460 



MISSISSIPPI. 



as the ^Reconstruction Acts of the Thirty-ninth and 

 Fortieth Congresses, and that I admit the political and 

 civil equality of all men, so help ine God." Provided 

 that if Congress shall at any time remove the disa- 

 bilities of any person disfranchised in the said Eecon- 

 struction Acts of the said Thirty-ninth and Fortieth 

 Congresses, and the Legislature of this State shall con- 

 cur therein, then so much of this oath and so much 

 of this only as refers to the said Eeconstruction Acts 

 shall not be required of such person so pardoned to 

 enable him to register, and I further submit to_ a 

 separate vote section 5 of the same article of said 

 constitution, which is in the following words : " No 

 person shall be eligible to any office of profit or trusL 

 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 secession, or who, as a 

 delegate to any Convention, voted for or signed any 

 ordinance of secession or who gave voluntary aid, 

 countenance, counsel, or encouragement, to the per- 

 sons engaged in armed hostility to the United States, 

 or who accepted or attempted to exercise the func- 

 tions of any office, civil or military, under any au- 

 thority or pretended government authority, power, 

 or constitution, within the United States, hostile or 

 inimical thereto, except all persons who aided re- 

 construction by voting for this convention, or who 

 have continuously advocated the assembling of this 

 convention, and shall continuously and in good 

 faith advocate the acts of the same, but the Legisla- 

 ture may remove such disability, provided that noth- 

 ing in this section, except voting for or signing the 

 ordinance of secession, shall be so construed as to 

 exclude from office the private soldier of the late so- 

 called Confederate States army ; " and I further sub- 

 mit to a separate vote section 5 of article 12, of the 

 said constitution, which is in the following words : 

 "The credit of the State shall not be pledged or 

 loaned in aid of any person, association, or corpora- 

 tion, nor shall the State hereafter become a stock- 

 holder in any corporation or association." And I 

 further submit to a separate vote part of the oath of 

 office prescribed in section 26 of article 12 of the said 

 constitution, which is in the following words : " That 

 I have never, as a member of any convention, voted 

 for or signed any ordinance of secession ; that I have 

 never, as a member of any State Legislature, voted 

 for the call of any convention, and which expressed 

 any such ordinance." The above oath shall also be 

 taken by all the city and county officers before en- 

 tering upon their duties, and by all other State offi- 

 cers hot included in the above provision. I direct 

 the vote to be taken upon each of the above cited 

 provisions alone, and upon the other portions of the 

 said constitution in the following manner, viz. : 

 Each voter favoring the ratification of the constitu- 

 tion, excluding the provisions above quoted, as 

 adopted by the Convention of May 18, 1868, shall 

 express his judgment by voting "for the constitu- 

 tion ; " each voter favoring the rejection of the consti- 

 tution, excluding the provisions above quoted, shall 

 express his judgment by voting " against the con- 

 stitution." Each voter will be allowed to cast a sep- 

 arate ballot for or against either or both of the pro- 

 visions above quoted. It is understood that sections 

 4 _> 5 ) 6, 7. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, of article 13, un- 

 der the head of "ordinance," are considered as fa- 

 voring no part of said constitution. 



In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand 



and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 



Done at the city of Washington, this tenth day of 



July, in the year of our Lord one thousand 



[SEAL 1 eight hundred an< i sixty-nine, and of the in- 



' J dependence of the United States of America 



the ninety-fourth. 

 By the President: U. S. GRANT. 



HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State. 



A military order issued from the headquar- 

 ters of the district on the 14th of October, 



directing the election to be held on Tuesday, 

 the 30th of November, and Wednesday, the 

 1st of December, in pursuance of the Presi- 

 dent's proclamation. Full directions were given 

 as to the revision of the registration lists, the 

 conduct of the election, and the method of 

 making the returns. It was ordered that a 

 board of three registrars for each police dis- 

 trict should meet on the 16th of November to 

 revise the lists of qualified voters, and continue 

 the work for five days. " To the end that the 

 laws may be fairly and justly executed," it was 

 ordered that " two white and two colored per- 

 sons, of different political parties, registered 

 voters of the county, will be selected by the 

 Board to challenge the right of any person to 

 be registered, who, in the opinion of the per- 

 son challenging, is disqualified. Upon such 

 challenge being made, the Board will examine 

 the applicant on each point of alleged disquali- 

 fication. Evidence shall be taken if offered. 

 A careful record of all official action of the 

 Board will be kept for information of these 

 Headquarters." 



The Board of Registrars was authorized to 

 strike off the names of such persons as they 

 were satisfied were not entitled to vote, and 

 to add such as should establish their right to 

 that privilege. A certificate of registration 

 was to be furnished to every qualified voter 

 whose name was added to the list, and to all 

 persons previously registered, who should give 

 satisfactory evidence of their identity and of 

 the loss of their old certificates. Power was 

 also given to the Boards of Registration, when 

 in the performance of the duties of their office, 

 to preserve the peace in the vicinity of the 

 place of registration, and, if they deemed it 

 necessary, to organize a special police force for 

 that purpose. They were also authorized to 

 call on the civil and military authorities for 

 aid, if it should be necessary. 



The registrars were directed to act as Com- 

 missioners of Election, and detailed instructions 

 were given them with regard to their duties 

 as such. Among the regulations for conduct- 

 ing the election were the following : 



7. The Commissioners of Election will make such 

 arrangements for voting as will permit all to gain 

 access to the polls and deposit tneir votes without 

 opposition or resistance. The commissioners, with 

 the persons designated as challengers, shall be the 

 only persons permitted to remain in the room where 

 the voting takes place nor will persons be allowed 

 to occupy the windows or doors of the room. The 

 voters will be admitted one at a time, to pass out at 

 a door other than the one at which they enter, that 

 there may be no interruption of the balloting': 



Interference with the voters as they approach the 

 ballot-box or await their turn, in such order as they 

 may have been arranged, will not be tolerated. ^ The 

 Commissioners of Election and the regularly-appointed 

 peace officers will take particular care to notice any 

 and all such interference, and report all violations to 

 these headquarters, with depositions, etc. 



9. Every person presenting his ballot at the polls 

 shall announce his name and exhibit his certificate of 

 registration, and if upon examination it is found he 

 has been registered as a voter, one of the cornmis- 



