The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-23
TEN YEARS OF ALABAMA
No. 47-Administration of Governor Smith
1865-1874

H Ol OONcIlOl OIiftlt
 Alabama and Tennessee rivers central
 road into the Louisville and Nashville, and the completion of that line drew near.
 General Forrest made sure the extension
 of the road west from Marion to Akron.
 R. M Robertson was bouyant in the prosecution of his scheme to connect the harbor of New York with the splendid harbor at Mazatlan on the Pacific coast of Mexico by filling the gap between Selma and the Mexican port. The aid of
 the state had been secured to repair the
 Montgomery and Mobile road.
 The planters of the black belt yet re-
 sided on their estates and the old slave cabins were fully populated by the trained freedmen. The high price of cotton en- abled the one clan to live in luxury and gave general contentment to the other. The city people were prosperous and hope ful. The Montgomery Literary society, with Maj. Thomas Goode Jones at the head was active and resourceful. A citi-
 zen offered a premium of s200 for the best cotton harvested sent to the approaching
 state agricultural fair at Selma and the fair directory offered premium for the best plan of working the public roads.
 It was formally announced that Gen. Wade Hampton would speak at the fair. Governor Smith requested the legislature
 to give the event state pecuniary aid. While the people gave ocular proof of their earnestness and their hope. the gov
 ernment at Washington persisted In re-
 lentless prosecutions. Federal District
 Judge Underwood, at Richmond, Va, pre- vailed with the grand jury to return h.
 dietments for treason in the support Of the Confederacy against Jefferson Davis, John c. Breckinridge, Gov. William Smith, Robert Lee Jones, James A. Seddon, Wade Hampton and their comrades. This judge construed the fourteenth article of
 amendment to disqualify the majority Of probate judges throughout the south. 10 that their distribution of estates among heirs, their marriage licenses issued and all the functions of their office related to
 a regulated community were null and
 void
 Every element of civil government was distorted and perverted in all the southern states. The legislature of Alabama, in 1888, opened all judgments involving prop erty rendered between 1861 and 1865. Judge Corbin of the city court of Selma, in the case of Graham ct als. vs Brazeale, held that a promissory note. given for the purchase of a slave, in time of slavery, was forfeited in the legal manumission of the slave.
 White, Rice and Parsons, late leaders of the cause of white supremacy, were the most eloquent and the most intellec- tual of the proselytes made by Seymcur's defeat and General Grants election 10
 the radical side in this state White soon left the state a federal appointment to office in the far west. Rice sought un-
 successfully a place on the federal su-
 preme court and next an election to Con
 gress. Parsons received nothing from
 the government but played an important jart in the politics of the state thereafter as we shall see.
 The delegation from the state legis- lated into the lower house of Congress by the act of June 12, 1888, served only for the remainder of the life Of
 the Fortieth Congress. that is the one session that closed March f. 1869 special election for August 3, 1862,
 was ordered. The double purpose was to fill vacancies is the legislature. which had occurred in eight counties
 and to elect full delegation to Con gress.
 Tho whites were exceedingly ir- dignant because of the conditions at
 tachlng to this election. By advice of i Governor Smith the legislature had re-
 moved most of the disabilities from the
 white voters but 1t had enacted a new election law Scalawag Senator w. B.
 Jones from Marengo county vigorously opposed the bill and upon its passage 1 caused HIS protest TO Do entered on the journal, describing the measure as the most unjust. illiberal and oppressive ever enacted by legislature of Ala bama." The self-evident purport of the 1 law being to prevent the white mems success at the polls was further ag- gravated by the direct interference of President Grant to accomplish the same resultH He listened to islanders from the lips of renegades In order n cyl rntA k<s T.l l.~.. &s1.. Jones and Hays held public meetings where negroes comprised nearly all the audience and deliberately concocted stories of disturbances occurring there. one Of their joint meetings came off at Livingston. The President suddenly filled the land with troops
 White, Rice, McKinstry and Minnis
 canvassers of the state for Seymour and Blair up to election day, Noven:- Der. 1868, in the spring and summer Of 1869 canvassed for the republican candidates for Congress in every dis | trict and for the republican candidates
 to fill the vacant seats in the legisla ture. 1t was remarkable with what | precipitate aversion these recently fa- vored teachers of the masses and bril- I liant orators were received in their de sertion Parsons canvassed for the re- publican nominee of hisSsown district but does not appear to have been ac- tive without. Thus the talent of each | was finally lost from the decision oi
 the force and distressing issues of their l day. In the Seymour and Grant con-
 test nine months before 1t was noticed i that the democrats had a majority in 1 five of the six districts, but they failed l in all but two now. Dox of the FfftI,
 and Sherrod of the Sixth, only were successful. The democrats did not vote l in the other districts their full strength l In the First Buck. carpetbagger, de- | feated by 2000 Mann, who was a fed
 eral revenue officer and from the north Bucks main reliance was upon the l plantation vote. The better to secure this several negroes were killed in a 1 riot in Mobile at public meeting in his interest The riot was immediately 1 followed by decisive action of the whites and this. too. was used as eiec- tion news. Immediately after the cleo l ton Colonel Mann was arrested chraged with malfeasance in office. 1 In the Second district. State senator