The Ripley advertiser. [volume] (Ripley, Miss.) 1843-1897, 1846-03-28
From the Vickshurg lntelligenccr
COMhUN,CATEp.l
MISSES SIrPI LEGISLATURE.


There may BE- readers who will suppose tn,
annexed recital to be an ex1greratipn but Al
least 800 persons who were IN the Capitol OF
the State of Mississippi on the 3 day Of March
1915, can testify that this arcOunt falls far shor
of the reality The Clerks of the House, al
IN duty bound, euterrfed The report Of the me m
Der from Greene; bu', on the next m ,rniny, il
was exqnrged by The House at the request Of
the mamher himself.
And moreover, lest any one should think the
member from Greene a fictitious charactcr, the
the ealI'y OF his character and existence is evi
denced By the credentials, now on file in tbs
archives OF the Stata--a conv whereof ls hereto
anneXed-~hIc credentials are by no mean
an improper Introductory to the sketch follow
ing:
cRtDGSTIALs OF THE HON. MEMBER From
GREENE.
To The Gepert'or. Offers of STATE Senator's and
R'prsseatatjuss n ne Slate cj mississippi in
IN General Assent q conreaed and 10 al To
phom the b'arer she'll come -GREETING:
KNOW YE that |, The underlined returning
FIJI ;cr, in and for the county OF Greene and
STATE aforesaid, certify
That John Melons, commonly ca lid as J hn
Nc'nnIs Cod, 20 distinguish him from another Of
the same name, was day agi consiiutionaiig
elected repre- sentative oI eaii county, or The
first Monday and day following in November,
1915 and he is hereby recommended to the
favor OF all concerned.
Given under my band and seal, this % De.
cembcr lS45
JOIN X RHODES, Returning
i'er fr SAID county, LIST Mon.
day Of November, 1915
JOHN X. RHODES.
TIE best subject which came he o e the Leg
iSaiu,e during The session f 1876, was the all.
absorbing one in regard 10 the charter Of Nc
Innis's Ferry" The owner of he ferry was
member-h mself being the representative of
his county Of Greene -whero the ferry is loca.
ted and through all the trying scenes of getting
the charter htnugh, hat Honorable representa-.
i've bore h mseIf in manner, and with spirit,
which to say the least were remarkable.
On the first broaching of The subj Ct, some
oppos ,t.on was msda. Tle representative from
Clarke. an adjoining county, conceived that the
charter Inlerercd with the rights of other cti-
zans who had ferries on the same river (the
Chckasahay } and, on the first reading of the
bill, ,hs same representa- i've (Mr. Moody,)
moved Its rejection. This motion brought Mr.
Mclnns 10 his feet. He had never spoken be-
fore but, in this one effort, (his maiden specify
he more than compensated for bis former re.
missness.
81 hope" (sald he addressing the House, bu'
not the Spe .ker, 81 hope you'll not reject my
ferry bill. Gentlemen, m 6ound 10 keep fer.
~. Them other men hats got ferries near me.
amt bound at all They've got some little
'ring flats TO GIT across the river on when they
want to 60 to mill-and when its convenient for
'em 10 put a traveller over, they do it-and
when it amt, they don't. Blu, Tn bound to
keep ferry. Ask Mr.. Moody he knows all about
1t. He knows I've kept ferry there across The
Chckasahay for thirty years past. Ny ferrys
right on the big road to Mobile, and every
where. There's three mails crosses a, nv fer
~. Gentlemen, Tn bound 10 keep ferrv Mr..
Moody knows live at LaaksvlIe, right at the
Court House-and these felers that keep the
other little ferres-they turn my boats loose,
and bore anger holes IN 'em aud sink 'em.
hope, gentlemen, you' pass my bill. I've lust
got letter from my son last Dight--a telling
me that them ieers has been borng more no es
IN my boat. Gentlemen, Tn bound to keen fer
~. always cross every body that comes-I'm
bound to do it. And always keep good fats
well painted with tar"
Af'er this appeal, and the necessary readings
being gone through, the bill passed the House
by large majority, and was sent to the Sen.
ate.
Here aovel scene occurred-unpreceden
'ed, perhaps in the annals of IegsIation-even
OF mississippi legislation BY resolution of
ine Senate, the representative from Greene was
invited to address that angus, body upon the
:"e'''s OF his bill, which he did after the manner
~ IN The above sketch of his remarks in
s f"e muse. After the grave Senators had suf.
,hay amused themselves with the matter,
,;nc Ivy passeu me bill. The worthy representa-
Io,, immediately hurried back TO his seat in the
n u.s. ano, although the Clerh was reading
Der exclaimed; "'e"