ALABAMA. 



19 



Alir.ihnm Lincoln; that they did not owe it to Con- 



'In- Northern adolitionist-i, luit that they 

 t tu the I'lirt lh:il it was inllieleil a* a liuiiish- 



,.n tin- p. Miiile of the South for its rebellion. 

 ..me oil'u-ial hail uskril for the negro vote on the 

 I ni' In-ill;; a:i uliI soldier. Now, he would ay 

 otlieial tli.it it' tin- ui'itro was not iiuli-liinl tn 

 iln" iilnilitiniiists, or Abraham Lincoln. 

 nriiluT were they i ii'lr! it IM| to the old t soldier, and 

 ite lor him, as he was one of those 

 uln'i In-Ill that enfrmnchiaement was one of the worst 

 tiling that r\ rr li:i|i|u-ni'(l to the negro race and to 

 nth; some people held that they were little 

 than monkeys ; now, whether they were mon- 

 keys or men, they knew who their friends were, and 

 tlu'-v would in-M-r elevate to power their enemies 

 the'men who hi-kl their enfranchisement to be a mis- 

 take. 



Tho resolutions adopted by the meeting were 

 as follows : 



tea, In tin- present disorganized condition of 

 nthern States, and more especially of the State 

 of Alabama, it tiehooves every citizen who loves lib- 

 erty, law and order, and peace, and tranquillity of so- 

 ciety, to interest himself and to use his every effort 

 to the accomplishment of the work of reorganization : 

 Therefore, 



Be it resolved by the Union men of Mobile in mass 

 i assembled, That our everlasting thanks are 

 due the Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States 

 for its untiring efforts in the passage of such recon- 

 struction measures as it has in its wisdom seen prop- 

 er to enact. 



J. /'solved, That as Republican Union men we will 



maintain the principles of the great Republican party 



support of the best interests of the common 



country , and to the end that peace, harmony, and 



prosperity may again be fully restored to the nation. 



3. Jiaiolved, That in Generals Pope and Swayne 

 we have the utmost confidence, and that we fully in- 

 dorse their action thus far in the work of reconstruc- 

 tion, and hopefully trust that the result of their labor 

 in the great and arduous duties imposed on them as 

 military rulers over the people will result in a satis- 

 factory success. 



4. Resolved, That we believe that the present con- 

 dition of the country requires that every Union man 

 should ally himself to the great Republican party ; 

 that it having been chief in the salvation of the coun- 



\e may properly look to it for the country's 

 protection. 



.".. /.' tohx I, That we recognize no distinctions, 

 either political or civil, existing either in law or fact, 

 made or to be made on account of race, color, or pre- 

 vious condition, including the rights of suffrage, 

 holding any office within the gift of the people and 

 of sitting in the jury-box. 



So much disturbance grew out of the attempt 

 of the colored people at this time to ride in the 

 railroad cars, that the municipal authori- 

 ties of Mobile called the attention of the com- 

 mandant of the Freedmen's Bureau to the dis- 

 pute. In advance of any decision of the ques- 

 timi by competent legal or military authority. 

 and in the absence of instructions, he advised 

 the fivi". linen to abstain from any action tend- 

 ing to produce riot or commotion dangerous to 

 tin- PI-M.-I- or security of the city; he advised 

 them to *.-ek legal redress whenever prevented 

 from riding. Suits were subsequently com- 

 nu-iu-'il against the president of the railroad 

 company in the Federal Commissioners' Court, 

 which required him to appear before the United 

 - Circuit Court. 



On April 19th a general meeting of tl.. 

 zcna of Mobile was held relative to the new 

 nit -asiircs of reconstruction. Among tin 

 presidents were men of all classes and color 

 as civil judges, bishops, clergy, physicians, citi- 

 zens, etc., etc., of whom five were colored men. 

 The resolutions adopted were as follows : 



Whereas, The Congress of the United States has 

 passed an act known as the military bill and an act 

 supplemental thereto, which provide for the division 

 of the ten Southern States into five military districts ; 

 and 



Whfreas, Major-General John Pope has been as- 

 signed to the command of the Third District, of which 

 Alabama forms a part, and said major-general in as- 

 suming command has issued his " General Order 

 No. 1, in which he continues Major-General Swayne 

 in command of the Sub-District of Alabama, and fur- 

 ther orders that the civil officers now in authority 

 should not be disturbed in the discharge of the duties 

 pertaining to their offices so long as they continue 

 so to administer the laws as to secure to each individ- 

 ual bis rights of person and property ; Therefore, 



Resolved, Without expressing any opinion as to 

 the legislation referred to in the foregoing preamble, 

 we hereby manifest our gratification at the spirit of 

 moderation which the major-general commanding 

 the Third District brings to the discharge of the re- 

 sponsible duties and to the exercise of the great 

 powers committed to him ; and that we feel called 

 upon to meet him in a like spirit and hereby to ex- 

 press to him our purpose to tnrow no obstacle in the 

 path of his official duties, but that in all that tends 

 to a genuine desire for the restoration of the Union 

 under the Constitution, including all the States, we 

 pledge ourselves to a most earnest and cordial co- 

 operation. 



Resolved, That we recommend to all who are quali- 

 fied to register and vote under the provisions of the 

 law, to do so as early as convenient after the oppor- 

 tunity is offered for that purpose, and to scrupu- 

 lously abstain from any act which might be con- 

 strued into a disposition to hinder or disturb any 

 other person in the discharge of any duty or the 

 exercise of any privilege conferred by law. 



Resolved, That we snail so demean ourselves as a 

 people, that it shall not be our fault if, pending the 

 efforts at reconstruction under existing laws, the 

 civil officers of the State are disturbed in the exer- 

 cise of their public functions. 



Resolved, That we find nothing in the changed po- 

 litical condition of the white and black races in the 

 South that ought to disturb the harmonious relations 

 between them ; that we are ready to accord to the 

 latter every right and privilege to which they are en- 

 titled under the laws of the land ; that we sincerelv 

 desire their prosperity and their improvement in all 

 the moral and intellectual qualities that are necessary 

 to make them useful members of society ; that we 

 are their friends, both from gratitude for their fidelity 

 in the past in war as well as in peace and because 

 our interests in the future are inseparably connected 

 with their well-being. 



The mayor of the city (Withers) said he had 

 heard the resolution, and it commanded his 

 confidence and respect, and would receive 

 his support. "Whatever in the past were the 

 struggles, the differences, and the sufferings, 

 and whatever in the present the endurance 

 and the suffering, those resolutions should be 

 sustained. They were a conquered people; 

 they had cast their liberty, their all, upon the 

 die of battle and had lost, and would be recre- 

 ant to their manhood if they failed to face the 

 position. Let them expatriate themselves, or 



