MISSISSIPPI. 



515 



have, by the largest popular vote ever cast in this 

 State, unmistakably expressed their desire for my 

 continuance in the use and occupancy of the mansion 

 as their constitutional Governor. In view of this 

 expressed desire of the just and lawful owners that 

 this property remain in the continuous possession of 

 their own chosen custodian, and from the further 

 fact that the mere occupancy of the mansion by my 

 family cannot operate as an impediment to the just 

 administration of the reconstruction laws of Congress, 

 I must respectfully decline to oblige yourself or others, 

 by vacating the mansion until a legally qualified Gov- 

 ernor is elected under the constitution of the State. 

 Very respectfully, BENJ. G. HUMPHREYS. 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, } 

 JACKSON, Miss., July 9, 1868. ) 

 Hoii. B. H. Humphreys : 



SIB: I haye^been informed (it is possible that my 

 information is incorrect) that you do not find it con- 

 venient to vacate the Governor's mansion. 



I presume it is because of the difficulty in finding 

 any other fit residence. It is my wish to put you to 

 as little personal inconvenience as possible. Under 

 the above supposition, I have no objection to your 

 occupying a part of the house. Next Monday, by 

 which time you can make the necessary arrangements, 

 I, with others, will take possession of a part of the 

 house. So long as we may remain joint tenants, 

 great care shall be taken not to inconvenience your 

 family. Very respectfully, yours, etc., 



A. AMES, Provisional Governor. 



JACKSON, Misa., July 9, 1868. 

 General A. Ames : 



SIR: Your letter of the 9th was received this morn- 

 . ing. It will be disagreeable to myself and family^ to 

 share the apartments of the Governor's mansion with 

 other permanent tenants. I hope my letter of the 

 8th will be satisfactory, and relieve us from any such 

 annoyance. Very respectfully, 



BENJ. G. HUMPHREYS. 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, ) 

 JACKSON, Miss., July 10, 1868. ) 

 Eon. B. <?. Humphreys : 



SIE : Yours or the 8th and 9th were received this 

 morning. 



You entirely ignore the reconstruction acts of Con- 

 gress, and the action taken by those empowered to 

 act under them. I recognize no other authority. 

 Under- such circumstances, your statement, by which 

 you would show yourself the lawful Governor of this 

 State, has little weight 



The feeling entertained not only by me, but by 

 others, not to cause you any personal inconvenience, 

 has, through your own action, ceased to exist. 



The controversy about the "mansion" can only 

 terminate as indicated in my letter of yesterday. 



Very respectfully, 



A. AMES, Brevet-Major-General U. S. A., 

 Provisional Governor. 



HEADQUARTERS, POST OF JACKSON, ) 

 JACKSON, Miss., July 13, 1868. | 

 Hon. B. r. Humphreys : 



SIR : General Ames, the Provisional Governor of 

 this State, has called upon me, as the officer in com- 

 mand of this post, to gain possession of one-half of 

 the mansion now occupied by you. 



I send Lieutenant Bache, with a guard of men, to 

 see that Governor Ames's request is carried out. 

 Lieutenant Bache will hand you this letter^ 



I do not desire to use force if I can help it, but he 

 will be instructed to do so if necessary. I wish to 

 avoid all unpleasantness to yourself and family but 

 if you desire, for political purposes, to have a military 

 " pantomime," 1 have also instructed Lieutenant 

 Bache to carry it out with all the appearances of a 

 reality, without actual indignity. 



I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



y ' * JAMES BIDDLE, 

 Captain and Lieut-Col. ,.U. S. A., commanding post 



The thorough organization of the Democratic 

 party, and the active canvass carried on through- 

 out the entire campaign preceding the election 

 of June 22d, had the intended effect, and a 

 large proportion of the negroes in the State 

 either abstained from voting altogether, or cast 

 their ballots against the ratification of the con- 

 stitution. The whole vote on that question 

 was 120,091, of which 56,231 were for, and 

 63,860 against th,e ratification ; giving the Dem- 

 ocrats a majority of 7,629, notwithstanding the 

 alleged fact that a considerable majority of the 

 registered voters were blacks. The vote for 

 Governor was nearly the same as that on the 

 constitution ; B. B. Eggleston, the Republican 

 candidate, received 55,250 votes, and Benjamin 

 B. Humphreys 63,321, which gave a Democratic 

 majority of 8,071. Five members of Congress 

 were chosen, four of whom were Democrats. 

 The Legislature, if ever allowed to assemble, 

 will have a small Democratic majority. There 

 were numerous charges of fraud and intimida- 

 tion at the polls, but General Gillem stated in 

 his report that the military force was distrib- 

 uted at nearly as many posts in the State as 

 there were counties, in order to secure a fair 

 election, and that no instance of violence or 

 intimidation was reported by the officers in 

 charge. Though charges of fraud were made 

 on both sides, the commanding-general de- 

 clared himself satisfied that " the election was 

 as fair and free from intimidation and the in- 

 fluence of fraud as it would be possible to 

 secure under existing circumstances, and that 

 no undue influence was exercised at the polls." 



General Gillem, who was very popular with 

 the people of Mississippi, had been appointed, 

 in July, to relieve General McDowell in the 

 command of the Fourth Military District, which 

 had been reduced to the single State of Mis- 

 sissippi, by the consummation of the " recon- 

 struction" of Arkansas by act of Congress. 

 (See AEKANSAS.) 



The State, having refused to comply with the 

 conditions imposed by Congress for its resto- 

 ration to the Union, remained under the mili- 

 tary rule which had been placed over it, and 

 several instances occurred of the immediate ex- 

 ercise of the authority of the district com- 

 mander in matters ordinarily under the sole 

 control of the civil powers. The question now 

 came up, as to whether the State would be al- 

 lowed to participate in the presidential elec- 

 tion. On the llth of August, the Democratic 

 Executive Committee determined to publish an 

 address to the Democracy of the North, ex- 

 pressive of their cordial sympathy, and protest- 

 ing against " the law of Congress passed in vio- 

 lation of the declared objects of the war, to 

 prohibit Mississippi from performing her duty 

 and exercising her privilege of casting her vote 

 in the presidential election." The address 

 was accordingly published, and expressed anew 

 the opposition of the conservative people of 

 the State to the course of the Federal Gov- 

 ernment and of the Republican party, in deal- 



