302 



FLORIDA. 





that the most liberal policy should be adopted by the 

 State to secure this immigration, and that all indus- 

 trious and intelligent settlers, who will come to Flor- 

 ida from other sections of the Union, or from foreign 

 lands, will receive a hearty welcome as present co- 

 laborers and future fellow-citizens. 



Resolved, That the policy heretofore adopted by 

 this State, of encouraging and assisting the internal 

 improvements of the State, is wise and just ; and, in 

 order to secure the speedy completion of our present 

 railroad and canal system, and the construction of 

 new roads and canals wherever these will contribute 

 to develop the State, and to bring in business and 

 population, a helping hand should be extended by 

 the State, by a judicious but liberal policy of State 

 aid. 



Resolved, That peace and good order must be main- 

 tained throughout the State ; the civil and criminal 

 laws must be firmly and impartially administered ; 

 criminals and law-breakers must be promptly pun- 

 ished, and life and property must receive certain pro- 

 tection ; and, if, in any section of this State, any class 

 of citizens are not secure in their persons and prop- 

 erty, and in the enjoyment of their civil and political 

 rights, and if the civil officers, with the means 

 placed at their disposal by the civil law, are not able 

 to afford to them reasonable protection, the adminis- 

 tration should adopt any measures which may be ne- 

 cessary to secure tnis protection, and, in so doing, it 

 will receive the countenance and support of the Re- 

 publican party. 



Resolvea, That the Republican party of Florida sin- 

 cerely sympathizes with the cause of freedom in Cu- 

 ba ; extends to her struggling patriots her heart-felt 

 wishes for their early triumph, over the tyranny of 

 Spain, and the speedy establishment of a Cuban re- 

 public, and pledges itself to use all legitimate means 

 to encourage and assist them. 



Resolved, That the Republican party of Florida is 

 in perfect accord with the national Republican party ; 

 that it indorses the present national administration, 

 the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, and the 

 nets to enforce the same ; and that it indorses the 

 State administration in its efforts to execute the laws, 

 and to secure for Florida the benefits of a republican 

 government. 



Resolved, That no confidence can be placed in the 

 political professions of those who have opposed the 

 enfranchisement of the colored man, and the subse- 

 quent legislation of the Republican party to make his 

 rights secure, yielding only an enforced acquiescence 

 when further resistance became useless, and who are 

 still arrayed, under the name of "Conservatives " 

 and "Reformers," in hostility to the Republican 

 party. 



Resolved, That success is a duty, and the Republi- 

 can party of Florida will do its duty in the coming 

 elections. 



The Democratic, styled also "the Reform 

 Conservative," party of Florida, assembled in 

 State Convention at Tallahassee on August 

 31st, "for the purpose of nominating candi- 

 dates for Lieutenant-Governor and Congress- 

 men, and taking into consideration the general 

 ..nterests of the State, in view of the present 

 deplorable condition of public affairs." Wil- 

 liam D. Bloxham " was unanimously nominated 

 for Lieutenant-Governor," and S. L. Niblack 

 was nominated for Congress. 



The following is the platform approved by 

 the convention : 



The Conservative party of the State of Florida in 

 convention assembled, having for its object a reform 

 of the present corrupt and extravagant administra- 

 tion of the State government, by placing in power 

 capable and honest men, at the approaching fall 

 election, and confidently relying for success upon 



the honesty, intelligence, and patriotism of the peo- 

 ple, without regard to the dead issues and political 

 differences of the past, pledges itself: 



1. To an honest and economical administration of 

 the State government, in all its departments, hold- 

 ing those who handle the people's money to the 

 strictest accountability for its proper use and appli- 

 cation. 



2. To low taxes, requiring only what may be neces- 

 sary to meet the expenses of the State government 

 administered on an economical basis. 



8. To oppose all monopolies, plundering rings, 

 and swindling schemes, by which, under the sanc- 

 tion of legislative enactment, a few individuals are 

 benefited and enriched while the whole people are 

 robbed. 



4. To provide for the faithful collection of the 

 "constitutional school-tax," and to oppose the di- 

 version or application of moneys or funds, raised or 

 created for the education of the children of the State, 

 to any purposes other than those for which they are 

 created. 



6. To the equality of all before the law, the pro- 

 tection of every citizen in the enjoyment of all his 

 rights and privileges, without discrimination or dif- 

 ference, and to discountenance and oppose all viola- 

 tions of law as subversive of the peace and welfare 

 of society. 



6. To encourage immigration, assuring to all who 

 shall cast their fortunes with us a cordial welcome, 

 social appreciation according to personal worth, full 

 protection in the enjoyment and expression of their 

 opinions, security in their persons and homes, and a 

 friendly and just participation with us in all the 

 honors and benefits of our State government. 



7. To favor the adoption of the constitutional 

 amendments to come before the next Legislature for 

 its action. 



8. To favor as liberal a system of internal im- 

 provements as the resources of the State may safely 

 warrant. 



9. To advocate the removal of all political disa- 

 bilities. 



10. To favor the giving of homesteads, out of such 

 of the public domain of the State of Florida as she 

 can dispose of for this purpose, to actual settlers. 



The moral and material prosperity of Florida de- 

 pending upon the establishment of unity, harmony, 

 and mutual confidence among all classes of her citi- 

 zens, and the Conservative party being the only 

 party which proclaims the correct basis for such 

 union, we enter the contest with every assurance of 

 victory. 



On November 8th the Republican candi- 

 dates were elected. Although this result was 

 generally known as soon as the election was 

 over, its official notice was deferred till the 

 end of December. The law prescribes that 

 the State Board of Canvassers, composed of 

 the Secretary of State, Comptroller, and the 

 Attorney-General, or any two of them, shall 

 meet at the office of the Secretary of State "on 

 the first Tuesday next to the fourth Monday 

 in November next after any general election, 

 or sooner, if the returns shall have been re- 

 ceived from the several counties ; and proceed 

 to canvass the returns of such election, and 

 determine who shall have been elected, by the 

 highest number of votes, to any office, as 

 shown by said returns." In obedience to this 

 law, those officers met on November 29, 1870, 

 and began their work. On the 30th, an in- 

 junction, issued by the Judge of the Second 

 Judicial Circuit of Florida, on the complaint 

 filed by William D. Bloxham, was served on 



