A history of Mississippi : from the discovery of the great river, Part 24

Author: Lowry, Robert, 1830-1910; McCardle, William H
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Jackson, Miss. : R.H. Henry & Co.
Number of Pages: 674


USA > Mississippi > A history of Mississippi : from the discovery of the great river > Part 24


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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI.


The administration of Governor Scott was rendered con- spicuous by the assembling of the Constitutional Con- vention of 1832, a Convention which changed the whole structure of the organic law of the State.


This Constitutional Convention, in pursuance of an act of the Legislature approved December 16th, 1831, con- vened at the capitol in the city of Jackson, on Monday, the 10th day of September, 1832. The attendance was large on the day of assembling, every delegate being pres- ent and answering to his name. The counties having been called, the following gentlemen were found to be present :


Adams county-John A. Quitman, Spence M. Grayson, Dr. Stephen Duncan.


Claiborne county-Thomas Freeland, Thomas Gale and Daniel Greenleaf.


Copiah county-Seth Granberry, William P. Rose.


Covington county-Frederick Pope.


Franklin county-Daniel McMillan.


Greene county-David McRea.


Hinds county-David Dickson, James Scott and Vernon C. Hicks.


Hancock county -- P. Rutilius R. Pray.


Jefferson county-Putnam T. Williams and Cicero Jef- ferson.


Jackson county-William C. Leamon.


Jones county-Nathaniel Jones.


Lawrence county-Aloysius M. Keegan and Joseph W. Pendleton.


Lowndes county-James F. Trotter.


Marion county-Dugal Mclaughlin.


Madison county-R. McCord Williamson.


Monroe county-George Higgason.


Perry county-Jacob J. H. Morris.


Pike county-James Y. McNabb, Lamon Bacot.


Rankin county-Nathan G. Howard.


Simpson county-John B. Lowe. Warren county-William J. Redd.


Washington county-Andrew Knox.


Wayne county-Thomas P. Falconer.


Wilkinson county-Gerard C. Brandon, Edward T. Far- ish and Joseph Johnson.


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Yazoo county-Howell W. Runnels and Richard F. Floyd.


From the district composed of the counties of Madison and Yazoo-William J. Austin.


The counties of Monroe, Lowndes and Rankin-Daniel W. Wright.


The counties of Warren and Washington-Eugene Ma- gee.


The counties of Copiah and Jefferson-Benjamin Ken- nedy.


The counties of Amite and Franklin-Richard A. Stew- art.


The counties of Lawrence, Simpson and Covington- Charles Lynch.


The counties of Perry, 'Greene, Hancock, Jackson and Wayne-John Black.


The counties of Pike and Marion-James Jones.


The Convention was organized by the election of P. Ru- tilius R. Pray as President, and on being escorted to the chair, that gentleman returned his acknowledgments for the high honor conferred in a few, but neat and graceful words.


John A. Mallory was elected Secretary of the Conven- tion, and Joseph G. Anderson was made Sergeant at- Arms.


The Constitution of 1817 having been in operation for fifteen years, the people had grown restless under its nu- merous restrictive provisions, and particularly with the property qualification for eligibility to office.


At an early period of the Convention a resolution was introduced looking to a radical change in the "bill of rights."


The same resolution announced the doctrine of "rota- tion in office," and condemned appointments to office for life or good behavior, and contended that the tenure should be limited, and that the people should, through the bal - lot-box, select their own agents.


At that early day, nearly sixty years ago, monopolies were denounced as antagonistic to the theory of a republi- can government, and so it is held to-day by the great Dem-


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ocratic party of the Union, thus demonstrating the wis- dom, foresight and patriotism of the men who were more than half a century since engaged in the framing of an organic law, not only for themselves, but for their children yet unborn.


John A. Quitman, of Adams county, then becoming quite prominent in politics, and earnestly devoted to the State of his adoption, the day before the Constitution was adopted, offered an amendment in the shape of a resolution, submit- ing that instrument to the vote of the people for their ratifi- cation or rejection. This proposition was lost by nays twenty-six to nineteen yeas.


The Convention having completed its labors, adjourned on the 26th day of October, having been in session one month and sixteen days.


The material change, the distinguishing feature which characterized the Constitution of 1832, from that previously in force, was the enlargement of the liberty and the power of the people, through the ballot-box, by conferring au- thority on them to elect their own public servants without regard to a property qualification.


The most radical change, however, was that made in the judicial department of the government. Under the Con- stitution of 1817, the judges of all the courts were elected by the joint vote of the two houses of the Legislature, and their tenure of office was during good behavior.


Under the Constitution of 1832, all judicial functionaries, as well as all State officers, were elected directly by the people.


A Superior Court of Chancery was authorized to be estab- lished, and the Chancellor was made elective by the suf- fragans of the entire State.


A High Court of Errors and Appeals was provided for, composed of three judges. The Legislature was directed to divide the State into three judicial districts for that court, and the voters of each district were allowed to elect one judge for the High Court of Errors and Appeals.


Circuit and Probate Courts were provided for, and the judges of these courts, too, were made elective by the peo- ple. The Attorney-General and all District Attorneys were made elective by the people.


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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI.


The Constitution of 1832 made the commonwealth of Mississippi the pioneer State in embodying in her organic law the right of the people to select, through the ballot- box, their judicial officers from those who presided over inferior tribunals to the court of last resort. This change in the judiciary of Mississippi was made nearly fifty-nine years ago, and at that time, neither the Constitution nor the laws of any State in the Union provided for a judi- ciary elective by the people. It is also true that in the interim between the period from 1832 to 1861, every State in the Union followed the example of Mississippi, and adopted the system of electing judges through the ballot- box by the qualified electors. If time has demonstrated the wisdom and virtue of the system, the honor of inau- gurating it is undeniably due to this commonwealth.


The tenure of office prescribed by the Constitution of 1832, for the Governor, was two years, prohibiting the same individual from holding the office more than four in any six consecutive years.


The powers conferred, and the duties imposed on the Executive, were copied in the main, almost word for word, from the Constitution of 1817, the material difference be- ing, that the latter provided for and prescribed the duties of Lieutenant-Governor, while those duties, under the Con- stitution of 1832 were to be performed by the President of the Senate, when necessary, by reason of the death, resig- nation or removal from office of the Governor.


While the Constitutional Convention of 1832 was in session, the entire country was convulsed with excitement. The great war between the administration of President Jackson and the Bank of the United States, presided over by that able and accomplished gentleman, the Hon. Nich- olas Biddle, was raging with the utmost violence. There was no clash of arms, no rattle of musketry, and no thun- der of artillery heard in this great and momentous war, but the clamor of argument, of denunciation, and of vitu- peration, resounded through all the land.


President Jackson vetoed the act re-chartering the Bank of the United States on July 10th, 1832. The President was then a candidate for re-election. The Whig party had 18


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espoused the cause of the bank and nominated its ablest leader, the "great commoner," Henry Clay, of Kentucky, as its candidate for the presidency. The war waxed fierce and furious, but President Jackson was triumphantly re- elected. In his message, sent to Congress in December, 1832, the President announced that the public deposits, that is, the government money heretofore deposited in the Bank of the United States, were unsafe and ought to be removed. That portion of his message was referred to a committee, which after some time made a report that the public monies on deposit in the Bank of the United States were entirely safe. A minority report followed, showing that the public deposits were unsafe and ought to be removed. William J. Duane, Esq., of Pennsylvania, was then Secretary of the Treasury, and he was averse to issuing an order for the removal of the public deposits. As Congress was in session it was deemed unadvisable to make the issue with the legislative department of the gov - ernment. In the spring of 1833, Mr. Duane having refused obedience to the President's wishes, was politely informed that the resignation of his commission as Secretary of the Treasury would be accepted. That gentleman, however, was not only opposed to the policy of the President, but believed that it would be improper and cowardly to tender his resignation, and thus allow another to perform an act which he believed to be wrong. President Jackson was, however, equal to the emergency. Believing that he was right in his view of the duty he owed the country, promptly removed Mr. Duane, and appointed Hon. Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, then Attorney-General of the United States, to the position of Secretary of the Treasury. Secretary Taney being in full accord with the President, had no hesitation in issuing an order for the removal of the public deposits from the custody of the United States Bank, and they were accordingly removed, and were soon after placed in various State banks.


It is amusing now to look back upon that fierce war of words, in relation to "the monster," as President Jackson was wont to designate the Bank of the United States. The capital of that institution amounted to the paltry sum of


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($35,000,000) thirty-five millions of dollars, not one fourth as large as several private individual fortunes of the pres- ent day. One of the many arguments used by President Jackson, was that a good portion of the capital stock of the bank was owned in Europe by foreigners, and in case of war with any foreign power the bank might be used to the detriment of the United States. A more fallacious argument than this it would be difficult to imagine, since the possession of the money of other people is usually regarded as one of the most powerful and strong incentives to do what the holder of their funds requires. And the idea of holding up a bank with a capital of $35,000,000 as " dangerous to the liberties of the people," must excite a smile from those who know that there are in existence to- day more than three thousand national banks, with a cap- ital of more than ($600,000,000) six hundred millions of dollars. That those three thousand national banks are usually banded together, are absolutely under the control of the Treasury Department of the United States. through the Comptroller of the Currency, form a much greater menace to " the liberties of the people," than the Bank of the United States could ever have been. There are many citizens of the country who see that this great money power may become "dangerous to the liberties of the people," but not from any foreign or outside influ- ence. The danger they fear is from a strong centralized government, with'a vulgar plutocratic power behind it. This is the great danger that to-day menaces constitu- tional government in the United States. The more than three thousand national banks, allied with the owners of more than one hundred and sixty thousand miles of rail- road, together with the numerous monopolies scattered through the country, including the Telegraph Company, the Standard Oil Company, and various other companies, " trusts " and syndicates, may well fill the hearts of the people with fearful forebodings.


The removal of the government funds from the vaults of the Bank of the United States, and giving the custody of those funds to sundry State banks, was followed by a wild scene of banking, of inflation of the currency, and reckless


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speculation. In no State in the Union were the results more disastrous than in the commonwealth of Mississippi.


The administration of Governor Scott was in all essen- tials a successful one, but, unfortunately, this popular chief magistrate did not live to complete the term of two years for which he had been elected.


He died in November, 1833, of Asiatic cholera, at the cap- ital of the State, and his premature death was widely lamented by the people he had so faithfully served. His memory has been perpetuated by bestowing his name on one of the prosperous counties east of Pearl river.


Governor Scott left two sons and one daughter. One of his sons, William A. Scott, was appointed United States Marshal for the District of Louisiana by President Tay- lor. His other son, Thomas B. Scott, became a brigadier- general in the Confederate army. They have both been dead for a number of years. His daughter married Pres- ton W. Farrar, a lawyer of Woodville, Wilkinson county. Mr. Farrar was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and re- moving to New Orleans sometime in the forties, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives and became Speaker of that body.


THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR RUNNELS.


HIRAM G. RUNNELS, a native of North Carolina, was the seventh Governor of Mississippi and the first chosen under the Constitution formulated at the capital in the year 1832.


Mr. Runnels was the son of Col. Harmon Runnels, who migrated from the good Old North State in the early years of the Mississippi Territory, and soon became a conspicuous figure in all Territorial affairs, and'represented Lawrence county as a delegate in the Constitutional Convention which assembled at Washington, in Adams county, in the year 1817. Having aided in framing the first Constitution, Col. Runnels was a frequent member of the Legislature and contributed largely in putting the new governmental ma - chinery into good working order. Col. Runnels was a man


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of vigorous mind, undoubted patriotism, and an abundance of both moral and physical courage. He was an active and public-spirited gentleman, lived to be'an octogenarian. commanding universal respect for his rugged virtues, and died, as Col. Claiborne informs his readers, "in the odor of sanctity," and was mourned by all who knew him.


Young Hiram was brought to the Mississippi Territory in company with several brothers when a mere boy, and grew to the full stature of a Mississippian in heart, in brain, brawn and courage. He received his only education in the common, "old field schools" of the times, and in those early days they were common enough in all con- science.


Though possessing but little book learning, young Run- nels was the owner of a vigorous mind, and by dint of in- domitable energy and perseverance, aided by unques tioned integrity and courage, he made his way in the world, achieved a comfortable competency, and became a promi- nent leader in the politics of his county, served as the rep- resentative of his people in the Legislature-was elected State Treasurer by the Legislature in 1824 -- and finally be- came the standard bearer of his party for Governor. He was elected in the autumn of 1833, as the successor of the late chief magistrate, Abram M. Scott, who died before the expiration of his term of office.


The term of Governor Runnels as chief executive of the State covered the years 1834 and 1835. Governor Runnels, after retiring from the executive office, was several times a member of the Legislature, and upon the establishment of the Union Bank was made the first and only president of that ill-fated institution, a concern foredoomed to an ignoble and inglorious failure. Governor Runnels removed to Texas many years ago, and before he passed over the dark river, he had the pleasure of seeing a nephew of his own name and his own blood chosen by the voice of the people to preside over the destinies of that great and grow- ing State.


The grass has been growing upon the grave of Hiram G. Runnels for a number of years, and it is praise enough to say of him, that he was a man of honor and of courage ;


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that he was true to his friends in every possible emer- gency, and that he never deserted a friend or avoided a foe.


THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR LYNCH.


CHARLES LYNCH, of Lawrence county, was, it is believed, a native of South Carolina, from which State he migrated to Mississippi at an early day in its history. He was the eighth Governor elected by the people, and the second chosen under the Constitution of 1832.


Mr. Lynch was a plain and unpretentious gentleman, with a vigorous understanding, and a good stock of com- mon sense and sound judgment. He was a man of un- doubted patriotism, of unquestioned courage, and of the highest integrity. He was bred to the business of a mer- chant, and for a number of years he was a successful mer- chant in the ancient town of Monticello, the seat of justice for Lawrence county. It is worthy of remark that at a time when all offices of honor or profit were eagerly sought after by professional men, who were first, last and all the time politicians and office seekers, that two plain men like Hiram G. Runnels and Charles Lynch should have been successively chosen for Governor by the people.


The administration of Governor Lynch was not con- spicuously marked by anything peculiarly interesting or strange.


Governor Lynch retired at the expiration of his term, carrying with him to his quiet home at Monticello, the re- spect, the confidence and good will of the entire people of the commonwealth, whom he had served to the best of his ability, and with all earnestness and fidelity.


Governor Charles Lynch died February 9th, 1853, and his remains rest peacefully in the Jackson cemetery.


CHAPTER XIII.


THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MCNUTT.


ALEXANDER G. MCNUTT, a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, was the ninth Governor of Mississippi, and the third chosen by the people under the Constitution of 1832.


Young McNutt was born January 3, 1802, and was the son of a reputable gentleman named Alexander McNutt. He was educated at what was then called Washington Col- lege, now known as the Washington-Lee University, and was graduated from that institution with high honor. After completing his collegiate course Mr. McNutt studied law, was admitted to the bar of his native State, and almost immediately determined to remove to Mississippi. He arrived at Vicksburg between the years 1823 and 1825, and immediately opened an office there for the practice of his profession. As the county seat was then at Warren- ton, about ten miles below that point on the river, he was among the first, if not the very first, to open a lawyer's office in what is now recognized as the chief commercial emporium of the State.


Alexander G. McNutt was one of the most remarkable men known to Mississippi. Endowed with a splendid in- tellect, with a tall, erect and handsome person, a ruddy complexion, brown hair and liquid blue eyes, he was a man of mark in any assemblage in which he might chance to be thrown. With a classical education, large reading, fine conversational powers, and a brilliant writer, it is not at all wonderful that he soon became popular. He suc- ceeded in acquiring a large and lucrative practice, and also became interested in planting.


In 1835, the Democrats of Warren county nominated him as their candidate for State Senator, Warren being at that


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time a strong Whig county. The Whigs nominated Eugene Magee, an Irish gentleman of education, winning manners, and great personal popularity, who had already served the people with great acceptability as a delegate in the Constitutional Convention of 1832, from the counties of Warren and Washington. Like McNutt, Magee was a lawyer by profession, and one of the brighest, most genial and witty members of the bar. After an animated contest, despite the fact that Warren was a strong Whig county, the contest resulted in the election of McNutt, by a decisive majority. He took his seat in the State Senate in Jan- uary, 1836, and so impressed his ability and personality upon his political associates, that in little more than a year after he entered the Senate he was selected as the standard bearer of his party, and became the nominee of the 'Democracy for the position of Governor of the State. As the Democratic party had a large majority in the State the election of McNutt was a foregone conclusion, and two years later, in 1837, he was re-nominated for a second term and was re-elected by a decided majority.


When Alexander G. McNutt entered the Senate as a Sen- ator from Warren county the spirit of inflation and spec- ulation was rife all over the State, and during his first term as chief magistrate the mad craze continued to grow until it assumed the proportions of a wild cyclone


In less than six years from the adjournment of the Con- stitutional Convention of 1832, a host of railroad and banking companies were chartered, with an aggregate cap- ital much larger than the capital of the famous "monster," the Bank of the United States. The capital of the banks of the State, incorporated by the Legislature, in less than six years after the formation of the Constitution in 1832, aggregated the enormous amount of ($53,750.000) fifty- three million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. To most of the railroads incorporated by the Legislature were given the privilege of banking. They were author- ized to issue their own notes for circulation, to make loans, and to deal in exchange, bonds and bills of credit. To some of the numerous banks, in addition to the usual banking privileges, were given the authority to buy and sell real and personal property at discretion.


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If the railroads incorporated by the Legislature in a period of six years had all been constructed, the entire State would have been thoroughly grid-ironed with rail- roads, and the "iron horse," within a few brief years, would have been careering madly through every quarter of the commonwealth. But, alas! one road only was completed, that from Vicksburg to Jackson, then, as now, the capital of the State, and that line of road was less than fifty miles in length.


The era of numberless mushroom banks, of inflated cur. rency, of frantic and reckless speculation already referred to, produced an abundant harvest of distress, bankruptcy and ruin for the people of Mississippi. Yet they still clamored for more banks, and yet a greater issue of worth- less "paper promises to pay." In obedience to this public demand for more money, the Legislature, early in the ses- sion of 1837, passed an act to incorporate the Union Bank of Mississippi with a capital of ($15,500,000) fifteen mil- lion five hundred thousand dollars, which was approved by Governor Lynch, January 21, 1837, "so far as the action of this Legislature is recognized."


Section 4th of the original act of incorporation provided, "that the owners of real estate, situated in the State of Mississippi, and who are citizens thereof, shall be the only persons entitled to subscribe; and shares so subscribed shall be transferable only to such owners, until five years, when they may be transferred to any owner of real estate in this State, whether citizen or not ; provided, however, to secure the capital or interest of said bank, mortgage shall be given on property of a sufficient character, and of an imperishable nature."


Section 5th declared "that in order to facilitate the said Union Bank, for the said loan of fifteen million five hun- dred thousand dollars, the faith of this State be, and is hereby pledged, both for the security of the capital and interest, and that seven thousand five hundred bonds of two thousand dollars each, to wit : Eighteen hundred and seventy-five, payable in twelve years ; eighteen hundred and seventy-five, in fifteen years ; eighteen hundred and seventy-five, in eighteen years ; and eighteen hundred and


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seventy-five, in twenty years, and bearing interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum, shall be signed by the Governor of the State, to the order of the Mississippi Union Bank, countersigned by the State Treasurer, and under the seal of the State." The form of the bonds was prescribed in this section.


Section 6th declared "that the said bonds may be trans- ferable by the endorsement of the president and of the cashier of said bank, to the order of any person whomso- ever, or to the bearer; and the said endorsement shall fix the place the said principal and interest shall be paid ; and all expenses incurred thereon shall be defrayed from the funds of the bank."


Section 7th provided " that both the capital and interest of said bonds shall be paid by said bank at the times they shall severally fall due."




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