560 



MISSISSIPPI. 



The foregoing table has been compiled by the 

 Board of Missions of the Presbyterian Church 

 in the United States of America, and pub- 

 lished by them in connection with a " Survey 

 of Fifty Years' Mission- Work." It is prefaced 

 by a statement in explanation of the difficul- 

 ties of making a table of the kind accurate 

 and complete. These are occasioned chiefly 

 by the difference in the methods of making 

 up statistical tables by different societies. A 

 division of the native laborers into ordained 

 and unordained was desired, but it could not 

 be made for all the societies ; in like manner, 

 the distinction between the wives of mission- 

 aries and unmarried women-laborers could not 

 be marked. The returns of some of the Con- 

 tinental societies, and some of the smaller Brit- 

 ish and American societies, had to be taken 

 from the reports for 1875. In one or two in- 

 stances, as in the case of the Netherlands Mis- 

 sionary Society, the number of members had 

 to be in part estimated approximately. In the 

 returns of the Society for the Propagation of 

 the Gospel and the Wesleyan Missionary So- 

 ciety, the colonial work is not included. The 

 figures fail to give the amounts that have been 

 expended by local societies, the local contribu- 

 tions of different missions, and the amounts 

 that have been used by the Bible and Tract 

 Societies in their distinct operations abroad. 



The Basel Missionary Society celebrated in 

 1876 its sixty -first anniversary. Its receipts 

 during the year had been 861,041 francs, and 

 its expenditures 763,512 francs. All of its 

 thirty mission-stations showed an increase of 

 native members. The most fertile field of 

 labor was China; after that were the Gold 

 Coast and India. The number of European 

 missionaries in the service of the Society was 

 one hundred and sixty-eight, besides sixty- 

 seven European women -missionaries, and two 

 hundred and twenty-seven native helpers of 

 both sexes. The institute at Basel had during 

 the year ninety-six pupils. It had in the same 

 period furnished six new missionary agents, to 

 whom would shortly be added seven young 

 men who had just completed their studies. 



MISSISSIPPI. The session of the Legisla- 

 ture which began on the 3d of January and 

 closed on the 15th of April was one of the 

 most important in the history of the State. 

 It secured the removal of three important 

 State officials, submitted important amend- 

 ments to the constitution of the State, re- 

 duced the expenses of the government very 

 largely, and did much toward bringing the 

 administration of affairs to a systematic and 

 economical basis. The body was composed 

 of 37 Senators and 116 Representatives. Of 

 the Senators, 26 were Conservatives and 11 

 Republicans, 5 of whom were colored. Of 

 the Representatives, 97 were Conservatives 

 and 19 Republicans, 16 of the latter being col- 

 ored. The more important results of the ses- 

 sion may be briefly summarized thus : Repeal 

 of the militia law, repeal of the law giving the 



Governor power to appoint tax-collectors and 

 county officers, repeal of the district printing 

 bill, reduction of the number of judicial offi- 

 cers, reduction of the expenses of the Com- 

 missioner of Immigration, general reduction 

 of salaries, reduction of the cost of State insti- 

 tutions, reduction of State tax from 9J to 6J- 

 mills on the dollar, general reformation of the 

 financial system, new levee laws, new school 

 law, new registration law, revision of the 

 criminal laws, reapportionment of the congres- 

 sional representation, constitutional amend- 

 ments, removal of the Governor, Lieutenant- 

 Governor, and Superintendent of Education. 

 Some of these measures call for more particu- 

 lar notice. 



STATE SEAL OF MISSISSIPPI. 



On the 14th of February the House of Rep- 

 resentatives adopted a resolution directing that 

 articles of impeachment be prepared against 

 Alexander K. Davis, the colored Lieutenant- 

 Governor, and managers were appointed to 

 conduct the case before the Senate, as a court 

 of impeachment. Five articles were submit- 

 ted, charging the Lieutenant-Governor with 

 receiving a bribe while acting as Governor, in 

 the absence of Governor Ames, in June, 1875, 

 as consideration for granting a pardon to 

 Thomas H. Barrentine, convicted of the mur- 

 der of Ann Thomas, in Lowndes County, on 

 the 25th of August, 1874. In his answer, Mr. 

 Davis admitted granting the pardon, but de- 

 nied that it was "in any manner procured, in- 

 duced, influenced, or promoted by any money, 

 or other thing whatever, paid or delivered, or 

 to be paid or delivered, to this respondent, 01 

 to any other person." The trial of Mr. Davis 

 was completed on the 13th of March, and re- 

 sulted in his conviction by a vote of 32 to 4, 

 six republicans, one of them colored, voting 

 " guilty." The four voting " not guilty '' were 

 all colored Republicans. Sentence was passed 

 on the 23d of March, by a vote of 25 to 4, re- 

 moving Mr. Davis from office, and disqualify- 

 ing him from holding any office of profit, honor, 

 or trust, in the future. 



The resolution directing the impeachment 



