USA > Mississippi > A history of Mississippi : from the discovery of the great river > Part 36
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The Legislature met on the 4th of January, 1876. The Senate was called to order by Lieutenant-Governor A. K. Davis. Judge Simrall of the Supreme Court swore in the newly elected members. D. P. Porter was elected Secre- tary.
The House was organized by the election of Hon. H. M. Street, Speaker, by acclamation. Major Geo. M. Govan was elected Clerk by acclamation. On the same day the Governor transmitted his message to the two Houses.
Instead of complying with the requirements of the Con- stitution "to give the Legislature information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he deemed necessary and expedient," he indulged in traducing the white people of the State, repeat- ing slanders the falsity of which he himself knew.
This unprecedented message called forth a most scath- ing preamble and resolution from Senator John W. Fewell, of Lauderdale county.
On the 6th of January General W. S. Featherston, of Marshall, offered a resolution, which was adopted, to in- quire into the official conduct of Adelbert Ames, and to report to the House whether there were grounds for his impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors. The fol- lowing day resolutions were adopted to investigate charges
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alleged in the public press and otherwise against T. W. Cordoza, Superintendent of Public Education of the State, and A. K. Davis, Lieutenant-Governor of the State.
Upon the filing of the articles of impeachment against T. W. Cordoza, he at once addressed a communication to Hon. H. M. Street, Speaker of the House, asking permis- sion to resign the office of State Superintendent of Educa- tion, and that the proceedings against him be dismissed with the consent of the Senate. The proceedings took that direction, and the negro Superintendent made his exit from the State, seeking other and more congenial fields.
The committee appointed to investigate the charges against Lieutenant-Governor Davis exhibited and sub- mitted five articles of impeachment, all of which related to one matter, in which he was charged, while acting as Gov- ernor, during the absence from the State of Adelbert Ames, Governor, with accepting a bribe and pecuniary reward to induce him, as such acting Governor, to grant a pardon to one Thos. H. Barrentine, charged with the mur- der of Ann Thomas, in the county of Lowndes. Davis denied the charges and went to trial before the Senate, sit- ting as a court of impeachment. After a full and patient hearing he was found guilty, removed from office, and dis- qualified from holding any office of honor, trust or profit.
The adoption of the resolution heretofore offered by General Featherston was followed by articles of impeach- ment against Adelbert Ames, Governor of the State of Mississippi, and presented by the managers on the part of the House of Representatives, who appeared at the bar of the Senate, on 14th of March, 1876. The managers were accompanied to the Senate chamber by the Speaker and members of the House. After taking the seats as- signed them within the bar of the Senate, Mr. Manager Featherston announced that by order of the House of Representatives the managers were ready, when it was the pleasure of the Senate to hear them, to present articles of impeachment preferred against Adelbert Ames, Governor of the State of Mississippi. The Sergeant-at-Arms having made proclamation and commanded silence, Mr. Manager Percy
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rose and read twenty-one articles of impeachment, each charging him with being unmindful of the high duties of his office, his oath of office, and the requirements of the Constitution of the State, alleging that the offenses charged in the several articles of impeachment were either a high misdemeanor or a high crime in office.
The first article charged that he wilfully and corruptly refused to suspend W. M. Connor, sheriff and tax collector of Noxubee county, who had failed to pay over public funds belonging to said county to the treasurer thereof.
The second article charged that he had corruptly, for partisan purposes, and in violation of the Constitution, appointed justices of the peace in Washington county, with intent to degrade the sovereignty of the State, and to bring the law into contempt among her citizens.
The third article alleged that he unlawfully and cor- ruptly approved the bond of M. L. Holland, whom he had appointed Treasurer of the State, for the sum of $80,000, upon which bond the sureties had failed to justify, as pro- vided by law.
The fourth article charged that he permitted M. L. Hol- land, Treasurer of the State, to remain in office in posses- sion of all the monies, bonds and papers belonging to the State, when he was advised in writing by the Attorney- General of the State that the bond of Holland was insuffi- cient to authorize him to act as such Treasurer.
Article 5th, that he wilfully and corruptly caused A. J. Flanagan, sheriff of Warren county, to be ejected from his office by United States soldiers, who were instigated by his directions.
Article 6th charged that he corruptly assented to, and assisted in, perpetrating a fraud on the State, which re- sulted in a loss of $33,750.00.
Article 7th charged that he wilfully and corruptly per- verted and abused the power conferred upon him by law, over the convict labor of the State, by the approval of certain bonds, contracts and papers, for partisan purposes.
Article 8th charged that he corruptly and in violation of the constitution, permitted and consented to an exchange and swap of their respective positions as public officers
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between a chancellor and district attorney of the State.
Article 9th alleged that he neglected and refused to send his nominations of chancellors to the Senate at the regu- lar session, in the year 1874, as required by law, which refusal was with intent to destroy the independence of the judiciary, and make chancellors and judges subservient to the Executive will, for corrupt and partisan purposes ; that he appointed chancellors after the adjournment of the Senate, thereby usurping powers in violation of the constitution.
Article 10th alleged that he endeavored to persuade and induce E. G. Peyton, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to control the decisions and decrees of W. B. Peyton, a son of the Chief Justice, and at that time Chancellor of the 16th District, in a certain case then pending in the chancery court of Hinds county, before the said W. B. Peyton, styled the University of Mississippi, et al., vs. the Vicksburg and Natchez Railroad, et al.
Article 11th charged that because of rulings and decrees made by W. B. Peyton, that were personally distasteful to Adelbert Ames, Governor, that he corruptly worked for and effected the removal of said W. B. Peyton from his said office.
Article 12th alleged that unlawfully and in violation of the constitution, he issued an order for the removal of W. A. Drennan, from the office of chancellor of the 12th dis- trict, for the reason that on the trial of a writ of habeas corpus, sued out by a personal friend and political parti- san of the said Ames, one A. T. Morgan, charged with the murder of T. B. Hillard, sheriff of Yazoo county, Chancel- lor Drennan had refused to grant Morgan bail and re- manded him to jail.
Article 13th alleged that he had issued an order for the removal of Thos. Christian from the office of chancellor of the 4th chancery district for the reason that Chancellor Christian declined to be used as a party tool, or to permit his high office to be used by Ames or his party friends for political purposes.
Article 14th alleged that he issued an order in writing for the removal of J. F. Simmons from the office of chan-
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cellor of the 10th district, Chancellor Simmons having been appointed and commissioned to said office.
Article 15th charged that he wilfully, corruptly and for partisan purposes, appointed to judicial positions men who were notoriously incompetent, immoral and dishonest.
Article 16th alleged that being, by virtue of his office, commander-in-chief of the militia of the State, and a con- servator of the peace, did, on the 10th of October, 1875, with intent to produce a conflict of arms between the two races, cause a company of militia composed of negroes, whose captain was one Chas. Caldwell, a notoriously dan- gerous and turbulent man of that race, to march with guns as an escort of a wagon train containing arms, from Jack- son to Edwards Depot, and to parade the streets of Clin- ton on their line of march, intending to provoke law-abid- ing citizens to wrath and violence, and to a collision with the negro militia.
Article 17th alleged that he delivered intemperate and inflammatory speeches in the presence of negroes with a view and intent of bringing on an armed conflict between the races.
Article 18th charged that the advice given Peter Crosby, concerning the office of sheriff of Warren county, and the intemperate and inflammatory speech made in his, Crosby's, presence, caused a riot in said county of Warren, on the 7th of December, 1874, between the races, in which many of the citizens were wounded and slain.
Article 19th alleged that intending to stir up strife be- tween the races, he corruptly counseled and advised Peter Crosby to organize, without authority of law, an armed body of men and forcibly take possession of the sheriff's office of said county, which Crosby attempted on the 7th day of December, 1874, in pursuance of said advice to do, which caused a riot, bloodshed and death among the peo- ple of said county.
Article 20th charged that the advice given Crosby was for corrupt and partisan purposes.
Article 21st charged that he advised Crosby to possess himself of the office of sheriff, books, papers, charge and control of the court-house and jail, and all of the actual insignia of said office, against any opposing authority.
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On March 16th, 1876, the Senate met as a court of im- peachment. Chief Justice Simrall entered the Senate chamber with Associate Justice Peyton, and announced that he had been elected Chief Justice of the State in ac- cordance with the constitution and laws, and that he was now ready to proceed with the trial of Adelbert Ames, Governor. The oath was administered to the Chief Jus- tice by Associate Justice Peyton. Chief Justice Sim- rall then administered the oath to the Senators. Adel- bert Ames, Governor, was summoned to appear before the court next day. . On the 17th, Thomas W. Durant, of counsel for Governor Ames, appeared and asked five days to answer the articles of impeachment, which was granted, and at the same time, three days given the managers in which to reply. On the 20th of March, the court of im- peachment was opened, when managers Featherston, Percy, Tucker, Barksdale, Muldrow and Spight, entered the bar of the Senate and took the seats assigned them. Messrs. Durant and Pryor of counsel for defendant, ac- companied by Mr. Clancey, appeared and took their seats within the bar. Manager Featherston, on behalf of his associates, sent to the secretary's desk a paper to be read, expressive of the desire of the House of Representatives in the matter of impeachment of Adelbert Ames, Governor, which was as follows :
"Whereas, assurances have been received by the House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi, that Adel- bert Ames, Governor of said State, but for the pending against him of articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives, would have resigned his office as Governor, and will now do so, as the managers are in- formed, by a letter addressed to his counsel, Messrs. Durant and Pryor, by said Ames, read to the said House, a resolution adopted directing its managers to dismiss said proceeding. Now, therefore, Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi, that the managers on the part of this House, in the matter of impeachment of Adelbert Ames, Governor of said State, be and they are hereby directed to dismiss the said articles against the said Adelbert Ames, Governor, as aforesaid,
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and heretofore exhibited by them against him at the bar of the Senate."
Upon the reading of the foregoing resolution from the House of Representatives, the following order was made by the court: "That articles of impeachment heretofore preferred by the House of Representatives against his Excellency, Adelbert Ames, be, and the same are hereby dismissed, in pursuance of the request of the House of Representatives, this day presented by the managers in their behalf." After the reading of this order, Hon. Thomas J. Durant, of counsel for respondent, read the fol- lowing :
"EXECUTIVE OFFICE, JACKSON, MISS., March 29, 1876.
To the people of the State of Mississippi :
I hereby respectfully resign my office of Governor of the State of Mississippi, ADELBERT AMES."
And Mr. Durant requested that the same be recorded in the office of Secretary of State.
An order was made that the resignation of Adelbert Ames, Governor, be entered upon the Journal of the Sen- ate sitting as a Court of Impeachment, and the original be filed in the office of Secretary of State. After the read- ing of this order, Mr. Pryor, of counsel for defendant, arose and said :
" Mr. Chief Justice and Senators :- At the instance of my learned associates I rise merely to return to the Chief Justice and the Senators, the expression of our grave sense of the courtesies and kindness which we have received, both from the learned Chief Justice and Senators, and especially from our honorable adversaries, the managers on the part of the House."
The Court then adjourned sine die.
Thus closed the long saturnalia of vice, the frightful carnival of crime. Thus ended the rule of ignorance over intelligence, of vice over virtue. Thus the people, rising in the majesty of their might, became an avenging Neme- sis, pursuing their oppressors until they took refuge be- yond the borders of Mississippi.
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The resignation of the office of Governor by Adelbert Ames, on the 29th day of March, 1876, was an act of neces- sity. In performing that act Governor Ames drained to the dregs the bitter cup of humiliation. In signing the letter of resignation his cheeks must have been mantled with the crimson blush of shame, and his heart wrung with an agony almost insupportable. By that act he discarded all the lessons inculcated at West Point, all the pride of the soldier, all the manly impulses of a gentleman. By his resignation he tacitly entered the plea of "guilty" to all the charges preferred against him. His resignation "un- der charges" was in violation of every precept of honor taught at West Point, in violation of every manly senti- ment felt by all honorable, high-spirited gentlemen in the army of the United States. In resigning, in the face of the charges of impeachment presented against him, Adel- bert Ames must have known that he was degrading him- self in the eyes of all honorable men. He must have known that he was affixing his signature to the record of his own infamy, and branding with ineffaceable ignominy all those who bear his name.
The people of Mississippi remember the career and rule of Governor Ames, as men and women remember a frightful dream. They look back to the long, weary night of despot- ism, rapine and plunder, inaugurated by that petty pro- consol of a hostile government, and thank with renewed fervor the good God that inspired them with the necessary courage to redeem the fairest land that the sun shines on, and rescue the children of the patriotic men and women who were born free, from a worse than Egyptian bondage.
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CHAPTER XXI.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR STONE.
J OHN M. STONE, a native of the neighboring State of Tennessee, born in Giles county in the year 1830, but for many years a citizen of Tishomingo county, Missis- sippi, became the twenty-first, Governor of the common- wealth, and the fourth under the Constitution formulated in 1868 and adopted in 1869.
John M. Stone entered the Confederate service as a com- pany commander in the Second Regiment, Mississippi In- fantry, and after the resignation of Col. Wm. C. Falkner became the Colonel of that regiment. He served through- out the entire war, and earned the reputation of being a courageous, zealous and patriotic soldier. On more than one occasion he commanded the brigade to which his regi- ment was attached, in action with the enemy.
At the close of the war Col. Stone was elected by the people to the position of Treasurer of Tishomingo county. In 1875, the year of the great redemption of Mississippi, he was elected by the people of Tishomingo county as their representative in the State Senate. When the Legislature assembled in January, 1876, Senator Stone was elected President pro tempore of the Senate, and after the convic- tion and removal of Lieutenant-Governor Davis, and the resignation of Governor Ames-under charges of impeach- ment -- succeeded to the chief magistracy of the common- wealth.
Col. Stone became Governor at the termination of a great revolution, after seven years of misrule, outrage and rob- bery. It was no easy task to bring order out of the chaos which was characteristic of the governments of the South- ern States during the period of reconstruction. For the
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most part, the public offices of the State, and a large num- ber of the county offices were filled with men whose only object seemed to be to outrage, oppress and to plunder the people. The Governor, however, was a calm, resolute, sensible and honest man, and he was zealously sustained by an exceedingly intelligent, able and patriotic Legisla- ture. Before the united and harmonious co-operation of the legislative and executive branches of the government, all difficulties disappeared as rapidly as mist before the morning sun.
The two years incumbency of Governor Stone was so satisfactory to the people in the peace and order that had fallen upon every county in the State, in the reduction of the ruinous rates of taxation, and in the economy which had been enforced in every department of the government, that Governor Stone was nominated for election to the office of chief magistrate for the full constitutional term of four years. He was elected in November, 1877, and was inducted into office in January, 1878.
How Jno. M. Stone performed the onerous duties im- posed upon him, the people of Mississippi know full well. He gave to the State able, learned and honest judges, as well of the inferior courts, as of the supreme tribunal of the last resort. Governor Stone by his judicial appoint- ments elevated the character of the courts of the State to a plane they had not known since the accursed reign of radicalism began.
During the administration of Governor Stone the Leg- islature established the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- lege, near Starkville, and it was immediately put in opera- tion under the able supervision of its President, General Stephen D. Lee, under whose wise management it has at- tained phenomenal success, and has led to the organization of many similar institutions, particularly in the Southern States of the Union.
Governor Stone, after an interval of eight years, was elected to the chief magistracy of the commonwealth in November, 1889, as the successor of Governor Lowry, and was inducted into office in the January following.
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THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR LOWRY.
ROBERT LOWRY, a native of Chesterville District, South Carolina, was brought, when a child, to Tishomingo county, Mississippi, by his father, and afterwards, when a mere boy, removed to Smith county, to reside with his uncle, Judge James Lowry. He was elected to the position of Gov- ernor in November. 1881, and was installed in office in January, 1882, as the successor of Governor Stone, thus becoming the twenty-second chief magistrate of the com- monwealth, and the fifth under the Constitution adopted in 1869.
Robert Lowry entered the Confederate army as a private in Company B, in the Sixth Mississippi Infantry. Upon the organization of that regiment he was elected to the position of Major, and upon its reorganization after the battle of Shiloh, Col. Thornton, because of wounds having retired, was elected to the Colonelcy. In 1864, he was appointed to the rank of Brigadier-General, which position he continued to hold until the termination of the war.
After the close of hostilities General Lowry represented the people in both branches of the Legislature. He was nominated as a candidate for the office of Attorney-Gen- eral, against his protest in the Convention, on the Inde- pendent ticket headed by Mr. Louis Dent in 1869, in oppo- sition to the ticket led by James L. Alcorn, and of course was defeated.
During the first term of the administration of Governor Lowry the Industrial College for Girls was established and put into successful operation at Columbus, and its benefi- cial results have thus far exceeded the most sanguine hopes of its founders.
The East Mississippi Insane Asylum, at Meridian, was also put into operation during the first term of Governor Lowry. A Railroad Commission was also created during his first term.
It is fair to presume that the administration of Governor Lowry was satisfactory to the people, for he was renomi- nated and re-elected by an increased popular majority.
During the eight years incumbency of the executive
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office by Governor Lowry-double the length of time of any of the early Governors, and two years longer than his immediate .predecessor, Governor Stone-there were more miles of railroad builded in Mississippi, than during the administrations of all his predecessors from the organiza- tion of the State government down to the time he came to be Governor.
CHAPTER XXII.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS IN THE STATE.
E DUCATION is closely connected with the happiness, prosperity and progress of a free people. The oft repeated adage, "the greater the ignorance, the greater the safety," is only applicable to monarchical governments, where general intelligence and learning are considered dan- gerous and destructive elements of government. But the theory of this government is unlike that of any other, in, that all power is vested in the people; the purpose being, with proper restraints, to extend and enjoy the greatest amount of liberty. This being the paramount object, all classes feel that the blessings and advantages of education cannot be overestimated; hence it is, that the ablest English and American authors, who have written on the subject, are constantly consulted by those who have adopted teaching as a profession; the desire being to arrive at the best methods for developing the mind and for moral and physi- cal training.
With the experience of more than a century, the verdict of the average American is, that the people are capable of self-government, and the science, if any there is in govern- ment, consists in imposing the lightest burdens upon the people and administering the government honestly. All power being inherent in the people, education is absolutely necessary for its exercise.
In considering this important subject, which has at all times not only invited, but commanded the best considera- tion of scholars and lawmakers of the State, it is well to refer to the ordinance of 1787, which sounded the key-note, and gave direction to most of the States of the Union in this regard. In the discussion of this ordinance in the Senate of the United States in 1850, Daniel Webster, in
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reply to Mr. Hayne, of South Carolina, on the "Foote" resolutions, said :
"But this ordinance did that which was not so common, and which is not even now universal: that is, it set forth and declared as a high and binding duty of government itself, to encourage schools and advance the means of education ; for the plain reason that religion, morality and knowledge are necessary to good government, and to the happiness of mankind."
The Constitution of Mississippi, adopted in 1817, under the head of general provisions declared : "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government, the preservation of liberty and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be en- couraged in this State." The same provision was made in the Constitution of 1832, and in that of 1868 it is thus pro- vided : "As the stability of a republican form of govern- ment depends mainly upon the intelligence and virtue of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature to en- courage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellec- tual, scientific, moral and agricultural improvement, by establishing a uniform system of free public schools, by taxation or otherwise."
It will thus be seen that the principle enunciated in 1787, was not only accepted, but engrafted in the first organic law of Mississippi, copied word for word in the Constitu- tion of 1832, and left practically unchanged by the Consti- tution of 1868.
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