632 



MINNESOTA. 



MISSISSIPPI. 



United States, should find expression in such just and 

 appropriate legislation as will fully protect individuals 

 and localities from extortionate tariffs and injurious 

 discriminations, and that the Legislature of Minnesota 

 should take sucn action in this behalf as will effectually 

 relieve the producing interest of the crushing burden 

 now imposed upon it. 



Resolved, That we condemn the management of our 

 public institutions, and especially the manner in which 

 the public funds were squandered by the trustees and 

 officers of the Insane Asylum at St. Peter, as well as 

 the cowardice of Governor Pillsbury in declining to 

 remove those officers, when their incapacity and mis- 

 management were reported to him. And we also con- 

 demn the action of a partisan Legislature in refusing to 

 pass a bill for their removal. We further condemn 

 Hie action of a partisan committee of the Legislature, 

 in recommending a settlement of the deficiency or 

 $4,000, reported by the Senate Committee, on the pay- 

 ment of $300. 



After the nominations made by the Republi- 

 can Convention, a question was raised respect- 

 ing the eligibility of "W. 0. Oilman for the office 

 of Lieutenant-Governor, as he was at the time a 

 member of the House of Representatives of the 

 Legislature. A clause of the State Constitu- 

 tion declares as follows : " No Senator or Rep- 

 resentative shall, during the term for which he 

 is elected, hold any office under the authority 

 of the United States or the State of Minne- 

 sota, except that of postmaster." It was urged 

 that this constitutional provision had been fre- 

 quently disregarded. The reply was that " it 

 had lain dormant in practice because no occa- 

 sion has heretofore presented itself where those 

 who understood its effect felt disposed to in- 

 voke these latent powers of the Constitution. 

 But a thousand inadvertent violations of the 

 law do not, in the slightest degree, impair its 

 force or effect whenever the occasion comes 

 for its operation " ; and a writ of quo war- 

 ranto was threatened if the candidate took 

 office. 



The result of the election, on November 4th, 

 was as follows : 



FOR GOVERNOR. 



John A. Pillsbury, Republican 65,918 



Edmund Rice, Democrat 41,583 



W. W. Satterlee, Prohibitionist 2.863 



Meighen, National 4,264 



FOE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 



C. A. Oilman, Republican 69,075 



E. P. Barnum, Democrat 83,554 



A. B. Williams, Prohibitionist 8,615 



J. M. "Westfall, National 4,148 



FOR SECRETARY OF STATE. 



P. von Baumbach, Republican 69,780 



Felix A. Borer, Democrat 89,'J40 



I. C. Stearns. Prohibitionist 2,507 



A. P. Lane, National 4,139 



FOR TREASURER. 



Charles Kittelson, Republican 59,950 



,. L. E. Cowdery, Democrat 88,988 



Dunham, Prohibitionist. 2,551 



Joseph Gear, National 3,964 



FOR ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 



C. M. Start, Republican 60.153 



P. M. Babcock, Democrat 88,881 



A. W. Bangs, Prohibitionist 2,588 



O. Stephenson, National 4,064 



FOR RAILROAD COMMISSIONER. 



W. R. Marshall, Republican 69,995 



William Colville, Democrat 89,009 



, Prohibitionist 2,689 



Ebenezer Ayers, National 4,048 



A constitutional amendment, prohibiting 

 county and municipal corporations from cre- 

 ating debt in aid of railroads in excess of five 

 per cent, of taxable property in them, was 

 adopted yeas, 55,143 ; nays, 1,702. 



MISSISSIPPI. The Constitution of this State 

 was adopted in 1869, while military rule pre- 

 vailed. It is the only one of the constitutions 

 adopted at that period in the Southern States 

 which has thus far remained unchanged. The 

 question of holding a Constitutional Convention 

 has of late been often presented. Among the 

 reasons urged in favor of such Convention, it is 

 said that the present Constitution was written 

 and enacted by alien enemies, and the true peo- 

 ple of the State had no voice in its formation ; 

 the basis of representation in the Legislature is 

 very unequal and unjust ; it provides that in- 

 dictments for penal offenses may be found in 

 any county other than that in which the offense 

 was committed ; the judiciary system should be 

 remodeled ; the Judges should hold their term 

 of office for four years, and should be elected 

 by the people; the Circuit Courts should be 

 vested with equity jurisdiction ; the system of 

 registration should be abolished ; the Legisla- 

 ture should have a supervisory power over rail- 

 road corporations, savings banks, and insur- 

 ance companies, by which the people could be 

 protected from their frauds and oppressions; 

 all supernumerary offices, such as chancellors, 

 registrars, and county superintendents of public 

 education, should be abolished, and the duties 

 of the latter devolve upon the Probate Judge ; 

 elections should be held only every two and 

 four years (political elections every two years, 

 judicial and ministerial every four years) ; all 

 special legislation should be prohibited ; and 

 any county or city or town forbidden to vote 

 aid to any railroad or corporation, upon the 

 well-recognized doctrine that the majority have 

 no right to tax the minority except for the 

 legitimate expenses of government. 



The assessment of real estate was ordered in 

 1879, and the returns made the valuation amount 

 to $95,937,398. The State tax for a series of 

 years has been as follows: in 1874, 14 mills on 

 the dollar, $14 on $1,000; in 1875, 9 mills on 

 the dollar, $9.25 on $1,000; in 1876, 6 mills 

 on the dollar, $6.50 on $1,000; in 1877, 5 

 mills on the dollar, $5 on $1,000; in 1878, 3* 

 mills on the dollar, $3.50 on $1,000. The tax 

 of 5 mills in 1877 amounted to $497,686; the 

 8^ mills in 1878 yielded $335,789. The de- 

 crease in the State tax of 1878 over 1877 on 

 account of realty was $143,906.10, and on ac- 

 count of personalty $44,134.05, making a total 

 decrease in State tax of 1878 over 1877 of $188,- 

 040.15. 



The statistics of public schools in 1878, made 

 up and reported by the State Superintendent 

 in 1879, show the following results : 



