12 



ALABAMA. 



of dollars a year. In the enactment of these laws we 

 had no voice. This amendment was proposed when 

 nearly one-third of the States were unrepresented, 

 and all of its harsh features are aimed directly at the 

 States thus excluded. The ratification of such an 

 amendment, proposed under such circumstances, 

 cannot, in any possible view, accomplish any good to 

 the country, and might bring upon it irretrievable 

 disaster. 



At a later day the views of the Governor rel- 

 ative to this amendment were changed, and ou 

 December 6th he addressed a message to both 

 Houses in its favor. He expresses apprehen- 

 eion of the future, saying : 



There is an unmistakable purpose on the part of 

 those who control the National Legislature to enforce 

 at all hazards their own terms of restoration. The 

 measures they propose threaten to at once reverse 

 our progress toward the establishment of that per- 

 manent tranquillity which is so much desired by 

 all. To do so is to immediately augment the distress 

 which now exis'ts, and inaugurate confusion, the end 

 of which no human prescience can foresee. 



To-day the cardinal principle of restoration seems 

 to be favorable action upon the proposed amendment 

 to the Constitution, which I transmitted to you in my 

 annual message. 



Upon the merits of the amendment my views are 

 already known. They are founded upon principle, 

 and are unchanged. The necessity of the case, I am 

 now constrained to think, is different. We should 

 look our true condition full in the face. 



The amendment was finally rejected by an 

 overwhelming majority in both Houses. The 

 amount of the Federal tax of 1861, assigned to 

 Alabama, was $529,313. Nothing had been 

 collected at the close of the year. 



The amount of destitution in the State ex- 

 ceeded that of any other Southern State, and 

 continued through the year. Supplies were 

 furnished liberally by the Federal Government ; 

 charitable associations and private individuals 

 made large contributions, and the State granted 

 all the assistance practicable, notwithstanding 

 which the supply fell short. During the eleven 

 months ending September 13, 1866, the Federal 

 Government issued 3,789,788 rations, which was 

 an average of 11,500 rations per day. The 

 number of persons receiving supplies averaged 

 monthly 21,700. The whites exceeded the 

 blacks two to one. On February 23, 1866, the 

 Legislature authorized the Governor to dispose 

 of six per cent, bonds to the amount of $500,000, 

 for the benefit of indigent families. Sufficient 

 provision had not been made for the payment 

 of the bonds, and they were unsalable. The 

 Governor says : 



'In consequence of the inability to use these 

 bonds, it was not in the power of the State to 

 axtend that amount of relief to our suffering 

 people which was desired. In some counties 

 the destitution was so extreme, that I author- 

 ized the judges of probate, in conjunction with 

 two other reliable citizens, to purchase corn on 

 the State's credit, pledging payment on the 1st 

 of January next. The amount authorized for 

 each of such counties was one thousand bushels. 

 In addition to this, I found it necessary to draw 

 funds from the treasury to pay for the transpor- 

 tation, and other incidental expenses. 



" In the month of June last I made a visit to 

 the Northwest, with a view, if possible, of pur- 

 chasing supplies on the State account. I there 

 learned, as before observed, that the six per 

 cent, bonds authorized were unavailable. It 

 was ascertained, however,. that the eight per 

 cent, bonds could be used for the purpose. In 

 view, therefore, of the necessity of the case, I 

 deemed it a duty to appropriate a portion of 

 them to the purchase of supplies. Accordingly, 

 a lot of corn was purchased, brought to the 

 State, and distributed. The corn was bought 

 at a low rate, and the banks of St. Louis pur- 

 chased readily, and at par, a sufficient amount 

 of bonds to pay therefor. The amount of bonds 

 used in this way, including payment for trans- 

 portation, was $48,500. The .corn thus obtained 

 was distributed in such localities, and in such 

 quantities, as were deemed most suitable, and 

 afforded much relief, which would not other- 

 wise have been found." 



The hope was indulged that the crop of 1866 

 would save the people from any further destitu- 

 tion. But this unfortunately was not the case. 

 The season was exceedingly unfavorable, and 

 the crop short. In the opinion of the Com- 

 missioner for the Destitute, not half enough 

 grain was raised to subsist the inhabitants. 

 The opinion was confirmed by the reports of 

 probate judges. The War Department, there- 

 fore, authorized General Swayne, the Federal 

 commander, to distribute, during the winter 

 months of 1866-'67, supplies to the value of 

 $120,000. This money was applied to the pur- 

 chase of corn and bacon, as likely to be much 

 more useful than the regular rations heretofore 

 issued. 



A census of the State was take in 1866, the 

 returns of which were nearly completed during 

 the year. The results, as compared with the 

 census of 1860, are shown in the following 

 table. 



It will be seen by an examination of these 

 returns, that the effect of the war has been to 

 neutralize the increase from all sources which, 

 for the ten years previous, have been about 25 

 per cent. White and black fare apparently 

 alike, although perhaps a disproportionate de- 

 crease among the blacks has been compensated by 

 importations from time to time in order to avoid 

 the converging theatre of the war. The census 

 of white males in Alabama, which in 1860 gave 

 an aggregate of 270,271, in 1866 presents a de- 

 crease of 9,267. The total of black males, in 

 1860, was returned at 217,766, and has dimin- 

 ished in the interval 3,523 ; about one-half the 

 ratio of the former. The movement of freed 

 people to the towns is shown by a marked per- 

 centage of increase in the counties of Mobile 

 (25), Montgomery (23), and Dallas (Selma) (13), 

 with a proportionate decrease in other counties. 

 A northward movement of the freedmen into 

 Tennessee is shown in the returns from Northern 

 Alabama. The citizens of Randolph claim that 

 their county sent 3,000 mei to help the armies 

 of the Union. 



