38 



AEKAISTSAS. 



dispatched Colonel Tourtelotte to Little Eock, 

 for the purpose of investigating the matter, 

 and the colonel, in his report of April 22d, 

 said the petitioners assured him it would take 

 above six weeks before the frauds complained 

 of could be traced up, and months before the 

 investigation could be completed ; that persons 

 registered in one county had been allowed to 

 vote in another, upon the authority of the law 

 of Congress, passed March 11, 1868, permit- 

 ting registered persons to vote in any county 

 by a ten days' residence in the same, which 

 law, though not officially published, the judges 

 of election knew of, and apparently assumed to 

 execute it on their own responsibility ; adding 

 that the Eepublicans, on the other hand, had 

 made complaints to him that, by intimidation, 

 and in some cases by actual force, the opposite 

 party had hindered them from going to the 

 polls. 



But concerning the occurrences and final 

 result of this election, whereby the new State 

 constitution of Arkansas is declared to have 

 been ratified by the people by a majority of 

 1,316 votes, it may be proper to subjoin that part 

 of the official report, transmitted by General 

 Gillem to the army headquarters at "Washing- 

 ton, in which, after stating the facts returned 

 to him, the general seems to regard the 

 above-mentioned result of the election ques- 

 tionable, remitting its decision to the proper 

 authority as follows : 



It will be perceived by the foregoing table that 

 there were cast for the constitution twenty-seven 

 thousand nine hundred and thirteen (27,913) : against 

 the constitution, twenty-six thousand five hundred 

 and ninety-seven (26,597) ; total, fifty-four thousand 

 five hundred and ten (54,510) ; majority for the con- 

 stitution, one thousand three hundred and sixteen 

 " 316). 



the election been conducted in strict compli- 

 ance with General Order No. 7, and the result been 

 indicated by the above figures : the adoption of the 

 constitution would have been indisputable ; but an 

 examination of the foregoing table of returns shows 

 that, in Pulaski County, the total vote exceeds the to- 

 tal number registered by one thousand one hundred 

 and ninety-five (1,195). This is explained by the 

 registrars, who admit that they permitted persons 

 registered in other counties to vote on the presenta- 

 tion of their certificates of registration, and without 

 taking their names, or the counties and precincts in 

 which they claim to be registered ; nor did the oifi- 

 cers conducting the election in this (Pulaski) county 

 comply with par. III., General Order No. 7, from these 

 headquarterSj providing for the manner of conduct- 

 ing the election, by "checking off the voter's name 

 on the precinct-book serving as the poll-book." It 

 is, therefore, impossible to ascertain the number of 

 the registered voters in Pulaski County who availed 

 themselves of the right of franchise, and therefore 

 impossible to ascertain the number in excess of 

 eleven hundred and ninety-five (1,195) who voted in 

 that county, and who were registered in other places. 

 It is also impossible to ascertain whether or not 

 these persons have voted where registered. 



The same irregularities occurred in Jefferson Coun- 

 ty, where seven hundred and thirty (730) votes were 

 cast by voters claiming to be registered in other coun- 

 ties or precincts. 



Of these votes ? eleven hundred and ninety-five 

 ,195) in Pulaski, and seven hundred and thirty 

 30) in Jefferson making a total of one thousand 



nine hundred and twenty-five (1,925) there is no 

 means of ascertaining whether they were cast for or 

 against the constitution. 



Prior to the act of Congress passed March 11, 1868, 

 and which was promulgated in General Order No. 14, 

 from the War Department, dated March 14, 1868, 

 there was no Jaw or order in existence permitting 

 voters registered in one county or precinct to vote in 

 any other county or precinct. The act above referred 

 to authorizes " any person duly registered in the State 

 to vote hi the election district where he offers to vote 

 when he has resided therein for ten days next pre- 

 ceding such election, upon his presentation of his 

 certificate of registration, his affidavit ? or other satis- 

 factory evidence, under such regulations as the dis- 

 trict commander may prescribe. 



The order containing this law was not received 

 until after the election ? and the dispatch from the 

 General-in-chief containing no intimation of this pro- 

 vision, I was unaware of the existence of the law, 

 and therefore prescribed no regulation for persons 

 voting at other precincts than those in which they 

 registered. 



It appears from the report of Colonel J. E. Tour- 

 telotte that the registrars in Pulaski, Jefferson, and 

 "Washington Counties, learning unofficially of this 

 law, determined, on their own responsibility, to re- 

 ceive the votes of persons registered in other coun- 

 ties. 



Colonel Tourtelotte was ordered to Little Eock for 

 the purpose of investigating the frauds alleged by 

 those opposed to the constitution, and was informed, 

 by the parties preferring the charges, that at least six 

 weeks would elapse before they could be ready to pro- 

 ceed with the investigation, and that months would 

 be required to complete them. Such delay was not 

 deemed expedient. All the evidence bearing on the 

 subject is transmitted herewith. 



As there was no separate record kept of the 1,925 

 votes cast in Pulaski and Jefferson Counties by per- 

 sons not registered in those counties, there are no 

 means of ascertaining whether or not they were cast 

 for or against the constitution ; and, therefore, if the 

 reception of these votes by the registrars, under a law 

 of the existence of which they had no legal notifica- 

 tion, is held not to invalidate the election in the two ' 

 counties above named, the constitution appears to 

 have been adopted by a majority of 1,316. 



In a question of such importance, and one purely 

 civil, in which the action to be taken by the district 

 commander is not prescribed by section five of the 

 act of March 23, 1867, I have determined to forward 

 the entire record for the action of the proper author- 

 ities. I am, General, very respectfully, 



Your obedient servant, 



ALVAN C. GILLEM, Brevet Maj.-Gen. U. S. A. 

 Commanding Fourth Military District. 



General U. S. GRANT. 



Commanding Armies of the U. S. 



Three weeks in advance of General Gillem's 

 official report on this election, those who had 

 been elected members of the State Senate and 

 House of Eepresentatives, upon the assumption 

 that, in said election, the new State constitu- 

 tion had been ratified by the people, assembled 

 together, on April 1, at Little Eock, to begin 

 their sessions. The constitution had 4esignatetl 

 that day and place for their meeting. They 

 would have commenced their sessions on this 

 day, had not the superintendent of the public 

 buildings refused to open for them the appro- 

 priate halls as they requested. He refused on 

 the ground that he had no official knowledge 

 of such assembly. "Whereupon they caused 

 the building to be opened by a smith with 

 tools, and on April 2, 1868, began to hold 



