TEXAS. 



745 



18. That delegates to the St. Louis Convention be, 

 ami they are la-ruby, instructed to vote UN a unit on 

 all proposition*, and that the majority Hhull control 

 tin- \ nti- ; ami while we will yield un nnitttttiog and 

 zi'iilciis support to any wound and capable Denmi'i at 

 whii may be nominated for President, and whilr we 

 do not instruct our delegates in regard to tluir 

 votes, yet we express our preference for the lloij. 

 Th.'iiius A. II i-ii. hicks, of Indiana, us honest and 

 cupalile, favorably located, and, in our judgment, 

 combining tnore elements of success than i:i;y other 

 uaiiu-il aspirant. 



During the month of August, party conven- 

 tions were held, at which the action of the 

 National Convention was fully approved and 

 their platforms reaffirmed. Candidates were 

 nominated for presidential electors and for 

 Governor of the State. James D. Porter was 

 nominated by the Democrats for Governor. 

 The Republicans made no regular nomination, 

 but Thomas was put forward as an inde- 

 pendent candidate. George Maury was sup- 

 ported by a portion of the Republican party, 

 William T. Yardley (colored) by others, and 

 A. M. Hughes by a small number. 



At the election on the 7th of November the 

 total vote for presidential electors was 222,732, 

 of which the Democratic candidates received 

 133,166, and the Republican candidates 89,566, 

 making the majority of the former 43,600. 

 For Governor there were 210,632 votes cast. 

 Of these, Porter received 123,740, Thomas 73,- 

 695, Maury 10,436, Yardley 2,165, and Hughes 

 596. Porter's plurality over Thomas was 50,- 

 045 ; majority over all, 36,848. The Legislature 

 chosen at the same time, to hold its session in 

 January, 1877, consists of 20 Democrats and 5 

 Republicans in the Senate, and 57 Democrats, 

 16 Republicans, and 2 Independents in the 

 House. This makes the Democratic majority 

 15 in the Senate and 39 in the House, or 54 on 

 joint ballot. The Secretary of State, Con- 

 troller, and Treasurer, are elected by the Legis- 

 lature. In January, 1877, Colonel C. W. Gibbs 

 and Colonel J. L. Gaines were reelected to the 

 offices of Secretary of State and Controller, 

 and Colonel Marshall T. Polk was chosen 

 Treasurer. Colonel Polk is the youngest son 

 of a brother of James K. Polk, a former Presi- 

 dent of the United States. He was educated 

 at the West Point Military Academy, and 

 served in the Confederate army, a part of the 

 time on the staff of General Leonidas Polk. 



James E. Bailey has been chosen United 

 States Senator, to complete the term begun by 

 Andrew Johnson and continued by D. M. Key, 

 who was appointed by the Governor, but failed 

 of election when the Legislature met. Judge 

 Bailey is a lawyer of high standing, a native 

 of Clarksville, and before the civil war was a 

 prominent Whig. He served as a colonel in 

 the Confederate army. 



TEXAS. The Constitutional Convention 

 which met at Austin on September 1, 1875, 

 to revise and amend the organic law of the 

 State, closed its session by final adjournment 

 on the 24th of November. Among other 

 changes made in the old constitution, the or- 



ganization of the three departments of the 

 Mate government is more or Jews altered ; at, 

 in the executive, some of the officers are made 

 elective; in the legislative, the number of 

 Senators is fixed at thirty-one, and of Repre- 

 sentatives at ninety-three; and it establishes 

 oiii- Supreme Court, consisting of a Chief -Jus- 

 tice and two Associate Justices ; one Court of 

 Appeals, composed also of three judges; and 

 twenty-six District Courts, held by one judge 

 each. By ordinances appended to the new 

 constitution, the convention divides the State 

 into twenty-six judicial, thirty-one senatorial, 

 and seventy-nine representative districts. 



i 



STATE SEAL OF TEXAS. 



The new constitution makes the State elec- 

 tions biennial, and limits the duration of the 

 legislative session to sixty days, except the first 

 session, which may be extended to ninety days, 

 with a still further extension of thirty days, 

 if the Legislature deems it necessary. 



The convention submitted its work to the 

 people at an election held on the second Tues- 

 day of April, 1876, when they should ratify or 

 reject the new constitution, and vote also for 

 the State and local officers specified in it. 



In preparation for this election, the Demo- 

 cratic party of Texas met in State Convention 

 at Galveston, at the end of the first week of 

 January, 1876, to nominate candidates for 

 State offices, for Judges of the Supreme Court 

 and Court of Appeals, and for presidential 

 electors ; also to choose delegates to the Dem- 

 ocratic Convention at St. Louis. The nomina- 

 tions resulted as follows: 



For Governor, Richard Coke; for Lieuten- 

 ant-Governor, Richard B. Hubbard ; for State 

 Treasurer, A. J. Dorr ; for Controller of Pub- 

 lic Accounts, Stephen H. Darbin; for Com- 

 missioner of the General Land-Office, J. J. 

 Gross; for Attorney-General, Hamilton H. 

 Boone. 



For Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, O. 

 M. Roberts. For Associate Justices, Messrs. 

 Moore and Gould. 



For Judges of the Conrt of Appeals, John P. 

 White, M. D. Ector, and C. M. Winkler. 



For presidential electors at large and their 



