810 



VIPvGIXIA, WEST. 



WADSWORTH, JAMES S. 



viously. On the evening of February 4th both 

 Houses met in joint session to elect a Secretary 

 of State and Treasurer. L. A. Ilagans was 

 chosen Secretary, and J. J. Henshaw, Treasurer. 

 The total vote on joint ballot was 14-, of which 

 Henshaw received 8 and his opponent 6. 



Notwithstanding the election of a Governor 

 (Pierpont) and other State officers, and the or- 

 ganization of a Legislature, the authority of 

 the Government appears to have been very lit- 

 tle respected by the military officials. The fol- 

 lowing protest of Gov. Pierpont explains one 

 of the difficulties which occurred: 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, | 

 ALEXANDRIA, VA., June 22, 1864. J 

 To the Loyal People of Norfolk, Virginia, : 



I have received reliable information that General 

 Shcpley, commanding at Norfolk, acting under the 

 orders of General Butler, intends ordering the open- 

 ing of a poll in that city on the 24th instant, to take 

 a vote of the people as to whether they desire the 

 continuance of civil government, and that, should a 

 majority of the votes cast be against the same, it is 

 the intention of the commandant of the post to pre- 

 vent, by military force, the trial in the Circuit Court 

 of said city some thirty odd indictments against liquor 

 venders for violations of the license law of the State. 



I know of no authority in the State or Federal laws 

 authorizing the people to abrogate the civil laws of 

 the State in any city or county, and such act can 

 only be considered revolutionary. The Constitution 

 of the United States guarantees to each State a re- 

 publican form of government. That form of gov- 

 ernment exists in Norfolk at this time, and to break 

 it up would only be to substitute military govern- 

 ment or rule in its stead, which would clearly be a 

 violation of the Constitution of the United States and 

 its guarantees to the people. No loyal citizen, there- 

 fore, is expected to vote on the proposed question. 

 F. H. PIEUPONT, Governor. 



The election was duly held, and its result an- 

 nounced in an official order of Gen. Butler, as 

 follows : 



HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT YIP.OINIA AND NORTH ) 

 CAROLINA, IN THE KIEI.D, June 30, 1864 )' 



The loyal citizens of Norfolk determined, with a 

 unanimity almost unexampled, by a vote of three 

 hundred and thirty to sixteen, against the further 

 trial of the experiment of a municipal government 

 which gave as results to them only taxes and salaried 

 officers, without any corresponding benefits. 



It will be observed that this vote was more than 

 three times as large as that by which the experiment 

 of civil government was set on foot. Some doubts 

 upon the legal formality of this vote were attempted 

 to be cast by interested parties, and proclamation 

 was made that the adherents and salaried officers of 

 the restored Government should not vote upon the 

 question submitted. Yet that it was an overwhelm- 

 ing expression of the opinion of the citizens is seen 

 from the fact that three hundred and fifty votes were 

 cast upon the questions, while only one hundred and 

 nine were cast by all parties for their respective can- 

 didates to fill the several civil offices. 



Now, as there were at least two sets of candidates 

 voted for, containing a list of some forty-five officers 

 who would have place in the civil government in 

 each set, it would seem that but twenty votes were 

 cast for city officers except by those who were inter- 

 ested in being elected assuming always that the 

 men running for office in a city vote for each other. 



It is the duty and province of the Government of 

 the United States to afford protection to all its citi- 

 zens in the manner most effectual and beneficial to 

 them, and, so far as consistent with the Constitution 

 and laws, in such manner as they desire ; and all ex- 

 perience has shown that, in a disorganized state of 

 society, incident upon a state of war, and especially 

 civil war, a military government, properly adminis- 

 tered, affords the best protection to property, liberty, 

 and life. 



Whether that military government has been prop- 

 erly administered in the city of Norfolk, during the 

 two years that it has been under military rule, and 

 especially whether that military government has 

 been properly administered during the past eight 

 months, and has secured the substantial benefits of 

 good government in the city of Norfolk, it is not 

 proper for this order to state. 



The citizens of Norfolk have spoken upon that 

 subject with sufficient distinctness to inform the 

 judgment of the Commanding General. 



Tin rifii /-i\ it is ordered, That all attempts to exer- 

 cise civil office and power under any supposed city 

 election, within the city of Norfolk and its environs, 

 must cease, and the persons pretending to be elected 

 to civil offices at the late election, and those hereto- 

 fore elected to municipal offices since the rebellion, 

 must no longer attempt to exercise such functions; 

 and upon any pretence or attempt so to do, the Mili- 

 tary Commandant at Norfolk will see to it that the 

 persons so acting are stayed and quieted. 



The Judge of the Circuit Court, before whom 

 the cases alluded to by Gov. Pierpont were to bo 

 tried, made a lengthy statement of the difficulty, 

 with the opinion of Attorney-General Bates 

 against the action of the military, and the prom- 

 ise of the President to decide the matter. But 

 the military authorities prevailed. Many other 

 difficulties also. occurred. 



VIRGINIA, WEST. The vote cast in West 

 Virginia at the Presidential election was 33,590; 

 of which Mr. Lincoln received 23,152, and Gen. 

 McClellan 10,438.- In the Legislature there is 

 no division of parties. The regular State elec- 

 tion took place in October. Gov. Boreman 

 was reflected without opposition, having re- 

 ceived 19,098. The Republican members of 

 Congress were also chosen with very little op- 

 position. The State fortunately escaped from 

 the alarming military invasions under Avhich it 

 had suffered in previous years, and remained 

 comparatively s'ettled and undisturbed. The 

 most interesting event in its history was the 

 development of vast supplies of Petroleum, (fiea 

 PETROLEUM.) 



W 



WADS WORTH. JAMES SAMUEL, a Briga- 

 dier-General of United States volunteers, born 

 in Geneseo, Livingston County, 1ST. Y., October 

 30th, 1807, killed in the battle of the Wilder- 



Wadsworth, an extensive landowner and philan- 

 thropist of Geneseo, under whose care he re- 

 ceived a thorough rudimentary education, after 

 which he was sent to Harvard College, and 



ness. May 6th, 1864. He was the son of James thence to Yale College, where IIP completed bis 



