The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-21

treasurer turned the key on the money. In default of his collections. and in other ways consistent with the habits of his political company, young Morgan was soon recognized as hopeful scalawag. The movement of aggrieved taxpayers to force him into court was confronted with the open espousal of the defaulter' S l cause by Alderman John Corbin, judge of the trial court. And not only so, but by the open espousal of Alderman B. F. Saf- fold of the supreme court.
 The absurd government set up by the military constitution began to discover it's full capacity for evil The phenomenon of the day was the patience, endurance and silence of the whites. Political free. dom was absolutely suspended. The men, tai acumen of the nineteenth century was given to the inventor of modes and meth ods of political degradat tion which rivalled ;he savagery of the aborigines. The loathsome tyranny that we bore in con tempt and quiet seemed to put faith in our reserved powers and our indomitable purpose to strike when the time should come.
 The city police of Selma, selected by Governor Smiths exercise of his powers, was composed in part of negroes A weaker Community sentiment among whites would have used many of the prov ocations of the time to rise up against this premeditated wrong and deliberate insult. But John T. Morgan, N. H. R. Dawson, Charles M. Shelley Edmond w. Pettus, William M. Brooks, Gen. J. b. Johnston, Gen. W. J. Hardie, Judge Byrd, Jonathan Haralson, J. B. Roy and thei. peers lived in town and their wisdom and courage controlled. Shortly after the ne- gro police put on their uniforms. Christ mas came. Negroes of both sexes, hun dreds and thousands from the plantations came to join the drunken orgies with the townsfolk. The white women and chil- dren remained indoors For a day and night the plantation negroes held orgies
 The persistent contrivances of tyrants forced the people to premature consider ation of many problems of society. Among these was the question of admissi- oility of negro testimony in courts of justice. Left to itself, the matter would offer no serious difficulties. In regular course of readjustment of the social life, the freedman, thrown upon his own re- sources, liable to sue and be sued, priv ileged to produce and consume, to em- ploy lawyers and pay doctors necessarily became component part of the juris- diction of law and justice. But there was an intervening influence between this component part of the community and the other part, the whites. The military authority interposed to give bias to rea- tion of the one to the other. The wori of the slave had been trained word of truth. No people spoke truth so inyaria- bly, The discipline of the plantation ex- acted the truth from every individual be- cause of the resultant simpliheation of administration
 When Provisional Governor Parsons came into authority the rule of the slave even yet held in respect to slave or negro testimony. This personal right of freo man had been withheld from the slave Tor the sufficient reason that his testi mony for or against his masters cause or his masters prejudices, must be irrecon- cilable with the total subjection of the testator's volition and intelligence to his master
 Lawyer of sound knowledge of the prin- ciples of the law, Governor Parsons was, he set about at a timely moment tl take opinions from his brethren of the bar whether the approaching constitu- rional convention ds65) should alter tn. old law on negro testimony. In re- sponse to the governors appeal MT. Saf- fold. among others. made answer Saf folds answer is the essence of the thought of the more influential men of the state and moreover is a masterly essay on the times. In a personal letter, with date Montgomery, August 2, 1865, enclos- ing the paper to the governor. the writer made this significant disclosure of his ] have no confidence whatever in our being able to make good servant or citizen out of the free negro by any sort of legisla- ton. My knowledge of his character for bids me to hope so. Colonization seems 10 me to offer the relief from our pres ent conditions (State Dept. Archives and History). The formal opinion fol- lows:
 Governor: In compliance with your re- quest, l beg leave to submit the follow ing suggestions:
 tNeither the military department nor the Congress of the United States has any right under the constitution to estab- fish courts, military or civil. for the ad- Judication of causes between the inhabi- tants of state in time of peace.
 An act of Congress passed March 3. 1877, assumed to do this in Indian tribes or nation within state and (the act) was decided to be unconstitutional. U. s. ys Bailey. l McLean's. c. C. C. R. 233
 .'-As an alternative to the exercise of jurisdiction in eases arising between whites and negroes by provost marshals or any military commission. I have no hesitation in saying that we ought to al- low negroes residing amongst us to sue and be sued and to give testimony in our state courts in all cases affecting them on the same terms as the whites.
 -The United States will establish these courts unless we allow to the blacks the privilege above mentioned. There will then be two systems of judiciary in our