ARKANSAS. 



37 



3. That we renew our assurance of confidence and 

 rapport to the State administration, and trust that 

 the laws may be so modelled and executed that 

 every officer shall be amenable to the people for the 

 faithful discharge of his duty, and that economy and 

 honesty may mark every branch of the service under 

 liepublican control. 



4. That we favor free schools and the education of 

 the masses, for we thereby secure the permanence 

 of republican institutions and transmit the inheri- 

 tance of free government to posterity. 



5. That, desiring unity, harmony, and success^ we 

 cordially invite all who wish our country to be Iree, 

 prosperous, and happy, to unite with us in our efforts 

 to secure success, laying aside all questions as to in- 

 dividuals, and uniting all energies for the triumph 

 of liepublican principles. 



6. That we condemn all efforts to disrupt the party, 

 by assaults on and abuse of leading Republican offi- 

 cials of the State, by those professing to be Republi- 

 cans, and we demand that they take their positions 

 either with us or with the Democracy, where they 

 belong. 



There was, however, a discontented section 

 of the party, which had considerable strength. 

 This was made up of the Republican opponents 

 of Clayton and his administration in the State, 

 who were popularly denominated "Brindle- 

 tails." 



An interesting decision was rendered by the 

 United States Circuit Court, in the Eastern 

 District of Arkansas, in March, which settles 

 the question of liability on contracts, for which 

 slaves formed the consideration on either side. 

 The points determined are stated with suffi- 

 cient clearness in the following syllabus of the 

 case: 



1. The institution of slavery, under the Constitution 

 of the United States, was purely local in its character, 

 and confined to the several States where it existed, 

 and was the creature of positive law, and this is true 

 of all its incidents. 



2. The Constitution of the United States did not 

 regard slaves as property, but as persons ; and it did 

 not establish slavery or give any sanction to it, save 

 in the single respect of the return of fugitives from 

 service. 



3. A remedy on a contract., which is against sound 

 morals, natural justice, and right, may exist by virtue 

 of the positive law under which the contract was 

 made ; but such remedy can only be enforced so long 

 as that law remains in effect. As such remedy de- 

 rives all its support from the statute, it cannot for 

 any purpose survive its repeal. 



4. The new constitution of Arkansas, declaring 

 that " all contracts for the sale and purchase of slaves 

 were null and void," is not in conflict with the clause 

 of the Constitution of the United States prohibiting 

 any State from passing any law impairing the obliga- 

 tion of contracts, which clause does not operate so as 

 to perpetuate the institution of slavery or any of its 



incidents, these being matters over which, the States 

 had unlimited control. 



5. The thirteenth amendment to the Constitution 

 of the United States ipso facto destroyed the institu- 

 tion of slavery and all of its incidents, and put an end 

 to all remedies growing out of sales of slaves. 



6. In view of the thirteenth and fourteenth amend- 

 ments to the Constitution of the United States, the 

 court holds that a remedy on a contract for the sale of 

 slaves is contrary to the spirit of their provisions, 

 against public policy, and cannot be maintained. 



In the course of his opinion, Judge Caldwell 

 laid down the following principle: 



The fundamental ground on which emancipation 

 proceeded was, that the right of the slave to his free- 

 dom was paramount to the claim of his master to 

 treat him as property ; that slavery was founded in 

 force and violence, and contrary to natural right; 

 that no vested right of property could arise out of a 

 relation thus created, and which was an ever-new 

 and active violation ot the law of Nature and the in- 

 alienable rights of man every moment that it sub- 

 sisted. The last clause of section 4, of article 14, de- 

 clares that " neither the United States, nor any State, 

 shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred 

 in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United 

 States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of 

 any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims, 

 shall be held illegal and void." This clause was in- 

 serted, not to discharge the United States and the 

 several States from any legal obligation to pay for 

 slaves emancipated, for no such obligation had been 

 incurred. It is a limitation on the discretionary power 

 of the legislative departments of both governments 

 to appropriate money for such purpose, independent- 

 ly of any legal obligation, and to prevent the agita- 

 tion and disturbance that would result from leaving 

 the question in that situation. The very language 

 of the Constitution itself is conclusive on the ques- 

 tion. 



The State debt of Arkansas amounts to 

 $19,398,000, classified as follows: 



Funded debt $4,430,000 



State aid railroad bonds (only $3,600 000 issued) 11,400,000 



Levee bonds (about $1.600,000 issued) 3,000,000 



Ten-year bonds to supply casual deficits 300,000 



Floating debt 268,000 



Total $19,398,000 



Omitting the bonds in aid of railroads, and 

 for the construction of levees, which have not 

 yet been issued, the debt will stand at about 

 $10,000,000. The debt of the State in Janu- 

 ary, 1867, was $3,252,401.50. The act author- 

 izing the loan of the State credit to railroads 

 was passed in 1868, and granted $15,000 per 

 mile to roads having no land-grant, and $10,000 

 per mile to those having such grants, to the 

 extent of 850 miles in all. Up to July last this 

 had been awarded as follows : 



These bonds have thirty years to run, and 

 bear six per cent, interest, which is paid by 

 the roads. With this assistance, much progress 



has been made in developing the railroad sys- 

 tem of the State. Among the important lines 

 in course of construction are the Cairo & Ful- 





