Governor that they were 

 organized, and were ready to receive any com- 

 munication which he would transmit to them. 

 His message was then handed in and read. Ho 

 enumerates several bills passed at the preceding 

 session, " which were deemed necessary to the 

 appreciation of the State credit, and the sale 

 of her bonds ; " but adds : 



The first and most important of these measures 

 was lost by non-enrolment before the hour of ad- 

 journment ; the second was defeated by the strategy 

 which a factious minority frequently find effective 

 during the last hours of a session ; the third came to 

 me properly attested by the officers of both Houses, 

 was approved, and became a law so far as all the 

 forms are concerned ; and this formed the only avail- 

 able resource from which to realize funds to redeem 

 the bonds then forfeited, and to be forfeited within 

 ten days. 



With this single reliance, I proceeded to execute 

 the trust confided to me to save the State credit from 

 further disaster. I filed a copy of the law with the 

 Secretary of the Interior, with a request for immediate 

 action, and proceeded to New York and negotiated 

 a conditional sale of the scrip for a sum sufficient to 

 enable me to redeem 316 of the 416 bonds under 

 hypothecation. This would have enabled me to de- 

 posit $100,000 in bonds in the Agricultural College 

 fund, and given me 216 bonds upon which to raise 

 money to redeem the other $100,000 under hypothe- 

 cation, and to secure means to provide for the exi- 

 gencies created by the Legislature. 



On my return to Washington, to realize the scrip, 

 I was advised that allegations of fraud and forgery 

 had been filed in the department by an officer of my 

 Cabinet, then in attendance there, and that in conse- 

 quence the Secretary of the Interior declined to issue 

 the scrip to which the State was entitled. 



Concerning the bill last referred to by the 

 Governor, an informality, or "breach of for- 



