630 



NORTH CAROLINA. 



Governor addressed a communication to the 

 Council of State, composed of the Secretary of 

 State, Treasurer, Auditor, and Superintendent 

 of Public Instruction, by whose consent alone 

 he is authorized to convene the Legislature in 

 extra session, which was as follows : 



STATE OF NOBTH CAROLINA, EXECUTIVE DEPAETMENT, 

 KALEIGH, March 7, 1882. 



To the Honorable the Council of State. 



GENTLEMEN : The question which I submit to you 

 to-day is, " bhall the Legislature be convened in extra 

 session ? " Upon this question I ask your advice, and, 

 if your advice be in favor of the call, what time will 

 you suggest as likely to work the least inconvenience 

 to the members ? 



The extraordinary occasion which, in my opinion, 

 makes an extra session necessary, is the new appor- 

 tionment act giving North Carolina nine members of 

 the House of Eepresentatives of the Congress .of the 

 United States. Since and before the passage of this 

 act I have given the matter a thorough and close in- 

 vestigation, and I can find no authority or machinery 

 for the election of a member of Congress by the State 

 at large. But desiring to get authoritative informa- 

 tion on this subject, I asked the Attorney- General for 

 his official opinion, intending to let his decision of the 

 question be my guide. My letter to him and his re- 

 ply are herewith submitted. 



My constitutional legal adviser having decided that 

 there is no machinery by which a member of Congress 

 for the State at large can be elected, there is nothing 

 else left for me to do but to ask your consent and ad- 

 vice to call the Legislature together to provide the 

 necessary legislation. However others may feel and 

 act, I am not willing that North Carolina, by any act or 

 omission of mine, shall be deprived of any part of her 

 representation and influence in the national Legisla- 

 ture, nor am I willing to take part in holding an elec- 

 tion which I am advised by the law officer of the 

 State is without authority of law. I am, very respect- 

 fully, Your obedient servant, 



THOMAS J. JAEVIS. 



The Council of State the Secretary of State 

 dissenting decided that it was not necessary 

 to put the State to the heavy expense of an ex- 

 tra session, and that the election of the ninth 

 member of Congress by the popular vote of 

 the entire State would be a legal election. 

 Three of the Democratic members of the pres- 

 ent Congress concurred with the majority of 

 the Council in opposition to the opinion of the 

 Attorney-General, the views of the Governor, 

 and the protest of the Secretary of State. The 

 question is a nice one. Does the act of the 

 Federal Congress which merely declares that 

 in case a State be entitled to an additional rep- 

 resentative, he may be elected at large, amount 

 to such a change or alteration of the regula- 

 tions of the State as to the " times, places, and 

 manner of holding elections for representa- 

 tives," as does away with the necessity of any 

 State law on the subject ? 



The political campaign of this year was un- 

 usually animated. Opposed to the regular 

 Democratic party were the Republicans and 

 " Liberals," the latter consisting chiefly of so- 

 called Independent Democrats, who had be- 

 come dissatisfied with their party and had co- 

 alesced with the Republicans to defeat it. The 

 "County Government " Bill and the "Prohi- 

 bition" Bill, passed by Democratic Legisla- 



tures, were the points against which the coali- 

 tion directed their main attacks. By virtue of 

 authority granted by the Constitution of 1875 

 the Legislature of 1877 passed an act providing 

 that the county magistrates should henceforth 

 be elected by the Legislature, and the county 

 commissioners, who levy the county taxes and 

 administer the county affairs generally, should 

 be appointed by the magistrates, instead of, as 

 theretofore, elected by the people of the va- 

 rious counties. The reason for this change was 

 that in the eastern portion of the State the ne- 

 groes, without property or intelligence, con- 

 trolled the elections, and were piling up a 

 mountain of debt which threatened to crush 

 the people. The western section, though com- 

 paratively free from this grievance, joined the 

 east and passed the present "county system," 

 as a matter of financial salvation. The Repub- 

 licans and Liberals charged that the obnoxious 

 law deprived the people of the right of local 

 self-government, but the popular voice was 

 outspoken in defense of the system as a choice 

 of evils. The Prohibition (of liquor) Bill, 

 which was submitted to the people and de- 

 feated by a large majority a year ago, was 

 charged to be a Democratic measure, and, 

 though no longer a living issue, was used, prob- 

 ably, as a sample of the evil designs of which 

 the coalition supposed the Democrats to be 

 capable, in order to defeat the regular Demo- 

 cratic nominees. Of the nine members of Con- 

 gress, including the member from the State at 

 large, the coalition only succeeded in electing 

 two opponents of the "Bourbon "Democracy. 

 The following table, showing the comparative 

 expenses of the State government during two 

 years of Republican administration and two 

 years of Democratic administration, which was 

 used effectively during the campaign, reconciled 

 a great many voters to the alleged anti-Repub- 

 lican spirit of the " county system " : 



The leading issues in the congressional can- 

 vass made by the Democratic party, were the 

 internal revenue taxation and the conduct of 

 the internal revenue officers, and the reckless 

 extravagance and corruption of their oppo- 

 nents. 



FINANCIAL CONDITION. The act of March 4, 

 1879, "to compromise, commute, and settle 

 the State debt," expired by the prescribed limi- 

 tation of the law on January 1, 1882. It pro- 

 vided for the redemption of the principal of the 

 bonded debt therein recognized, as foIloAvs : 



Bonds issued prior to May 20, 1861, 40 per 

 cent, exclusive of $100.000 of old bonds sur- 

 rendered under a special act by the Albe- 

 inarle and Chesapeake Canal Company $5,477,400 00 



