10 



ALABAMA. 



Secretary of State, W. W. Screws, 87,673; for 

 Auditor, Willis Brewer, 87,315 ; for Treasurer, 



I. II. Vincent, 88,231 ; for Attorney-General, 



II. C. Tompkins, 88,204. In the Senate fifteen 

 members held over and eighteen were elected 

 all being Democrats but two. In the House 

 there was a large majority of Democratic mem- 

 bers. The election of members of Congress, 

 under the act of Congress, was held on No- 

 vember 5th, and resulted in the choice of the 

 Democratic candidates in every district except 

 the Eighth, where the Independent candidate 

 was chosen. 



Previous to this election, and on October 

 3d, the following letter was sent by United 

 States Attorney-General Devens to the Unit- 

 ed States attorneys in Alabama, Louisiana, and 

 South Carolina : 



DEPAETMENT OP JUSTICE, I 

 WASHINGTON, D. C., October '3d. f 



To Charles E. Mayor, Esq., United States Attorney, 



Montgomery, Ala. 



SIR: Information has been given me of certain 

 outrages alleged to have been committed and threat- 

 ened to be committed in northern and middle dis- 

 tricts of Alabama, in connection with the approaching 

 Congressional election. This information is of such 

 a character that I deem it proper to call your atten- 

 tion to the laws of Congress intended to protect the 

 purity of such elections. Proper steps must be taken 

 to punish those who offend against them, and to 

 secure to all citizens, without distinction of party, 

 while the election is pending, their just rights. The 

 statement of crimes against the elective franchise is 

 condensed in chapter 7, title 70, of the Revised Stat- 

 utes, and your attention is especially called to section 

 5520, which enacts : " If two or more persons in 

 any State or Territory conspire to prevent, by force, 

 intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully 

 entitled to vote from giving his support or advocacy 

 in a lawful manner toward or in favor of the election 

 of any lawfully qualified person as elector for Presi- 

 dent or Vice-President, or as member of Congress or 

 the tJnited States, or to injure any citizen in person 

 or property on account of such support or advocacy, 

 each of such persons shall be punished by a fine of 

 not less than $50 nor more than $500, or by impris- 

 onment, with or without hard labor, not less than 

 six months nor more than six years, or by both fine 

 and imprisonment." The enforcement of this pro- 

 vision is essential to proper discussion of the merits 

 of citizens who come forward as candidates for Con- 

 gress. When, therefore, it is invaded by combina- 

 tions or conspiracies, by force or threats, to prevent 

 citizens from giving their support and advocacy to 

 any lawfully qualified person as member of Congress, 

 and sufficient evidence of this is brought to. your 

 attention, you will act energetically in bringing those 

 entering into such conspiracies to justice, by causing 

 warrants to be issued against them by some firm and 

 impartial United States Commissioner, and by hav- 

 ing such parties promptly brought before him to be 

 dealt with according to law. Such warrants should 

 be made returnable when you or your assistant can 

 attend at the hearing. On account of the importance 

 Of the matter, 1 deem it proper also to add that in 

 such cases you should endeavor to select those who 

 you are satisfied are leaders in such conspiracies, 

 rather than the mere followers. In no case will you 

 permit any warrants to be wantonly or causelessly 

 issued. _ The laws are to be executed firmly, but al- 

 ways fairly and impartially. You will show this let- 

 to the Marshal, if you should have occasion to 

 place warrants in his hands relating to this subiect. 



Very respectfully, CHAELES DEVENS, 

 Attorney-General. 



The biennial session of the Legislature com- 

 menced at Montgomery on November 12th. 

 The Senate was organized by the choice of W. 

 G. Little as President, and the House by the 

 choice of David Clapton as Speaker. The Gov- 

 ernor (Houston), in his message previous to the 

 inauguration of his successor, thus described the 

 internal condition of the State : 



Peace being of the first importance to all govern- 

 ments, it is with pleasure I note the fact that never 

 in its history has Alabama been freer from strifes 

 and bloodshed, nor her citizens more orderly and 

 law-abiding, than at the present time. The long 

 and anxiously looked-for day when States can hold 

 their elections without Federal interference, and 

 regulate and control their internal affairs, has at last 

 dawned upon us. The entire country is to be con- 

 gratulated upon the fact that u government bacon " 

 will no longer carry elections in Alabama, nor the 

 arrests or threats of government officials deter voters 

 and keep them from the polls ; that the time has 

 passed when armed soldiers of the Federal Govern- 

 ment can enter and eject from the legislative halls 

 of a State the legally elected representatives of the 

 people ; that Federal bayonets will never again keep 

 the members of a Legislature out of the Capitol of 

 their State. These are causes for congratulation. 

 How these changes and grand reforms were accom- 

 plished, it IB needless to say. 



The embarrassments resulting from the de- 

 pression of industrial and financial affairs have 

 reached a large number of counties and cities 

 in all parts of the United States. In Alabama 

 many counties and cities failed to pay princi- 

 pal or interest on the bonds which they had 

 issued for local improvements. The bonds be- 

 ing held outside the State, the bondholders 

 commenced suits in the Federal Courts and 

 obtained judgments. These were followed by 

 a mandamus from the Court commanding a 

 tax to be levied to pay the judgment. Various 

 measures were adopted to escape the tax, and 

 generally without success. The case of the 

 city of Montgomery will serve as an illustra- 

 tion. A compromise of the city debt was pro- 

 posed at a discount of one fourth. It amount- 

 ed to $800,000. All the bondholders accepted 

 except one, who obtained a judgment in the 

 Federal Court. A mandamus was issued com- 

 manding the City Council to levy a tax to pay 

 the judgment. A majority of the Council re- 

 signed, and were then fined by the Court for 

 contempt. In Mobile, a proposition to ask the 

 Legislature to repeal the city charter and place 

 the city in the hands of a receiver was dis- 

 cussed. Numerous cases occurred in Arkansas. 

 (See ARKANSAS.) Immediately after the open- 

 ing of the legislative session, the sentiment of 

 the people of the State was expressed in the fol- 

 lowing joint resolutions, offered in the Senate, 

 instructing their Senators and Representatives 

 in Congress to urge the enactment of such laws 

 as may be necessary to prevent the exercise of 

 jurisdiction by the Courts of the United States 

 in suits against municipal corporations in the 

 several States : 



Whereas, Municipal corporations, namely, counties, 

 cities, and towns, as organized in Alabama and other 

 States, are integral parts of the State itself, and of 



