508 



MICHIGAN. 



meet our heart}' concurrence, and we pledge unend- 

 ing hostility to'any and every plan of reconstruction 

 that will not fully secure these great results of the 

 war. 



Resolved, That we scout and scorn, as unworthy of 

 freemen, that political blasphemy which says, '"this 

 is the white man's Government." It is not the white 

 man's Government, nor the black man's Govern- 

 ment. It is God's Government made for man ! And 

 all men who are true and loyal to it, of whatever 

 race or country, color, or condition, shall have, 

 under its triumphant and glorious flag, all those 

 great and inalienable rights that belong to man as 

 man! 



The convention put in nomination a State 

 ticket, headed by Henry H. Crapo for Governor, 

 and composed in great part of returned soldiers. 

 The Johnson State Convention was held Sep- 

 tember 5th, and nominated a ticket, headed by 

 General Alpheus S. "Williams for Governor, his 

 associates being also nearly all returned sol- 

 diers. This convention adopted the following 

 resolutions : 



Resolved, That the National Union party of Michi- 

 gan accept the declaration of principles and address 

 of the Philadelphia Convention, of August 14th, 

 as the expression of its views upon the great ques- 

 tions involved in the present political contest. 



Resolved, That the admission of loyal men into the 

 Congress from all the States is essential to the com- 

 plete restoration of the Federal Union and the main- 

 tenance of the Constitution upon which the Union is 

 founded. 



Resolved, That in the nominations submitted by 

 this convention, the soldiers of Michigan have the 

 best expression of the high estimation in which we 

 hold the noble defenders of the integrity of the 

 Union. 



The Democratic State Convention met on the 

 following day, and adopted this ticket, with a 

 single exception. The convention also adopted 

 the following resolutions, besides one com- 

 plimentary to the soldiers : 



We, the Democratic Convention of the State of 

 Michigan, assembled to make nominations for State 

 officers, and to consider the perils which surround 

 us, believing, as we do, that our country is threatened 

 by an unscrupulous faction in Congress, who pro- 

 pose to hold power at all hazards, and in violation of 

 all law, and who, unless arrested, will precipitate 

 another war upon us, more deadly than the last, and 

 being desirous to unite with every good citizen in 

 this crisis, shoulder to shoulder, without regard to 

 antecedents, for our preservation, if .not existence; 

 we, therefore, in the language of the National Union 

 Convention, composed o~ftbe loyal men trom all sec- 

 tions of our beloved land, held at Philadelphia on 

 August 14th, say : 



[Here follows the platform of the convention 

 in Philadelphia (see UNITED STATES), which, 

 with the address, was indorsed.] 



Resolved, That the members of the present conven- 

 tion, in seeking and obtaining seats in that body, 

 were honorably pledged to be content with the lib- 

 eral compensation provided by their existing laws ; 

 that the condition of the people, already borne down 

 by previous taxation, made the observance of this 

 fact an imperative and sacred duty ; that the recent 

 act of Congress, by which members voted into their 

 own pockets a double salary, was an act of sordid 

 avarice and cupidity. We hold it up as a reproach 

 to decency, honor, and public virtue, and we cor- 

 dially invite every pure and just man in this State to 

 aid in driving from their seats those representatives 



from Michigan who polluted themselves by this 

 shameful plunder of the public treasury. 



Resolved, That the Democracy are necessarily the 

 true representatives of the laboring classes, and we 

 view with deep concern the heavy burdens which 

 wasteful and partial legislation, and a vicious sys- 

 tem of currency, have imposed upon them ; we will 

 steadily aid all measures which will abridge their 

 hours of toil, which will improve their opportunities 

 for intellectual and moral cultivation, which will se- 

 cure the public lands to the actual settlers, or which 

 will in any way ameliorate and elevate the condition 

 of the laboring masses. 



Resolved, That in view of the momentous issue now 

 pending, the safety and salvation of the Union by a 

 complete restoration, this convention of the democ- 

 racy of the State, in making the nominations to-day, 

 has felt it a duty to rise above mere party action. 

 We present to the people of the State a ticket of 

 loyal men and pure patriots, men who, if now elected, 

 will consummate in the councils of the State the great 

 work for which they shed their blood and perilled 

 their lives in the field. And we therefore invite 

 all true, loyal, and patriotic men, whatever their 

 previous party connections, to rally to the support 

 of the "National Union ticket" now presented to 

 them. 



The general election was held on the first 

 Tuesday in November. Whole number of vote? 

 cast for Governor, 164,454; for Crapo, Repub- 

 lican, 96,746; for Williams, 67,708. Eepubli- 

 can majority, 29,038. The majority for the 

 other Republican nominees was somewhat 

 larger. At the same time was submitted to the 

 people an amendment to the constitution, al- 

 lowing soldiers, when in the service away from 

 their places of residence, to vote, which was 

 carried by 86,354 votes against 13,094. The 

 proposition to call a State convention for revi- 

 sion of the constitution was also adopted by 

 79,505 votes against 28,623. 



The vote above given is exclusive of two 

 wards in the city of Detroit, rejected for al- 

 leged irregularities, and which, if counted, 

 would have increased the majority for Crapo 

 456. 



The Legislature, chosen at the same time, was 

 divided between the two parties as follows : 



Senate. House. Joint Ballot. 



Republicans 30 83 113 



Democrats . 2 17 19 



In a case brought to test the right of persons 

 of mixed white and African blood to vote un- 

 der the clause of the constitution conferring 

 the elective franchise on " white " male citizens, 

 the Supreme Court held that negroes, mulattoes, 

 and quadroons, were excluded, but that persons 

 of less than one-fourth African blood were en- 

 titled to vote as white persons. 



The sessions of the Legislature are biennial, 

 unless extra sessions aro called by the governor, 

 and none was held during the year. 



The statistics of the State prison show a 

 large increase of prisoners during the year. 

 The number of convicts at the commencement 

 of the fiscal year December 1, 1865 was 315, 

 which had increased to 502 at its close or 59 

 per cent. The number, however, is still con- 

 siderably below that of 1861, when at one time 

 it reached 630. Capital punishment, exceot fo> 



