Arkansas true Democrat., 1861-04-18
To the Citizens of Chicot County

To render, in some way, satisfactory account of my stewardship, is eminently due to the confding people who trusted me in this fearful crisis to speak their wishes, as we'll as to watch over their honor and their interests.
 On Friday, March 1st, the delegates ar rived at Little Rock; and on counting the vote the following day, it was found the convention was called by majority of eleven or twelve thousand. Believing that the common sense of the people of Arkan- sas would not have a conventlon-an i.,ys, .nU2y, U tnG Way, ~!i.cii eOSe the State over four hundred dollars per day unless the determination was to take the State out of the Union; believing this, the large majority awakened the liveliest an ticipations in the minds of our friends. Our hopes were blasted on Monday, when the Union side, by strictly party-aye, more, sectional-vote, 40 to B, elected their president and every other officer, down to the doorkeepcr.
 After the convention was organized, the topic ofevery conversation, the ground work of every place, was the lnaugral ot MT. Lincoln. It was awaited by both sides with deep anxiety. Many of the Union men had said, during the canvass, as well as on their arrival at Little Rock, that in the event of Lincoln's declaring for coercion, they would vote for secession. At lenght it came, with its declaration of war on the seeding States but poorly obscured The Union men, however, took refuge, in disbelief; they said our synop- sis was not truthful. One of their men paid, it was said, seventy eight dollars for a fruitful dispatch-word for word, almost, as we had it. Learning this,. many ot us were sorely puzzled to know what would be their next position; and judge of our amazement, when we heard some of them openly avow that, even if Lincoln should coerce the southern States, they still owed allegiance to the federal government, and would wait to see how Kentucky, Virginia, ect., would act!
 The war then began in good earnest; <; day after day 1t was maintained, long speeches were made 10 no effect; the Union men scarcely designed to reply-to use their own language, "minds were made up and the speeches of the gentlemen on the secession. sHk had no more effect than would >}eaden darts have on the shield of Ajax"
 We first endeavored to get an imme- diate ordinance of secession, and of course, failed; with no better success, we next tried to get conditional ordinance On Saturday, 16th, the vote was takenAon this last proposition, and never in my life did witness more intense excitement. With out comment, will simply state, that 39 of the memorable 40" voted for the Union-or rather against letting the peo- pie speak for themselves.
 Our next effort was to submit to the people-on the one side, secession; on the other, then so-called Thomason's resolu- tions. These resolutions provided for a convention of the whole people at some future time, for the purpose of purchasing amendments to the constitution by the surrender of some of our most valuable rights, and were generally rehash of all the tomfoolery on that subject. Scarcely had this proposition been made, when one of the union leaders moved to lay 1t on the table-clearly showing. it was no part of their programme to let the people have anything to say in this important matter. Outrageous as this was, Watkins motion prevailed, and the proposition to submit the secession ordinance and re-conStruc- tion resolutions was tabled.
 Partly to see to what distance our en- emies would go, and partly because we could not imagine they would make ob- ljections we next proposed to submit the naked question of secession or Union. To our surprise and modification, they would have voted this down also, when one of our men told them plainly this would be the last pacific appeal, that If they denied this, it would behoove us of the east and south to save our people, though desperate measures should be necessary. The result was committee of conference; and we agreed that, on the first Monday in August next, the question of secession or co-opera- tion should be submitted to the people.
 Lastly. we disposed of the vexed qnes' tion of the arsenal-placing it upon. peace footing, and leaving 1t Tn possession of the Governor.
 Thus ended, for the present, the labors of the convention.
 What we accomplised was far less than the honor and interest of Arkansas de-