ARKANSAS. 



under the supervision and control of this body, the 

 legal custodians thereof while in sessionj and that he 

 make such order for the disposition ot said armed 

 contending forces as will more perfectly protect the 

 State against domestic violence and insure this body 

 protection ; and that a duly certified copy of this 

 resolution be at once transmitted to the President of 

 the United States. 



Upon receipt of this communication from 

 the Legislature, President Grant issued the fol- 

 lowing proclamation, recognizing Baxter as 

 the legal Governor of the State, and ordering 

 the forces of Brooks to disband and return 

 home : 



Whereas, Certain turbulent and disorderly persons, 

 pretending that Elisha Baxter, the present Executive 

 of Arkansas, was not elected, have combined togeth- 

 er with force and arms to resist his authority as 

 such Executive, and other authorities of said State ; 

 and 



Whereas, Said Elisha Baxter has been declared 

 duly elected by the General Assembly of said State, 

 as provided in the constitution thereof, and has for 

 along period been exercising the functions of said 

 office into which he was inducted according to the 

 constitution and laws of said State, and ought by its 

 citizens to be considered the lawful Executive there- 

 of Land 



Whereas, It is provided in the Constitution of the 

 United States that the United States shall protect 

 every State in the Union on application of the Legis- 

 lature, or of the Executive when the Legislature can- 

 not be convened, against domestic violence ; and 



Whereat, The said Elisha Baxter, under section 4 

 of Article IV. of the Constitution of the United States, 

 and the laws passed in pursuance thereof, has here- 

 tofore made application to me to protect said State 

 and the citizens thereof against domestic violence ; 

 and 



Whereas, The General Assembly of said State 

 convened in extra session at the Capitol thereof on 

 the llth instant, pursuant to a call made by said 

 Elisha Baxter^ and both Houses thereof have passed 

 a joint resolution applying to me to protect the State 

 against domestic violence ; and 



*" Whereas, It is provided in the laws of the United 

 States that in all cases of insurrection against the 

 laws thereof it shall be lawful for the President of 

 the United States, on application of the Legislature 

 of such State, or of the Executive, when the Legisla- 

 ture cannot be convened, to employ such part of the 

 land and naval forces as shall be judged necessary 

 for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection, so 

 causing the laws to be duly executed ; and 



Whereas, It is required that whenever it may be 

 necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use 

 the military force forlhe purpose aforesaid, he shall 

 forthwith, by proclamation, command such insur- 

 gents to disperse and retire peaceably to their re- 

 spective homes within a limited tune: now, there- 

 fore 



I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United 

 States, do hereby make proclamation and command 

 all turbulent and disorderly persons to disperse and 

 retire peaceably to their respective abodes within ten 

 days from this date., and hereafter submit themselves 

 to the lawful authority, to the said Executive, and 

 the other constituted authorities of said State, and 

 I invoke the aid and cooperation of all good citizens 

 to uphold law and preserve the public 'peace. 



In witness 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 15th day of 

 May, in the year of our Lord 1874, and of the Inde- 

 pendence of the United States the ninety-fifth. 



U. 8*. GRANT. 

 By the President : 



HAMILTON Fisn, Secretary of State. 



The announcement of this action on the part 

 of the General Government caused the great- 

 est rejoicing in Little Eock. Brooks now dis- 

 banded his troops and retired from the State- 

 House, and Baxter took possession, The ex- 

 penses incurred on account of military opera- 

 tions during these disturbances were reported 

 to Governor Baxter at $250,000, by Adjutant- 

 General McCanary, and $300,000 by T. J. 

 Churchill, major-general commanding. 



As the action of the Federal Government 

 in this important controversy was based upon 

 the opinion of Attorney-General Williams, that 

 document is here given in full, not only as be- 

 ing an authoritative exposition of vital ques- 

 tions of constitutional law which are frequent- 

 ly arising, but also as affording a precedent to 

 be followed by the Government hereafter in 

 similar cases. 



DEPABTMENT OP JUSTICE, ) 

 The President. WASHINGTON, May 15, 1874. f 



SIB: Elisha Baxter, claiming to be Governor of 

 Arkansas, having made due application for Execu- 

 tive aid-to suppress an insurrection in that State, and 

 Joseph Brooks, claiming also to be Governor of said 

 State, having made a similar application, and these 

 applications having been referred by you to me for 

 an opinion as to which of these persons is the law- 

 ful Executive of the State, I have the honor to sub- 

 mit: That Baxter and Brooks were candidates for 

 the office of Governor at a general election held in 

 Arkansas on the 5th day of November, 1872. 



Section 19, of Article VI. of the constitution of the 

 State provides that the returns of every election for 

 Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, 

 Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney-General, and Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction, shall be sealed up and 

 transmitted to the seat of government by the return- 

 ing officers, and directed to the presiding officer of 

 the Senate, who, during the first week of the session, 

 shall open and publish the same in the presence of 

 the members there assembled. The persons having 

 the highest number of votes shall be declared elect- 

 ed, but, if two or more shall have the highest and 

 equal number ,of votes for the same office, one of 

 them shall be chosen by joint vote of both Houses. 



Contested elections shall likewise be determined 

 by both Houses of the General Assembly, in such 

 manner as is or may be prescribed by law. 



Pursuant to this section, the votes for Governor at 

 the said election were counted, and Baxter was de- 

 clared to be duly elected. Said section, as it will be 

 noticed, after providing for a canvass of the votes, 

 specially declares : " Contested elections shall like- 

 wise be determined by both Houses of the General 

 Assembly, in such H\anner as is, or may hereafter be, 

 prescribed by law." v When this constitution was 

 adopted, there was a law in the State which contin- 

 ues in force, prescribing the mode in which the con- 

 test should be conducted before the General Assem- 

 bly, the first section of which is as follows : 



All contested elections of Governor shall be decided 

 by the joint vote of both Houses of the General Assem- 

 bly, and in such joint meeting the President of the Sen- 

 ate shall preside. 



Brooks accordingly presented to the Lower House 

 of said Assembly his petition for a contest, but by 

 the decisive vote of 63 to 9 it was rejected by that 

 body. Subsequently the Attorney-General, upon 

 the petition of Brooks, applied to the Supreme Court 

 of the State for a quo warranto to try the validity of 

 Baxter's title to the office of Governor, in which it 

 was alleged that Baxter was a usurper, etc. That 

 court denied the application, upon the ground that 

 the courts of the State had no right to hear and dw- 



