USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 14
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Be it further enacted, That this act shall not take effect until a majority of the people of this State shall have voted in its favor, at the next annual election, at which time a poll shall be opened in the different precincts in the several counties of this State by the Sheriffs thereof giving ten days' notice ; and those approving this act may vote for it by indorsement on their ticket, " General Ticket System," and the number of those voting for it shall be, under the certificates of the in- spectors of elections at the respective Court-Houses, forwarded to the Secretary of State, who shall, within the first week of the next session of the Legislature, communicate the aggregate of such number of votes cast by the citizens of this State for the foregoing section of this act; and if it shall appear that the majority of the qualified voters of this State are in favor of the general ticket system, the foregoing act shall then become the law of this State.
Then follows a specific statement of the grounds of complaint, charging a combination between the Speaker and the majority, through pretended parliamentary forms, to deny the constitutional rights of the minority, and to prevent justice from being rendered to their efforts to amend the bill, and put it in a shape for public approval or disapproval at the ballot-box. The rules of the House are frequently contrasted with the decisions of the Speaker, and
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reference is made to usages in the British Parliament and the United States Congress, embodied in Jefferson's Manual, to show the utter disregard of all authority in the pursuit of party objects. The language is severely critical, but no coarse epithets are applied. The closing paragraph of the protest is in the following words:
The minority feel the pride which always attends the discharge of duty, that they can return to their constituents and tell them, that in this unconstitutional and unrighteous attempt at disfranchisement ; this determined spirit in the North [the northern portion of Alabama] to wield the destinies of the South in obedi- ence to their own will and wishes-that we have done all that Representatives could do. We argued as long as permitted to speak, and, when strangled, we abandoned them. When abandonment became inefficient, we did then, for them and for ourselves, spread upon the Journals, this, our solemn protest against tyranny and usurpation.
Against the charges of the protest the Hon. Robert A. Baker, Speaker of the House, submitted a written defense, which was en- tered on the Journal, going considerably into detail on the circum- stances whichi originated the complaint while the general ticket bill was progressing through the forms of Legislation. The defense is less than two pages, while the protest covers more than six pages of the House Journal. In its brevity lies much of the Speaker's vindication, the closing language of which is the fol- lowing:
As a sworn officer of the House of Representatives, I have endeavored to dis- charge my duty faithfully, without regard to party. In the midst of excitement and confusion, injustice may have been done some gentlemen on several occasions, and no doubt as often my political friends as opponents. To have my moral char- acter assailed with a charge of partiality to a political friend, and a denial of jus- tice to a political opponent, I must pronounte a calumny that is not sustained by the facts of the case.
The record has been drawn upon freely, and incidents touching the general ticket bill, from its inception in the Senate to its final passage in the House, with extracts from protest and defense, in order that the public may see that in a former day, and among legislators of high rank for talents and virtue, what had occurred in each end of the Capitol in party warfare. Many of the actors at this period, and in this contest, deserve special attention, which I hope to bestow, to some extent at least.
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
ELECTION OF STATE HOUSE OFFICERS.
To revive the past, and to perpetuate the names of men who sought employments in the administration of the State Government, I think it proper to notice the elections of 1840, here stated as having taken place on the 5th of December on joint-ballot of both Houses, with the following result:
For Secretary of State-William Garrett
79 votes.
Thomas B. Tunstall. 40 votes.
Comptroller of Public Accounts-J. C. Van Dyke 119 votes.
For State Treasurer. 1st ballot.
2d ballot.
3d ballot.
4th ballot.
Samuel G. Frierson
35
38
53
63
Robert Caruthers
39
43
45
51
Edward F. Comegys
23
18
9 (withdrawn.)
J. H. Thomason 22
20
11
4
To the several offices for which ballots were cast in their favor, William Garrett, Jefferson C. Van Dyke, and Samuel G. Frierson, were declared duly elected.
SKETCHES.
At this juncture, when the author of this volume was made Secretary of State by a flattering vote of the Legislature, he be- lieves that he violates no principle of modesty, or respect for public opinion, in submitting some particulars of his life, to accom- pany the sketches of other public officers elected at the session of 1840. Believing that the natural curiosity of his readers should be gratified in this respect, he proceeds with the simple narrative.
WILLIAM GARRETT was born in East-Tennessee. When in his eleventh year, he was taken from school, owing to the reverses which came upon his father, William Garrett, senior, who had been extensively engaged as proprietor of merchant mills and iron foundries, as well as in other enterprises demanding large in- vestments of capital, and subject to the casualties always attending such business. Until his twenty-first year, the junior assisted in 10
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
the usual labors of the farm, and was, much of his time, occupied in keeping the records of his father, who was for thirty-three years Clerk of the County Court of Cocke county. In this situation he learned not only how to make up the Minutes of the Court, but he had the opportunity to see how the Journals of the Legislature were framed to show each day's proceedings with proper formality. These entries riveted his attention, and prepared his mind for sim- ilar labors, which subsequently devolved upon him.
In January, 1833, he came to Alabama, and settled in Benton county, variously occupied, and in 1837 he was elected Assistant Clerk of the House of Representatives, under Gideon B. Frierson, the Principal Clerk. For this office he was indebted, mainly, to the friendship of Gen. William B. McClellan, a Representative from Talladega, who placed him in nomination, and who, himself, had been for ten years Engrossing Clerk of the House, with large influence with members, and a correct knowledge of the forms of proceeding. To this gentleman, who is yet living in honorable re- tirement, Mr. Garrett is under obligations which neither time nor circumstances can efface from memory; and he takes this occasion to render his sincere and grateful acknowledgments for the early service thus rendered him, which opened the way to still greater advancement from the Representatives and people of Alabama. At the session of 1837, Mr. Frierson was elected Solicitor of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, and in 1838, Mr. Garrett was elected Principal Clerk of the House over his competitor, Pleasant H. May, Esq., of Tuskaloosa, a gentleman of fine address and abilities, who is favorably mentioned by Judge O'Neal in his "Bench and Bar of South Carolina." Mr. May subsequently removed to Mobile, to continue the practice of his profession as a lawyer, and was acci- dentally drowned at the wharf, several years before the war. He had represented Tuskaloosa county in the House, at the session of 1837.
At the session of 1839, Mr. Garrett was again elected Clerk of the House, and reelected in 1840, which office he resigned on being elected Secretary of State, and for the ensuing ten years he held the latter office without opposition. After the seat of Gov- ernment was removed to Montgomery, he was continued in office at the session of 1849, over his competitor, John S. Storrs, Esq.,
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
of Shelby, a Whig, and V. M. Benham, of Lauderdale, an inde- pendent Democratic candidate. This contest was somewhat ex- cited, from many circumstances attending it. After the expiration of his term, in 1852, Mr. Garrett declined any further election as Secretary of State, and retired to his farm in Coosa county, where he now resides. He preferred the quiet and seclusion of rural life, where he might raise his children to habits of industry, which, with the blessing of good health, would enable them to provide for themselves, as circumstances might render necessary.
In 1853, he was elected to the House of Representatives, of which body he was unanimously chosen Speaker. After this term had expired, he made no attempt to engage in public life until 1859, when he was' nominated for the Senate by the Demo- cratic party, and defeated, after receiving 1,128 votes, against 1,175 cast for his competitor, leaving an adverse majority of 47 votes out of a total of 2,303 polled on the occasion. In alluding to the result, the Wetumpka Dispatch of August 5, 1859, remarked:
It will be seen by the returns published in our paper, that the Democratic party have succeeded in electing all their nominees with the single exception of our noble old candidate for Senate, Col. William Garrett. We must confess our sur- prise at this result-but, when we review the whole ground, we can account for it. The opposition, of course, was a formidable party-formidable both in number and in talents-and brought all their energies and appliances to bear for the de- feat of Col. Garrett. Swapping and trading of votes was the order of the day. At all the boxes in the county, this was the ultimatum of the opposition : "Beat Garrett anyhow ! Sacrifice any of the opposition, but beat Garrett !"
They even rallied the personal enemies of Col. Garrett in Montgomery, to assist in their object. They have succeeded ; but the Democratic party still lives, and our noble champion, although defeated, holds as high a place in the affections of the true Democrrcy as he ever did. "Defeated, but not conquered," should be the motto of Col. Garrett and his friends. We predict for Col. G. that the people will yet make amends and do him justice.
In 1863, he was elected to the Senate for a term of four years, over Capt. Leander Bryan, under the new Constitution of Ala- bama then in force; but the term of service was brought to a close by the surrender of the Confederate armies. Under the Consti- tution of 1865, he was, that year, again elected to the Senate by defeating his competitor, Col. Richard H. Smoot. The resources of the State had been greatly crippled by the war; everything was prostrate and in confusion. The State had no credit; its bonds were past due, and there was no recognized mode by which the
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Reminiscences of Publio Men in Alabama.
financial difficulties could be remedied, or the means procured to protect the public faith and defray the expenses of the Govern- ment. All these obstacles had to be encountered and overcome by legislation, and by the energies and patriotism of the people. It was a startling crisis in the history of public affairs. At this juncture, the President of the Senate, Hon. Walter H. Crenshaw, appointed Mr. Garrett Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Taxation, in reference to which the editorial correspondence of the Union Springs Times, dated Montgomery, February 8, 1866, sketching public characters, has the following:
HON. WILLIAM GARRETT, of Coosa, is the next Senator, [after Hon. A. B. Cooper, ] most venerable in years, but second to no one in legislative experience, having been connected, one way and another, with the affairs of the State for a quarter of a century. He is the energetic and laborious Chairman of the impor- tant Committee of Finance and Taxation, intimately acquainted with the condition of the finances and the fiscal resources of the State. He guards the "strong box " with the most unsleeping vigilance, and is very often called the Cerberus of the treasury. Always in his seat, and ever prompt at the hour to meet the various committees of which he is a member, he can be justly classed as one of our most useful legislators, without doing any injustice to his worthy compeers. He is a man of large, round physique, almost corpulent, tells an anecdote-of which he has a large store-admirably, and is a most genial companion. His claims to prefer- ment arc freely discussed, and will be diligently pressed by his many friends.
The day on which the Legislature adjourned, when his term of . service expired, and before all the members had retired from the Senate Chamber, Mr. Garrett was requested to remain a few min- utes, when, to his great surprise, he was addressed by Mr. Powell, in behalf of himself and colleagues of the Committee then present, by reading the following letter:
SENATE CHAMBER, MONTGOMERY, ALA., February 15, 1867. · Hon. William Garrett, Senator from Coosa :
DEAR SIR-The undersigned, members of the Committee on Finance and Taxa- tion, are unwilling to dissever the pleasant official relations which have so long ex- isted between us, without tendering you some expression of our high appreciation of the courtesy, promptness, efficiency and zeal which have characterized all your official acts and intercourse with us. Your long and prominent connection with the legislation of the State has made you well known to the people as a public man. As such we have long been familiar with you, and held you in high estima- tion. But until we met you in committee, and served with you through two long sessions, embracing a period in the history of the State more important than any through which it has passed, and demanding extraordinary effort and financial ability to meet the exigencies of the times, we had no just estimate of your real worth as a legislator, and of those sterling qualities which have numbered you among Alabama's most useful and laborious public servants. As Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Taxation, you have rendered services that will connect your name with the history of our State for many long years to come.
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
Our official intercourse ceases to-day. As time rolls by we shall always remem- ber our committee mectings with pleasure. For while the work before us was responsible and laborious, dignity and courtesy, congeniality and good feeling, always marked our proceedings.
We tender you, then, in this parting hour, our cordial wishes for your continued welfare and prosperity, and beg you to accept the accompanying cane as a slight token of our high esteem and regard.
Very truly your friends,
R. H. POWELL, E. H. MOREN, C. C. HUCKABEE, FRS. W. SYKES,
C. P. GAGE, A. B. COOPER, WM. A. ASHLEY.
This ceremony was wholly unexpected by Mr. Garrett, and it so filled him with emotion that he was scarcely able to command his feelings. All hearts appeared to be full. He thanked the committee for the generosity and kindness with which they had honored him, and in accepting the cane with pleasure, he should lean upon it in his old age with the same confidence with which he had leaned upon the wise and patriotic counsels of the com- mittee while in service together. He tendered them all his best wishes and a friendly farewell.
Silence and tears marked the separation, and thus ended the public life of Mr. Garrett. Under the reconstruction acts of Con- gress, he has been disfranchised, and rendered incapable of hold- ing office; and yet personally he makes no complaint, as he is re- signed to the necessities of his condition, along with thousands of his countrymen who have the consolation, in adversity, that no crime of their committing has deserved the punishment and the proscription awarded by the conquerors.
Before retiring from the office of Secretary of State, Mr. Garrett addressed the following letter to the Hon. J. D. Rather, Speaker of the House of Representatives, which was ordered to be spread upon the Journal :
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE, MONTGOMERY, ALA,, December 9, 1851.
SIR; With the expiration of my present term of office as Secretary of State, it is my intention to close the official connexion which I will have borne to the State Government of Alabama for a period of twelve years.
They have, thus far, been to me years of much labor, responsibility, and anxiety, but also of much that was pleasant. My heart bears a grateful recollection of the many favors which, during that time, I have received at the hands of the Repre- sentatives of the people, and strongly impels me to seek some mode in which I can convey to them a parting expression of my sense of gratitude.
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Reminissences of Public Men in Alabama.
I hope, sir, I may be pardoned for doing so in this form and through you, as I am but following a precedent of two of my honored predecessors, the late Col. James Jay Pleasants and Col. James Innes Thornton.
With many thanks to the General Assembly for their past confidence and kind- ness, I offer to them my parting salutations ..
With much respect, I have the honor to be your obedient servant, W. GARRETT.
A similar communication was addressed to the President of the Senate, and likewise ordered upon the Journal of that body. These amenities it is pleasant to remember. In this connexion, it is appropriate to refer more particularly to the elegant, massive gold-headed cane, upon which was engraved the words and names following: "Presented to Wm. Garrett, Chairman of the Com- mittee on Finance and Taxation-sessions of 1865-'6. A. B. Cooper, C. P. Gage, E. H. Moren, F. W. Sykes, R. H. Powell, C. C. Huckabee, W. A. Ashley, J. N. Drake." This beautiful token of favor from the donors, is regarded beyond all price, by Mr. Garrett, for its hallowed associations.
Soon after the Hon. Lewis E. Parsons was appointed Provisional Governor of Alabama, by President Johnson, he tendered the office of Secretary of State to Mr. Garrett, which he accepted. The principal labors of the Secretary related to applications through the Governor, for pardons from the President, in behalf of citizens of Alabama, who, by reason of alleged rebellion, had been dis- franchised by the reconstruction acts of Congress. The task of preparing petitions for this object was not a part of the legitimate duties of the Secretary, and when parties applied to him to draw their papers, he was fairly entitled to receive compensation for that service, when it did not conflict with his public duties, as though he were a lawyer, or other person employed for that pur- pose. There was a very heavy rush on the Governor to recom- mend individuals to the clemency of the President, many of them to save their property, and all to be relieved from penalties more or less painful. In this work of pardon, outside of preparing the papers, the Secretary had to attach the seal of the State, to accom- pany the signature of the Governor, for which he was entitled to the usual fee in every instance. Complaints were made to the Governor, who appointed a commission to investigate the matter. He had been in office about six weeks when the commissioners took action; and the following communication of the Secretary
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama. 151
will throw light on the subject, while it also resigned the office to which he had been invited at a time of great uncertainty and ex- citement:
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE, MONTGOMERY, ALA., Sept. 2, 1865.
To His Excellency, LEWIS E. PARSONS, Provisional Governor of Alabama :
DEAR SIR-You have been kind enough to furnish me with the report made to you by the Commissioners appointed to investigate the charges made against me in connection with the presentation of petitions for pardons. In this report the Commissioners say, "Upon the testimony, there is no reason to doubt that so far as briefing their applications, and preparing them for submission, that these acts were performed correctly, and there is not only no evidence that any application was submitted out of the regular course, but its tendency is to prove directly the reverse."
Again, in concluding their report upon the testimony, they say,, "In fine, we can find nothing in this evidence showing any act on the part of Mr. Garrett, in connection with the applications in which his services were rendered, which is reprehensible."
This report vindicates me from the commission of any act in connection with these applications for pardon which is even "reprehensible" in the opinion of the Committee. But the Commissioners, if I understand them, intimate that, holding the office of Secretary of State, I committed an impropriety in receiving compen- , sation for services rendered, under the circumstances.
I am unwilling to hold a public trust when, in the opinion of Commissioners appointed by you, as in this case, I have even committed an impropriety in con- nection with the office, though that act was extra-official; and feeling a deep inter- est in the cause in which we are engaged, and which might in some way be em- barrassed by a continuance of my official relation to the State, I hereby resign the office of Secretary of State, which you generously bestowed upon me.
I am, your friend, truly, W. GARRETT.
In concluding this personal narrative of himself, the author has only to add, that he has enjoyed a large share of good fortune arising chiefly from his extensive acquaintance with public men, and from the opportunities thus afforded, to maintain a long con- nexion with public affairs. As the fruit of this experience, in part, he is enabled to give these "Reminiscences" to the public; and in performing the task, he desires to make his sincere and grateful acknowledgements of the pleasure which he has derived from his public and social relations, which have embraced a period of more than thirty years in Alabama. To preserve the names and events with which he has been more or less intimately connected during a generation which has nearly passed away, is the object of his present labors. The record, he humbly hopes, will not be an unacceptable offering to the few survivors and their descendants, as well as to the public generally.
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
SAMUEL GORDON FRIERSON, Treasurer, was born in Tennes- see, and came in early life with his father, who settled in Tuska- loosa county. His education and talents made a favorable impres- sion, and in 1834 and 1835, Mr. S. G. Frierson, was elected a Representative in the Legislature. In 1837, he was a candidate for the Senate, and was defeated by Gen. Crabb; and in 1838, he was again a candidate, but was beaten by his competitor, Gen. Dent. He was then appointed Postmaster at Tuskaloosa, which office he held until 1840, when he was elected State Treasurer. He was continued in this office, by successive elections of the Legislature, until 1847, when he retired, and went back to Tus- kaloosa county, where he died in 1856.
In person, Mr. Frierson was large and corpulent, weighing probably not less than four hundred pounds. His humor was in- exhaustible in the line of mimicry, and provoked great mirtlı. No man could excel him in this respect. It was a large element of his popularity. After seeing and hearing his grotesque delin- eations of character, from the highest to the lowest walks of life, no man could think of Mr. Frierson but as a contributor to his happiness for the time being. No sadness or depression of spirits could cloud the face, when he. turned loose his batteries of fun. It was Nature in her ridiculous moods, finding the way to all hearts true to a common sympathy, and imparting cheerfulness by the mere recollection. In other respects, Mr. Frierson attracted many friends; and it is painful to reflect that one who contributed so much to the amusement of others, in his inimitable way, should have his latter days clouded with reverses of fortune, and great bodily affliction. Such, however, is the common lot of humanity. The name of Mr. Frierson will be long and pleasantly remem- bered by those who knew him at a brighter period of his life, when the sunshine of public favor rested upon him.
JEFFERSON C. VAN DYKE was also a native of Tennessee, and settled in Dallas county, Alabama, as a lawyer, and in 1828, rep- resented the county in the Legislature. In 1835, he was elected Comptroller of Public Accounts, and held the office continuously until 1847, when he retired to Marengo county, where he died a few years before the war. His being retained in office for so long
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Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
a period was evidence of his popularity with members of the Leg- islature. .
Col. THOMAS B. TUNSTALL came from Virginia to Alabama at an early period. After being Clerk in the Land Office, in- 1825 he was elected Clerk of the House of Representatives, which office he held without interruption until 1836, when he was made Secretary of State. The latter office he retained until 1840, when he was succeeded by William Garrett, then Principal Clerk of the House of Representatives, who resigned the Clerk- ship on December 7, 1840; whereupon Col. Tunstall was imme- diately elected Principal Clerk, and re-elected in 1841. He died in 1842, at the House of his brother, Dr. Peyton R. Tunstall, in Baldwin county.
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