510 



MISSISSIPPI. 



election, and all persons entitled to register _ shall 

 take and subscribe to the following oath or affirma- 

 tion: "I, , do solemnly swear (or affirm), in 



the presence of Almighty God, that I am twenty-one 

 years old, that I have resided in this State six 



months, and in County one month ; that I 



will faithfully support and obey the Constitution and 

 laws of the United States, and of the State ^of Mis- 

 sissippi, and will bear true faith and allegiance to 

 the same ; that I am not disfranchised in any of the 

 provisions of the acts known as the reconstruction 

 acts of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congress, and 

 that I admit the political and civil equality of 

 all men, so help me God." Provided, That if Con- 

 gress shall, at any time, remove the disabilities of 

 any person disfranchised in the said reconstruction 

 acts of the said Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congress 

 (and the Legislature of this State shall concur there- 

 in), then so much of this oath, and so much only, as 

 refers to the said reconstruction acts shall not be re- 

 quired of such person, so pardoned, to entitle him to 

 be registered. 



Section 4. No person shall be eligible to any; office 

 of profit or trust, or to any office in the militia of 

 this State, who is not a qualified elector. 



Section 5. No person shall be eligible to any office 

 of profit or trust, civil or military, in this State, who, 

 as a member of the Legislature, voted for the call of 

 the convention that passed the ordinance of seces- 

 sion, or who, as a delegate to any convention, voted 

 for or signed any ordinance of secession, or who gave 

 voluntary aid, countenance, counsel, or encourage- 

 ment to persons engaged in armed hostility to the 

 United States, or who accepted or attempted to ex- 

 ercise the functions of any office, civil or military, 

 under any authority or pretended government, ^ au- 

 thority, power, or constitution, within the United 

 States, hostile or inimical thereto, except all persons 

 who aided ^construction by voting for this conven- 

 tion, or who have continuously advocated the assem- 

 bling of this convention, and shall continuously and 

 in good faith advocate the acts of the same, but the 

 Legislature may remove such disability: 'Provided, 

 That nothing in this section except voting for or sign- 

 ing the ordinance of secession shall be so construed 

 as to exclude from office the private soldier of the 

 late so-called Confederate States Army. 



Section 6. In time of war, insurrection, or rebellion, 

 the right to vote, at such place and in such manner 

 as shall be prescribed by law, shall be enjoyed by all 

 persons otherwise entitled thereto, who may be in 

 the actual military or naval service of the United 

 States or this State : Provided, Said votes be made to 

 apply in the county or precinct wherein they reside. 



Among the efforts of the conservatives to 

 effect a compromise on the subject of political 

 equality, was the submission of a measure, 

 by a minority of the committee on suffrage, 

 guaranteeing certain rights and privileges to 

 colored citizens. The preamble contains a pro- 

 test against so much of the majority report 

 " as confers the right of suffrage upon a class 

 of persons recently emancipated from slavery, 

 uneducated, and wholly disqualified for the ex- 

 ercise of that great privilege," and begs leave to , 

 submit as one of the articles of the constitution, 

 a " guarantee of rights and privileges." The 

 first section of this proposed article provided 

 that colored residents of the State should " re- 

 ceive, in common with white citizens, the pro- 

 tection and care of the State, and the benefit 

 of merciful laws adapted to the improvement 

 of their condition, and the advancement of 

 their interests." The second section guaran- 

 tees to them full privileges and complete secu- 



rity with regard to the acquisition and trans- 

 mission of property, and concedes to them all 

 the benefits of the laws and the courts in the 

 protection of personand property. The re- 

 mainder of tjie article relates to their protec- 

 tion as laborers, and provides for the establish- 

 ment of separate schools for colored children. 

 This plan met with little favor at the hands 

 of the majority of the convention. 



Provision was made for the organization of 

 a system of common schools, to be supported 

 by certain specified funds. A public school 

 was to be maintained in each school district at 

 least four months in the year, and the Legis- 

 lature was required to provide, as soon as pos- 

 sible, for the establishment of an agricultural 

 college, and to appropriate for the support of 

 that institution the 210,000 acres of land grant- 

 ed to the State, for that purpose, by the act of 

 Congress of July 2, 1865. 



Among the general provisions of the constitu- 

 tion was one prohibiting lotteries, and the sale 

 of lottery tickets. The ordinance of secession 

 was declared Dull and void ; and the State of 

 Mississippi prohibited from paying any " debt 

 or obligation contracted in aid of the rebellion, 

 nor shall this State ever, in any manner, claim 

 from the United States, or make any allowance 

 or compensation for slaves emancipated or lib- 

 erated in any way whatever since the 9th day 

 of January, 1861." Persons elected to office, 

 on entering upon their duties, are required to 

 swear, in addition to the usual asseverations in 

 such cases, that they have never voted for or 

 signed any ordinance of secession, or ever, as 

 members of any State Legislature, voted for 

 the call of any convention that passed any 

 such ordinance. 



The labors of the convention were closed 

 by the passage of an ordinance providing for 

 an immediate submission of the constitution 

 to the people for their ratification. The elec- 

 tion for the purpose was to take place on the 

 22d of June, and at the same time the vote of 

 qualified electors was to be taken for all State 

 officers, including members of the Legislature 

 and Eepresentatives to Congress. It was also 

 enacted that the first Legislature under the 

 new constitution should meet at Jackson on 

 the second Monday after the ratification of 

 that instrument should be promulgated, and 

 that the first term of all civil officers should com- 

 mence on the second Monday after the official 

 announcement of their election, and continue 

 until the end of the first full term succeeding 

 such election. A committee of five was des- 

 ignated to appoint commissioners of election, 

 and adjust all outstanding accounts of the con- 

 vention. Further power was given to this 

 committee by the following : 



SEC. 12. "When this convention adjourns it shall bo 

 subject to the call of the committee of five appointed 

 by this convention : Provided, That, should the con- 

 stitution be ratified, this convention shall thereafter 

 be adjourned sine die, but in case the constitution 

 should not be ratified, then the convention may be 

 reconvened by said committee. 



