MISSISSIPPI. 



515 



the Legislature, while we express our regrets that 

 the acts of certain lawless persons, as well as other 

 unfortunate circumstances, have served to thwart 

 our purpose in this matter thus demonstrating 

 that it is much easier to destroy than it is to restore 

 civil government. 



12. We are most earnestly in favor of, and insist 

 upon, the General Government extending its foster- 

 ing care and protection to the vast agricultural in- 

 terests of the Mississippi Valley, as it does to the 

 commercial and mercantile interests of the country, 

 by immediately taking charge of the levees. 



13. We favor biennial elections, and to this end 

 we advocate such amendments to the constitution 

 and the enactment of such laws as will provide for 

 the holding of all general elections at the same time 

 that Kepresentatives are elected to Congress. 



14. We are opposed to loaning to railroads or 

 other corporatipiis the funds donated by Congress 

 to this State for educational purposes, and we de- 

 mand the repeal by the next Legislature of the law 

 by which the Agricultural Scrip and the Chickasaw 

 school funds have been diverted from the sacred 

 object contemplated by the donors. 



15. We are opposed to burdening the reconstruct- 

 ed State of Mississippi with the payment of the old 

 repudiated Union and Planters' Bank bonds, a debt 

 (if debt it can be called) contracted by the Locofoco 

 Democracy, and by them repudiated, and we pledge 

 ourselves by every lawful means in our power to 

 resist the assumption, by the State government, of 

 any and all such pretended debts, and for this pur- 

 pose we commend for ratification by the people, at 

 the polls at the ensuing election, the following pro- 

 posed amendment to the constitution of this State : 

 Add to section 5 of Article XII. the following 

 words, to wit : Nor shall the State assume, redeem, 

 secure, or pay indebtedness, or pretended indebted- 

 ness, claimed to be due by the State of Mississippi, 

 to any person, association, or incorporation, whatso- 

 ever, claiming the same as owners, holders, or as- 

 signees, of any bond or bonds now generally known 

 as the Union Bank or Planters' Bank bonds. 



16. We also favor the ratification of the amend- 

 ment proposed to section 6, Article VIII. of the 

 constitution, relating to fines, forfeitures, etc., in 

 the support of public schools; and the proposed 

 amendment to section 17, Article VI. of the con- 

 stitution, relating to a division of the State into a 

 convenient number of chancery districts. 



17. One of the prime wants of our State is a greater 

 population, for population is wealth. Through their 

 accessions from foreign nations the North and West 

 have become great, rich, and powerful. The State, 

 as well as societies and individuals, should lend its 

 aid to induce immigration from all parts of the world. 

 We have millions of acres of unoccupied lands of 

 unsurpassed fertility ; our manufacturing interests 

 are in their infancy ; the trades, professions, and 

 mechanic arts offer the most inviting attractions ; 

 and we favor immigration without regard to nativity, 

 race, religion, or politics. There are room and wel- 

 come for all, with a soil capable of supporting a pop- 

 ulation often millions. 



18. " Let us have peace." The war closed more 

 than ten years ago, yet turmoil and violence keep 

 from us the blessings of peace ; they turn to the un- 

 congenial prairies of the far West the great tide of 

 immigration which would enrich Mississippi, as it 

 has other States ; and for the languishing condition 

 of our commonwealth we arraign the Democratic 

 elementSj notoriously including the Ku-klux and 

 White-Liners as capital, like immigrants, shuns 

 communities where Peace does not spread her wings. 



19. In the maintenance of the principles above set 

 forth, as well as to put into practical operation the 

 purposes indicated, we extend an earnest invitation 

 to all persons, without regard to race, color, or for- 

 mer political affiliation, in good faith, to unite with 



There were several disturbances of the 

 peace growing out of political hostility between 

 white and colored citizens during the canvass. 

 A disturbance occurred at a meeting in Yazoo 

 City on the evening of September 1st, result- 

 ing in the death of one man, the severe wound- 

 ing of another, and the slight wounding of 

 three or four more. The speaker of the even- 

 ing was Colonel A. T. Morgan, Sheriff of Yazoo 

 County, and in the excitement which followed 

 he left the county, and professed to believe that 

 his life was in danger. 



At Clinton, Hinds County, September 4th, a 

 Republican barbecue was held, at which there 

 was a discussion between a prominent Repub- 

 lican and a Democratic speaker. There was a 

 great crowd present, consisting largely of ne- 

 groes. A fight occurred on the outskirts, grow- 

 ing out of some trivial personal insult, and two 

 negroes were shot. This was the signal for a 

 general attack upon the whites, and in the 

 course of the melee three white men were killed 

 and several wounded. An alarm was given, 

 and armed white men from Vicksburg, Jack- 

 son, and other quarters, concentrated at Clin- 

 ton in anticipation of a general assault upon the 

 place. In the course of the night seven or 

 eight negroes were killed, but it was soon 

 found that no serious conflict was likely to oc- 

 cur, and the armed men dispersed and quiet 

 was restored. On the 7th of September Gov- 

 ernor Ames sent the following communication 

 to the President of the United States : 



JACKSON, Miss., September 7, 1875. 

 To Sis Excellency U. S. GBANT, President, Washing- 

 ton. 



SIR : Domestic violence, in its most aggravated 

 form, exists in certain parts of this State. On the 

 evening of the 1st instant, unauthorized and illegal 

 armed bodies overthrew the civil authorities of Yazoo 

 County, and took forcible possession of said county, 

 from which the sheriff, the peace-officer of the coun- 

 ty, was compelled to fiee for safety, and is still a ref- 

 ugee. The sheriff of this (Hinds) county reports 

 that sincie the 4th instant he has been unable, after 

 every effort, to maintain the peace and protect rights. 

 He reports various murders oy unauthorized armed 

 bodies, who are scouring the county. Warren Coun- 

 ty is also reported as being in a state of terrorism, 

 from the demonstrations of still other unauthorized 

 armed bodies, and a feeling of insecurity pervades 

 the other counties of the State. 



After a careful examination of all the reports I find 

 myself compelled to appeal to the General Govern- 

 ment for the means of giving that protection to 

 which every American citizen is entitled. I do not 

 now make formal application under the provisions of 

 the Constitution of the United States, but telegraph 

 you to know if you can and will regard the procla- 

 mation issued by you in December last, on the ap- 

 plication of the Legislature of this State, as still in 

 force. The necessity of immediate action cannot be 

 overstated. If your proclamation of December last 

 is not in force, I will at once make a formal applica- 

 tion in accordance with the provisions of the Consti- 

 tution of the United States. 



ADELBERT AMES. 



This dispatch was submitted to the Attorney- 

 General, and an answer given that the procla- 

 mation of December was not in force. The 

 following dispatch was received next day : 



