ARKANSAS. 



10. We demand by Congress such legislation as 

 shall prevent the interposition of the Federal courts, 

 by mandamus or otherwise, between the courts of 

 the States and the counties and cities of the States. 

 Such interference, being hostile to the theory of our 

 Government, leads to centralization, and also de- 

 prives the State of a free and rightful exercise of its 

 sovereignty. 



11. We favor money aid on the part of the Gen- 

 eral Government, on full security, for the construc- 

 tion of the Southern Pacific Railroad. 



12. We favor an appropriation by the General 

 Government to aid in the constructions of levees 

 upon the Mississippi and its tributaries. 



13. We are opposed to any tariff except for pur- 

 poses of revenue alone, believing that the same tends 

 to build up particular industries at the expense of all 

 others. 



14. We are opposed to any settlement of our State 

 debt which would involve a compromise of any por- 

 tion of that which is just, in order to pay anything 

 upon that which is unjust or fraudulent. 



15. We are in favor of the next Legislature sub- 

 mitting to the people a proposed constitutional 

 amendment for ever prohibiting the levying of any 

 tax or the appropriation of any money to pay the 

 levee bonds, railroad-aid bonds, the unjust and ille- 

 gal part of the Holford bonds, or any other fraudu- 

 lent claim against the State. 



16. We demand of the Attorney-General that he 

 investigate our State scrip, and ascertain if any of it 

 now outstanding has been issued contrary to law, 

 and, if so, that he institute proceedings to have the 

 same declared void by the proper judicial tribunals 

 of the country. 



17. We are in favor of such a radical revision of 

 the criminal laws of the State as will reduce the ex- 

 pense of their enforcement. 



18. We demand such legislation as will carry into 

 effect the spirit, object, and intent of section 3, Article 

 XVII. of the Constitution of the State, in regard to 

 discrimination by railroads in the rates of freight 

 upon transportation of persons and property within 

 the State. 



19. We favor a wholesome system of public schools, 

 to the end that every facility may be afforded for 

 education consistent with the ability of the peo- 

 ple. 



20. We favor and invite immigration to our State 

 from any and all quarters, provided that it is of the 

 honest and industrious class. We want capital, mus- 

 cle, and brain : capital to be invested in our lands 

 and used in the developing of our mineral resources ; 

 muscle to fell our vast forests and till our fertile 

 fields ; and brains to direct, energize, and utilize both 

 capital and labor. We further declare that we know 

 no North, no South, no East, and no West in the mat- 

 ter of immigration, provided it comes to build up our 

 State and advance its material prosperity. 



21. That it is the sense of this Convention that 

 the colored population of the State of Arkansas are 

 identified in interest with the great Democratic party 

 of the State, and : fully recognizing the importance 

 of a more harmonious feeling between them, embrace 

 this opportunity of inviting them the colored people 

 of the btate to an active cooperation with us in fur- 

 thering our common interests. 



We fully endorse the action of a majority of the 

 House of Representatives in the investigation of 

 the frauds by which men not elected to office were 

 instituted in the offices of President and Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the United States ; and we insist that the 

 crimes be exposed and the criminals punished, to 

 the end that such crimes may never be attempted 

 hereafter. 



No other party nominations were made. The 

 State election is held biennially on the first 

 Monday in September, and the Legislature as- 

 sambles on the Tuesday after the second Mon- 



day in January following. The election for 

 members of Congress in November resulted 

 in the choice of four Democrats. The previ- 

 ous State election resulted in the success of 

 the entire Democratic ticket. 



No reports have been made of the condition 

 of the institutions of the State since January, 

 1877. 



On July 7th an important decision was ren- 

 dered by the Supreme Court of the Statj 

 on the constitutionality of three millions of 

 bonds, known as "Levee bonds." Chief 

 Justice English delivered the opinion of the 

 Court, declaring the bonds unconstitutional 

 and void. It seems that the Court rested 

 upon the simple objection that the act of pro- 

 viding for the issue of these bonds was not en- 

 acted in accordance with the provisions and 

 requirements of the Constitution of 1868, and 

 was therefore null and void. The Constitu- 

 tion of 1868 provided that on the final passage 

 of every act a vote of the members should be 

 taken by yeas and nays. In respect to this 

 act, the vote was not so taken, and therefore 

 lacked an essential ingredient required by the 

 Constitution as a fundamental condition to its 

 completion. It was only in its legal and tech- 

 nical aspects that the question of the legality 

 of these bonds was presented to the Court, 

 and they decided it according to the provisions 

 of the Constitution of 1868, under which the 

 act was supposed to have been enacted. Judge 

 Harrison delivered a cumulative opinion to the 

 effect that the bonds were also illegal and 

 void, because the act under which they were 

 issued authorized a loan of State credit, which 

 was forbidden by the Constitution; but the 

 majority stood upon the grounds first above 

 mentioned. This decision was severely criti- 

 cised outside the limits of the State, where 

 many of the bonds were held. It was charged 

 that the decision was based on a mere techni- 

 cality. To this it was replied that the courts 

 of Arkansas could not be any more exempt 

 from technicalities than those of other States. 

 The constitutionality of the act was put in 

 question immediately after its supposed pas- 

 sage. It was further charged that the deci- 

 sion was a great outrage on the rights of inno- 

 cent purchasers. To this it was replied that 

 the Legislature that enacted or attempted to 

 enact this law was not regarded by the people 

 who are now called upon to pay the*e bonds 

 as the legitimate government of Arkansas. 

 It was a Legislature foisted into power under 

 the despotic and fraudulent system of recon- 

 struction that virtually took all political power 

 out of the hands of the property-owners and 

 tax-payers, and placed it in the hands of ad- 

 venturers who had no other interest in the 

 country but to rob it. This levee-bond law- 

 was generally understood at the time to be a 

 put-up job and steal, and so denounced by the 

 Democratic and Conservative press of the 

 State. They were not sold in the market, 

 and held as investments by all classes of 



