520 



MISSOURI. 



total number of registered voters, after correct- 

 ing the lists previous to election, was 139,32V. 

 The convention was therefore ordered to as- 

 semble at Jackson, on January 7, 1868, as 6,311 

 were cast on the question in excess of the num- 

 ber required by the act of Congress. Its pro- 

 ceedings form a portion of the history of that 

 year. On December 28th Major-General Ord 

 was directed by order of the President to turn 

 his command over to General Gillem, and to 

 proceed to San Francisco, there to take com- 

 mand. 



On November 13th a file of soldiers, under the 

 command of a lieutenant, by order of General 

 Ord, entered the printing-office of the Yicksburg 

 Times, and arrested the editor, "W. H. McCar- 

 dle, and conveyed him to the headquarters of 

 General Gillem, where he was confined in a 

 military prison, on the ground that he was ob- 

 structing the execution of the reconstruction 

 acts. 



A writ of habeas corpus was granted by 

 Judge Hill, of the United States Circuit Court, 

 and served upon General Ord. The return on 

 the writ set forth that the prisoner was held 

 by the instructions of General Ord, and that, 

 under certain charges preferred (which charges 

 were submitted with the return), a military 

 commission had been organized by General 

 Ord for 'the trial of offenders, Colonel Mc- 

 Cardle among the number, and that the com- 

 mission had been proceeding in his trial. The 

 proceedings of the commission were read, in 

 which it appeared that Colonel McCardle had 

 refused to plead, and a plea of not guilty had 

 been entered for him. The charges preferred 

 were as follows : 



Charge 1. Disturbance of the public peace. 



Specification. Substantially in defamation of the 

 character of General Ord, and denunciation of des- 

 potism and usurpation of authority. 



Charge 2. Inciting to a breach of the peace. 



Specification. Colonel McCardle, in an article pub- 

 lished in his paper, said that if General Ord removed 

 Governor Humphreys and appointed Mr. Burwell in 

 his stead, Governor Humphreys would refuse to sur- 

 render the State archives to Ord's appointee ; that 

 probably General Ord would force him from his office 

 by the bayonet, and then a higher tribunal than 

 Governor Humphreys or "Satrap Ord " would de- 

 cide whether Mississippi was a Poland, and Ord her 

 autocrat. 



Charge 3. Libel. 



Specification. Defaming the character of one Cap- 

 tain Platt, of the Freedmen's Bureau. 



Charge 4. Impeding reconstruction. 



Specification. Advising voters to remain away 

 from the polls. 



The Court then remarked to counsel that the 

 issue presented was whether military authori- 

 ties had the right to hold the prisoner under 

 the charges preferred. 



Judge Brooke, Mr. Marshall, and Judge Shar- 

 key represented the petitioner ; and the judge- 

 advocate of the military court appeared for 

 the military authorities. 



The decision of the Court on the application 

 was pronounced on a subsequent day. Judge 

 Hill held that the questions presented involved 



the constitutionality of the act of Congress in 

 virtue of which General Ord placed Colonel 

 McCardle under arrest, -and that he decided 

 that act to be constitutional. He also declared 

 that the powers vested by the law itself were 

 not transcended by the district commander. 

 It was therefore decided that the prisoner was 

 subject to arrest and to trial before a military 

 commission, and he was remanded to the cus- 

 tody of the military authorities, to answer the 

 charges which might be preferred against him. 

 In the event of his intention to take an appeal 

 to the Supreme Court of the United States, he 

 was required to enter into his recognizance of 

 one thousand dollars conditioned for his ap- 

 pearance before that tribunal. 



The case was subsequently taken before the 

 United States Supreme Court, to be considered 

 and decided during the year 1868. 



The University of Mississippi contained about 

 two hundred students during the year. About 

 one-half of these were able to pay the usual 

 expenses; the remainder drew their rations 

 from home, and had their messes like soldiers in 

 the field. 



No statement of the financial affairs of the 

 State was made during the year. 



MISSOURI. The State of Missouri has re- 

 mained during the greater part of the past year 

 in a condition of comparative quiet, and has 

 made considerable advancement in prosperity. 

 Most of the difficulties which disturbed the 

 peace of the State during the two preceding 

 years were such as sprang from dissatisfaction 

 on account of the disfranchisement of a large 

 portion of the people by the constitution, 

 adopted in 1865 ; but, as there was no general 

 election in 1867, the State escaped those dis- 

 turbances in a great measure. There were, 

 indeed, in the early part of the year, some law- 

 less outbreaks in Lafayette and Jackson Coun- 

 ties, the causes of which were connected with 

 the election of 1866. A gang of desperadoes, 

 under the lead of one Archie Clernmens, was 

 organized in Lafayette County, and committed 

 many acts of robbery and murder in that 

 vicinity. At the time of the November elec- 

 tion of 1866, the entire vote of the town of 

 Dover was thiwvu out by the judges of the 

 election on account of some irregularity in the 

 registration.. The bitterness occasioned by this 

 proceeding, and the lawless operations in the 

 same neighborhood, of Clemmens and his 

 companions, induced some of the citizens of 

 Dover to call on Governor Fletcher for pro- 

 tection. One company of cavalry and one 

 of infantry were accordingly sent under the 

 command of Major Montgomery to protect 

 the people of the disturbed community, and 

 Clemmeus was killed during an attempt 

 which was made to seize his person. Mont- 

 gomery's troops appear to have been guilty 

 of outrages hardly less offensive to the people 

 than those of the marauders whom they 

 had been sent out to disperse. A meeting 

 of citizens was held to concert some method 



