514 



MISSISSIPPI. 



President," and in that capacity signed all state 

 documents. He soon afterward inarched 

 against Vera Cruz, where Juarez bad estab- 

 lished his government ; but raised the siege of 

 that city after having taken possession of the 

 money from the public treasury, returned to 

 Mexico, and assumed the supreme management 

 of affairs. Zuloaga became tired of his insub- 

 ordination, and deprived him of the title of 

 Vice-President. Miramon, however, had Zulo- 

 uga imprisoned, and prepared himself for an 

 expedition against the Liberals in the interior ; 

 but, having no pecuniary resources, he ordered 

 the funds in the house of the British minister 

 to be seized, made a contract of the most 

 fraudulent character with the French banking 

 house of Jeeker & Co., and signed the Mon- 

 Almonte treaty with Spain. These three meas- 

 ures of his afforded the basis on which England, 

 France, and Spain claimed the right to enter 

 Mexico with an armed force. After a pro- 

 tracted struggle with the Liberals, he was de- 

 feated on the 13th of August, I860, at Yalul- 

 palam, and forced to shut himself up in the city 

 of Mexico, which he at length abandoned and 

 retired to Spain in 1861. There he labored 

 assiduously to engage foreign governments to 

 interfere in Mexican affairs. Still, on the estab- 

 lishment of the empire it was deemed a matter 

 of policy to keep him and Marquez abroad, 

 owing to the characters which both had earned 

 for high-handed measures and turbulence. After 

 the accession of Maximilian (see MEXICO, MAXI- 

 MILIAN, EMPEROR OF), Miramon petitioned to be 

 allowed to return, and it was finally granted, 

 and, though not implicitly trusted by the Em- 

 peror, he was placed in high command, and did 

 not practise any treachery toward his new mas- 

 ter. He met his death with bravery and com- 

 posure. 



MISSISSIPPI. The- most important meas- 

 ure acted upon by the Legislature of Mississippi, 

 which had adjourned over from its session of 

 the previous year, was the proposed amend- 

 ment of the Federal Constitution, known as 

 Section 14. After listening to an address from 

 one of the Senators elected by them to Con- 

 gress, urging the acceptance of the amendment, 

 both branches of the Legislature voted unani- 

 mously against it. 



The act of reconstruction, adopted by Con- 

 gress on March 2, 186T, placed Mississippi with 

 Arkansas in the Fourth Military Division, under 

 command of Mnjor-General OKI. Steps were 

 immediately taken by Governor Humphreys to 

 bring tl>e question of the constitutionality of 

 the act before Congress. For this purpose, a 

 bill of complaint of the State of Mississippi, in 

 behalf of herself and such other States as may 

 be interested, against President Johnson and 

 General E. O. 0. Ord, appointed by the Presi- 

 dent, was presented in the Supreme Court of 

 the United States by ex-Governor Sharkey and 

 Robert J. Walker. The petition set forth at 

 length the history of the formation of the State 

 of Mississippi, claiming, besides protection, con- 



stitutional rights as a State. There are com- 

 pacts, fundamental, irrevocable, and unalter- 

 able, securing forever to the State of Mississippi 

 her rights as a State in the Union by such 

 compacts, and the rights required under them. 

 The petitioners believe the Court will regard it 

 as its duty to maintain, in the same manner, at 

 least as it would enforce between individuals, 

 by injunction or otherwise, the specific perform- 

 ance of contracts. Averment is made that the 

 Congress of the United States cannot constitu- 

 tionally expel Mississippi from the Union, and 

 that an attempt which practically does so is 

 a nullity; and that there is no provision in the 

 Constitution of the United States which sub- 

 jects her, as a State, to any pains, penalties, or 

 forfeitures as a consequence of such void at- 

 tempt of a portion of her people to withdraw 

 her from the Union, all powers to punish a 

 State by expulsion or otherwise for any cause 

 having been expressly and unmistakably re- 

 fused in the convention which framed the Fed- 

 eral Constitution. She avers that her citizens 

 lost none of their political rights, nor incurred 

 any penalties except what might be inflicted 

 on them as individuals, by due process of law, 

 after trial by jury. She avers that she has ex- 

 hibited her good faith and adhesion to the Con- 

 stitution by electing Senators and Representa- 

 tives to Congress, and complains that they 

 have been wrongfully excluded, and that her 

 people have been compelled to pay taxes and 

 bear the burdens of the government without 

 representation. The act to provide for a more 

 efficient government of the rebel States, and 

 the act supplementary thereto, utterly annihi- 

 lates the State and government by assuming to 

 Congress power to control, modify, and even 

 abolish its government, in short, to exert sov- 

 ereign power over it, and the utter destruction 

 of the State must be the consequence, then, of 

 its execution. The scope of power vested in 

 the military commanders, so broad, so com- 

 prehensive, was never before vested in a mili- 

 tary commander in any government which 

 guards the rights of its citizens or subjects by 

 laws. 



The bill further requests that the above- 

 mentioned' persons may be restrained in their 

 action and made defendants in the case. The 

 case was brought before the Court, and argu- 

 ment heard upon it, but it was regarded as a 

 question beyond the field of its jurisdiction. 



On April 6th Governor Humphreys issued a 

 proclamation to the people of the State, saying 

 that the act of reconstruction recognized the 

 existing civil government of the State, and 

 until a change was made in accordance with 

 the provisions of the act, the relations of the 

 State civil officers and their responsibilities to 

 the Federal Constitution, to the State of Mis- 

 sissippi, and to the people, would remain un- 

 changed, and they would be held to a strict 

 accountability for the performance of their 

 duties in carrying out the provisions of the 

 laws for the maintenance of the civil govern- 



