Year: 1867

The people OF Onr State nave SIcat
reason to be thankful to an oyerruling
Providence for the blessings of the year
that is past. While pestilence has been
abroad in the land, we have enjoyed
health in an unusual degree; the earth
has yielded plentiful harvests; the evl-
dence of the, e,devastatiOns OF the war is
fast disappearing before the renewed
energy. and enterprise of our people;
business of all kinds seems to be pros
pering; and the indications of improve
ment and progress are manifest in al
most every portion of the State. '.--


While the condition of the State as a
whole is very gratifying, 1 am compelled
to repeat, what j said to your predeces-
sors year ago, that in some Localities,
chiefly in four or five counties bordering
OH the States of Virginia and Kentucky,
o spirit of insubordinatiOn still contin-
ues to be manifested. That portion of
the population of these localities who
participated in the rebellion, instead OF
pursuing course promotive Of the peace
and good order of society, continue to
evincc their discomfort and dissatisfac-
ton by denouncing and disregarding
the laws and constitution of the State,
and by menacing and interrupting the
officers in the discharge of their duties.
Meaus are used for the purpose of intim-
idating the courts, sherifs, jurors, wit
nesses, supervisors, free school superin-
tendents and boards, and especially the
officers of registration and election, and
of deterring them from the execution OF
the laws. The Judge of the ninth cir
cult has received anonymous letters
threatening his life if he persists in hold
ing his courts; aud while he was hoh-
ing a term Of his court i'll the town ot
'Lewisburg, Greenbrier county, during
the last Fall. these malcOntents held a
public meeting in the town, in which
they resolved to mob the judge and the
prosecuting attorney of his court, and
were only induced to desist from exc
cutting their purpose by the interposi-
ton Of more cOnsiderate friends. BY
this course of conduct the business OF
the courts and officers generally is en-
barrassed and the due execution of the
laws greatly obstructed. In fact, it has
been entirely impracticable, so far, to
secure a full and complete execution OF
the registry and election laws in the
disatfected regions. At. some voting
places no elections at all were held last
Fall, for fear of violence; at others great
numbers of illegal votes were received,
which has given the boards of super
visors much trouble-their duties on
this subject not being clearly defined in
the law. Another instance of utter dis
regard of the laws is that in one or two
counties, as am informed, persons who
aided and abetted the rebellion are per
forming the duties of county and town
ship offices, and this, of course, without
taking the oaths required by law; and
yet they are not indicted by the grand
iuries-in some cases probably from
sympathy of the jurors with the rebel
lion, and in other cases through intim-
idatiOn.


In this aspect of affairs it became ap-
parent that the laws could not be en-
forced by the civil authorities and that
military aid was necessary for that pur-
pose; and on application to General
Grant, small detachment of United
States troops has been stationed at
Union, in Monroe county, where they
will remain, no doubt, until order and
security are restored indeed my infor-
nation is that their presence is already
having a salutary effect in that portion
of the State. l may add that | have as
surances that military assistance will
be furnished whenever necessary to en-
able the State authorities to enforce the
laws; and, while l deprecate the state
of things that renders such assistance
necessary, yet have determined, If the
purpose, heretofore manifested, to dis
turb the peace and set the authorities
at defiance, is persisted in, that l will
not hesitate, when duty requires, to
avail myself of the support of the
stronger arm of the government. |
have come to this determination with
great reluctance but after mature re-
lection.


The leading spirits amongst those that
arc dcfying the laws and disturbing the
good order Of society are men of superb
or rintelligence,-sOme of them learned
in the law,-and are therefore the more
culpa5le. 1t has now been more than
eighteen months since they returned
from the rebellion. The authorities, as
well as the loyal people of the State,
have continued to hope that they would
cease their disorganizing and wicked
course, so that we might have return
of peace and order again throughout the
entire State; and it was also desirable
that their conduct would be such that
some of the erestrictive which it
was heretofore deemed necessary to
adopt might be modified, and others re-
pealed; and with a view to this, and to
avoid all cause of irritation, every pos
sible effort has been made to administer
the laws through civil officers alone.
But this forbearance, instead of being
accepted and appreciated in the spirit
in which it was extended, has been er-
roneously regarded and treated as a
yielding on the part of the authorities
and loyal people to the supercilious
manifestations and pretensions of these
lawless men; and instead ofreturning to
a respectful and proper obedience to the
laws, they have grown more and more
audacious and violent, until it has be-
come absolutely necessary to call on the
military to aid and protect the civil
authorities in the performance of their
duties.


l exceedingly regret this state of
thingsI and especially to publish it to
the country; yet / have deemed it my
duty to say thus much in obedience to
that provision of the constitution which
requires the Governor to Communicate
to the Legislature at each session there
of the condition of the State" l re-
gret it not only because order and tran
quility in The community are desirable
in themselves, but, moreover, because
they are necessary to the development
and prosperity of the State; for, while
it is true that the disaffected region EN-
braces but a small portion OF the State,
yet, not being understood by strangers,
IL may turn many away who, otherwise,
would come into the State and con-
tribute to its wealth and population. l
regret it, also, because it not only ap-
pears to make it the more necessary to
continue and enforce the restrictive
measures enacted against the partici-
pants in the rebellion-which necessa-
rily operate alike on all-but prevents
a repeal or modification of those meas
ures as to the more orderly and law
abiding, which many Of us would glad
ly accomplish if it were practicable.


The civil authorities are doing all