ARKANSAS. 



49 



tormtnlng whether the reUtor U entitled to the rollef 



lur hi- riiflit to tlu- ollUv. i!' nUbllllwd t sll. is 



)ient of the Circuit Court uf 1'u- 



.. We are of opinion that Hie Circuit Court 



ubjoct-matier, and it* jndgment 



: v'.'iiil. II -ivInuarrlviMl at these 



i-ionn, the demurrer IB OTrrataL mid the writ of 



uiiuiiUuma will be swarded, a* prayed for. 



To show the value of this decision it is proper that 

 I should make the following statement : On tbe 20th 

 . >ks made a formal application to the Pres- 

 1 to suppress domestic violence, which 

 waa accompanied by a paper signed by Chief-Justice 

 1 Justices Searlo and Stephenson, in 

 . stated that they recognized Brooks as 

 nor, and to this paper, also, is appended tho 

 name of 1'u^o, the respondent in the above-named 

 proceeding for mandamus. Page, therefore, did not 

 to pay the warrant of the Auditor because he 

 ilitl not recognize Brooks as Governor, but the ob- 

 ject of his refusal evidently was to create such facts 

 us wuru necessary to make a case for the Supreme 

 Court. Accordingly, the pleadings were made up 

 by the parties, both of whom were on the same side 

 in the controversy, and the issue so made was sub- 

 mitted to judges virtually pledged to give the deci- 

 sion wanted, and there, within the military encamp- 

 ment of Brooks, they hurriedly but with delicacy, as 

 they say, decided that he is Governor, a decision in 

 plain contravention of the constitution and laws of 

 the State, and in direct conflict with two other recent 

 decisions of the same court deliberately made. I 

 refrain from comment. More than once the Supreme 

 Court of the United States has decided that it would 

 not hoar argument in a case made up in this way, and 

 a decision obtained under such circumstances is not 

 recognized as authority by anv respectable tribunal. 

 No doubt this decision will ad*d to the complications 

 ami difficulties of the situation, but it does not affect 

 lament as to the right of Baxter to, the office 

 ot Governor until it is otherwise decided upon a con- 

 tost made by the Legislature of the State. 



On the llth instant the General Assembly of the 

 State was convened in extra session upon the call of 

 Baxter, and both Houses passed a joint resolution 

 pursuant to Section 4, Article IV. of the Constitution 

 of the United States, calling upon the President 

 to protect the State against domestic violence. This 

 call exhausts all the means which the people of the 

 State have under the Constitution to invoke the aid 

 of the Executive of the United States for their pro- 

 tection, and there seems to be, under the circum- 

 stances of the case, an imperative necessity for im- 

 mediate action. I nave the honor to be, witli great 

 respect. 



GEO. H. WILLIAMS, Attorney-General. 



The Legislature continued in session until 

 May 28th, when it adjourned. The most impor- 

 tant measure passed was a bill providing for 

 the assembling of a Constitutional Convention, 

 on the 14th of July, and the election of dele- 

 gates, to beheld June 30th. 



At the election held on the 30th of June, 

 80,259 votes were cast for, and 8,607 against 

 holding a convention ; the majority for the con- 

 vention being 71,652. At the same time, 91 

 delegates were chosen. On the 14th of July, 

 the convention assembled in Little Rock. 

 This was the fifth Constitutional Convention 

 which had been convened in the State, the 

 others having been held in 1836, 1861, 1864, 

 and 1868. The new constitution was voted 

 upon by the people on the 18th of October, 

 and was ratified by a majority of 53,890 votes, 

 78,697 votes having been cast for, and 24,807 

 against it. 



VOL. XIT. I A. 



This large majority in favor of tho new con- 

 stitution indicates thu dissatisfaction, among 

 the people, in reference to the old one, which 

 was adopted in 1868, before the State had 

 fairly recovered from the effects of the war. 

 One of the most marked defects in the consti- 

 tution of 1868 was the almost unlimited ap- 

 pointing power vested in the Governor, tlie 

 extent of which is indicated by the following 

 language of one of the public men of the State: 

 " The Governor of Arkansas has more official 

 patronage than any Governor in the Union ; 

 he appoints a chief-justice, sixteen circuit 

 judges, sixteen prosecuting attorneys, one chan- 

 cellor, six criminal judges, three supervisors in 

 each of the eighty counties of the State, six 

 circuit court clerks, eighty county treasurers, 

 eighty county assessors, eighty coroners, all the 

 justices of the peace, constables and notaries 

 public, a land- commissioner, a commissioner of 

 public works, a State geologist and insurance 

 agent, with perhaps some others, besides hav- 

 ing power to fill all vacancies in elective offices." 

 Under the new constitution, the choice of all 

 civil officers is vested in the people, thereby 

 depriving the Executive Department of the 

 power of appointment. With the old constitu- 

 tion, disappear all its disfranchisements. The 

 distinguishing features of the new constitution, 

 as compared with that of 1868, consist in sub- 

 mitting the election of all officers of the gov- 

 ernment to the popular vote ; in diminishing 

 the number of officers to such limit as is ne- 

 cessary to an economical and successful ad- 

 ministration of the government ; in limiting the 

 rate of taxation by the Legislature on the as- 

 sessed value of all property ; in protecting the 

 public credit, by expressly prohibiting the Leg- 

 islature from contracting any debt, save for 

 certain specified purposes ; and in prohibiting 

 all local and special legislation. 



The Bill of Rights declares that no distinction 

 shall be made in the rights of citizens on ac- 

 count of race or color ; that the privilege of 

 the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspend- 

 ed except by the General Assembly; that no 

 person shall be imprisoned for debt in any 

 civil action, on mesne or final process, unless in 

 cases of fraud; that monopolies shall not be 

 allowed ; and that no distinction shall be rnado 

 between resident aliens and citizens in regard 

 to property. The power of declaring martial 

 law is taken from the Governor and vested in 

 the Legislature by Section 12 of the Bill of 

 Rights, which says that " no power of suspend- 

 ing or setting aside the law or laws of the 

 State shall ever be exercised, except by the 

 General Assembly." 



Tho right of suffrage is extended to every 

 male citizen of the United States, or male per- 

 son who has declared his intention of becom- 

 ing a citizen, of the age of twenty-one yi n:>. 

 who has resided in the State twelve months, in 

 the county six months, and in the voting piv- 

 cinct, or ward, one month previous to the elec- 

 tion. It is provided that no law shall be en- 



