USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 13
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Resolved, That said election, with the concurrence of the Senate, do take place in the Representative Hall, on to-morrow, at 12 o'clock, and that the best interest of the State will thereby be promoted.
Then followed a series of motions, and much animated skirmish- ing, amid violent uproar, and the wildest confusion at times, which lasted until past midnight on Saturday morning. A scene of greater tumult and excitement was never before witnessed in the Legislature. The object of the Whigs was to produce delay, so as to prevent definite action on the resolution to bring on the elec- tion of Senator, until the hour had expired for the meeting of the two Houses on joint-ballot. Some idea may be formed of the temper and tenacity of members of both political parties by the entries on the Journal, of which an abstract is submitted:
Immediately after Mr. Morris had offered his amendment, Mr. Langdon moved that the House adjourn until ten o'clock next morning; which motion was lost. Yeas 46, nays 49.
Mr. Hutchinson called for a division, which was first ordered on striking out. Mr. Bates moved for a call of the House, which was lost. Yeas 41, nays 49. Mr. Hall then moved that the House adjourn until 10 o'clock the next morning, which was also lost. Yeas 44, nays 49.
The motion of Mr. Morris to strike out being still under con- sideration, Mr. Shanks, of Barbour, moved that the House adjourn to 10 o'clock the next morning. Yeas 42, nays 44. Mr. McAlpin then made a similar motion, which was lost. Yeas 41, nays 47.
Mr. Bates moved that the House adjourn until the next morning, 59 minutes after 9 o'clock. The Speaker (Mr. Young in the chair) decided that a motion to adjourn was always in order. From
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this decision Mr. Baker appealed to the House; and the question being stated-"Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judg- ment of the House?" it was voted in the negative. Yeas 44, nays 48.
The amendment of Mr. Morris being yet under consideration, Mr. Little, of Sumter, moved that the House adjourn until 10 o'clock the next morning. The Chair (Mr. Young presiding) pro- nounced the motion out of order under the decision of the House just made. Mr. Little appealed to the House, and the last decis- ion of the Chair was sustained. Yeas 51, nays 32.
The calls for yeas and nays on points of order, and on motions to adjourn, will appear by the following summary, the whole taking place at a very late hour of the night:
1. By Mr. Little, that the House adjourn until 10 o'clock the next morning-ruled out of order under the decision of the House just made. On appeal, the last ruling of the Chair was sustained. Yeas 52, nays 34.
2. By Mr. Inge of Sumter, that the House adjourn until 10 o'clock next morning-ruled out of order; and, on appeal by Mr. Hutchinson, the Chair was sustained-49, 36.
3. By Mr. Bates, to adjourn to the same hour-ruled out of order; and, on appeal by Mr. Hutchinson, the Chair was sus- tained-50, 35.
4. Mr. Bates again moved that the House adjourn to the same hour. Mr. Speaker Walker having resumed the chair, decided the motion to be in order. The House refused to adjourn. Yeas 45, nays 46.
5. Again by Mr. Bates, to adjourn to the same hour. Yeas 45, nays 47.
6. By"Mr. Hutchinson, to adjourn until the next morning at 45 minutes after 9 o'clock, which motion was lost-46, 47.
7 By Mr. Jemison, to adjourn to 40 minutes after 9 o'clock, which was refused by a vote of 46 to 47.
8. Again by Mr. Jemison, to adjourn to 35 minutes after 9 o'clock, which was lost by a tie vote-47 to 47.
9. By Mr. Little, to adjourn until 10 o'clock the next morning. Lost-42 to 47.
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The resolution from the Senate, and the amendment of Mr. Morris to the amendment of Mr. Moors being still under consid- eration, Mr. McClanahan moved to lay it on the table, which mo- tion prevailed.
Mr. Hutchinson then moved that the House adjourn until 10 o'clock next morning, which was refused-41 to 48.
At this stage of the question, after the members were exhausted by a continuous session of eighteen hours, in a parliamentary con- test by the Democrats to bring on the Senator's election on the 7th, and by the Whigs to prevent the election at the time appointed in the resolution, Mr. Reynolds, of Franklin, took the floor and appealed to his Democratic co-laborers to yield the mere question of time, as the result would be the same whenever the election for United States Senator took place. Just previously, and after the House had, on his motion, laid the resolution of the Senate on the table, Mr. McClanahan prepared to offer an original resolution to bring on the election of Senator at the time indicated in Mr. Morris' amendment, in which it was known that the Senate would concur in accomplishing the object in view. When this step was perceived by the Whig minority in the House, Mr. Bates, of Mo- bile, in his bold and fearless manner, denounced it as a trick, a snap-judgment, to overslaugh the Whigs under false pretences, and he called upon his political friends to leave the House in a body, from self-respect, and what was due to the dignity of legislation. This course was about to be taken, when Mr. Reynolds, whose frankness and liberality commanded the respect of all parties, in- terposed his conciliatory influence. He did only justice, he said, in confessing his admiration of the ability, perseverance, and tact with which the minority had acted their part in resisting what ap- peared to them a somewhat coercive and dictatorial step on the part of the majority, to make their power felt in such mode as best suited their caprice. He would deeply regret to see such knightly combatants retire from the Hall, with the conviction that their rights had been trifled with by the majority who held together with equally honest zeal to carry out their principles. He indulged the hope that his political friends would consent to adjourn, after so long and boisterous a sitting, and that the Whig members would remain in their seats.
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The appeal was successful. It was made at three o'clock in the morning, when the House was worn out by fatigue and excitement. On motion of Mr. Reynolds, the House then adjourned until 10 o'clock that morning.
Between the several votings here noticed, many speakers occu- pied the floor, with more or less intensity in the discussion. On the Democratic side of the House, Mr. Saunders was the acknowl- edged leader. He was cool and vigilant, and at times severely aggressive, though always with courtesy and sound taste. He was supported by a number of gentlemen belonging to the same polit- ical school who displayed considerable ability in debate, among whom were Messrs. Baker, T. A. Walker, Morris, Reynolds, Clem- ens, Rice, H. D. Smith, W. O. Winston, Strode, W. C. Hale, and Douglass. Others may have participated in the discussions, as they sprung up more or less suddenly, whose names do not occur to my recollection.
On the part of the Whigs there was a very decided amount of ability and character. Mr. Bates, of Mobile, was the leader in the Senatorial fight, and he bore himself with the loftiness and courage of a field marshal. He rallied his forces with tremendous energy, and always brought them up in solid phalanx. As a chief, his very presence inspired confidence. In his efforts to defend the minority from injustice, he was well sustained in debate by Messrs. Hunter, McLemore, Spruill, McGill, McAlpin, Murphy, Inge, Jemison, Perkins, Little, Hutchinson, and others. Both parties exhibited abundant resources, equal to any demand which circum- stances seemed to create.
On the 11th of November, Mr. Moore, of Madison, offered a joint resolution, which was adopted, to bring on the election for Senator on Tuesday, the 17th instant, in which the Senate con- curred. The two Houses having assembled in the Representative Hall, at the time appointed, the Hon. William R. King was placed in nomination as the Democratic candidate, and the Hon. John Gayle as the Whig candidate. As the votes for each were of a strictly party character, they are here stated, as showing the exact lines. Those who voted for Col. King, were-
Messrs. President, Clarke, Creagh, Dailey, Farrar, Hudson, Hall, Jones, Loyd, McAllister, McConnell, McVay, Reese, Rice, Rodgers, Smith, Terry, Toulmin,
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Turner, Wilson of Fayette, and Wilsou of Jackson, of the Senate; and Messrs. Adams, Adrian, Alexander, Baker, Blackshear, Clemens, Cobb, Davis of Autauga, Davis of Limestone, Dixon, Douglass, Fowler, Garrett, Griffin of Jackson, Griffin of Marshall, Hale, Hill, Ilouston, Hughes, Jones, Kelly, King, Mallard, March- banks, McClanahan, Mccullough, McMillian of Blount, McMillian of Jefferson, Moore of Madison, Moore of Marion, Morris, Provence, Pynes, Randolph, Rey- nolds, Rice, Roberts, Saunders, Smith of Jackson, Smith of Lauderdale, Stone, Strode,'Walker of Benton, Walker of Lawrence, Warren, Williams, Wilson, Winston of DeKalb, Winston of Sumter, and Wynn, of the House of Representatives-72.
Those who voted for Mr. Gayle, were-
Messrs. Alston, Andress, Buford, Dent, King, Lea, Oliver, Phillips, Thornton, and Womack, of the Senate; and Messrs. Ashurst, Barron, Bates, Bell, Blount, Bowen, Bradley, Broughton, Campbell, Crenshaw, Davenport, Davidson, Davis of Bibb, Doster, Fitzpatrick of Macon, Griffin of Shelby, Hall, Hollinger, Hutchinson, Inge, Jemison, Kidd, Langdon, Little, Mangum, Mann, McAlpin, McCoy, McGill, McLemore, Mitchell, Moors, Murphy, Norris, Norwood, Pegues, Perkins, Peters, Prince, Seawell, Shanks, Simmons, Spruill, and Young, of the House of Repre- sentatives-55.
A majority of seventeen votes on joint ballot, having been given for the Hon. William R. King, he was declared duly elected a Senator of the United States for six years from the 4th of March, 1841. And here the contest ended. The Legislature then pro- ceeded to other business, of more practical importance to the peo- ple of Alabama.
MR. SPEAKER WALKER .- The resignation of the Hon. Samuel Walker, of Madison, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, on 15th December, from indisposition, is here noticed as a rare event of its kind. Mr. Young, of Greene, who had been his com- petitor, immediately offered a resolution tendering him the "thanks of this House for his gentlemanly and dignified deportment during the period of his presiding over the House, and assure him of our high regard and esteem." The House then proceeded to the election of a Speaker to fill the vacancy, when Robert A. Baker, Esq., of Franklin, was declared unanimously elected.
The members who served at this session of the Legislature de- serve a more special notice than is contained in the foregoing pages. A further account will appear in the next chapter.
,
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CHAPTER,IX.
More of the Session of 1840-General Ticket for Congress -State .
House Officers.
The elections for the popular branch of Congress in Alabama had always been by Districts, previous to the year 1840. At that time, of the five Representatives, all were Democrats except Mr. Dellet, of the Mobile District, and General Crabb, of the Tuska- loosa District. To absorb these Districts by the large Democratic majorities in North-Alabama, and thus increase the strength of the Democratic party in Congress, was a policy obvious to skillful tacticians, who sought to control public opinion, and to obtain power at the expense of opponents in the political arena. In order to understand the measure proposed for this purpose, I quote from the message of Gov. Bagby to the Legislature at the session of 1840:
With the view to concentrate more perfectly the political energies of the State so far as practicable, and of consummating the genuine State Rights' doctrine, I beg leave respectfully to suggest the propriety of changing the mode of electing members of Congress by Districts, and of substituting instead thereof the general ticket system. Every State entitled to a separate and independent existence is supposed to possess a sovereign will, constituted according to the theory of our Government, of the opinions and wishes of the majority of our people. This sovereign will, when ascertained according to the provisions of the Constitution, forms, after all, the great operative principle of representative democratic govern- ment. Hence, in elections, whatever method is most likely to obtain an expression of that will, and to carry it out in practice, is most congenial to the theory of our form of Government. According to the principles of the Constitution, the people of the States are represented in the popular branch of the Legislature-the people of the States in their aggregate sovereign capacity-and if it be true that the will of this aggregate sovereign constitutes the great cardinal and distinctive feature of representative government, it would seem to follow, inevitably, that whatever method was most likely to ascertain that sovereign will, and preserve it entire, is most conformable, not only to the spirit of the Constitution, but most conducive to the perpetuity of the sovereignty of the States. The general ticket system is not only believed to be defensible upon principle, but to be perfectly equitable in practice. It gives to a majority of the whole people of the State, at all times, whatever may be their political opinions, the entire, undivided weight of the whole representation in Congress. Whereas, the District system not only tends ยท to engender an attachment to sectional or local interests, at the expense of the whole, and sometimes to nourish a factious spirit, but to weaken the force of the. State representation, and in some instances, to paralyze it altogether in the National Legislature.
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On the 6th of November, after the Senate, in committee of the whole, had referred the several portions of the Governor's mes- sage to the appropriate committees-
On motion of Mr. Hudson it was ordered that the Chair appoint a member from each judicial circuit in this State as members of the Select Committee on the reso -. lution in relation to the general ticket system. Messrs. Terry, Hall, Andress, Dent, Loyd,'McAlister, King, Dailey, Clarke, and Toulmin, were appointed said committee.
In due time, Mr. Terry, Chairman, reported from the Select Committee a bill to be entitled an "Act to Establish the General Ticket System in Elections for Representatives in Congress from the State of Alabama."
The bill produced a warm discussion, which lasted several days, in which Mr. Cottrell, on the side of the Democrats, made the longest and principal speech, ably supporting in argument the grounds taken in support of the measure. Messrs, Terry, McCon- nell, Jones, and Hall, likewise participated in the debate favora- bly to the bill. The Whig side of the Senate was represented by Mr. Thornton in a speech occupying a portion of two days, which, when reported, filled ten columns of a newspaper. It was care- fully prepared by reflection and arrangement, though delivered without notes, and many passages were forcible and eloquent. Of the Whig debaters who acted with Mr. Thornton in opposition to the bill, were Messrs. Alston, Buford, King, Lea, Watrous, Oliver, and Phillips. After a sharp contest, it passed the Senate by a strict party vote, except Mr. McVay, who briefly assigned reasons for differing with his Democratic friends on the passage of the bill.
After the bill was transmitted to the House of Representatives, it encountered the most decided and persevering opposition from the Whig members. A condensed statement from the Journal will show the machinery and weapons with which the battle was waged, beginning on 23d December.
The Speaker decided that it was competent to take the bill from the orders of the day. On appeal by Mr. Moors, the Speaker was sustained by the House-41 to 33. On motion of Mr. Saunders, the bill was then taken from the orders of the day -yeas 44, nays 36. Mr. Mann moved to postpone its further
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consideration until the 30th instant, and make it the special order of the day; which motion was lost-38 to 47. He then moved to postpone until 28th, which was also rejected-30 to 38. Mr. Murphy moved to postpone until half-past eleven o'clock on Saturday, 26th. Mr. Saunders moved to adjourn to ten o'clock on Saturday, which motion was lost-yeas 34, nays 41. The question then recurred on ordering the bill to a third reading, when, on motion of Mr. Roberts, the House adjourned over Christmas, on Friday, until ten o'clock Saturday morning-46 to 30. When the bill was reached in the evening session on Satur- day, Mr. Bates moved that the House adjourn until Monday, which was lost-34 to 37. After some discussion, Mr. McLemore renewed the motion to adjourn, which prevailed.
On Monday, 28th, Mr. Walker, of Lawrence, offered a proviso, to come in at the end of the bill, that the act should have effect only in the election of members to the twenty-seventh Congress, upon which Mr. Griffin moved the previous question, which was refused-41 to 43. On motion of Mr. Clemens, the bill was laid on the table. After several hours had been consumed in the election of Presidents and Directors of the State Bank and Branches, Mr. Rice moved to call up the bill, when, on motion of Mr. Inge, the House adjourned until the next morning.
Mr. Winston, of DeKalb, then moved to take up the bill. On a question of order, the Chair decided that it could not be read without leave of the House, from which decision the House dis- sented-38 to 48. Mr. Winston then renewed his motion to take up the bill, which was carried-47 to 44. Mr. Little raised a question of order, alleging that a motion to take a bill from the table merely places it among the orders of the day, and does not bring it for the immediate action of the House. The Chair decided otherwise, and that the bill was then before the House, from which Mr. Little appealed. The decision of the Chair was sustained by the House-51 to 32. Mr. Inge moved to postpone the further consideration of the bill until Monday next, which was lost-42 to 49. From the Journal, at this stage of the bill, the following passage is quoted :
Upon a question of order, the Chair decided the bill before the House is one of the orders of the day, and first in order, and has to be disposed of before other
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orders of the day can be taken up; from which decision Mr. Hutchinson appeals in the following form :
"A question being under consideration, which the House has decided was not among the orders of the day, the hour of twelve arrives, and a motion is made to proceed with the orders of the day-the Chair decides the motion to take up the order of the day out of order, no motion being entertained to suspend said order : An appeal is taken from the decision of the Chair."
The Chair was sustained by a vote of 46 to 49, whereupon Mr. Griffin, of Marshall, called for the previous question, which was sustained-46 to 43. Mr. Hutchinson moved to adjourn. "The Chair decided that a motion to adjourn was out of order before the main question was disposed of, and the decision of the Chair was sustained-yeas 50, nays 37." The main question was then put on ordering the bill to a third reading, and carried-yeas 48, nays 43.
The next view of the bill is on Monday, 30th December, when, on motion of Mr. Saunders, the orders of the day were suspended, by a vote of 47 to 40, to take it up; and, on motion of Mr. Clem- ens, the bill was taken up-47 to 35. Mr. Winston, of DeKalb, called the previous question, when it appeared that there was not a quorum present-yeas 44, nays 5. No Whig member voted. Messrs. Clemens, Hall, Moore of Madison, Walker of Benton, and Walker of Lawrence, Democrats, voting in the negative. Mr. Mitchell moved that the House adjourn, which was lost. Mr. Clemens moved a call of the House, which was sustained; and he then moved to send a messenger for Mr. Walker, of Madison, and for Mr. John H. Garrett, of Cherokee, who were detained at their hotels by indisposition. When these gentlemen arrived in the Hall, Mr. Smith, of Lauderdale, moved a call of the House, when fifty-two members answered to their names.
The next question was, "Shall the main question be now put ? and decided in the affirmative-yeas 51, nays none." The main question was put, "Shall the bill pass?" and was decided in the affirmative-yeas 50, nays 23. While these proceedings were in progress, some of the Whig members had returned to the Hall, from which most of them had retired when the previous question was called, so as to prevent a quorum, and thus, if possible, to defeat the passage of the bill. But when Messrs. Walker and Garrett were brought in by the messengers sent for them, and a quorum secured, the Whigs perceived that their further absence
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would be of no avail against the bill, and about half of them returned to their seats, and voted against its final passage.
Next day, Mr. Crenshaw moved a reconsideration of the vote on the passage of the General Ticket Bill. Mr. Little moved to postpone its further consideration until the day following, which was refused-30 to 47. Mr. Morris moved a call of the House, which was lost-31 to 48. Mr. Williams moved the previous question, which was sustained-49 to 34. The question on Mr. Crenshaw's motion to reconsider was then taken, and lost-38 to 49. And here the bill was beyond all parliamentary rules to change or defeat it, and to this extent the majority had triumphed after a hard struggle, bravely maintained on both sides. The scene of noise and disorder in the House at times, and especially when the Whig members retired, and after they came back in squads, under more or less excitement, it is unnecessary to de- scribe. No attempt would be successful. Some of them even mounted the desks in defiance of the Speaker's call to order. But these things took place thirty years ago, and most of the actors are now dead, while the few that survive who witnessed the proceedings should throw the mantle of charity over the whole.
The debates of the House on the General Ticket Bill had been engaged in with zeal and ability, which have been noticed in a previous chapter relative to the election of Senator of the United States, both measures involving strictly political competition, with the consequences of success or defeat to animate or depress the rival parties. As to which deserved the victory, I express no opinion, after so great a lapse of time; but candor obliges me to say I was very well satisfied with the results, and so far as my influence, in the public positions I then held, permitted, I gave it in favor of the Democratic policy on these issues. My relation to the Whig members of the Legislature was always that of per- sonal courtesy and good feeling, and to many of them I am indebted for great political favors, when it was my fortune to seek preferment at the hands of the Legislature. Of such kindness I shall ever retain the most grateful recollection.
In the meantime, after the passage of the General Ticket Bill, a very elaborate Protest had been prepared, which Mr. Bates, for
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himself and about forty other Whig members, presented to the House on the 4th of January, 1841, in which many points are taken, by way of complaint, against the action of the majority under erroneous and improper rulings of the presiding officer. The second paragraph of the Protest is in the following words :
The undersigned have been taught by the majority that no appeal can have any other influence than to strengthen this determined system of abuses. They have originated measures, radical in themselves, untried in practice, unknown to the people, which are to be permanent and universal in their operation, without allow- ing to the minority the privilege to amend, or the right to discuss. They have con- strued rules to the adaptation of the particular case, and enforced them with an eye to success alone. The minority will not examine the merits of the General Ticket Bill. To do that they will appear before a tribunal where gag laws are not employed for the suppression of truth. They will confine themselves to an expose of the means resorted to by the majority to establish this system ; and to do this, let facts be submitted to a candid people.
The protest then alleges that when the bill was on its passage in the House, Mr. Perkins submitted an amendment, and while the Clerk was reading it, Mr. Bates, perceiving that the previous question was likely to be called to cut off the amendment, twice addressed Mr. Speaker, without securing his attention, after which Mr. Winston, of DeKalb, addressed Mr. Speaker only once, and was promptly recognized as having the floor, who, thereupon, called the previous question, which was sustained by the majority, with- out action on the amendment offered by Mr. Perkins:
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