AMERICA. 



13 



2. On the in St., the hall of the House in the 



Capitol shall be vacated, and at 11 o'clock of that day 

 all the persons holding certificates of election as 

 Eepresentatives shall assemble therein ; but the per- 

 sons holding the certificates of Secretary Bagland 

 shall be the only representatives seated from Bar- 

 bour County, and shall make, in the usual manner, 

 a temporary organization. 



3. Two tellers, one Eepublican and one Democrat, 

 shall be appointed by the Speaker pro tern., who 

 shall publicly, and in the presence of the House, 

 count the votes cast for Kepresentatives in the 

 County of Marengo, and for that purpose they shall 

 take the returns of the precinct inspectors of said 

 county, or, in case they cannot be procured, the evi- 

 dence of said inspectors, as far as the same may be 

 necessary, to ascertain the actual vote cast as afore- 

 said; and the persons found upon such count to 

 have the highest number of votes for Eepresentatives 

 shall be seated as such from said county ; but the 

 persons now holding certificates of election as Eep- 

 resentatives from Marengo shall not vote upon or in 

 said temporary organization ; nor shall any business 

 other than deciding the contest as to said county be 

 transacted during such organization. 



4. When such contest is determined, the House 

 shall make a permanent organization in the usual 

 way. 



5. On said the instant, the Senate-Chamber 



shall be vacant, and at 12 o'clock the persons hold- 

 ing certificates of election as Senators shall assemble 

 therein, and organize, with the Lieutenant-Governor 

 presiding, with the person holding the certificate of 

 Secretary Eagland in his seat as the only Senator 

 from Barbour County, and the votes for Senator in 

 Marengo County shall be counted in the same way, 

 and upon the same kind of evidence as is hereinbe- 

 fore provided for the House contest as to said county, 

 and upon such count the person found to have the 

 highest number of votes for Senator from said coun- 

 ty shall be seated as such, but the person now hold- 

 ing the certificate of election to the Senate from said 

 county shall not vote upon any question while the 

 contest about his seat is pending ; and then the con- 

 test as to the district comprising the counties of 

 Butler and Conecuh shall be decided in the same 

 way and upon the same kind of evidence, and the 

 person now holding the certificate of election as Sen- 

 ator from said district shall not vote upon any ques- 

 tion before he is declared elected upon a count of the 

 votes of said district as aforesaid, nor shall the Sen- 

 ate do any other business before these contests are 

 settled. 



No person not holding a certificate of election shall 

 take a seat in either body until his right thereto is 

 affirmed as above provided. 



> All those claiming to be members, and seated in 

 either organization, shall be allowed mileage and per 

 diem compensation prior to the temporary organiza- 

 tion, as hereinbefore provided for: after which per- 

 sons holding certificates from Secretary Parker for 

 Bourbon County shall cease to draw pay, and those 

 contesting seats for Marengo and the district of But- 

 ler and Conecuh who are finally excluded shall be al- 

 lowed per diem pay until said contests are respective- 

 ly endedj and the officers and employe's of each 

 organization shall be paid the usual compensation. 

 (Signed) GEOEGE H. WILLIAMS, 



Attorney-General. 



The two Houses were subsequently organ- 

 ized and the contested election cases went over 

 the holiday recess. The proceedings thereon 

 will form part of the record for 1873. 



AMERICA. x\ll questions between the 

 United States and Great Britain were adjusted 

 during the year. The Board of Commission- 

 ers, appointed by the respective Governments, 

 duly assembled at Geneva, in Switzerland, 



and, after a patient hearing of the claims of 

 each, made a pecuniary award to the United 

 States. This result was accepted by each na- 

 tion. The question of the Northwestern 

 boundary between the same Governments, 

 which was submitted to the Emperor of Ger- 

 many, was decided by him in favor of the 

 claims of the United States. It involved the 

 possession of the island of San Juan. Imme- 

 diately after the decision was officially known, 

 the British forces were withdrawn from the 

 occupation of the island. The presidential 

 election in the United States took place during 

 the year, and resulted in the choice of Presi- 

 dent Grant for a second term. The reduction 

 of the public debt during the year has been 

 $83,278,375. The Enforcement Act of Con- 

 gress was continued in force for the year, and 

 in April the President issued his proclamation 

 relative to disturbances in South Carolina. 

 Many destructive fires occurred, especially one 

 in Boston, on November 9th and 10th, at which 

 the loss was estimated at $78,000,000, of which 

 $60,000,000 was personal property, and $18,- 

 000.000 the value of buildings. 



The peace of the South American States 

 was disturbed by no foreign war during the 

 year, but internal strife prevailed intermittent- 

 ly in Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and the Ar- 

 gentine Republic. A serious revolution was 

 discovered in the latter country on the eve of 

 its outbreak. The chief fomenter was General 

 Arredondo, the notorious revolutionary leader. 

 Indian raids were productive of much loss of 

 life and property; and in the Tandil massacre 

 35 persons were killed by a band of religious 

 fanatics. The Paraguayo-Brazilian question, 

 so long at issue between the Cabinets of Rio 

 de Janeiro and Buenos Ayres, was amicably 

 terminated, and cordial relations restored be- 

 tween the two countries. A few cases of yel- 

 low fever appeared at Buenos Ayres and Mon- 

 tevideo, and the disease raged for some time 

 at Rio de Janeiro. Small-pox had been rife in 

 Chili; and an epidemic had attacked three 

 Brazilian towns, and carried off 8,000 out of 

 13,000. The sanitary condition of Guayaquil 

 and some other towns in Ecuador had been 

 ameliorated; and the Government of Buenos 

 Ayres was taking active measures for the es- 

 tablishment of adequate water-works and a 

 regular system of street-sewerage. The elec- 

 tions in Brazil were attended by much agita- 

 tion and some bloodshed ; most of the mem- 

 bers returned were from the republican ranks. 

 Paraguay ceded to Brazil, as a war-indem- 

 nity, the territory comprised between the Para- 

 guay and Parana Rivers, north of the Apa, 

 about 1,000 geographical square miles. The 

 boundary question is not yet settled between 

 the Argentine and Bolivian Republics ; the 

 latter still urges her claim to the Chaco as far 

 south as the Bermejo, and had already formed 

 and begun to colonize a new province, corre- 

 sponding to the Argentine province of Saltn. 

 The Bermejo will probably be the west dividing 



