ARKANSAS. 



43 



ExiotmvB Orvioi, LITTLE BOCK. 



To mtmlxrt of tfo Stnatt and House of Hopresentativts 



of tkt Gentral AsstnMy of the State of Arkansas : 



:iU of the moat extraordinary character, iuvolv- 



peaoe and welfare of the people of the Stuto, 



roe.iutlv transpired, aa Executive of the State 



.ited these matters to the Executive of the 



, stating to him that I had been forcibly eject- 



n tlio Executive ottioo, und was prevented by 



.tion of Federal troops from asserting by 



: iv i-l.iiiu-i to suid office. At last, on this 22d 



April, 1 sent the following dispatch to the 



lent: 



[Hero follows a copy of the dispatch, and of the 



nt's reply.] 



Now, therefore, during the present occasion, one 

 of sufficient magnitude, and after such assurances 

 d from the Executive of the nation, I deem 

 myself warranted in the exercise of the power vested 

 in me by the constitution of the State, to convene 

 the Legislature of the State of Arkansas, to meet at 

 Little Bock, the capital of said State, on Monday, 

 May 11, 1874, at twelve o'clock. In testimony where- 

 of I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my pri- 

 vate seal, the seal of the State not being at present 

 accessible. 



Done at the capital, this 22d April, 1874. 



ELISHA BAXTER, Governor of Arkansas. 

 By the Governor : 



J. M. JOHNSON, Secretary of State. 



On the 27th of April formal application for 

 Federal aid was again made by Governor Bax- 

 ter, aa follows : 



LITTLE ROOK, April 27, 1874. 

 U. 8. GBAITT, President : 



On the 19th day of this month, as Governor of this 

 State, I telegraphed you there was an armed insur- 

 rection against the legal government of this State, 

 and made a requisition upon you for aid to suppress 

 it, and to prevent domestic violence. I have just 

 now been advised that you never received the requi- 

 sition. I now take occasion to say that an armed 

 insurrection exists in this State against the lawfully 

 constituted authority thereof, and, as the Legislature 

 cannot meet until the llth day of May, I call upon 

 you for aid to protect the State against domestic 

 violence. 



ELISHA BAXTEB, Governor of Arkansas. 



Up to the close of the month the position of 

 affairs had continued about the same as at the 

 beginning of the difficulty. Brooks still held 

 possession of the State-House, while Baxter's 

 headquarters had remained at the Anthony 

 House. The excitement throughout the city 

 had not diminished, nor had business been 

 resumed. Disturbances were frequent, and 

 arrests were made by both sides, but there 

 had been no general collision between the op- 

 posing forces. On the 80th, however, an ac- 

 tion occurred at New Gascony, in Jefferson 

 County, between a body of Brooks's troops, 

 reported at two hundred strong, and a portion 

 of Baxter's force, stationed at Pine Bluff, un- 

 der General King White. The number of the 

 Brooks party killed was variously reported 

 from five to eleven, the wounded from twelve 

 to twenty, and the captured from twenty to 

 sixty. None of General White's troops were 

 reported to have been killed, but seven were 

 wounded. Different reports were given of 

 the origin of this collision : one, to the effect 

 that General White had marched against the 

 Brooks troops because they were threatening 



Pine Bluff; and another, because they were 

 committing depredations in Jefferson County. 



On the 8d ot May two of the judges of the 

 Supremo Court, John . Bennett and . J. 

 Searle, while on their way to attend a session 

 of the court in Little Rock, were arrested at 

 Argenta, opposite that city, and taken from 

 the train by parties claiming to act under the 

 authority of Elisha Baxter. The latter, how- 

 ever, disclaimed any knowledge of the arrest 

 or of the disposition that had been made of the 

 judges. For several days the whereabouts of 

 the prisoners was unknown to the public, and 

 it was even rumored that they had been assas- 

 sinated. The public excitement, therefore, was 

 very high. It subsequently appeared, however, 

 that the captured judges had been taken by 

 a military guard to Benton, in Saline County. 

 While in custody at this point, Judge Bennett 

 sent the following communication to Captain 

 Rose: 



BENTON, SALINE COUNTY, AEK., May 5, 1874. 

 Colonel ROSE, commanding United States Troops, Lit' 

 tie Rock, Arkansas. 



COLONEL: On last Saturday evening, as Judge 

 Searle and myself were quietly seated in the cars at 

 Argenta, opposite Little Rock, we were forcibly eject- 

 ed and arrested by an armed body of men. num- 

 bering, I suppose, about twenty-five. We asked by 

 what authority we were arrested, and were answered 

 it was by order of Governor Baxter. We then de- 

 manded to know for what crime, or supposed crime, 

 we were restrained of our liberty, ihey told us 

 they would not tell, but said we should be immedi- 

 ately taken before Governor Baxter ; but wo have 

 not been so taken, but have been forced to come to 

 this place, where we now are, twelve o'clock, M. On 

 yesterday I addressed a letter to Governor Baxter, 

 narrating the above facts, and demanding that wo 

 should be informed of the nature of the accusations 

 against us ; but as yet he has not done so, nor do I 

 believe he will do so. The premises considered, al- 

 low me to say we are American citizens of the State 

 of Arkansas, have always been true and loyal to the 

 government of both. We were both soldiers in the 

 Federal army, Judge Searle a major and lieutenant- 

 colonel ; I have held all ranks from a sergeant to 

 colonel of the Seventy-fifth Illinois Infantry ; have 

 been a first-lieutenant in the regular army. We have 

 always been peaceful and quiet citizens ; are at pres- 

 ent holding tne honorable positions of associate jus- 

 tices of the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas ; 

 have never violated any laws of God or man for which 

 we are amenable to any tribunal in the State of Arkan- 

 sas or the United States, that we are aware of; but. 

 notwithstanding all this, we are now restrained of 

 our liberty hefd by main force in a country not un- 

 der martial law not where we can demand our rights 

 as citizens of this great republic not where we can 

 get the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus, or any 

 other nominal writ known to the civil law. There- 

 fore, we appeal to you for assistance for our libera- 

 tion. Can wo have it ? 



Respectfully, your obedient servant, 



JOHN E. BENNETT, 

 Associate Justice Supremo Court. 



TJpon receipt of this note, troops were sent 

 toward Benton by Captain Rose ; but the two 

 captured judges escaped on the 6th, and soon 

 reached Little Rock. 



On the 7th of May a session of the Supreme 

 Court, attended by four of the five judges, wa-j 

 held in Little Rock, and an opinion delivered 



