526 



MISSOURI. 



for perjury, and the most loyal, no matter how un- 

 learned, are required to swear that they are well 

 acquainted with the terms of the third section of the 

 second article. That section defines what shall con- 

 stitute a disqualification as a voter, and adequate 

 punishment can be affixed to the offence of register- 

 ing as a voter, or offering to register as such, or of 

 voting in violation of law. Aside from the utter 

 failure of this oath as a means of protecting the bal- 

 lot-box from the votes of disloyal persons, the pro- 

 visions of the Constitution of the United States, and 

 the humane principle of law, that no one shall be 

 compelled to testify against himself, seem to me in- 

 consistent with the end sought to be accomplished 

 by the voter's oath. There are certainly less objec- 

 tionable and more effective modes for the enforce- 

 ment of the disfranchising law. It may be done by 

 punishment for illegal voting, as well as for false 

 swearing, and thereby prevent the commission of the 

 latter crime. 



The supporters of President Johnson strug- 

 gled long and hard to carry the fall elections, 

 but without success. The State was thoroughly 

 stumped, and large mass meetings were held at 

 St. Louis and other important points. Political 

 feeling never ran higher in Missouri ; and yet 

 the canvass was conducted with a remarkable 

 absence of personal hostility between the can- 

 didates or their respective adherents. The vote 

 of Maries County was not counted for want of 

 registration, and that of Galloway was rejected 

 for a similar reason. In Christian, Ozark, and 

 Harrison Counties, the congressional vote was 

 not certified, and in Shannon County no election 

 was held. The vote of these counties, however, 

 made but a slight difference in the total result, 

 which was reported as follows: 



CIST'S. 



1 



2 



8. 



4 



5 



6. 



1. 



8. 



Rndicnl. 

 . 6,728 



.. 9,564 

 . 8,571 

 . 6,083 



,. 7,617 

 . 5.391 

 .10,942 

 . 7,601 

 . 4,876 



ative. 



Total 62,373 



6,510 Eadicalmai 



6,254 " * 



4.337 Conserv. maj 



1.929. Radical maj 



4,084.. . " " 

 4,857.. . " " 

 8,980.. . " 

 6.069.. . " " 

 4,698.. . " " 



48,018 



Majorities. 



218 

 .8,810 

 .1,066 

 .4,154 

 .8,533 

 . 534 

 .6,962 

 .1,532 

 . 178 



Parker's majority for State superintendent of 

 public schools exceeded 20,000. 



In the month of August, the Governor, being 

 apprehensive of disturbances at the polls (in 

 which expectation he was happily disappointed), 

 published a proclamation, declaring that the 

 combined powers of the National and State 

 Governments would be used to enforce obedi- 

 ence to the laws of the nation and the State, 

 nntil such laws were repealed, or rendered in- 

 operative by some court of competent jurisdic- 

 tion. In this connection he directed that the 

 annual enrolment of the militia should be made, 

 and that the organization be effected without 

 regard to the political status or opinions of town- 

 ships and counties, and that the volunteer mili- 

 tia be merged in the general enrolment so made. 



In order that an efficient militia organization 

 might be raised, the Governor, in his succeed- 

 ing annual message, recommended that the 

 annual enrolment should be given up, as too 

 expensive and unproductive of the results 

 aimed at, and that a volunteer system should 



be adopted, providing for the acceptance of a 

 limited number of companies, the members of 

 which, in consideration of performing certain 

 military drills, musters, and encampments, and 

 holding themselves ready to respond to any call 

 of the Governor, or chief conservator of the 

 peace of any city, or county, should be exempt 

 from jury duty and poll-tax. 



The finances of the State are in a prosperous 

 condition. The receipts from all sources during 

 the fiscal year, ending September 30, 1860, 

 were larger than ever before in one year since 

 the existence of the State government, being 

 $4,108,407.92. The total receipts into the 

 revenue fund alone were $1,414,093.73, being 

 principally the amount of general State tax paid 

 during the fiscal year. Of this sum $750,100.24 

 were taxes of 1865, and the balance was almost 

 entirely derived from arrears of taxes levied 

 for previous years, but not collected till 1866. 

 Out of this fund are paid all the expenses of 

 the State government in its various branches, 

 amounting for the last fiscal year to $817,247.92. 

 The total disbursements for that period were 

 $954,492.78. The balance in the treasury to 

 the credit of the State interest fund, on October 

 1, 1866, was $450,046.03, and to the credit of 

 the sinking fund on the same date, $9,694.96. 

 There have also been paid into the treasury in 

 bonds of the State and coupons up to and in- 

 cluding January 1, 1867, the following: 



From the sale of bank stock $1,1V8,635 50 



On account of sales Southwest Pacific 



Railroad 321,850 00 



On account of Platte County Railroad. 153,020 00 

 On account of sale of Iron Mountain 

 Railroad and Cairo and Fulton Kail- 

 road 225,000 00 



Total $1,881,505 50 



The taxable wealth of the State has grown 

 from $198,602,216 in 1863, and from $262,- 

 354,932 in 1865, to a sum which, by means of 

 the law establishing a State board for the 

 equalization of taxes, passed in 1866, will 

 reach the estimated sum of $400,000,000. To 

 complete the favorable aspect of the finances of 

 Missouri, nothing is needed but the payment 

 by the Federal Government of the money due 

 to the State for expenses incurred in enrolling, 

 equipping, and provisioning militia forces to 

 aid in suppressing hostilities. The commis- 

 sioners, appointed under an act of Congress, to 

 adjust the claims, report that they amount to 

 $6,240,000. "When this is paid, the Legislature 

 will at once be enabled to relieve the people 

 from the payment of any further military tax. 

 The receipts from that tax into the Union mil- 

 itary fund for the last fiscal year were $871,- 

 249.05, of which $654,746.76 were derived from 

 the taxes of 1865, and the remainder from ar- 

 rears of taxes. The whole of this sum is by law 

 set apart for the redemption of Union military 

 bonds. The aggregate redemption of these 

 bonds, with interest from the creation of the 

 fund by act of March 9, 1863, to September 30, 

 1866, amounts to $1,750,054.06. U^der these 



