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 RECONSTRUCTION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT J^^ 
 
 IN FLORIDA AFTER THE CLOSE ^^t" 
 
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 T^ate Senator from I.eon Countv. 
 
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 JOHN WALLACE. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA 
 
 The Inside Workings 
 
 or THB 
 
 RECONSTRUCTION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT 
 
 IN FLORIDA AFTER THE CLOSE 
 
 OF THE CIVIL WAR 
 
 BY JOHN WALLACE. 
 
 Late Senator from Leon County. 
 
 JACKSONVILLE, FLA. : 
 DA O08TA PBDCriNQ AND PUBUSIUNO HOUBE. 
 
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PREFACE. 
 
 The author of this work was born in North Carolina and held as a slave until 
 1862, when he made his escape while General Burnside was operating with his army 
 against the Confederacy in that State. He went to Washington, D. C, after which 
 he entered the United States Army on the 14th of August, 1863, enlisting in the 
 Second United States Colored Troops raised in that city, and served two years and 
 six months in that regiment, which was engaged in the operations of the Federal 
 forces in Florida in the year 1864, and the early part of 1865. Discharged from the 
 service of the United States at Key West, January ist, 1866, he returned to Tallahas- 
 see, where he has since resided up to this period. He had no education while a 
 slave, and never had the benefit of any school before or since he was discharged 
 from the army, and has acquired what knowledge he may have of letters from con- 
 stant study at night, which studies he was compelled to relax on account of injury 
 to his eyes by the explosion of a bomb shell, near his face, thrown by the enemy at 
 the battle of Fort Myers, Florida. His physicians advised him that if he persisted 
 in pursuing his studies it would result in total blindness . He has acquired the 
 knowledge of facts upon which this work treats by being constantly in the midst of 
 the actors of the theatre of this period. He was first appointed a messenger of the 
 Constitutional Convention of 1868, and upon the adoption of the Constitution, was 
 elected Constable for Leon County, the Capital of the State, serving for two years. 
 Was elected twice to the lower branch of the Legislature, serving four years ; and 
 twice elected to the Senate, where he served for eight years. 
 
 In submitting this work to the public, the author does not attempt to present a 
 work adorned with beauties of rhetoric, as he would desire, but has resorted, as 
 far as his limited ability would permit, to such language in the construction of sen- 
 tences as he judged would give the reader a fair conception of the transactions 
 which took place during the period mentioned in the title of the work. 
 
 The design of this work is to correct the settled and erroneous impression 
 that has gone out to the world that the former slaves, when enfranchised, had no 
 conception of good government, and therefore their chief ambition was corruption 
 and plunder ; to prove that, although they had been for more than two hundred 
 years deprived of that training calculated to fit a people for citizenship of a great re- 
 public like ours, yet their constant contact with a more enlightened race, though in 
 the position of slaves, would have made them better citizens and more honest legis- 
 lators if they had not been contaminated by strange white men who represented 
 themselves to them as their saviours ; that the laws of the State, passed with refer- 
 ence to the colored people in 1865, were not enacted as a whole to be enforced, but 
 to deter the colored people from revenging any real or fancied wrongs that cruel 
 masters may have inflicted while they were slaves; that these laws and the secret 
 leagues, riveted the former slaves to these strangers, who explained them to be ten- 
 fold worse than they were; that it was white men, and not colored men, who 
 
^ PREFACE. 
 
 originated cormption and enriched themselves from the earnings of the people of 
 the State from the year 1868 to 1877 ; that the loss of the State to the National Re- 
 publican Party was not due to any unfaithfulness of the colored people to that 
 party, but to the corruption of these strange white leaders termed "carpet baggers;" 
 that the colored people have done as well as any other people could have done un- 
 der the same circumstances, if not better. This work is further intended to prove 
 that notwithstanding the blunders of the ex-slaveholder towards the colored peo- 
 ple, the deception and betrayal by the carpet baggers of the colored people into the 
 hands of their former masters, yet they, like the thunder-riven oak, have de- 
 fied the storm which has now spent its terrific force, and like a caravan of deter- 
 mined pioneers cutting out highways in a new country, the Negro is laying the 
 foundation for a civilization that shall be fully equal in every respect to that of any 
 other race or people ; and that the ascendancy of the Democratic party to the State 
 government in 1877, has proved a blessing in disguise to the colored people of 
 TnariOA. Respectfully, 
 
 JOHN WALLACE. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Formation of Civil Government After the War. The Address 
 and Proclamation of Provisional Governor Authorizing the 
 Election of Delegates to Amend the Constitution. The Number 
 of Delegates. Negroes Excluded from Voting by Governor's 
 Proclamation. Election Held. Number of Votes Cast. 
 
 On July 13th, A. D. 1865, President Andrew Johnson ap- 
 pointed William Marvin, Esq. , as Provisional Governor of Flor- 
 ida, to proceed to establish civil government. The President 
 embodied in the commission of the Provisional Governor an in- 
 junction that no person should be allowed to vote for the dele- 
 gates to any convention called by his authority who was not a 
 qualified voter before the loth of January, A. D. 1 861— or, in 
 plain words, that no negro should be allowed to vote at said 
 election. It will be noticed hereafter that although there were 
 hundreds of negro soldiers garrisoning different parts of the 
 State, who had shared, in common with their white brethren, 
 the fatigues, sufferings and dangers of war and the battle field, 
 and a great many of those inhabitants and natives of Florida 
 were enrolled and mustered into the service of the United States, 
 had marched and fought side by side with the First and Second 
 Florida Cavalry, two white Federal regiments raised in Florida, 
 they were called upon and commanded by the President of the 
 United States to aid, encourage and assist in establishing a gov- 
 ernment in Florida which excluded them from enjoying the same 
 privileges that their white brothers enjoyed. The Provisional 
 Governor carried out in letter and spirit the President's procla- 
 mation, and issued an address to the people of Florida setting 
 forth his duties and the duties of the voters. The address and 
 proclamation of the Provisional Governor are as follows : 
 
 To THE People of Florida : 
 
 The civil authorities in this State having engaged in an 
 organized rebellion against the Government of the United 
 States, have, with the overthrow of the rebellion, ceased to 
 
6 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 exist, and the State, though in the Union, is without a civil 
 government. The Constitution of the United States declares 
 that the United States shall guarantee to every State in the 
 Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each 
 of these against invasion, insurrection and domestic violence. 
 
 *' In order to fulfill this guaranty, and for the purpose of 
 enabling the loyal people of the State to organize a Slate gov- 
 ernment, whereby justice may be established, domestic tran- 
 quillity insured and loyal citizens protected in all their rights of 
 life, liberty and property, the President of the United States has 
 appointed me Provisional Governor of the State, and made it 
 my duty, at the earliest practicable moment, to prescribe such 
 rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for con- 
 vening a convention composed of delegates to be chosen by that 
 portion of the people of the State who are loyal to the United 
 States, and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending 
 the Constitution of the State, and with authority to exercise 
 within the limits of the State all the powers necessary and proper 
 to enable the loyal people of the State to restore it to its constitu- 
 tional relations to the Federal Government, and to present such 
 a republican form of State government as will entitle the State to 
 the guaranty of the United States therefor, and its people to 
 protection by the United States against invasion, insurrection 
 and domestic violence. 
 
 *♦ In the performance of the duty thus enjoined upon me by 
 the President, I shall, as soon as the people of the State have 
 had the opportunity to qualify themselves to become voters, ap- 
 point an election, to be held in the different counties of the 
 State, of delegates to a State convention to be convened at a 
 time and place to be hereafter named. 
 
 "The persons qualified to vote at such election of delegates, 
 and the persons eligible as members of such convention, will be 
 such ])ersons as shall have previously taken and subscribed the 
 oath of amnesty as set forth in the President's proclamation of 
 May 29th, A. D. 1865, and as are also qualified as prescribed 
 by the Constitution and laws of the State in force immediately 
 before the ^'fth day of January, i."s6r, the date of the so-called 
 ordinance of secession. Where the person is exempted from 
 the benefits of the amnesty proclamation, he must also have been 
 previously specially pardoned by the President before he can be- 
 come a (jualified voter or eligible as a member of the convention. 
 This interpretation of the proclamation of the President I have 
 received from himself in person, and also from the Attorney- 
 General. The oath referred to may be administered by and taken 
 and subscribed before any commissioned official, civil, military 
 or naval, in the service of the United States, or any civil or mil- 
 itary officer of a loyal Sike or 'territory who, by the laws 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 7 
 
 thereof, is qualified to administer oaths. The officer adminis- 
 tering the oath is authorized and required to give to the person 
 taking it certified copies thereof. 
 
 " In order to give the well disposed people of this State 
 time and opportunity to qualify themselves to be voters for dele- 
 gates to the convention, the election will not be held until a rea- 
 sonable time has elapsed for them to take and subscribe the oath 
 required, and to procure the special pardon, where such pardon 
 is a prerequisite qualification. The election will be held imme- 
 diately thereafter, and no allowance will be made for unreason- 
 able delays in applying for pardons. 
 
 ''Applications for pardon should be in writing, and ad- 
 dressed to the President of the United States, and state the 
 grounds on which a special pardon is considered necessary. The 
 application should have attached to it the original oath or affir- 
 mation contained in the proclamation of amnesty. In most cases, 
 the application for pardon will not be acted upon by the Presi- 
 dent until it has received the recommendation of the Provision- 
 al Governor. It will save time, therefore, to seek his recom- 
 mendation in the first instance. The application should then be 
 sent to the office of the Attorney-General. I have been informed 
 by the military authorities that a considerable number of Posts 
 have already been established in the State, and others soon will 
 be, with officers attached, authorized to administer the oath re- 
 quired, and to give certified copies thereof, so as thereby to give 
 every facility for taking the oath, with little or no inconvenience 
 or expense to applicants. 
 
 " In the meantime, and until the re-establishment of a State 
 government, it is left to the military authorities to preserve peace 
 and order, and protect the rights of persons and property. An 
 understanding has been had with the Commander of the De- 
 partment whereby persons occupying the offices of Judge of 
 Probate may continue to take proof of wills and issue letters 
 testamentary and of administration, and Clerks of Circuit Court 
 may take proof or acknowledgment of deeds and mortgages, and 
 record the same, as heretofore, and all persons occupying minis- 
 terial offices may continue to perform such duties and offices as 
 are essential and convenient to the transaction of business. If 
 any doubt should hereafter arise concerning the validity of their 
 acts, such doubts can be removed by a legislative act of confir- 
 mation. 
 
 '* By operation and results of the war, slavery has ceased to 
 exist in the State. It cannot be revived. Every voter for dele- 
 gates to the convention, in taking the amnesty oath, takes a 
 solemn oath to support the freedom of the former slave. The 
 freedom intended is the full, ample, and complete freedom of a 
 citizen of the United States. This does not necessarily include 
 
8 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 the privilege of voting, but it does include the idea of future pos- 
 session and quiet enjoyment. The question of his voting is an 
 open question — a proper subject for discussion — and is to be de- 
 cided as a question of sound policy by the convention to be 
 called. 
 
 "On the establishment of a republican form of State gov- 
 ernment under the constitution which guarantees and secures 
 liberty to all the inhabitants alike, without distinction of color, 
 there will no longer exist any impediment in the way of restor- 
 ing the State to its proper constitutional relations to the govern- 
 ment of the United States, whereby the people will be entitled 
 to protection by the United States against invasion, insurrection, 
 and domestic violence. 
 
 *' Dated at Jacksonville, Florida, this third day of August, 
 
 1865. 
 
 WILLIAM MARVIN, 
 
 Provisional Governor." 
 
 As the proclamation of the Governor authorizing the hold- 
 ing of the election for delegates contains but very little more 
 than what appears in his address to the people of Florida, 
 the author deemed it necessary to have only such parts of it con- 
 tained in this work as do not appear in his address. The dele- 
 gates were apportioned among the several counties as follows ; 
 Escambia, two ; Santa Rosa, two ; Walton, two ; Holmes, one ; 
 Washington, one; Jackson, three; Calhoun, one; Franklin, 
 one; Liberty, one; Gadsden, three; Leon, four; Jefferson, 
 three; Madison, two; Taylor, one; Lafayette, one; Hamilton, 
 two; Suwannee, one; Columbia, two; Baker, one; Bradford, 
 one; Nassau, one; St. Johns, one; Duval, one; Clay, one; 
 Putnam, one; Alachua, two; Marion, two; I-evy, one; Her- 
 nando, one; Hillsborough, one; Manatee, one; Polk, one; 
 Orange, one ; Volusia, one ; Brevard, one ; Sumter, one ; Mon- 
 roe, one ; and Dade, one. The proclamation set forth the quali- 
 fication of voters as follows : "Free white soldiers, seamen and 
 marines in the army 0/ navy of the United States, who were 
 qualified by their residence to vote in said State at the same time 
 of their enlistment, and who shall have taken and subscribed 
 the amnesty oath, shall be entitled to vote in the county where 
 they respectively reside." " But no soldier, seaman or marine, 
 not a resident of the State at the time of his enlistment shall be 
 allowed to vote." " Every free white male person of the age of 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 9 
 
 twenty-one years and upwards, and who shall be, at the time of 
 offering to vote, a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
 have resided and had his home in the State for one year next 
 preceding the election, and for six months in the county in 
 which he may offer to vote," and also take the oath prescribed 
 by the President in his amnesty proclamation, were entitled to 
 vote. The election was held in the several counties of the State 
 on the loth day of October, A. D., 1865, according to procla- 
 mation ordering said election, dated September nth, 1865. 
 
 The Judges of Probate in the several counties, and the 
 Clerks of Circuit Court, in case of the inability, absence, or 
 other cause, the Probate Judges failing to act, were authorized 
 to appoint the Inspectors of Election. The Clerk and County 
 Judge were also authorized to call to their assistance two re- 
 spectable inhabitants having the qualification of voters, and pub- 
 licly count the votes cast, and to furnish to each person elected a 
 certificate of his election, and also to forward a certificate of the 
 election of each delegate to the Provisional Governor at Talla- 
 hassee. The Inspectors of Election were required to administer 
 the amnesty oath to any person at the polls who could not ex- 
 hibit a certificate of his having taken the oath previously. 
 
 The number of qualified voters up to the day of election 
 was eight thousand five hundred and twelve. The number of 
 Yotes cast for delegates was six thousand seven hundred and 
 seven. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Asse7nbling of the Comention. The Election of the Presiding 
 Officer. Different Opinions of the Delegates as to the Negro 
 Problem Before They Received the Governor's Message. The 
 Governor's Message Sohes and Settles the Problem. Negroes 
 Testifying in Courts of Justice. 
 
 The convention met October 25th, 1865, and Hon. E. D. 
 Tracy, of Nassau County, was called to the chair. A committee 
 was appointed to wait upon the Provisional Governor and obtain 
 from him a list of the delegates elected, which duty was prompdy 
 performed and the list of delegates forwarded to the convention 
 by the Governor, namely : 
 
 Leon County— ]?imt^ L. Taylor, G. Troup Maxwell, Thomas 
 Baltzcll, David P. Hogue. 
 
 Gadsden Cou?ity— G tor gt K. Walker, R. H. M. Davidson, 
 Arthur J. Forman. 
 
 Jefferson County— \\. M. Capers Bird, W. B. Cooper, Asa 
 May. 
 
 Hamilton County — William J. J- Duncan, Alexander Bell. 
 
 Madison County— ^N. J. Hines, D. G. Livingston. 
 
 Wakulla G7?/;?/y— James T. Magbee. 
 
 Liberty County — T. D. Nixon. 
 
 Jackson County— Y. B. Calloway, Felix Leslie, Allen H. 
 Bush. 
 
 Calhoun G7i/;;/v— Jackson Richard. 
 
 Taylor County — Wiley W. Whidden. 
 
 Clay County — William Wilson. 
 
 Lafayette County — Moses Simmons. 
 
 Putnam County — Henry S. Teasdale. 
 
 St. Johns County — James A. Michler, Jr. 
 
 Levy County — William R. Coulter. 
 
 Duval County— ^. L. Burritt. 
 
 Suwannee County — Silas Overstreet. 
 
 Columbia C^/zw/y— Silas L. Niblack, Thomas T. Long. 
 
12 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Nassau County — E. D. Tracy. 
 Baker County — Samuel N. Williams. 
 Bradford County — John C. Richard. 
 Hillsborough County — James Gettis. 
 
 Marion County — James A. Wiggins, Thomas J. Pasteur. 
 Hernafido County — Samuel E. Hope. 
 Monroe County — Daniel H. Winterhurst. 
 Dade County— K. R. Fletcher. 
 Polk County — Francis A. Hendry. 
 Alachua County — W. Wash Scott, Samuel Spencer. 
 Escambia County — Benjamin D. Wright, W. W. J. Kelly. 
 Walton County — James M. Landrum, John Morrison. 
 Holmes County — James G. Owens. 
 Sumter County — James Love. 
 Washington County — Jesse B. Lassiter. 
 Orange County— y^iWxdim H. Holden. 
 Brevard County — James F. P. Johnson, 
 Santa Rosa County — Jesse McLellan, G. B. Dyens. 
 Volusia County — A. Richardson. 
 
 The following was the oath administered to the delegates- 
 elect: " You and each of you do solemnly swear well and truly 
 to discharge your respective duties and support the Constitution 
 of the United States." 
 
 Thomas Baltzell, of Leon, and Benjamin D. Wright, of 
 Escambia, were put in nomination for President of the conven- 
 tion. There were two ballots taken without an election, and on 
 the third ballot Mr. G. Troup Maxwell, of Leon, withdrew the 
 name of Baltzell, and the convention proceeded to ballot for 
 Tracy and Wright, Mr. Tracy receiving twenty-four votes and 
 Wright fifteen. Mr. 7Vacy was declared elected. 
 
 This convention, composed largely of men who had for 
 four years worked and fought to sustain a cause which was 
 finally lost, were willing to do anything honorable to .show the 
 government that they were acting in good faith, even if it were 
 to sustain negro suffrage to a limited extent, had it not been for 
 the sweeping message of Ciovernor Marvin, the man appointed 
 to carry out the policy of the President. Some of the gentlemen 
 with whom I was ac{[uainted expressed themselves to me that 
 
CARPETBACx RULE IN FLORIDA. I3 
 
 such a proposition would have been carried before the conven- 
 tion but for the opposition of Governor Marvin. The conven- 
 tion seems to have been entirely, or almost so, under the control 
 and influence of the Provisional Governor and the military. It 
 will be seen that they did but very little other than what was 
 recommended to them by William Marvin, the President's agent. 
 After reading carefully the message and recommendations of the 
 Governor to this convention, and digesting the different subjects 
 treated in the message, I leave the reader to draw his own con- 
 clusions as to any injustice done the negro by the convention ; 
 whether it was not in accordance strictly with the policy of 
 President Johnson ? Referring to the question of negro suffrage, 
 the Governor says : ** Shall the elective franchise be conferred 
 upon the colored race, and if so upon what terms and qualifica- 
 tions?" " 1 am not advised that the President has expressed 
 his views or wishes on this subject, and I know no more of the 
 views or wishes of the members of Congress than is generally 
 known." " I cannot think, however, that, if the convention 
 shall abolish slavery and provide proper guaranties for the pro- 
 tection and security of the persons and property of the freedmen, 
 the Congress will refuse to admit our Senators and Representa- 
 tives to their seats because the freedmen are not allowed to vote 
 at the State and other elections." ** When the question of their 
 admission shall arise, I think the main inquiry will be, not are 
 the freedmen allowed to vote, but are they guaranteed in the 
 Constitution protection and security for their persons and their 
 property." **It does not appear to me that the public good of 
 the State, or of the nation at large, would be promoted by con- 
 ferring at the present time upon the freedmen the elective fran- 
 chise." ** Neither the white people nor the colored people are 
 prepared for so radical a change in their social relations." '' Nor 
 have I any reason to believe that any considerable number of 
 the freedmen desire to possess this privilege." The Governor 
 was capable of reasoning from a very narrow standpoint when 
 he asserted that no considerable number of freedmen desired the 
 full panoply of citizenship, when two hundred thousand of their 
 number had marched and fought under our national flag to assist 
 in putting down the greatest rebellion known in the annals of 
 history. The message of the Governor in reference to negro 
 
14 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 suffrage was still clinging to his conscience as a nightmare of 
 injustice of which he could not rid himself, until he reached that 
 point which brought him face to face with the question of the 
 negro testifying in courts of justice. The Governor says : 
 *' Heretofore the negro, in a condition of slavery, was to a large 
 extent under the power and protection of his master, who felt 
 an interest in his welfare, not only because he was a dependent 
 and had been raised, perhaps, in his family, but because he was 
 his property." " Now he has no such protection, and unless he 
 finds protection in the courts of justice he becomes the victim of 
 every wicked, depraved and bad man, whose avarice may 
 prompt him to refuse the payment of his just wages, and whose 
 angry and revengeful passions may excite him to abuse and mal- 
 treat the helpless being placed by his freedom beyond the pale 
 of protection of any kind." *' Much sensitiveness is felt in this 
 and other Southern States upon the subject of the admissibility 
 of negro testimony in courts of justice for or against white per- 
 sons. For myself, now that the negro is free, I do not feel any 
 such sensitiveness. I do not perceive the philosophy or expe- 
 diency of any rule of evidence which shuts out the truth from 
 the hearing of the jury. It may be said that the intention of 
 the rule is to shut out falsehood ; but how can it be known to 
 the jury whether the testimony be true or false until they have 
 heard it and compared it with the other testimony in the case ?" 
 **The admission of negro testimony should not be regarded as 
 a privilege granted to the negro, but as the right of the State, in 
 all criminal prosecutions, to have his testimony, in coimection 
 with other testimony, to assist to establish the guilt of the ac- 
 cused, and it ought, reciprocally, to be the right of the accused 
 to have such testimony to establish his innocence. But the 
 question of the admissibility of negro testimony is merely inci- 
 dental to the main subject, which is the duty of the State to 
 protect the negro in the exercise and enjoyment of his rights of 
 freedom. If this duty can be adequately performed, and the 
 rights of the negro fully secured without his being allowed to 
 make oath before the courts of the wrongs and injuries done him, 
 then the interest of the State to have his testimony admitted will 
 be so greatly les.sened as to reduce the question to one of com- 
 paratively much less importance. If the colored race in this 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 5 
 
 country can be fully and fairly protected in the exercise and en- 
 joyment of their newly acquired rights of freedom, then, in my 
 judgment, they will be a quiet and contented people, unambi- 
 tious of any political privileges, or of any participation in the 
 affairs of the government. Protected in their persons and prop- 
 erty, they may be stimulated to be industrious and economical 
 by a desire to acquire property in order to educate themselves 
 and their children, and improve their physical, moral and intel- 
 lectual condition." '' What their condition as a race may be at 
 the end of fifty or a hundred years, I do not think any person is 
 wise enough to predict ; but we may reasonably hope and be- 
 lieve that they will progress and improve in intelligence and civ- 
 ilization, and become, not many years hence, the best free agri- 
 cultural peasantry, for our soil and climate, that the world has 
 ever seen." " I think a clause may be so drawn as to accom- 
 plish this object and at the same time exclude the colored people 
 from any participation in the affairs of the government." 
 
 *' May Almighty God, in whose hands are the destinies of 
 all the nations of the earth, and without whose blessing all your 
 works will be in vain, enlighten your understandings so that you 
 may see, and mcline your wills so that you may do whatever 
 will advance His glory and promote the peace, the happiness and 
 the welfare of all the people of our beloved State. 
 
 ''WILLIAM MARVIN, 
 " Provisional Governor." 
 
 The Governor should have known, from years of religious 
 training, that the glory of God would not be advanced by ex- 
 cluding from the right of citizenship nearly one-half of the popu- 
 lation of the State for no other crime than the color of their 
 skins. Not quite half of the time has passed in which the Gov- 
 ernor predicted that the colored people would only become the 
 best agricultural peasantry the world ever saw, and yet he finds 
 these very people occupying nearly all the industries, occupa- 
 tions and professions that are carried on by their white brothers, 
 notwithstanding the great odds against them by reason of their 
 former condition. 
 
 The convention adjourned after a session of twelve days, 
 but the Constitution was not submitted to the people for ratifica- 
 
l6 CARPETBAC, RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 tion. There is no question that some of the best talent in the 
 State was elected to the convention. Judge Burritt, of Duval, 
 an able man and an intense loyalist, when advised of his election, 
 was in New York city, and immediately embarked for Jackson- 
 ville on the ill-fated steamer "Mount," which was lost at sea 
 with all on board. Had he been permitted to take part in the 
 convention and the subsequent measures of reconstruction, it is 
 quite probable that different results would have been reached. 
 Judge Baltzell, also, was one of the most upright, able, clear- 
 headed members of the convention, and had his life been spared 
 he would have been a power for law, order and government. 
 He was, without doubt, the ablest man in the convention, and 
 thoroughly loyal to the restored civil government. George K. 
 Walker was one of the purest and best men of the old regime. 
 He was in very poor health, but he was most earnest in seeking 
 to harmonize the conflicts growing out of the new condition of 
 affairs, and to establish order, peace and civil law. On one oc- 
 casion, when a member of the convention proposed some vio- 
 lent constitutional restrictions upon the freedmen, he in earnest 
 and eloquent strains admonished the member and the conven- 
 tion to "remember that we are here only by the grace of the 
 Federal government, and it is not becoming in us to deny to 
 others the rights we claim for ourselves, and disregard the obli- 
 gations we have assumed to the government through whose lib- 
 erality we stand here free citizens of the Republic." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Election of the First Governor after the Civil War, and the 
 Organization of the Legislature under the Constitution of 1865. 
 The Remarks by Governor Marvin at the Inauguration. The 
 Presence of Negro Troops Causes Great Sensitiveness. Ex- 
 tracts From Governor Walker's Message. Recommendations 
 of Committee Appointed by Convention. Laws Passed by the 
 General Assembly, and their Workings. 
 
 Twenty-two days after the making and the adoption of the 
 Marvin Constitution, an election was held for Governor and other 
 State officers. There seems to have been no opposition candi- 
 date for Governor, and no nominations were made for that office. 
 The old line Whigs seem to have had an understanding that 
 they would not vote for a Democrat, as they charged the Demo- 
 crats with having brought on the war, and as D. S. Walker had 
 figured so prominently in the politics of the State, having been 
 elected one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and one of the 
 most popular leaders of the old Whig party, he became the can« 
 didate for Governor by general consent. Democrats being anx- 
 ious to get back into the Union by the help of either friend or 
 foe. The election was held on the 29th of December, and re- 
 sulted in the election of D. S. Walker, he receiving five thou- 
 sand eight hundred and seventy-three votes, with only eight votes 
 cast Against him. The Legislature met December i8th, 1865, 
 and elected Joseph John Williams, of Leon County, Speaker, 
 against G. Troup Maxwell, of Leon, by a vote of twenty to 
 seventeen. 
 
 The two Houses, after the permanent organization, met in 
 joint session and canvassed the vote for Governor, and declared 
 Walker's election. W. W. J. Kelly, whose vote was only two 
 thousand four hundred and seventy-three, was declared elected 
 Lieutenant-Governor. After some preparations the Governor- 
 elect came forward, accompanied by Governor Marvin, to be 
 
 inaugurated. Governor Marvin addressed the Legislature, and 
 2 
 
1 8 CARPETBAO RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 recited to them the great difficulties he had to encounter, as 
 Provisional Governor, in establishing a civil government, and 
 how he found the State government overthrown and prostrated, 
 with no money in the Treasury ; and praising in the highest 
 terms the work done by the convention, in incorporating in the 
 Constitution that '' neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall 
 in future exist in this State, except as a punishment for crime 
 whereof the party shall have been convicted by the courts of 
 this State, and that all the inhabitants of the State, without dis- 
 tinction of color, are free and shall enjoy the rights of person 
 and property without distinction of color; and that in all crimi- 
 nal proceedings founded upon an injury to a colored person, 
 and in all cases affecting the rights and remedies of colored per- 
 sons, no person shall be incompetent to testify as a witness on 
 account of color." He reminded them of the action of the 
 convention in repudiating the State debt contracted in support of 
 the rebellion, and of the ordinance nullifying secession. And 
 further to assure them how heartily he endorsed the policy of 
 the previous convention, pointed them to the fact that he had 
 humbly obeyed the request of the convention that the civil offi- 
 cers of the Confederate State Government, who had been sus- 
 pended at the surrender, by the military authority, had been di- 
 rected by him to resume the exercise of their respective offices. 
 The colored troops, which the convention had by resolution re- 
 quested the Governor to exert himself to have removed from the 
 interior of the State, he informed them had nearly all been 
 removed to the seaboard by the. General in command at that 
 time. He recommended, among other things, that a law should 
 be passed that where a laborer had entered into a contract in 
 writing before the Judge of Probate or a Justice of the Peace, 
 to labor upon a plantation for one year for wages, or a part of 
 the crop, and the contract specified the wage's to be paid, and the 
 food to be given, that if the laborer abandoned the service of 
 his employer, or was absent therefrom two days without the leave 
 of his employer, or failed without just cause in other important 
 particulars to perform his part of the contract, that then he may 
 be arrested by the proper tribunal, and if found guilty on a hear- 
 ing of the case, be sentenced to labor during the unexpired 
 term, without pay, upon the higways, in a goverment workshop. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN" FLORIDA. 
 
 19 
 
 or upon a government plantation to be rented or bought either 
 by the State or by the different County Commissioners in their 
 respective counties. He said that the faith of the nation was 
 pledged for the protection of the freedmen, and those who had 
 been loyal to the government during the rebellion. How the 
 Governor could with any degree of reason conceive the idea that 
 the Confederate State Government that had, during the war, 
 hunted the Union men like the partridge on the mountains, and 
 had denounced them as deserters and spies to the Confederate 
 cause, and whose people had lost the services of that most valu- 
 able adjunct, the negro, whose stalwart arm had for years filled 
 their homes with luxury, could deal justly with these two ele- 
 ments is beyond comprehension. After giving them all the ad- 
 vantages of religious training which inspires a sense of justice, 
 yet it is not humane to have expected them at that period to 
 be able to deal fairly and jusdy with those two classes of our 
 population. It might be inferred from the attitude of the conven- 
 tion relative to the removal of the colored troops from the in- 
 terior that the black soldiers stationed in the different parts of 
 Florida at the close of the war were very overbearing in their 
 conduct toward the ex-slaveholders, and incited the freedmen to 
 lawlessness; but such was not the case. There were several 
 colored regiments scattered through the interior; among them 
 was the Second United States Colored Infantry, raised at Wash- 
 ington, D. C. , two-thirds of its members being ex-slaves, and dur- 
 ing the entire time they were stationed here I know of no com- 
 plaint made against them of any misconduct toward the ex- 
 slaveholders. In fact, when any of the white citizens were ac- 
 cused or arrested for any offense against the military authorities, 
 they would always request the officer in command to have them 
 arrested and guarded by the colored troops. They were spoken 
 of by the whites in the very highest terms as to their conduct 
 and general appearance, and thousands of whites would come 
 out to witness their dress parade, and would often bring out 
 their families, and not one word of insult was ever offered to 
 them unless first insulted by the ex-slaveholder — who was always 
 some low fellow who had shirked the Confederate army, and 
 who imagined that such insults would palliate his shame. The rea- 
 son why they desired the colored troops removed was that they 
 
20 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 believed the freedmen would be induced by the presence of these 
 soldiers to be continually lying around their camps to the neglect 
 of their crops, but these fears were unfounded ; for the freedmen 
 were seldom seen around the camps unless they came to ex- 
 change products for soldier clothes or for money. 
 
 After Governor Marvin had concluded his remarks, Hon. 
 D. S. Walker, Governor-elect, came forward and took the oath 
 of office, which was administered by the Hon. C. H. Dupont, 
 Chief Justice. The Governor began his address by warning the 
 Joint Assembly and the large audience against the bitterness of 
 party strife, which four years previously had plunged the coun- 
 try into civil war. He said : 
 
 *'By failing to regard the disinterested warnings of the 
 Father of his country against the baneful effects of the spirit of 
 party, and particularly when founded on geographical discrimi- 
 nation; by omitting, as he advised, to remember that the jeal- 
 ousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake against the 
 insiduous wiles of foreign influence, and by neglecting, as he 
 recommended, to frown indignantly upon the first dawning of 
 every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the 
 rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the 
 various parts, the people of the United States, nearly five years 
 ago, became involved in the terrific civil strife which has but re- 
 cently ended. We now hope that by a strict adherence to his 
 advice, the unity of the government which constitutes us one 
 people will again become dear to us." 
 
 The Governor then turned his attention to the subject of se- 
 cession, which he attempted to defend in a very astute manner, 
 well calculated to lead the youth of the State to believe that it 
 was right. He said : 
 
 ** During the late unhappy conflict, some of us were known 
 as Union men ; some as Constitutional Secessionists ; and others 
 as Revolutionists. A glorious opportunity is now afforded to 
 fling away these names, and with them the strifes they have en- 
 gendered, and to meet, as brethren ought to meet, upon the 
 platform of the Constitution which our fathers made for us in 
 1787. If I shall be permitted to administer the government, I 
 shall know no distinctions between citizens on account of past 
 political difl"erences. I will not condemn the Union man, be- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 21 
 
 cause I know from experience how completely the love of the 
 Union becomes a part of our very existence, and how it is en- 
 deared to us by a thousand glorious recollections and as many 
 brilliant anticipations. I know that the heart of Florida's great- 
 est and most renowned citizen was literally broken by the sever- 
 ance of the Union. Nor will I condemn the Constitutional Se- 
 cessionist, because I know that, though he differed from me, 
 his side of the question was supported by arguments, if not un- 
 answerable, yet of great plausibility, and by the authority of 
 many of the greatest names that this country has ever produced. 
 Nor yet will I condemn the Revolutionist, for I know that he, 
 though originally opposed to secession, went into the war, after 
 the fact was done, upon the conviction that it was no longer an 
 open question, and that it was the duty of every man to stand 
 or fall with his own section. In fact, great questions connected 
 with the integrity of the Union were, before the war, so unset- 
 tled, and the opinions of great men so varied, that it required 
 a man greatly superior to myself to say with certainity who was 
 right and who was wrong. Seeing the different luminaries which 
 guided our people, I am not astonished that the very best men 
 in our land were found arrayed in opposing ranks. I need not 
 enumerate the host of great men who stood with the immortal 
 Clay for the integrity of the Union and against the doctrine of se- 
 cession. The logic of events has proved that they were right. 
 But among those who held the contrary doctrine that a State 
 might secede from the Union without infraction of the Federal 
 Constitution, we find the names of such men as Mr. Rawle, a 
 distinguished lawyer of Pennsylvania, to whom General Wash- 
 ington more than once tendered the office of Attorney-General 
 of the United States; John Randolph, of Roanoke; Nathaniel 
 Macon, of North Carolina; Mr. Calhoun, of South Carolina; 
 P. P. Barbour, a late Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States ; and Judge McKean, a late Chief Justice of 
 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Those who advocated the 
 right of revolution quoted the remarks of Mr. Webster, that 'a 
 bargain broken on one side was broken on all sides,' and that 'if 
 the North should not obey the Constitution in regard to the ren- 
 dition of fugitive slaves, the South would no longer be bound 
 by the compact.' Mr. Greeley, then, as now, a great leader of 
 
22 CARPETRA(; RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Northern sentiment, had said that ' he could not see how twenty 
 millions of people could rightfully hold ten, or even five, in a 
 Union with them by military force ;' and again, * if seven or 
 eight States should send agents to Washington to say we want to 
 get out of the Union, he should feel constrained by his devo- 
 tion to human rights to say, let them go.' In this connection he 
 also quoted the Declaration of Independence, that ' Govern- 
 ments are instituted for the benefit of the governed ;' and that 
 when any form of government becomes destructive of these 
 ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to 
 institute a new government. Mr. Lincoln, prior to his first elec- 
 tion, had acknowledged this principle, with the addition, that 
 not only a people, but any part of a people, being sufficient in 
 numbers to make a respectable government, might set up for 
 themselves. Mr. Tyler, a late President of the United States, 
 held to the doctrine of secession, and Mr. Buchanan, the then 
 President of the United States, said, just before the commence- 
 ment of the war, that while he thought a State had no right to 
 leave the Union, yet if she should leave it, the remaining 
 States would have no right to coerce her to return. Amidst 
 these various and conflicting views, all supported by the highest 
 authority, it is no wonder that our people should have been be- 
 wildered, or that, being forbidden by the turn of events, to re- 
 main neutral, some should have adhered to the Union and others 
 to the State." 
 
 The Governor next turned his attention to that problem 
 which had perplexed the statesman, the philanthropist and the 
 philosopher for more than half a century : — '* What shall we do 
 with the Negro?" He said : 
 
 "I think we are bound by every consideration of duty, 
 gratitude and interest, to make these people as enlightened, pros- 
 perous and happy as their new situation will admit. For gen- 
 erations past they have been our faithful, contented and happy 
 slaves. They have been attached to our persons and our for- 
 tunes, sharing with us all our feelings, rejoicing with us in our 
 prosperity, mourning with us in our adversity. If there were 
 exceptions to this general rule, they were only individual excep- 
 tions. Every Southern man who hears me knows that what I 
 say is literally true in regard to the vast mass of our colored 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 23 
 
 population. The world has never before seen such a body of 
 slaves. For not only in peace, but in war, they have been faith- 
 ful to us. During much of the time of the late unhappy diffi- 
 culties, Florida had a greater number of men in the army be- 
 yond her limits than constituted her entire voting population. 
 This of course stripped many districts of their entire arms-bear- 
 ing inhabitants, and left our females and infant children almost 
 exclusively to the protection of our slaves. They proved true 
 to their trust. Not one instance of insult, outrage or indignity 
 has ever come to my knowledge. They remained at home and 
 made provisions for our army. Many of them went with our 
 sons to the army, and there, too, proved their fidelity— attend- 
 ing them when well, nursing and caring for them when sick and 
 wounded. We all know that many of them were willing, and 
 some of them anxious, to take up arms in our cause. Although 
 for several years within sound of the guns of the vessels of the 
 United States, for six hundred miles along our seaboard, yet 
 scarcely one in a thousand voluntarily left our agricultural ser- 
 vice to take shelter and freedom under the flag of the Union. 
 It is not their fault that they are free — they had nothing to do 
 with it ; that was brought about by the results and operations of 
 the war. But they are free. They are no longer our contented 
 and happy slaves, with an abundant supply of food and clothing 
 for themselves and families, and the intelligence of a superior 
 race to look ahead and make all necessary arrangements for their 
 comfort. They are now a discontented and unhappy people, 
 many of them houseless and homeless, roaming about in gangs 
 over the land, not knowmg one day where the supplies for the 
 next are to come from ; exposed to the ravages of disease and 
 famine; exposed to the temptations of theft and robbery, by 
 which they are often overcome; without the intelligence to pro- 
 vide for themselves when well, or to care for themselves when 
 sick, and doomed to untold sufferings and ultimate extinction 
 unless we intervene for their protection and preservation. Will 
 we do it ? I repeat, we are bound to do it, by every consider- 
 ation of gratitude and interest." 
 
 The whites being to some extent exasperated about the free- 
 dom of the slaves, and not knowing what their conduct might 
 be as free laborers, talk of the importation of white labor from 
 
24 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Germany, Ireland, Italy and other countries, was quite preva- 
 lent. As to this subject the Governor said : 
 
 " But let us always remember that we have a laboring class 
 of our own which is entitled to the preference. It is not suffi- 
 cient to say that white labor is cheaper. I trust we are not so 
 far degraded as to consult interest alone. But interest alone 
 would dictate that it is better to give these people employment 
 and enable them to support themselves, than have them remain 
 upon our hands as a pauper race ; for here they are, and here, 
 for weal or woe, they are obliged to stay. We must remember 
 that these black people are natives of this country and have a 
 pre-emption right to be recipients of whatever favors we may 
 have to bestow. We must protect them, if not against the com- 
 petition, at any rate against the exactions of white immigrants. 
 They will expect our black laborers to do as much work in this 
 climate as they have been accustomed to see white ones perform 
 in more northern latitudes. We know that they cannot do it. 
 They never did it for us as slaves, and the experience of the 
 last six months shows that they will do no better as freedmen. 
 Our fathers of 1783 knew that it takes five black men to do the 
 work of three white ones, and consequendy, in adjusting the 
 apportionment of taxes upon the basis of labor and industry of 
 the country, eleven of the thirteen States of the old confedera- 
 tion recommended that every five blacks be counted as only 
 three. And if we can offer sufficient inducements, I am in- 
 clined to think that the black man, as a field laborer in our cli- 
 mate, will prove more efficient that the imported white." 
 
 Referring to the question of negro suffrage, the Governor 
 said : 
 
 " We have been able to give an honest and conscientious as- 
 sent to all that has been done, but each one of us knows that we 
 could not give either an honest or conscientious assent to negro 
 suffrage. There is not one of us that would not feel that he 
 was doing wrong, and bartering his self-respect, his conscience 
 and his duty to his country and to the Union itself, for the bene- 
 fits he might hope to obtain by getting back into the Union. 
 Much as I worshipped the Union, and much as I would rejoice 
 to see my State once more recognized as a member thereof, yet 
 it is better, a thousand times better, that she should remain out 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 2$ 
 
 of the Union, even as one of her subjugated provinces, than go 
 back 'eviscerated of her manhood,' despoiled of her honor, re- 
 creant to her duty, without her self-respect, and of course with- 
 out the respect of the balance of mankind — a miserable thing, 
 with seeds of moral and political death in herself, soon to be 
 communicated to all her associates." 
 
 With the feelings that existed at that period among a goodly 
 number of the whites with reference to the freedom of the ne- 
 gro, I must confess that it took a great deal of courage for the 
 Governor to assert the negro's faithfulness to his master for gen- 
 erations past and during the war. Although the assertion was 
 true, I have no doubt that a majority of the whites desired to 
 see the negro prosperous, at least as a laborer, and to be fully 
 protected in his person and property, if gratitude was to be 
 measured to him as his faithfulness had been measured to his 
 former master. As to their contentment, happiness, and being 
 supplied with food and clothing, the Governor and others may 
 have fed and clothed their slaves abundantly, but not enough so 
 as to make them desirous of remaining slaves or to make them 
 contented. If such was the case it would not have been neces- 
 sary for the Legislature, anterior to the war, to pass a law punish- 
 ing white persons for cruelty to slaves. In fact, it is absolutely 
 necessary in order to govern a slave to punish him more severely 
 than it would be necessary for the law to punish a freeman. I 
 think "The Life and Times of the Hon. Frederick Douglass" is 
 conclusive on this point. I am confident if all these slaves the 
 Governor spoke of had been called up at that time they would 
 have said to him that they felt quite happy, even while there were 
 many who were destitute and had no home to go to. Yet most 
 of these people were looked after by their former masters, 
 as they had never left their premises. It was only those who 
 had left the premises of, or those who had been driven away 
 from, the places of their former masters, who were in danger of 
 suffering. So the Governor was right in the abstract, but not in 
 the concrete. The following poem fully expresses the feelings 
 of the freedmen before and after their liberation. It was written 
 and delivered by John Wallace at the celebration of the seven 
 
26 CARPKTRAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 teenth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, at Talla- 
 hassee, Florida : 
 
 Freedom, thou welcome spirit of Love, 
 
 Whence and from where didst thou begin ? 
 Thou from (iod's bosom as a dove 
 
 Didst seek the earth to vanquish sin. 
 Before the land and skies were made 
 
 Thy spirit hovered o'er the deep, 
 And when God earth's foundation laid, 
 
 Did enter man when yet asleep. 
 As he arose from dust to flesh. 
 
 Near him wast thou where e'er he went; 
 Though cast from Eden's garden fresh, 
 
 Thou wast with him in sorrow bent. 
 And still wast thou all through 
 
 Despotic ages past and gone. 
 And as a brother e'er proved true — 
 
 Thy light 'mid darkness ever shone. 
 When Pharaoh Israel's children held 
 
 Four hundred years abject, enslaved. 
 To free them Egypt was impelled. 
 
 Though then was gained the land they craved. 
 
 America thought thee to evade. 
 
 And to the South her slaves she sold ; 
 But through power she was made 
 
 To yield to thee this great stronghold. 
 Though here was called unto thy aid 
 
 Grim war, the court of last appeal — 
 And North and South each other braved, 
 
 Yet now they both thy blessings feel. 
 There were four million souls and more 
 
 Of Africans in slavery bound, 
 'J'hey sought thy crown 'mid trials sore. 
 
 Two hundred years, and then 'twas found. 
 Mankind has ne'er contented been 
 
 Where slavery's cruel sway was held. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 27 
 
 'Twas giant Freedom fought the sin 
 
 Till all its darkness was dispelled. 
 Go sound the trumpet, ring the bell ! 
 
 Just seventeen years ago to-day 
 Sweet Freedom wrested us from hell 
 
 And put an end to slavery's sway. 
 
 The sagacious Governor, further to prove that the former 
 slave was happy and contented, "maintained that it took five 
 black men to do the same amount of work that three white men 
 could do, and therefore the blacks should be protected against the 
 exactions of white immigrants, as such immigrants would expect 
 a black man to do the same amount of work as a white man." It 
 is certainly true that a Northern man — or what the Southerners 
 call a Yankee — will work a negro closer, harder and longer at a 
 time than a Southern man will do, and will give him less, but as 
 a general thing they will pay up regularly, of which I shall have 
 more to say in another part of this work. I know of no rule or 
 reason to prevent a colored man from doing the same amount of 
 work that a white man can do if both have the same training. 
 The same fatigue that overtakes the white man at the close of a 
 day's labor, will overtake the negro, even though he is covered 
 with a black skin. The only difference as to how much work 
 one man can do more than another, depends upon his skill and 
 his physical make-up. It rather looks as though the Governor 
 was trying to show that the former slave did not work as hard 
 as the Northern man did before the war, and therefore slavery 
 was not a great hardship ; but this will not stand scrutiny. 
 
 While the Governor's recommendations to the Legislature 
 were not all that could be desired by the colored people, from a 
 political standpoint, yet many features of them should forever 
 commend him to the lasting gratitude of our race. Among 
 these recommendations were the taking care of the indigent and 
 decrepit of the former slaves, encouraging industry, virtue and 
 education, which are the foundation of the up-building of any 
 people. 
 
 The convention which made the constitution under which 
 this Legislature assembled, had requested the Provisional Gov- 
 ernor to appoint a commission of three gentlemen to prepare suit- 
 
28 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 able laws for the government of the freedmen, and to report to 
 the first Legislature that should assemble. The Governor ap- 
 pointed C. H. Dupont, of Gadsden County, A. J. Peeler and 
 M. D. Papy, of Leon. Two days after the convening of the 
 Legislature this Committee made the following report: 
 
 "The undersigned were appointed by the Provisional Gov- 
 ernor, under a resolution of the recent State Convention, and 
 charged with the duty of reporting to the General Assembly 
 ' the changes and amendments to be made to the existing stat- 
 utes, and the additions required thereto, so as to cause the same 
 to conform to the requisitions of the amended constitution, and 
 with reference especially to the altered condition of the colored 
 race.' 
 
 " First. In entering upon the discharge of this duty, we are 
 deeply impressed with the magnitude and importance of the task, 
 and regret that the shortness of the time elapsing between the 
 date of our appointment and the meeting of your honorable body 
 has precluded the possibility of giving to the subject that thor- 
 ough investigation which its importance demanded. Within 
 the brief space allotted to us, however, we have endeavored to 
 embody, in the form of bills upon various subjects, some sug- 
 gestions which we trust may be found useful in directing your 
 minds to such changes and modifications of the existing statutes 
 and additions thereto as may be demanded by the recent altera- 
 tion in the civil relations heretofore existing between the two 
 races that constitute the inhabitants of the State. The constitu- 
 tional provision declaring the abolition of negro slavery, suddenly 
 removed from under the restraining and directing influence of 
 the master nearly one full moiety of our population, and creates 
 the necessity of bringing them more fully under the operation of 
 municipal law. Heretofore there existed in each household a 
 tribunal peculiarly adapted to the investigation and punishment 
 of the great majority of the minor offenses to the commission of 
 which this class of population was addicted. With the destruc- 
 tion of the institution o( negro slavery that tribunal has become 
 extinct, and hence the necessity of creating another in its stead, 
 and of making such modifications in our legislation as shall give 
 full efficiency to our criminal code. It is to the organization of 
 such a tribunal, as of first importance, that we now desire to in- 
 vite your attention. It must be manifest to every reflecting mind 
 that the Circuit Court, as at present organized, extending as it 
 does its jurisdiction over a large area of territory, embracing a 
 dozen or more counties, and confined to the holding of stated 
 terms, however efficient heretofore in the restraining of crime, is 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 29 
 
 but illy adapted to the present exigency. In view of the great 
 increase of minor offenses which may be reasonably anticipated 
 from the emancipation of the former slaves, a wise forecast would 
 seem to call imperatively for the erection of a criminal tribunal 
 more local in its jurisdiction and of greater promptness in its 
 administration of the penalties of the law. Such, eventually, 
 was the design of the recent convention in extending the judicial 
 power so as to embrace * such other courts as the General Assem- 
 bly may establish.' The constitutional provision grantmg this 
 power to the General Assembly is as follows, to-wit : 'The ju- 
 dicial power of this State, both as to matters of law and equity, 
 shall be vested in a Supreme Court, Courts of Chancery, Circuit 
 Courts and Justices of the Peace ; provided, the General Assembly 
 may vest such civil or criminal jurisdiction as may be necessary 
 in Corporation Courts and such other courts as the General As- 
 sembly may establish ; but such jurisdiction shall not extend to 
 capital cases.' With all the reflection that we have been able to 
 bestow upon the subj'ect, and aided by the light drawn from the 
 legislation of other States, we have, nevertheless, found it ex- 
 tremely difficult to devise any plan of organization for the pro- 
 posed courts which is entirely free from objection. We present, 
 however, with great deference, for your consideration and action 
 thereon, a bill entitled * An Act to establish and organize a 
 County Criminal Court,' which we think will be found, upon 
 examination, to be as free from objection and as well adapted to 
 the exigency growing out of the new order of things as can well 
 be devised. 
 
 " Second. The next subject that claimed the attention of the 
 Commission was the present state of our criminal laws as appli- 
 cable to the two different races that constitute the population of 
 the State. By reference to the statute book, it will be found 
 that in most of the minor offenses, and a few of the more aggra- 
 vated, a marked distinction is made between white persons and 
 free negroes and slaves with regard to the commission of these 
 offenses. After the maturest reflection upon the subject, we 
 have come to the conclusion that a wise policy would dictate 
 that, with a very few exceptional cases, this discrimination be 
 abolished, as far as it may be done without impairing the effi- 
 ciency of the prescribed penalties, and that both races be sub- 
 jected to the same code. In making this reconnmendation, the 
 undersigned would not be understood as favoring the idea that 
 there exists, either in the Federal Constitution or in that of 
 the State, any inhibition to control the authority of the General 
 Assembly in making such discrimination, whenever the welfare 
 of society or the safety of the community may demand it. This 
 authority, however, is not to be exercised beyond the granting 
 or restricting of what is usually denominated mere ' privileges,' 
 
50 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 in contradistinction to the absolute 'rights' of individuals. The 
 enjoyment of the rights of person and property, together with 
 means of redress, is, by our amended Constitution, guaranteed 
 to all the inhabitants of the State, without distinction of color, 
 and may not be invaded by the legislation of the General As- 
 sembly. With this limitation, the power to discriminate between 
 the two races has always been exercised without stint by the re- 
 spective States of the Union, not even excepting those of New 
 England. Their statute books are replete with enactments con- 
 firmatory of the truth of this statement, nor is there any lack of 
 judicial evidence on the point. In 1833 Connecticut passed a 
 law which made it a penal offense to set up or establish any 
 school in that State for the instruction of persons of the African 
 race, not being inhabitants of the State, or to instruct or teach 
 in any school or institution, or board or harbor for that purpose, 
 any such person, without the previous consent in writing of the 
 civil authority of the town in which such school or institution 
 might be located. A case arose under this law, in which one of 
 the points raised in defense was that the law was a violation of 
 the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees ' that 
 the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and 
 immunities of citizens of the several States. ' (Vide Crandall vs. 
 the State, 10 Conn., Rep. 346.) In Kentucky the point has 
 been repeatedly decided the same way ; nor are we aware that 
 its correctness has ever been judicially questioned in any State 
 of the Union. Chancellor Kent, whose accuracy and research 
 no one will question, states emphatically that in no part of the 
 country, except Maine, did the African race in point of fact par- 
 ticipate equally with the whites in the exercise of civil and po- 
 litical rights. (2 Kent's Com., 258, Note b.) But the right to 
 exercise the power of discrimination does not rest alone upon 
 the action of the States ; it has, time and again, been sanctioned 
 by every department of the Federal Government. In its legisla- 
 tion for the District of Columbia the Congress has never hesi- 
 tated to recognize the difference that exists between the two 
 races, both as it regards their social and political status. 
 Such, too, has been universally the action of the executive de- 
 partment, backed by the official opinions of such men as Wil- 
 liam Wirt and Caleb Gushing, and endorsed by that giant of 
 constitutional law, Daniel Webster, while acting as Secretary of 
 State. Upon application to him for letters of protection to visit 
 Europe, he refused to grant them, upon the distinctly stated 
 ground that the applicants were not ' citizens ' in the meaning 
 of the word as used in the Constitution. But if there ever did 
 exist any doubt upon this subject, it ought forever to be put at 
 rest by the authoritative decision in the great case of Dred Scott 
 vs. Sandford, reported in 19 Howard, S. C. Rep., 393. In the 
 
CARPETE5AG RULE IN FLORIDA. 3 1 
 
 opinion delivered in that case, undoubtedly the greatest intel- 
 lectual effort of the late Chief Justice Taney, it is expressly held 
 that *a free negro of the African race, whose ancestors were 
 brought to this country and sold as slaves, is not a citizen within 
 the meaning of the Constitution of the United States. ' And it is 
 strongly stated in the same opinion that it is not within the con- 
 stitutional power of Congress to make him such. In comment- 
 ing upon the legislation of Congress with reference to this race, 
 the Chief Ju.stice very forcibly and significantly remarks : ' This 
 law, like the laws of the States, shows that this class of persons 
 were governed by special legislation directed exclusively to them, 
 and always connected with provisions for the government of 
 slaves, inc not with those for the government of white citizens.' 
 And after such a uniform course of legislation as we have stated 
 by the Colonies, by the States and by Congress, running through 
 a period of more than a century, it would seem that to call per- 
 sons thus marked and stigmatized ' citizens' of the United States 
 — 'fellow citizens' — a constituent part of the sovereignty, would 
 be an abuse of terms, and not calculated to exalt the character 
 of an American citizen in the eyes of other nations. This adju- 
 dication was rendered just four years prior to the commence- 
 ment of the late revolution, and it may not be inappropriate to 
 inquire whether any of the results of that revolution can be justly 
 invoked to impair its authority as a just and enlightened exposi- 
 tion of the Constitution. It is true that one of the results was 
 the abolition of African slavery ; but it will hardly be seriously 
 argued that the simple act of emancipation of itself worked any 
 change in the social, legal or political status of such of the Afri- 
 can race as were already free. Nor will it be insisted, we presume, 
 that the emancipated slave technically denominated a ' freedman,' 
 occupied any higher position in the scale of rights and privileges 
 than did the 'free negro.' If these inferences be correct, then 
 it results, as a logical conclusion, that all the arguments going 
 to sustain the authority of the General Assembly to discriminate 
 in the case of ' free negroes ' equally apply to that of ' freed- 
 men,' or emancipated slaves. But it is insisted by a certain 
 class of radical theorists that the act of emancipation did not 
 stop in its effect in merely severing the relation of master and 
 slave, but that it extended further, and so operated as to exalt 
 the entire race and placed them upon terms of perfect equality 
 with the white man. These fanatics may be very sincere and 
 honest in their convictions, but the result of the recent elections 
 in Connecticut and Wisconsin shows very conclusively that such 
 is not the sentiment of a majority of the so-called Free States. 
 While we thus strenuously assert the authority of the General 
 Assembly to exercise the power of discrimination within the 
 limit before indicated, we would earnestly, but respectfully, 
 
32 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 recommend that it be exercised only in exceptional cases, and so 
 far as may be necessary to promote the welfare of society and 
 to insure the peace, good order and quiet of the entire commu- 
 nity. Impressed with these views, and in furtherance of this 
 end, we have prepared a bill to accompany this report entitled 
 ' An Act Prescribing Additional Penalties for the Commission 
 of Offences Against the State, and for other purposes.' The first 
 section of the bill provides ' that whenever, in the criminal laws of 
 this State heretofore enacted, the punishment of the offense is lim- 
 ited to fine and imprisonment, or to fine or imprisonment, there 
 shall be superadded, as an alternative, the punishment of stand- 
 ing in the pillory for an hour, or whipping, not exceeding thirty- 
 nine stripes on the bare back, or both, at the discretion of the 
 jury.' By an examination of the respective codes, as applicable 
 to the two classes of population, white and black, it will be found 
 that they differ but little as to the nature of the offenses desig- 
 nated in each. The great mark of difference is to be found in 
 the character of the punishments. There seems always to have 
 existed in the minds of our legislators a repugnance to the inflic- 
 tion of corporeal punishment upon the white man, and hence 
 the resort to fine and imprisonment for the punishment of of- 
 fenses committed by him, while that mode of punishment is 
 almost the only one applied to the colored man for the commis- 
 sion of any of the minor offenses. This discrimination, we think, 
 is founded upon the soundest principles of State policy, growing 
 out of the difference that exists in the social and political status 
 of the two races. To degrade a white man by punishment is to 
 make a bad member of society and a dangerous political agent. 
 To fine and imprison a colored man in his present pecuniary 
 condition, is to punish the State instead of the individual. The 
 provision contained in the first section of the proposed bill is 
 not designed to interfere with the discrimination above referred 
 to, but only to give a wider range to the discretion of the jury in 
 applying the punishment to the offense. The second section of 
 the bill is deemed important to remedy a defect growing out of 
 the extreme technicality of the common law with reference to 
 the subject indicated. By the principles of that law, if the ' sev- 
 erance ' from the freehold, and the felonious * taking and carry- 
 ing away,' be one and the same continued act, it would amount 
 only to a 'trespass,' for which the injured party was remitted to 
 his action for damages on the civil side of the court, but for 
 which the perpetrator of the act could not be criminally pun- 
 ished. In view of the present condition of things, we think that 
 this rule of the common law ought to be altered as is proposed 
 to be done by the second section of this bill. The twelfth sec- 
 tion restricts the privilege of the use of firearms by colored per- 
 sons to such only as are of an ' orderly and peaceable character.* 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 33 
 
 The authority of the General Assembly to impose this restric- 
 tion is beyond doubt. Neither the second article of the amend- 
 ments to the Federal Constitution, nor the first section of the 
 sixteenth article of the State Constitution, nor anything con- 
 tained in either of said instruments, can by any fair interpreta- 
 tion be deemed to oppose any obstacle to the exercise of this 
 authority. A reference to the legislation of the Northwestern 
 States will show that they recognize the rrght to impose suitable 
 restrictions upon this class of their population; and the section 
 now under consideration is almost a literal transcript of the law 
 of Indiana upon that subject. If the restriction is deemed im- 
 portant to the welfare of a community in which not one in a 
 thousand is affected by it, how much more important with us, 
 where nearly one full moiety of the population is of that class. 
 The interests of the well disposed and peaceable colored man, 
 whose right it is to enjoy the fruits of his honest industry, as 
 well as the safety of the entire community, both white and black, 
 imperatively demands that the privilege of bearing arms should 
 be accorded only to such of the colored population as can be 
 recommended for their orderly and peaceable character. It is 
 needless to attempt to satisfy the exactions of the fanatical the- 
 orists. We have a duty to perform — the protection of our wives 
 and children from threatened danger and the prevention of 
 scenes which may cost the extinction of our entire race. 
 
 " Deeply impressed with the sense of the obligation that 
 rests upon the white race, as the governing class, to do all that 
 may lie in their power to improve the moral condition of the re- 
 cently emancipated slaves, the undersigned most respectfully 
 present for your consideration ' A Bill to be entitled An Act to 
 Establish and Enforce the Marriage Relation Between Persons 
 of Color.' Heretofore, from the very necessity of the case, this 
 matter was left to be regulated by the moral sense of the master 
 and the slave, and may in truth be said to have been the only 
 inherent evil of the institution of slavery, as it existed in the 
 Southern States. Now that the obstacle of compulsory separa- 
 tion is removed, and, as a Christian people, we should embrace 
 the earliest opportunity to impress upon this class of our popula- 
 tion, and, if need be, to enforce by appropriate penalties, the 
 obligation to observe this first law of civilization and morality, 
 chastity and the sanctity of the marriage relation. 
 
 "Next to the enactment of laws for the prevention of 
 crime and the enforcement of the domestic relations, there is 
 no subject so intimately connected with the permanent welfare 
 and prosperity of a people as that of a well regulated labor sys- 
 tem. Such a system we recently enjoyed under the influence of 
 the benign but much abused and greatly misunderstood, institu- 
 tion of slavery. That has been swept away in the storm of rev- 
 
34 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 olution, and we are now remitted to the operation of an untried 
 experiment. Whether we shall he successful in devising a plan 
 to make the labor of the emancipated slave available is a prob- 
 lem of doubtful solution, and one in which he is vastly more in- 
 terested than is his former master. This unfortunate class of 
 our population, but recently constituting the happiest and best 
 provided for laboring population in the world, by no act of theirs 
 or voluntary concurrence of ours ; with no prior training to pre- 
 pare them for their new responsibilities, have been suddenly de- 
 prived of the fostering care and protection of their old masters, 
 and are now to become, like so many children gamboling upon 
 the brink of the yawning precipice, careless of the future and 
 intent only on revelling in the ])resent unrestricted enjoyment 
 of the newly found bauble of freedom. Their condition is 
 truly pitiable, and appeals to every generous bosom for aid and 
 succor, and we have greatly mistaken the character of the 
 Southern people if that appeal shall be made in vain. We are 
 not responsible for this pitiable condition of the race, but we 
 will, nevertheless, exert ourselves to save them from the ruin 
 which inevitably awaits them if left to the ' tender mercy ' of 
 that canting hypocrisy and mockish sentimentality which has 
 precipitated them to the realization of their present condition. 
 If the effort to make the emancipated slave an efficient laborer 
 shall fail, then, as a last alternative, resort must be had to the 
 teeming population of overcrowded Europe. But let not this 
 fearful alternative, pregnant as it is with the ruin and destruc- 
 tion of a helpless race, be adopted until we shall have given 
 them a fair and patient trial. As the superior and governing 
 class, we are bound to this by every principle of right and 
 prompting of humanity, yea, by the obligation of gratitude. 
 For where, in all the records of the past, does history present 
 such an instance of steadfast devotion, unwavering attachment 
 and constancy, as was exhibited by the slaves of the South 
 throughout the fearful contest that has just ended ? The coim- 
 try invaded, homes desolated, the master absent in the army or 
 forced to seek safety in flight and leaves the mistress and her 
 helpless infants unprotected ; with every incitement to insubor- 
 dination and instigation to rapine and murder, no instance of in- 
 surrection, and scarcely one of voluntary desertion has been re- 
 corded. This constancy and faithfulness on the part of the late 
 slaves, while it has astonished Europe and stamped with false- 
 hood the ravings of the heartless abolitionist, will forever com- 
 mend them to the kindness and forbearance of their former 
 masters. They will do all in their ])ower to promote his wel- 
 fare and to encourage and secure his moral and material improve- 
 ment. While they confine him to his appropriate sphere of so- 
 cial and political inferiority, they will endeavor to stimulate him 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 35' 
 
 to all legitimate efforts at advancement, and by the exercise of 
 kindness and justice towards him, teach him to value and ap- 
 preciate the new condition in which he is placed. If, after all, 
 their honest efforts shall prove unavailing, and this four millions 
 of the human family but recently dragged up from barbarism, 
 and through the influence of Southern masters elevated to the 
 status of Christian men and women, shall be doomed by the 
 inscrutable behest of a mysterious Providence to follow in 
 the footsteps of the fast fading aborigines of this continent; 
 and when the last man of the race shall be standing up- 
 on the crumbling brink of a people's grave, it will be some com- 
 pensation to the descendants of the Southern master to catch the 
 grateful and benignant recognition of this representative man, 
 as he points his withered finger to the author of his ruin and ex- 
 claims, ' Thou didst it.' " 
 
 AH of the recommendations made by this committee, so far 
 as enactment of laws were concerned, were acted upon and 
 passed into statutes. But the Legislature disregarded the com- 
 mittee's recommendation as to delaying the education of colored 
 children, and passed a law taxing every colored male from the 
 age of twenty-one to fifty, five dollars for the education of col- 
 ored youth, and some good schools were established accordingly 
 under the superintendency of Rev. E. B. Duncan, who was 
 certainly an able and conscientious man, who worked hard to 
 establish colored schools in every county. At that time railroad 
 facilities were very poor, and I have known him to walk from 
 county to county in South Florida to establish colored schools. 
 
 It is true, that some of the laws passed by the Legislature 
 of 1865 seem to be very diabolical and oppressive to the freed- 
 men, but when we consider the long established institution of 
 slavery, and the danger to which the Southern whites imagined 
 they might be subjected by reason of these people, who had 
 always been subject only to the command of their old masters, 
 we are of the opinion that any other people, under like circum- 
 stances, would have passed the same character of laws relative 
 to the freedmen. Many of these laws we know, of our own 
 knowledge, were passed only to deter the freedman from com- 
 mitting crime. For instance, the law prohibiting colored peo- 
 ple handling arms of any kind without a license, was a dead let- 
 ter, except in some cases where some of the freedmen would go 
 around plantations hunting, with apparently no other occupation, 
 
36 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 such a person would be suspected of hunting something that did 
 not belong to him and his arms would be taken away from him. 
 We have often passed through the streets of Tallahassee with our 
 gun upon our shoulder, without a license, and were never dis- 
 turbed by any one during the time this law was in force. 
 
 The law in regard to contracts between the whites and 
 freedmen was taken advantage of by some of the whites, and 
 the freedmen did not get justice ; but the great majority of the 
 whites carried out their contracts to the letter, and the freedmen 
 did as well as could be expected under the changed condition of 
 things. These laws were taken advantage of by the carpet-bag- 
 gers to marshal the freedmen to their support after the freedmen 
 had been given the right to vote. We shall have more to say on 
 this subject in a future chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Go7Jernor Walker's Short- Lived Administration. Conduct of White 
 Soldiers Toward Freedjnen. The Freedmen Electing a Con- 
 gressman^ as They Thought. Stonelake's Fraudulent Land 
 Certificate. The Freedifian's Bureau and Its A gents. The 
 Beginning of^TitlSea^t Leagiu. Preparafiotrand Oath of 
 League. ' ' The Loyal League of America. " 
 
 The administration of Governor Walker, which continued 
 something over two years, by the existing mihtary power, exer- 
 cised under the Federal authority, and he was often perplexed 
 to avoid conflict while in the legitimate exercise of civil author- 
 ity. With the Freedman's Bureau, charged with the paternal 
 care of the freedmen on the one side, and the United States 
 army exercising a supervisory control over the general conduct, 
 his administration was little more than a quasi civil government, 
 yet all was done that was possible, within the restricted limits 
 prescribed by the Federal power, to maintain law and order. 
 The removal of colored troops from the interior of the State to 
 the seaboard did not hasten the restoration of law and order, as 
 contemplated by the resolution passed by the convention for that 
 purpose. The white soldiery were stationed throughout the in- 
 terior and finally superseded the colored troops, who were en- 
 tirely removed from the State. The officers and soldiers of the 
 regular army, many of whom did not stand very high in the es- 
 timation of our best Southern society, would abuse and maltreat 
 the negro much worse than their former masters, who in many 
 instances would have to interfere in his behalf, to save him from 
 cruelty and mjustice. Of course there were honorable excep- 
 tions ; but a majority of the officers and men sent to this State 
 to take the place of the colored troops, were unjust and some- 
 times cruel in their treatment of the freedmen — first from innate 
 prejudice, and second in order to ingratiate themselves with 
 their former masters, who were naturally irritated at the loss of 
 their slaves. They, however, refused to countenance such con- 
 duct on the part of the soldiery, holding that however the negro 
 
38 CAKPETBA(; RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 might rejoice in his freedom, he had done nothing dishonorable 
 to obtain it. 
 
 I can recall but few instances of brutal treatment of the 
 freedmen by the Southern whites during Governor Walker's ad- 
 ministration. I was personally cognizant of one case in the city 
 of Tallahassee in the latter part of the year 1866, by the police, 
 under Francis Epps, mayor. The mayor had enlisted from 
 putside the city a dozen of what are generally termed "crack- 
 ers,"' as policemen, '1 hey were of the class who had never 
 owned a slave or dared to interfere with one while under the 
 protection of the master, and they seemed to cherish an old 
 grudge against the negro. They sought every opportunity to 
 interfere in his exercise of his freedom, and would order him off 
 the streets ; and when two or three were assembled in conversa- 
 tion, would arrest them and beat them as long as they would 
 submit. Under the advice of some of the more respectable of 
 the white citizens, a party attempted one Sunday night to put a 
 stop to this cruelty. 'I'hey started around to the colored 
 churches to summon the men to run these policemen out of 
 town or put them to death. On their way to the churches they 
 were met in the dark by the city marshal, Sam Quaile, w^ho ordered 
 them to halt. Thinking it was one of these "cracker" police- 
 men, they discharged their guns in the direction of the voice, 
 but inflicted no injury. The whites turned out and preserved 
 the peace, and shortly after these "cracker" policemen were 
 discharged and no further disturbance occurred. So far as the 
 city of Tallahassee is concerned, the whites and blacks have 
 lived on friendly terms. 
 
 Early in 1866 it was reyK)rted that the freedmen would be 
 enfranchised, and many of them thinking the right had already 
 accrued, called a secret meeting for the election of a Member 
 of Congress, The meeting was held at the A, M, E, Church 
 in Tallahassee, and Josej^h Oats, formerly a slave of Governor 
 Walker, was unanimously elected. The next step was to raise 
 money to send the newly-elected Congressman to Washington. 
 The money was forthcoming, as plenty of old men and women 
 gave their last dollar to send one of their race to the National 
 Congress. Stveral hundred dollars were thus raised and given 
 to Oats, who shortly afterwards was " off to Congress." He 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 39 
 
 remained away from Tallahassee until his money was gone, 
 when he wrote back designating the time when he would return. 
 The freedmen prepared a picnic at Houstoun's spring, about a 
 mile from Tallahassee. Oats notified them that if they desired 
 to know what he had done for them while in Congress, they 
 must prepare to protect him, as the whites would kill him when 
 tbey should learn what he had accomplished against them. The 
 2oth of May, the day on which General McCook rtiarched his 
 troops into Tallahassee, and declared all the inhabitants to be 
 free, was the day set apart for Oats to tell the freedmen the great 
 work he had accomplished in Congress. At nine o'clock on that 
 memorable 20th of May, the drums commenced beating and the 
 freedmen to the number of two or three thousand formed in 
 line and marched to Oats' dwelling and sent a committee armed 
 with old cavalry swords and pistols to escort Oats to the place 
 of destination. He was escorted to Houstoun's spring, when the 
 committee, at his request, arranged that he should be surrounded 
 by the freedmen and the whites kept from harming him or 
 hearing what he said. The whites, however, did not know 
 what was going on other than a celebration and picnic, and 
 were not present. Oats' speech was, that he had seen the Presi- 
 dent, and they had true friends at Washington, etc. It was be- 
 lieved, however, that Oats did not go further than Savannah, 
 where he had a good time, spent the freedmens' money, and re- 
 turned home. After Oats had finished his story about the Presi- 
 dent, and his great labors in Congress, the crowd sent up their 
 huzzas for half an hour and then sat down to a sumptuous din- 
 ner. Whisky was plentiful on the ground and was freely im- 
 bibed by the freedmen. A dispute arose among them as to where 
 Oats had been, and the affair ended in a general knock down 
 and drag out. Oats Avas a carpenter by trade, and before being 
 set free had hired himself from his master ; could read and 
 write, and was therefore capable of hoodwinking the average 
 freedman. He was a fine looking mulatto whose mother was 
 said to be white. 
 
 During the years 1865-67 there was much speculation among 
 the freedmen as to what the government intended to do for them 
 in regard to farms ; and as most of them had to work for a por- 
 tion of the crop, it induced them to seek homes of their own. 
 
40 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 One Stonelake, United States Land Register at Tallahassee, 
 appointed soon after the surrender, knowing this fact, and tak- 
 ing advantage of the ignorance of the freedmen, issued to them 
 thousands of land certificates purporting to convey thousands 
 of acres of land. For each certificate the freedman was re- 
 quired to pay not less than five dollars, and as much more as 
 Stonelake could extort from the more ignorant. He induced the 
 most influential to make the first purchases, and, it was generally 
 believed, gave them a portion of his fees to secure purchasers. 
 The former masters warned our people against this fraud, but 
 as Stonelake was one of the representatives of the paternal gov- 
 ernment, he was supposed by the freedmen to be incapable of 
 fraud or deception. Many of them were led to believe that 
 these lands consisted of their former masters' plantations, and 
 that the certificates alone would oust the latter from possession. 
 After showing the certificates around among his neighbors and 
 exulting over the purchase of a plantation, he would eventually 
 show it to his former master, who would explain the fraud, when 
 he would rush back to Stonelake for his money, who would 
 invent some new deception to quiet him, and explain that upon 
 further examination of his books he found the lands were located 
 further south. These explanations did not fully satisfy the 
 freedmen, and they called a meeting and appointed several of 
 their number to go down south and spy out the Promised Land. 
 This committee expended the money raised by their confiding 
 friends, and after an absence of several weeks in a pretended sur- 
 vey, reported that they .saw some good lands, as well as bad, 
 and advised the freedmen to occupy them, but as they were un- 
 able to locate the Promised Land, their advice was not followed, 
 and the victims were left to vent their curses upon the swindler, 
 Stonelake. 
 
 The Freedman's Bureau, an institution devised by Congress 
 under the influence of the very best people of the Northern 
 States, and intended as a means of protection of the freedmen, 
 and preparing them for the new responsibilities and privileges 
 conferred, in the hands of bad men proved, instead of a bless- 
 ing, to be the worst curse of the race, as under it he was mi.sled, 
 debased and betrayed. The agents of this Bureau were stationed 
 in all the cities and principal towns in the State. They over- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 4I 
 
 ruled the local authorities with the arbitrary force of military 
 power. Before it was definitely known that the Congress of the 
 United States could confer the right of suffrage upon the negro 
 the great majority of the agents were more oppressive of the 
 freedmen than the local authorities, their former masters. The 
 State having been impoverished by the war, the national govern- 
 ment, realizing the condition of the people, and especially of 
 the freedmen, who were set free with nothing but the scant 
 clothing on their backs, sent provisions to the State to be dis- 
 tributed to such of the freedmen as were struggling, without 
 means of subsistence, to make a crop. This meat and flour 
 was placed in the hands of these agents for distribution, who ap- 
 propriated it at their discretion, and frequently more largely for 
 their own benefit than that of their wards. The Commissioner 
 of the Bureau for the State, in company with a retired army 
 officer, carried on a large, plantation on the Apalachicola, until 
 General Steadman was appointed to examine and report upon 
 the condition of the Bureau affairs, when, in anticipation of his 
 visit to the State his interest was suddenly transferred to his 
 partner, who, after gathering and disposing of the cotton crop 
 and all available stock on the place, gathered himself up and 
 left without paying the rents. M. L. Stearns, a subordinate 
 agent at Quincy, was publicly charged with the wholesale dis- 
 position of pork and flour, and evidence was produced to con- 
 vict him of receiving and attempting to force collection of a 
 mortgage for $750 received in payment for provisions; but the 
 officers of the Federal Court refused to entertain the case. 
 When he subsequently ran as the RepubUcan candidate for Gov- 
 ernor in 1878, he was publicly denounced in the newspapers 
 and from the stump for having sold the freedmen's supplies to 
 white farmers for his own benefit. His refusal to meet the 
 charge lost him the support of the leading Republicans and a 
 large class of the freedmen, so that with the entire control of 
 the poHtical machinery through the appointing power as acting 
 Governor, he was defeated, while the State at the previous elec- 
 tion, under Governor Reed's administration, with a weak and 
 unpopular ticket, had been carried by over three thousand 
 Republican majority. It was not a little remarkable that the 
 Presidential ticket, ran several hundred ahead of the State 
 
42 CARPF.TBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ticket, and while Stearns was counted out Hayes was counted 
 in. 
 
 As soon as the freedmen were enfranchised they began to 
 receive better treatment at the hands of the Bureau agents, 
 'llie contracts between them and the planters, which had here- 
 tofore been interpreted against them, were now more fairly con. 
 strued in their interest. This latter action of Congress, too, was 
 the gateway to the formation of the secret league of the freed- 
 men. 
 
 Thomas W. Osborn, the Commissioner of the Bureau for 
 Florida, stationed at Tallahassee, through his servant, a freed- 
 man, requested a meeting of three or four of the most influential 
 colored men at the house of a colored man whose name 1 do 
 not care to mention. He met them there and informed them 
 that it was the desire of the goyej;nment that they shoirra~^form 
 a secret league to prevent their being again returned to slavery. 
 This was sufficient to bring out the old and young, the hatt and 
 the blind. In order to deceive and allay any apprehension in 
 regard to the purpose of the gathering, they were instructed to 
 answer any questions by saying that the assembly Avas for the 
 purpose of forming a benevolent society. At the appointed 
 time several hundred freedmen assembled, but only seventy-five 
 or eighty were initiated the first night, as it was deemed wise to 
 impress them with an air of deep solemnity and great formality. 
 
 In order to work the negro with greater facility in the inter- 
 est of Osborn and his gang, this secret league was named the 
 Lincoln Brotherhood, and T. W. Osborn made himself its presi- 
 dent, and he became the grand head-centre of all the leagues 
 and subordinate lodges subsequently formed throughout the 
 country and State. Each member had to pay an initiation fee 
 of from one to two dollars, and fifty cents per month thereafter. 
 The subordinate lodges were organized by a deputy appointed 
 by the president, T. W. Osborn. They were required to pay 
 five or six dollars for their charter, which money went to swell 
 the revenue of the parent lodge at Tallahassee, or of its grand 
 chief. The lodge at Tallahassee became so large that it became 
 necessary to remove from the private house where it was first or- 
 ganized to the lower colored Baptist church, in a part of the 
 town seldom visited by the whites. The freedmen considered 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 43 
 
 this league a great thing, and their meetings at the church were 
 carefully guarded by armed sentinels, who halted any one who 
 came into the vicinity of the church, requiring the countersign 
 under penalty of the contents of the old musket. Auxiliary 
 lodges were formed in every part of the county and throughout 
 the State. The regular meetings of these lodges were held every 
 Thursday night, in the most secret places to be secured. One 
 .who. was ignorant of the purposes of these assemblies would be 
 Jed to believe that the freedmen were preparing to massacre all 
 the white inhabitants of the country. The rattling of the swords 
 and handling of the muskets seemed to be the pride of these men. 
 Many of them believed that the joining of the league made them 
 .brothers of the martyred Lincoln. The entrance to the lodge 
 .;was protected by a double guard, called the inner and the outer 
 sentinels. Whenever candidates for admission appeared the 
 outer guard would have to vouch for their not being spies 
 by giving two raps at the door. These were answered by the 
 inner guard in like manner. The outer guard would then report 
 the number present desirous of becoming members, and that he 
 faithfully vouched for them. The inner guard would report to 
 the President, who would order them to be conducted in, which 
 was done by two persons called the Tylers of the Altar. These 
 Tylers would lead the applicants in front of the altar, standing 
 about two paces from the President's stand. Over the altar 
 would be fixed two United States flags, hoisted in such manner 
 as to reveal the full number of stripes and stars ; three swords 
 ..would be laid across the altar in an eciuilateral triangle, with a 
 •Bible in the centre. The candidates would be presented to the 
 President by one of the Tylers; the President would salutetl^em ^' 
 with the following words: "Brethren, what seek ye?" The 
 Tylers would instruct them to respond—" Freedom and Equal- 
 ity." Then the President would say : "Signify your request by 
 humbly kneeling at this altar." He would then descend from 
 his stand and take his seat in front of the applicants at the altar, 
 who were required to place their hands upon the Bible, when he 
 would read the oath and require them to repeat after him as 
 follows : 
 
 "I do solemnly swear that 1 will protect and defend the 
 Constitution and government of the United States against all 
 
44 CARPETBAC, RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 enemies, foreign and domestic ; that I will bear true faith, loyalty 
 and allegiance to the same ; that I will go the rescue of a brother 
 whenever I learn he is in trouble ; that I will not vote for or 
 assist, directly or indirectly, any person for any office who is not 
 a brother of this league." 
 
 Later on, when the leading members of the Brotherhood 
 learned that their secret work had been exposed by some of the 
 more ignorant members, a new scheme was devised by O. 
 Morgan, one of Osborn's representatives, to put an end to this 
 exposure. A coffin was procured, a grave was robbed of some 
 of its hidden treasures, and the skull of a man was brought forth 
 to do the work. They now commenced holding their meetings 
 in one of the basement rooms of the Capitol. The coffin would 
 be hid away in the room with an old piece of canvas thrown 
 over it to conceal it from view. The applicant would be brought 
 in and made to take the usual oath, with the formalities before 
 recited. The lights in the room would then be suddenly put 
 out and the Tylers of the Altar would quietly place the coffin 
 in front of the applicants ; the skull would be placed on the top 
 of the coffin in the middle of the triangle formed by the swords ; 
 the lights would be restored and the applicant told by the Presi- 
 dent of the lodge that this skull was that of a brother who had 
 been recreant to his trust, had broken his oath and exposed the 
 secrets of this league ; that he had been found out by the breth- 
 ren and put to death, and that such would be the fate of every 
 one who ever exposed the secrets of the order. I do not think 
 the coftin initiation ever went further than the towns, as it was 
 thought it could not be carried on in the country without the 
 whites finding it out. Some of those who were initiated with the 
 coffin were frightened so much that they never returned, and 
 they advised their friends not to join the lodge in Tallahassee, for 
 fear of being killed. So the Morgan plan was not very success- 
 ful. This coffin and skull were found in tlie basement of the 
 Capitol after the Democrats captured the State from the Repub- 
 licans in 1876. 
 
 In May or June, 1867, the Republican National Committee 
 sent to Florida William M. Saunders, colored, from Maryland, 
 Daniel Richards, white, from Sterling, 111., a^ speakers and 
 organizers of the Republican party, as they claimed. They 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 45 
 
 immediately joined in the hunt for plunder, and soon struck the 
 trail of and came in contact with the preceding plunder hunters 
 — Osborn and his Bureau agents, with the thousands of their 
 Lincoln Brotherhood. How to circumvent this brotherhood, 
 now so firmly established across their pathway, was a problem 
 for grave consideration. Saunders, Richards and Liberty Bill- 
 ings, a former lieutenant-colonel of a colored regiment in the 
 Union army and now located at Fernandina, held a consultation 
 at Tallahassee, and with all the solemnity of a Methodist prayer 
 meeting finally resolved to supplant the Lincoln Brotherhood by 
 a new secret organization styled *' The Loyal League of Amer- 
 ica." Here commenced the "tug of war" which subsequently 
 culminated in two Republican factions in the State. Thus the 
 *' Union League," an institution formed and organized in 
 November, 1862, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and which 
 shortly after numbered its millions of membership, some of whom 
 were in the rebel States and had the confidence of some of the 
 warmest supporters of the Southern Confederacy, was prosti- 
 tuted to the forging of chains upon the souls of the confiding 
 freedmen. Before they could be recognized as Republicans by 
 Saunders, Richards and BilHngs, the freedmen were required to 
 join the Loyal League of America. A new application had to 
 be made, another five dollars initiation fee paid, with a monthly 
 due of not less than ten cents, or whatever the President should 
 require. In the Grand Council at Tallahassee, or at the office 
 of Richards and Saunders, whenever an influential freedman 
 applied for initiation, and they thought he could raise the money, 
 they would charge him fifteen or twenty dollars to become a 
 member of the league. Charters for the organization of lodges 
 cost five dollars, and whenever the deputies could succeed in 
 wringing it out of the people, they would charge them a greater 
 sum. These fees were divided with the President of the League 
 in Tallahassee, William M. Saunders, who constituted himself 
 the Grand Council ; and whenever he could make the deputies 
 come up with the cash he would pocket the money. Grips, 
 signs and passwords were given to the freedmen in these lodges, 
 and they were told that they had received something beyond the 
 reach and conception of their former masters, which led them to 
 believe their late masters had no rights that they were bound to 
 
46 CARPETBAG RUI.K IN FLORIDA. 
 
 respect. I'his nefarious teaching made many of them very 
 obnoxious and overbearing members of society. Thousands of 
 dollars were wrung from the hands of our people by these 
 devices. They were assured in these league meetings that the 
 lands and all the property of their former masters would be 
 equally divided among the former slaves, which led many to 
 indolence. They were further instructed that the oath which 
 they had taken in the League was of such a nature that they 
 could not vote for any Southern white man for office ; that to 
 do so would cause their return into slavery. To rivet these 
 teachings upon their consciences, violent speeches would be 
 made in the lodge-rooms, and often in public, in denunciation of 
 their former masters, who, in turn, had their hands full to 
 explain and satisfy our misguided people, the best they could, 
 that the men who were organizing them in secret lodges were 
 mere demagogues for the sake of office and their worst enemies. 
 This argument set some of our people to thinking, and but for 
 this and the influence of the more sensible of the colored people, 
 the property of the country would have in many instances been 
 destroyed by the midnight torch. Although Saunders, Richards 
 and Billings and their henchmen who organized the Loyal 
 League were not altogether successful in putting to political 
 death Osborn and his Bureau agents, yet their fight for the spoils 
 had a great tendency to cripple them for life in many parts of 
 the State. The whites at this time had become alarmed at these 
 secret meetings and began to bestir themselves to find out the 
 full secret of this league. Their first step was to get the negro 
 into a good humor by delivering to him what he considered a 
 fine present. If any whisky or brandy was about the white man 
 would drop one or two drams into him, which would be the 
 means of drawing him into conversation the more easily concern- 
 ing the league. He would then start out by shaking hands with 
 the freedman, telling him at the same time that this (placing 
 his fingers into some curious form) is the secret grip of the 
 league. This would please the freedman so well, to think that 
 he knew something that the former master did not know, that 
 he would undertake to instruct him as to the right grip, if he 
 could recollect it. He felt grand at the idea that he was capable 
 of teaching his former master something. Many of the'grips, 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 47 
 
 passwords and signs were exposed in this way; but the whites 
 were yet kept in the dark as to the real intentions of the league. 
 So insecure did the whites consider their lives and property that 
 some of them were constrained to make application to become 
 members of the league ; but this was refused. One gentleman, 
 a wealthy planter in Leon County, to my personal knowledge 
 made application to J. W. Toer, Esq., colored (who was a very 
 good and polite old gentleman), and was admitted ; but the 
 freedmen were told to watch him — that he was only a spy, and 
 old man lo^^r ^^'as after that time looked upon by them as 
 a traitor. 'his gentleman lived in a settlement where nine- 
 tenths of the population were colored, and all of them were 
 members of tlie league. He does not hesitate to declare that he 
 was forced. to join this league to save his property from destruc- 
 tion. There is no disputing the fact that the fears of the whites 
 with reference to these leagues were well founded ; for the men 
 who controlled them had really nothing in view but public plun- 
 der. Notwithstanding the oath that had been taken by the 
 freedmen as membersi of the Loyal League, and the violent 
 speeches with promises made by its leaders to them, there was a 
 sectional and natural feeling existing among most of them which 
 was a resistless leaning toward those with whom they were better 
 acquainted — their late masters. In 1867, some few months 
 before the nomination of delegates to the Constitutional Conven- 
 tion of 1868, the freedmen called a public meeting in the court- 
 house in Leon County, and invited M. D. Papy, one of the 
 most prominent lawyers in the State, Judge Mcintosh, and 
 other Southerners, to address them and give them some informa- 
 tion as to their newly acquired duties as citizens. Those gentle- 
 men and others attended the meeting and addressed the colored 
 people. The meeting was largely attended and the addresses 
 were well received; but Osborn and the rest of the plunder- 
 hunters kicked furiously against this revolutionary movement on the 
 part of the freedmen, while most of the whites looked upon the action 
 of Papy and Mcintosh as giving countenance to Osborn, Saunders 
 and other carpetbaggers. If this action on the part of the blacks and 
 whites had not been ihterfered with the State would have> saved 
 thousands of dollars. The freedmen in other parts of the State 
 would have heard with gladness of the action of their former mas- 
 
48 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ters at the capital. They would have broken the chains of the 
 league and looked up to those slaveholders of the State who had 
 not in the days of slavery treated them cruelly. They felt confi- 
 dent that their rights would be absolutely secure in the hands of 
 those men under the reconstruction acts of Congress. As a close 
 observer of the times, and as one of the actors in the reconstruction 
 theatre, I am certain, if the Southern whites could have taken in 
 the situation, two-thirds of them would have been returned as 
 delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1868. This result 
 would have enlisted two-thirds of the best white citizens of 
 Florida in the ranks of the Republican party. But "to err is 
 human." From this time up to the election of delegates to the 
 Constitutional Convention of 1886 no further alliance was 
 attempted between the whites and the freedmen. The whites, 
 discouraged at the solidity of the freedmen against them, refused 
 to take any part in the election of delegates to the convention. 
 The two so-called Republican factions — one termed the Osborn 
 Faction and the other The Mule Team (having acquired this 
 name by the reason of Billings and Saunders using two mules to 
 haul them around while perfecting their electioneering schemes), 
 had everything their own way, with the military to back them. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Electmi of Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1868. 
 Address of D. Richards, the First President. The Loyal 
 League Overthrows the Lincoln Brotherhood. Notable Mem- 
 bers of the Convention. The Richards Constitution. Re-cap- 
 ture of Convention. Minority of Non-resident Delegates. 
 The Lincoln Brotherhood Ahead, and the Loyal Leaguers 
 Rampant. Ratification of the Constitution and Election of 
 Go7jernor Reed. 
 
 Under militaty authority the State was divided into nine- 
 teen election districts, which were so arranged as to have the 
 counties where the white population predominated attached to 
 the counties having large colored majorities. There was but one 
 polling place in each county, which necessitated the continuing 
 the election for three days. The election was held on the 14th, 
 15th and 1 6th of November, 1867, under the formal supervison 
 of the miHtary. The question submitted was, For a Conven- 
 tion, or, Against a Convention ; and for delagetes to the con- 
 vention in case a majority of the votes cast were for the Constitu- 
 tion. Twenty-seven thousand one hundred and seventy-two 
 registered voters were returned by the registermg officers, of 
 whom fourteen thousand five hundred and three were returned 
 as having voted for a Constitution. All the districts returned 
 delegates, and a full convention, forty-six in number, were 
 elected. The following is a list of the delegates, as returned by 
 military general orders No. no : 
 
 First District — Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties — Geo. 
 W. Walker, Geo. J. Alden, Lyman W. Rowley. 
 
 Second District — Walton, Washington and Holmes — John 
 L. Campbell. 
 
 Third District — Jackson — W. J. Purman, L. C. Armistead, 
 E. Fortune, H. Bryan. 
 
 Fourth District— Gadsen and Liberty — D. Richards, W. U. 
 
 Sanders, Frederick Hill. 
 
 Fifth District-— Fxdinklm-^]. W. Childs. 
 4 
 
5© CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Sixth District — Leon — T. W. Osborn, Joseph E. Oats, C. 
 H. Pearce, John Wyatt, Green Davidson, O. B. Armstrong. 
 
 Seventh District— ]Qf(er son — John W. Powell, A. G. Bass, 
 Robert Meacham, Anthony Mills. 
 
 Eighth District — Madison — Roland T. Rambauer, Major 
 Johnson, William R. Cone. 
 
 Ninth District — Suwannee— Thomas Urquhart, Andrew 
 Shuler. 
 
 Tenth District — Lafayette and Taylor — J. R. Krimminger. 
 
 Eleventh District — Alachua — Horatio Jenkins, Jr., William 
 K. Cessna, Josiah T. Walls. 
 
 Twelfth District — Columbia— ^S. B. Conover, Abram Erwin. 
 
 Thirteenth District— C\diy—B. M. McRae. 
 
 Fourteenth District — Duval and Nassau — L. Billings, N. 
 C. Dennett, William Bradwell, J. C. Gibbs. 
 
 Fifteenth District— Udiuow—] . H. Goss, A. Chandler, W. 
 Rogers, E. D. House. 
 
 Sixteenth Z>/V/r/r/— Hernando— Samuel J. Pearce. 
 
 Seventee7ith District — Hillsborough — C. R. Mobley. 
 
 Eighteenth District — Monroe — Eldridge L. Ware. 
 
 The convention met on Monday, January 20th, 1868, C. 
 H. Pearce, colored, of Tallahassee, was elected temporary Presi- 
 dent, and H. Ford, of Baltimore, Md., also colored, was elected 
 temporary Secretary, amid the shouts of hundreds of the newly 
 enfranchised freedmen, who declared ''the bottom rail on top," 
 and " the year of jubilee am come." There were but twenty of 
 the forty-six delegates present. The following Committee on 
 Permanent Organization was appointed : Wm. M. Saunders, of 
 Baltimore, chairman ; Wm. R. Cone, S. B. Conover, Robert 
 Meacham and O. B. Armstrong. This committee immediately 
 reported — 
 
 I. For President, D. Richards, of Sterling, 111., returned 
 from Gadsden County (where he had spent but two days of his 
 life) and W. H. Christy, of Jacksonville, for Secretary, with 
 three assistants ; a Chaplain, Sergeant-at-Arms, Postmaster, 
 three doorkeepers and one financial agent — Paul Crippen, a 
 stranger in the State. 
 
CARPETBACx RULE IN FLORIDA. 5 1 
 
 2. Ten committee clerks, of whom Paul Crippen was one, 
 and Henry Ford, the Postmaster, was another. 
 
 3. Nine pages and messengers. 
 
 The first section of the report was adopted, but as there 
 was some objection to the others the appointments were devolved 
 upon the President, who subsequently appointed the list recom- 
 mended by the committee. The President-elect took the chair, 
 and addressed the Convention as follows : 
 
 richards' address. 
 
 * 'Gentlemen of the Convention: 
 
 "For your kindness and partiality in electing me to preside 
 over your deliberations, you have my sincere, heartfelt thanks. 
 That the duties thus devolved -upon me may be so discharged as 
 to satisfy you that I am not entirely unworthy of this generous 
 confidence, is now my greatest solicitude. From a sense of my 
 own wetkness, I have hesitated about whether I should accept 
 this position of such high honor and trust ; but relying on your 
 charity, forbearance, and aid, I enter upon the performance of 
 the duties with a prayer that the relations of friendship that now 
 bind us together may continue to be the most cordial, and that 
 our proceedings may be characterized by that spirit of kindness 
 and generosity which the great events standing so close around 
 us should inspire. Ours is the opportunity and privilege of ele- 
 vating and benefiting humanity by forming for a whole State a 
 fundamental law that should tend to promote patriotism, perma- 
 nent peace and enduring prosperity with all our people. The 
 age in which we live, generations that are to come after us, and 
 the stern, uncompromising historian, will hold us to a rigid 
 account for the manner in which we dispose of the great trust 
 con fided to us by an afflicted, unfortunate people. Permanent 
 rules for the guidance of all in the development of the great 
 resources of our State, and that are to control all the functions 
 of government, are to be established by us, and may we heed 
 the voice of humanity, and may a merciful Providence aid us in 
 our counsels and direct us in our conclusions. With the mantle 
 of charity we would cover the moral heresies, monstrous injus- 
 tice and red-handed cruelty of the past, and with malice toward 
 none and charity for all, and ' firmness in the right as God gives 
 us light,' let us enter upon the majestic work of laying deep the 
 foundations of a government that shall sacredly care for and 
 protect the rights of all, and that shall deserve and receive the 
 respect, love and confidence of all our citizens. Let no recol- 
 lections of the bondage that was so long the withering disgrace 
 
52 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of American civilization be impressed upon the Constitution we 
 are about to form. Let it be not tinged with the blood-stains of 
 a wicked rebellion and terrible war by presenting features of 
 resentment, retaliation or revenge ; but let it contain some cau- 
 tious, jealous provisions that shall forever hereafter vigilantly 
 guard, as with a two-edged sword, all approaches to the Temple 
 of Liberty, Justice and Equal Rights to all; and it will stand as 
 a proud monument to the wisdom of our times, and to the tri- 
 umph of the principles of freedom and truth and a progressive 
 humanity, over oppression, error, superstition and barbarism. 
 Let us insure to all who have not forfeited their rights by treason 
 or rebellion a common interest in our institutions, our laws and 
 our government by religiously securing to them the right to vote 
 and be voted for ; and the consciousness that we are each a part 
 of the government will soon induce a feeling of self-respect, 
 manhood and pride in maintaining law and order and good gov- 
 ernment in society. We should provide for a system by which 
 all may obtain homes of their own and a comfortable living, and 
 also provide for schools in which all may be educated free of 
 expense ; clothe honest industry with respectability ; inangurate 
 a public sentiment that shall crown the man with honors as the 
 benefactor of his race who makes two blades of grass grow 
 where one grew before, and prohibit all laws that are not equal 
 and just to all within our State. And from out of the ashes of 
 discord and strife, will arise the songs of gladness, thanksgiving 
 and praise. Then the earth will respond to the gentle touch 
 of scientific culture in bountiful harvests; the Land of 
 Flowers will become the land of patriotism, peace and plenty ; 
 the hot wrath of wicked men will be restrained in their 
 amazement at the great and wonderful transformation, and Flor- 
 ida will keep step to the grand music of the Union, and move 
 forward in her career of glory as one of the States, and God in 
 his infinite goodness will bless us in our basket and our store." 
 
 General Meade was notified of the organization, and being 
 invited to attend, sent the following telegram : 
 
 " I regret that my public duties prevent my complying with 
 your invitation to visit your convention. I have no communi- 
 cation to make beyond calling your attention to the remarks 
 made to the Georgia Convention, and urging prompt action 
 upon your part in the important duty assigned to you, and the 
 earnest hope that you will speedily form a constitution and frame 
 a civil government acceptable to the people of Florida and the 
 Congress of the United States." 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 53 
 
 The Loyal League, headed by Richards, Billings and Saun- 
 ders, all non-residents, had so far supplanted the Lincoln Broth- 
 erhood which Osborn had instituted, that it was only through 
 the permission and courtesy of Elder C. H. Pearce, who held the 
 colored vote of Leon County under control, that he was elected 
 to the convention ; and he was so tardy and cowardly in his 
 movements that he had allowed the opposition to seize the or- 
 ganization of the convention before he could gather in his ad- 
 herents, Richards was therefore master of the situation before 
 Osborn had awaked to the fact that he was no longer dictator to 
 the freedmen. But the representative from Illinois was not 
 equal to the task he had assumed, and the insane greed for 
 spoils soon lost him and his associates their hold. BiUings and 
 Saunders had the Loyal Leaguers, and William J. Purman was 
 the accepted champion of the Lincoln Brotherhood. 
 
 The first effort of President Richards was to get control of 
 the small sum in the State Treasury, for which purpose he gave an 
 order upon the State Treasurer to pay over to Paul Crippen all 
 money in his hands belonging to the State. The Treasurer, be- 
 fore responding to the order telegraphed General Meade, who 
 immediately forbade any payment upon the requisition of the 
 President of the convention without his special approval of each 
 requisition. The five hundred dollars then in the Treasury was 
 thus saved to meet the salaries of the existing State officers. 
 These non-resident plunderers then determined to go directly to 
 the property owners for their plunder, and by resolution of the 
 convention President Richards and financial agent Crippen were 
 authorized to issue script to the amount of fifty thousand dollars. 
 Fifteen thousand was immediately issued on account of printing 
 alone, and Col. W. M. Saunders retained ten thousand of the 
 amount. The pay of pages and messengers was fixed at ten 
 dollars per day, and that of clerks and other officers from fifteen 
 ^'^wenty dollars per day. As another illustration of the reck- 
 ^^^"\isregard of interests of the State, J. T. Walls, delegate 
 ^^^'^ -\achua County, about three hundred miles distant, was 
 allowea,^^^. O. B. Armstrong, whose home was at the capi- 
 tal, $630^^^^^^ jyj Saunders, delegate from Gadsden County, 
 twenty mile..^^^^^^ ^^^^ . ^ jj-^^ ^^.^^ ^^^ ^^^^ district, with 
 the same dist.^^ ^^^^_ ^^^^ Wyatt, from the same district as 
 
 \ 
 
54 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Armstrong, with thirty-five miles to travel, $467. There were 
 large amounts of script accredited to members and attaches of the 
 convention who never saw a dollar of it ; but the script was 
 issued and retained by Paul Crippen and his co-conspirators. 
 
 At the time this script was issued the convention was sitting 
 with a bare majority of the delegates returned as elected in atten- 
 dance. As the convention filled up the struggle for supremacy 
 waxed hoi between the contending parties, and two weeks were 
 wasted in the contest. Crowds of freedmen from the country 
 would daily assemble around the capitol, and whenever Saunders 
 and Billings were tired of scalping Purman and Osborn in the 
 convention, they would address the freedmen in mass meeting in 
 front of the capitol, relating to them that Purman, Osborn and 
 their followers had gone over to the red-handed rebels, charac- 
 terizing them as Lucifer and his rebellious angels disturbing and 
 making war in Heaven, while the speakers described themselves 
 as leading the Heavenly hosts and fighting to hurl the rebellious 
 angels from the temple. The masses were thus kept excited in 
 order to secure an influence over the colored delegates, who 
 were quartered among the blacks, nine-tenths of whom adhered 
 to the Billings faction. It would not have been safe for any of 
 the delegates to have gone over to Purman. Many of the Dem- 
 ocrats had been inclined to favor the Richards-Billings faction 
 rather than that of Osborn, until the system of plunder was 
 developed, when they became alarmed and gave their influence, 
 with the military authorities, to prevent their success. 
 
 The Billings-Saunders delegates were quartered in a house 
 
 under their control, which was characterized by Purman in debate 
 
 as the Ball Pen. Saunders, in retort for thus stigmatizing his 
 
 residence, would seize a chair to hurl at his head and this would 
 
 require the interference of the Sergeant-at-Arms. Saunders was 
 
 an eloquent and powerful speaker, good at repartee, an excelle" 
 
 parliamentarian and one of the shrewdest and most ' 
 
 scrupulous members of the convention. Richards waf=- 
 
 impassioned and more mild speaker — a sort of U\ ! ^ 
 
 specimen of the Northern carpet-bagger, of moderat ' 7 
 ; . . T u r- r AT • r> ^y» a South- 
 
 elastic conscience. Jesse H. Goss, of Marion Cc , 
 
 - ... .J •£ , • 1 V ivir .lion, but hon- 
 
 erner by birth, was identified with the Billings ^ , . 
 
 . , ' . . . . ^ ^-ct the interests 
 
 est, upright and conscientious in seeking to p" 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. • 55 
 
 of the State and preserve the rights of the freedmen. C. R. 
 Mobley, of Tampa, a Kansas refugee ''border ruffian," identi- 
 fied himself with the Osborn faction ; was a fair debater and 
 opposed the extravagance of the Richards party. Jonathan C. 
 Gibbs, colored, who was afterwards Secretary of State under 
 Governor Reed, and Superintendent of Public Instruction under 
 Governor Hart, was the best educated delegate in the conven- 
 tion, as well as the most conservative and polished speaker. He 
 was a graduate of Harvard College. He adhered to the 
 Billings faction, but labored hard and honestly to secure a con- 
 stitution that should protect the property of the State as well as 
 the rights of the freedmen. More than once he arose in the 
 convention and denounced Billings of his own faction, who 
 would wait until the lobby of the convention would be filled 
 with freedmen, and make that the opportunity for delivering a 
 fiery speech in denunciation of the former slaveholders. Al- 
 though Mr. Gibbs was, through circumstances, inseparably 
 allied to the Billings-Saunders faction, he was unqualifiedly 
 opposed to the manner in which the convention started out in 
 the extravagant expenditure of the people's money. Mr. Gibbs 
 was not a politician, but an honest Republican, trying to lay the 
 foundation for a respectable party in the State, and if the mass 
 of the voters that composed the RepubHcan party of Florida had 
 possessed the intelligence to have followed his advice, the State 
 would have been spared a great deal of bitterness between its 
 black and white citizens, and some precious lives would have 
 been preserved. E. Fortune, colored, identified with the 
 Osborn-Purman faction, a native of Florida, had a fair educa- 
 tion and was a forcible debater ; and whenever he believed he 
 was right, neither money nor promises could move him from his 
 position. He opposed from first to last the conduct of the Bil- 
 lings-Saunders faction, and but for his unalterable opposition as 
 one of the colored delegates, it is doubtful whether the Purman- 
 Osborn faction would have succeeded. W. J. Purman, a full- 
 fledged Northern carpet-bagger, who was believed by many to be 
 an officer in the United States army at the time he was perform- 
 ing his duties as delegate, was a very persuasive and forcible 
 speaker, but was not a match for Saunders. Purman was pos- 
 sessed of an indomitable will, which in most cases crowned 
 
56 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 him with success. Although in this fight he pretended to be 
 opposed to the plunder system, his subsequent actions in the 
 politics of the State showed him to be more unscrupulous and 
 dangerous than Saunders, Billings or Richards. T. W. Osborn, 
 also a carpet-bagger of the Purman type, was a man of consider- 
 able ability, but was no debater, and devoid of moral courage as 
 of conscience. He was a good wire-puller, and that is the most 
 that can be said of him. Col. Liberty Billings, who was a pro- 
 fessed carpet-bagger, was at the time of his election a citizen of 
 the State of New Hampshire. He was a man of powerful in- 
 tellect, but his oratorical powers seemed to have been hid under 
 a bushel, except when he was arraying the blacks against the 
 whites. In fact, he never laughed or smiled, nor did he seem 
 to be in his right element unless he was criticising in the most 
 abusive language, the Southern whites. As to his financial pol- 
 icy in the convention, it was on the order of " hold what you 
 have got and get all you can." Horatio Jenkins was a Northern 
 0nan, an officer in the Union army. He had fine abilities, was a 
 young man of fine personal character and popular address. 
 Had he but had the courage to follow his own convictions instead 
 of surrendering to the dictation of Osborn, he would have risen 
 to high position in the State ; but Osborn led him to ruin, and in 
 after years he was compelled to leave the State in poverty and 
 disgrace, one of the many victims of Osborn's vicious ambition. 
 I shall record him better in a future chapter. Some of the lesser 
 lights of the convention, who could neither read nor write, 
 would be seen with both feet thrown across their desks smoking 
 cigars, while the convention was in session, and would often 
 address the President: ''I ize to a pint off orter and deman 
 that the pages and mess'gers put some jinal on my des." The 
 President would draw a long sigh and order journals to be car- 
 ried and laid upon the desks of these eminent statesmen, who 
 would seize them up and go through the motions of reading them, 
 perhaps upside down, saying at the same time : "I has not had 
 a jinal to read for free or fo' days." The pages, indignant at 
 this mockery, would exclaim to the President " that the dela- 
 gates who called for the journals could not read them if printed 
 in letters as large as the capitol." The modest President would 
 order them to take their places and attend upon the gentlemen o' 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 57 
 
 the convention. Most of the pages of the convention could 
 read and write. 
 
 If the convention, as then constituted, had been held in any 
 of the New England States and had been guilty of the same 
 conduct, nothing but a strong military guard could have secured 
 their persons from violence. These ridiculous scenes continued 
 for two weeks and more, when a portion of the members seceded, 
 leaving the convention without a quorum. The sessions were 
 continued, however, and in a few days adopted a constitution, 
 which was said to have been prepared in Chicago and brought 
 here by Richards to be forced upon the people of the State. 
 {See Appendix A.) 
 
 Goss, the delegate from Marion County, was despatched 
 with a copy of this constitution to Atlanta to procure the 
 approval of the commanding General. 
 
 The convention took a recess February 8th, to wait the 
 return of its messenger. During this time, Saunders and Bil- 
 lings, elated and more exultant over their supposed victory over 
 Purman, Osborn and Company, called a mass meeting to assem- 
 ble in the capitol square and addressed the freedmen, telling 
 them that they had hurled the rebeUious angels from the great 
 Republican temple. After the speaking was over Saunders 
 resolved the meeting into a nominating convention for the pur- 
 pose of nominating State officers and also for members of the 
 Legislature for Leon County. Liberty Billings was nominated* 
 for Governor, W. M. Saunders for Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 Samuel Walker, for Congress. Leon County was allowed in 
 this deal ten Representatives and one Senator. This appor- 
 tionment does not appear in the Billings-Saunders constitution. 
 In fact, all the officers of State were nominated by the mass 
 meeting composed entirely of the Freedmen of Leon County. 
 It looked as though there was office for all. 
 
 On Monday, February loth, between twelve and one 
 o'clock at night, the seceding delegates, or "rebellious angels," 
 returned to Tallahassee in a body, broke into the capitol, recap- 
 tured the " celestial palace," and proceeded to reorganize the 
 convention. The most amusing incident of the recapture of the 
 convention was, that Saunders, although nominated for Lieuten- 
 
58 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ant-Governor, was not satisfied to be on the tail of the ticket, 
 Billings must come down from the head of the ticket and give 
 place to Saunders. How to steer clear of the Billings breakers 
 was a problem which quite puzzled his brain — but something 
 must be done. As white and black masons did not affiliate at 
 that time in the South, Saunders conceived the idea of organiz- 
 ing a colored lodge, and getting all the prominent colored men 
 into it and then pledge them to demand the withdrawal of 
 Billings as a candidate for Governor, while Saunders would 
 pledge him his support for United States Senator. This was 
 commenced on Monday night, February loth. Several mem- 
 bers had been initiated that night. Billings, filled with anxiety 
 to know what was going on in the black camp, applied for ad- 
 mission and was refused. A disruption in the Billings-Saunders 
 faction was now imminent. The lodge adjourned about midnight 
 to meet the following night to complete its work. As its mem- 
 bers entered the street they saw the capitol lighted up, heard the 
 sound of voices, the earnest stamping of feet and clapping of 
 hands. They were awe-stricken, and conveyed the intelligence 
 to Saunders, who, startled at the scene, broke out with an oath 
 that ** Billings, the d — d traitor, has organized a convention 
 against me and my friends." Saunders immediately sent mes- 
 sengers to the capitol to see what this strange thing really meant. 
 When the messengers returned and informed him what had taken 
 place, he said that his old familiar enemies were only holding a 
 secret caucus. But ''the end was not yet." The eighteen del- 
 egates who withdrew had now enlisted four new recruits to their 
 standard, which swelled their number to twenty-tANX). They man- 
 aged by some means to capture two of the colored delegates 
 from the Billings-Saunders faction, which gave them a majority 
 of two of all the delegates returned under general order No. 
 no. The freedmen undertook to mob these two delegates in 
 the streets the next day, which resulted in one of the delegates 
 named Shaler shooting one of the freedmen, but not fatally. 
 
 This convention now proceeded to vacate the seats of the 
 non-resident delegates— Roberts, Saunders and Billings — elected 
 Horatio Jenkins, Jr., President, Sherman Conant, Secretary, 
 and other necessary officers, and immediately set to work to 
 form the constitution which was finally ado})ted and became the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 59 
 
 organic law of the State. A squad of the Federal military, 
 under direction of Governor Walker, was directed to guard the 
 convention chamber against a threatened attempt of the ousted 
 members to take violent possession. The freedmen seeing their 
 supposed Lord and Saviour shut out from the capitol were 
 excited to fever heat. The news went like wildfire through the 
 adjoining counties. Large numbers of them assembled in Tal- 
 lahassee, ready, as they thought, for battle. Each one had his 
 club, about two feet long with a string through the end of it, so 
 as to be fastened to his wrist. Their cry was that they wanted 
 nothing but the blood of Osborn and Purman and their fellows. 
 Nothing but the presence of the military prevented bloodshed. 
 Some of the more ignorant of the freedmen were so carried 
 away with Billings and Saunders that they wanted to attack the 
 military guard at the door of the convention and attempt to 
 drive them away and give Saunders and Billings possession of 
 the hall. When it was definitely ascertained that Billings and 
 Saunders could not get possession of the hall, some of the freed- 
 men, who had said when the convention was first organized, 
 "that the bottom rail was on top," began to mutter and to 
 say that " the rail had again fallen to the bottom." General 
 Mead, who had been appealed to by the minority faction, arrived 
 in Tallahassee on the 17th day of February. Committees from 
 each faction waited on him to learn his views on the situation. 
 He finally ordered that all the delegates returned under the 
 order of General Pope should go into the convention ; the two 
 contending Presidents to hand in their resignations to the Secre- 
 tary, Sherman Conant, and the convention then reorganize, de 
 novo, with the commanding General of the Division, General 
 Sprague, presiding. This proposition was readily accepted by 
 ]enkins,'|but Richards hesitated, as he saw in this action his polit- 
 ical death staring him in the face. He finally consented under 
 protest, and with palsied hand he wrote his resignation. On 
 Tuesday, February i8th, at 3 o'clock, p. m., the convention 
 met with all the delegates of both factions present. The Secre- 
 tary, Conant, introduced to the convention Col. John T. 
 Sprague, in full uniform, as its temporary chairman. A motion 
 was then made that Horatio Jenkins, Jr., be elected President of 
 the convention, which was carried by a vote of thirty-two to 
 
6o CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 thirteen. Colonel Sprague then retired. The next step was a 
 resolution declaring all the offices of the first convention vacant, 
 but Sherman Conant was retained as the Secretary of this con- 
 vention. This convention was not so liberal as the first in mak- 
 ing offices for its followers. Its offices consisted of one secre- 
 tary and an assistant secretary, one sergeant-at-arms, one door- 
 keeper, one chaplain, a printer and a financial agent. There 
 was a marked difference in the last convention as to decorum. 
 Osborn and " the Brotherhood" having overcome the lead- 
 ers of the Loyal League by recapturing the convention, were 
 determined to pursue them to their death for future contingen- 
 cies. To expel them from the convention would have the effect 
 of killing their influence with the freedmen, and it was willed 
 that they should go. Purman was appointed chairman of the 
 Committee on EUgibility, and the day after the last convention 
 was organized, made a report which was generally believed he 
 had carried in his pocket from the time he entered the conven- 
 tion until he reported it, which was as follows : 
 
 **In the case of W. M. Saunders, returned as a delegate 
 to this convention from the Fourth Election District, conclusive 
 evidence is adduced that he is not a registered voter in nor an 
 inhabitant of the district he claims. to represent; that he is no 
 citizen of Florida under the reconstruction laws. 
 
 " In the case of Liberty Billings, returned from the Four- 
 teenth Election District, evidence is produced under the seal of 
 the United States Court, that he, on the 12th day of August, 
 1867, in this State made oath that he is a citizen of the State of 
 New Hampshire, and the official certificate of the Board of 
 Registration is in proof that he is not a registered voter in the 
 district he claims to represent. 
 
 ''In the case of C. H. Pearce, returned from the Sixth 
 Election District, the official certificate of the Board of Regis- 
 tration is in evidence that he is not a registered voter in the dis- 
 trict that he claims to rei)resent, that he was formerly a resident 
 of Canada; that he there swore true faith and allegiance to the 
 government of Great Britain. 
 
 " Your committee, in conclusion, beg leave to recommend 
 the following resolution as the result and conviction of their 
 unbiased investigation, uninfluenced by any sentiment or preju- 
 dice, either of a political or personal character. 
 
 Resolved, That W. M. Saunders, Liberty Billings and C. H. 
 Pearce, returned as delegates to this convention from the Fourth, 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 6l 
 
 Fourteenth and Sixth Election Districts, respectively, are hereby, 
 for reasons stated in the foregoing report, declared ineligible to 
 seats in this body." 
 
 In the case of Daniel Richards, from the Fourth Election 
 District, the Committee reported that he was not an inhaj)itant 
 nor registered voter of the district which he claimed to repre- 
 sent, and ineligible to a seat in the convention. These resolu- 
 tions were adopted by a large majority, and this ended the Bil- 
 lings-Saunders reign in the Constitutional Convention of 1868. 
 
 It will be seen by the minutes of this convention, that its 
 journal was not kept in such a way as to enable coming gen- 
 erations to know what had transpired throughout the whole pro- 
 ceedings. The following resolution is introduced as a witness to 
 the insufficiency of the journal. It was ofl'ered by Mr. Alden: 
 
 Resolved, That the Journal of the Constitutional Conven- 
 tion of the State of Florida, from its organization until the 
 third day of February, be recognized as the only Journal of the 
 Convention to that date. Thereafter, that all the proceedings 
 of this convention, except the meeting and adjournment of the 
 convention, be expunged from the journal until the i8th of 
 February, 3 p. m., from which time the journal shall be resumed 
 and kept complete." (See Journal of the Proceedings of the 
 Constitutional Convention of the State of Florida, page 48). 
 
 T. W. Osborn offered the following resolution, which was 
 adopted under suspension of the rules : 
 
 "Whereas, It having come to the knowledge of this con- 
 vention that D. S. Walker, Governor of the State of Florida, 
 having his executive office in the capitol, and by virtue of his 
 office as Governor, being in charge of the capitol and all the 
 rooms therein, has in no manner been consulted or his assent 
 asked by any officer or member of the convention for the use of 
 the Assembly chamber or any other room in which to hold this 
 convention, therefore. 
 
 Resolved, That we, as the Constitutional Convention of the 
 State of Florida, sincerely regret that so great a discourtesy has 
 been shown to the Governor of the State by this convention 
 and by its former officers ; and further that we request the Presi- 
 dent of this convention to wait upon Governor Walker and state 
 to him the circumstances in the case, and ask the use of this 
 room in which to hold the Constitutional Convention of the 
 State of Florida." 
 
62 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Osborn offered another resolution, under suspension of the 
 rules, that the Sergeant-at-Arms be instructed to inquire of Gov- 
 ernor Walker the amount of wood that had been usedjby the 
 convention, which wood had been purchased by the officers of 
 the capitol, and used by the convention without consent from 
 the Governor. 
 
 Although Osborn and Company, prior to the assembling of 
 the convention, had been marshaling the freedmen against any 
 respect for or recognition of the Walker administration, it seems 
 that the struggle with the Billings-Saunders faction in the con- 
 vention had resulted in making Osborn a special convert and 
 forced him to at least a temporary membership of the Govern- 
 or's political church; but Walker rather doubted the sincerity of 
 the convert, and he never thereafter informed the deacons or 
 other members of the congregation of this most sudden and 
 remarkable conversion of this Saul of Tarsus. 
 
 The convention, as soon as it was organized, commenced 
 reading a constitution which had been agreed upon by Osborn 
 and Company, some time and at some place which are not defi- 
 nitely known, but was generally believed to have been made or 
 agreed upon in the city of Monticello, whence these eighteen 
 conspirators, after the manner of the Arabs, had folded their 
 tents at the capitol and silently stolen away. The reading of 
 the constitution would only be disturbed when some interlocu- 
 tory decree of Osborn and Company had to be carried into 
 effect. The following is a fair sample of some of these decrees: 
 On the 2oth of February, J. E. Davidson and M. L. Stearns, 
 who received but a small fraction of the votes cast, were seated 
 from the Fourth District, in place of Daniel Richards and W. 
 M. Saunders; Richard Wells, who did not get twenty votes, was 
 seated from the Sixth District in place of C. H. Pearce. O. B. 
 Hart, who received the same number of votes as Wells, was 
 seated from the Fourteenth District in place of Liberty Billings; 
 John W. Butler, who made no contest, was seated from the 
 First District in place of George Walker, who failed to attend 
 the convention after being elected. 
 
 After passing a resolution declaring the script issued by the 
 first convention void, the constitution was signed and the con- 
 vention adjourned on the 25th day of February, subject to call 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 63 
 
 of President, or any ten members, in case the President is out 
 of the State. Nine members of the Billings-Richards faction 
 signed the constitution under protest, as they were threatened 
 that they should have no pay unless they did sign it. 
 
 Billings, now the candidate of his faction for Governor, 
 "began to stump the State against the adoption of the constitu- 
 tion. The freedmen were wrathy and began to raise money to 
 end Richards and Saunders to Congress to protest against the 
 admission of the State into the Union in case the constitution 
 was adopted. Some four or five hundred dollars were raised 
 and they went off to Washington. They had not been absent 
 long before Richards sent back to the freedmen the following 
 telegram: "Florida is safe; Congress is with us ! Praise the 
 Lord." For an hour the air was filled with shouts from the 
 freedmen. One freedman while on his dying bed, and con- 
 scious of his approaching death, gave the only five dollars he 
 had to be sent to Saunders and Richards at Washington. Saun- 
 ders had not been there many days before the Osborn faction 
 captured him and sent him back to the State to canvass for the 
 adoption of the New Constitution. He came back but did not 
 dare stop in Tallahassee for fear of being mobbed by the freed- 
 men. Now that one of the trinity had deserted, Billings and 
 Richards were left to conduct the canvass themselves with the 
 assistance of C. H. Pearce, who had been ousted from the con- 
 vention. Billings would hold his meetings on large plantations 
 in the night time, so as to get all the old men and women out, 
 as they generally controlled the younger class. In order to 
 deeply impress the freedmen with the justness of his cause and 
 of his unblemished Republicanism, he would have all the little 
 colored children brought out to the meetings, and would ask the 
 name of each, and then take them up and kiss them. A little 
 soap and water would not have done some of them any harm. 
 When he would kiss the children you could hear on all sides 
 from the freedmen words like these: " I will vote ebery day 
 for that man." " I will die for that man." "That man is a 
 good 'publican." Billings hearing these words would shout to 
 them, "Jesus Christ was a Republican." So attached were 
 these people to Billings that they introduced a sign among them- 
 :selves which was the given name of Billings. When one wanted 
 
64 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 to know how the other stood to Billings, he would say *' Lib- 
 erty," and if the other was a Billings man he would answer 
 "Liberty." 
 
 On the Billings State Ticket was Sam. Walker, for Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor, and D. Richards, for Congress, while the Repub- 
 lican party had nominated Harrison Reed for Governor, Wil- 
 liam H. Gleason for Lieutenant-Governor, and Charles Hamil- 
 ton, for Congress. The Democrats, taking courage at the fight 
 of the two Republican factions, nominated George W. Scott for 
 the head of their ticket, and in conjunction with Billings, op- 
 posed the adoption of the constitution. The election was held 
 on the 4th, 5th and 6th days of May, and resulted in the elec- 
 tion of Governor Reed and Lieutenant-Governor Gleason, and 
 the ratification of the constitution by five thousand majority. 
 There is no question about the fact of Billings carrying Leon 
 County against the constitution, though the vote as counted did 
 not show it. Governor Reed was honestly elected, but a large 
 majority of the votes cast in the above county were against the con- 
 stitution but were for Harrison Reed, and the Legislative Ticket 
 of Billings. The vote was more evenly balanced between Reed 
 and Billings. The Billings Constitution was not put before the 
 people to be voted on, as that could not be done without the 
 indorsement of General Meade, and he refused to recognize 
 that constitution for the reason that it was made without a ma- 
 jority of the delegates elected ; but both constitutions were laid 
 before Congress by the President of the United States. 
 
 One of the most noticeable traitorous features of the Osborn 
 constitution was a clause to prohibit any person from being eligi- 
 ble to the office of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Member of 
 Congress, or United States Senator, unless he had been nine 
 years a citizen of the United States, two years a citizen of the 
 State of Florida, and a registered voter. This was done to shut 
 out such colored men as the educated and brilliant Gibbs, and 
 other leading lights of the colored race in the State. They were 
 handicapped, however, by the amendments of the Constitution 
 of the United States, therefore their scheme did not work well; 
 but the attempt to steal is bad morally, if not legally. This 
 clause first took effect upon one of the schemers, William H. 
 Gleason, who, not having been a citizen of Florida two years 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 65 
 
 before the election, was ousted from the office of Lieutenant- 
 Governor, by order of the court in proceedings instituted by 
 Governor Reed in consequence of the attempt of Gleason and 
 his co-conspirators to impeach and suspend Reed and inaugu- 
 rate Gleason as Governor. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Memorial of Richards a?id Saunders to Congress Against the 
 Osborn Constitution. Criticism on the Memorial. 
 
 After the re-assembling of the convention, which resulted 
 in the utter defeat of Richards and Saunders, and the consequent 
 setting aside of all the previous proceedings, the defeated parties 
 carried the matter into the Congress of the United States, with 
 the hope of preventing the admission of the State into the Union 
 under the constitution made by the recognized body. They 
 accordingly drew up the following memorial, which was laid before 
 that body on the 23d of March, 1868 : 
 
 FLORIDA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION— ITS 
 HISTORY. 
 
 Enclosed is the order of Major-General John Pope, com- 
 manding third military district, calling the Constitutional Conven- 
 tion of Florida, and his return of the delegates elected. 
 
 By the said order it will be seen that forty-six delegates were 
 returned as elected. 
 
 On the 20th of January, when the convention was organ- 
 ized, thirty delegates were present, twenty-seven of whom voted 
 for the officers elected, and two against them — one not voting, 
 but who next day asked and obtained leave to have his vote 
 recorded in favor of the organization. 
 
 Next day, 21st, standing rules were adopted by a unanimous 
 vote. The convention was organized by electmg to most of the 
 offices radical republicans, and threats were openly made by the 
 conservative Johnson office-holders and rebels that no constitu- 
 tion should be made, nor business done, until the organization 
 of the convention was broken up. Conservative republicans, 
 both in and out of the convention, began to caucus night and 
 day, with the leading rebels freely admitted to their councils, to 
 devise ways and means to overthrow the radicals. The princi- 
 pal hotel in the city was opened free to the delegates who would 
 act with them, and who were all poor — many of them not money 
 enough to pay board bills with. Whisky flowed free as water. 
 Money was used in abundance to corrupt the delegates, whick 
 was like tendering bread to a starving man. 
 
 The unworthy, debasing influences brought to bear upon 
 
68 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 the delegates would disgrace any other part of Christendom, if it 
 does not Florida. 
 
 Like hungry wolves around a carcass, the Federal office- 
 holders in the State congregated together there as with a com- 
 mon purpose, and that purpose to defeat reconstruction on a re- 
 publican basis in that State. The caucuses of the organized 
 lobby were held every night until nearly daylight, and money 
 furnished bv the Johnson office-holders, and every other influence 
 was used to bring in delegates to join them. 
 
 Among those who took active part against the convention 
 as oganized, and most of whom were almost constantly in cau- 
 cus, were the following, viz : Harrison Reed, O. B. Hart, T. 
 W. Osborn, Sherman Conant, Lemuel Wilson, A. A. Knight, 
 O. Morgan, M. L. Stearns, E. D. Howse, W. J. Purman, S. B. 
 Conover and E. K. Foster, all holding offices under the General 
 Government. 
 
 Colonel John T. Sprague, commander of the State, previous 
 to the organization, and during the convention, exercised his 
 influence actively in the interest of .those who finally disrupted 
 the co^ivention. C. Thurston Chase and S. F. Dewy, both 
 Federal office-holders, aided by their correspondence, counsels 
 and advice the faction striving to gain the control of the conven- 
 tion or to break it up. E. M. Randall, brother of the Post- 
 master-General, was constantly in caucus with them, as was also 
 Captain Dyke, editor of the Floridian, and keeper of Anderson- 
 ville, where our Union soldiers were starved. Governor David 
 S. Walker rendered them all the aid and comfort in his power, 
 and after the convention was broken up and a new one organ- 
 ized, he was on the floor of the convention every day among the 
 delegates and on one occasion made a speech to the conven- 
 tion. 
 
 Every effort to proceed with the business of the convention 
 was violently resisted by this disorganizing faction in the body, 
 aided by a powerful and thoroughly organized lobby, for two 
 weeks. During this time only forty-one delegates had sub- 
 scribed to the oath as required by the rules of the convention ; 
 the others having failed to appear and subscribe to the oath. 
 The great struggle of the opposition was to turn enough delegates 
 out or vote enough into the convention to give them control of it. 
 At the end of two weeks' wrangling, the opposition were beaten 
 on a close vote of twenty-one to twenty, and the combined con- 
 servative and rebel faction, to the number of eighteen, withdrew 
 in a body to break up the convention. Other of the conservative 
 delegates had previously gone home — one a Union man of 
 such strong rebel proclivities that it was stated on the floor of 
 the convention by his friends that he would not take the oath to 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 69 
 
 support the Constitution of the United States and proclamations 
 made thereunder. He had left some ten days previous. 
 
 When these last eighteen withdrew there were but twenty- 
 two delegates left in the convention. These twenty-two dele- 
 gates remaining in the convention diligently applied themselves 
 to the object for which they came together during the following 
 week. By taking the present Florida constitution, and making 
 just such change? in it as the altered circumstances seemed to 
 require, on the 8th day of February they finished their work, 
 formed and signed a good constitution. They then adjourned 
 for one week, in order to give time to lay the constitution before 
 General Meade, and get his endorsement of the ordinance call- 
 ing an election, as it could not be enforced without the general 
 commanding the district gave validity to it by his endorsement. 
 
 When the seceding delegates withdrew, they immediately 
 left the city of Tallahassee, fearing, probably, if they remained, 
 some of their weaker members, who had been kept intoxicated all 
 the time for two weeks, might get sober enough and be induced to 
 go back into the convention, and thus make a quorum of all the 
 delegates elected. They repaired to Monticello, some thirty 
 miles distant, sent messengers and special trains, and money to 
 try and gather together the fugitive delegates, who had previ- 
 ously gone home. They remained away from the capital an 
 entire week, and until the convention had completed its labor, 
 formed a constitution, signed it, and adjourned for a week to 
 hear from General Meade. The convention adjourned on 
 Saturday, February 8. The following Monday, February lo, 
 the seceding delegates returned, at midnight, 22 strong. With 
 the aid of the military furnished by Governor Walker, they broke 
 into the State-house at dead of night. C. M. Hamilton, until 
 very recently agent in the P'reedman's Bureau, and believed by 
 most of the delegates to be still in command, with power to 
 enforce his orders, went and took from their beds two of the 
 delegates who had already signed one constitution, took them to 
 the State-house, and, between the hours of twelve and two 
 o'clock in the night, they assumed to organize a convention, with 
 the military standing guard around and in the State-house. A 
 guard of soldiers, furnished by direction of Governor Walker, 
 was stationed in the hall night and day. 
 
 On Tuesday, the nth, this disorganizing organization went 
 through with the performance of expelling four delegates who 
 had not met with them at all, and then swore in five men who 
 tried hard to be elected as delegates to the Constitutional Con- 
 vention, but did not get votes enough, and consequently Gen- 
 eral Pope, although pressed hard for weeks to do so, did not 
 return them as elected. They then telegraphed General Meade 
 that they were organized as the Constitutional Convention of 
 
70 
 
 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Florida, and had a large majority of the delegates elected and 
 returned. General Meade had hesitated to endorse the action of 
 the adjourned convention of 22 delegates, for the reason that they 
 had not a majority of the delegates elected to sign the constitu- 
 tion. A majority of those who had duly taken and subscribed 
 to the oath, as required by the rules, had signed it. The gen- 
 eral admitted to the messenger sent to confer with him that the 
 convention, as first organized, was the only legal organization, 
 and said if two more names could be procured to the constitu- 
 tion he would approve of it at once, and indorse the election 
 ordinance. 
 
 The organization that held possession of the hall continued 
 in session through the week, sending their published proceed- 
 ings to General Meade, and their gross misrepresentations by 
 telegraph through the Associated Press all over the country. 
 
 When the day arrived to which the regular convention 
 stood adjourned, the delegates were confronted on their en- 
 trance to the hall with bayonets of United States soldiers. 
 Application was then made to Governor D. S. AValker, as the 
 chief executive civil officer in the State, to have all parties 
 arrested and removed from the hall who were hindering the con- 
 stitutional convention from assembling, and were thereby 
 obstructing reconstruction in the State. He refused to take any 
 action in the matter in behalf of the convention. Lieutenant 
 Colonel F. F. Flint, commanding post of Tallahassee, was then 
 informed that the civil authorities refused to aid in securing the 
 hall to the convention, and was asked to assist the officers of the 
 convention, with the military under his command, in entering 
 upon the discharge of their duties. He declined to interfere, 
 but kept up his guard around the concern then in the hall. 
 
 The correspondence upon this subject is enclosed ; also, 
 correspondence with General Meade, after he arrived at the cap- 
 ital. The communications are numbered i, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, 
 and especial attention is called to them. It will be noticed that 
 Governor Walker says he shall use all the power he possesses to 
 ,-revent one party ejecting the other from the hall, which, of 
 course, means that he should protect the seceding revolutionary 
 body, as he had helped them to the possession of the hall, and 
 Ihey were occupying it. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that, by the aid of Governor Walker 
 and the military, the convention was prevented from assembhng 
 on the day that it was adjourned to and the illegal midnight 
 assemblage was protected,' receiving the high sanction of the 
 civil and military authorities of the State. 'Vht correspondence 
 with Governor 'Walker and Colonel Flint was on Saturday, 
 February 15. On Monday, the 17th, General Meade arrived at 
 Tallahassee. A committee of delegates from the convention 
 
CARPETBAG RULE TN FLORIDA. 7 1 
 
 waited upon him at once to learn his views. It was believed 
 that if the legally organized convention were permitted to peace- 
 ably assemble in the hall where they were to meet, enough of 
 those men in the hall would cheerfully join with the twenty-two 
 delegates to make a majority of all elected. Indeed, many of 
 the delegates in the hall said, ''That as the ordinance provid- 
 ing for pay of the members had to be indorsed by the command- 
 ing General to render it valid, and as the authorities seemed to 
 favor them, they thought it safer to remain with the organiza- 
 tion than in the hall so long as they were sustained by the mili- 
 tary. 
 
 The committee failing to get any satisfactory reply from the 
 General, and understanding him to say that ' ' the organization m 
 the hall had no legal status, nor could get any," the President of 
 the convention addressed the General a letter, marked No. 5, 
 asking him to withdraw the forcible opposition to the assembling 
 of the convention. No answer was returned ; guard was con- 
 tinued in the hall and around the State-house after General 
 Meade arrived there, with the concern he himself said had no 
 legal status, in possession and in session. 
 
 The next day the General sent for the President and told 
 him if he did not resign as President of the convention he 
 should recognize the other body as the legal organization. 
 Colonel Sprague also sought a number of interviews with the 
 President and urged him to resign, saying if he did not the other 
 body would be recognized, and then ' ' you will have to take 
 your chances of getting in there at all," (meaning the twenty- 
 tv/o delegates by you), while he (Colonel Sprague) with the 
 whole military power was protecting the other organization in 
 possession of the hall. The President desired General Meade 
 to state his request that he resign in writing, which being com- 
 plied with, the resignation was tendered under protest. 
 
 See letter from General Meade marked No. 6, and enclosed 
 therein is the proposition to compromise to which he refers, and 
 also the President's resignation. 
 
 At three o'clock, on Tuesday, February iS, delegates all 
 met in the hall by request of General Meade. Colonel John T. 
 Sprague took the president's chair. He called the meeting to 
 order and made a speech to the delegates. He received and 
 put motions, and decided questions, while two or three of his 
 subordinate officers of his own regiment were sitting as dele- 
 gates, and voting on motions put by their Colonel. S. B. Con- 
 over and W. J. Purman are both officers in Colonel Sprague's 
 regiment,^ and were sitting as delegates. 
 
 Horatio Jenkins was elected President. The standing rules, 
 
 *NoTE.— purman -was not an officer and Conover had only been a contract sur- 
 geon. 
 
72 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 which had been unanimously adopted by the convention the 
 second day after organizing, and which provided that said rules 
 could not be amended nor changed without one day's notice, 
 were all swept away by a resolution. By another motion the 
 rules of Jefferson's Manual were adopted to govern the body, 
 and within a half hour after the rules of the Florida House of 
 Representatives were adopted under the operation of the pre- 
 vious question, without a word of debate. All the motions, 
 were made by the same delegate. All officers of the conven- 
 tion were summarily turned out by resolution, and all motions 
 and resolutions were rushed through under the previous ques- 
 tion without debate. The previous question was moved and 
 ordered fourteen times within half an hour, and nine times in 
 rapid succession by the same delegate, without yielding the 
 floor. The journal next morning did not show that the previous 
 question had been ordered at all the day previous, and omitted 
 to give the yeas and nays on the most important resolution acted 
 upon the day previous. It was ordered that the journal be cor- 
 rected, but when it appeared again not more than half of the 
 corrections had been made. After that, during the entire ses- 
 sion, there were no minutes of proceedings ever read to the con- 
 vention nor approved by it. It is a humiliating fact that not a 
 single page of the journal, as published after the reorganization, 
 is anything like a correct record of the proceedings. 
 
 On Wednesday, February 19, the day after the reorganiza- 
 tion, the convention met and under the operation of the same 
 inexorable previous question, expelled four delegates by a major- 
 ity vote. They then swore in four others in their places, who 
 had received but a small minority of the votes cast at the elec- 
 tion, one receiving only 7iine votes, while the delegate turned 
 out to give place to him had twenty-four hundred and twenty- 
 four votes. They also swore in a Mr. J. W. Butler in place of 
 George W. Walker, who had been returned as elected, but had 
 not yet been in attendance. General Meade had said when in 
 Tallahassee, that if the convention should swear any one in who- 
 was not returned as elected by General Pope's order, he should 
 interfere. But Mr. John W. Butler, O. B. Hart, J. E. David- 
 son, M. L. Stearns, Mr. Wells, were all sworn in as soon 
 
 as the General left the city, and acted with the convention until 
 its close, and then signed the constitution. 
 
 Thus, with the aid of all the civil and military authorities, 
 and a free use of money, whisky, and the previous question, 
 the regular Constitutional Convention of Florida was broken up 
 by the Johnson Federal office-holders, led on by Harrison Reed, 
 United States mail agent, and David S. Walker, Governor of 
 Florida. 
 
 After the adoption of the constitution an ordinance was 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FI-ORIDA. 73 
 
 introduced and passed that any member who did not sign the 
 constitution should be deprived of his pay for the entire session. 
 See last day's proceedings. 
 
 The constitution provides that the Governor shall appoint 
 the following State officers, viz : Secretary of State, attorney 
 general, comptroller, treasurer, surveyor-general, superintendent 
 of public institutions, adjutant general, commisioner of immigra- 
 tion, the Supreme Court judges for life, seven circuit judges, 
 seven states attorneys, and all commissioned officers in the 
 militia. Lieutenant Governor is elected. The Governor also 
 appoints, with power to remove at pleasure, the following county 
 officers in each county in the State, viz: An assessor, collector^ 
 treasurer, county surveyor, superintendent of schools, county 
 judge, sheriff, clerk of Circuit Court, five county commissioners, 
 and as many justices of the peace as he pleases, and for life. 
 Constables are elected by the people. 
 
 By the appointment provided for in said constitution, less 
 than one-fourth of the registered voters will elect a majority of 
 the State Senate, and less than one-third will elect a majority of 
 the Assembly; 6,700 voters in the rebel counties elect as many 
 senators (twelve and one Indian) as 20,282 voters elect in Union 
 counties. Seven senators are elected by 3,027 voters in rebel 
 counties, and only <7^;^ senator is elected by 3,181 in a Union 
 county (Leon), and twenty-three voters elect ^/^^ senator in a rebel 
 district. 
 
 In the Assembly, 8,330 voters in rebel counties choose 
 twenty-seven members and one Indian, while 18,652 voters in 
 Union counties only choose twenty-six members. Madison county 
 (Union), with 1,802 voters sends two representatives, while the 
 rebel sent from Dade county has a constituency of fifteen voters, 
 and the rebel from Brevard county represents a bona fide con- 
 stituency of eight registered voters. 
 
 It grants suffrage to, and removes all disabilities from, the 
 vilest rebels and haters of the government, and permits them to 
 be elevated to places of power and trust, without regard to the 
 reconstruction acts of Congress, and disfranchises thousands of 
 the colored voters. All rebels are relieved from taking tbe 
 registration oath that Congress has prescribed, and from taking 
 the oath of office prescribed by the act of Congress and required 
 of every officer under the General Government. It also assumes 
 to regulate the eligibility of United States senators and members 
 of Congress from that State. 
 
 The constitution having been formed in the manner above 
 described, it is evident that means will be found to ratify it 
 without regard to the number of votes actually cast for it, should 
 the boards of registration be in any manner under the control of 
 the men who broke up the convention. 
 
74 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 The constitution formed by the legally organized conven- 
 tion before it was broken up extends the right of suffrage to just 
 the class entitled to it under the reconstruction acts of Congress, 
 and requires officers to take the same oath now prescribed for 
 officers under tne General Government, but authorizes the legis- 
 lature by a vote of two-thirds to remove all disabilities imposed 
 for having engaged in the rebellion. It apportions representa- 
 tives in the Legislature upon the basis of registered voters; makes 
 all State officers, except the judiciary, and many county officers, 
 elective by the people, and jealously guards and protects the 
 rights and interests of all classes in the State alike. Had the 
 sanction of such high authority, both civil or military, been 
 thrown around the legally organized convention, as seemed to be 
 so eagerly extended to the midnight concern, there can be no 
 question but what accessions would thus have been induced to 
 their number, so that a very large majority of the convention 
 would have cheerfully co-operated with the twenty-two delegates 
 in forming and signing said constitution. 
 
 When we, with so much pride, recollect that General 
 Meade is the hero of Gettysburg, it must not be forgotten that 
 he is human, also, and fallible; and that he is more liable to 
 make a mistake in dealing with civil affairs, when surrounded 
 by designing, unscrupulous, intriguing politicians, than he is 
 in his profession as a soldier. That he should not have sus- 
 tained the organization he himself had before recognized as legal 
 and regular, instead of breaking it up, was undoubtedly a great 
 mistake. 
 
 Colonel Sprague, commander of the State, whose advice 
 in relation to all local matters must necessarily have great 
 weight with the General, is in thorough sympathy with the 
 most conservative conservatives in the State. He has passed 
 through three wars without being in either, having asked and 
 obtained a position on Governor Seymour's staff during the 
 last war, while his regiment was in the field. 
 
 For a truthful and more graphic account of the Florida con- 
 vention see the letters of Solon Robinson, one of the editors, in 
 the New York Tribune of the 8th, loth and 12th of February 
 last. Also see editorial in the Tribune of the loth, fully sus- 
 taining and indorsing what Mr. Robinson had written. 
 
 Your memorialists pray that Congress may, in its wisdom 
 and in view of all the facts set forth above, find that the constitu- 
 tion formed by the twenty-two delegates who remained and com- 
 pleted their work before the convention was l)roken up is the 
 only one that should be submitted to the voters of that State for 
 ratification. 
 
 1). RICHARDS, 
 W. U. SAUNDERS. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 75 
 
 Governor Reed, although prominently spoken of for Gov- 
 ernor by the most influential Republicans, was not attached to 
 either faction of the convention, but gave his earnest efforts^ 
 >vhile securing the rights of freedmen to prevent proscription of 
 the whites on account of the rebellion; but the Osborn-Purman 
 faction realized the fact that they could not succeed without his 
 brain, and looked upon him as the only means by which they could 
 hope to obtain success. They privately expressed fears that he 
 would not be as pliant as they would desire in aiding their 
 schemes of plunder, but could find no other alternative. The 
 memorial, therefore, does not state what is true when it asserts 
 that Harrison Reed took part in the canvass to defeat recon- 
 struction on the republican basis. Both parties were bidding 
 for Democratic support, which was finally knocked off to the 
 Osborn faction. The Hon. Charles Summer vigorously opposed 
 the admission of the State into the Union under this Osborn 
 constitution. He declared upon the floor of the Senate that 
 ''Florida should not be admitted until she came with clean 
 hands." 
 
 Governor Reed being the supposed candidate of the Osborn 
 faction for the office of Governor, it was but natural that the 
 Richards faction should attempt to place him in the most awk- 
 ward position before Congress; hence his name heads the list 
 with those whom they charge with defeating reconstruction on 
 a repulican basis. There was some money spent, and many 
 concessions made to the Democrats by the Osborn faction, to 
 overthrow the Richards convention, as charged in the memorial. 
 Reed was mainly instrumental in procuring those concessions, 
 as he believed in the professions of future loyalty to the Union, 
 and regarded it necessary to enlist the intelligent class in behalf 
 of the reconstructed government to protect the State against mis- 
 rule through the ignorance of the newly enfranchised freedmen. 
 He favored an apportionment of the Legislature so as to secure 
 the sparsely settled white counties against the domination of 
 the populous black belt; he favored the admission of all to 
 citizenship, with no test but that of allegiance to the amended 
 constitution; he favored the appointing power of the Governor 
 to general and local offices, temporarily, to save the State from 
 a threatened war of races which would banish the whites from 
 
76 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 the old slave-holding counties and the freedmen from the white 
 counties of South and West Florida. He was held responsible 
 for these concessions, and was denounced by the radical leaders 
 of the freedmen, and the colored vote of Duval, Nassau, Leon 
 and Gadsden counties was mostly thrown against him and the 
 constitution. It was only by these concessions that the conflict- 
 ing elements could be at once harmonized and the State pro- 
 tected from violence and the necessity of military force. The 
 result vindicated his judgment, and during the four and a half 
 years of his administration no resort to force was necessary, and 
 the freedmen were less proscribed than during the early stages 
 of reconstruction in any other Southern State. 
 
CHAPTER VIL 
 
 The Meeting of the Legislature of 1868. Inauguration of Governor 
 Reed^ arid His Address. Ratification of the 13th and 14th 
 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Election 
 of United States Senators. Extracts from Reed's Message. 
 Governor Reed's Cabinet. First Years of Reed's Administra- 
 tion. His Appointifig Rower a Source of Corruption. Cor- 
 rupt Legislation. The Attitude of the Colored Members to 
 These Measures. Osborn and the Federal Office-holders. 
 Reed Calls on the Colored Voters for Support. Meeting of the 
 Legislature November^ 1868, and the Appointment of Electors. 
 Atte??ipt at Ifnpeachment. The Ouster of Alden and the 
 Appointment of Gibbs as Secretary of State. The Ouster of 
 Gleason as Lieutenant- Goz>'ernor. 
 
 The Legislature met and organized on the 8th day of June, 
 1868, under a constitution framed by the people of Florida in a 
 convention assembled by the authority of what is known as the 
 reconstruction acts of the Congress of the United States. On 
 the 9th of June the joint Assembly repaired to the Supreme 
 Court room to witness the inauguration of the first Governor of 
 Florida, whose election had been secured by a majority of all 
 the male inhabitants of the State, twenty-one years of age and 
 upwards, without regard to color or previous condition of servi- 
 tude. Governor Reed came forward and was sworn in as Gov- 
 ernor of Florida by Judge Boynton, of the United States District 
 Court amidst the shouts of thousands of glad people who now 
 began to see the dawn of a new day. After taking the oath of 
 office the Governor delivered the following 
 
 inaugural address. 
 
 Fellow Citizens of Florida: 
 
 *' In entering upon the high trust which your partiality has 
 conferred, in deference to time-honored custom, it becomes 
 my duty to briefly indicate the policy of my administration as 
 chief magistrate of the State. 
 
yS CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 *' In November, i860, the constitutional rights of the peo- 
 ple of Florida were subverted, and its civil government was 
 overthrown. Since then the State has been without a constitu- 
 tional government, and subject to military law. In March, 1867, 
 the Congress of the United States, in obedience to its obligation 
 to 'guarantee to every State a republican form of government,' 
 prepared a plan by which the State could regain its forfeited rights 
 and its people be restored to the benefits of the constitutional gov- 
 ernment. Under this plan, you have formed a government, which 
 we are here to-day to inaugurate and prepare to make effective. 
 You have formed, and adopted a constitution based upon the 
 great theory of American government, that all men are by nature 
 free and endowed with equal rights. You have laid deep and 
 broad the foundations of the State upon the principle of universal 
 freedom. Bred to freedom and under republican institutions ; 
 believing slavery an unmitigated curse, as well as a violation of 
 human rights— a moral, political and physical evil wherever 
 tolerated, I most cordially congratulate you that it no longer 
 exists to blight the fair heritage which God has given us here, 
 and that the constitution which you have adopted contains no 
 germ of despotism to generate future discord. I congratulate 
 you also that no spirit of malevolence or bitterness, growing out 
 of the wrongs and conflicts of the past, has been suffered to mar 
 your organic law, but that in a spirit of magnanimity and for- 
 bearance worthy of the highest commendation, those who have 
 forfeited their citizenship are welcomed back to the benefits and 
 privileges of the government upon the sole condition of fealty 
 and adherence to the constitution and laws. 
 
 •'Amid the ruins of a government embodying antagonistic 
 principles you have laid the"" foundation of a government insur- 
 ing harmony, stability, security and peace. The conflicting ele- 
 ments and interests of the past now all unite in a homogeneous 
 system, all yielding obedience to a common law, which respects 
 alike the interests of all. Time alone can heal the social disor- 
 ders and dissensions created by the disruption of society and 
 the radical change in the system of government, consequent upon' 
 the war. We will patiently await its mollifying influences, inter- 
 posing no obstacles to a speedy restoration. 
 
 "All classes of society and all the interests of the State 
 demand peace and good government, and if the spirit of our 
 constitution is appreciated and reciprocated, every citizen may 
 realize these advantages, and the State may arise from its pros- 
 trate condition to a measure of prosperity unknown in the past, 
 and become one of the brighest luminaries in the galaxy of our 
 glorious Union. 
 
 " Fellow citizens, I accept the high responsibility of the 
 chief magistracy under your new constitution, believing firmly 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 79 
 
 in its principles, and unqualifiedly endorsing its policy and that 
 of the Congress under whose clemency we are permitted to 
 inaugurate anew a civil government for the State. I enter upon 
 this high trust with the firm purpose of executing the laws in 
 the spirit of liberality in which they are conceived, and in view 
 of the highest interests of the State and the people. Relying 
 upon your loyalty and patriotism, and the favor and guidance of 
 that Divine Power which sways the destinies of all, I shall do 
 what within me lies to render eftective the government and to 
 command for it the respect and obedience of all classes of our 
 citizens." 
 
 After the inauguration of Governor Reed, the Legislature 
 was notified by Colonel F. F. Flint that the Commanding Gen- 
 eral would not recognize the Governor-elect and Legislature 
 until further orders from Congress. On the ninth of June the 
 Legislature adopted the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Con- 
 stitution of the United States. The Legislature on June i6th 
 proceeded to the election of United States Senator for the term 
 expiring March 3d, 1869. The cunning Osborn of the " Broth- 
 erRood " was a candidate for the short term, but it had already 
 been determined by Purman and Company to give him the 
 largest and longest slice of the public ham, so as to cover the 
 entire term of Governor Reed, which would enable him to use 
 his influence as Senator to fill the Federal offices with men 
 antagonistic to the Governor should he refuse to give his signa- 
 ture to any subsequent legislation passed by the influence of 
 Purman and Company to rob the State and its people. A. S. 
 Welch was elected to fill the term expiring March 3d, 1869, and 
 T. W. Osborn for the term ending March 3d, 1873. Osl^orn 
 would have been elected for the term beginning March 4th, 
 1869, but it was thought by Purman and Company that it was 
 important to have him in the Senate on the admission of the 
 State into the Union so as to control the offices. Abijah Gilbert, 
 an old gentleman of reputed wealth, resident at St. Augustine, 
 was pitched upon on account of his money, he agreeing to cash 
 $50,000 or $100,000 State bonds at 85 cents on the dollar, and 
 for the further reason that he was very old and would always say 
 "me too, Osborn," in any recommendations the latter would 
 make for appointments to office. Gilbert was elected to fill the 
 term ending March 3d, 1875. After the election of United 
 
8o CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 States Senators the Legislature adjourned until the 7th of July 
 to await the action of Congress as to the admission of the State 
 into the Union. On the 25th of June, Congress declared the 
 State entitled to admission, and on the 30th day of the same 
 month, Florida was represented in both branches of the National 
 Legislature. The State having been admitted into the Union 
 under the new Constitution, the Legislature now convened on 
 the day appointed and received the message of Governor Reed. 
 The Governor, after reciting the peculiar and extraordinary cir- 
 cumstances under which it assembled on the 8th of June — in 
 a military district but without military sanction — said : 
 
 "After near eight years of defiant wandering and estrange- 
 ment, during a portion of which time no peaceful citizen was 
 safe from the demands of a lawless despotism, and life and 
 property were at the mercy of usurpers, Florida has renewed her 
 allegiance to the Federal Constitution and resumed her position 
 in the union of States with a radical change in her fundamen- 
 tal law, which compels a corresponding change in our system of 
 legislation." 
 
 In referring to the policy of the government conferring the 
 right of suffrage upon the negro the Governor said: ''The 
 government could not, with honor, deny to the man who car- 
 ried a musket in its defense a voice in its administration. To 
 have required him in war to fight, and in peace to bear the bur- 
 den of other citizens, and then deny him a voice in its adminis- 
 tration, cannot be sustained by any argument based upon prin- 
 ciples of justice or morals." Contrasting the Constitution of 
 1868 with the Amended Constitution of 1 861, of the State of 
 Florida, the Governor quoted from the latter the foUow^ing: 
 " No citizen of any of the States which are now at war with the 
 Confederate States shall ever be admitted to the rights of citizen- 
 ship in this State ; no such person shall vote at elections, be 
 eligible to office, hold real estate, exercise any profession or 
 trade, be engaged in mechanical, manufacturing, commercial, 
 banking, insurance or other business, under pain of confiscation 
 to the use of the State of all property of such person as shall 
 violate this clause of the constitution." With this he cotrasted 
 the following from the new republican Constitution : '' Every 
 male person of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, of 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 8l 
 
 whatever race, color, nationality, or previous condition, who 
 shall, at the time of offering to vote, be a citizen of the United 
 States, or who shall have declared intention to become such in 
 conformity to the laws of the United States, and who shall have 
 resided and had his habitation, domicile, home, and place of per- 
 manent abode in Florida for one year, and in the county for six 
 months, next preceding the election at which he shall offer to 
 vote, shall in such county be deemed a qualified elector at all 
 elections under this constitution." This message contained 
 eighteen subjects, and showed great powers of thought and per- 
 ception. All the varied phases of the State were discussed as 
 though he had studied the subjects from boyhood, and any one 
 who read it would be forced to the conclusion that it was his 
 *aim to administer an honest, and economical government for the 
 State and its people. 
 
 The Cabinet of Governor Reed consisted of eight members. 
 To show the Southern whites, who were greatly irritated at the 
 turn of things, that he meant to give them an honest administra- 
 tion, he appointed Colonel Robert H. Gamble, Comptroller, the 
 most important office of his Cabinet. Colonel Gamble was an 
 ex-slaveholder and a Democrat. He also appointed James D. 
 Westcott, Jr. , Attorney-General, also a Democrat, who supported 
 the slave power. From these appointments Governor Reed had a 
 right to expect at least support from the Southern whites to give 
 his administration a fair trial. No colored man was appointed 
 in the Cabinet, although the Governor expressed his willingness 
 to have negro representation in every department, and did send 
 to the Senate the name of John C. Gibbs, for Secretary of 
 State, whose right name was afterwards found to be Jonathan 
 C. Gibbs, and his name was withdrawn. The Governor insisted 
 on sending up the right name, but the Osborn-Purman faction 
 threatened opposition to his administration if any negro was 
 placed in the Cabinet. The Governor, not knowing what the 
 end might be, for the moment refrained. 
 
 The administration of Governor Reed was contaminated 
 with more agencies inimical to the establishment and mainte- 
 nance of an honest civil government than the administration 
 of any Governor of Florida since the State was first admitted 
 into the Union. One of these agencies was the appointing 
 
82 CARPETBAG RULE IX FLORIDA. 
 
 power, where all the officers, both State and county, with the 
 exception of constables, were appointed by the Governor, and 
 nine-tenths of these officers had to be confirmed by the Senate. 
 The Governor, unacquainted with the men in the different 
 counties who were capable, honest, friendly, disposed to peace, 
 order and good government, made it a rule to look to the 
 Senators and Representatives from the counties to inform him of 
 the fitness of the candidate for office. This, though in most 
 instances unavoidable, opened the door to corruption and politi- 
 cal treason to his administration. The carpetbag Senators and 
 Representatives from the different counties would always man- 
 age to get the endorsement of some colored men whom 
 they would represent to the Governor as having great 
 influence and respectability in the county where they lived; 
 and whenever an appointment was to be made in a Democratic 
 county and one of these office-seekers wanted to secure the 
 prize, but whose antecedents against the negro in the county 
 where he lived was such that he could not get an endorsement, 
 he would represent to the executive that he was the only man in 
 the county that stood between the negro and his former master 
 and prevented wholesale slaughter of his colored brothers. 
 Whenever the executive could make opportunity without great 
 delay to inquire into these representations, he would generally 
 find them false, and would thereupon appoint a Democrat — 
 when no honest Republican could be found — who was friendly to 
 the just administration of these laws. Many of these offices were 
 filled by men who held seats in the Legislature, and who had in 
 their pockets plunder bills to be acted upon at the same ses- 
 sion of the Legislature to give them a start. There were a few 
 exceptions, among whom was Judge Goss, who resigned his 
 position as Senator as soon as he was appointed Circuit Judge. 
 The Governor, in several counties where it was held disrepu- 
 table to hold office under a Republican Governor, had to appoint 
 one man to fill two or three offices in order to get men friendly 
 to the new administration. Men whose names came up in the 
 Senate for confirmation, unless they were members of that body, 
 would have to come down with the cash before they could pass 
 through the gate of Purman and the other members of the 
 carpetbag family in that body. The Governor was forced to 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 83 
 
 appoint men as county judges and solicitors, some of whom it 
 was very doubtful as to whether they had ever seen the inside of 
 a law book. Many of the carpetbag office-holders, anterior to 
 their advent in the South had been blatant Democrats at the 
 North, but not even respectable cross-road politicians, yet who 
 now claimed to be great men, and the proper leaders of the 
 colored people of this State. 
 
 The second of these adverse agencies was the tendency of 
 the Bureau carpetbag members of the Legislature to rush 
 through corrupt legislation. These men, now secure in their 
 offices for the several counties, but yet members of the Legisla- 
 ture, were in a position to dictate to the Governor as to legisla- 
 tion. They now began to feel the Governor's pulse. A bill was 
 introduced in the Senate by A. A. Knight, an Osborn carpet- 
 bagger, while he was holding in his pocket a commission as cir- 
 cuit judge, "to incorporate the Florida Savings Bank." The 
 bill was one granting extraordinary and indefinite powers without 
 sufficient guaranties of protection to the public — rendering it 
 lawful for public officers to deposit the funds of the 
 State, and others to deposit trust funds, with no adequate 
 security; giving a company with $20,000 cash capital the power 
 to control an unlimited amount, and actually affording large 
 facilities for obtaining money from the people, and by a breach 
 of trust enriching the stockholders at the expense of the public. 
 The managers and stockholders were, of course, to be the 
 carpetbag office-holders. The bill was telegraphed from New 
 York by L. D. Stickney, one of Secretary Chase's direct tax com- 
 missioners for Florida. A check for $500 was sent to Knight to 
 secure its passage. It was passed in both Houses under sus- 
 pension of the rules, within twenty-four hours after its receipt. 
 It was taken to the Governor the same evening by Knight, who 
 requested its immediate approval, so that he could send a certi- 
 fied copy to New York by the next mail. He vouched ''on 
 the honor of a Senator " for its freedom from any obnoxious 
 features. The Governor held it for advisement over night; 
 returned it with his veto, and, on its return, the Senate, with 
 its swindling features exposed, did not dare to vote to pass it over 
 the Governer's veto. Even Knight himself did not so vote. 
 This was the first bill passed, and the first of the many vetoes 
 
84 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 by which Governor Reed sought to protect the State against 
 fraud, corruption and villainy. This was a snug little place in 
 which to deposit the people's money and cry out "broke" after 
 making a division among the stockholders. The scheme was 
 entered into to rob both negroes and whites, as well as to rnake 
 away with the public funds. 
 
 This veto caused great consternation in the Osborn ring 
 plotters, and from that time out they swore vengeance against 
 Reed and his administration. Other infamous schemes were 
 invented at the same session, which came to naught through the 
 veto of the Governor. See "veto" journal of the Senate, page 
 224. 
 
 The Republican members of the Legislature who really 
 represented true republican principles, were in the minority, 
 and were, therefore, powerless to do much to arrest the disgrace 
 which these corrupt practices were bringing to the party; and, 
 as these schemes were adopted by a so-called Republican cau- 
 cus, any member of the party voting against them in the caucus 
 or otherwise was looked upon and denounced as voting against 
 a party measure, and was accordingly set down as a traitor to 
 the party. The most of the non-office-seeking and honest white 
 Republicans were denounced as Democrats in those palmy 
 days of corruption. J. H. Goss, J. E. A. Davidson in the Sen- 
 ate, and E. J. Harris in the Assembly were the typical white 
 Republicans in the Florida Legislature at that session. They 
 were Southern Republicans. 
 
 The " brothers in black," some of whom had heretofore 
 followed the Billings-Richards faction, seemed to have been 
 quite indifferent, either as to men or measures, since they had 
 lost their supposed great leaders, while some of them, such as 
 H. S. Harman and Richard H. Black, were men of education, 
 and did all they could at that session to pass a school law for 
 the education of the masses. Otherwise they seemed content to 
 enjoy full citizenship. They knew nothing, it seemed, about 
 stealing by legislation at that session, and had not the colored 
 members been associated with their bad white leaders, they 
 might have legislated for years before learning to steal by stat- 
 ute. 
 
 The Democrats at this session had very few members in 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 85 
 
 either branch of the Legislature, and amounted to but little. 
 Among the most noted of them were Dr. J. L. Crawford, of the 
 seventh district, now our able and courteous Secretary of State, 
 A. L. McCaskill, of the second district, and George P. Raney, 
 of the Assembly, from Franklin county, now one of the judges 
 of the Supreme Court, and one of the most incessant work- 
 ers in the legal profession that has ever adorned the bench. 
 Mr. Raney was a pure and honest Democrat, whose advanced 
 ideas the Democrats of the State may yet have to adopt to 
 make the party a true Democratic party, and save it from over- 
 throw. 
 
 The third of these agencies was the whites who had been 
 excluded from office by the 14th amendment of the Constitution of 
 the United States, who had previously taken an oath to support 
 the Constitution of the United States by reason of holding cer- 
 tain offices and afterwards giving aid and comfort to the rebel- 
 lion. The most of them had been politicians before and during 
 the war, and had great influence in their several communities. 
 They were now rampant, and when they would appear before 
 their people would represent themselves as persecuted men. 
 These men and their friends would seize on every corrupt meas- 
 ure or misstep of the carpetbag Legislature and carry it to their 
 people as the result of their exclusion, and with the cry of ''negro 
 supremacy and domination " arouse the passions of their peo- 
 ple to fever heat. The fact of their former slaves sitting in the 
 Legislature, voting for an amendment to the Constitution which 
 excluded them from the rights of citizenship, was a little more 
 than human nature could have been expected to swallow with- 
 out some protest, as did the negro protest who had carried a 
 musket for nearly three years in defense of the Government, and 
 was then excluded from the rights of citizenship. But if the 
 carpet-baggers had gone in at the start for honest government 
 these men would have had no material on which to feed and 
 infuriate the people. Governor Reed would have been enabled 
 to muster enough of the Southern whites to the support of the 
 Republican administration in the State to have given it great 
 strength and respectability. The Governor was, from the 
 beginning, opposed to this wholesale plunder system, but the 
 
86 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 cry was, that it was carried on under his administration, and the 
 odium was thrown upon his shoulders. * 
 
 This Legislature made radical changes in the criminal laws, 
 as well as laws tending to protect the labor interests of the State. 
 After memorializing Congress to remove the disability of those 
 who had been excluded from citizenship by reason of participation 
 in the rebellion, which was voted for by every ex-slave in the Leg- 
 islature, both houses met in joint session and adjourned to meet in 
 convention on the third day of November to appoint the Presi- 
 dential Electors of the State. 
 
 T. W. Osborn, comfortably seated in the United States 
 Senate for the term of four years, now began to reorganize his forces 
 to resist the administration of Governor Reed. As United States 
 Senator he was enabled to prevent the appointment of any one 
 to a Federal office who would not agree to use his office in every 
 possible way to cripple and retard the State administration. No 
 officer was appointed with reference to his special fitness ; but on 
 the other hand the only qualification that seemed to have been 
 necessary was that the applicant was a carpet-bagger, and that he 
 would join him in his opposition to Governor Reed. Only two 
 colored men were appointed to office by Osborn's indorsement, 
 and these two positions were insignificant so far as the emolu- 
 ments were concerned. Many of these Federal officeholders had 
 been appointed by Governor Reed to fill the offices in the sev- 
 
 '»XoTE. — Failing to either intimidate or subsidize the Governor for their purposes 
 of phinder, as a last alternative, the Osborn ring, under the lead of Speaker Stearns, 
 in the Assembly, and United States Marshal Wentworth in the Senate, determined 
 to inaugurate a " war of races," and thus compel martial law, so that the Federal 
 troops under the control of the marshal should have full sway. It was planned 
 in secret counsel that before adjourning the Legislature bills should be passed to 
 compel hotel keepers and railroad companies to receive and provide for negroes on 
 the same terms as whites, and thus place ithe Governor between two fires. If he 
 approved the bills the whites would be provoked to violence, and if he vetoed them 
 the freedmen would all be arraj-edagain.st him, and his impeachment would be made 
 certain. Accordingly, two bills were framed and passed in the Assemblj-, making it 
 a penal offense to exclude persons from equal privileges in hotels or on railroad cars 
 on account of color. To avoid difficulty, the Governor called the Republican Sen- 
 ators in council at the executive office and explained the impossibility of maintain- 
 ing civil administration with such aggravating legislation, and finally he declared 
 he could not sanction it. The only response was the immediate pas.sage of the bill 
 and its immediate veto V)y the Governor. It was near the last day of the .session; 
 and after the final adjournment the negro population had assembled in the rotunda 
 of the Capitol and unitedly denomiced (iovernor Reed as a traitor, and then the plan 
 of impeachment was perfected, to be carried out at the next session, with 0.sborn to 
 prepare the charges and Horatio Jetikins as prosecutor. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 87 
 
 eral counties, but as the officers of the State and county had to 
 receive their stealings and pay in State and county scrip at a 
 discount — sometimes more than one-half — and the Federal offi- 
 cers were paid in greenbacks, it was an easy matter to get these 
 spoilsmen to swear undying allegiance to Osborn. These Federal 
 officers were appointed in every county, with instructions to resist 
 every one, be he Republican or Democrat, who was friendly to 
 the State administration, who should attempt to be elected to the 
 Legislature ; for it was here that Osborn proposed to block the 
 wheels of the administration. Whenever, by reason of the 
 scarcity of Osborn carpet-baggers in any county where Federal 
 offices were to be filled and the duties were too multifarious for 
 one or two persons, recruits would be sent from Washington to 
 take the vacant places. Such persons needed no teaching on 
 their arrival how to oppose Governor Reed, for that lesson had 
 been taught them before they left Washington. These officers 
 had great influence with the ignorant masses, who were taught 
 by them that they had been sent by the Government to oppose 
 Governor Reed. With this mode of warfare they would succeed 
 in every election for members of the Legislature to either carry 
 the Republican counties against the administration, divide the 
 Legislative delegation, or elect a Democratic delegation. The 
 latter was as great a victory to them as the former, as it tended 
 to show the authorities at Washington that the Governor, though 
 a Republican, was not backed up by his party, and enable 
 Osborn to secure the appointment of all the applicants whom he 
 recommended. To aid these officeholders to carry out the plans 
 of Osborn, the freedmen were told that Governor Reed had 
 gone over to the " Rebel Democracy." This of course alarmed 
 the freedmen and for a time united the most of them against the 
 Governor. In the meantime the Osborn-Purman faction began 
 to subsidize such men as Goss, J. E. A. Davidson, E. M. Ran- 
 dall, and J. S. Adams, who were now sustaining Reed, and were 
 in favor of straightforward, honest Republicanism, while most of 
 the colored leaders were reluctant to give their full support to 
 the Governor, from the fact of his not having put one of their 
 race in his Cabinet. The Governor realizing this fact, and aware 
 of the snare which Osborn had constructed for him, sent for C. 
 H. Pearce, colored, who had been ousted from the Constitu- 
 
88 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 tional Convention by Osborn & Co., and who had now been 
 elected to the Senate from the Eighth Senatorial District by a 
 large majority; and had a consultation with him with reference 
 to the conspiracy that Osborn and his officeholders had formed 
 to resist his administration. Pearce was convinced that the 
 Governor was sincere in trying to administer the government 
 with honesty and pledged himself to do whatever he could to 
 enlighten his people as to the true intention of the administra- 
 tion. Mr. Pearce was a minister of the A. M. E. Church, and 
 had great influence with the colored people throughout the 
 State. He was enlisted as an active agent and furnished with 
 money to visit the various counties where trouble existed and 
 quiet the apprehensions of the freedmen ; and he rendered great 
 service in Leon, Gadsden, Franklin, Hamilton and other coun- 
 ties, in allaying the fears of the colored masses, who were being 
 constantly excited by appeals of the false leaders against the old 
 white citizens and Governor Reed, who was charged with being 
 their ally. This move on the part of Governor Reed had the 
 effect of mustering the most of the colored ministers to his sup- 
 port. The ministers throughout the State began to teach their 
 congregations that Reed was the embodiment of true Republi- 
 canism, while Osborn & Co. were mere tricksters and office- 
 seekers, which in time united a large majority of the colored 
 voters in favor of the administration of Reed. The Governor 
 was determined to make no attack on the conspirators except 
 when he would interpose his veto to corrupt measures ; but he 
 held himself in readiness for them to do their worst. 
 
 On the 3d day of November the members of the Legislature 
 met in convention at Tallahassee to appoint the electors of Presi- 
 dent and Vice-President, the Legislature at its previous session 
 having provided this mode of election. Of course the vote of 
 the State was given to U. S. Grant. James D. Green, of Mana- 
 tee County, was appointed as messenger to convey the result to 
 Washington. A committee of the convention waited on Gov. 
 Reed and notified him of their assembling and asked if he had 
 any communication to make. He replied that he had none — 
 that they were not sitting as a Legislature but as a convention 
 for a specific purpose — that done they had only to adjourn. They 
 claimed mileage and per diem, and proposed to appropriate 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 89 
 
 money for this purpose. The Governor reminded them that 
 they had drawn their salary for the year and could only claim 
 mileage, which he would accord to them from the executive 
 contingent fund. They unanimously demanded to be called in 
 special legislative session, ostensibly for the sole purpose of 
 appropriating pay. The Governor, although fully advised of 
 the purpose of Osborn and his satellites to suspend him by a 
 resolution of impeachment, thinking it best to have the fight 
 opened then and there, acceded to the demand of the conven- 
 tion and called them in special session for a specific purpose. 
 Osborn's gang immediately forced through the Assembly the 
 following resolution : 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to prepare 
 and report articles of impeachment against Harrison Reed, Gov- 
 ernor of Florida, with power to send for persons, papers and 
 records, and to take testimony under oath. 
 
 H. S. Harmon, colored. Green of Manatee, and M. L. 
 Stearns were appointed this committee. The resolution was 
 reported to the Senate as though Governor Reed had been 
 impeached, but the Senate was sitting without a quorum, as the 
 Democrats were not in their seats, as were not some of the 
 Republicans ; therefore their proceedings fell flat to the ground, 
 so far as it affected the right of Reed to act as Governor was 
 concerned. William H. Gleason, Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 George J. Alden, Reed's Secretary of State, interpreted this 
 action on the part of the Assembly a little differently from that 
 of Governor Reed and his friends, and different from all prece- 
 dents of impeachment trials and investigations. The Constitu- 
 tion of the State making it the duty of the Lieutenant-Governor 
 to. act as Governor in case of impeachment of the Governor, was 
 made to say that the fact of a resolution being passed by the 
 Assembly asking for articles of impeachment to be prepared was 
 equivalent to suspension, and therefore Gleason was Governor. 
 Alden, who before his appointment as secretary was frozen stiff 
 with poverty, had begun to pass through the process of thawing 
 from the genial influence of a good salary bestowed upon him by 
 the hand which he now attempts to bite. Gleason sets up his 
 claim as Governor at the old hotel in front of the Capitol, while 
 
9© CARPETBAG. RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Governor Reed held the Capitol. Alden now deserts Reed and 
 recognizes Gleason as Governor and steals the State seal out of 
 the Secretary of State's office and attaches it to Gleason's docu- 
 ments. This went on for several days, during which time Reed's 
 office was guarded night and day by armed police. Gleason 
 becoming restless at not getting possession of Reed's stronghold, 
 ventured one day to take possession by stratagem. He came 
 into the executive office without saying anything to Governor 
 Reed, and sat there for some time. George B. Carse, Adjutant- 
 General, a very impulsive man, who understood the scheme of 
 Gleason, at once ordered him out of the room. Gleason made 
 answer that this was a public office and that he would not go 
 out, whereupon Carse made a lunge at him with one hand with 
 a revolver in the other. Gleason wore a fine beaver hat, which 
 went one way while he went the other, he retreating in double 
 quick time to the seat of his hotel government. The night fol- 
 lowing the day on which Gleason made his disgraceful retreat 
 Governor Reed made up his mind to move on the works of the 
 enemy. He commenced the attack by first using his pruning- 
 knife in his Cabinet. He beheaded Alden and appointed Jona- 
 than C. Gibbs, colored, as Secretary of State, and gave him 
 possession of the office, and in a few minutes Gibbs was seated 
 behind his desk receiving the congratulations of his friends. 
 Numbers of freedmen were sent for from the country to witness 
 and congratulate one of their race sitting in the Capitol as Secre- 
 tary of State. These calls and congratulations went on until the 
 next day, when Alden undertook to enter the door of the Secre- 
 tary's office. He was at once ordered away by the Governor's 
 police and the crowd of freedmen, who did not propose to see 
 Mr. Gibbs disturbed. He was told by one of the freedmen that 
 the scepter had forever departed from him, as he had sinned against 
 Governor Reed. He remonstrated with them and told them, 
 "All of us are true Republicans, my colored friends;" but the 
 freedmen retorted, ''You no 'publican if youse want to go in 
 Mr. Gibbs' office." He was not long in finding out that it was 
 safer for him to be somewhere else, and with trembling limbs 
 made hasty steps away and reported to the wily Gleason what 
 great disaster had befallen one of the gang. The appointment 
 of Mr. Gibl)S un( questionably added very material strength to 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 9I 
 
 Governor Reed from the freedmen. They now saw that the 
 man whom the carpetbag element had been denouncing as their 
 enemy was more disposed to deal justly by them than were his 
 traducers. Secret watchers were kept on the track of Gleason 
 and Alden until Reed could sharpen his knife for the decapita- 
 tion of Gleason. On the 9th of November Governor Reed, 
 through his Attorney-General, Meek, assisted by J. P. Sander- 
 son, M. D. Papy and A. J. Peeler, filed a petition in the Supreme 
 Court of the State asking for a writ of quo warranto against W. 
 H. Gleason, requiring him to show cause why he should not be 
 ousted from the office of Lieutenant-Governor of the State of 
 Florida, he not having been a citizen of the State two years, as 
 required by the Constitution. D. S. Walker and Horatio Bisbee, 
 Jr., appeared for the respondent. One of Gleason's pleas was 
 that Governor Reed had solicited him to run for the office, which 
 was untrue, for Reed had personally protested against his run- 
 ning, and offered him a Cabinet position if he would decline ; 
 another was that Governor Reed had instituted this suit in pur- 
 suance of a pledge made to Gleason that if he persisted in his 
 effort to supplant him he would oust him by legal process. The 
 proof was conclusive that he was holding office in violation of 
 the Constitution, and he was, therefore, ousted from his place 
 as Lieutenant-Governor of Florida. He appealed to the Supreme 
 Court of the United States, so as to hold on in name, but not in 
 fact, to the office until his term would expire. He knew, of 
 course, that the Supreme Court of the United States had no 
 jurisdiction of the case. The Osborn faction had by these two 
 ousters learned something of the fighting qualities of Reed, and 
 thereafter moved with more caution when they determined to 
 attack him. The object of the Osborn gang was to get Reed 
 out of the way and put Gleason in as Governor, and Horatio 
 Jenkins was to be appointed Lieutenant-Governor, and he, being 
 one of Osborn's henchmen, would not throw obstacles in the 
 way of legislation that might be introduced to enrich the gang. 
 The deposition of Alden and Gleason was a terrible blow to 
 them and the balance of their companions ; but the Legislature 
 appropriated two thousand dollars to Gleason for attorney's fees 
 and expenses in making the fight. 
 
 In view of the conduct of the Legislature and the consequent 
 
92 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 misapprehension and mutual distrust of the blacks and whites, 
 the Governor determined to secure some armament for the State 
 in case military force should become necessary. He visited 
 Washington and sought the aid of the government by claiming 
 from the Ordnance Department the issue of the arms due the 
 State under a rule which had been suspended during the war. 
 This was denied. He then called upon Governor Andrew of 
 Massachusetts and Governor Fenton of New York for a loan of 
 arms. This failing, he purchased through a personal friend in 
 New York two thousand stands of muskets and Enfield rifles and 
 four thousand rounds of ammunition on a credit of four months, 
 giving notes for $21,000. The arms were shipped and delivered 
 at Jacksonville, where they were received by the Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral, Carse, and General Houstoun, then president of the rail- 
 road company, and placed on board the cars to be delivered at 
 Tallahassee. A guard of Federal soldiers had been placed by 
 General Sprague at the control of the Governor, but fearing 
 difficulty if a military force appeared on the cars, General 
 Houstoun guaranteed their safe delivery if the guard could be 
 withdrawn. The arms were on board, and the train started at 
 night with the Adjutant-General in charge. The railroad 
 employees, without the knowledge of President Houstoun, intro- 
 duced into the cars with the arms men engaged to throw them 
 out when they should reach Madison County, where a company 
 of Dickinson's guerillas was placed along the road to seize and 
 destroy them. All the ammunition and all but eight hundred 
 of the guns were thus thrown out and destroyed, or carried 
 away to be used by the enemies of the government." The rail- 
 road company was responsible to the State for the loss, but the 
 Osborn ring being implicated and in control of the Legislature, 
 sought to involve Governor Reed and deprive him of the power 
 and the means to pay the notes he had given, and the company 
 was not called upon for the damages. 
 
 Thus ended the first year of Governor Reed's administration. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Meeting of the Legislature of i86g, and Another Attempt at 
 Impeachment. Attempt to Bribe Members to Vote for Impeach- 
 metit. Extracts from Governor Reed's Second Message. Gil- 
 bert Compelled to Pay for His Seat in the United States Sen- 
 ate. Reed's Vindication. 
 
 The second session of the Legislature under the Constitu- 
 tion of 1868, met on the fifth day of January, 1869, and organ- 
 ized by electing M. L. Stearns, of Gadsden County, of freed- 
 men's provisions notoriety, as Speaker of Assembly, which 
 placed the lower house of the Legislature in the absolute con. 
 trol of the Federal office-holders, the Senate- being presided over 
 by Gleason, who had appealed from the decision of ouster by 
 the Supreme Court of the State to the Supreme Court of the 
 United States. Samuel Walker, of the defunct Billings-Saunders 
 faction— and elected to the Legislature from Leon County, now 
 sought the opportunity to give active effect to his old prejudice 
 against Governor Reed for being, as he said, instrumental in the 
 overthrow of the Billings faction. Walker now renews the 
 attack upon the Governor by reciting a resolution relative to 
 impeachment passed at the November session. George P. 
 Raney, Democratic representative from Franklin County, offered 
 a substitute to the resolution, which reads as follows : 
 
 Whereas, It is known to this Assembly to be publicly 
 alleged that Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, has done and 
 committed acts wrongful and unlawful, therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, By the Assemby of the State of Florida,^ that a 
 committee of five be appointed by the Speaker to inquire into 
 and investigate the conduct, acts and doings of said Harrison 
 Reed, Governor of Florida, and that the said committee be 
 empowered and authorized to send for persons and papers, and 
 take testimony upon oath in the premises ; and that the said 
 committee be required to report the result of its investigations at 
 its earliest convenience during the present session ; and that it 
 accompany its report with the testimony taken in the said mat- 
 ter." 
 
94 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 This resolution was adopted by a vote of thirty to five. 
 Samuel Walker, who at first seemed to have been so anxious for 
 investigation, voted against the adoption of the resolution for 
 the reason that he thought to extort from the Governor the posi- 
 tion of County Revenue Collector during the impeachment in- 
 vestigation. George P. Raney, a Democrat, was appointed 
 chairman of the investigating committee, which placed Governor 
 Reed between two fires. It was the purpose of the Democrats 
 to show all the shortcomings and misconduct of the Republi- 
 cans so as to break down anything like respectable government, 
 while the plunder-hunting Republicans, by urging impeachment, 
 expected either to get rid of Reed by impeachment or to com- 
 pel him to seek safety under their wing by pledging himself to 
 put his signature to all their corrupt legislation. To be driven 
 to the plunderers would be certain disgrace and death to his 
 administration and the Republican party of the State ; and for 
 him, a life-long Republican, to be driven to the Democratic 
 party by these unprincipled men, would stigmatize him both 
 politically and morally as a coward. Relying upon an Allwise 
 Providence and the better judgment of fair-minded men of the 
 Legislature, Governor Reed stood firm as the rock of Gibraltar 
 to his Republican faith. While the committee was investigating 
 the charges against the Governor it became evident to the plun- 
 derers that they would not be able to ham-string him without 
 bribing some of the members of the Legislature. Their rooms 
 in the hotels were the scene of caucuses every night, sometimes 
 till near day. The great destroyer of the Divine promise of 
 "peace on earth and good will toward men," with its demon- 
 like redness and horrifying influence, was the chief attraction 
 in these caucuses. Men could be seen staggering to and fro, 
 breathing out curses against Harrison Reed. When conspira- 
 tors were convinced that a member of the Legislature could not 
 be beguiled by cigars and whisky, they would call him outside 
 of the room to have a " private talk " with him. Convention 
 scrip and greenbacks would be offered him to favor the impeach- 
 ment of Harrison Reed. These night caucuses became so ridic- 
 ulous and notorious that they brought forth the following reso- 
 lution : 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 95 
 
 ''Whereas, It is publicly charged that certain persons 
 have received large sums of money and State scrip to induce 
 said persons to use their influence to induce members of this 
 Assembly to favor impeachment of His Excellency, Harrison 
 Reed, Governor of this State; and whereas. It is publicly 
 charged that said persons are so using their influence with said 
 members ; therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That the committee appointed by this Assembly 
 to investigate the conduct and domgs of His Excellency Harri- 
 son Reed, be and are hereby directed to investigate said charges 
 and report the result of their investigation in the matter to this 
 Assembly with their report in the matter of the affairs of His 
 Excellency Harrison Reed ; and the said committee are author- 
 ized to send for persons to enable them properly to investigate 
 said charges." 
 
 The Assembly resolved itself into a committee of the whole 
 on the resolution. They subsequently reported progress and 
 asked leave to sit again. This resolution acted as a bomb shell 
 in the camp of the conspirators, and from the time of its intro- 
 duction until the termination of the investigation of the charges 
 against Governor Reed, they had all they could manage to pre- 
 vent being exposed and arrested for bribery. The original 
 movers in this conspiracy were anxious that the resolution of 
 investigation of the charges made against Governor Reed should 
 be passed before his annual message was received. They 
 expected that the Governor would refer to the charges against 
 himself and would in that message lay down his express line of 
 defense ; but he, knowing what kind of men he had to deal 
 with did not refer in any manner to his traducers, and many of 
 them expressed themselves as being satisfied that they would 
 force him to resign before the investigating committee reported; 
 but little did they know yet the '' staying " qualities of the Gov- 
 ernor. 
 
 The two houses met in joint session on the 7th day of the 
 month to receive the message of the Governor. The designa- 
 tion of the Lincoln Brotherhood had now been changed by 
 those Republicans who desired good government to that of the 
 Osborn Ring. The Governor came forward and deHvered his 
 message, which was clear and logical. Among other things he 
 said: '' With the election of America's great military chieftain 
 to the highest office in the nation, the peace, welfare and pros- 
 
g6 -CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 perity of the Union is secured, upon the basis of freedom and 
 equal rights. Thoughout our beloved State violent opposition to 
 the Federal authority and republican government has ceased, 
 and all classes of the people yield obedience to the laws. The 
 last embers of the late rebellion are rapidly dying out, and our 
 citizens, 'without distinction of race, color or previous condi- 
 tion,' are gradually uniting in behalf of common interests and 
 mutual prosperity. The newly enfranchised citizen of color 
 sits side by side with his white fellow-citizen without antagonism, 
 in the cabinet, in the halls of legislation, the jury box, and on 
 the boards of commissioners — occupies the magistrate's chair, 
 and executes the decrees of court without exciting violence or 
 occasioning asperity. The change since your last session is 
 marvelous, and calls for grateful recognition." In referring to 
 the organization of the militia, the Governor said: ''Several 
 volunteer companies of patriotic citizens, both white and colored, 
 have been enrolled, and have selected their officers, but in the 
 sensitive condition of the popular mind I have deemed it 
 unwise to accept these organizations." The Legislature having 
 passed a law at its first meeting in 1868 authorizing the election 
 of a State Printer, the freebooters had no trouble to elect one of 
 their number to that office. It had been pre-arranged before the 
 meeting of the Legislature of 1868 what laws Osborn and his 
 gang would enact to secure them the possession of the State for 
 years to come. "Vandalize the State," was Osborn's order to 
 Governor Reed. Inmiediately after the Governor had delivered 
 his message, the ring had the Legislature to meet in joint session 
 and elected E. M. Cheney, of Jacksonville — subsequently tainted 
 with the notorious Yellow Bluff fraud — as State Printer. The 
 ring now had both Senators and the Representative in Congress 
 against the State administration, and the Jacksonville Unioi, a 
 paper published in the interest of Osborn and Company, with E. 
 M. Cheney, editor. The ring, elated at the success of electing 
 Cheney for State Printer, and thinking that they had a large 
 majority of the Legislature at their backs, went boldly to the 
 friends of Reed and informed them unless Reed resigned his 
 office as Governor within twenty-four hours after Cheney's elec- 
 tion as printer, he should be impeached and utterly disgraced, 
 and if the ring had to go to the trouble of impeaching and try- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 97 
 
 ing him before they could get clear of him, he should wind up 
 in the penitentiary. These admonitions were carried to Gov- 
 ernor Reed by the true friends of the Republican government, 
 some of whom thought it best to let the government go into the 
 hands of these men and go to pieces ; but the Governor, like 
 the brave Fitz James, said : 
 
 " Come one, come all, this rock shall fly, 
 From its firm base as soon as I." 
 
 The ring, now restless in spending so much money to 
 impeach Harrison Reed, was determined to compel others to 
 bear some of the burden. Abijah Gilbert, who had been elected 
 United States Senator to fill the term commencing March 4, 
 1869, the gold of whose purse yet reflected in the faces 
 of the spoilsmen of the last regular session of the Legis- 
 lature, was pitched upon as the softest and most available man 
 to fill and settle the whole bill. On the 19th of January a resolu 
 tion was introduced reciting the fact that large sums of money 
 had been used at the last session to secure the election of the 
 said Gilbert, and that under such circumstances the election was 
 unlawful and void. The Legislature thereupon went into an 
 election of United States Senator. It was not the intention of 
 the ring to elect another Senator, but this part of the game was 
 only to make Gilbert come down with the cash. They said 
 openly that Gilbert had not paid enough for his seat, and that 
 this proceeding was the only way to make him fork up the 
 coveted amount. Gilbert was on hand, and the old man was 
 frightened nearly out of his breeches, and you could see notes 
 flying from his room in the hotel to the Capitol to different mem- 
 bers of the Legislature, requesting them to call at his room, as 
 he desired to see them on special business. The members, who 
 understood the whole game, would smile when receiving these 
 messages from the old man, and would make haste to grant his 
 request. After he had seen them they would come back to their 
 seats entirely transformed relative to the election of United States 
 Senator, and after one night-calling had passed, the next day a 
 motion was made to indefinitely postpone the whole proceeding 
 as to the election of Senator, which was adopted by a unani- 
 mous vote. Those who had been foremost in denouncing the 
 
98 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 election of Gilbert and declaring that he was elected by bribery, 
 could now be heard to say that his election was fair and honest. 
 They came near breaking the old man, and just before he left 
 Tallahassee he said to one of his friends, '* surely I have fallen 
 into a den of thieves." Men who came to the capital with 
 scarcely money enough to pay their fare on the railroad could 
 now be seen with rolls of money, evidently extracted from Gil- 
 bert, and they were of that portion of the carpet-baggers who 
 were interested in the impeachment of Harrison Reed. 
 
 The committee appointed to investigate the acts and doings 
 of Governor Reed on the 26th day of January appeared at the 
 bar of the House and made their report. There was a majority 
 and a minority report. The first charge against Reed was that 
 he had received five hundred dollars to appoint a person clerk 
 of the court of Leon county, which the evidence showed was 
 not true, but that the money was contributed to pay the indebted- 
 ness incurred by the central committee in the election campaign. 
 The second charge was that a balance of six thousand nine hun- 
 dred and forty-eight dollars and sixty-three cents in United States 
 currency, proceeds of Virginia and other State bonds, sold under 
 an act authorizing the Governor of the State to raise funds to 
 pay the expenses of this session of the Legislature, had been 
 used by the Governor and State scrip substituted for it. This 
 scrip was receivable for all State dues, while the cash was abso- 
 lutely necessary to carry on the State government then in its 
 infancy and opposed by foes without and pretended friends 
 within. The same witness who made the charge relative to the 
 Leon county clerkship presented another to the committee that 
 Governor Reed had, through a friend, offered to give him a 
 contract to make a set of maps for the Surveyor-General's office if 
 he would change his base and go in and work to prevent impeach- 
 ment. This a portion of the committee treated as manu- 
 factured evidence, and consequently untrustworthy. The 
 majority re^)ort of the committee did not make any recommenda- 
 tion. It was signed by George P. Raney, Democrat; F. N. B. 
 Oliver, Democrat; John Varnum, Republican; Henry S. Har- 
 mon, Republican; and E. Fortune, Republican. The minor- 
 ity report was signed by E. J. Harris and Auburn Erwin, 
 Republicans, and exonerated Governor Reed from the charges. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 99 
 
 The Democrats were in doubt what to do ; they did not want to 
 commit themselves to Reed, nor did they want to help the 
 plunderers, so they sat and watched the drift of things. Several 
 resolutions and motions were made reflecting upon the charac- 
 ter of the Governor. The ring worked long and hard, and at 
 first thought they would succeed; but when they saw H. S. 
 Harmon and £. Fortune, colored members, who had signed the 
 majority report, voting to exonerate him, they gave up the 
 sport. The following resolution was offered by Mr. E. Fortune, 
 member of the investigating committee: 
 
 "Whereas, The committee appointed on the 6th day of 
 January to inquire into and investigate the conduct, acts and 
 doings of Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, has, pursuant 
 to instructions, reported the results of its investigations to this 
 body, accompanied with the testimony taken in the said matter; 
 therefore be it 
 
 ' ' Resolved by the Assembly of Florida^ That the said Assembly 
 finds nothing in said report or testimony justifying an impeach- 
 ment of Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida." 
 
 This resolution was adopted by a vote of forty-three to 
 five, every member of the committee voting for it, and but one 
 colored member voted in the negative. This committee was 
 the creation of the ring, which shows how flimsy the testimony 
 against the Governor was^ and how desperate they were in their 
 determination to remove him from between them and the people's 
 money. Osborn, who had now come down from Washington, 
 and was sitting in the hall when this vote was taken, swore 
 vengeance as^ainst every Republican who voted to exonerate 
 Reed ; but his carpetbag friends gave him to understand that all 
 the negroes and Democrats had agreed to exonerate the Gov- 
 ernor, and that had they voted against him when they saw he 
 would be exonerated, it would have had the effect of driving all 
 the negroes to him and the Democrats, which action would have 
 soon lifted them out of their fat places. The ring now called 
 a caucus in the Senate chamber and pretended to make friends 
 with the Governor and to support his administration. Chief 
 Osborn was present and assured him that he was very sorry that 
 this attempt at impeachment had been made, and that he was 
 misled in the matter, and if the Governor would correspond 
 
lOO CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 with him in Washington no one should be appointed to a Federal 
 office who was not friendly to his administration. Many 
 speeches were made by the members of the ring, assuring the 
 Governor that from that time forth Osborn and his friends would 
 stand by him. Most of the carpet-baggers then in the Legislature 
 were holding State offices by commission from Gov. Reed, and 
 this agreement was made by Osborn and his followers so as to hold 
 on to the State offices as well as the Federal offices which had been 
 given them by the latter. This worked well for a time. Hon, 
 C. H. Pearce, who had succeeded in rallying the colored members 
 of the Legislature to the Governor, was very severe on the con- 
 spirators, and threatened to alienate the colored voters from the 
 carpet-baggers if this persecution of Reed was continued. Reed 
 appeared to be quite indifferent as to promises made by Osborn 
 & Co., and asked the colored men in the caucus to stand by him 
 if they believed he was trying to give the State an honest admin- 
 istration. After further assurances by the members of the ring 
 that Reed should be supported, the caucus adjourned si?te die. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Meeting of the Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of i86g. 
 Governor Reed's Recommendations. The Four Millions of 
 Bonds Scheme. Colored Meembers Playing Carpet-bagger. 
 The Grand Jury Hunting Bribe-takers. 
 
 On the 17th of May, 1869, Governor Reed issued his proc- 
 lamation convening the Legislature in extraordinary session for 
 the following purposes, to-wit : "To maintain the credit of the 
 State and provide for the means of defraying its current 
 expenses. That the recent sale of the Pensacola and Georgia 
 Railroad and the Tallahassee Railroad rendered immediate legis- 
 lation necessary to protect the public interest and enable the 
 purchasers to provide for the extension and completion of their 
 roads and to enjoy the benefits of the Internal Improve- 
 ment Laws of the State ; and to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment 
 to the Constitution of the United States." 
 
 In compliance with this proclamation, the two houses of the 
 Legislature met at 12 o'clock m. on the 8th day of June and 
 received the Governor's Message. The Governor recommended, 
 among other things which were not mentioned in his proclama- 
 tion, the passage of a proper quarantine law to protect our 
 coast; a tenure of office law, so as to get rid of delinquent or 
 unfaithful officers when the Senate was not in session, which 
 officers could not then be removed without the consent of the 
 Senate ; and a law prohibiting common carriers from making 
 distinction on account of color. In conclusion, the Governor 
 said: 
 
 "Allow me to congratulate you on the new era of prosperity 
 which has opened upon our State, and the auspicious circum- 
 stances under which you now assemble. In all parts of the 
 State, peace, security, harmony and prosperity prevail to a 
 greater extent than at any time within the past ten years. Cap- 
 ital is more profitably invested ; life and property are better 
 protected. Let passion and prejudice give place to reason and 
 judgment, and let wisdom and prudence control your counsels, 
 
I02 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 while we render grateful homage to the great dispenser of all 
 good for His innumerable blessings." 
 
 Several important acts were passed by this Legislature, 
 among which were the law setting aside a homestead for each 
 head of a family ; an amendment of the school laws ; impor- 
 tant changes in the revenue laws ; and the notorious act ' ' To 
 Perfect the Public Works of the State." From the presence 
 of an unusual lobby it was apparent that some great catastro- 
 phe was to take place in the shape of a law. The carpetbag ele- 
 ment seemed to be elated, and the hotels and boarding-houses 
 in the city were filled with strangers. The poorest and the 
 most shabby carpet-bagger could be seen drinking the sparkling 
 champagne and wearing fine beavers. The famous Littlefield 
 was too much engaged to walk, and his carriage was kept at the 
 hotel in readiness to convey him to any part of the city to see 
 the different members of the Legislature. 
 
 The Governor was privately advised that Osborn's United 
 States Marshal, Senator Wentworth, had been furnished with a 
 thousand dollars with which to secure votes for Littlefield. 
 Alarmed at the prospect of corrupt legislation, he telegraphed 
 Mr. Swepson, the purchaser of the railroads, and whom Little- 
 field represented, to come to Tallahassee. In reply, General 
 Abbott, United States Senator from North Carolina, appeared 
 for Swepson and pledged the Governor that no more money 
 should be used, and no legislation but what was legitimate 
 should be sought. He called in General Littlefield to witness 
 the pledge, stating that the money to Wentworth was only for 
 the furnishing a reception room at the hotel. After remaining a 
 few days, General Abbott, still assuring the Governor that the 
 company would act in good faith and allow no more money 
 to be expended, then returned home; but, notwithstanding 
 these assurances, and pledges, within ten days twenty-two thou- 
 sand dollars were distributed by Littlefield as a corruption fund 
 for the Osborn ring, to control the Legislature against Governor 
 Reed, with a view of ultimately deposing him. 
 
 The bill was introduced in the Senate by Wentworth, of 
 Escambia, and referred to a committee, which reported favor- 
 ably on it. There were important amendments made to the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I03 
 
 bill by Senator John A. Henderson, of Hillsborough County. 
 There were lots of members whom Littlefild had not ''seen 
 privately," and these would denounce the bill as a great swindle, 
 but after a visit from him and a ''private talk," they would 
 either vote yes on every amendment or not vote at all, and 
 would offer no further resistance to the scheme. The incorpo- 
 rators of this measure were General M. S. Littlefield, George 
 W. Swepson, J. P. Sanderson, J. L. Requa, and William H. 
 Hunt ; the last a Senator from Dade County, and Gleason's 
 partner. State aid was to be given at the rate of twelve 
 thousand dollars per mile, which, according to the length of the 
 route, would amount to four millions of dollars. This bill was 
 passed by the Senate without a dissenting vote, some few mem- 
 bers of the Senate being either absent or influenced from voting. 
 In the Assembly the measure was passed with only three dissent- 
 ing votes. As to bribery of any of the members to secure the pas- 
 sage of this measure, I shall only state what occurred and leave the 
 reader to draw his own conclusions : A carpetbag Senator received 
 a sight draft on the General the night before the passage of the 
 bill. What that draft was for I am unable to say. The draft was 
 presented to the General the next morning, who took it, read it, 
 then tore it up, telling him at the same time, "This is all right, this 
 is all right." The Senator undertook to insist on its payment, 
 but the General began to talk so very loud about the matter that 
 the Senator walked off cursing him, but in very low tones. The 
 colored members of the Legislature who had heretofore been 
 content with the salary which was provided by the Constitution 
 as their pay now began to learn something of the meandering 
 ways of their carpetbag leaders. They began to inquire how 
 their white brethren could handle so much money, when they 
 got no more pay than they did. Some of the Democrats who were 
 not members of the Legislature informed them that their carpet- 
 bag friends from the different counties had traded on their votes 
 in the Legislature ever since they had been permitted to sit in 
 the Legislature as members. The colored members, from this 
 information, began to hold separate caucuses, and finally they 
 elected a permanent chairman of the caucus, and that chairman 
 appointed a committee of three to ferret out all schemes which 
 looked anything like money schemes. This committee was 
 
I04 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Styled "the smelling committee." The duty of this committee 
 was to visit the hotels and private rooms of the carpetbag mem- 
 bers and ascertain, as best they could, whether there was any- 
 thing or things, measure or measures before, or likely to come 
 before the Legislature at that session which the carpetbag brother 
 could make money from, and if so to report the same to the 
 caucus. This committee was not to proceed in a body, but each 
 man was to gather the facts as he could get them and report to 
 the caucus in a body. The chairman of the caucus was empow- 
 ered to inform any party or parties who were in need of votes in 
 the Legislature to pass measures, the number of votes that could 
 be had and the amount required to satisfy the members of the 
 caucus. When any money was received from this source it was 
 to be equally divided among the members. This plan worked 
 for some time but no money was forthcoming. All information 
 that could be gathered by the committee was reported to the 
 chairman of the caucus, who would report what the measures 
 sought to be passed were, and advised the members of the cau- 
 cus to vote for them, yet he never reported any money. The 
 members began to perceive that the chairman was getting very 
 flush with money, and they naturally became suspicious that he 
 was playing carpet-bagger on them. A meeting was called and 
 charges presented against the chairman for not having paid over 
 moneys received by him for the benefit of members of the cau- 
 cus. He at first stubbornly denied having received any moneys 
 for the caucus, but a party who had given him money for the 
 caucus, finding his measure fought in the Legislature by members 
 of the caucus, found fault with some of them, who said they had 
 never received any money from the chairman. The note 
 in which the complaint was conveyed was to the effect 
 
 that he had made "the boys" a present of dollars which 
 
 he had handed to Mr. S. The chairman having been con- 
 victed of the charge, now declared that the money was made 
 a present to him individually, and refused to make a division. 
 This broke up the caucus arrangement, and after that time each 
 member struck out for himself. All the colored members of the 
 Legislature did not belong to this caucus, but at least two-thirds 
 of them did. This extra session adjourned on the 23d of 
 June. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I05 
 
 In the fall of 1869 the grand jury of Leon County attempted 
 to inquire into the reported bribery of the members of the Leg- 
 islature. It was believed that Littlefield, when he first arrived 
 in the State deposited his money in the Freedman's Savings Bank 
 in Jacksonville. The grand jury issued a subpoena duces tecum 
 to the cashier of the Tallahassee Bank, which compelled him 
 to appear before the jury and bring the books and papers belong- 
 ing to that institution. The books and papers showed that a 
 large number of the carpetbag members of the Legislature had 
 received drafts from M. S. Littlefield, payable at this bank, 
 which drafts had been collected. The drafts to the different 
 members ran all the way up from two thousand to five and six 
 thousand dollars to each member. No white man got less than 
 two thousand dollars. The books further showed that only two 
 colored members received drafts, and these two fell away down 
 into the hundreds — receiving five hundred dollars each. 
 
 As the drafts did not show what this money was paid for it 
 was thought by the prosecuting officer that indictments for 
 bribery could not be sustained. Therefore, no true bills were 
 found. See stub of blank draft book, Freedman's Savings Bank 
 and Trust Company, Tallahassee, Fla. 
 
 Although no bills were found at this term, the Ring secured 
 the indictment of C. H. Pearce, colored, a Senator from the 
 Eighth Senatorial District, in the fall of 1876, by the grand jury of 
 Leon County, for offering a bribe to Fred Hill, colored, of the 
 Seventh Senatorial District. The circumstances of the case were 
 as follows : Littlefield requested Pearce to inform Hill that he 
 could get five hundred dollars to vote for Littlefield's four mil- 
 lion bond bill. Pearce delivered the message, which, however, 
 Litdefield did not intend to fulfill, as he had already secured a 
 sufficient number of votes to pass the bill. Pearce afterwards 
 denied having carried the message, but said that Hill had got 
 the message from some carpet-bagger, and afterwards asked him 
 about the matter, when he was told what Littlefield had said. 
 The impeachers, who had grown fat from the lavish hand of 
 Littlefield, deemed this a splendid opportunity to cripple Pearce 
 for life, and insisted that Hill, who was one of Stearns' submis- 
 sive tools, should report the matter to the grand jury. Harry 
 Cruse, another submissive and obedient servant of Stearns, was 
 
I06 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 pitched upon as a witness to the delivery of the message. No 
 one ever believed (who understood the game) that Cruse knew 
 anything about the matter until requested to testify, so as to get 
 Pearce out of the way before the impeachment of Governor 
 Reed, which was to take place at the earliest possible moment. 
 The real bribe-takers, the men who had in their pockets five and 
 six thousand dollars each of Littlefield's money, were now hiring 
 men to swear away the liberty of Pearce, that his hold upon the 
 colored voter might be broken. Littlefield, the man who offered 
 the bribe, if it could be considered an attempt at bribery, was 
 not arrested, nor did the grand jury which indicted Pearce for car- 
 rying the message, inquire into the conduct of Littlefield in the 
 premises. Stearns, after the indictment was found, smiled as 
 gracefully over the downfall of Pearce as he afterwards smiled 
 over the consummation of various election frauds. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 The Piirman- Hamilton Reig?t of Terror in Jackson County. 
 
 And here opens a scene of oppression and usurpation of 
 power which is equally diabolical in many instances with the 
 reign of " Bloody Mary." There was no portion of the State 
 more disturbed by the operations of the reconstruction measures 
 of 1868 than Jackson County. The two races became arrayed 
 against each other in deadly hostility, which led to frequent 
 occurrences of violence and bloodshed. This state of things 
 was not due to the enmity of the whites to the blacks, nor their 
 opposition to the new law enfranchising the latter — though they 
 were opposed to it, of course — nor was it due to any natural bad 
 temper or hatred of the whites on the part of the colored people, 
 for under ordinary circumstances there are no more peaceable 
 people in the world than the inhabitants of Jackson County, of 
 both colors, and they would have passed through the ordeal of 
 reconstruction without a jar or disturbance, had it not been for 
 the evil influence of the very men who were delegated to preserve 
 peace, to administer justice, and to promote good fellowship and 
 kindly relations between the freedmen and their former owners. 
 
 Charles M. Hamilton and William J. Purman were sent to 
 Marianna as agents of the Freedman's Bureau in 1866, and if 
 the purpose of the head of that department of the government 
 had been to establish a reign of terror over the people of that 
 county he could not have selected more fitting instruments. 
 Hamilton, though afterwards a member of Congress, was a man 
 of very ordinary capacity, but possessed courage and will power 
 in a high degree. Purman, as has been said, was a man of 
 unusual ability — shrewd, eloquent and persuasive, and with per- 
 fect knowledge of the character and prejudices of the colored 
 man at that time, and also with a hidden contempt for his igno- 
 rance. He directed all the operations of the Bureau and put 
 Hamilton forward to do all the dirty or dangerous work. He 
 played upon the weaknesses and impulses of the colored people 
 and drew from them shouts of joy, and responses of applause 
 
I08 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. ^ 
 
 and approval with the skill and ease a master organist brings out 
 the great swells of music by a gentle touch of the key. These 
 would occur when he was eloquently depicting to his eager listen- 
 ing audiences the horrors of slavery and the cruelty and oppres- 
 sion they had undergone. Every device was resorted to by 
 these agents to embitter the colored man against the white man ; 
 and, with the powers they possessed, it is no wonder they suc- 
 ceeded upon material so easily mislead. 
 
 What incendiary harangues failed to accomplish they sought 
 to do by exhibitions of their power over the whites, which they 
 displayed in frequent acts of the grossest tyrann}\ They set at 
 defiance the orders and decrees of the courts of justice when the 
 matters involved were mere questions of right between two citi- 
 zens, neither of whom were freedmen. They arrested and 
 imprisoned peaceable citizens without any real cause, and refused 
 to furnish them or their counsel with the charges upon which 
 they were held. On one occasion they had brought before them 
 two young ladies of the highest respectability on the charge of 
 removing flowers from a Union soldier's grave, who protested 
 their innocence and offered to prove it without the insult and 
 humiliation of being arraigned at bureau headquarters, but their 
 appeals were in vain, and they were forced to appear and stand 
 up and unveil themselves in the presence of Hamilton to answer 
 the charge, which no witness could be found to sustain. 
 
 Among their duties as agents of the Freedman's Bureau, was 
 the supervising of labor contracts between the freedmen and 
 their employers. For this service they charged each freedman 
 twenty-five cents and the employer fifty cents. An enterprising 
 and intelligent citizen of the county, happening in Washington, 
 called upon General Howard, the head of the bureau, and inquired 
 of him if his agents were allowed to do such things. The General 
 informed him they were not, and requested him to furnish him 
 with evidence of its being done in any case. Thereupon the 
 gentleman prepared and ])Osted notices requesting those who 
 had receipts for moneys so paid to present them to him, or, in 
 his absence, to a designated agent. This gentleman and his 
 agent were immediately arrested and kept in confinement with- 
 out charges being preferred against them until one of them was 
 taken dangerously ill, when they were discharged out of fear of 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I09 
 
 the consequences. Four young farmers, who worked a large 
 number of freedmen under a contract approved and ratified by 
 these agents, were arrested and imprisoned for doing what was 
 provided in said contract, and without any charges or causes 
 assigned, though the officers were repeatedly requested to furnish 
 them. The men were discharged at the pleasure of the agents 
 of the bureau. Many other minor acts might be mentioned 
 showing a persistent determination to alienate the races and 
 breed strife. 
 
 These deeds of tyranny and oppression were resorted to for 
 the double purpose of demonstrating their power to the colored 
 people and of humiliating the whites. Of course they bore their 
 legitimate fruit and naturally awakened feelings of the bitterest 
 hostility among the people who were the victims of such injus- 
 tice and insult. While the colored people were not responsible 
 for these misdeeds, they were inevitably drawn into the troubles 
 which enjued and doubtless encouraged to commit the first act 
 of bloodshed which opened that eventful chapter in the history 
 of Jackson County. 
 
 In the fall of 1868 a man by the name of McGriff, residing 
 near Port Jackson, had a difficulty with some of his colored 
 employes and the matter in dispute, which became angry, was 
 referred to the Bureau by McGriff; but he obtained no satisfac- 
 tion. A few nights thereafter he was shot in his house and 
 wounded. He left for Alabama and sent a man by the name of 
 McDaniel to take charge of his place. In a short time McDaniel 
 was called to the door at night and shot dead. These acts were 
 traced directly to the failure of these agents of the Bureau to 
 settle peaceably the trouble between McGriff and his employes. 
 
 One exasperation followed close on another, until the county 
 was in a fever of irritation. In the spring of 1869, while Pur- 
 man was going to his home in Marianna at night, in company 
 with Dr. John Finlayson, they were fired into by parties in 
 ambush, and the latter was instantly killed. Purman was shot 
 through the neck, but not badly. A few days after that a man 
 by the name of Colliter, who had made himself very obnoxious 
 to the Bureau by his open and bitter denunciation of their con- 
 duct, was shot and killed in his house at night by unknown 
 persons. From this time on, during the year 1869, the whole 
 
no CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 county was in a state of turmoil. The worst feelings existed 
 between the races, and nothing but the tact and prudence of 
 the older and wiser heads on both sides prevented general 
 bloodshed. 
 
 In September of that year, while a party of colored people 
 were holding a picnic near the Natural Bridge, they were fired 
 upon by a party in ambush and one man and a child were 
 killed. This was the occasion of arousing the blacks to the 
 highest state of excitement and the bitterest feelings of revenge. 
 On Friday night of the same week a party of white people were 
 sitting on the piazza in front of the hotel in Marianna when a 
 volley of shot was discharged at them from the cover of some 
 trees near by, and the daughter of Colonel McClellan was 
 instantly killed and the Colonel himself badly wounded. At 
 once a large portion of the county was under arms. The greatest 
 excitement prevailed, and a general massacre was threatened. 
 Some of the parties implicated in the shooting fled for their 
 lives, while others were taken and speedy vengeance visited upon 
 them. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Gilbert, a colored minister of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, who was born and raised in Jackson County, 
 informed me that Purman, in the League meetings, would advise 
 the people to burn the gin houses and other property of the 
 whites, and this teaching would be reported to the whites by 
 some members of the League, and not many nights after this 
 advice would be given the witness of a flaming gin house would 
 tell that his advice had been followed. The shooting of 
 McClellan and daughter was the last tragic scene in the drama 
 of reconstruction ; the last act of lawlessness that can be traced 
 directly to the administration of the Freedman's Bureau in Jack- 
 son County. It is well to state that while these troubles were at 
 their worst the great agitators, Hamilton and Purman, wh6\|iad 
 kindled the flames of discord and strife, absented themselves 
 from the county and were sending incendiary messages from a 
 safe distance. 
 
 Thus it was they plunged the colored people unnecessarily 
 into a vortex of trouble and left them to work their way out the 
 best way they could. 
 
 Governor Reed, whose administration, now reeling and 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. Ill 
 
 tottering from centre to circumference for want of confidence 
 abroad to purchase the State securities, by reason of the repeated 
 attempts at impeachment, was called upon by Purman and 
 others who previously had joined with the Democrats to destroy 
 the Republican administration, to declare martial law in Jackson 
 County. The Governor informed them that if this was done it 
 would be the end of Republican government in Florida, and 
 refused peremptorily. First, because there were no circum- 
 stances that would justify it; and, second, there were no means 
 provided by which to defray the expense. It was still insisted 
 on, when the proposition was made that if Purman would take 
 command a regiment should be raised. Of course he declined, 
 as the Governor knew he would. The demand was then laid 
 before the Republican State Executive Committee, who unani- 
 mously sustained it, and called the Governor into council at 
 Jacksonville to enforce the decree. He demonstrated the impro- 
 priety of a resort to military force, as well as the utter impossi- 
 bility of doing it for want of means, and pledged himself to 
 maintain the peace of the State by the employment of a civil 
 police under the existing law if they would pledge themselves 
 to appropriate the amount necessary. He was finally pledged 
 the support of the committee to procure a loan sufficient to 
 defray the expense. On his own personal responsibility he 
 raised $3,500 and appointed colored and white agencies to quiet 
 the misapprehensions and allay the excitement. He sent as 
 commissioners to Jackson County Dr. John Westcott and J. S. 
 Adams, with authority to confer with the people and secure 
 their co-operation in maintaining the civil law. These gentlemen 
 immediately repaired to Jackson County, and after a thorough 
 investigation reported that Purman and Hamilton were the cause 
 of all the bloodshed that had occurred in the county. This state 
 of affairs furnished the opportunity for the desperadoes — that can 
 be generally found in all communities after the ravages of a war 
 — to put in their work without hindrance. Dickinson was 
 killed, it was generally beHeved, by the notorious Luke Lott, 
 purely from an old grudge he had against him ; but in those 
 days every murder committed was swelled into a political mur- 
 der, and under the then existing circumstances the true cause of 
 a murder could not be justly ascribed. This was a trying time 
 
112 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 for the true friends of an honest RepubUcan administration ; and 
 it was seriously doubted by Governor Reed and the friends of 
 Repubhcan government as to whether he would be able to main- 
 tain himself; but the Governor, faithful to the promise made in 
 his inaugural address, stood his ground against fearful odds until 
 the terrific storm of bitterness raised by Purman sullenly but 
 gradually passed away. 
 
 Purman now, who had wooed a young lady of the people 
 whom he had so terribly oppressed and whom he finally married, 
 was anxious to return and reside in the county, after things had 
 got quiet. He issued a circular to different leading Republicans 
 asking them to attend a public meeting in Jackson County. 
 Hon. J, C. Gibbs was invited and attended the meeting. Ham- 
 ilton, the cats-paw of Purman, accompanied him. Large crowds 
 of whites and blacks assembled, and any one who was present 
 need not have been a close observer to discern ''blood in the 
 eyes" of that crowd. Purman attempted to speak and was 
 howled down by the whites, with a good sprinkling of the blacks. 
 Hamilton attempted to speak, but he was treated in the same 
 manner. Mr. Gibbs was introduced, who spoke more than an 
 hour, and was listened to with close attention by the people. 
 He charged Purman and Hamilton, in their presence, and in 
 the presence of the people, with having been responsible for the 
 troubles in this county. Purman now saw that he had been 
 caught in the trap which he had constructed with his own hands, 
 and called upon the sheriff to guard, protect and give him safe 
 deliverance from the county ; and the very people whom he had 
 oppressed accompanied him across the Chattahoochee river into 
 Gadsden County, and he returned to Tallahassee as his city of 
 refuge. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Meeting of the Legislature of 1870. Extracts from the Gov- 
 ernor's Message. Attempt to Force Old Man Gilbert, United 
 States Senator, to Come Down With More Cash. Schemes of 
 Plunder. The Third Attempt at Inipeachment — its hicidents 
 and Results. Bloxham Coftfronts the Ring. Carpetbaggers 
 Teaching the Freedmen Their Idea of Free Citizenship. Blox- 
 ham Elected and Counted Out. Meeting of the Legislature of 
 1871. 
 
 The Legislature met on the fourth day of January, 1870, 
 this being the third regular session under the Constitution of 
 1868. There being no quorum present the two Houses 
 adjourned until next day, when they met and organized, and 
 notified the Governor that they were ready to receive any com- 
 munication he would be pleased to make. At 12 o'clock m. 
 the two Houses met in joint session and received the Governor's 
 message, which was admitted, even by his enemies, to be a 
 very able one. A large crowd of lobbyists was on hand, as 
 usual, to aid in getting through corrupt measures, they knowing 
 what material they had to treat with in the Legislature. The 
 Governor said that "during no period in the history of the 
 State has there been moje marked improvement and general 
 prosperity than in the year just passed, and never have the laws 
 been more generally and efficiently executed. In several 
 counties organized bands of lawless men have combined to 
 override the civil authorities, and many acts of violence have 
 occurred; but these have been incidental to the State in all its 
 past history, and arise less, perhaps, from special enmity to the 
 present form of government than from opposition to the 
 restraints of law in general. When we consider what has been 
 accomplished towards the establishment of equal laws and the 
 acknowledgment of equal rights within the brief time since 
 Republican government has been inaugurated, I think we find 
 little cause for complaint, and less cause to reflect upon either 
 the form of government or its official exponent. The chief 
 
114 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 executive and judicial departments of the government have been 
 tested in a manner unparalleled in the history of civil govern- 
 ment, and have stood that trial in such a way as to afford assur- 
 ance of future integrity and to command the respect of the people. 
 Every weak point in the New Constitution has been taken 
 advantage of, by parties who contributed to the formation of 
 that instrument to bring dishonor upon the administration and 
 the State. Conspiracies have been formed to secure the control 
 of the financial and railroad policy of the State in the interest of 
 corrupt men, and to render the government subservient to the 
 pecuniary aggrandizement of a few at the expense of the best 
 interests of the State and people. As the representatives of those 
 interests, many of you, for the first time, are admitted to the 
 rights of freemen. You have thus far resisted these extraordi- 
 nary efforts to mislead, intimidate or subsidize you from the path 
 of duty, and you have preserved the State from the incubus of 
 a corrupt and corrupting power, which has fastened itself upon 
 so many of the States now struggling to rise from the ruins of 
 war. We received the high trust now held by us with the State 
 desolated by seven years of anarchy and misrule, v/ith an empty 
 treasury, with six hundred thousand dollars acknowledged 
 debt, and a much larger amount repudiated and hanging like a 
 cloud upon our financial escutcheon, with bonds dishonored by 
 years of neglected interest, with a school fund robbed of its last 
 dollar to aid in a war upon the republic, with a railroad system 
 half completed, bankrupted and at the mercy of an adjoining 
 State ; with revenue laws inadequate to the current expenses of 
 the government, and which contemplated no payment of inter- 
 est upon the State debt; with no schools or school system; no 
 benevolent institutions, no alms-houses, no penitentiary, and 
 scarcely a jail. Such was the inheritance bequeathed to us by 
 the fortunes of war, and under such incumbrances we were 
 required to establish and maintain a republican government, 
 under which master and slave, whose relations had changed 
 from the results of war, were to yield obedience to the same law 
 and be entitled to the same privileges." 
 
 The Governor said that George J. Alden, late Secretary of 
 State, stands indebted to the amont of $1,284 ^or commissions, 
 as appears on record in the Secretary's office. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. II5 
 
 The Legislature had been in session some twelve or fifteen 
 days, and money did not seem to be so plentiful as in the last 
 session, so something must be don© to make business brisk. 
 John W. Butler, of Santa Rosa county, who was capable of lead- 
 ing any corrupt measure, was fixed upon as the proper man to 
 face the public with an absurdity. A resolution was pushed 
 through the Assembly for the election of United States Senator 
 for the term commencing March 4, 1869. Old man Gilbert was 
 telegraphed to as to what had transpired; but the old man, now 
 secure in his seat, paid no attention to this money-making 
 scheme. He had passed through the mill twice, and understood 
 the game. The Senate refused to join the Assembly in this 
 farce, which bothered the originators considerably; but they 
 were equal to the occasion. The notorious Purman made his 
 appearance in the Assembly and asked to be heard, but the 
 speaker decided that he could not be heard without the consent 
 of the body, the two Houses not being in joint session. Eight 
 Democratic Senators were allowed to record their vote for O. 
 B. Hart, Republican, and one Republican for David L. Yulee, 
 whereupon Hart was declared elected United States Senator, 
 and the Assembly adjourned until the next day. The Democrats 
 had no faith in the election, but determined to make the thing 
 as ridiculous as possible. Hart spent some money to secure his 
 elective bauble, and at once proceeded to Washington to contest 
 the seat of Gilbert, but the United States Senate refused to 
 entertain his contest, and so he was caught out several hundred 
 dollars by these plunder-hunters. 
 
 The Internal Improvement Board had disposed of one 
 million one hundred thousand acres of land to the New York 
 and Florida Lumber, Land and Improvement Company, for ten 
 cents per acre, on condition of putting actual settlers for each 
 half section and opening an immigration office in New York and 
 establishing agencies in foreign countries. The plunderers 
 believed this to be a rich company, and were determined to have 
 a hand in the sale. While some of the members of the Legis- 
 lature were honest, and desired to protect the interests of the 
 people, the great majority of the so-called white Republicans 
 made it an object to make money out of every measure that 
 affected the public purse, and however corrupt a measure might 
 
Il6 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 be, and however damaging it might have been to tax-payers, it 
 could be passed by the Legislature if sufficient money was paid 
 to the leaders to appease their avarice. A resolution was intro- 
 duced declaring the disposing of the lands of the board of 
 Internal Improvement to be null and void, but it was postponed 
 from day to day in the lower branch of the Legislature before it 
 could be adopted for the sole purpose of extorting money from 
 the company to whom the lands had been sold. It was finally 
 adopted; but had the company thought the' resolution was of 
 sufficient importance to prevent its passage, it never would have 
 been adopted. The company had its representatives on hand, 
 who were confident that this matter was purely within the juris- 
 diction of the courts and not the Legislature, and they, there- 
 fore, paid no attention to the resolution. The Commissioner of 
 Lands and Immigration reported the transactions of the board 
 with reference to this sale in answer to the resolution passed by 
 the Legislature, calling upon the board for an explanation, as 
 will be seen by referring to Assembly journal, page 8i. 
 Schemes and counter schemes were introduced at. this session, 
 as in the sessions previous, to enrich the plunderers. 
 
 On January 21st James D. Green, of Manatee county, 
 introduced a resolution authorizing a committee of five to be 
 appointed to inquire into the acts and doings of Harrison Reed, 
 Governor of Florida, which resolution was adopted. Governor 
 Reed also sent a communication to the House requesting it to 
 have an impartial committee appointed to investigate his official 
 acts and the acts of several officers of the government. M. L. 
 Stearns, speaker of the Assembly, appointed James D. Green, 
 George P. Raney, John Simpson, H. H. Forward and William 
 B. White as said committee. While the committee was engaged 
 in its investigations the members of the Osborn ring were using 
 large quantities of bad whisky, cigars and money to influence 
 the colored members of the Legislature, regardless of testimony, 
 to favor impeachment. They would call general caucuses, and 
 those of the ring, not members of the Legislature, would be 
 invited into the caucuses and allowed to vote. At these cau- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. II7 
 
 cuses the silver-tongued, but tyrannical Purman, though a mem- 
 ber of the Senate at the time, would appear and 
 
 " With smooth dissimulation skilled to grace 
 A devil's purpose, with an angel's face," 
 
 he would tell the colored members how their own race had been 
 murdered in Jackson county, and our Republican Governor, 
 who stood at the head of the government, as a father stands at 
 the head of his family, refused to declare martial law in that 
 county and " hunt the hell-deserving rebels down." He would 
 tell them that he demanded the impeachment of Harrison Reed 
 in the name of the Republican party, in the name of all the 
 negro blood that had been shed upon a thousand battle-fields in 
 the late war. He would appeal to their passions in every way 
 imaginable to secure their votes for j^the impeachment of Reed. 
 These appeals did well for the moment, but they could not bear 
 scrutiny. The most of these colored members had been forced 
 to the opinion that if the Republican Government could be main- 
 tained in the State it could best be done by the man who was now 
 at the head of the government, and that " it was not safe to swap 
 horses while swimming the stream." They held a caucus and 
 determined to await the report of the committee. Some of them 
 were promised to be given so much money after they had voted 
 for impeachment ; but they preferred to have the money paid 
 before. hand. The ring, fearing from the last attempt at 
 impeachment, that the colored brother would not prove faithful, 
 changed front and offered to place the money in the hands of 
 third parties, to be delivered .after the vote was cast; but the 
 colored brother wanted no third party in this criminal matter. 
 With doubting heart and palsied hand part of the amount 
 agreed upon was paid to the colored brother, who now walks 
 off and smiles to know that he has got the best of the man who 
 so often sold his vote in the previous Legislatures. I shall tell 
 more of the colored brother when I get to the report of the com- 
 mittee. 
 
 During the investigations in the acts and doings of Governor 
 Reed he appointed E. C. Weeks as Lieutenant-Governor. This 
 was denounced by the ring as usurpation of power, and a com- 
 mittee was appointed to inquire into the appointment, with the 
 
Il8 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 intention of making that one of the causes of impeachment. 
 Weeks, on the next morning after his appointment, proceeded 
 to the Senate and attempted to preside. Hon. John A. Hender- 
 son, from Hillsborough county, came to his seat in the Senate 
 and saw Weeks in the president's chair. Henderson said noth- 
 ing until the time arrived to call the Senate to order. Weeks 
 seized the gavel and undertook to call the Senate to order. 
 Henderson, who was aware that Weeks had been appointed, 
 arose and inquired of the other Senators as to what that 
 was in the president's chair? Weeks responded that he had 
 been appointed Lieutenant-Governor by Governor Reed, which 
 position authorized him to preside over the Senate. The Senator 
 declared that the Senate would not recognize such appointment, 
 which position was sustained by the Senate. Weeks retired in good 
 order, and did not return. He some months after applied to the 
 Comptroller for his pay as Lieutenant-Governor, but the Comptrol- 
 ler refused to pay the amount on the ground that he w^as not legally 
 the Lieutenant-Governor. Weeks next applied to the Supreme 
 Court for a mandamus, compelling the payment of the amount, 
 and the Court ordered the amount paid, and thus affirmed the 
 validity of his appointment. 
 
 The 4th day of January was set apart for the report of the 
 committee of investigation. The author of this work deems it 
 unwise to embody the whole of the evidence and the majority 
 and minority reports, but will give only the strongest evidence 
 against the Governor, suppressing entirely the testimony of the 
 Governor himself. The strongest evidence is that of the letter, 
 exhibit G, which' is embodied in the majority report, and which 
 testimony I have copied verbatim. 
 
 Sherman Conant sworn — Saw a letter in June, 1869, in pos- 
 session of General Littlefield, at the City Hotel, in ^Tallahassee, 
 Fla., addressed to Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, purport- 
 ing to have been written by George W. Swepson, a true copy 
 of which is hereto annexed, marked Exhibit G. The letter was 
 signed by George W. Swepson. I have never had any business 
 transactions with Cieo. W. Swepson, nor have I ever seen him sign 
 his name. I saw in December this same duplicate original let- 
 ter, and at the same time I saw an instrument of writing purport- 
 ing to convey in real property in Florida, signed by George W. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. II9 
 
 Swepson to M. S. Littlefield, to which instrument was attached 
 a certificate of acknowledgement, under seal, to the effect that 
 George W. Swepson had acknowledged before such officer that 
 he had executed such instrument. The signature to the letter 
 above referred to and the signature to the instrument of writing 
 last mentioned were in the same handwriting. 
 
 The committee conclude their report as follows: 
 
 '' In regard to Governor Reed having received money as a 
 consideration for calling the special session of the Legislature, 
 which convened last June, we find that George W. Swepson 
 wrote to Governor Reed in the following words and figures, 
 to-wit: 
 
 (Confidential.) 
 
 ''Raleigh, N. C., May 31, 1869. 
 
 " Hon. Harrison Reed, Tallahassee, Fla.: 
 
 " Dear Sir — I regret 'my inability to be in your city dur- 
 ing the extra session of the Legislature. Had it been convened 
 on the first of June, as at first contemplated, I could have come. 
 As it is, I cannot. General Littlefield has the bill, etc., and will 
 fully explain everything to you ; we expect him to prevent any 
 difficulty being made with you by Osborn's friends. I write 
 hastily and to the point. You remember, when in New York, 
 our agreement was this: You were to call the Legislature 
 together, and use your influence to have our bills passed as 
 drawn by us, and if you were successful in this you were to 
 be paid twelve thousand five hundred dollars in cash, out of 
 which' amount was to be deducted the seventy-five hundred 
 (7500) dollars you have heretofore received, leaving a balance 
 of five thousand dollars to be paid at an early day. 
 
 "Should our bills as drawn pass, we want you to go to New 
 York and sign and issue to us the State bonds, and receive the 
 bonds of our road in exchange for them. 
 
 " Any arrangement General Littlefield may make in this 
 matter, will be carried out in good faith. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 * (Signed) "George W. Swepson. 
 
 *NoTE.— It afterwards transpired that Osborn visited Swepson at Raleigh and pre- 
 pared this letter, and pledged Swepson that if he would sign it he should have all 
 the legislation he wanted, saying, "I control two-thirds of the members and unless 
 you sign this you shall have nothing. " Swepson had his private secretary-, Rosen- 
 thal, to copy the letter in duplicate and handed one copy to Littlefield to take to 
 Florida, where Conant was to take charge T)f its execution. At the same time 
 Osborne received several thousand dollars from Swepson to insure success. 
 
I20 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 " This letter was sealed with private seal of Swepson, and 
 was delivered by General Milton S. Littlefield to Governor Reed 
 in Tallahassee, a day or two prior to the meeting of the Legisla- 
 ture in June. Governor Reed did not read this letter in General 
 Littlefield's presence. No allusion to the letter was ever made 
 by Governor Reed to General Littlefield, until in December, 
 he said to him it was Mr. Swepson's duty to correct the vile 
 slander of the Conant affidavit, and the newspaper articles upon 
 it. We find that General Littlefield let Governor Reed have 
 several sums of money during the session, but they were charged 
 against him, and what has not been paid, is now held in account 
 against him. He further states that he knows from Governor 
 Reed's own acknowledgment that Mr. Swepson has let Governor 
 Reed have seventy-five hundred dollars, $2,500 of which is 
 secured by mortgage, and the balance is the $5,000 draft before 
 alluded to. This is all we have been able to discover on this 
 point, except that there was a duplicate original of the letter 
 just recited, which was shown by General Littlefield to different 
 parties at different times. 
 
 " In the matter of the printing of State bonds, we find there 
 was material difference between the cost and that of other bonds 
 subsequently printed at the same house in New York. We find 
 no evidence of any fraud. 
 
 '* Reluctantly it is that we have come to the conclusion we 
 hold as to our duty ; but in view of the circumstances, our duty 
 is plain, and we therefore recommend that Harrison Reed, Gov- 
 ernor of Florida, be impeached, and respectfully recommend the 
 passage of the accompanying resolution." 
 
 James D. Green, Chairman, 
 Geo. p. Raney, 
 John Simpson, 
 H. H. Forward, 
 
 Resolved by the Assembly, That Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of Florida, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors, mal 
 feasance and incompetency in office. 
 
 Mr. White, of Clay, from same committee, made the follow- 
 ing minority report: 
 
 ''After much time and labor given to taking of the testi- 
 mony, still more time has been necessary to enable us to reach 
 any satisfactory conclusions, and thus the report has been de- 
 layed. Looking back over the history of the State for the last 
 ten years, so full of excitement, agitation, and turmoil, we are 
 profoundly impressed with a sense of the value of the results of 
 the reconstructive legislation of the National Government, and its 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 121 
 
 subsequent result in the organization of our own State govern- 
 ment. While we cannot claim that this legislation is absolutely 
 perfect, or the results to be altogether those that may have been 
 desired, yet knowing well the thousand difficulties that, from the 
 peculiar situation and characteristics of the whole South would 
 necessarily hang around and embarrass any attempt at adequate 
 legislation at the hand of merely human law-givers, we believe 
 that as a whole the legislation of reconstruction originated from 
 patriotic motives, was framed in a friendly spirit, though some 
 of its measures may seem harsh, and is as well fitted to promote 
 the ultimate prosperity of the Southern States, and the well- 
 being of their citizens, as could be hoped of any legislation that 
 could have been expected under the circumstances. 
 
 ''It has been, therefore, with no common regret that we 
 have seen, as citizens, the strength of the State government 
 impaired, its character tarnished, its credit injured, and its power 
 for good diminished by the multitude of charges and accusa- 
 tions that, from whatever source coming, have actually been in 
 circulation against the Executive of the State, and, as citizens, 
 have felt that the best good of the State and people, the cause 
 of truth and justice, and the private interests of the Executive, 
 all alike demanded a full investigation into the truth of the 
 charges made, and an impartial and fearless award of justice at 
 whatever cost of private feeling or party pride. 
 
 "And it was with precisely such feelings that, when unex- 
 pectedly the duty of investigation devolved upon us, we entered 
 into the examination of the charges made. We have made the 
 examination with all fairness, justice and impartiality, and 
 announce the consideration to which we have been irresistably 
 led by the testimony that has been laid before us. 
 
 ''From the nature of the charges made, and of evidence 
 adduced to support them, the attention of the committee has 
 been particularly directed towards the following transactions as 
 especially requiring examination, and as indicating sinister 
 motives, and involving criminality on the part of Governor 
 Reed. . ^ ^ 
 
 "ist. It was alleged that Governor Reed received from 
 George W. Swepson five thousand dollars, which was supposed 
 to have been improperly obtained for his own private use and 
 advantage, upon the credit of the State. 
 
 "2d. It was charged that Governor Reed had received 
 eleven hundred and fifty dollars from the Florida Railroad 
 Company due the Sinking Fund, without authority from the 
 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund, and had failed to 
 account therefor to the Treasurer of the Fund, except in scrip. 
 
 "3d. It was alleged that Governor Reed had received 
 
122 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 twelve thousand five hundred dollars for calling the extra session 
 of the Legislature in June, 1869. 
 
 "4th. It was alleged that Governor Reed had received a 
 balance due the State of some six thousand four hundred and 
 ninety-eight dollars, upon the sale of bonds belonging to the 
 State, in cash, and had accounted therefor in scrip. 
 
 *'5th. It was alleged that Governor Reed had purchased a 
 large quantity of arms for the use of the State, charging the 
 State therefor a larger sum than he actually paid for them. 
 
 ''6th. It was charged that Governor Reed had procured 
 the printing or engraving of certain bonds for the State, and 
 charged more for the same than he actually paid for the work. 
 
 ''A large amount of evidence, both oral and written, was 
 taken in reference to such of the different charges made, and 
 full and mature consideration was given to the same. The testi- 
 mony in full, as the same was taken by us, is herewith given, 
 and made a part of this report, and in view of the conclusion 
 ultimately reached, there seems to be no necessity of stating the 
 particular findings separately in regard to the charges made. 
 
 " We give the charges made as ^presented, the evidence as 
 received, and our own opinion upon the whole, leaving the final 
 determination and judgment to the calm consideration of your 
 honorable body, and the verdict of an enlightened public 
 opinion. 
 
 "On entering upon the investigation, we determined that 
 no bias of party feeling should induce us to shield the respon- 
 dent if, from evidence, his corruption or criminality should 
 clearly appear. On the other hand, realizing the confusion, dis- 
 order, and the manifold dangers that must necessarily follow an 
 abrupt, if only partial disorganization of the government, we 
 could not feel that our duty as citizens would warrant us in 
 recommending impeachment for any light reasons, or a necessity 
 appeared from the evidence of vindicating the character of our 
 whole people and the cause of justice. 
 
 "As stated before, we have fully examined the evidence; 
 have calmly considered it in the light of surrounding circum- 
 stances; and have heard the explanations of Governor Reed; 
 and while we find instances of conduct on the part of the 
 Governor that in our opinion are to some extent informal, 
 irregular, and indiscreet, patticularly in his connection with 
 financial matters, we also find a lack of co-operation and accord 
 existing between the Governor and a portion of his Cabinet, 
 which indeed appears in their respective official reports, that goes 
 far to palliate or perhaps excuse the irregularities referred to. 
 
 "With reference to a portion of the charges j)referred, we 
 find them in no wise substantiated by the evidence offered; and 
 in regard to others, where seeming irregularity appears, and 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 23 
 
 while entertaining grave doubts of the propriety of certain acts, 
 we find that when taken in connection with the attending and 
 difficult circumstances, there is absolutely no evidence of any 
 criminal intention whatever on the part of Governor Reed. 
 
 "Before announcing our final conclusion, we desire to put 
 far away any disposition to appeal in any degree to passion, 
 prejudice, or party feeling, and if any such feeling unwittingly 
 appears in our report, we desire most distinctly and solemnly to 
 disclaim and disavow it. 
 
 "And on the other hand, when we look forward to the 
 probable results that may reasonably, indeed almost certainly, 
 be expected to follow in the present unsettled and excited state 
 of the pubhc mind upon any hasty and inconsiderate action at 
 the present time, and before the final judgment of your honor- 
 able body, upon the results of this investigation as herein 
 embodied, we ask for calm and considerate reflection in the name 
 and for the sake of peace, order and obedience to law, appeal- 
 ing to that patriotic love of our common country, that universal 
 desire to promote the general good, that conscientious regard for 
 the precepts of justice and truth, which are the highest virtues 
 in any legislative body, to sustain whatever action conscience 
 and equity may demand. 
 
 "Before stating our conclusions, we feel bound in duty to 
 call attention to the many difficulties and embarrassments, partic- 
 ularly of a financial description, with which, in the administra- 
 tion of a newly organized government, Governor Reed has found 
 himself continually surrounded. Without sympathy, with scanty 
 resources, without the support from a portion of his Cabinet, as 
 it appears from the testimony and from official documents, called 
 to fill a multitude of offices by the appointment of comparative 
 strangers, he must have been seriously embarrassed and ham- 
 pered on every hand. 
 
 "After deliberate consideration of the charges, the evi- 
 dence, the surrounding and difficult circumstances, and in view 
 of the results that may be expected to follow the action taken, 
 we do not find the charges preferred to be so far sustained by 
 the evidence given as to warrant us in recommending an 
 impeachment, and accordingly offer as indicating the results of 
 our investigation, the accompanying preamble and resolution. 
 
 "WM. B. WHITE." 
 
 Whereas, By resolution of this House, grave charges of 
 incompetency, malfeasance and criminality were formally pre- 
 ferred against Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, a committee 
 of this House was duly commissioned to make investigation, and 
 report in regard to the evidence upon which such charges were 
 made; and, 
 
124 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Whereas, After full examination of the evidence adduced 
 and due consideration given to the explanations of Governor 
 Reed, said committee have reported that while there was evi- 
 dence of irregular and indiscreet action on the part of Governor 
 Reed, which may be considered reprehensible and not deserving 
 of approval, yet that, taking into consideration the circumstances 
 under which such action occurred, and the many difficulties 
 encountered, no proof is found of any corrupt or criminal inten- 
 tion on the part of Governor Reed that warrants impeachment ; 
 therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That in view of the charges made, the evidence 
 presented and the explanations offered, and in consideration of 
 attending circumstances, no sufficient evidence appears to 
 warrant the impeachment of Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida. 
 
 After the reading of the reports of the majority and minority 
 of the committee had been concluded the Assembly resolved 
 itself into committee of the whole on the subject. After some 
 time spent the committee rose and reported the two reports back 
 to the House and recommended the adoption of the majority 
 report. Before this recommendation was acted upon it was 
 ordered by the House that the whole testimony should be read. 
 A motion was made to adopt the majority report, which was 
 rejected by a vote of 29 to 21. John R. Scott, colored, of 
 Duval County, moved the adoption of the minority report, which 
 was adopted by a vote of 27 to 22. It will be seen that all the 
 colored members, with the exception of Cox, of Leon, voted 
 against impeachment. Hon. John R. Scott and H. S. Harmon, 
 of Alachua, while debating upon the evidence, showed that the 
 ring trying to impeach Harrison Reed would damn any State 
 government if it once got thoroughly fixed in power. You 
 might see during the roll-call the members of the ring watching 
 the colored members whom they had both paid and promised 
 money to vote for impeachment, frowning and trembling as the 
 colored brother, who had spent the money, now forgetting the 
 promise cast his vote to exonerate Reed. 
 
 There is an interesting incident connected with these reports 
 which may properly appear here. Captain Green, after the 
 investigation closed, called at the executive office and informed 
 the Governor that they had agreed to report in his favor, and at 
 the same time asked the ai)pointment of Mobly, of Tampa, as 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA, 1 25 
 
 judge in place of Magbee, who, he said, would resign if the Gov- 
 ernor required. Judge Hart had been advised with in prepar- 
 ing the report for the chairman, Green, and he had also advised 
 the Governor that it would sustain him. On the evening before 
 the report was to be made D. Richards called upon the Gov- 
 ernor and told him that unless five thousand dollars was paid 
 before 8 o'clock the next morning the report would be against 
 him. The Governor replied that nothing would be paid by 
 him, and he would abide the consequences. Again, in the 
 morning, the Governor was advised that Green and Simpson 
 must have five thousand dollars or they would sign the report 
 against him. Before roll-call in the Assembly, at i o o'clock, Green 
 and Simpson had been shown a U. S. check for $6,000 payable 
 to the U. S. marshal, which they were assured would be theirs 
 if they signed the report against the Governor. Simpson after- 
 wards publicly acknowledged that he was pledged $2,000 of the 
 avails of the draft. They sought to suppress entirely the report 
 prepared for the acquittal, but White was proof against their 
 blandishments and alone presented the report through the clerk, 
 Bynum. So certain were the conspirators now of full success 
 that the clerk refused to read the report presented by White, 
 and he was compelled to read it himself. 
 
 The most of the Democratic members voted for impeach- 
 ment, but whether influenced by the testimony or from a party 
 standpoint, I shall not attempt to say. [See Assembly Journal, 
 1870.] Osborn and his ring followers, now frustrated by the 
 action of the Assembly sustaining Reed, immediately sued for a 
 treaty of peace. A general caucus of all the leading Republi- 
 cans was again called to meet in the Senate chamber the same 
 night after Reed had been exonerated, and the Reed and anti- 
 Reed men were present. The anti-Reed men were the first to 
 speak, who made haste to acknowledge their wrong and beg 
 pardon of the Governor and of their party for attempting to over- 
 throw the Republican administration. Green, of Manatee, who 
 offered the resolution of investigation, arose and pledged the 
 Governor his future support, and wound up by saying that he 
 felt like the little boy who got besmeared twenty miles from 
 water. The famous Littlefield was on hand and made a speech 
 congratulatory of the Governor. He said he felt like the old 
 
126 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 woman who sang " Hey, daddy's diddle, the cat's in the fiddle, 
 and her tail flew out." A resolution was passed unanimously 
 by the caucus to support the administration of Governor Reed, 
 after which they adjourned. 
 
 All this time the administration was in a terrible muddle, 
 and no one could conjecture what the end would be. Although 
 the ring leaders of impeachment had pretended to ground their 
 arms, it was apparent that they were still in deadly hostility. 
 The Governor and his Cabinet could not co-operate, and a 
 committee appointed by the Assembly to investigate the acts and 
 doings of the several Cabinet officers reported the following : 
 
 '' We have been painfully convinced of the want of that 
 agreement and co-operation between the Governor and the 
 Cabinet, which should prevail. Indeed, it appears from the evi- 
 dence that the want of harmony has at times proceeded to the 
 extent of actual opposition ; and official colleagues at this time 
 are not on speaking terms with the Governor. Such a condition 
 of things ought not to continue; it impedes the transaction of 
 public business; it tends to injure the State credit; it lessens 
 the efficiency of the government and lowers it in the confidence 
 of our citizens, and of the people without the State ; and in full 
 consideration of all the facts that appear, and of the importance 
 of securing thorough co-operation between the State officers, and 
 in due deference to the action of the Honorable Assembly, the 
 committee find it to be their duty to conclude their report with 
 the following suggestion : 
 
 ' ' Without imputing special blame to any one, or entirely 
 excusing any one, the committee desire to suggest to all the mem- 
 bers of the Cabinet, the immediate resignation of the whole 
 Cabinet and giving Governor Reed an opportunity, by and with 
 the advice of the Senate, to select a Cabinet who could cooper- 
 with him." 
 
 A minority report requested Governor Reed to resign. 
 Both reports were laid on the table. 
 
 In the summer of 1870 the Republicans of the State met 
 in convention at Gainesville, to make nominations for Congress- 
 man and Lieutenant-Governor. The Osborn ring strove hard to 
 re-nominate Charles Hamilton, of Jackson county notoriety, for 
 Congress, but colored men who were delegates to the conven- 
 tion had made up their minds to have some representation on 
 the State ticket, which resulted in the nomination of Josiah T. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I27 
 
 Walls, of Alachua county, for Congress. So much were they 
 elated in the nomination of Walls that they slept upon their suc- 
 cess, and allowed the ring to nominate one of their number, 
 Samuel T. Day, of Columbia county, for Lieutenant-Governor. 
 The ring now organized to elect Day and defeat Walls. They 
 sulked in their tents and refused to work for Walls' election. 
 The Democrats nominated in that year Hon. S. L. Niblack, of 
 Columbia county, for Congress, and Hon. William D. Bloxham, 
 of Leon county, for Lieutenant-Governor. The ring was now 
 for the first time confronted with a political giant, who was 
 destined to overthrow the carpetbag dynasty of Florida. At 
 this period no Democrat was anxious to receive the nomination 
 for anything, and all of them looked upon Bloxham's canvass as 
 a helpless one. With no money with which to make a canvass 
 except that drawn from his own pocket ; no State committee to 
 organize the Democratic and conservative masses ; with carpet- 
 bag postmasters and route agents to intercept his communications 
 to the different counties, this man visited every county in the 
 State and nearly every town, hamlet and cross-roads, and with 
 the cry of carpetbag corruption and the reign of terror that 
 had been inaugurated in Jackson county by Purman and Hamil- 
 ton, which he so eloquently and truthfully depicted, he showed 
 almost superhuman ability and success in reuniting and arousing 
 the whites and the conservative elements in the State in solid 
 phalanx against the plunder ring. The Democratic party in 
 Florida, which had become disheartened and disorganized from 
 repeated defeats, then began to show signs of vigorous life. Mr. 
 Bloxham's record, shortly after the emancipation as an ex-slave- 
 holder, in establishing the first colored school on his own planta- 
 tion ; taking the money from his own pocket to build the house, 
 and paying the major portion of the money for a teacher, made 
 him so very popular with the freedmen that the carpetbag leaders, 
 with all their league oaths and false representations of re-enslave- 
 ment of the freedmen, were utterly baffled in the attempt to 
 divert a large portion of them from him. In fact, the Demo- 
 cratic party of Florida had no cohesiveness until Bloxham became 
 its candidate in 1870, and it was Bloxham who rallied the masses 
 against Stearns in 1876. Mr. Bloxham was not a member of 
 the Constitutional Convention of 1865, nor did he labor under 
 
128 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 the heavy cloud of having been a member of the Legislature 
 under the Andrew Johnson reconstruction, which had passed 
 laws that enabled the carpet-baggers, in addition to the league 
 obligation, to so frighten the freedmen as to rally them in sup- 
 port of the most unprincipled and corrupt men. 
 
 Osborn, who was anxious to be returned to the United 
 States Senate, determined to leave no stone unturned to secure 
 as many members of the State Senate as possible, preparatory to 
 the expiration of his term. Duval county, as well as Leon, 
 had heretofore opposed from the beginning of reconstruction 
 Osborn and his whole gang. A Senator must be had from this 
 county at all hazards, the will of the majority to the contrary 
 notwithstanding, and this request of the chief was urgent and 
 mandatory. The ring assembled in secret conclave in Jackson- 
 ville and discussed the probabilities and improbabilities of secur- 
 ing a nomination at the hands of the Republican nominating 
 convention, by a free use of money and bad whisky ; and if that 
 should fail, the next step was to secure John R. Scott, colored, 
 who was one of the leading lights among the colored men of that 
 county, and have him to understand that they were in favor of 
 him, in order that if he was nominated for the Senate they could 
 more easily make a combination with the Democrats to defeat 
 him and elect one after their own heart, Horatio Jenkins, Jr. 
 Should they fail in this, or should the canvass look squally for 
 them, then fraud upon the ballot-box was to be committed and 
 Jenkins counted in ; and should they fail in this, Jenkins was to 
 contest the seat of Scott by making a combination with the 
 Democrats in the Senate, touching the safety of" their minority 
 in the Senate, and thereby oust Scott and seat Jenkins. As to 
 the true intention of the conspirators, Scott was unaware. Let 
 us see if they were successful in any of these propositions. 
 
 John R. Scott, now ambitious for Senatorial honors, was 
 worked up to fever heat to secure the prize. The convention 
 met, and it was at once observed that W. H. Christy, white 
 Republican, who did not belong to the Osborn gang, was the 
 choice of the convention. The anti-ring delegates held a cau- 
 cus, which was attended by Scott as one of them. Scott talked 
 and advised with the other delegates, and assured them that he 
 was with them for the nomination of Christy. He begged the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 129 
 
 caucus to make him chairman of the convention, which was 
 done, and in a few minutes the convention was called to order. 
 Scott, as pre-arranged, was made chairman. Christy was nomi- 
 nated by one of the anti-ring delegates, and instantly the carpet- 
 baggers, Dockray, Jenkins and Cheney presented the name of 
 Scott as Christy's opponent, as agreed upon before. The anti- 
 ring delegates were astonished and rushed to Scott to have him 
 withdraw his name, but he did not seem to understand what 
 they meant. Ballotting commenced, and resulted in the nomi- 
 nation of Christy by a large majority, but Scott ruled that the 
 resolution was unintelligible, and ordered a new ballot, which 
 was had, and again Christy received a large majority. Some 
 informalities which Scott contended compelled him to rule that 
 the first ballot was unintelligible, happened this time all right, 
 but he ruled just the opposite to what he did before, so that a 
 third ballot was ordered, which again resulted in the nomination 
 of Christy. The ring now gave up the ghost and abandoned 
 their proposition. Scott and Dan Mclnnis were nominated for 
 the Assembly. 
 
 The ring, expecting that they would have Scott to deal 
 with, when it turned out that they had Christy, hesitated for 
 a while to attempt to defraud him at the ballot box, and invented 
 another plan, and that was to get Jenkins to the lower house, 
 which would give him influence to be returned to the Legislature 
 two years hence, and also to lead in the impeachment of Har- 
 rison Reed. ' Some days after the convention, while Christy was 
 incidentally in the business place of Dan Mclnnis, W, M. Led- 
 with, who was at that time friendly with Osborn, came in, and 
 said : " Mclnnis, I am authorized by Colonel Osborn to say to 
 you that if you will simply withdraw from your place on the 
 Legislative ticket and let Jenkins go on in your place, he will 
 give you five thousand dollars, and give you also the regular pay ; 
 we do not ask you to take an active part in his favor." Mclnnis 
 replied, " Ledwith, tell Osborn to go to h — 1 with his money; I 
 have my trade to make my living from." Having failed to 
 defeat the will of the majority in these two efforts, they resorted 
 to the Democrats for success. They entered into an arrange- 
 ment with H. H. Hoeg and Miles Price, who were ambitious 
 for legislative honors, and members of the Democratic party. 
 
130 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Hoeg and Price being backed by a very small minority of the 
 Democrats of the county, in the arrangement, to the effect that 
 a ticket with Horatio Jenkins, Jr., for Senator, and H. H. Hoeg 
 and Miles Price for the Assembly should be run in opposition to 
 the regular Republican ticket, Hoeg and Price to furnish the 
 money to run the campaign, except $1,000, which Jenkins was 
 to contribute, which, according to the statement afterwards of 
 Hoeg's accountant, they did to over $4,000. The Democrats 
 on the day of election pretty much all voted for Christy, as did 
 the Republicans ; and according to the count, Christy, Scott and 
 Mclnnis were elected by more than two-thirds vote of the 
 county. The county board of canvassers (the clerk, judge of 
 probate and a justice), after throwing out irregularities, etc., cer- 
 tified to the Secretary of State that the Christy ticket was elected 
 by 825 majority. The day of election, the ring, with what follow- 
 ing they could muster, went down to Yellow Bluff precinct, 
 an obscure little village, to vote, thus laying the foundation for 
 the fraud afterwards perpetrated. Yellow Bluff proper had 
 about 80 votes, but the ring had invented a method by which a 
 minority could be transformed into a majority without votes or 
 the knowledge or consent of the voter. They waylaid the 
 Inspector from this precinct, who had been entrusted with the 
 ballot box to deliver at the County Clerk's office, and getting 
 him drunk, broke it open, took out and destroyed the returns 
 made by the Inspectors and substituted one of their own manu- 
 facture, with votes for the other ticket, to correspond with the 
 return — the same being made to give Jenkins, Hoeg and Price 
 small majorities. Resealing the box, it was corrveyed to the 
 Clerk's office, and the demand made for its count; but the can- 
 vassers failed to see it, and threw it out. At the time of the 
 canvass, Governor Reed was in Jacksonville, and was appealed 
 to personally by Cheney and Osborn to instruct the clerk and 
 judge to canvass in Jenkins. He replied that he had never yet 
 been a willing party to a fraud and immediately called upon the 
 officers to discharge their duty under the law, regardless of the 
 results. Osborn afterwards sent a note to the Governor apolo- 
 gizing for the request, and saying it was only because he wished 
 to save the election of Walls. At the canvass of the vote by the 
 State Board of Canvassers, Christy and his ticket were again 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I3I 
 
 declared elected. The ring now held another consultation meet- 
 ing and determined to make their last desperate assault on 
 Christy. They had an understanding among themselves to 
 wait quietly until the meeting of the Legislature, and learn what 
 Republicans were contesting the seats of Democratic Senators. 
 Their henchman, Lieutenant-Governor Day, whose duty it was 
 to preside over the Senate and appoint its committees, was to 
 appoint the committee on privileges and elections exclusively 
 from the members of the ring, with the exception of the two 
 representatives of the Democratic party. This part of the pro- 
 gramme was carried out to the letter, and the committee was 
 accordingly appointed. The seats of several Democratic Sena- 
 tors were contested, and at the low estimate in which the ring 
 held the voice of the people at that time it was not a question of 
 honest votes cast for the candidates and contestants, but as to 
 whether the ring could obtain votes enough in the Senate to seat 
 or oust members in utter disregard of the Constitution, law, 
 right or justice. They entered into an agreement with the Dem- 
 ocratic Senators that if they would seat Jenkins in Christy's 
 place, they, the ring members, would sustain Ross, Democrat, 
 sitting member from Columbia County, whose seat was contested 
 by Dr. E. G. Johnson, Republican. They also agreed to seat 
 Allen, Democrat, from Hamilton, in place of the sitting member 
 from that county, who was a Republican, and^to seat Duncan, 
 Democrat, from Lafayette and Taylor, in place of Krimminger, 
 Republican. Christy did not occupy his seat more than three 
 days. Senator Atkins, one of the two Democrats of the com- 
 mittee on privileges and elections, came to Mr. Christy just 
 before the meeting of the Senate on the day he was ousted, and 
 said: " Mr. Christy, in regard to this contest, we all know you 
 and like you, and know you were elected. You have lived 
 among us a long time, and we would prefer to keep you in your 
 seat ; but it becomes us as Democrats to make what capital we 
 can out of these things, and if you will promise to do the same 
 things for us that Jenkins and his friends have promised, we will 
 keep you in your seat and send Jenkins home." Mr. Christy 
 asked him what they had promised, and he said, ''They prom- 
 ised to seat Allen, from Hamilton, to keep Charley Ross in from 
 Columbia, and to unseat Krimminger." Christy's reply was — 
 
132 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 '' Mr. Atkins, I have fought as hard a battle for my seat in the 
 Senate as any man ever fought, without compromising myself, 
 and I don't propose to do so at this eleventh hour. I claim my 
 seat as my right. I have no pledges to make to any man or any 
 set of men." In a few minutes after this conversation the Sen- 
 ate resumed its session, the packed committee on privileges and 
 elections, L. G. Dennis, W. J. Purman, and Fred Hill, reported 
 Jenkins entitled to the seat of Christy. Eleven Democrats and 
 four Republicans voted to oust Christy. The Republicans were 
 Meacham, Wentworth, Hill and Dennis, and the only Demo- 
 crat who voted yea was Ross. 
 
 Jenkins and his friends now had an opportunity to show 
 whether the promise of a genuine carpet-bagger was worth any- 
 thing, and whether such carpetbagger was worth a promise. A 
 few days after the ouster of Christy, Ross, who had voted to 
 unseat Christy, was ousted and Johnson seated, Allen was 
 reported against, Krimminger was declared entitled to his seat, 
 and every promise made by Jenkins and his ring friends was 
 utterly disregarded and violated. The Democrats, who now 
 saw that they had been outwitted by the carpet-baggers, went to 
 Christy and solicited him to have his name associated with Ross 
 to oust Jenkins, but he was not willing to have Ross who had 
 voted against him now slid back on his shoulders. It would 
 thus appear that the astute and unprincipled carpet-bagger was 
 not only capable of misleading the negro, but the Southern 
 whites as well, and that both were susceptible of being punished. 
 Notwithstanding these men who were parties to the Yellow 
 Bluff fraud stood before the public convicted of this glaring 
 outrage upon the ballot box, which, if tolerated, would put an 
 end to all republican government, yet they were allowed to 
 hold the most important Federal offices, and to act as Chairmen 
 and Secretaries of our State Republican committees. While 
 Jenkins usurped the seat of Christy, Scott and Mclnnis were 
 permitted to retain their seats from the same county. Ross, 
 Duncan and Allen had received large majorities in their Sena- 
 torial districts, but were not permitted to occupy their seats. 
 The freedmen had now begun to learn that the men who had 
 been loudest in the denunciation of the Southern whites for 
 openly opposing negro suffrage, were secretly engaged all over 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I33 
 
 the State in nullifying that very suffrage when the exercise of it 
 by them did not put a carpet-bagger in office. 
 
 Three or four days after the election of 1870 it became evi- 
 dent that Bloxham and Niblack were elected by good majorities, 
 though the ring, through their newspapers, claimed the election 
 of Day and Walls, whom they were confident had been defeated ; 
 and while they rejoiced in their hearts over the defeat of Walls, 
 yet they could not hide their despondency over the defeat of 
 Day. How to get Day in and count Walls out was a very diffi- 
 cult question to solve. The leaders of the ring and such other 
 members as sat in the " amen corner" at once held a consulta- 
 tion to devise means to successfully behead Bloxham, the Demo- 
 cratic giant. It was proposed at first to count in Niblack for 
 Congress and Day for Lieutenant-Governor, but this was 
 objected to by some of the members on the ground that the 
 returns from all the counties would not be so accessible as the 
 returns from Yellow Bluff had been, and that such a step would 
 cause the colored brother to kick through Walls, who was him- 
 self admitted to be very shrewd, and the whole fraud and the 
 parties to it might be criminally exposed. They finally agreed 
 to play the game of Yellow Bluff on a different and larger scale. 
 In all the back Democratic counties which had Republican 
 officers, who composed the county boards of canvassers, said 
 officers were to delay the returns to the State Board of Canvass- 
 ers a sufficient length of time so as not to be at the capital within 
 the time prescribed by law, which was thirty days after the day 
 of election. The Republican counties were mostly on the line 
 of railroad and the returns from them could be got to the cap- 
 ital within three or four days. This proposition was to be kept 
 very secret and sent to none but those who could be trusted as 
 true sympathizers of the ring. All agreed that this was an excel- 
 lent plan and the edict went forth, which was partially obeyed. 
 The plan was made known by special couriers sent to the differ- 
 ent counties in the garb of U. S. marshals, pretending to be 
 hunting up election frauds committed by the Democrats. These 
 marshals would arrest some Democrat on some frivolous charge 
 and carry him to Jacksonville, put him under bond until court 
 met, and then turn him loose. The next question was as to 
 whether the ring could induce the Board of State Canvassers to 
 
134 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 act in accord with this plan. Reed, although not a member of 
 the board, was yet sore about their repeated attempts at impeach- 
 ment, and might hesitate to enter an alliance with his old ene- 
 mies to carry out so critical a proposition, and would be hard to 
 make understand their real plan ; but Day 77iust be counted in. 
 Gibbs, Secretary of State and a member of the board, they feared 
 could not be depended upon, as he was generally opposed to 
 corruption in any shape. Gamble, the Comptroller, another 
 member of the board, was a Democrat, and Meek, Attorney- 
 General, was a Republican who, they feared, could not be relied 
 upon for their purposes, though he was opposed to Governor 
 Reed. E. M. Cheney, chairman of the so-called Republican 
 State Committee, who was second in command of all the ring 
 forces in Florida when Osborn was in the State, but in full com- 
 mand when he was in Washington or out of the State, had 
 declared that the State had been carried by the Republicans, 
 and must be so counted. The presence of Cheney, M. Martin, 
 L. G. Dennis, the " Little Giant," and other leading lights of 
 the ring, was an admonition to the shrewd Bloxham and the 
 veteran editor of the Floridian that some political trick was 
 imminent. Different ones of the ring approached Governor 
 Reed and indirecdy suggested the counting out of Bloxham and 
 Niblack, but he informed them that if Bloxham was elected he 
 ought to be so declared by the Board of Canvassers. The ring 
 gave the Governor to understand that if Bloxham was counted in 
 they would unite with the Democrats to impeach him, Reed, so as 
 to make Bloxham Governor. Reed made them understand that he 
 should not attempt to control the members of the board in the execu- 
 tion of their duty, but, whatever their action might be, he would 
 have to submit. Gibbs was the next one besieged by the ring. 
 The same whip of impeachment held over Reed was now success- 
 fully used on Gibbs. The counting-out process was demanded as a 
 party necessity, while Gibbs himself was threatened with trumped- 
 up charges relative to his office if he failed to do the bidding of 
 the ring. In fact, the whole party influence was brought to 
 bear on Gibbs, showing the necessity of the counting out of 
 Bloxham. The Democrats had generally voted with the ring in 
 the impeachment movements, and Gibbs, being between two 
 fires, finally, but unwillingly, yielded to the tempters. Gibbs 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I35 
 
 secured, the next victim to this outrage was Attorney-General 
 Meek, who for some time stood in the doubtful column ; but it 
 was afterwards believed that he, too, yielded to the tempters, 
 but proved faithful to them only for a little season. " The spirit 
 was willing, but the flesh was weak." Although he had become 
 alienated from the Governor and placed himself in official as 
 well as personal antagonism, he hesitated to accede to the 
 demands of the rmg, but feared to oppose them. He claimed 
 to have received an anonymous letter threatening violence if he 
 assented to a false count. It was generally believed that the 
 letter was written by himself. He returned to his home in Jack- 
 sonville, where he was taken dangerously ill and was unable to 
 attend the final canvass. Mr. Adams, the Commissioner of 
 Immigration, was authorized to present to the Governor his resig- 
 nation upon condition that he would appoint Conant to serve 
 until the assembling of the Legislature and then reappoint Meek 
 or give him the judgeship of the Jacksonville circuit. The Gov- 
 ernor, in order to get rid of an obnoxious Attorney-General, 
 accepted the resignation of Meek, who was represented to him' 
 as in a dying condition, and appointed Conant to complete the 
 canvass, upon the pledge that he would immediately vacate for 
 a competent successor. The Governor discovered his mistake 
 when, at the succeeding session of the Legislature, Conant sought 
 to hold the office in defiance of him until the session ended his 
 commission. He had got rid of Meek only to find a more bold, 
 able and defiant corruptionist. 
 
 The board of canvassers met in the office of the Secretary 
 of State on the 29th day of November and organized for the 
 purpose of canvassing the returns from the different counties. 
 Bloxham, in the meantime, had partially learned what trick was 
 up and had his spies on hand. The board locked themselves 
 in the Secretary's office and no one was allowed to enter but 
 themselves. Col. Robert H. Gamble was the inside spirit, he 
 being the Democratic member of the board, and Capt. C. E. 
 Dyke standing at the key-hole on the outside waiting for a 
 whisper from Gamble. When the returns were opened it was 
 discovered that the special couriers sent to the different counties 
 had done their work well. The counties of Brevard, Dade, 
 Manatee, Calhoun, Lafayette, Sumter, Suwannee and Taylor 
 
136 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 were not in. It was evident to Gamble that the two members 
 of the board were bent on counting the vote as then returned 
 and to declare the result, which would have given Day a major- 
 ity. Capt. Dyke, still at his post on the outside key-hole, had 
 received several important dispatches from Col. Gamble as to 
 the doings of the major members of the board, which he had 
 conveyed to Bloxham. The information conveyed by these dis- 
 patches induced Bloxham to apply to Judge While, of the Second 
 Judicial Circuit, for an injunction restraining the board from 
 further canvass until the further order of the court. The Judge 
 was holding court in the city of Monticello, about thirty miles 
 away, and it took until the next day to receive the injunction. 
 Dyke, not having heard from Col. Gamble for some time, wrote 
 a note, which he shoved under the door, urging him to detain 
 the board as long as possible, either by making motions, debat- 
 ing, conversation, or anything to kill time until the injunction 
 should arrive. This dispatch fell into the wrong hands, as 
 Gibbs was the first to see it, read it and then put it in a book in 
 his office. Gamble went outside to carry another dispatch, 
 when Dyke inquired whether he had received the one shoved 
 under the door. He answered no, and rushed back into the 
 office and asked who had received it. Meek wanted to know if 
 Gamble imputed the stealing of the note to him, when Gibbs 
 told him that he had picked up a note and laid it in a book. 
 Gamble got very wrathy about the matter, but Gibbs informed 
 him that he thought the note was of no consequence. The 
 injunction was received the next day, the 30th, and was duly 
 served on all the members of the board, and the board in a few 
 days afterwards adjourned until the 26th day of December. 
 When the injunction was served on the board the ring for a time 
 thought all was lost. The board began to realize the fact that 
 Bloxham was elected, but the ring having the United States 
 Court in their hands rallied again, and assured the members of 
 the board that White should be arrested for issuing the injunc- 
 tion, and begged them to remain faithful and steadfast. Meek 
 failed to be comforted by these promises of security, and he 
 resigned his position as Attorney-General on the day of the 
 adjournment of the board to the 26th day of December. White 
 was arrested and carried before the United States Court, charged 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 137 
 
 with having violated the laws of the United States, and was 
 kept under bond until the fraudulent count had been committed, 
 and was then discharged. 
 
 The ring was determined to have some one whom they 
 could control appointed Attorney-General and upon whom they 
 could rely in carrying out the fraudulent count, as the fraud was 
 so glaring that it took a man of great nerve to face the music. 
 They were not long in finding that man. Major Sherman Conant, 
 who at that time was one of the leaders of the ring, was selected 
 to do the counting. Governor Reed was insisted upon to make 
 this appointment, which he for some time refused to do; but 
 the ring gave him to understand that Conant would resign as 
 soon as the canvass was made, so as to let him appoint a man 
 of his own choice to fill this important position. The Governor 
 made the appointment as requested by the leaders of the ring 
 and party, as it was then constituted, and the only thing the 
 ring then feared was that Gibbs might falter. The interval 
 between the time at which the injunction was served and the 
 adjournment to the 26th of December was very interesting indeed 
 to the members of the ring. Every night they met and discussed 
 the question as to how to make this fraudulent count a success. 
 It was suggested that Bloxham might go before the Supreme 
 Court and compel an honest count by mandamus, which all 
 agreed might be done. It was also suggested that the returns 
 could be taken from the office of the Secretary of State and the 
 Governor's office and destroyed, if those officers would avow 
 that they had been stolen; but this plan was thought to be inex- 
 pedient. It was finally agreed that when the board adjourned it 
 should adjourn to the Christmas week, at which time the 
 Supreme Court could not be got together, and it would be near 
 the meeting of the Legislature, and that body would then be 
 called upon as accessory after the fact to give effect to the crime 
 of counting out men who had been legally elected. The plan 
 was only known to a few, and operated like clockwork. 
 
 The board met, as agreed, on the 27th of December, with 
 the new Attorney-General and all the members of the board 
 present. Conant and Gibbs, after the board had been called to 
 order, withdrew from the Secretary's office, leaving the unsus- 
 pecting Gamble to await their return. It was charged that they 
 
138 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 went into the office of the Governor, but this was not true. 
 When they returned they had made the canvass by throwing out 
 the nine counties before mentioned, and declaring Day and 
 Walls elected. A certificate of the result was carried to Gamble, 
 who was informed by them that there was a little matter they 
 had fixed up and signed, and they desired to get his signature to 
 it. He looked at the paper and to his astonishment it purported 
 to be the result of the canvass of the vote which they had met 
 to make. He wanted to know when and where the canvass had 
 been made, but received no answer. He refused to sign the 
 certificate of the result of the canvass made by them, but this 
 availed nothing. Day and Walls were declared elected, and 
 the board adjourned sine die. The canvass was made in utter 
 disregard of the injunction issued by Judge White, and said 
 order was not dissolved until the 28th, the day after the can- 
 vass. 
 
 Bloxham, who had been outraged, as well as the people who 
 had voted for him, now filed a petition in the Supreme Court of 
 the State of Florida for an alternative writ of mandamus com- 
 pelling the Board of Canvassers to reassemble and canvass the 
 votes from the nine counties which they. had thrown out. R. B. 
 Hilton and S. J. Douglas appeared for the relator and J. B. C. 
 Drew for the respondents. The petition showed that 2,582 
 votes were cast in the nine counties mentioned, and of these 
 votes Bloxham had received 1,630, while 952 were cast for Day 
 showing a majority for Bloxham in these counties of 678 votes. 
 The vote as cast in the whole State was as follows : Bloxham, 
 13,462; Day, 13,398; leaving Bloxham's majority 64. The 
 answer to the writ was. First, that the court had no power to 
 grant the writ in this case. Second, that the facts set up were 
 not sufficient to entitle the relator to the relief demanded. 
 Third, that the relator had not pursued the proper remedy. 
 
 The Legislature had been in session a few days, and pend- 
 ing the mandamus proceedings, it was brought to the attention 
 of the court that the law which created the State Board of Can- 
 vassers had been repealed by the Legislature then in session. 
 The court's attention was not called to the re])eal of this act by 
 the attorneys on either side; but the law repealing the act was 
 accidently laid in front of the Chief Justice (Randall) while he 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 139 
 
 and the other judges sat on the bench and were about to deHver 
 an opinion that Bloxham should be counted in. It was very 
 singular that the Chief Justice should take judicial notice of a 
 paper when he did not know whether it was fictitious or genuine, 
 especially when it involved the rights of all the people in the 
 State. The court, after declaring its authority to grant a writ of 
 mandamus directing the Board of State Canvassers to reas- 
 semble and complete a canvass of the returns of votes cast 
 at a State election, where they have neglected to make a com- 
 plete canvass of the returns in their possession, said, 
 ''Pending the proceedings by mandamus against the Board of 
 Canvassers, the Legislature repealed the law creating such 
 board, without saving proceedings or duties required by law to 
 be performed by them and uncompleted. Held : That the 
 power of the board to proceed was gone, and therefore the pro- 
 ceedings against them were dismissed." See 13th Florida 
 Reports, p. 55. This act of the Legislature was very quietly 
 and cautiously engineered through without being even suspected 
 on the part of the Democrats. 
 
 The counting out of Bloxham and Niblack made Conant 
 very popular among the members of the ring, and he was after- 
 wards appointed United States Marshal for Florida. Gibbs 
 received no credit from the ring, as the part he played in the mat- 
 ter was looked upon as being compulsory. 
 
 Thus the legislative branch of the government, instead of 
 being the guardian of purity of the ballot box, was made the 
 only loophole through which this fraud could escape to high 
 places. 
 
 The meeting of the Legislature of 1871 was conspicuous 
 for nothing except the election of a corrupt Chief Clerk of the 
 Senate — the notorious Joseph Bowes, professed ballot-box stuffer ; 
 completing the Bloxham fraud ; and the ousting of Democratic 
 members who had been legally elected. There was no venture 
 at impeachment, for the reason of the treaty of peace with 
 reference to the counting out of Bloxham. The Governor's 
 message was devoted chiefly to the finances of the State, but the 
 Legislature refused to accept any measure recommended by the 
 Governor, and after a session of twenty days it adjourned sine 
 die. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Meeting of the Legislature of i8y2. Extracts from the Gov- 
 erfior's Message. Corruptionists Hunting up and Investigat- 
 ing Charges of Corruptioii. The Blue Scrip Transaction. 
 Colored Members Denouncing Corruption. Impeachment of 
 Governor Reed. The First Articles of Impeachment. The 
 Senate Takes Order, and Day Assumes the Office of Governor. 
 The Assembly Withdraws Articles Fifth and Sixth and Pre- 
 sents Others. The Assembly Askifigfor Further Ti7?ie to Prose- 
 cute the Impeachment. The High Court of Impeachment 
 Refuses to Grafit Further Time, and Adjourns. The Contri- 
 tion of the Conspirators. 
 
 The Legislature met on the second day of January, 1872, 
 and the Assembly, after electing its officers, informed the Senate 
 of its organization, and the Senate sent the same information to 
 the Assembly. Hamilton Jay, who was then clerk for S. B. 
 Conover, State Treasurer, was elected chief clerk of the Assem- 
 bly. Mr. Jay was a fresh carpet-bagger from the North, who 
 had not tasted to any great extent the pap of the State, and he 
 had not been in the State long enough to register. The leading 
 carpet-baggers from all parts of the State were on hand in full 
 force, and it was evident that something important regarding the 
 interests of the ring was to be accomplished. 
 
 F. A. Dockray, who, from the first, had been Osborn's 
 most active agent in all the efforts to override or remove Gov- 
 ernor Reed, and who had been rewarded with the appointment 
 of collector of the port of Jacksonville, came fresh from Washing- 
 ton and made demand for the appointment of Attorney-General, 
 then temporarily held by J. B. C. Drew, a non-resident carpet- 
 bagger, from Wisconsin. Drew demanded that his nomination 
 for the position should be sent to the Senate. Dennis demanded 
 the removal of all the county officers of Alachua and the 
 appointment of W. K. Cessna as County Judge, with other cor- 
 ruptionists for the balance. W. J. Purman demanded the 
 removal of all the county officers of Jackson county and the 
 
142 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 appointment of non-residents. All these demands were made 
 upon the Governor under threat of impeachment if not complied 
 with ; and when Dennis repeated his demand and presented his 
 alternative, the Governor is reported to so far have forgotten his 
 church fealty as to reply : " Impeach and be d — d. I ask no 
 favors of you or any of Osborn's corrupt crowd." These four 
 combined immediately planned the suspension of Governor 
 Reed, the installation of Lieutenant-Governor Day, the issue of 
 two millions more of railroad bonds to Littlefield, one quarter of 
 which was to be divided among members of the Legislature and 
 the remainder distributed among the conspirators. Dockray and 
 Drew furnished the evidence for the committee sitting in secret, 
 made the report, based upon unsworn and unfounded testimony. 
 Cessna, the tool of Dennis, from Alachua county, was the willing 
 instrument to introduce the resolution, and vStearns, the Surveyor. 
 General and Speaker; Jenkins, the clerk of the House and 
 afterwards defaulting Collector of Internal Revenue ; Purman, 
 the United States Assessor of Internal Revenue ; Wentworth, 
 United States Marshal, then a defaulter for money used in the 
 previous attempt to depose the Governor, holding seats and hav- 
 ing control of the Senate under Osborn, were relied upon after 
 suspending the Governor, to present a trial or even an examina- 
 tion of the testimony. 
 
 When the plan was all ready for execution the committee 
 met, received the testimony and report prepared by Dockray and 
 adopted them. Stearns called together all the more ignorant 
 and prejudiced of the colored Assemblymen, pledging them to 
 vote the next morning for a resolution of impeachment, assuring 
 them that it would be proved that the Governor had appropriated 
 the public funds, etc. Gillist, a Southern loyalist, from Putnam 
 county, holding from Governor Reed the appointment of County 
 Judge, was secured by promise of the position of Circuit Judge 
 for the Fourth Circuit ; Dukes, Democratic Assemblyman, 
 from Columbia, was enlisted by the promise of a large share of 
 the new bonds, of which, as chairman of the Railroad Commit- 
 tee, he had recommended the issue. 
 
 At nine o'clock at night twenty-four Republican Assembly- 
 men were sworn by Stearns to vote for a resolution of impeach- 
 ment, to be reported at the opening of the session next morning. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I43 
 
 This done, ex-Governor Walker was waited upon by Stearns 
 with a proposition that if he could furnish seventeen Democratic 
 members to vote for a resolution of impeachment, the Governor 
 would be suspended the next day. Governor Walker immedi- 
 ately secured a caucus of the Democrats, and induced them to 
 rescind a resolution already adopted, pledging that they would 
 abstain from further attempts to embarrass the Governor, and 
 agree to vote for a resolution of impeachment the next morning. 
 The first advice the Governor had of the consummation was from 
 a Democratic member from Orange County who went to the 
 executive office at nine o'clock and informed him that at eleven 
 o'clock the night before he had been called from his bed to meet 
 Governor Walker in caucus, and that he had induced the major- 
 ity to '* go back" on their previous action and vote a resolution 
 of impeachment, and while he was thus engaged, he was sum- 
 moned by the Sergeant-at-Arms under a call of the House to vote 
 on a question of impeachment. Being thus advised that he 
 would be immediately suspended, with no chance for investiga- 
 tion or trial, the Governor immediately asked friendly Senators 
 an adjournment of the Senate until Monday, that being P'riday, 
 which was accorded, and the Governor immediately prepared to 
 vacate the Executive office and return to his farm at Jackson- 
 ville to await results. The first signal of war against the admin- 
 istration was the following resolution, offered by one of the lead- 
 ing members of the ring from Alachua County, W. K. Cessna : 
 
 Whereas, There are many and grave charges afloat as to 
 the mal-appropriation of the proceeds of the bonds issued by the 
 State to aid in the construction of the J., P. & M. Railroad,' and 
 that the charter creating the company in charge of said road has 
 not been complied with, either in spirit or letter; and that gross 
 frauds have been committed upon the State ; therefore. 
 
 Resolved, first, That a committee of five be appointed by 
 the Speaker, whose duty it shall be to thoroughly and vigorously 
 investigate the acts and doings of the J., P. & M. Railroad Com- 
 pany, and also that of the State officials in connection therewith, 
 in every particular where the State is a party in interest, with a 
 view to a speedy and vigorous prosecution of all offenders. 
 
 Resolved, second, That the said committee shall, with their 
 report, recommend such measures for the action of the Legisla- 
 ture as will correct existing evils, and prevent loss to the State, 
 and guard, as far as may be, against similar rascalites in the future. 
 
144 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Resolved, third, That the said committee shall have power 
 to send for persons and papers, to employ assistance, and to do 
 in the premises whatever else may be found necessary to a com- 
 plete and successful elucidation and exhibition of the case, 
 reporting daily all expenses incurred to this Assembly. 
 
 Resolved fourth, That the said committee shall report their 
 progress weekly. 
 
 These resolutions were subsequently referred to a committee 
 appointed at the last regular session to investigate the acts and 
 doings of the said company. 
 
 The two Houses met in joint session on the second day of 
 the session to receive the Governor's annual message. The 
 Governor came forward at the appointed time and delivered his 
 message, which was pronounced by all to be very able and inter- 
 esting. He said : 
 
 Gentlemen of the Legislature : 
 
 For the last time during my official term have I the honor 
 to meet you in session, to deliver my annual address as Chief 
 Executive of the State; and while, since you last assembled, 
 the State has passed a season of severe trial by flood and storm, 
 yet, on the whole, it has kept a steady pace onward in popula- 
 tion and in civil, political and industrial development. 
 
 Among the reconstructed States of the South none started 
 upon a more truly conservative basis than Florida, and none have 
 progressed more successfully in the scale of social, political and 
 industrial improvement. 
 
 Florida, upon the whole, may be said to have been dis- 
 tinguished among the Southern States for general peace and 
 quiet and obedience to law, notwithstanding reports to the 
 contrary which have prevailed, much to the detriment of the 
 State. 
 
 Still disturbances, breaches of the peace, infractions of the 
 law, and scenes of fatal and disgraceful violence have occurred 
 in many localities within our borders. This I have attempted 
 to correct by the exercise of all the power vested in me by 
 the Constitution, and by the use of all the means bestowed 
 for that purpose by the Legislature. But at times all efforts 
 have failed, and all the means at my command have seemed to 
 be ineffective. 
 
 It is true that these same localities, being, to all intents, 
 border sections, have from time immemorial been the resorts of 
 lawless and reckless men, and in some of them, as in earlier 
 periods of the existence of the Western and Southwestern 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 45 
 
 States, the law of Judge Lynch and the ''Regulators" for years 
 before the war, had been the only code of much efficacy. 
 
 I had hoped better results from the reorganization of govern- 
 ment under Republican auspieces ; but the bitterness resulting 
 from the war, the noxious teachings of disappointed and defeated 
 political opponents, assisted by the occasional lack of discretion 
 on the part of injudicious political friends, succeeded for a long 
 time in setting at naught the advice and the efforts of the better 
 men of all classes, until improvement at times seemed to be hope- 
 less; and I have been strongly and forcibly urged to the declara- 
 tion of martial law. 
 
 But looking upon the suspension of the civil law as an 
 experiment always full of danger and entirely opposed to all the 
 principles of free popular government, I have hesitated and 
 refused to take a step so fraught with manifold dangers, except 
 as the very last resort, even at the risk of incurring the enmity 
 and hospitality of my own political friends. And while my 
 heart has bled for the violence and suffering inflicted upon the 
 more helpless classes of the community, I have steadily relied 
 upon the civil law and the good sense and latent patriotism of 
 the general citizenship. 
 
 The power granted me in the detective law of 1868 was 
 rendered almost nugatory through the restrictions and want of 
 means imposed, I fear, by the jealousies and personal animosi- 
 ties of so-called political friends ; I still have earnestly endeav- 
 ored, through the aid of special detectives, employed at my own 
 expense, to ferret out and bring to justice the perpetrators of 
 violence and crime, for whose detection and punishment the 
 ordinary enforcement of our criminal laws seemed inadequate. 
 And at last these persistent efforts seem likely to be crowned with 
 some measure of success. A large amount of useful information 
 has thus been obtained, and a mass of testimony, the nature and 
 extent of which it is improper to disclose till the entire safety of 
 the witnesses is effectually secured, is at my disposal. 
 
 In the prosecution of this work, and in the absence of the 
 proper legislative appropriation therefor, I have, of necessity, 
 been forced to incur large expenses, accounts of which will be 
 presented for adjustment at your present session. 
 
 RETRENCHMENT AND ECONOMY. 
 
 Much has been said within and without the Legislature 
 about retrenching expenses and an economical administration 
 of the government. All the measures heretofore adopted have 
 been, for want of completeness, Hke saving at the spigot and 
 losing at the bung. 
 
 A few salaries have been reduced, and the Constitution 
 10 
 
146 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 and government weakened thereby, while the main sluiceways 
 of extravagance and waste have been kept open. 
 
 This session brings direct instructions from the people 
 that may not be disregarded with impunity. The plan hereto- 
 fore adopted by the opposition of favoring every measure of 
 extravagance in order that they may hold the dominant party 
 responsible for lavish expenditure, must now be abandoned or 
 the Representatives will violate their pledges to their constitu- 
 ents. The Republican members can no longer continue 
 reckless, under penalty of political as well as personal con- 
 demnation. 
 
 Now is the time to inaugurate a system of true practical 
 economy, and the Legislature should begin at its own doors, 
 and thence through all departments of the government. 
 
 I St. Cut off all useless employes and supernumeraries and 
 fix the per diem of members and officers upon a cash basis 
 according to a business standard. 
 
 2d. Revise the fee bill and equalize the pay of county 
 officers, reduce the fees of clerks of courts, compel the assessor 
 to make his own roll without the additional charge, and reduce 
 the percentage for the assessment and collection of the revenue. 
 The sheriffs and county judges' fees are reduced to a proper 
 standard, but in one of the circuits, at least, the judge has 
 overruled the law, and the sheriffs charge 50 per cent, more 
 than the law allows. 
 
 3d. Require all taxes paid in cash, and thus do away with 
 the inducements to fraud in speculating in scrip, making false 
 returns, etc., and at the same time reduce the aggregate 
 expenses of the government 25 percent. 
 
 4th. Require jurors and witnesses' fees to be adjusted by 
 the counties. As now adjusted, there is no protection against 
 duplicate and false certificates. At least 25 per cent, in amount 
 would be saved by settlement of these accounts where they 
 occur, instead of issuing certificates to be paid by the Comp- 
 troller. 
 
 The adoption of the amendments to the Constitution, which 
 took effect on 15th May last, has reduced the salaries of the State 
 officers so low that those who were not resident at the capital 
 could not comply with the law of last session and transfer their 
 residence. The combination of speculators and ))olitical gam- 
 blers to destroy the credit of the State reduced scrip so low that 
 the heads of departments received only equivalent to $700 per 
 annum, and the Governor $1,000. The judges' pay is at 
 starvation point, and unless the cash system is at once adopted 
 it will be impossible to sustain their position. 
 
 The change in the mode of pay of the members of the 
 Legislature from a salary to per diem affords an opjortunity for 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I47 
 
 the Representives to show the sincerity of their professions by 
 adopting a reasonable sum for their services. Take $5 per day 
 as a basis, to be be paid in cash, and the aggregate pay of the 
 members would be, for a sixty-day session, $22,500, being a 
 saving of $15,000 for the session, and affording each member as 
 much real value as when he received the larger amount in scrip. 
 By establishing the pay of the clerks upon the same basis, and 
 limiting the number to the real necessities of the Legislature, 
 half as much more may be saved, making an aggregate saving of 
 from $20,000 to $25,000 at each session. 
 
 Another source of great loss to the State is the hurried 
 passage of the general appropriation bill, at the close of the ses- 
 sion, when thousands of dollars are inserted of extra allowances 
 and improper items, and lugged through because it is too late to 
 correct and save the bill. This is an evil that must be remedied, 
 and it is the duty of the members to see that the general appro- 
 priation bill is passed early in the session, and if extra pay or 
 old claims are presented let each stand upon its merits. No 
 appropriation bill yet passed has met strictly the requisitions of 
 the constitution. ^ 
 
 In 1870, under the act of the Legislature, $4,000,000 of 
 bonds were issued to the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile 
 Railroad Company in exchange for the same amount of bonds 
 of the compan)/, bearing the same date and rate of interest. 
 
 I have no report of the company in relation to their condi- 
 tion and purposes, but they have not complied with the law in 
 the extension of their road to the Chattahoochee by ist of July, 
 though I am unofficially informed that its completion to that 
 point is now rapidly progressing, and will soon be consum- 
 mated. 
 
 It appears that bonds were entrusted by the company to 
 one of the firms of swindlers who abound in new York, which, 
 by fraud and villainy, have diverted much of the proceeds from 
 the work for which they were issued, and there remains but 
 $1,200,000 for the purposes of extending the road beyond the 
 river. 
 
 The last million of the four were delivered, and are held in 
 trust to be disposed of when the amount of $300,000 balance 
 due the Internal Improvement Fund is paid. This sum is 
 still unpaid, and remains a lien upon that portion of the road 
 between Lake City and Quincy. 
 
 The losses of the company in no way involve loss to the 
 State, as the securities held by the State can at any time be con- 
 verted for sufficient to redeem the State bonds. 
 
 I am advised that the interest on the bonds has been paid 
 by the company up to, and including January, 1872, but the 
 coupons have not been delivered at the Treasury, and the 
 
148 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 coupons upon the railroad bonds held by the State therefor 
 remain uncancelled. 
 
 These bonds are included in the Comptroller's statement of 
 the State debt, without note or comment, and the inference is 
 left that no provisions are made for the interest or principal save 
 from taxation. Now the State holds an equal amount of first 
 mortgage bonds of $16,000 a mile on a completed road which 
 has sufficient business to pay its running expenses, the interest 
 on these bonds, and enough to constitute a sinking fund suffi- 
 cient to discharge the bonds when due. This being the fact, it 
 is unjust to the people of the State to seek to convey a different 
 impression abroad, and it can only be excused on the ground 
 assumed by the writer above quoted from the ''Floridian" that 
 their "only hope is in the utter financial bankruptcy of the 
 State."* 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 Liabilities — 
 
 Bonded debt $ 747,945 08 
 
 Floating debt , . . . 563,704 89 
 
 Total $1,311,649 97 
 
 Resources — 
 
 Revenue uncollected 604,672 45 * 
 
 Amount due from United States . . 220,000 00 
 
 $824,672 45 
 
 Total debt, Jan., 1872 $486,977 52 
 
 After discharging all the liabilities of the Internal Improve- 
 ment Fund and meeting all the grants made to railroads, rivers, 
 canals, etc., we shall have at least four million acres of lands 
 remaining, as a final resource for any State liabilities. 
 
 COLLECTORS OF REVENUE AND TREASURERS. 
 
 The attention of the Legislature is particularly directed to 
 the importance of more stringent laws to protect the counties 
 
 *NoTE.— "No greater calamity could befall the State of Florida, while under 
 the rule of its present carpetbag, scalawag officials, than to be placed in good finan- 
 cial credit. ****** onr only hope is in the State's utter finan- 
 cial bankruptcy ; and Heaven grant that that may speedily come ! On the other 
 hand, establish for the State financial credit on AVall Street, so that Florida bonds 
 can be sold by Reed & Co., as fast as issued, and you give these foul harpies a life- 
 tenure of these offices. ****** xhe temporal salvation of 
 the tax payers is in having scrip low, so that they can buy it to pay taxes with, and 
 in having the State's financial credit low so that Reed & Co. can't sell State bonds 
 seas to raise money with which to perpetuate their hold on office."— Floridi an 
 Aug I, 1871. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I49 
 
 and State against embezzlement or losses from inadequate bonds 
 of treasurers and revenue officers. 
 
 As the law now stands, it is claimed that when the security 
 on a bond of one of these officers lapses by death or bankruptcy 
 it does not authorize the demand for a new bond. If this be 
 so, the defect should be immediately remedied, and the officer 
 required to file a new bond within thirty days after notice, or his 
 office declared vacant. 
 
 The provisions of the bill known as the "Funding Bill," 
 of the last session, should be made to apply to all officers of the 
 revenue, and a default to pay over the public moneys should be 
 declared a felony. Bonds, however good, are not sufficient to 
 protect the Treasury against loss from dishonesty and fraud. 
 
 With a statute rendering defaults a crime, and another com- 
 pelling the payment of all the revenues in lawful currency, the 
 frauds upon the Treasury, and speculation in public funds by 
 revenue officers, will cease; as it now stands it is impossible to 
 prevent them. 
 
 In every case of default now existing, I have uniformly 
 instructed suits to be commenced; but the law officers have 
 either been indulgent or found the law inadequate. 
 
 It has been held that I could not remove an officer in the 
 absence of the Legislature, either for inadequacy of bond, fraud, 
 neglect, or any other cause, so that when cases have been 
 reported to me which called for immediate action, I have been 
 compelled to forego a remedy. I early called the attention of 
 the Legislature to this difficulty, but no action was taken and 
 much loss has occurred in consequence. 
 
 RAILROAD POLICY. 
 
 In 1855 the State entered upon a plan for the construction 
 of a system of railroads that was comprehensive and highly cred- 
 itable to the intelligence and sagacity of its projectors, but w^hich 
 in its results has been ingeniously and almost imperceptibly 
 expensive. 
 
 Few of the people understand that, besides the United States 
 lands granted, these roads have cost the State over three millions 
 of dollars, and have never paid one cent of tax either on their 
 lands, their property, or their income ; yet, so far as can be ascer- 
 tained, from the records and sources of information left by the 
 old government, such is the fact. 
 
 f ^When this administration was inaugurated it found this state 
 of things, viz : 
 
 The Florida road, 154 miles, sold by the board of trustees, 
 in 1866, for $116,000, or $753 per mile, leaving $232,000 in 
 mortgage bonds, the interest of which was guaranteed by the 
 
150 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 State, with a large amount of accumulated interest, for the pay- 
 ment of which suits have been commenced ; 
 
 The Central road (from Jacksonville to Lake City), 60 miles, 
 sold by the board in 1868 for $111,000, or nearly $1,850 per 
 mile, leaving an indefinite amount of unpaid interest for the 
 State to meet; 
 
 The Pensacola and Georgia, and the Tallahassee roads, for- 
 feited and liable to be sold by the board, with $1,424,300 bonds 
 outstanding, upon which interest was accumulating against the 
 State of $99,700 per annum. 
 
 These roads were immediately sold by the present board, for 
 nearly the par value of the bonds, and sufficient to discharge 
 them and leave no incumbrance for the State, except for unpaid 
 interest. 
 
 Thus we find that the railroads cost the State through the 
 Internal Improvement Fund, and the counties — 
 
 Lands conveyed for interest, 1,000,000 acres at $1.25 $1,250,000 
 Proceeds of lands sold since 1850 to 1868. . . . . 750,000 
 
 Accumulated interest and indebtedness now existing, 
 
 probably 1,000,000 
 
 Amount of bonds given by counties 500,000 
 
 The Legislature of 1869 changed the plan for the comple- 
 tion of the roads, and offered bonds to the amount of $16,000 
 per mile in exchange for first mortgage bonds of the roads. 
 While, individually, I was opposed to further involving the 
 State in connection with the roads, yet the almost unanimous 
 voice of the Legislature favoring State aid, as in most of the other 
 States, I sanctioned the plan ; and there would exist no valid 
 objection had the issue been confined to the extension of the 
 lines, instead of being issued on the road already built. 
 
 Under the new policy the State holds the roads as security 
 for the payment of interest and principal, and will derive from 
 $20,000 to $30,000 annual revenue from taxation of the lands 
 and property and income of the road. 
 
 Under the old it had to pay from $100,000 to $150,000 
 annual interest, after donating all the State lands within six miles 
 on each side of the road, and both lands and road were exempt 
 from taxation. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE RECORDS. 
 
 I again invite you to provide a more stringent means of 
 protecting the legislative records and papers from mutilation, 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I5I 
 
 fraudulent endorsement, or surreptitious removal or destruc- 
 tion. It should be made a felony for an officer or member of 
 the Legislature, or any officer of the government to change, 
 suppress, mutilate, purloin, or in any manner contribute to 
 defraud the will of the majority. Clerks have been known to 
 alter bills in engrossing and enrolling ; journals have failed to 
 give a correct record of proceedings ; members have removed 
 and suppressed bills during or on their passage, and after pass- 
 age, before they could be signed by the presiding officers. 
 Bills after passage and enrollment have been found deposited, 
 months after adjournment, in the private desk of the secretary 
 of one of the bodies. 
 
 GRAND JURORS. 
 
 Either the grand jury system should be altogether abolished 
 and criminals arraigned directly before the magistrate or court, 
 or proper safeguards should be placed around it so as to prevent 
 its subversion to individual ends or malicious purposes, and thus 
 made an engine of oppression rather than a bulwark of protec- 
 tion. 
 
 In the United States District Court, the discretion given to 
 the District Attorney to apply or dispense with the ''test oath" 
 has placed it within the power of that individual, with the assist- 
 ance of the United States Marshal, to mould the graiid jurors at 
 his will, and this power has been used to wrong and oppress 
 citizens of the State, innocent of crime, and caused enormous 
 unnecessary cost to the Federal Government. 
 
 In one of the circuits of this State (the second), also, I am 
 advised, that, by overriding the law and imposing new tests not 
 nominated therein, the judge and attorney have taken control of 
 the selection of the grand jury, and in the same manner made it 
 subject to their own will. 
 
 The propriety or impropriety of the test does not affect the 
 case. It is the power to impose or dispense with it at will by 
 the attorney or the judge, after the venire has been made up, that 
 destroys the dignity, independence, and impartial character of 
 the jury, and renders it a vehicle for personal malice and injus- 
 tice. 
 
 I do not know that further legislation is necessary or can be 
 made adequate to remove the difficulty ; but if it cannot be cor- 
 rected, the Constitution should be amended and the grand jury 
 abolished altogether. 
 
 Every Legislature since the inauguration of Governor Reed 
 had shown itself corrupt in the highest degree; but the colored 
 members at this session began to show more manhood by 
 
152 CARPETBAG RULE IM FLORIDA. 
 
 openly denouncing the tricks of the carpet-baggers and refus- 
 ing to be enslaved by caucus rule. In these caucuses the carpet- 
 baggers had heretofore succeeded in carrying their points in 
 many instances by telling the colored members that if this meas- 
 ure should pass the Democrats would be terribly outdone and 
 would make no further opposition to the so-called Republican 
 party of the State; but the ousting of Christy at the last session, 
 and the attempted ouster of Scott, colored, at the same session 
 for a Democrat who had not been elected, and the defeat of the 
 Civil Rights bill in the Senate through the tricks of carpet-bag- 
 gers, had a tendency to inaugurate a stronger opposition to these 
 men than had ever existed before. The following resolution, 
 introduced by Hon. Daniel Mclnnis, colored, of Duval county, 
 will illustrate this fact : 
 
 "Whereas, It appears that after several attempts to have 
 a Civil Rights bill, which gives to every citizen the same protec- 
 tion in the enjoyment of his liberties; and, whereas, it has 
 become a painful fact from the action of Liberty Billings, acting 
 president pro tern, of the Senate of the State of Florida, and others 
 who are opposed to seeing the colored citizens of this State enjoy 
 the same rights that he and his associates do, we again witness 
 on to-day another defeat of the Civil Rights bill, caused by only, 
 those who profess to be our friends in connection with this great 
 cause of civil rights ; therefore, 
 
 ''Resolved, That we, the colored members, and those who 
 honestly sympathize with us, do unhesitatingly repudiate such 
 friendship, and do now and henceforth withdraw from and 
 decline from ever affiUating with, politically, or to aid in electing 
 any such man or men who have so basely misrepresented our 
 people." 
 
 This resolution was considered as open treason to the carpet- 
 bag dynasty, and the mover and resolution must at once be got- 
 ten rid of for the reason that its success might cause other out- 
 breaks. The resolution was ruled out of order by Speaker 
 Stearns, of Freedman's Bureau notoriety. Stearns was third in 
 command of the ring forces in Florida, and it would not have 
 been well for him, politically, if chief Osborn had been informed 
 that such treason had taken place, and had succeeded in his 
 presence. Mclnnis was fought in his county by the ring because 
 he denounced them for treachery to his people; and with the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 153 
 
 power of the Federal office-holders and the ambition of some of 
 the more ignorant ones of his race. Mr. Mclnnis, one of the 
 most faithful and honest representatives of the colored people, 
 was prevented from being returned to the Legislature. 
 
 A resolution was offered by W. K. Cessna, which showed 
 that a decree pro confesso had been entered in the United States 
 Court in Savannah, Ga., before W. B. Woods in favor of 
 Francis Vose vs. Harrison Reed, et al., Trustees of the Internal 
 Improvement Fund. This decree was made at Chambers on the 
 1 6th day of December, 187 1. The decree was made and entered 
 without the consent of the board of the fund and against the pro- 
 test of their attorney and solicitor of record, James B. C. Drew, 
 truly made. Attorney-General Drew was instructed to enter a 
 motion in the United States Court in the Northern District of 
 Florida to set aside the decree. A committee of five was 
 appointed to investigate and report to the Assembly without delay 
 by what means and manner, and by whom such an extraordinary 
 decree, disposing of the entire, or nearly the entire, domain of 
 the State to a mischievous and bankrupt railroad corporation, 
 without the knowledge or consent of a majority of the said 
 board of trustees, as appeared by a resolution of said board. 
 The resolution showed that Hon. John S. Adams, treasurer of 
 the trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund, had made affi- 
 davit before a magistrate in the county of Leon, on the 6th day 
 of January, 1862, that one George W. Swepson, as confidential 
 financial agent of the board of trustees of the fund had received 
 on or about the 4th day of April, 1869, the sum of $472,065, the 
 proceeds of the sale of the Pensacola and Georgia and the Talla- 
 hassee railroads, for the purpose of paying the outstanding first 
 mortgage bonds of said railroads. It appears by said affidavit 
 that Swepson had neglected and refused to pay the said first 
 mortgage bonds or to account for any moneys so received by 
 him. The trustees were instructed to take such immediate steps 
 as would best secure the payment of the said moneys, and to 
 enter and vigorously prosecute such legal actions, civil and 
 criminal, against Swepson as would best secure the said trustees 
 against the loss of said large sum of money, and punish the said 
 Swepson for his gross violation of trusts and embezzlement. (See 
 Assembly journal, regular session of 1872, p. 77 ) 
 
154 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 On the loth day of January a resolution was unanimously 
 passed by the Assembly, declaring gigantic frauds to have been 
 committed in diversion of the proceeds of bonds issued under 
 the law of 1869, chapter 1,716, relative to the J., P. & M. 
 Railroad, and the Governor was directed to issue no more bonds 
 until the validity of the act had been decided by the courts. On 
 February ist a resolution was adopted ordering the arrest of M. 
 S. Littlefield for his failure to appear before the special commit- 
 tee appointed to investigate the acts and doings of the J., P. & 
 M. Railroad. Littlefield was not arrested, and the resolution 
 was undoubtedly passed to extort money from him. The records 
 are replete with such resolutions to deceive the public and extort 
 money from individuals interested in any supposed public enter- 
 prise where the Legislature would be called upon to enable them 
 to carry such enterprises into execution. The Legislature of 
 187 1 passed a concurrent resolution, which emanated from 
 Purman and his immediate carpetbag associates, authorizing the 
 appointment of a committee of five, three from the Assembly 
 and two from the Senate, to proceed to the office of the Treas- 
 urer of the State and ''inspect, examine and compare the books, 
 files and accounts and records of the same, and to cancel and 
 destroy all Comptroller's warrants and Treasurer's certificates 
 that may have been received and on file in said office, excepting 
 warrants issued under the act approved February 18, 1870, 
 known as greenback scrip." The committee was directed to 
 make a full report to the Legislature of the accounts and condi- 
 tion of the Treasurer's office, and the numbers and amount of 
 warrants and scrip that may have been cancelled and effectually 
 destroyed by the authority of said resolution. This committee 
 consumed twenty-one days after the adjournment of the Legis- 
 lature of 1 87 1 in a supposed searching examination to find cor- 
 ruption. They reported that their investigation was quite labori- 
 ous and required deep scrutiny into figures, and that they had 
 honestly obeyed the resolution passed at the last session of the 
 Legislature, and had destroyed by fire $1,175,934.82. The 
 committee commended very highly the manner in which the 
 Treasurer's books were kept, but said nothing about the books 
 of the Comptroller. The report of the committee was accepted 
 in both Houses, and the committee discharged. It could be 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 155 
 
 seen from the time of the report of this committee that the 
 Treasurer, Conover, and Purman, the chairman of the commit- 
 tee, who had not been very intimate bedfellows, now became 
 the best of friends. 
 
 Some time subsequent to the adoption of this report, it was 
 discovered that some of the committee must have fallen asleep, 
 as thirty thousand dollars, or thereabouts, of the certificates 
 reported to have been cancelled and denominated as "blue 
 scrip," found its way back into the Treasury and was again 
 paid by the State. (See report of Senate committee, journal of 
 1872, p. 377.) 
 
 At this session of the Legislature rebellious outbreaks by 
 the colored members were very frequent and disastrous to the 
 carpet-bag plunder system. The delegation elected from Leon 
 county, all colored, was elected against the deadly opposition of 
 the ring, and stood opposed to the system of plunder, which had 
 been inaugurated in almost every county of the State. The 
 author of this work and John W. Wyatt had been fought very 
 bitterly by the ring during their canvass in 1871 for the Legis- 
 lature, and it was whispered that fraud would be committed 
 to keep us out of our seats ; but the whites in the county 
 stood with us as against the ring, and therefore they were 
 afraid to attempt it. One can imagine about how much love 
 existed between the Leon county delegation and the ring. 
 W. H. Gleason and other carpet-baggers, thinking to soon get 
 rid of Reed by impeachment, commenced getting their schemes 
 in readiness for transformation into laws. An infamous scheme 
 was introduced by Gleason, of Dade, "to authorize corpora- 
 tions to change their names, consolidate their capital stock 
 and merge their corporate powers." This measure was adopted 
 by the caucus without any apparent opposition, the Leon dele- 
 gation not voting for or against the measure in the caucus. 
 This action on the part of the delegation led Gleason and the 
 other members in the scheme to believe that all present were 
 bound by the action of the caucus. The Democrats of the 
 Assembly were notified as to the action of the caucus and agreed 
 to hold themselves in readiness for a grand assault against 
 the bill when it came up for consideration. When the meas- 
 ure came up for final consideration, Gleason, now confident 
 
156 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 that things were all right, led off in support of the bill. The 
 Leon delegation followed in opposition, much to the surprise 
 of Gleason and the other friends of the bill. Long faces 
 could be discovered among the members of the ring as the 
 Democrats would ai)plaud John W. Wyatt, colored, as he 
 thundered against the bill. This speech of Mr. Wyatt was 
 the first ever ordered spread on the journal in the Legislature of 
 Florida. The speech was as follows : 
 
 Mr. Speaker: 
 
 There is to all appearances a dark and hidden meaning 
 enveloped in the bill now before this Assembly, introduced by 
 the honorable member from Dade, which I desire to call 
 attention to. The title of this bill is to -'authorize corporations 
 to change their names, consolidate their capital stock, and merge 
 their corporate powers." 
 
 We should ponder well over each sentence embraced in 
 the title. In the first place why should corporations desire to 
 consolidate unless by the unity and coalition thus formed they 
 intended to become a vast and extended power, governing the 
 people and exercising an influence, the magnitude of which 
 would appall us? Then again, this consolidation of power 
 would wield a powerful influence for good or evil, and experi- 
 ence and history furnishes proof that large, all-absorbing com- 
 panies generally exert their influence in an evil direction. 
 Such a consolidation would engender dissatisfaction and cause 
 disorder and distress among corporations of less weight, and 
 would jDe fraught with many disadvantages to parties desiring 
 to invest a small amount of capital. Capital needs no legislation 
 in order to provide for its use. Capital is strong enough to take 
 care and provide for itself, but corporations are a dangerous 
 power, especially large or consolidated corporations, and the 
 American people fear them and view them with distrust. 
 Take, for instance, the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, which 
 has and is daily encircling with extended arms the smaller 
 roads and railway corporations throughout the Union. As a 
 result of such consolidations, look what a stretch of power 
 and authority is placed within the hands of Thomas Scott, 
 the president of that railroad. We, who are here in Florida, 
 cannot conceive of the vastness of his schemes. We are too 
 far removed from his field of operations, but I am credibly 
 informed that, by means of the power that he and his board of 
 directors possess, they carry everything desired throughout the 
 State of Pennsylvania. 
 
 W want no Tom Scotts, Jim Fisks or Vanderbilts in this 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 57 
 
 State to govern us, by means of which they would influence leg- 
 islation tending to advance personal interests. 
 
 The great curse of Florida has been dishonest corporations, 
 rings and cliques, with an eye single to their central interest, 
 and if this bill is suffered to pass this Assembly, in my opinion 
 we may look for a continuation of abuses and a usurpation of 
 the rights of citizens who may be opposed to the evil machina- 
 tions such as are generally exerted by consolidated bodies. 
 
 The second clause in the title of this bill is to consolidate 
 their capital stock. What a palpable farce ! Look, gentlemen, 
 thoroughly into this sentence. If such glaring opportunities for 
 swindling, and forcing preconcerted measures, are fostered and 
 encouraged by this Assembly, we would be denounced and 
 aspersions of a foul nature be cast at our character, even by our 
 constituents. They send us here to legislate wisely for the good of 
 the people of this State, and not to favor jobs and schemes that 
 emanate from the brain of political tricksters, and intriguing and 
 designing parties. 
 
 We are here for a different purpose. We are assembled 
 here to guard the interests of this State. Does this measure now 
 before us tend to foster or enhance the condition of this State ? 
 No ! It is plainly a coercive measure, intended to engulf the 
 capital of minor corporations. 
 
 Were this bill to pass, men of limited means would be 
 extremely cautious about investing in or giving aid to corpora- 
 tions, for fear their capital stock would be swallowed up by 
 some tottering and unsound institution, and used to bolster up 
 and furnish additional strength to a rotten corporation. 
 
 What assurance would be given to the minority of stock- 
 holders of a company, that had been merged into another and 
 their capital stock consolidated, that would satisfy them that 
 their rights would be safely protected after having been coerced 
 into a scheme which they supposed to be fraudulent ? 
 
 The last clause in this title is, "to merge their corporate 
 powers." This sentence certainly needs careful examination, 
 for I can readily see that it will prove a most dangerous combi- 
 nation of power, and it should be strenuously opposed by the 
 whole strength of this Assembly. 
 
 Each corporation has certain powers and privileges 
 embodied within its sphere of action, and it is now proposed to 
 merge the powers of the different corporations and embrace 
 them all in one strong and all-powerful combination. 
 
 The recent expose of the Tammany Ring in New York has 
 satisfied all right thinking men that the power exercised by strong 
 bodies, composed of many corporations, is the most dangerous 
 to the public good and safety. Therefore it ill becomes us to 
 
158 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 pass a bill enveloped in darkness, as the title to this bill indi- 
 cates it to be. 
 
 The gentleman who introduced this bill, it would seem, has 
 a hobby for corporations. I am credibly informed that his sig- 
 nature is attached to no less than eight articles of association in 
 this State. Doubtless the true intent of this bill is to consolidate 
 these eight corporations, with their powers and capital stock, 
 into one grand scheme for the controlling of future public works 
 requiring State aid. As a sample of the magnitude and grand- 
 ness of these schemes, I will here state that one of the eight 
 corporations above mentioned declares its capital at ten millions 
 of dollars. The shares are fixed at the low price of one hun- 
 dred thousand dollars each. By referring to the Laws of 1868, 
 Chapter 1,639, ^^- i5» I ^^^ ^^"^ exhaustive law on corporations, 
 which fully dictates their duties, powers and liabilities, etc., and 
 I deem it imprudent to interfere with this law, because I find it 
 fully answers all the requirements of a legal body corporate. 
 Therefore, Mr. Speaker, as there is much doubt and uncertainty 
 existing regarding the usefulness and effectiveness, in a right 
 direction, of the powers which this bill would grant, I move 
 that it be indefinitely postponed. 
 
 We now come to the last and most desperate attempt to get 
 rid of Governor Reed by impeachment. This time the farce 
 was not conducted with even the faint semblance of fairness 
 which was displayed in the last attempt. The ring being out- 
 generaled in their former attempts, were determined to conduct 
 things on the ex parte and Star Chamber plan. The resolution 
 of investigation did not mention the name of Governor Reed, 
 but State ofiicials ; and the less informed members of the Legis- 
 lature did not know what was going on. During the investiga- 
 tion. Republican caucuses were held in the Assembly hall two 
 and three times a week, and the state of the country and the 
 Republican party were fully discussed. Cessna, the chairman 
 of the Committee on Investigation, would be put forward to stir 
 the blood of the colored brother by singing ''John Brown's 
 body lies mouldering in the clay," *' Sherman's March through 
 Georgia," etc. While singing these songs Cessna could imitate 
 the plantation negro preacher in looks, voice and acts as no 
 other carpet-bagger could, and in many instances could put to 
 shame the best negro minstrel. These songs being considered 
 old freedom songs, made Cessna very popular with most of the 
 colored members. Nothing would be said in the caucus with 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IX FLORIDA. 1 59 
 
 reference to impeachment, but Purman would be on hand to 
 denounce Reed and tell the colored brother " if God would take 
 Reed out of the way it would be better for them and the Repub- 
 lican party." This argument, in connection with Cessna's songs, 
 had great effect on many of the colored members and on the 
 less informed whites as well. The most of the Democratic 
 members at this session, as in the former session, were in favor 
 of impeachment, not because they believed Reed's traducers 
 were honest, but because they knew that every attempt at 
 impeachment would strengthen them and imperil honest Repub- 
 licanism. 
 
 On the 6th of February, Cessna's investigating committee 
 made its report, which was loaded with numerous charges against 
 Governor Reed. These charges sounded so very damaging that 
 some of the Governor's most intimate friends were deceived by 
 them and went to him and asked him to resign his office. The 
 Governor said to them that if the Legislature would give him 
 an half hour he would refute successfully every charge they had 
 reported against him, and he felt perfectly confident that he 
 would be clearly exonerated, if he were allowed a hearing before 
 the High Court of Impeachment, in case he should be impeached 
 by the Assembly. John R. Scott, of Duval County, spoke in 
 favor of Governor Reed, but afterwards, as was prearranged, 
 voted for the report for the usual consideration. The report 
 was unanimously adopted, and Governor Reed stood suspended. 
 The report was ordered spread on the journal, but it, with the 
 alleged evidence, was suppressed, and even the order does not 
 appear upon the journal. Governor Reed was never allowed 
 to know what allegations were made. A committee of seven was 
 appointed to immediately present articles of impeachment to the 
 Senate. Another committee of three was appointed by the chair 
 to go to the Senate .and at the bar thereof, in the name of the 
 Assembly and of all the people of Florida, to impeach Harrison 
 Reed, Governor of Florida, of high crimes and misdemeanors 
 in office, and that the committee demand that the Senate take 
 order for the aforesaid Harrison Reed to answer to said impeach- 
 ment. Boyd, Cessna and Duke were appointed as said com- 
 mittee. The committee performed its duty, and the Senate took 
 order accordingly. A committee consisting of Cessna, Graham, 
 
l6o CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of Manatee, Gibbs, Hires, Johnson, Osgood and Wallace, was 
 appointed to prepare and report articles of impeachment against 
 the Governor. As one of the members of the committee, I 
 never saw the report of the investigating committee nor any 
 other evidences upon which the subsequent articles of impeach- 
 presented by the committee were based. Cessna pulled a roll 
 of papers out of his pocket, which he said were the articles he 
 would present. They had been prepared by Fred Dockray, 
 Reed's old enemy, made so because the Governor had refused 
 to appoint him Attorney-General. The following is the report 
 of the committee appointed to prepare the articles of impeach- 
 ment. 
 
 Hon. M. L. Stearns, Speaker of the Assembly : 
 
 Sir — Your Special Committee appointed to prepare and re- 
 port Articles of Impeachment against Harrison Reed, Governor, 
 begleave to report for the action of this Assembly the accompany 
 ing articles. 
 
 W. K. CESSNA, Chairman, 
 
 CHAS. F. HIERS, 
 
 C. GILLIS, 
 
 EDGAR M. GRAHAM, 
 
 J. W. JOHNSON, 
 
 J. WALLACE, 
 
 ALFRED B. OSGOOD. 
 
 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT 
 
 Exhibited by the Assembly of the State of Florida, in the name 
 of themselves and of all the people of Florida, against Har- 
 rison Reed, Governer of Florida, in maintenance and sup- 
 port of their impeachment against him for high crimes and 
 misdemeanors in office, for incompetency and malfeasance, 
 and conduct detrimental to good morals : 
 
 article I. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, at Talla- 
 hassee, in the State of Florida, unmindful of the high duties of 
 his office, of his oath of office, and of the requirement of the 
 Constitution that he shall see that the laws are faithfully exe- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. l6l 
 
 cuted, did unlawfully and in violation of the Constitution and 
 laws of the State of Florida, cause to be issued, and did himself 
 sign his official signature as Governor, to a large number of 
 State bonds to the amount of five hundred and twenty-eight 
 thousand ($528,000) dollars in excess of the amount of bonds 
 authorized to be issued by the act of the Legislature of the State 
 of Florida, entided an act to alter and amend an act entitled an 
 act to perfect the public works of the State, approved June 24, 
 A. D. 1869, approved January 28, A. D. 1870, with intent then 
 and there to violate the said act, whereby the said Harrison 
 Reed, Governor of Florida, did then and there commit and was 
 guilty of a high crime in office, of imcompetency and malfea- 
 sance. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 That in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and seventy, at Tallahassee, in the State of Florida, said Harri- 
 son Reed, Governor of Florida, unmindful of the high duties of 
 his office, of his oath of office, and in violation of the Constitu- 
 tion of the State of Florida, and contrary to the provisions of an 
 act entitled an act to alter and amend an act entitled an act to 
 perfect the public works of the State, approved June 24, A. D. 
 1869, approved January 28, 1870, did then and there, with 
 intent to violate the Constitution of the State and the act afore- 
 said, and without authority of law, fraudulendy conspire to issue 
 State bonds to the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000), 
 for the purpose of purchasing the stock of the Florida, Atlantic 
 and Gulf Central Railroad Company, for the use and benefit of 
 persons and parties, and with full knowledge of and consent to said 
 purpose, and in collusion with such persons and parties, for his 
 and their pecuniary benefit, whereby said Harrison Reed, Gov- 
 ernor of Florida, did then and there commit and was guilty of a 
 high crime in office, and of incompetency and malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, unmindful 
 of the high duties of his office, and of his oath of office, in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, at 
 Tallahassee, in the State of Florida, did cause to be issued and 
 did himself sign his official signature as Governor, to one million 
 dollars of State Bonds, for the purpose of purchasing the stock 
 of the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad Company for 
 the use and benefit of persons and parties, contrary to and in 
 violation of the Constitution of the State of Florida, and of the 
 laws of the State of Florida, and especially in violation of an act 
 of the Legislature of the State of Florida, entided an act to alter 
 11 
 
l62 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 and amend an act entitled an act to perfect the public works of 
 the State, approved June 24, A. D. 1869, approved January 28, 
 A. D. 1870, and with intent to violate the laws of the State of 
 Florida, and especially said act, whereby the said Harrison 
 Reed, Governor of the State of Florida, did then and there com- 
 mit and was guilty of a high crime in office, and of incompe- 
 tency and malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, at Talla- 
 hassee, in the State of Florida, unmindful of the high duties of 
 his office, and of his oath of office, and in violation of the Con- 
 stitution and laws of the State, and especially of an act entitled 
 an act to alter and amend, etc., did cause to be issued, and did 
 himself sign his official signature as Governor, to four million 
 dollars of State bonds for the use and benefit of the Jacksonville, 
 Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Company in the State of Florida, 
 having full notice of the fraudulent title of said company to the 
 property of the Pensacola and Georgia and Tallahassee railroads, 
 and with intent to violate the Constitution and laws of the State 
 of Florida, and especially of the act of the Legislature of the State 
 of Florida entitled an act to alter and amend an act entitled an 
 act to perfect the public works of the State approved June 24, 
 A. D. 1869, approved January 28, A. D. 1870, whereby the 
 said Harrison Reed, Governor, etc. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, at 
 Tallahassee, in the State of Florida, unmindful of the high duties 
 of his office, and of his oath of office, did unlawfully conspire 
 with one David L. Yulee, and with other persons unknown, to 
 issue bonds of the State of Florida, to the amount of one mil- 
 lion dollars for the use and benefit of said Yulee and other per- 
 sons, in violation of the Constitution and laws of the State, and 
 especially of the provisions of the act of the Legislature of the 
 State of Florida entitled an act to perfect the public works of 
 the State, approved June 24, A. D. 1869, and with intent to 
 violate and disregard the said acts, whereby the said Harrison 
 Reed, Governor of Florida, did then and there commit and was 
 guilty of a high crime in office and of incompetency and mal- 
 feasance. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 63 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 That Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, on or about the 
 fifteenth day of November, A. D. 187 1, at Tallahassee, in the 
 State of Florida, and at divers other times, in the year of our 
 Lord, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, at Talla- 
 hassee, in the State of Florida, and at New York city, unmind- 
 ful of the high duties of his office, and of his oath of office, and 
 in violation of the Constitution and laws of the State, and 
 especially in violation of the provisions of the act of the Legisla- 
 ture of the State of Florida entitled an act to perfect the public 
 works of the State, approved June 24, A. D. 1869, did cause to 
 be issued, and did himself sign his official signature to one mil- 
 lion of dollars of State bonds for the use and benefit of one 
 David L. Yulee, and of other persons unknown, with intent to 
 violate and disregard the provisions of said act, whereby the 
 said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, did then and there 
 commit and was guilty of a high crime in office and of incompe- 
 tency and malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE VII, 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and in 
 the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, 
 in the city of New York, and at divers other times and places in 
 said years, unmmdful of the high duties of his office, and of his 
 oath of office, and in violation of the Constitution and laws of 
 the State of Florida, and especially the act of the Legislature of 
 the State of Florida, entitled an act to fund the outstanding debt 
 of the State, approved August 6, 1868, and an act entitled an act 
 to fund the outstanding debt of the State, approved February 
 I, 1869, did fraudulently conspire with one Milton S. Littlefield, 
 and with divers other persons, to embezzle the moneys received 
 from the hypothecation of State bonds issued under and by 
 authority of the aforesaid acts of the Legislature of the State of 
 Florida, and did embezzle a large amount of the moneys received 
 from the said bonds, to-wit, the amount of $22,000, with intent 
 then and there to violate the laws of the State of Florida, and 
 especially the said acts, whereby said Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of Florida, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high 
 crime in office, and of incompetency and malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, a' 
 
164 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Tallahassee, in the State of Florida, unmindful of the high duties 
 of his office, and of his oath of office, and in violation of the 
 Constitution and laws of the State, did receive from Milton S. 
 Littlefield the sum of three thousand five hundred dollars a^ a 
 consideration to influence his official action in sustaining the 
 claim of the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Com- 
 pany to the title of the property of the Pensacola and Georgia 
 and Tallahassee and Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Rail- 
 roads, and as a further consideration to influence his official 
 action in all matters between the State of Florida and the said 
 Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Company, whereby 
 the said Harrison Reed, Governor, did commit and was guilty 
 of a high crime in office, of incompetency and malfeasance, and 
 of conduct detrimental to good morals. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixiy-eight, in the 
 city of New York, and at divers other times and places in the 
 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, 
 unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of 
 office, and in violation of the Constitution and laws of the 
 State of Florida, and with intent then and there to violate 
 and disregard the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, 
 did then and there conspire with one Charles Pond and with 
 one E. B. Bulkley of the city of New York, to defraud the State 
 of Florida of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000) of Bonds of 
 the State of Florida, and in pursuance of said conspiracy did 
 defraud the State of Florida of Fifteen Thousand Dollars of the 
 Bonds of the State of Florida applied to the purchase of arms 
 and equipments for the State of Florida, whereby the said Har- 
 rison Reed, Governor of Florida, did then and there commit 
 and was guilty of a high crime in office and of incompetency 
 and malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, at Tal- 
 lahassee, in the State of Florida, unmindful of the high duties of 
 his office and of his oath of office, and in violation of the Con- 
 stitution and laws of the State of Florida, and especially of the 
 act of the Legislature of the State of Florida, entitled an act to 
 provide for and encourage a liberal system of Internal Improve- 
 ments in this State, approved January 6, A. D. 1855, and with 
 full intent to violate said act, did receive from one I. K. Rob- 
 erts, Esq., in behalf of the Florida Railroad Company, a draft 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 165 
 
 for the sum of Eleven Hundred and Forty Dollars ($1140) which 
 was paid in currency of the United States to said Harrison Reed, 
 Governor and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Internal 
 Improvement Fund of the State of Florida, and did tender to the 
 Treasurer of the State of Florida Scrip of the State in lieu of said 
 currency, which was due to the Sinking Fund on account of said 
 Florida Railroad Company, whereby the said Harrison Reed, 
 Governor of Florida, was guilty of a high crime in office and of 
 incompetency and malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the 
 month of January of the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and seventy-two, at Tallahassee, in the State of Florida, 
 unmindful of the high duties of his office and of the dignities 
 and proprieties thereof, and of his oath of office, and in violation 
 of the Constitution of the State and of the laws thereof, and 
 with intent to violate and disregard his official duties and of the 
 requirements of the Constitution and laws of the State of Flor- 
 ida, did conspire to influence one J. W. Toer, a Justice of the 
 Peace, in the exercise of his judicial action upon a case pend- 
 ing before 1 im, to-wit: " The case of the State of Florida against 
 George W. Swepson," whereby the said Harrison Reed, Gov- 
 ernor of Florida, did then and there commit and was guilty of a 
 high crime and misdemeanor in office and of incompetency and 
 malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 That Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, in the year of 
 our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, at Jack- 
 sonville, in the State of Florida, in violation of the Constitution 
 and laws of the State of Florida, of the high duties of his office 
 and of his oath of office, and with full intent to violate and dis- 
 regard the laws of the State of Florida, did unlawfully conspire 
 with one Aaron Barnett to prostitute his official influence and 
 position to the uses and purposes of the said Barnett, in receiving 
 the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) from the said Bar- 
 nett for his official sanction and signature to a contract for the 
 conveyance of Internal Improvement lands to the said Barnett 
 as assignee of said contract from the Jacksonville, Pensacola and 
 Mobile Railroad Company, and did receive the said sum of 
 Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) from the said Barnett for the 
 reasons and purposes aforesaid, whereby the said Harrison 
 Reed, Governor of Florida, did then and there commit and 
 was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor in office, of incom- 
 
1 66 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 petency and malfeasance, and of conduct detrimental to good 
 morals. 
 
 And the Assembly of the State of Florida, by protestation, 
 saving to itself the liberty of exhibiting at any time hereafter 
 any further Articles or other Accusations on Impeachment 
 against the said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, and also 
 of replying to his answers which he shall make unto the Articles 
 herein preferred against him, and of offering proof to the same 
 and every part thereof, and to all and every other Article, Accu- 
 sation or Impeachment which shall be exhibited by them as the 
 case shall require, do demand, that the said Harrison Reed may 
 be put to answer the high crimes and misdemeanors in office 
 herein charged against him, and that such proceedings, exami- 
 nations, trials and judgments may be thereupon had and given 
 as may be agreeable to law and justice. 
 
 After reading these articles, John W. Butler, of Santa Rosa 
 County, offered a resolution that the Assembly resolve itself into 
 a committee of the whole and attend the managers appointed by 
 the Assembly to present the Articles of Impeachment exhibited 
 by the Assembly against Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida ; 
 and at 5 o'clock p. m., the whole body, preceded by its chair- 
 man, supported by the clerks of the Assembly, followed the 
 managers to the Senate chamber and presented the Articles. 
 The Assembly, after a brief absence, returned and the committee 
 rose. The follow^ing order was taken by the Senate : 
 
 Mr. Purman offered the following resolution : 
 
 Whereas, The Assembly, on this loth day of February, 
 1872, by a committee of their members, at the bar of the Sen- 
 ate, impeached Harrison Reed, Governor, of high crimes and 
 misdemeanors, incompetency, malfeasance in office, and con- 
 duct detrimental to good morals, and informed the Senate that 
 the Assembly will in due time exhibit particular articles of 
 impeachment against him, and make good the same, and like- 
 wise demanded that the Senate take order for the appearance 
 of said Harrison Reed, Governor, to answer to said impeach- 
 ment ; Therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate will take proper order thereon, of 
 which due notice shall be given to the Assembly; 
 
 Which was adopted. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth offered the following resolution : 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 67 
 
 Whereas, Harrison Reed, Governor, has been this day 
 impeached by the Assembly of the State of Florida of high 
 c.'imes and misdemeanors, incompetency, malfeasance in office, 
 and conduct detrimental to good morals; 
 
 Resolved^ That the President of the Senate be, and he is 
 hereby, ordered to issue his warrant issuing to the Sergeant-at- 
 Arms of the Senate, directing him to notify the said Harrison 
 Reed, Governor, that he has this day been impeached by the 
 Assembly of the State of Florida of high crimes and misde- 
 meanors, incompetency, malfeasance in office, and conduct det- 
 rimental to good morals, and that he is deemed under arrest and 
 disqualified from performing any of the duties of his office as 
 Governor of Florida until acquitted by the Senate of Florida, and 
 the Sergeant-at-Arms is hereby ordered and directed to make 
 return to this body at once of his doing herein; 
 
 Which was adopted. 
 
 Mr. Henderson offered the following resolution : 
 
 Resolved by the Seiiaie, That the Senate of the State of Flor- 
 ida will organize as a High Court of Impeachment for the pur- 
 poses of the trial of His Excellency Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of Florida, on Tuesday next, 13th, inst., at 12 o'clock m. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins offered the following as a substitute : 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate will proceed to organize as a 
 High Court of Impeachment for the trial of Harrison Reed, 
 Governor, on the 14th inst., at 12 o'clock i\i. 
 
 Resolved^ further, That the Secretary of the Senate imme- 
 diately notify the Assembly -of the adoption of this resolution. 
 
 Mr. Henderson moved that the substitute be laid on the 
 table. 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for, with the following 
 result : 
 
 Those voting in the affirmative were — 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Atkins, Crawford, Ginn, Henderson, 
 Kendrick, McKinnon, Moragne, McCaskill, Sutton and Weeks 
 — II. 
 
 Those voting in the negative were — 
 
 Messrs. Billings, Dennis, Eagan, Hill, Hillyer, Jenkins, 
 Johnson, Locke, Meacham, Pearce, Purman and Wentworth — 
 12. 
 
 So it was not laid on the table. 
 
 The substitute was then adopted. 
 
 Mr. Henderson offered the following resolution : 
 
 Resolved by the Senate, That a committee of three be 
 appointed to notify the Hon. E. M. Randall, Chief Justice of 
 the State of Florida, that the House of Representatives of this 
 State, have, through their committee, appeared at the bar of the 
 
l68 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Senate, and impeached His Excellency Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of Florida, of high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the Sen- 
 ate will organize as a High Court of Impeachment on Wednes- 
 day, the 14th inst. , for the purpose of the trial of the said Har- 
 rison Reed, and that he be requested to be ])resent to preside at 
 the same. 
 
 Which was adopted. 
 
 Mr. Henderson offered the following resolution : 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate be instructed to 
 notify His Excellency Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, 
 that a committee of the House of Representatives have this day 
 appeared at the bar of the Senate, and in the name of all the 
 people of the State of Florida, impeached him, the said Harri- 
 son Reed, Governor, etc., of high crimes and misdemeanors, 
 and that the Senate have passed a resolution, of which the fol- 
 lowing is a copy : 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate will proceed to organize as a 
 High Court of Impeachment for the trial of Harrison Reed, 
 Governor, on the 14th inst, at 12 o'clock m. 
 
 Resolved, further, That the Secretary of the Senate imme- 
 diately notify the Assembly of the adoption of this resolution : 
 
 Which was adopted. 
 
 Reed having been impeached, the conspirators were anxious, 
 in case they were forced to try him, to secure beforehand all the 
 votes they could for conviction, whether the evidence warranted 
 it or not. They knew that Liberty Billings, who was of the 
 defunct *' mule team " faction, and then Senator from Nassau 
 County, had no good blood for Purman and that gang, so they 
 sought to secure his vote by electing him president pro tern, of 
 the Senate, which placed him in position as Lieutenant-Governor. 
 All the conspirators voted for him, and he was accordingly 
 elected. The Sergeant-at-Arms returned and made return that 
 he had duly complied with the order of the Senate, and had 
 served a copy of his warrant upon His Excellency, Harrison 
 Reed. A committee of three was appointed to attend the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor to the executive chamber to take the oath of 
 office. Day now assumed the office of Governor by proclamation, 
 but it is noticeable that the proclamation was not attested by any 
 Secretary of State. The Democrats had by this time become 
 very much dissatisfied in reference to Articles V and VI because 
 they reflected upon the character of ex-United States Senator 
 David L. Yulee. Some of them threatened to combine with 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 169 
 
 Governor Reed against the conspirators if those articles were not 
 withdrawn, and in order to bridge over this threatened gulf mid- 
 way, the conspirators planned the following resolution and addi- 
 tional articles, which were adopted : 
 
 Mr. Graham, of Manatee, was allowed to offer the follow- 
 ing resolutions : 
 
 Whereas, The journals of this House incidentally reflect 
 on the Hon. D. L. Yulee in the matter of the Articles of Impeach, 
 ment against Harrison Reed ; and, whereas, upon subsequent 
 examination, we find that great injustice has been unintention- 
 ally done Mr. Yulee in the said articles ; therefore, 
 
 Resohed, That the managers appointed by this House to 
 present the aforesaid Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, sit- 
 ting as a High Court of Impeachment, are hereby ordered and 
 instructed to withdraw from the said Articles of Impeachment 
 any matter which may in any manner reflect in a censurable 
 manner upon the Hon. David L. Yulee, and for that purpose are 
 hereby instructed to withdraw Articles V and VI of the said 
 Articles of Impeachment for amendment ; that a copy of this reso- 
 lution be handed to the Hon. David L. Yulee by the Chief 
 Clerk of the House, and that the same be spread on the journals 
 thereof. 
 
 Resolved, That the managers be and are hereby instructed 
 to present the following additional Articles of Impeachment 
 against Harrison Reed, Governor of the State of Florida : 
 
 additional articles of impeachment and replication to 
 the pleas filed by harrison reed, governor. 
 
 article xiii. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, unmindful 
 of the high duties of his office, and of his oath of office, and in 
 violation of the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, 
 between the 8th day of September, A. D. 1868, and the ist day 
 of July, A. D. 1869, in the city of New York, did unlawfully and 
 improperly appropriate moneys belonging to the State of 
 Florida, to-wit : The sum of $6,948.63, placed in his possession 
 by James D. Westcott, Jr., and received by him as a Trustee — 
 in this : That the said Harrison Reed, Governor, did substitute 
 for said moneys certain securities of the State of Florida, pur- 
 chased by him at a large discount, and did pay said securities 
 into the Treasury of the State of Florida, and appropriate to 
 his own personal use and benefit the difference arising from said 
 speculation, and with intent then and there to defraud the State 
 
lyo CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of the full value of said moneys in his hands as Trustee for the 
 people of the State, whereby the said Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of Florida, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high 
 crime and misdemeanor in office, of incompetency and malfea- 
 sance. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 Tliat said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, unmindful 
 of the high duties of his office, of his oath of office, and in viola- 
 tion of the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, at Talla- 
 hassee, in the State of Florida, on or about the ist day of Janu- 
 ary, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 seventy, and on divers other days and times in said year, also 
 on divers other days and times in the years of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and seventy-one and seventy-two, did 
 embezzle moneys belonging to the State of Florida, to-wit : The 
 sum of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven dollars and 
 twenty-four cents ($1,897.24), in the possession of Jonathan C. 
 Gibbs, Secretary of State, and did appropriate said moneys to his 
 own use, benefit and purposes, then and there with intent to 
 violate the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, whereby 
 said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, did then and there 
 commit and was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor in office, 
 of incompetence and malfeasance in office. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, unmindful 
 of the high duties of his office, and of his oath of office, in viola- 
 tion of the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida on the 
 24th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and seventy-one, and on divers other days and times, in 
 said year, at Tallahassee, in the State of Florida, did divert, mis- 
 apply, and unlawfully and improperly appropriate the sum of 
 eleven thousand dollars ($11,000), of the contingent fund appro- 
 priated by the Legislature of the State of Florida, and did appro- 
 priate and apply a large portion of said sum to his own personal 
 use and benefit with full intent to violate the Constitution and 
 laws of the State of Florida, whereby said Harrison Reed, Gov- 
 ernor of Florida, did then and there commit and was guilty of a 
 high crime and misdemeanor in office, of incompetency and of 
 malfeasance. 
 
 ARTICLE XVI. 
 
 That said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, unmindful 
 of the high duties of his office, of his oath of office and in violation 
 of the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, and of the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 171 
 
 dignities and proprieties of his high office, on the eighth day of 
 
 , in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
 
 seventy, at Tallahassee, in the State of Florida, did wrongfully 
 and maliciously misrepresent and fals fy his official acts and 
 doings to one T. W. Brevard, with full intent thereby to misrepre- 
 sent and falsify, for the purpose of affecting the interests of cer- 
 tain persons and parties, and to the detriment of the public inter- 
 ests and in violation of the express provisions of the Constitu- 
 tion of the State, whereby said Harrison Reed, Governor of Flor- 
 ida, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high crime 
 and misdemeanor in office, of incompetency and malfeasance, 
 and of conduct detrimental to good morals. 
 
 Resolved, That the managers and counsel presenting Articles 
 of Impeachment against Harrison Reed, Governor, be instructed 
 to file the following replication to the pleas of Harrison Reed, 
 Governor, to said Articles of Impeachment : 
 
 In the Assembly of the State of Florida^ February idth, 1872. 
 
 The Assembly have considered the several pleas of Har- 
 rison Reed, Governor of Florida, to the several Articles of 
 Impeachment against him exhibited by them in the name of 
 themselves and all the people of the State of Florida, and reserv- 
 ing to themselves all advantages of exception to the insufficiency 
 of his answer to each and all of the several Articles exhibited 
 against said Harrison Reed, Governor, and for the replication to 
 said pleas do say that the said Harrison Reed, Governor, is 
 guilty of the high crimes, misdemeanors and malfeasance in office 
 and conduct detrimental to good morals charged in said 
 Articles, and that the Assembly are ready to prove the same. 
 
 The most singular feature of this whole impeachment scheme 
 was that while the investigating committee could find sufficient 
 witnesses in Florida upon whose evidence to base thirteen articles 
 of impeachment, the board of managers could not find witnesses 
 in the State to prove any one of those charges — for the proof of 
 any one of them would have been sufficient. 
 
 The following is the resolution adopted asking for further 
 time, offered by Mr. Graham, of Manatee : 
 
 Whereas, Additional time is necessarily required by the 
 managers and counsel prosecuting articles of impeachment 
 against Harrison Reed, Governor, before the Honorable Senate, 
 to amend articles already presented, and to prepare and present 
 others, and to procure the attendance of witnesses ; and whereas, 
 
172 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 a large number of said witnesses reside out of the State and in 
 remote parts of the United States, and their testimony is neces- 
 sary to prove the various matters charged in said articles of 
 impeachment, and without which testimony the Assembly, by 
 its managers and counsel, cannot at this time safely proceed to 
 the trial of the said Harrison Reed ; therefore. 
 
 Resolved, That the managers be directed to proceed to the 
 bar of the Senate and ask that necessary tune be allowed the 
 managers and counsel to amend articles presented, and to pre- 
 pare and present others, and to procure the attendance of neces- 
 sary witnesses to the trial. 
 
 The Assembly having appeared at the bar of the Senate on 
 the loth day of February and impeached Governor Reed, that 
 body on the same day passed an order that the Senate notify the 
 Assembly that the Senate would sit as a high court of impeach- 
 ment on Wednesday, the 14th of February, for the trial of Gov. 
 Reed. Immediately after the order had been passed a resolu- 
 tion was offered that the two houses adjourn sine die on February 
 19th. The resolution was postponed until the following Thurs- 
 day. On the 14th of February a committee was appointed to 
 escort Chief Justice Randall to the Senate Chamber. He arrived 
 and was sworn by Associate Justice Westcott. The Chief Jus- 
 tice then swore in the Senators, when the Sergeant-at-Arms made 
 the following proclamation : 
 
 '' Hear ye ! Hear ye ! Hear ye ! All persons are ordered 
 to keep silence, under penalty of imprisonment, while the Senate 
 of Florida is sitting for the trial of Harrison Reed, Governor of 
 Florida, for high crimes and misdemeanors. God save the State 
 of Florida and this honorable Senate !" 
 
 A short while after the court had organized it adjourned to 
 await the report of the committee appointed to draft rules of 
 procedure and practice for the guidance of the Senate while 
 sitting as a high court of impeachment. On February 15th the 
 court met and the Senate adopted rules for the government of 
 the Senate while proceeding with the trial. (See Senate journal, 
 page 304). A summons was made, returnable at 8 o'clock p. m. 
 the same day. J. P. C. fimmons appeared at the bar of the 
 Senate with authority from Governor Reed to act as his counsel, 
 and he presented the following : 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 73 
 
 ^' In the matter of the impeachment of Harrison Reed, Gov- 
 ernor of the State of Florida : 
 
 " I, Harrison Reed, Governor of the State of Florida, hav- 
 ing been notified to appear before this honorable court sitting as 
 a court of impeachment, to answer certain articles of impeach- 
 ment found and presented against me by the honorable the 
 Assembly of the State of Florida, do hereby appear by my 
 counsel, J. P. C. Emmons, who has my warrant and authority 
 therefor, and who is instructed by me to ask of this honorable 
 court such time as may be necessary and reasonable for the prep- 
 aration of my answer to said articles, and to conduct my defense 
 thereto in all re«;pects. 
 
 " Dated this 14th day of February, A. D. 1872. 
 
 '' HARRISON REED." 
 
 Mr. Emmons, on behalf of Governor Reed, filed the fol- 
 lowing plea: 
 
 In the matter of the Impeachment of Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of Florida, charged with high crimes and misdemeanors in 
 office, incompetency and malfeasance, and conduct detri- 
 mental to good morals. Before the honorable, the Senate 
 of the State of Florida, sitting as a Court of Impeachment. 
 
 And the said Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, by his 
 attorney, J. P. C. Emmons, comes here into court, and praying 
 leave of the court to save and reserve to himself the same right 
 of objection to all or any of the articles of impeachment against 
 him preferred by the honorable the Assembly of said State, 
 which he might er would have in case a demurrer to the same 
 were here filed, and not confessing or admitting either the con- 
 stitutional right of the honorable the Assembly in the premises, 
 or the sufficiency in law^ of any of the said articles of impeach- 
 ment for the purposes intended, says he is not guilty of the said 
 supposed high crimes and misdemeanors in office, incompetency, 
 and malfeasance, and conduct detrimental to good morals, or 
 any of them, in manner or form as the honorable the Assembly 
 aforesaid, in and by the said articles of impeachment has com- 
 plained against him. 
 
 J. P. C. EMMONS, Attorney and of Counsel. 
 
 Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida. 
 
 Senator Hillyer offered the following order, which was 
 agreed to : 
 
 Ordered that the answer of Harrison Reed, Governor, to 
 the articles of impeachment exhibited against him be received 
 and filed. ♦ 
 
174 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 The counsel on behalf of the managers presented the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 Mr. Chief Justice and Gentlemen of the Senate — 
 
 In behalf of the Assembly and as directed by the managers, 
 I have the honor to recjuest of the honorable Senate a copy of 
 the answer filed by Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida, to the 
 articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the Assembly. 
 
 Further than this : 
 
 Mr. Chief Justice — By instruction of the Assembly, the man- 
 agers and counsel appointed to conduct this important trial of the 
 impeachment of Harrison Reed, Governor, in view of the time 
 necessary to consider the answer made by the respondent and to 
 make replication there:o; in view also of the neccessity for proper 
 time in which to procure the attendance of witnesses, who reside 
 out of the State, whose testimony is necessary to prove the 
 material matters and facts charged in the Articles of Impeach- 
 ment, and without which the Assembly by its managers and coun- 
 sel cannot with safety and deliberation and in justice to the 
 respondent as well as to the people, proceed at this time to fur- 
 ther trial, and also for the purpose of amending the Articles of 
 Impeachment, already presented, and prepare and present other 
 articles in addition thereto, to the honorable Senate, do therefore 
 ask of this honorable Senate that necessary time be allowed the 
 managers and counsel to procure the attendance of the witnesses, 
 to make replication to the answer of Harrison Reed, and to pre- 
 sent further Articles of Impeachment against him. 
 
 Mr. Chief Justice — We make this application with no pur- 
 pose to interpose any extraordinary delay in the progress of this 
 cause, other than that which of right we claim for ourselves, and 
 in justice to the people and to the respondent. 
 
 We are approaching the latter days of the constitutional 
 limit of time allowed for the regular session of the Legislature, 
 and the managers and counsel are unitedly of the opinion that 
 the presence of the necessary witnesses cannot possibly be 
 obtained so as to enable the managers to join issue with the 
 respondent before the sixty days have elapsed. 
 
 Now, in due respect of the position in which we present our- 
 selves, Senators will understand that within the limits of the 
 accusation we have made, and for further reason, because of the 
 five additional articles which we propose to present, there must 
 be a very considerable range of subjects and a great variety of 
 practical considerations that will need to come under the 
 responsible judgment and for the discreet and critical action of 
 counsel. 
 
 We do not present a mere question of convenience, but we 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 75 
 
 show causes of substance; and in making this application we 
 address ourselves to the sound discretion of the Senate. 
 
 There are other and_ very important considerations which 
 urge our application, and those are the economy of time, and 
 of great expense to the State, while we sit here with both 
 Houses in session, engaged in dilatory proceedings, and waiting 
 for the service of subpoenas upon witnesses in New York and 
 New Jersey, and the production of documentary evidence exist- 
 ing out of the State. It may be urged by counsel for respondent 
 that the time-honored right of the accused to a speedy 
 and impartial trial is seriously jeopardized by a continuance ; 
 but we claim, Mr. Chief Justice and Senators, that the rights of 
 the people in their collective capacity are as important to be 
 preserved and to be guarded as jealously as those of the citizen 
 in his individual character. We, too, are anxious for a speedy 
 trial. But above all, we ask that justice shall be done — 
 that by careful preparation and deliberate conduct, we shall 
 divest ourselves of all the prejudice of personal differences, and 
 of all the heat and hate which belongs to the political forum, 
 that our case shall be properly and justly made up, and that if 
 the respondent be found guilty on these charges and on the 
 others which we shall present, it will not be charged to us that 
 his accusers have acted hastily, unfairly, or unjustly, or with 
 unseeming desire to add injury to misfortune. 
 
 In behalf of the managers, I ask that this statement may be 
 placed upon the record : 
 
 Whereas, Additional time is necessarily required by the 
 managers and counsel prosecuting Articles of Impeachment against 
 Harrison Reed, Governor, before the honorable Senate, to amend 
 articles already presented, and to prepare and present others, 
 and to procure the attendance of witnesses ; and, whereas, a large 
 number of these witnesses reside out of this State, and in remote 
 parts of the United States, and their testimony is necessary to 
 prove the various matters charged in said Articles of Impeach- 
 ment, and without which testimony this Assembly, by its mana- 
 gers and counsel, cannot at this time safely proceed to the trial 
 of the said Harrison Reed, Governor ; therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That the managers be directed to appear at the 
 bar of the Senate and ask that further necessary time be allowed 
 the managers and counsel to amend articles presented, and to 
 prepare and present others, and to procure the attendance of the 
 necessary witnesses upon the trial. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins moved that the further consideration of this 
 subject by the managers be postponed till to-morrow, 12 o'clock 
 noon. •* 
 
176 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Senator Henderson offered the following order : 
 That the managers make replication at 12 o'clock M. to-mor- 
 row, or show cause. 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for with the following 
 result : 
 
 Those voting in the affirmative were : 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Atkins, Billings, Crawford, Dennis, Eagan, 
 Ginn, Henderson, Hill, Hillyer, Jenkins, Johnson, Kendrick, 
 Locke, McKinnon, Meacham, McCaskill, Pearce, Purman, Sut- 
 ton, Weeks and Wentworth — 22. 
 
 Nays— None. 
 
 So the order was adopted. 
 
 The court then adjourned till 1 2 o'clock to-morrow, at Sen- 
 ate chamber. 
 
 After presenting the application for continuance on the part 
 of the managers the court adjourned to meet on the next day. 
 After the adjournment of the court the resolution previously 
 offered to adjourn sine die was taken up and passed by a vote of 
 ten to nine — seven Republicans and three Democrats voting for 
 adjournment. The High Court of Impeachment met on the 
 17th of February, at which time Governor Reed, through his 
 counsel, presented the following : 
 
 In the matter of the Impeachment of Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of the State of Florida. 
 
 To THE High Court of Impeachment : 
 
 Harrison Reed, Governor of the State of Florida, respondent 
 in said cause, by his counsel, comes and moves this honorable 
 court to grant him, until Monday next, time to prepare answer 
 to the Articles of Impeachment as origmally filed and subse- 
 quently amended by leave of this court. This application is 
 made in view of the concurrent action of the Senate and Assem- 
 bly, fixing Monday next as the day of final adjournment, thereby 
 precluding this respondent, unless by the voluntary action of 
 the government, from making his defense before the expiration 
 of his term of office, if ever. And this respondent confidently 
 expects to make good his plea by such testimony as will be satis- 
 factory to those who, from a hearing which was entirely ex parte, 
 felt it their duty to make the charges and specifications filed 
 against him. 
 
 This honorable court will take notice that at the time of fil- 
 ing his plea to the articles as first presented, this respondent 
 reserved the right to file special answer to said articles sever- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 77 
 
 ally upon the happening of a contingency, which has now trans- 
 pired. 
 
 Mr. Henderson offered the following order : 
 
 Ordered, That the counsel of the respondent be allowed 
 until Monday next, 9 a. m., to file his answer, amended answers, 
 or plea to the Articles of Impeachment exhibited against him ; 
 
 AVhich was adopted. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth moved that the Senate sitting as a High 
 Court of Impeachment adjourn till 9 a. m. Monday; 
 Which was agreed to. 
 The Chief Justice then adjourned the court till Monday 9 
 
 A. M. 
 
 The High Court of Impeachment met February 19th, 
 and the counsel for the respondent asked leave to file the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 ■ " And the said respondent, by his counsel comes and moves 
 the court that the plea heretofore filed to the said articles of Im- 
 peachment be held and treated as the plea and answer to the 
 said articles filed since then, the same as though said plea 
 was this day filed." 
 
 '■ ' A^erv respectfully, 
 
 ''J. P. C. EMMONS, 
 "Counsel for Respondent." 
 
 The request of the respondent was granted. The Board of 
 Managers presented the following : 
 
 Resolved, That the managers and counsel prosecuting 
 Articles of Impeachment against Harrison Reed, Governor, be 
 empowered and instructed to prepare and file in the High Court 
 of Impeachment the necessary replication to the answer and plea 
 that Harrison Reed, Governor, has or may file to the said 
 Articles of Impeachment. 
 
 Attest : M. L. STEARNS, 
 
 Speaker of the Assembly. 
 H. H. CLAY, 
 Clerk of the Assembly. 
 Which was agreed to. 
 
 The counsel for the Bo^rd of Managers of the Assembly 
 offered a repHcation and asked that it should be filed. 
 
 The counsel for the respondent submitted the following, and 
 asked that it be filed : 
 12 
 
178 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Counsel objects to the reception of the replication on the 
 ground that it does not appear to be put in under the direction 
 of the Assembly, nor the mode prescribed by law therefor. 
 
 The counsel for the managers then withdrew, and subse- 
 quently tendered the following replication : 
 
 hi the Assembly and State of Florida, February ig, 1872. 
 
 Replication by the Assembly of the State of Florida to the 
 pleas of Harrison Reed, Governor, to the Articles of Impeach- 
 ment exhibited against him by the said Assembly. 
 
 And now comes the Assembly by its managers and counsel, 
 and having considered the several pleas of Harrison Reed, 
 Governor, to the several Articles of Impeachment exhibited 
 against him in the name of the said Assembly, and of all the 
 people of Florida, and reserving to the said Assembly all 
 advantages of exception to the insufficiency of said pleas, to each 
 and all the said several Articles of Impeachment, exhibited 
 against said Harrison Reed, Governor, and for the replication to 
 said pleas, do say that said Harrison Reed, Governor, is guilty 
 of the high crimes and misdemeanors, of incompetency and mal- 
 feasance, and of conduct detrimental to good morals, and that 
 the Assembly is ready to prove the same. 
 
 M. L. STEARNS, 
 Speaker of the Assembly. 
 H. H. CLAY, 
 Chief Clerk of Assembly. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins offered the following order: 
 
 Ordej'ed, That the replication of the managers to the 
 respondent's plea be received and filed. 
 
 Which was adopted. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth offered the following order : 
 
 Ordered, That the Senate sitting as a High Court of 
 Impeachment do now adjourn in accordance with the concurrent 
 resolution adopted by the Senate and the Assembly for the 
 adjournment of the Legislature. 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for with the following 
 result : 
 
 Those voting in the affirmative^were : 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Dennis, Hill, Jenkins, Kendrick, Locke, 
 Meacham, Purman and Wentworth — 9. 
 
 Those voting in the negative were : 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 79 
 
 Messrs. Atkins, Billings, Crawford, Eagan, Ginn, Hender- 
 son, Hillyer, McKinnon, McCaskill, Pearce and Sutton — ii. 
 
 So the order was not adopted. 
 
 Mr. AVentworth moved that the Senate room be cleared for 
 deliberation ; 
 
 Which was not agreed to. 
 
 The counsel for the respondent offered the following, and 
 asked that it be filed : 
 
 In the matter of Harrison Reed, impeached for high crimes, mis- 
 demeanors, malfeasance in office and conduct detrimental 
 to good morals. 
 
 I, Harrison Reed, Governor of the State of Florida, hereby 
 by my counsel, J. P. C. Emmons, now come here into court and 
 demand a trial of the charges aforesaid, embodied in the 
 Articles of Impeachment, filed against me in this court, to which 
 I have filed my plea verified by oath as required by the Constitu- 
 tion of this State. 
 
 And I now hereby solemnly protest, that, as I now make 
 such demand and hereby declare myself ready for trial, further 
 proceedings shall not be delayed or contmued to an impossible 
 day or time, within which my office as Governor aforesaid will 
 have expired by constitutional limitation. 
 
 Ordered that the same be filed. 
 
 The counsel for the respondent offered the following : 
 
 Mr. Emmons, respondent, moved that the managers pro- 
 ceed with the evidence, or that he be acquitted and discharged. 
 
 Mr. Henderson moved that the Senate chamber be cleared 
 for deliberation ; 
 
 Which was agreed to. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth moved that the doors be now opened; 
 
 Which was agreed to. 
 
 The doors were opened. 
 
 Senator Jenkins offered the following order : 
 
 Ordered, That the High Court of Impeachment do now 
 adjourn. 
 
 Mr. McCaskill offered the following as a substitute : 
 
 Whereas, Articles of Impeachment have been • presented 
 by the honorable Assembly of Florida against Harrison Reed, 
 Governor, and whereas the respondent demands an immediate 
 trial, 
 
 Ordered, therefore, That this court will continue to sit from 
 day to day at lo o'clock of each day, for the trial of Harrison 
 
l8o CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Reed, till adjourned by the limitations of the State Constitution, 
 to-\vit : Till the end of 60 days. 
 
 Mr. Purman offered the following order : 
 
 Ordered, That the Senate sitting in High Court of Impeach- 
 ment do now adjourn. 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for with the following result: 
 
 Those voting in the affirmative were : 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Dennis, Ginn, Hill, Jenkins, Kendrick, 
 Locke, Meacham, Purman and Wentworth — 10. 
 
 Those voting in the negative were : 
 
 Messrs. Atkins, Crawford, Eagan, McKinnon, McCaskill 
 and Pearce — 6. 
 
 So the order was adopted. 
 
 The Chief Justice then declared the court adjourned in pur- 
 suance of the order of the Senate, and ordered the Sergeant-at- 
 Arms to make the following proclamation : 
 
 Hear ye ! Hear ye ! Hear ye ! The Senate of the State of 
 Florida, sitting as a high Court of Impeachment, now stands 
 adjourned. God save the State of Florida and this honorable 
 court. 
 
 The Osborn conspirators made no hesitation in openly 
 declaring, after the Governor had been impeached, that they did 
 not intend to give him a trial. They only desired to get him 
 suspended so that there would be no hindrance to the commis- 
 sion of fraud at the ensuing election, and the nomination and 
 counting in of M. L. Stearns for Governor, while Day, the act- 
 ing Governor, was to be nominated and counted in for Congress. 
 Our next chapter will show how Governor Reed broke this slate 
 and conspiracy. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Bafiqitet of the Conspirators and the Handwriting on the 
 Wall, Day's Proclamation and the Meeting of the Legisla- 
 ture. Extracts from Day's Pivclamation. The Decision of 
 the Supreme Court. The Conspirators Again Jubilant. The 
 Conspirators Driven Into Court. Governor Reed Before The 
 High Court of Impeach7nent. The Famous Argument of 
 Jtidge Emmons. The Reply of the Managers. The Conspir- 
 ators See Danger Ahead, and are Wrathy With Day. Hon- 
 est Cessfia Exposed. The Triumph of Governor Reed. Sce^ies 
 Around the State House when Governor Reed was Dis- 
 charged. 
 
 The Osborn conspirators having now deposed Governor 
 Reed and, as they thought, buried him with his face downward, 
 were jubilant and defiant. The strongest friends of the Governor 
 grew weak, while the doubtful and faint-hearted of the conspir- 
 ators grew strong. No one in the Republican party dared to 
 utter a word in defense of Harrison Reed, under penalty of 
 being read out of the party as a traitor. James W. Johnson, 
 white carpet-bagger, one of the leading conspirators and a mem- 
 ber of the board of managers of impeachment, was made pri- 
 vate secretary of Governor Day, at a salary of $750 per annum. 
 Not a speck of cloud could be seen by them in the political hori- 
 zon to disturb their peaceful ten month's sail in the great ship of 
 state to the verdant fields of plunder, which- they so eagerly antici- 
 pated would be fully ripe and ready for wholesale harvest in the 
 nomination, counting in and inauguration of M. L. Stearns, the 
 Bureau. agent, as Governor. Governor Reed, in the meantime, 
 unassumingly contended that the adjournment of the court 
 after issue had been joined and the Senators sworn to try the 
 Articles of Impeachment, and the adjournment, after his 
 arraignment without his consent and against his protest, operated 
 as an acquittal. The Governor, in order to have the matter 
 amicably settled as to who was the legal Governor, proceeded 
 to the executive office and had an interview with Governor Day, 
 
l82 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 and requested him to join with him, Reed, and ask the opinion 
 of the Supreme Court as to the legal effect of the adjournment 
 of the Senate without giving him a trial. Day, fearing that the 
 court might decide that Reed was Governor, stubbornly refused 
 to even countenance Reed's request, and laughed him to 
 scorn. Judge Emmous, Reed's counsel, thought that he could 
 get the matter before the court by a motion ; but in this propo- 
 sition Governor Reed showed himself to be a better lawyer than 
 his counsel, for Reed contended that this could not be done 
 without notice, if at all, which Emmons finally acknowledged 
 was true. The conspirators had called a State convention to 
 assemble in the city of Jacksonville, which met shortly after the 
 adjournment of the Legislature. The convention being in ses- 
 sion and Reed out of the way, no one dared to mar the occasion 
 ])y opposing anything the conspirators attempted to put through. 
 They elected a State Central Committee, which was in full 
 accord with the conspirators. The convention was considered 
 as a grand banquet given by them in honor of the overthrow of 
 Governor Reed, and Cessna and Johnson figured as the great 
 heroes. Day had left the seat of government at Tallahassee 
 and was now in attendance at the banquet, partarking of its 
 sweet felicities, and mirth and thanksgiving filled the hall. 
 
 As C. H. Pearce, the great leader of the freedmen of the 
 State, and more especially of Leon County, had fallen a victim 
 to the persecutions of the conspirators because he had stood by 
 the administration of Governor Reed, was losing his grip upon 
 the freedmen by reason of such persecution ; and the conspira- 
 tors desiring a colored leader who could bring the freedmen to 
 their support, the author of this work, who had heretofore been 
 Pearce's leading lieutenant, was counseled by Day to take his 
 place. As Governor Reed was supposed to be dead and buried, 
 this proposition was gladly accepted, and he was mustered in at 
 the banquet with all the honors of one who had been brought 
 up under this great leader and knew how to capture his most 
 formidable political fortifications without injury to the conspira- 
 tors, and was at once endorsed by the banquet as the next 
 Republican candidate for Congress. This endorsement was 
 never intended by the conspirators to be carried out in good 
 faith, of which the author was well aware at the time, but only 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 83 
 
 to hoodwink him and make him more zealous in bringing the 
 freedmen to their support. 
 
 Governor Reed, taking advantage of the absence of Day 
 from the seat of government, as well as the gathering of nearly- 
 all of the conspirators at the banquet, quietly proceeded from 
 Jacksonville to Tallahassee, held a consultation with his true and 
 tried secretary, Jonathan C. Gibbs, who stood as a wall of 
 fire against the assaults made by the conspirators on the Governor, 
 which consultation resulted in the Governor issuing a proclama- 
 tion from the executive office declaring himself Chief Executive 
 of the State, and commanding the people to give obedience 
 thereto. The Governor also made several important appoint- 
 ments, among which were General William Birney to be Attor- 
 ney-General, and F. 1. Wheaton to be Judge of the Fourth 
 Judicial Circuit. Secretary Gibbs recognized Reed as the legal 
 Governor of Florida, and affixed the great seal of the State to 
 this proclamation, and to the appointments. Reed also 
 addressed a letter to the Judges of the Supreme Court of the 
 State requesting their opinion as to the legal effect of the 
 adjournment of the Senate without giving him a trial, and then 
 returned to Jacksonville without the knowledge of the conspira- 
 tors. The banquet was in the height of its glory when the hand- 
 writing on the wall was discovered by Day in the shape of Reed's 
 proclamation that he had risen from the dead, and was still 
 Governor of Florida. Day, with tremors which he attempted 
 to conceal, cried : "Treason," while he summoned Johnson, 
 his private secretary, to his side, apparently to give him com- 
 fort. Johnson obeyed the summons, and although haggard 
 when he appeared, swore that he would go to Tallahassee and 
 hang Governor Reed as high as Haman. Cessna mustered up 
 a smile, which was barren of its usual fervor, and contended 
 that the people would pay no attention to Reed's proclamation. 
 Others suggested the calling of an extra session of the Legisla- 
 ture to impeach Secretary Gibbs for affixing the great seal of the 
 State to Governor Reed's act, while all agreed that Day should 
 call upon the General Government for troops if Reed could not 
 be got rid of otherwise. The leading conspirators now pro- 
 ceeded to Tallahassee to assist Johnson in decapitating Governor 
 Reed, who, having carried his point, had quietly returned to his 
 
184 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 home at Jacksonville. When the conspirators reached Talla- 
 hassee they found nothing to prevent their taking peaceable pos- 
 session of the citadel ; but the question as to who was the legal 
 Governor was squarely placed before the Supreme Court. 
 
 The intention of Governor Reed was not to take forcible pos- 
 session of the government, as the conspirators were in hopes he 
 had done, so that they might invoke the aid of the General Gov- 
 ernment in their behalf, but to get possession by process of law. 
 The appointment of Birney and Wheaton was intended to make 
 a contest as to who was Governor. Day had appointed Judge 
 Gillis of the same circuit as judge, and Reed thought Gillis 
 would resort to the courts to establish his authority, thus involv- 
 ing the question as to the legality of Wheaton's appointment ; 
 but the Governor missed his aim in this, as Gillis made no resist- 
 ance, and Wheaton had no trouble in exercising the duties of his 
 office. The plan of issuing this proclamation and making these 
 appointments, many thought was the work of Judge Emmons, 
 but the judge, as well as Secretary Gibbs, often declared to the 
 author afterwards that it was Reed's own invention. Reed's 
 case now pending before the Supreme Court, the conspirators, 
 like the builders of the tower of Babel, were confused, and no two 
 of them could agree as to the best course to be pursued to prevent 
 him from recapturing the citadel. They seemed to know before- 
 hand what the opinion of Associate Justice Hart would be, but 
 expressed themselves as being afraid of Chief Justice Randall 
 and Associate Justice Westcott. Day insisted on calling a 
 session of the Legislature for the double purpose of getting rid 
 of Gibbs and of re-impeaching Reed if the court should dis- 
 charge him. Day's proposition eventually prevailed, and the 
 following proclamation was accordingly issued. 
 
 Whereas, The interests of the people of this State require 
 the immediate assembling of the Legislature : 
 
 Now, THEREFORE, 1, SamuelT. Dav, Lieutcnant-Govemor, 
 and, by virtue of said office. Acting Governor of the State of 
 Florida, do hereby issue this my proclamation, convening the 
 Legislature in Extraordinary Session at Tallahassee, the Capital, 
 on Monday, the 2 2d day of April, A. D., 1872, at twelve meri- 
 dian, at which time, in pursuance of the requirements of the 
 Constitution, I will communicate to both branches of the Legis- 
 lature the ])urpose for which they have been convened. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 85 
 
 In testvjwny whereof^ I have hereunto set my hand, and in 
 lieu of affixing the great seal of the State, hereby proclaim that 
 the same has been secreted or stolen. 
 
 Done at the Capitol, in Tallahassee, Florida, this seven- 
 teenth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and seventy-two, and of the Independence of the 
 United States of America the ninety-sixth. 
 
 Samuel T. Day, 
 Acting Governor. 
 
 The Legislature met on the day designated in Day's procla- 
 mation, with only two members of the Senate and ten members 
 of the Assembly. Both houses adjourned from day to day until 
 a quorum was had. On the third day the Senate had a quorum, 
 and on the fourth day there was a quorum in the Assembly. 
 Both houses now notified Acting Governor Day of their organ- 
 ization and their readiness to receive any communication he 
 might be pleased to make. In response Day sent a message 
 from which we extract so much as relates to the contested case, 
 as follows : 
 
 message of the acting governor. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Senate and of the Assembly : 
 
 I regret the occasion which has compelled me to assemble 
 the Legislature at this season of the year, which is so important 
 to many of you, who are engaged in agricultural labors. 
 
 The public necessity for certain legislative action has 
 appeared to me to be so imperative, and my own earnest sense 
 of the responsibility which devolves upon the Executive under 
 the peculiar circumstances that have recently arisen, are con- 
 siderations which have caused me to feel justified in calling you 
 together at some sacrifice of your personal interests. 
 
 On the loth day of February last, at the regular session of 
 the Legislature, certain proceedings were had by both branches 
 thereof, which impeached Harrison Reed, Governor of the State, 
 of high crimes and misdemeanors in office, and in accordance 
 with the constitutional requirements, Governor Reed was sus- 
 pended from his official duties, pending the final determination 
 of the Senate upon the charges against him, and as Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the State the duties of the Executive devolved upon 
 me. 
 
 On that day I occupied the Executive office, ai}d assumed 
 the authority and functions of Chief Magistrate of the State, 
 
1 86 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 not, however, without the embarrassment of finding the Gov- 
 ernor's office strii)ped of all official records, papers, and docu- 
 ments properly belonging thereto, which had been secretly 
 removed by Governor Reed himself, or by his direction. 
 
 The constitutional provision declaring the effect of an 
 impeachment in relation to the rights of the person accused, is 
 in the following expressed terms : 
 
 ''An officer when impeached by ihe Assembly shall be 
 deemed under arrest, and shall be disqualified from performing 
 any of the duties of his office until acquitted by the Senate. 
 But any officer so impeached and in arrest may demand his trial 
 by the Senate within one year from the date of his impeach- 
 ment." (Art. i6, Sec. 9.) 
 
 The Senate not having concluded the trial of Governor 
 Reed, but having, on the contrary, continued the proceedings 
 in the exercise of its judicial discretion, and having adopted a 
 concurrent resolution expressive ot the intention and purpose of 
 both the prosecuting branch of the Legislature and of the Sen- 
 ate itself for a continuance, still holds in custody the person of 
 the accused under its own warrant, and subject to its own rules 
 and orders. 
 
 Such being the case, and Governor Reed having vacated 
 the Executive office and removed his residence from the Capital 
 to Jacksonville, did, on the 8th inst., by unlawful conspiracy 
 with Jonathan C. Gibbs, Secretary of State, and in my tempo- 
 rary absence, clandestinely enter the Executive office, and unlaw- 
 fully attempted to take possession thereof, and issued a so-called 
 proclamation declaring himself still to be in the exercise of the 
 Chief Executive duties of the State; the said Jonathan C. Gibbs 
 confederating with him in this high-handed conspiracy, and affix- 
 ing the Great Seal of the State to the so-called proclamation, 
 attesting the same as Secretary of State. 
 
 In furtherance of this conspiracy to seize the State govern- 
 ment. Governor Reed executed certain so-called appointments 
 to office ; one to William Birney, to be Attorney-General, and 
 another to F. I. Wheaton, to be Judge of the Fourth Judicial 
 Circuit; in which proceedings the Secretary of State co-operated 
 and in all respects recognized the authority of Governor Reed. 
 
 Instead of seeking by legal and proper methods, and in 
 accordance with the Constitution and Laws of the State, to reas- 
 sume the duties of the Executive, Governor Reed and Secre- 
 tary Gibbs, by a secret and artfully-planned conspiracy, seized 
 the Great Seal of the State, together with important records and 
 papers, being public property, and hastily removed the same to 
 Jacksonville. 
 
 On being informed of these lawless and revolutionary pro- 
 ceedings, I repaired to the Executive office, and issued my proc- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 87 
 
 lamation, declaring the conduct of the conspirators ''an 
 attempted usurpation," and " revolutionary in its tendencies," 
 and commanding obedience to the lawfully constituted authori- 
 ties of the State. 
 
 In this action I have been almost universally sustained by 
 the people, and have been offered every possible aid from all sec- 
 tions of the State in preserving the peace, order, and dignity of 
 the government, and for the protection and support of my recog- 
 nized Executive authority. 
 
 I have thus briefly laid before you the facts attending this 
 most atrocious attempt by Governor Reed to seize the powers of 
 the government, under color of a self-asserted right and in defi- 
 ance of the judicial proceedings of a high constitutional forum, 
 by which he was deprived of all authority whatever. It is true 
 that this action has produced in some sections of the State con- 
 fusion and distrust, and has made the exercise of official author- 
 ity on the part of some State and county officers a matter of 
 divided opinion, and afforded a plausible pretext for a class of 
 political malcontents to obstruct and embarrass the adminstra- 
 tion of the laws. 
 
 But whatever may be the differences of opinion respecting 
 the legal effects of the adjournment of the Legislature without 
 the trial of the accused by the Senate, there can be no circum- 
 stances which justify or palliate a resort to force or to unlawful 
 conspiracy on the part of any State officer or pretended official, 
 in bold defiance of the determination of a judicial tribunal. 
 Whether that decision be right or wrong, lawful or unlawful, it 
 is not within the sphere of the recognized legal rights, nor with- 
 in the proper exercise of the power to vindicate personal liberty, 
 on the part of any citizen, be he high or low, rich or poor, to 
 question or override, the validity or legal effect of any judicial 
 proceeding, by attempting to subvert the laws, to defy the peace 
 and good order of the State, and to incite rebellion and anarchy 
 in the government. 
 
 Whatever may be the opinion of the supreme judicial 
 authority of the State upon the question of the legal effect of the 
 proceedings thus far held by the Senate in the suspension from 
 office of Governor Reed, I do not deem it disrespectful, during the 
 pendancy of the consideration of such opinion, to call your at- 
 tention to the paramount necessity at all times of recognizing 
 and abiding by the de facto Executive authority of the State. 
 No department of the government is more essential for the pre- 
 servation of the peace and order of the community. Its powers 
 and agency are distributed over the State in larger proportion 
 than those of any other branch of the government, and are 
 brought more directly in contact with the people. It is the 
 immediate representative of the sovereign will of the people, 
 
l88 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 and upon its vigorous and discreet action the courts and all judi- 
 cial authority rely for the ultimate vindication of justice and 
 the security of good government. In this view of my own 
 duty, I hold the conduct of Governor Reed and all his abettors 
 as revolutionary and criminal, and in no manner justifying the 
 countenance or support of any law-abiding citizen, z/;//// having 
 been declared by a tribunal of competent jurisdiction entitled to 
 resume his Executive functions. It is therefore that I feel bound 
 by my oath, and by my sense of public duty, to compel obedience 
 to my authority, and to use every power in me vested by law to 
 suppress all attempts to subvert it. 
 
 I call your attention to these extraordinary facts, and sug- 
 gest such legislation as in your wisdom the circumstances may 
 seem to require. 
 
 On the 29th day of April the Senate and Assembly 
 adjourned and proceeded to the Supreme Court room to hear the 
 opinion delivered as to who was the legal Governor. The con- 
 spirators were in high spirits, as Hart had privately informed 
 them that things were all right, and that the court would sus- 
 tain Day. A. J. Peeler and George P. Raney appeared for 
 Day, and Judge Emmons for Governor Reed. The arguments 
 had been made several days before. While the court fully 
 agreed that Governor Reed was entided to a trial, yet a majority 
 of the court, Associate Justices Westcott and Hart, decided that 
 the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to decide as to whether 
 the adjournment of the Senate to an impossible day did or did 
 not operate as an acquittal. The court further decided that 
 Governor Reed being suspended, could not ask the opinion of 
 the court as to any matter. Yet Reed was sufficiently Governor 
 to get the court together on his case for the purpose of hearing 
 arguments of counsel for and against his questions propounded 
 to the court as Governor. Chief Justice Randall dissented, and 
 delivered an opinion, which will be found elsewhere in this 
 work. (See 14 Florida Reports, p. 308). The conspirators now 
 had gotten over the scare which Governor Reed had first given 
 them before the court, and thought themselves masters of the 
 situation, and in the House the following resolution was 
 adopted : 
 
 Resolved, by the Assembly, the Senate concurring, That 
 this Legislature do adjourn on Friday, May 3d, at 12 m., until 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 89 
 
 such time as the Acting Governor shall call them together again, 
 on being informed by the Managers of Impeachment that they 
 are ready to proceed with the trial of Harrison Reed. 
 
 Of course the managers were never to be ready, and Day 
 would be the last man to call them together. 
 
 In addition to F. A. Dockray and Mr. Brevard, counsel for 
 the Board of Managers, Governor D. S. Walker and Boiling 
 Baker were employed. A resolution was offered by Mr. Oli- 
 veros, of St. Johns County, that the Board of Managers proceed 
 at once with the trial of Governor Reed. This resolution was 
 laid on the table. 
 
 After the Assembly had adopted its resolution to adjourn 
 without giving Governor Reed a trial, the Senate, on the first 
 day of May, proceeded by resolution to organize a High Court 
 of Impeachment. This resolution was fought most bitterly by 
 the conspirators in the Senate— Wentworth, Purman and others — 
 while John A. Henderson and John L. Crawford, Democrats, 
 battled for its passage. All manner of dilatory motions were 
 made to prevent its passage, until the conspirators became 
 exhausted and gave up the ghost, and the resolution was 
 adopted. The conspirators in the Assembly, now forced into 
 court by the action of the Senate, to make good their charges, 
 passed a resolution on the 2d day of May, to send for persons 
 and papers and to take testimony under oath. The High Court 
 of Impeachment met May 2d, at five minutes to 12 a. m., the 
 Chief Justice present. The Sergeant-at-Arms made his usual 
 proclamation, and the Assembly was notified that the Senate 
 was organized for the trial of Harrison Reed. 
 
 Committee o( managers from the Assembly then came in 
 with counsel. 
 
 Judge Emmons, counsel for Governor Reed, present. 
 
 The Chief Justice then announced that the Senate, as a 
 High Court of Impeachment, was fully organized. 
 
 Counsel for respondent then asked leave to proceed with 
 motions that he would present. The managers notified the 
 court. 
 
 I desire to state that the managers are represented by T. W. 
 Brevard and F. A. Dockray as counsel. 
 
 Judge Emmons, counsel for Governor Reed, then read the 
 following paper as presenting his views : 
 
IpO . CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 In the matter of the Impeachment of Harrison Reed, Governor 
 of Florida, before the High Court of Impeachment, organ- 
 ized by virtue of resolution passed the Senate May i, 1872, 
 at an extra session. 
 
 This matter came up for inquiry before a High Court of 
 Impeachment, organized by the Senate, at the regular session of 
 the Legislature of the State, at and during its session in Febru- 
 ary last. 
 
 At that time, and before the then court. Articles of Impeach- 
 ment were filed in court ; the respondent pleaded and the Assem- 
 bly replied. 
 
 Issue was thereby joined. 
 
 On the application of the managers, the court acted upon 
 and refused to continue the trial. 
 
 Respondent protested against any postponements or contin- 
 uance, the effect of which would be to postpone his trial to an 
 impossible day, claiming that the continuance of the trial to 
 the next session of the Legislature would be to fix a time before 
 the coming of which his term of office would expire by constitu- 
 tional limitation, and that he announced himself ready for and 
 demanded his trial. That the prosecution produce its evidence, 
 or that the respondent be acquitted and discharged. 
 
 That a member of the court asked its body to proceed in the 
 trial, and to sit from day to day therefor until such time as by 
 constitutional limit the Legislature's session would cease. With- 
 out action, the court adjourned without day. 
 
 By operation of its own rule, adopted for its government, 
 the Senate, sitting as a court, merged into the Senate proper 
 in its sole legislative capacity. That such Senate thereafter 
 adjourned sine die, the hour having arrived as fixed in a con- 
 current resolution, originating and passing both branches of the 
 Legislature, after the commencement of impeachment proceed- 
 ings and before the adjournment of said court. 
 
 This session of the Legislature was not provided for by the 
 Constitution and laws of the State, neither was it contemplated 
 in the mind of the court or of the acting Governor, when the 
 adjournment before mentioned took place. 
 
 He by whom, by the Constitution, the duties of the office of 
 Governor were to be performed, has exercised the constitutional 
 prerogative belonging to the Executive of the State in calling an 
 extra session of the Legislature, which is now in session. Among 
 other acts of this body, this branch has, by its resolution, organ- 
 ized itself into a High Court of Impeachment to proceed in the 
 trial of the respondent. 
 
 From the day of his impeachment to the present moment, 
 the action of the Legislature has practically suspended this 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. igi 
 
 respondent from the powers, rights, privileges and immunities 
 belonging to him under the Constitution and laws of the 
 State. 
 
 And now Harrison Reed, Governor of the State, respondent 
 herein, by J. P. C. Emmons, his counsel, comes here into this 
 court, and asks and demands, in virtue of the proceedings had 
 in the premises, that he, the respondent, be acquitted and dis- 
 charged of and from all and singular said impeachment, as set 
 forth in the Articles of Impeachment filed, and that he be dis- 
 charged from arrest, and that he be relieved from any and all 
 further attendance upon this court, or the Senate from which it 
 was organized, growing out of the impeachment or the proceed- 
 ings aforesaid. 
 
 Mr. Emmons then, after stating his motion to the above 
 effect, asVed some Senator to make the motion pro forma. 
 
 Mr. Henderson offered the following order : 
 
 Ordered, That the motion of the counsel of respondent be 
 granted. 
 
 Without detaining the court to discuss how far, as a court, 
 it is bound to apply a well-recognized principle in the very spirit 
 of our institutions, that whenever it shall find in the detail of 
 powers in fixing the distributive share which properly belongs 
 to each branch of the government, a power inappropriately dele- 
 gated to one which is in conflict with that which properly 
 belongs to another, it will so construe that delegation as to 
 make it belong where, by an antecedent delegation, it was 
 intended, I will say, in support of my motion, and demand that 
 by operation of law, when the court, at the last session, and 
 the Senate, adjourned without day, the Constitution of the State 
 of Florida fixed the day to which the Senate, as a legislative 
 body adjourned as being the first Tuesday after the first Monday 
 in January, 1873. ^^^ ^^^ High Court of Impeachment being 
 0Dmposed of the members of that body, aside from its presi- 
 dency, was not only the creation of, but dependent upon, the 
 same authority for its existence. Thus the trial of the respon- 
 dent, if it existed in continuance, was carried over until that 
 day. 
 
 This to Harrison Reed, Governor, as aforesaid, was an 
 impossible day. 
 
 For that the Governor's term of office is by the Constitution 
 of the State terminated at the opening of the regular session of 
 the Legislature in the year A. D. 1873, though the Constitution 
 does not read that he shall continue in office until his successor 
 shall be qualified, it was evidently intended so to read, and 
 before then, in legal contemplation, a new Governor will have 
 
192 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 been elected and qualified. And, too, the Legislature can do 
 no business, and certainly none in relation to the matter of this 
 impeachment until after the happening of that event. And 
 again, too, because the punishment provided lor in the Consti- 
 tution in the event of conviction cannot be meted out. And 
 in language I have before used in the presentment of this matter 
 elsewhere, I further say, that although the Constitution pro- 
 vides that upon extraordinary occasions a convention of the 
 Legislature may be had, yet as controlling the effects of such 
 adjournment the power comes neither within the legal or merito- 
 rious action of the Senate, because it depends upon the happen- 
 ings of its contingencies which human foresight could not decide 
 upon. 
 
 And again it would be a transfer of power over and control 
 of the matter either to the Governor actual or acting, by enabling 
 him to withold any communication to the Legislature in refer- 
 ence to thft trial, or to the Legislature itself by enabling any 
 member thereof by withholding his consent to destroy unanim- 
 ity, whereby it could not act. 
 
 In support of my proposition as to the effect this extra 
 session may have, I quote from a communication on this very 
 subject from the pen of a gentleman whose well-earned reputa- 
 tion for legal sagacity and acumen entitles it to the very highest 
 respect and consideration. He says: "The legal effect, if 
 there be any, of the action of the Senate, is not overcome by the 
 present extra session, convened at the call of the acting Governor, 
 for if the effect attached, no subsequent action can avert it. The 
 question then must be governed by what the law fixed at the 
 time, whatever that w^as, either in favor or opposed to the posi- 
 tion of Governor Reed, and no subsequent assemblage of the 
 Legislature in extra session by call of the Governor can change 
 
 it." 
 
 And as this communication is to my mind conclusive upon 
 the status of this case, I read it in full, as a better presentation 
 than I can originate : • % 
 
 THE DUTY OF THE SENATE IN THE IMPEACHMENT MATTER. 
 
 The question in regard to the legal effect of the action of the 
 Senate upon the status of Governor Reed, propounded by him 
 to the Judges of the Supreme Court, has excited no little interest 
 in the public mind, and especially during the discussion of it 
 before the Judges by the counsel on either side. The course of 
 the arguments seemed to have been directed to sustain or to 
 oppose the jurisdiction of the court in the first place, and sec- 
 ondly, the effect in law of the action of the Senate — that 
 action being the adjournment of the Senate to a day beyond the 
 
. CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 93 
 
 official existence of Governor Reed. The discussion was an 
 interesting one to us, and was conducted with much ability on 
 both sides. With much anxiety was the opinion of the Judges 
 awaited. The opinion has been given, and though the Judges 
 differ, yet one thing has been settled by it, and that is that the 
 question is one for the determination of the Senate alone. With 
 all due deference to those who hold other views, we believe that 
 the question does not turn upon technical ideas of "jurisdiction," 
 for in all matters involving personal rights the courts have jurisdic- 
 tion to investigate and inquire into them, as the court did in 
 this case. There was no " case " before the court. An opinion 
 as to the law was asked, and as propounded there was involved 
 the question whether Governor Reed was restored to his official 
 functions by the action of the Senate. The opinion of a major- 
 ity of the Judges asserts that whatever may really in law be the 
 effect of this action, the Senate alone is the tribunal to declare 
 it. This proceeds from no want of jurisdiction in the Supreme 
 Court to investigate the subject, but as a rule from a declared 
 principle of law, that whilst one tribunal has a case pending 
 before it, another court, although of concurrent jurisdiction, will 
 not undertake to decide any question as to the effect of the action 
 of the court having first acquired cognizance of the case until 
 after final action, but leave the question to be decided by the 
 court in which it originated. In the present case the rule of law 
 is especially applicable according to the opinion of a majority, 
 for the reason that the Senate has exclusive jurisdiction of 
 impeachments. 
 
 Until the Senate shall finally decide, the court cannot inter- 
 fere, but it is nowhere intimated that should the Senate trans- 
 gress any of its powers, the court cannot so declare and give 
 effect to its own judment in any given case. 
 
 Granting, then, that the Senate is the only tribunal to decide 
 the legal effect of its own acts pending the impeachment and 
 until they themselves decide or order affimatively the final dis- 
 position of the case, the question still remains, what is the legal 
 effect of their action in this case ? We do not understand that 
 the question rests upon the simple act of adjournment, nor was the 
 argument of the counsel in behalf of Gov. Reed based on it, but on 
 it coupled with the other and important facts, that the adjournment 
 was without his consent and in opposition to his wishes and pro- 
 test, and to a period beyond his official Hfe, when no trial and 
 no judgment of acquittal could restore him to his rights, even if 
 by any stretch of ideas upon the subject there could by any trial 
 at all. The question then still being one for the decision of the 
 Senate, by what law, it may be inquired, is it to be governed ? 
 We say by the law of the land, controlling and governing all 
 rights, private and official. The Senate (no more than any other 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 tribunal vested with any judicial power) is not a law for them- 
 selves, with the right to decide according to their mere caprice ; 
 nor does there exist anything in what is called the usages and 
 customs of parliament as contra-distinguished from the law apper- 
 taining to all cases, to justify a departure from legal rules and 
 principles. In the celebrated case of Warren Hastings, Lord 
 Thurlow, then Lord Chancellor, affirmed that the usages of 
 parliament as contra-distinguished from the common law had no 
 existence. " In times of barbarism," he said, "when to impeach 
 a man was to ruin him by the strong hand of power, the usage 
 of parliament was quoted in order to justify the most arbitrary 
 proceedings." He added, "that the same rule of procedure 
 and of evidence which obtain in courts below, he was sure 
 would be rigidly followed." The House of Lords sustained this 
 view, and during the trial all questions upon the admissibility of 
 evidence were decided according to the rules of the common 
 law as announced by the Judges. According to this, the princi- 
 ples and rules of the common law are to be invoked m the pro- 
 gress of the trial to determine all questions affecting the rights 
 of the accused, for if it were otherwise there would be no rule 
 by which the citizen could measure his actions and none by 
 which his rights could be determined, for the usages of parlia- 
 ment furnish none. If, then, the rules and principles of the 
 common law govern the court in the progress of the trial as 
 the only law that exists, the same reason that affirms and main- 
 tains it is equally forcible to support the proposition that all legal 
 coiisequences to the accused, resulting from the action of the court, 
 are likewise to be ascertained and determined by the law of the 
 land. These effects cannot rightfully be averted by resolution 
 of the Senate alone, for by itself the Senate cannot change the 
 law, but at most it can only rightfully prescribe rules to gov- 
 ern its own action, and regulate its own proceedings. 
 
 If the law pronounces that the action of . the Senate in 
 this case has the legal effect to discharge Governor Reed from 
 the impeachment, then it is their duty so to declare, for the 
 rule of law which requires it is as obligatory on the Senate as on 
 all other courts or tribunals exercising judicial powers. 
 
 The inquiry naturally results, what is the law upon this 
 subject ? We have already said a simple adjournment by itself 
 does not perhaps have the effect claimed, any more than the 
 adjournment of a court does of itself so operate. But when a 
 court pending a trial discharges the jury and adjourns against 
 the consent of the accused, and without any reason which the 
 law regards as sufficient, the authorities which were cited iii the 
 argument, as we understand them, affirm that as a rule of law 
 the party is entitled to be discharged. 
 
 Now wliat are the facts here? The adjournment was not 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 195 
 
 the result of any necessity, either of law or of unanticipated 
 occurrence. Governor Reed was arraigned ; the Senate organ- 
 ized as a court; a plea was filed and issue made. The accused 
 demanded a trial, as he had a right to do under the express 
 terms of the Constitution. Without any reason declared, or so 
 far as we know existing, the adjournment was ordered, and by 
 the operation of the Constitution, k?iown to the Senate, that 
 adjournment carried the Senate over to next January, which was, 
 as also known to the Senate, beyond the official life of the Gov- 
 ernor. The deduction of fact, as well as of law, which we hold 
 to follow from this is, that the adjournment of the Senate and the 
 continuance of the impeachment before it, was not for the pur- 
 pose of a trial, but that there should be no trial ; and we hold it 
 to be against any principle of law, that a party arraigned can 
 be held to prevent a trial instead of to give him a trial, and 
 that natural justice at least requires that in all such cases the 
 effect should be a discharge; and any and all courts should, 
 when the question properly comes before it, so declare. And 
 why? Simply because, as it seems to us, the spirit of the law 
 which gives power in order to try is violated, and the spirit of 
 justice requires that the party should be held discharged, for 
 he is presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proved, and, 
 as in such case, no chance to prove him guilty exists, he is entitled 
 to the practical benefit of the principle applicable in his behalf. 
 
 The legal effect, if there be any, of the action of the 
 Senate, is not overcome by the present extra session, convened 
 at the call of the acting Governor, for if the effect attached, no 
 subsequent event can avert it. The question then must be gov- 
 erned by what the law fixed at that time, whatever that was, 
 either in favor or opposed to the position of Governor Reed, and 
 no subsequent assemblage of the Legislature in extra session 
 by call of the Governor can change it. 
 
 If these views be correct, the Senate will not only be doing 
 justice to itself, but to the body of the people, not to mention 
 Governor Reed himself, by at once ordering the discharge of 
 the impeachment. Any other course will afford a proof that the 
 tactics of party, assuming the guise of public good, are of more 
 potent control than the law, which it is the highest interest of 
 Senates, courts and people to have administered. 
 
 In the able appeal made by Messrs. Peeler & Raney, they 
 more particularly relied upon the question of the jurisdiction 
 of the Supreme Court to pass upon the legal effect of the action 
 of this court. And as to this question alone, did the majority of 
 the court confirm itself, so far as any disagreement was con- 
 cerned? And while Justice Westcott, who delivered the opinion 
 of the court too plainly to be misunderstood, conceded what 
 would have been the unanimous opinion of the court in the event 
 
196 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of the question coming before the court in other circumstances, 
 he held that tht^jcourt was by the comity of courts estopped from 
 taking such jurisdiction in this case as would call for a full dec- 
 laration of the rights of this respondent. 
 
 But as to what constituted an acquittal within the meaning 
 of the Constitution, he fully agrees with Chief Justice Randall 
 when he says that, and I here quote from his opinion : 
 
 " What is the true intent and meaning of the word acquittal 
 as here used in the Constitution? The court does not differ as 
 to the proper definition of the term as here used. It is our 
 unanimous opinion that it is not restricted to an actual judg- 
 ment of acquittal after a vote upon full evidence failing to con- 
 vict by the requisite two-thirds of the members of an organized 
 Senate. 
 
 "We think its true signification to be a?iy affirmative final 
 action by a legal Senate other than a conviction, by which it 
 dismisses or discontinues the prosecution. Any final disposition 
 of the impeachment matter by the Senate, other than a convic- 
 tion, is therefore an dicqmitdi] , for the purpose of removing the dis- 
 qualification from performing the duties of the ofin^ce.'''' 
 
 Judge Westcott fully agrees with the Chief Justice in all but 
 the question of jurisdiction. And I shall, therefore, read the 
 opinion of Chief Justice Randall as the opinion of the Supreme 
 Court, on the question now here presented for the determina- 
 tion of this the High Court of Impeachment. 
 
 As to jurisdiction now or hereafter, Judge W. says: '' Our 
 power in the matter of this impeachment is limited and circum- 
 scribed by the fact that it is a matter beyond our jurisdiction 
 entirely. After an impeachment perfected according to the Con- 
 stitution the whole matter is with the Senate, and it has the 
 exclusive right of determining all questions which may arise in 
 the case. If its action is unconstitutional we have the right 
 and power to declare its nullity, and in a proper case before us of 
 any party to enforce the right of which it proposed to deprive 
 him. 
 
 Particularly was there no difference of opinion, as to the 
 total want of analogy between the jurisdiction, power and final 
 action of the Parliament of Great Britain, and that of the Senate 
 of a State in this country. And while this was true it was con- 
 ceded beyond controversy that the action of this forum would 
 and must be that of a court, one in which questions of law and 
 evidence are to be viewed and passed upon with the same gov- 
 erning principles that regulate inquiries into analogous subjects; 
 matter in all judicial tribunals proper. 
 
 And the doctrine that in an impeachment " the same rules 
 of evidence, the same legal motions of crimes and punishments 
 prevail ; for impeachments are not framed to alter the law, but to 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. I97 
 
 carry it into more effectual execution. The judgments and 
 action must therefore be such as is warranted by legal princi- 
 ples and precedents," as fully sustained by the authorities 
 cited, was recognized in all their force, as applicable, and but 
 for the want of jurisdiction, would have received the judgments 
 of that court in sustaining that for which the respondent con- 
 tended. 
 
 This doctrine is fully laid down in Webster in the Prescott 
 case, by Woodeson in his lectures, 4 Black. Com., Chit. Crim. 
 Law, and other authorities cited and read in that argument. 
 And, too, Selden in his works, more particularly at 1651-2, fully 
 indorses this rule, and the necessity and propriety of its appli- 
 cation. See, too, Lord Winston's case — motion in arrest of 
 judgment, where the Lords entertained the motion and decided 
 it. 
 
 And then, in reference to the general practice m courts of 
 law, when the issue is joined and the jury is empanelled and 
 sworn, and the cause is continued without the consent of the 
 defendant, either on motion and the discharge of the jury, or 
 by the withdrawal of one juror, by the consent of the court, 
 the defendant is thereby discharged and acquitted. 
 
 Before I cite in the argument any authorities to this well 
 settled point. I add, that in this case the court was the court and 
 jury. The Senators were sworn to try, etc., and having been so 
 sworn, should have returned a verdict; and not having done so 
 and the court having adjourned, and particularly as no day was 
 given, respondent was entitled to an acquittal and discharge as 
 asked for. 
 
 To this rule, see the People vs. Barrett and Ward, 2 Cairns 
 Report 304. 
 
 Reynolds vs. State, 3 Kelley (Ga.), Report Sup. C, 53, cit- 
 ing State vs. McKee, i Bailey, 651, where the court say: Taking 
 then our own decisions, and those of the United States Courts of 
 New York and England together, we are enabled to 
 say that a jury after they are charged can be discharged, 
 and the prisoner tried a second time, for the following causes 
 only : 
 
 Consent of the prisoner; illness of one of the jury, the prisoner 
 or the court; absence of one of the jurymen; the impossibility of 
 their agreeing on a verdict. Beyond these I apprehend the court 
 has no right to go. 
 
 See, too. Mount vs. State of Ohio, 14 Ohio, 295. 
 
 Hawkins' plea of the Crown, title Discontinuance, 243. 
 
 Mr. Emmons then read the opinion of Judge Randall. 
 
198 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 OPINION OF JUDGE RANDALL. 
 
 The communication of Governor Reed states a case pur- 
 porting to be the case made by the record of proceedings of the 
 Senate organized for the trial of his impeachment. 
 
 The case as found in the journal of the Senate does not dif- 
 fer essentially in any legal aspect from that stated by him. 
 
 The question presented is, what is the effect of the action 
 taken by the Senate and the Assembly upon the honorable, the 
 Assembly, which was lately pending before the Senate upon the 
 personal and political rights of Governor Reed, and the political 
 rights of the Legislature and the people. 
 
 The office and purpose of the process of impeachment, as 
 was well stated by one of the counsel who appeared in behalf of 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, is to provide that the State may not 
 be degraded by a delinquent officer ; and as well, as was stated 
 by other counsel, that in this process neither the State nor any 
 citizen should be deprived of any lawful right by the action of 
 any branch of the government. 
 
 It was well urged that this court had no authority to sit in 
 review of or to reverse or nullify the action or proceedings* of the 
 Senate. But it was not well said, in a legal sense, that the Sen- 
 ate was a body having a superier jurisdiction, because its powers 
 comprehend a broader and more elevated plane, untrammeled by 
 the severe rules and axioms of the common or statute law. If 
 this be true, the modern theories of government and the forms 
 of civil governments framed in the later periods, are but solemn 
 complicated frauds, machines for the amusement and the impov- 
 erishment of the people. If all political and judicial supervisory 
 power is lodged in any one body of men, notwithstanding the 
 establishment which all people love so reverently, organized 
 under written constitutions, which in terms divide the powers of 
 government into several departments of magistracy, supposed to 
 be created to perform the offices of correctives and balances, then 
 are such several departments mere cheats and shams, baubles and 
 playthings invented to delude and ensnare. 
 
 If this be so, what need of any other department than a 
 single body of men, or indeed a single human being covered 
 with tinsel, whose "ambrosial locks" and imperious nod may 
 dispense all power and all justice and command the obedience 
 of all other men ; a government fashioned after that of heaven 
 itself, but whose Mentor is a mere piece of crumbling pottery ? 
 
 On the other hand, the Senate, created by the written law 
 of the people, like any other department or fraction, has such 
 authority as is conferred by law. It has not been supposed to 
 be a tribunal higher than the executive or judicial branches of 
 government. As a judicial body it can act only upon the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 1 99 
 
 request of another branch called the Assembly. It has judicial 
 jurisdiction of but a single proceeding. It cannot reverse or set 
 aside the judgement of the Supreme Court, or of a Justice of 
 the Peace. It may, if the Assembly complain and prove, dis- 
 miss our members for violation of law, but it cannot prescribe 
 our judgments. Neither department is utterly independent of or 
 ''above" the other. The Legislature, by the repeal of a law, 
 may take from the courts the power to act in a given case 
 depending upon the existence of the repealed act, but it cannot 
 deprive the courts of the power to administer the existing law. 
 It may pass an unconstitutional act, and no power can prevent 
 its action, but it cannot enforce it, nor will the courts permit its 
 enforcement ; nor can the Legislature enforce any law without 
 the aid of the judicial tribunals — neither is superior, neither is 
 inferior. 
 
 The remarks addressed to the court by counsel concerning 
 the higher or supervisory character of the branches of the Legis- 
 lature, as judicial tribunals of which the courts may stand in. 
 pecuhar awe, cannot be considered otherwise than as an argu- 
 ment that the proceedings of the Senate in such capacity were 
 beyond the control of any other tribunal. This is not a question 
 in the consideration of the matter now under examination. 
 
 The simple question is, what is the necessary legal effect 
 and result of the action of the Senate and Assembly upon the 
 impeachment and trial of the Governor. I may further remark 
 that the proceedings of the Senate in this matter are, unques- 
 tionably, beyond the control of this court, even as the proceed- 
 ings of the court are beyond the control of the Senate. The 
 respect which each body owes to itself precludes the possibility 
 of any interference by it with the action of the other, or any 
 invasion by either with the jurisdiction of the other. The final 
 action of the Senate is to be examined only for the purpose of 
 ascertaining what action it has taken and what results legally 
 flow from such action, to the end that such results may be 
 declared. And I venture to declare that this final action must 
 be examined with reference to the law governing the powers of 
 the actor, for, so far as the rights of others are concerned, even 
 a legislative or judicial body cannot violate the law so as to 
 deprive the people or any one of them of rights intended to be 
 secured by law, without abrogating the principle underlying the 
 whole fabric of Republican institutions, that governments are 
 instituted among men for the protection of men's rights ; and 
 the courts are organized as integral parts of the government for 
 the purpose of enforcing this protection. 
 
 The house of Assembly impeached the Governor, and by 
 virtue of the Constitution he stood bereft at once of the Execu- 
 
200 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 tive function which at once devolved upon the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor. The Governor yielded, and pleaded to the charges. 
 
 The Senate by its first rule, its law adopted for the pur- 
 poses of the trial, resolved to "continue in session from day 
 to day, Sundays, excepted until final judgment shall be ren- 
 dered." 
 
 The Assembly declared itself not ready to prove the 
 charges by reason of the absence of testimony and witnesses. 
 
 The Senate by a vote of eleven in the negative, to nine in 
 the affirmative, rejected an order proposed by one of its mem- 
 bers "that the Senate sitting as a High Court of Impeachment 
 do now adjourn in accordance with the concurrent resolution 
 adopted by the Senate and Assembly for the adjournment of the 
 Legislature. 
 
 The Senate thus refused to postpone the trial as was 
 requested by the Assembly, and thus practically repeated or re- 
 affirmed the rule to proceed from day to day until final judg- 
 ment. 
 
 The Governor demanded a trial and protested that the trial 
 should not be postponed to a time beyond the expiration of his 
 term of office, and insisted that such postponement not only 
 would deprive him of his right to trial and his right to be heard 
 in his defense, which was secured to him by the terms of the 
 Constitution, but would deprive the Senate of the power to try 
 him, as he would be out of office by the constitutional limitation 
 of his term before the next meeting of the Legislature, and the 
 power of the Senate, therefore, to give judgment would be gone ; 
 such postponement would leave nothing upon which a judgment 
 could operate. Whereupon the Assembly, not proceeding with 
 the trial, the Senate sitting for the trial, adjourned, and the Sen- 
 ate and Assembly forthwith adjourned without day. 
 
 Now the sole question is, what is the legal result and the 
 legal effect upon the rights of all the parties affected. I cannot 
 avoid the questions by declining to answer, upon the ground that 
 the court cannot determine the regularity or review the action 
 of the Senate in its judicial capacity. I would decline such 
 interference whenever it should be demanded from any source. 
 Has the Senate taken such action that as to itself, and to Governor 
 Reed, and to the proceeding, it must necessarily take any further 
 action in the case to bring it to termination. Is its power over the 
 case exhausted? If I understand the majority of the court, they 
 decline to interpret this action of the Senate; and then, I think, 
 they do proceed to construe it, differing with me as to our duty 
 to declare our ojjinion of its legal effect. 
 
 They conclude that the proceedings had by the Senate were 
 not final until so declared by that body, while my conclusions 
 are that the action taken was final as to result and effect ; and if 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 201 
 
 the Senate consider the matter again it should come to the same 
 conclusion, uninfluenced, however, by our opinions in the mat- 
 ter of its duty, of which it alone will judge. 
 
 I have neither time nor inclination, nor is it material in my 
 judgment, to comment upon the various authorities, legal and 
 historical, relating to impeachment proceedings, upon the legal 
 effect of the prorogation or dissolution of the British Parliament, 
 for, according to the view I take of the case, I may agree con- 
 sistently with the argument of the learned counsel who 
 responded to the counsel of Governor Reed. I deal only with 
 the case presented and its peculiar circumstances. 
 
 I conceive that the analogy between the qualities 'and organ- 
 ization and powers of the House of Lords, and those of the 
 Senate of this State, is utterly wanting in at least two impor- 
 tant particulars. The points of departure may be discovered in 
 the following statement : 
 
 1. The Senate in conjunction with the Assembly may 
 adjourn and thus dissolve their session, and may thus cease to 
 act, and deprive themselves of the power to act in a legislative 
 or judicial capacity, of their own volition. 
 
 The House of Lords is a court in its fundamental existence, 
 having all the incidents and jurisdiction of a judicial tribunal at 
 the common law ; having power to try not only political but 
 other offenses, and to review the judgments and proceedings of 
 all other courts; its judicial existence cannot be divested or 
 destroyed by its own action ; it cannot dispose of cases before 
 it by its dissolution or adjournment; it cannot dissolve itself; 
 like all common-law courts, its cases remain before it until it 
 takes affirmative action; it cannot terminate its own sessions by 
 adjournment, but only by the command of the sovereign, and 
 the sovereign cannot dismiss causes from its jurisdiction. Hence, 
 the prorogation or dissolution of the Parliament, being done in 
 virtue of the royal command, a power not to be resisted in that 
 respect, does not divest it of jurisdiction over pending causes, 
 and an impeachment, being a proceeding against the person, sur- 
 vives every accident save the death of the accused. (I under- 
 stand this to be the law of England, and I think the death of 
 the accused destroys from that moment all jurisdiction of the 
 House of Lords or other criminal courts over the proceeding, 
 and that such proceedings as were pending are from that 
 moment abated). 
 
 2. The impeachment before the House of Lords is a pro- 
 ceeding against the citizen and peer in his individual capacity 
 for offenses committed either in his official or personal capacity. 
 The trial is the trial of an offender, and the judgment is that of 
 a court, the highest in the kingdom, whose process issues to 
 enforce its judgments, even to the taking of the life of the per- 
 
202 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 son convicted. It tries and convicts of murder and of larceny 
 upon an impeachment, and as an appellate court it tries the 
 rights of liberty and property, and pronounces and enforces its 
 judgments and decrees at law and in equity. 
 
 The Senate can judicially try only upon impeachment, and 
 it can try, not the citizen for committing crime, but only an 
 officer, as such, for the sole purpose of deposition from his office 
 and eligibility. Its judgments can be enforced only by means 
 of judicial process from the courts of law, construing and act- 
 ing upon the judgment of the Senate as upon a law of the 
 State. 
 
 One deposed from office by the judgment of the Senate may 
 be kept from office only by the courts, the power of the Senate 
 being exhausted by the rendition of its judgment. But the 
 judgment of the^ Senate even will not be enforced by the 
 courts, if the judgment be not authorized by the law of the 
 land, of which the courts cannot refuse to determine. 
 
 The Senate must have jurisdiction of the officer or it can- 
 not try him. If the Senate postpone the trial to a day when the 
 officer ceases to exist, it doth forthwith postpone and divest it- 
 self of jurisdiction over the matter charged, of power over the 
 officer, of the. power to render a judgment, and there is no 
 other logical sequence, in my judgment, than that it postpones 
 the case out of its jurisdiction, and so there is nothing further 
 upon which the Senate or court can operate. In other words, 
 the case is dismissed, gone out of existence so effectually that it 
 cannot breathe again, no power can restore it, and the accused 
 discharged from the custody of the court. 
 
 It cannot be said with any degree of plausibility that the 
 constitutional provision, that the officer impeached shall be 
 *' deemed under arrest and disqualified from performing any of 
 the duties of the office until acquitted by the Senate," contem- 
 plates an acquittal only by a vote of '' not guilty." 
 
 An acquittal, as I understand it, is a discharge by virtue of 
 any action of the Senate whereby it refuses expressly or other- 
 wise further to entertain the case or act upon it, or which places 
 the cause beyond its reach, and by which it has no loifger any 
 power or authority to render a judgment upon the guilt or inno- 
 cence of the officer. 
 
 This Senate has already established this as the correct inter- 
 pretation, in the case of the impeachment of a high judicial 
 officer of this State, by its vote that the prosecution be discon- 
 tinued and the case dismissed. Upon this the officer resumed, 
 without (question, the duties of his office. If the constitutional 
 provision referred to contem})lates a vote of " not guilty " or 
 any judgment upon the merits of the charges, then is the judge 
 of the Sixth Circuit still suspended, and incalculable mischief 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 203 
 
 and wrong done to the people by his subsequent unauthorized 
 action. I am of the opinion, and I submit that any action of 
 the tribunal in question which precludes a further proceeding in 
 the case pending before it, necessarily terminates the case as 
 effectually as though it were dismissed in express words. It puts 
 an end to the case absolutely, and necessarily discharges the 
 party from the arrest. 
 
 The right to a trial on the part of the accused is as sacred 
 as the right to try on the part of the accuser. 
 
 The power to suspend and postpone the trial and to resume 
 it, depends upon the jurisdiction. The right to arrest and sus- 
 pend from office depend upon the power to give a trial and to 
 convict or acquit. The Constitution contemplates a trial, and 
 the power to try, once gone, all the consequences of the accusa- 
 tion cease. A refusal to try is a refusal' to convict. 
 
 Without denying the power claimed on the part of the 
 House of Lords to proceed at its next session after a dissolution 
 of the Parliament and to conclude any business begun and not 
 concluded, and not denying the power of the Senate to adjourn 
 and postpone the trial of an impeachment to a day when it may 
 proceed to try the officer accused, it is my judgment that the post- 
 ponement to a day when it will have no jurisdiction of the officer 
 is an absolute dismissal of the matter from the further considera- 
 tion of the Senate, and a discharge of the accused must follow 
 as a matter of law. 
 
 So, concluding upon the premises stated, I must upon my 
 convictions of duty, say that, in my opinion, Governor Reed 
 had the right officially to solicit the opinion of the court, when- 
 ever, after the adjournment of the Legislature, he saw fit to do so ; 
 that he had a lawful right after such adjournment to resume the 
 power and proceed to the discharge of the duties pertaining to 
 the Executive Department whenever he saw fit. Yet it was 
 wise to address the constitutional advisers of the Executive upon 
 the matter before resorting to any measure which would have 
 disturbed the peace of the community. 
 
 As my brethren have come to other conclusions as to their 
 duty; have formed other opinions as to the status of the pro- 
 ceeding in question, or that the Senate alone can determine the 
 effect of its action by an express declaration, while I regret to be 
 obliged to differ from them, I am equally obHged, out of respect 
 to the law, to cheerfully acknowledge that my conclusions are not 
 legitimate, for so the court decides. And I respect its opinions, 
 as all good citizens should, notwithstanding any differences of 
 private judgment. 
 
 The counsel for the Managers read and filed the following : 
 
204 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Resolved, That the Assembly proceed this day at 12 m. with 
 the prosecution of the trial of Harrison Reed, and that the Man- 
 agers and counsel on the part of the Assembly take such pro- 
 ceedings to secure the immediate attendance of State witnesses 
 as are necessary and proper to do in the premises. 
 Adopted by the Assembly May 2, 1862. 
 
 M. H. Clay, 
 Clerk of the Assembly. 
 
 Mr. Wentworth moved that the Senate as a High Court of 
 Impeachment for the trial of Harrison Reed do now adjourn 
 until to-morrow at 12 m. 
 
 Which was agreed to. 
 
 And the Senate as a High Court adjourned. 
 
 The conspirators now fully realizing the predicament into 
 which Day had got them, by calling an extra session of the 
 Legislature, began to cast all sorts of epithets upon his devoted 
 head. As a common-place observation, Reed had killed two 
 birds with one stone. The issuance of his proclamation declar- 
 ing himself Governor had not only put his case before the court, 
 but had so frightened Day as to induce him to call the Legisla- 
 ture together. If the Legislature had not been called together 
 the conspirators would have succeeded, and Governor Reed 
 would have remained suspended until the expiration of his term 
 of office. A second caucus was held in the hotel, and Cessna, 
 Johnson, Stearns, Purman, Wentworth and several others, as 
 well as the author of this work, were present, and a concurrent 
 resolution was agreed upon to be rushed through the Legislature 
 at all hazards. This resolution was to be presented as having 
 passed both Houses at the regular session of the Legislature, and 
 was invented as a complete answer to Judge Emmons' argument 
 before the High Court of Liipeachment, that the Senate having 
 adjourned to an " impossible day," such adjournment operated 
 as Reed's acquittal. On May 3d, the day on which the High 
 Court of Impeachment was to meet, this resolution was presented 
 by Cessna in the Assembly, and passed without a dissenting 
 vote. The resolution was immediately reported to the Senate. 
 Shortly after the resolution was reported the High Court of 
 Impeachment, after several feeling-shots by test votes as to how 
 the Senators would jjrobably vote on Emmons' motion, the court 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 205 
 
 adjourned until 5 o'clock p. m. As soon as the court adjourned 
 the astute Purman, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, know- 
 ing this resolution to be such a glaring fraud, did not dare report 
 it as an important matter, but reported it among several others 
 as lust bills, the resolution being the last in the enumeration. 
 These bills and resolutions were objected to by John A. Hender- 
 son and McCaskill, Democrats. Henderson looked at Purman 
 and smiled, and then rose and moved that the resolution be laid 
 on the table, which was unanimously carried. The following is 
 the resolution : 
 
 Be it Resolved by the Asse?nbly, the Senate concurring, That 
 the journal of the Assembly for the 12th day of February, 1872, 
 be corrected by inserting the following concurrent resolution 
 which passed this House on that day but was by mistake omitted 
 from the journal; also that the Senate journal of the i6th day 
 of February be corrected in like manner by the insertion of the 
 said joint resolution, which reads as follows, viz: 
 
 Resolved by the Assembly, the Senate concurring, That the 
 present session of the Legislature shall be adjourned sine die on 
 Monday, the 19th instant, at 12 o'clock, meridian, and the pre- 
 siding officers of both houses shall at that hour declare their 
 respective Houses so adjourned. 
 
 Resolved, further, That should the present session of the Leg- 
 islature adjourn sine die before the trial of Harrison Reed, Gov- 
 ernor, is completed, the acting Governor is requested to call a 
 special session for the purpose of proceeding with said trial, 
 whenever the managers on the part of the Assembly and Har- 
 rison Reed, Governor, shall notify the Secretary of State, in 
 writing that they are ready for trial, or as soon thereafter as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 After the exposition of this resolution the Democratic mem- 
 bers of the Senate thought it expedient to investigate the acts 
 and doings of honest Cessna. John A. Henderson had moved 
 a resolution to the effect, and as the discharge of Governor Reed 
 waxed hot on the part of the conspirators he thought the time 
 had arrived when the Democrats should know what was in store 
 for them in case Day should remain Governor. The following 
 reflected the yolicy of Day and his followers: 
 
206 carpetbag rule in florida. 
 
 Senate Chamber, | 
 
 Tallahassee, Fla., May 4, 1872. j 
 To the Senate: 
 
 Your committee, appointed under a resolution of the Sen- 
 ate, of date the 2d instant, in words as follows : 
 
 Mr. Henderson moves the appointment of a special com- 
 mittee of three, who shall examine the pay rolls of the Senate 
 and Assembly of the last session, and also the statements, returns 
 and pay rolls of the several committees of the Senate and 
 Assembly which have been returned to the Comptroller's office, 
 and report upon the various refusals to allow pay in every case, 
 and upon the cases of suspended pay in every case, and who 
 made a verbal report of the same day, desire to submit the fol- 
 fowing report : 
 
 That the appropriation to W. E. Burleigh, for pay as clerk 
 of the Investigating Committee of the last session, appointed to 
 enquire into the sales of the Pensacola, Georgia and Tallahassee 
 Railroad; of Hamilton Jay, as clerk of the Assembly Judiciary 
 Comminee, and of Leroy D. Ball, as clerk of the Assembly 
 Committee, to examine the books of the State Treasurer and 
 Comptroller, were disallowed by the Speaker of the Assem- 
 bly, on the pay rolls as made out, because "the services of such 
 clerks for these committees were not authorized by the Assem- 
 bly." 
 
 That the janitors of the last session were not borne on the 
 pay rolls, and consequently were not paid, because these attaches 
 were not by name included in the Appropriation Bill, and conse- 
 quently could not be paid. 
 
 We are satisfied that the janitors were in regular atten- 
 dance with the knowledge of each House, and ought to have 
 been paid. 
 
 We are further satisfied that the clerks aforesaid, or some of 
 them, did serve, but how much we cannot say. On this subject 
 we cannot omit to say that in addition to the application of 
 W. E. Burleigh, for pay as clerk of the Railroad Investigating 
 Committee, $260 has also been paid to Mr. Bowes for like ser- 
 vices, and the sum of $270 has been paid to F. A. Dockray for 
 same services. 
 
 The multiplicity of clerks about the capitol during the ses- 
 sion, as well as in vacation, who are emyloyed without authority 
 of law, and who press for recognition and payment by appropri- 
 ation of the Legislature is a growing evil, and calls for our 
 uncpialified disapprobation. 
 
 Your committee have found one suspended claim in the 
 office of the Comptroller, coming within the sco])e of our resolu- 
 tion, as follows: In a "statement of expenses incurred by the 
 Assembly Committee appointed to investigate the sale of the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 207 
 
 Pensacola and Georgia and Tallahassee Railroad, January session, 
 1872, between January 12 and February 8, 27 days," are the fol- 
 lowing items: To F, A. Dockray, clerk, 27 days, at $10 per 
 day, $270; to F. A. Dockray, witness, 4 days, at $3 per day, 
 $12; mileage, $18; actual expenses allowed in lieu of mileage, 
 $30; to F. A. Dockray, 14 days at $20, expenses incurred in 
 Washington and New York investigating testimony produced 
 before the committee preliminary to session of the Legislature, 
 $240; United States currency, $280, which was certified ''cor- 
 rect," by order of committeee, and signed W. K, Cessna, chair- 
 man. The last item in this bill had been suspended by the 
 Comptroller, because it was not expenses incurred by authority 
 of the Legislature'or of either branch, and not covered or included 
 by the appropriation. 
 
 It would be injustice to fail to say, that while this committee 
 were making their investigations, Mr. Cessna called at the office 
 of the Comptroller, and having obtained leave of the Comptroller, 
 withdrew this statement and cancelled this last item, stating 
 that his approval was not intended to certify its payment, but 
 that it was his idea that the voucher would be the certificate of 
 correctness upon which payment would be made, and that he had 
 declined to sign such voucher. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JOHN A. HENDERSON, 
 ROBERT MEACHAM. 
 
 Osborn and his conspirators now exposed, outgeneraled and 
 utterly confounded, could be seen, night and day flying from 
 Democrat to Democrat, beseeching them most solemnly to 
 enter into a combination with them to save them and their chief 
 from disaster and disgrace, and in consideration of their support 
 the conspirators were to divide all the offices of the State equally 
 with them. The Democrats, remembering the Ross-Johnson- 
 Christy trick, contemptuously declined. The Democrats and 
 Governor Reed's Republican friends granted them only one 
 request, which was to adjourn the High Court of Impeachment 
 from day to day so as to give the conspirators ample time to 
 prepare for death — for it was a dreadful thing for them to die by • 
 Harrison Reed ascending the throne. The following proceed- 
 ings of the court will show how the conspiracy was crushed out, 
 and the rio;htful Governor sustained : 
 
2o8 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 HIGH COURT OF IMPEACHMENT, FOUR O'CLOCK P. M. 
 
 High Court of Impeachment met pursuant to adjourn- 
 ment. 
 
 The Chief Justice in the chair. 
 
 The roll was called and the following Senators answered to 
 their names : 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Atkins, Crawford, Dennis, Eagan, Hender- 
 son, Hill, Hunt, Johnson, Kendrick, McKinnon, Meacham, 
 McCaskill, Purman, Sutton, Weeks and Wentworth — 17. 
 
 A quorum present. 
 
 The Sergeant-at-Arms made proclamation. 
 
 The managers, with counsel, and the counsel for respondent, 
 appeared in court. 
 
 The argument of counsel was concluded. 
 
 Mr. Dennis offered the following as a substitute for the 
 order of Mr. Henderson: 
 
 Ordered, That the Assembly is hereby notified that the Sen- 
 ate will continue to sit as a High Court of Impeachment for the 
 trial of Harrison Reed, Governor, and that the managers are 
 hereby required to proceed with the prosecution of the Articles 
 of Impeachment presented by them. 
 • 
 
 Mr. Billings moved to lay the order of Mr. Dennis on the 
 table. 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for with the following 
 result : 
 
 Those voting in the affirmative were : 
 
 Messrs. Billings Crawford, Eagan, Henderson, Hunt, 
 Johnson, Kendrick, McKinnon, McCaskill and Sutton — 10. 
 
 Those voting in the negative were : 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Atkins, Dennis, Hill, Meacham, Purman, 
 Weeks and Wentworth - 8. 
 
 So the motion was laid upon the table. 
 
 Mr. Purman moved that the room be cleared for the purpose 
 of deliberation. 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for with the following 
 result. 
 
 Those voting in the affirmative were : 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Atkins, Dennis, Hill, Meacham, Purman, 
 Weeks and Wentworth — 8. 
 
 Those voting in the negative were : 
 
 Messrs. Billings, Crawford, Eagan, Henderson, Hunt, 
 Johnson, Kendrick, McKinnon, McCaskill and Sutton — 10. 
 
 So the motion was not agreed to. 
 
 Mr. Dennis offered the following order: 
 
HARRISON REED. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 209 
 
 Ordered, That further consideration of the motion be pos- 
 poned until Monday at 12 o'clock. 
 
 Mr. McCaskill moved that the motion be laid upon the 
 table. 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for, with the following 
 result: 
 
 Those voting in the affirmitive were: 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Atkins, Billings, Crawford, Eagan, 
 Henderson, Hill, Hunt, Johnson, Kendrick, McKinnon, 
 Meacham, McCaskill, Sutton Weeks and Wentworth — 16. 
 
 Mr. Dennis voting in the negative. 
 
 So the motion was laid upon the table. 
 
 Upon the original order of Mr. Henderson, 
 
 The yeas and nays were called for with the following 
 result : 
 
 Those voting in the affirmative were : 
 
 Messrs. Billings, Crawford, Eagan, Henderson, Hunt, 
 Johnson, Kendrick, McKinnon, McCaskill and Sutton — 10. 
 
 Those voting in the negative were : 
 
 Messrs. Adams, Atkins, Hill, Meacham, Purman Weeks and 
 Wentworth — 7. 
 
 So the order was adopted. 
 
 The Chief Justice then declared, as a legal consequence of 
 the adoption of said order, Harrison Reed, Governor, discharged 
 from custody. 
 
 The Senate chamber was packed to overflowing, both with 
 the excited friends of Governor Reed and those of the con- 
 spirators- during the roll-call on the motion to discharge the Gov- 
 ernor, and the casual spectator could readily distinguish the con- 
 tending factions by their demeanor as the roll was proceeded with. 
 Whenever a Senator would answer yea, as his name was called, 
 the conspirators and their friends would flinch and dodge as 
 though they were engaged in a stiff skirmish line of battle with 
 Reed and his friends, and each contending foe was not firing at 
 the advancing column, but at his individual man. When the 
 name of Dennis Eagan, of Madison, was reached, and he 
 answered yea, Cessna, the chairman of the Board of Manageer, 
 threw his hands across his head and wrung them as though he 
 was suffering the most excruciating pains. Purman ran to pre- 
 vent the Secretary from returning the vote as recorded, but the 
 Chief Justice paid no attention to him, and ordered the vote to 
 be returned. When the Chief Justice announced that Governor 
 Reed was discharged, men could be seen in every direction run- 
 14 
 
2IO CARPETBAG RULE Iti FLORIDA. 
 
 ning and shouting at the top of their voices that Reed was again 
 Governor of Florida. The Board of Managers looked around 
 for its chairman to lead them back to the Assembly hall, but he 
 could not be found, so the balance of the managers deem it wise 
 to get away the best they can, and they retreat in confusion, the 
 counsel for the managers leading the retreat. Governor Reed 
 marched into the Executive office and took possession. While 
 the Senate was struggling to get a final vote on the motion to dis- 
 charge, Day, now filled with anguish, was pacing back and 
 forth, first to the door of the Executive chamber and peeping 
 ^'it for his messenger, and then back into the office. When the 
 messenger came running with the dreadful intelligence which 
 was the end of his career as Governor, so anxious was he to 
 know the result that he did not wait his arrival, but ran to meet 
 him and asked : "How is it?" "Reed's discharged." He 
 turned his back on the messenger and wept. 
 
 At this session of the Legislature, C. H. Pearce, the great 
 colored leader, who had been convicted by the conspirators on 
 a trumped up charge of offering a bribe, was turned out of the 
 Senate. Rolling Baker and J. B. C. Drew, who defended him, 
 instead of making the point that the carrying of a message for 
 another was no crime, made the point that the indictment read 
 " the jurors," instead of "the grand jurors." This point was 
 properly overruled by the court below and affirmed by the 
 Supreme Court. When the vote was taken to declare Pearce's 
 seat vacant, Purman, who expected to come before the freed- 
 men again for office, and fearing Pearce would remind them as 
 to how he voted, left the Senate to avoid his name appearing as 
 one of those who voted to turn Pearce out, and the Senate 
 passed a resolution stating that fact. (See Senate journal, p. 20). 
 
 Nothing of importance was transacted by either branch of 
 the Legislature at this extra session, after the discharge of Gov- 
 ernor Reed, but the appointment of J. P. C. Emmons 
 Attorney-General. Both Houses adjourned sine die May 6th. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Supplicant Conspirators. The Conspirators Capture th& 
 Republican Convention of 1872, but Completely Exonerate Gov- 
 ernor Reed. Bloxham Nominated for Governor by the De7?io- 
 crats, and the Ring Desperate. The Election of Bart and the 
 Ca?ivass of the Vote. 
 
 Governor Reed, who had been slandered, persecuted, pur- 
 sued and hunted like the partridge upon the mountain by the 
 Osborn conspirators, because he had interrupted their systema- 
 tized plan for wholesale plunder, was now at the head of the 
 government, with all the appointing power in his hands, in 
 which situation he could have had himself re-elected, or could 
 have turned the State over to the Democrats if he had possessed 
 the weakness of nine-tenths of humanity to avenge themselves 
 for wrongs perpetrated upon them whenever opportunity offered; 
 but the Governor, following the teachings of the good book, 
 which declares ''vengeance is mine, I will repay," was deter- 
 mined to pass the scepter of the State into the hands of a decent 
 Republican if possible. The conspirators were well aware that 
 Reed stood with flaming sword in hand between the guberna- 
 torial chair and the Bureau-agent, M. L. Stearns, now began to 
 beseech him humbly for quarter. Day, the fraudulent Lieutenant, 
 Governor, was the first to do him reverence. He appeared at 
 the Executive Office Nicodemus-like in the night, subsequent to 
 the day Governor Reed was discharged, confessed his sins and 
 asked forgiveness of the Governor. He informed him that he 
 was misled by the other conspirators, and that he knew from the 
 first that the Articles of Impeachment were only fabrications 
 invented by Dockray, Osborn and Company, that he was forced 
 to play his part for fear that the conspirators, who were instru- 
 mental in counting him in, might assist Bloxham in getting him 
 out. Governor Reed, with much vehemence, said: "Then 
 you were willing to disgrace me, who was elected by the people, 
 with falsehood, to sustain a corrupt ring, and yourself, when you 
 knew that you never were elected Lieutenant-Governor. Your 
 days as Lieutenant-Governor are numbered." Day saw that the 
 Governor was not quite disposed to shield him from the pro- 
 
212 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ceedings then pending before the Supreme Court in regard to his 
 title as Lieutenant-Governor, retired from the Executive Office 
 in dispair. Chief Osborn was the next to offer supplication. 
 His term of office would expire at the end of Governor Reed's 
 administration, and he did not see his way clear, as all of Gov- 
 ernor Reed's troubles had originated from him. He suggested 
 to the Governor the proposition of going in with him from hence- 
 forth, the honor and spoils to be equally divided between them. 
 Governor Reed made this the occasion of opening the door of the 
 pent up prison house of his thought, and with quivering voice he 
 said: "Go in with you, who have so often attempted to dis- 
 grace me and my adminissration ! Go in with you, who have 
 brought dishonor on the Republican party of Florida, so that it 
 is a stink in the nostrils of decent people ! Go in with you, and 
 your gang of plunderers and freebooters, who, except for the in- 
 tervention of the Executive would have bankrupted the State for 
 generations unborn! Go in with you, whose conduct, even 
 since you were elected to the Senate of the United States, 
 has been one continued effort to breed a conflict between the two 
 races ! Go in with you, who have caused me to be bankrupt in 
 trying to allay the excitement which you and your Federal office 
 holders have aroused among the freedmen ! Palsied be my 
 tongue should it sanction such an agreement, and withered be 
 my hands if they should be used to carry out any agreement 
 entered into by me with such an unprincipled wretch as you." 
 Osborn, who now saw that Governor Reed could not be brought 
 to his support, under any consideration, took leave of him and 
 invented another scheme. 
 
 The Osborn conspirators, now thoroughly convinced that 
 Reed was a very dangerous animal to deal with, invented a sec- 
 ond plan to get control of the State Government. Although they 
 had heretofore warned the freedmen against trusting any South- 
 ern man, be he Republican or Democrat, and had driven some 
 of the Southern Republicans to the Democrats, some to sympa- 
 thize with the Democrats, some on the half-way ground, and a 
 majority in the dangerous attitude of silent lookers-on, they now 
 made a complete change of front, and pitched upon O. B. Hart, 
 a Southern Loyalist, an ex-slaveholder, a native of Florida, who 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 was to be incidentally spoken of by them as a probable nominee 
 for Governor on the Republican ticket of that year. This was 
 to be done to mislead Governor Reed and the friends of honest 
 government. Hart was only to be nominated in case of emer- 
 gency and as a last resort. M. L. Stearns was their man, to be 
 nominated if they could succeed in alienating the freedmen from 
 Reed and uniting them on Stearns. The agreement was that 
 they would go into the convention with plenty of money and 
 bad whisky, to be used on such of the freedmen as were hungry, 
 and with a great flourish of trumpets declare Stearns nominated 
 whether nominated or not ; and if a general break up was immi- 
 nent, then Stearns was to rise in the convention, thank them for 
 the high honor they had conferred upon him and tell them 
 he now withdrew for the sake of harmony in the great Republi- 
 can party. Such action would naturally draw the sympathies of 
 the average freedman to him, two-thirds of whom would be as 
 innocent as to his true intentions as so many children playing 
 with a rattlesnake for pretty calico. After his withdrawal. Hart 
 was to be immediately nominated as the candidate for the whole 
 party, thereby apparently showing that the ring had been 
 whipped out. Stearns, after withdrawing from this so-called 
 nomination, was next to be nominated Lieutenant-Governor for 
 his generous act of withdrawing from the head of the ticket to 
 save the party. Was the plot successful ? It was evident to the 
 best informed anti-ring men in the party that chief Osborn had 
 issued some important orders to be carried out in all the counties 
 in selecting delegates to the nominating convention ; but just 
 what those orders were it was difficult to surmise for some time. 
 Some of Governor Reed's old friends wKo had sworn allegiance 
 to the ring during the Governor's suspension from office, were 
 yet understood to continue their allegiance, but it had really 
 ceased the very instant he was discharged by the Senate, though 
 the ring was unaware of that fact. By this means Governor 
 Reed was informed as to what the ring intended to carry out. 
 A call for a Republican State Convention was issued by E. M. 
 Cheney, to meet at Tallahassee, which convention met in July or 
 August of 1872. Congress having passed a law allowing Flori- 
 da two representatives, the convention had to nominate candi- 
 
2 14 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 dates for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and two Members of 
 Congress. The convention met, and it was not long before the 
 fact was developed that the ring had put in some good work in 
 all the counties to get possession of the State Government. 
 Money was used lavishly by the ring, with whisky to back it up> 
 and the average colored brother, who was of course now hun- 
 gry, must be abundantly fed at once or his vote would be cast 
 against the ring, who had taught them that selling their votes was 
 true citizenship. Money was so much in demand by the colored 
 brother that the members of the ring attempted to teach him a 
 second lesson, that he should vote for a man on principle and 
 not for money ; but the colored brother refused to learn the 
 esson, and insisted on that first taught him, which was 
 money and not principle, and that this money must be forth- 
 coming without debate. His demand was at once complied 
 with, and the coffers of the colored brother were agreeably 
 filled, though the ring doubted his fidelity to them. Had he 
 not been contaminated with whisky and money at this conven- 
 tion, and a free and fair expression of the will of honest Repub- 
 licans been had. Governor Reed would have been the choice ot 
 the convention for Governor. There was an intense feeling 
 against Stearns and other members of the ring, and they had 
 their hands full running to and fro in the convention trying to 
 keep him in line of battle until a decided victory was won. As 
 the roll call was proceeded with it disclosed the fact that the 
 colored brother, who had now worked the ring for all it was 
 worth, was deserting its standard in large numbers and joining 
 the anti-ring element in the convention. The ring, who had 
 captured the organization of the convention in the outset and 
 elected secretaries whom they could rely upon in any emergency, 
 began to see that they had lost their money and whisky, and 
 without bold work, immediate work, and effective work, would 
 lose all. They began to dispute the result of the roll call which 
 had left Stearns behind. A recount was demanded by them, 
 which was had, and Stearns was declared nominated. At once 
 a rush was made by a majority of the delegates to the Senate 
 chamber for the purpose of holding another convention. The 
 ring observing this determination of the delegates, were prema- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA 215 
 
 tiirely forced to play their second card, but wnich worked out 
 with as much precision as a mathematical problem. They 
 rushed to Stearns and informed him that now was the time to 
 save the day, to play the withdrawal card. Stearns, who was 
 awaiting the signal, after partially restoring order in the conven- 
 tion, arose and said that he had been fairly nominated by the 
 Repubhcans of the State as their standard bearer, but for the 
 sake of harmony in the Republican party he preferred fighting 
 in the ranks as a private soldier until victory should be won. 
 This had the desired effect, as great applause followed it. O. 
 B. Hart was now put in nomination and was declared the nom- 
 inee of the party for Governor. Immediately a member of the 
 ring was upon his feet eulogizing Stearns as the martyr of the 
 Republican party of Florida and the embodiment of republican- 
 ism, and winding up by nominating him for Lieutenant Governor, 
 and he was accordingly nominated. It will thus be seen that 
 the ring, though beaten in their first game, were successful in 
 their second. W. J. Purman, who had fled from Jackson 
 County, and who was now playing between S. B. Conover, 
 State Treasurer, and the ring, was nominated for Congress, and 
 J. T. Walls was renominated in the Second Congressional Dis- 
 trict. The ring, now fearing that Governor Reed would take the 
 stump in vindication of himself before the people, of the oft 
 repeated calumnies which had been heaped upon him, by Arti- 
 cles of Impeachment and otherwise, from the very inception of 
 his administration to the last year thereof, dreaded the conse- 
 quences; as they had no evidence which would stand the test, 
 even of an insignificant cross-examination. In open convention^ 
 and in the face of all the charges they had made against the 
 Governor, they declared themselves to be the enemies of safe 
 and honest government, and to mankind generally. A resolu- 
 tion was introduced by a one of the conspirators and unan- 
 imously adopted, endorsing in every shape the administration of 
 Governor Reed as an honest and upright administration ; and as 
 a token of their sincerity a resolution was also unanimously 
 adopted pledging the support of the party to Governor Reed as 
 the next United States Senator for the term beginning March 4, 
 1873, and ending March 4, 1879. This, they claimed, would 
 
2l6 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 only be a just reward for their unwarranted persecution of him 
 for four years. 
 
 The Democrats met in convention that year and nominated 
 the valiant Bloxham for Governor, and Colonel Bullock, of Marion 
 County, for Lieutenant-Governor. General Barnes, of Jackson 
 Coutny, was nominated for Congress in the First District, and S. L. 
 Niblack, of Columbia County, in the Second District. The 
 Democrats, encouraged at the success of Bloxham in 1870, this 
 year took a lively interest in the canvass all over the State, and 
 if Governor Bloxham had been spared from his friends, whose 
 speeches drove the votes of the freedmen from him, he would 
 have been elected. These indecent and blatant politicians went 
 all over the State, not canvassing for votes, but denouncing " nig- 
 gers," so as to become more prominent before the Democratic 
 party than Bloxham. Indeed, some of the older politicians in 
 that party desired Bloxham's defeat to make room for themselves 
 as the leaders of the party. There was a considerable number 
 of the better class of white Republicans who met in convention 
 at Jacksonville, styled the Liberal Republican Convention, and 
 endorsed Bloxham for Governor and Horace Greeley for Presi- 
 dent, and the road looked clear for Bloxham until his so-called 
 friends took the stump. This canvass was a very bitter one, and 
 the ring was driven to desperation. Another weight that Blox- 
 ham had to carry was that he was viewed by the freedmen as 
 being in opposition to General Grant, who was at the time the 
 nominee of the National Republican party, and the average freed- 
 man looked upon him as their only Lord and Saviour. 
 
 The ring, after stultifying themselves by the indorsement of 
 Governor Reed's administration, received orders from Chief 
 Osborn from Washington, that a persistent fight must be made 
 in every county to elect men to the Legislature, and none others, 
 who would support him for the United States Senate. The 
 Federal office-holders set to work to carry out these orders to 
 the very letter. The most ignorant of the freedmen were taught 
 that they were as competent for the Legisluture as the most 
 intelligent among them, which teachings were received by many 
 of them with ''Hurrah for Osborn!" This teaching was pro- 
 tested against by the most intelligent freedmen, which brought 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 217 
 
 about two Republican tickets in some counties. The ring, or 
 Federal office-holders, of course furnished them all the money nec- 
 essary to elect the ticket or count it in. What money, whisky and 
 promises failed to accomplish the United States Deputy Marshals 
 would make up for by intimidation at the public meetings and 
 on the day of election at the polls. Osborn was not to be known 
 in this fight as opposing Governor Reed's election to the United 
 States Senate until after the State election had been held and the 
 canvass of the vote by the State board. 
 
 S. B. Conover, who had proved treacherous to Governor 
 Reed, and who was an aspirant at the convention for Guberna- 
 torial honors, now turned his face to the United States Senate, 
 in a kind of three-cornered fight. He made a fight in the county 
 convention of Leon, but failed to secure the nomination 
 for the Legislature on account of his unpopularity with the 
 freedmen. This unpopularity was caused by his having 
 come to the Constitutional Convention of 1868, adhering to the 
 "mule team" faction, and then suddenly deserting his banner 
 and going to the Osborn faction, and because of his treachery to 
 Governor Reed. The ring would not trust him, therefore he 
 was forced to treat with Governor Reed's friends to have any 
 political standing at all. The author of this work and several 
 others of Governor Reed's friends were sent for to have a con- 
 sultation with him. The meeting was held in the office of the 
 State Treasurer. Conover proposed to have the author 
 withdraw from the Republican Legislative ticket and 
 have himself put on the ticket in consideration of the 
 pay allowed a member. This proposition was rejected. He 
 then proposed that John Whyatt, colored, who had been nomi- 
 nated at the same time the author was, withdraw for the same 
 consideration, which was accepted by Wyatt. Conover wanted 
 Wyatt; to wait the result of the election, but Wyatt informed him 
 that the cash must be paid before the election, as he could wait 
 for contingencies. The money was paid and Wyatt withdrew. 
 The Republican majority of two-thirds at the beginning of the 
 reconstruction had by the plundering conduct of the ring dwindled 
 to a bare majority in both branches of the Legislature, and the ring 
 was hard pushed; they therefore suggested to Governor Reed 
 
2l8 CARPETBAC. RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 the propriety of bringing in the colored troops from Georgia to 
 carry such counties as they could conveniently be imported into, 
 and swell the vote for Governor, but he declined favoring such a 
 proposition, and informed them that he had promised the people 
 to give them a fair election as far as his power as Governor could 
 be extended, and that he would countenance no steps looking to 
 the defeat of the will of the people, and that the will of the peo- 
 ple ought and should be obeyed. Notwithstanding Governor 
 Reed's dissent from this proposition, it was attempted'to be car- 
 ried out in Leon and other counties. All necessary arrangements 
 were made with Joseph Bowes, a carpetbag professional ballot 
 box stuffer, to bring them in on the day of election in Leon 
 County at all precincts bordering on the Georgia line. The 
 Southeni outrage mill was to grind fine enough to bring to their 
 aid at the polls the United States troops on the day of election 
 and overawe the whites and prevent them from interfering with 
 the illegal voters from Georgia. This attempt at fraud proved 
 abortive, as the ring's over-anxiety to secure votes for the head 
 of the ticket and also to secure the legislative delegation from 
 this county for their chief, Osborn, nominated a ticket outside 
 the Republican organization in oppositon to the regular ticket 
 headed by C. H. Pearce for the Senate, who had been convicted 
 of bribery and ousted from the Senate by these same con- 
 spirators, but who were now seeking the endorsement of his peo- 
 ple by re-election. The alien voters were to cast their ballots 
 for the ring legislative ticket, as well as for Governor. This 
 scheme was discovered by Pearce through the information of 
 Governor Reed, who suspected the ring would attempt what 
 they had before suggested to him. This scheme was made 
 known to whites through Pearce and his friends, which brought 
 a union between the anti-ring legislative ticket and the whites 
 in this county as against fraud. This scheme was denounced in 
 such severe terms on the stump both by the Democrats and 
 anti-ring Republicans as to force the ring into a denial of the 
 plot ; yet, those who were acquainted with the character of these 
 men, know they still meditated fraud. The soldiers were placed 
 at each polling precinct. Governor Reed, in the meantime, 
 had confidentially instructed those sheriffs of the different counties 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 219 
 
 that he could rely on, to arrest and imprison any one who came 
 from Georgia and voted or attempted to vote. Bowes, who had 
 the management of the whole affair, was dubious in carrying out 
 this plan, as he was convinced that it could not be done without 
 bloodshed, as the whites as well as the anti-ring freedmen had 
 sworn that his should be the first blood shed. The colored 
 troops from Georgia hearing of the threats made by the whites 
 and anti-ring freedmen, failed to appear on the day of election, 
 although the United States Deputy Marshals and soldiers were 
 there to protect them. So an anti-ring delegation was elected ; 
 but had it not been for the aid of the whites the ring would have 
 counted in its delegation, though they had not got a vote. The 
 ulterior object of the conspirators in making O. B. Hart the 
 last resort for the nomination for Governor was that he was 
 decrepit, and that a round or two in the canvass would bring a 
 speedy termination of his life, and leave Stearns Governor of 
 the State. Governor Reed seems to have been cognizant of all 
 their tricks, and informed Hart that this was their object; but 
 the old man was so very anxious to become Governor that he 
 paid no attention to the warning. Hart was now pushed into 
 the canvass as though he was a young and healthy man, and 
 when the campaign closed it was patent to all that the old man 
 was not long for this w^orld. 
 
 The State was carried for the Republicans by between four 
 and five thousand majority, but the Legislature was very close. 
 The rains in South Florida prevented many Democrats from 
 going to the polls — for this is where Bloxham must look for his 
 success. The ring again attempted to force the Returning 
 Board to count out the legally elected Democrats to the Legisla- 
 ture and count in a large majority for the Repubficans. They 
 informed Governor Reed that it was to his interest to count in 
 a large majority of Republicans, as he had been endorsed by 
 the Republican Convention as the next United States Senator. 
 He gave them to understand that he did not want the senator- 
 ship unless a majority of the legally elected members of the 
 Legislature should say so by their votes. J. C. Gibbs, Secretary 
 of State, was besought to do some fradulent counting, and the 
 Osborn conspirators promised to make him the next Member of 
 
220 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Congress if he would count to suit them, but Gibbs informed 
 them that he had been there before. Before the vote of the 
 State was canvassed by the Board, Governor Reed discovered, 
 in looking over the returns sent to his office, that the returns 
 from Jackson, Gadsden and Jefferson Counties had been opened 
 and the returns altered. These returns gave the Democratic 
 ticket large majorities and converted Hart's majority into a minor- 
 ity. The real party who altered the returns was one Burleigh, 
 a carpet-bagger who was a clerk in Secretary Gibbs' office at the 
 time, and Governor Reed had often warned the Secretary that 
 he believed him to be a spy ; but Gibbs thought him to be 
 honest, and had the utmost confidence in him. The conspira- 
 tors, knowing they had carried the State and had a small major- 
 ity of Republicans in the Legislature, felt confident that with a 
 free use of money, and with Governor Reed out of the way 
 they could re-elect Osborn to the United States Senate. They 
 had endorsed the Governor for the Senate, and all honest Repub- 
 licans of course would demand his election in case the Legisla- 
 ture was carried by the Republicans. Something must be done 
 to weaken Reed in the estimation of the Republicans before the 
 meeting of the Legislature. It is believed, though I am not 
 certain in this, that they actually hired Burleigh to alter these 
 returns so as to implicate Governor Reed and give themselves 
 some data and excuse upon which to base oposition to the Gov- 
 ernor's election, and secure the election of Osborn. The author 
 of this work was personally acquainted with Burleigh, and after 
 the fraud had been discovered, and Burleigh was about to leave 
 the State for fear of an indictment, he inquired of him as to 
 who induced him to commit the fraud, and he unhesitatingly- 
 declared that neither Governor Reed nor his friends nor any 
 Democrat had anything to do with it, but that it was done for 
 the benefit of the party. The conspirators constituted them- 
 selves the party, as they had captured the party organization. 
 Before the State Board commenced the canvass Governor Reed 
 requested them to put off the canvass for a day or two, as he had 
 something very important to lay before them. He did not even 
 inform Gibbs what had been done, and Gibbs was as ignorant 
 as to the alteration of these returns as an animal without reason. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 22 1 
 
 The Governor privately secured new returns from Jefferson 
 and Gadsden, and attempted to send a messenger to Jackson, 
 but was betrayed, and then for the first time he revealed confi- 
 dentially to Adams, one of the state board of canvassers, the fact 
 of the altered returns from Jackson and asked delay in opening 
 the convass until he could procure a true return. The delay 
 was refused by Mr. Adams, who claimed that they had a correct 
 copy, which would be substituted, Again opening the canvass, 
 the board secretly sent Col. M. Martin to procure a new return 
 and to exposed the mutilated copy so as to sustain a charge 
 againsttheSecretary of State, Gibbs, and Gov. Reed, of attempted 
 fraud in the interest of the Democrats, This would dispose of 
 Reed for the Senate, and as Gibbs would almost certainly be en- 
 dorsed by the colored brother as one of the members of Hart's 
 cabinet — he being a manof unquestioned ability — this would end 
 his aspirations and his place would be filled by a carpet-bagger. 
 The canvass was commenced after the return of Martin, and all the 
 leading chiefs were on hand. The fraudulent returns from the 
 counties named were thrown out and the true returns handed in 
 by Martin were counted, which elected the State ticket by a 
 good majority, but the lower branch of the Legislature was very 
 close. The ring now commenced the war upon Governor Reed 
 again by industriously circulating among the freedmen that he 
 attempted to sell out the Republican party, but that Colonel 
 Osborn and the members of his ring had caught him and Gibbs 
 in the act and saved the freedmen from utter destruction. This 
 false accusation had great weight, not only with the mass of the 
 freedmen, but with some of the more intelligent, who believed 
 that Governor Reed was the guilty party, and he was denounced 
 by the members of the ring whenever they met a member of the 
 Legislature whom they suspected would support him for the Sen- 
 ate, and the freedmen were instructed to brand every man as trai- 
 tor who dare talk of voting for Harrison Reed for United States 
 Senator. Adams, who had promised, on his honor, to return the 
 fraudulent returns to Governor Reed after the canvass, and con- 
 scious of the innocence of the Governor, now handed the returns 
 to some of the members of the ring to be used against him in the 
 future politics of the State, and more especially at his home in Du- 
 
2 22 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 val County. Though Colonel Bisbee and all the chiefs were fully 
 advised that Governor Reed was the first to expose this fraud, 
 yet those very returns were used in Duval County against him, 
 and they were kept on hand by some member of the ring and 
 read to the freedmen to prevent his having any influence with 
 them in his own county. Abram Grant, for instance, who, we 
 have no doubt, believed what he heard the members of the ring 
 assert, said that he believed that Governor Reed attempted this 
 fraud. Grant, a freedman himself, and knowing very little 
 about the dark doings of these conspirators, although a citizen 
 of the Governor's county, was allowed, while advocating the 
 nomination of Colonel Bisbee, to declare from the stump that 
 the Governor attempted to sell out the party by means of these 
 fraudulent returns. Grant was never corrected in this statement 
 by Bisbee or any of these conspirators, on the stump or in the 
 newspapers. Was Jthis "edifying to the old or hope-inspiring 
 to the young," to have our fellowman slandered in this wise and 
 refuse to raise our voice against it ? This slander could not with 
 propriety be denied by these men because they were accessory 
 before the fact. 
 
 A week before the meeting of the Legislature of 1873, 
 Chief Osborn, anticipating the great opposition to his re-election 
 to the United States Senate, evacuated Washington and hastened 
 to establish his headquarters at Tallahassee in the old City Hocel, 
 at which place his retinue of Federal officeholders soon gathered 
 to do the bidding of their chief. Governor Reed, at the same 
 time watching the manoeuvres of the ring, set to. work a coun- 
 ter plan to head them off. He proposed to Hart, the Governor- 
 elect, to allow him the privilege of delivering the annual mes- 
 sage to the Legislature. To this proposition the ring demurred, 
 and of course Hart sustained the objection. They finally 
 decided to allow the Governor five minutes only to address the 
 Legislature. They knew he could strike some heavy blows and 
 that he had them in store for the ring, and if he was permitted 
 to deliver a message that would most probably review the con- 
 duct of the ring from his inauguration to his exit, it would cer- 
 tainly cause disaster and defeat to the chief and the election 
 of the Governor to the Senate. He, however, had to accept 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 223 
 
 the short time allowed him, and as a Christain gentlemen, 
 attempted to make the inauguration of Hart as imposing as 
 possible. He hired a fine team and himself and family pro- 
 ceeded to the Tallahassee depot to receive Governor Hart. When 
 the train arrived with Hart, who was accompanied by a number 
 of the members of the ring, Governor Reed left the carriage 
 and went to the car which bore the distinguished guest, and after 
 greeting him by a friendly shake of the hand, offered to assist 
 him in getting his traps from the cars. Hart, whom Governor 
 Reed had appointed at the beginning of his administration one 
 of the judges of the Supreme Court, now haughtily turned 
 away from him, saying that he had other matters to attend to. 
 Hart and his ring friends then got out of the car and actually 
 took possession of the Governor's carriage, filled it with himself 
 and the ring managers, without so much as saying " by your 
 leave," and drove off to the city, leaving Governor Reed and 
 his family to get away the best way they could. Osborn and 
 his officeholders now met in secret conclave and arranged plans 
 to capture the organization of the lower branch of the Legisla- 
 ture. It was well known by them that at least three members 
 of the Leon County delegatfion, Wallace, Proctor and Conover, 
 would not, under any circumstances, vote for a member of the 
 ring for Speaker, and that none of the delegation could be 
 brought to the support of Osborn unless they were actually 
 bought ; and they could not elect the Speaker with Republican 
 votes without this delegation. They must resort to strategy to 
 secure the election of one of their number. Colonel M. Mar- 
 tin, who had also received great favors from the hands of Gov- 
 ernor Reed, being appointed by him warden of the State prison, 
 when he was near starvation, was agreed upon as the man who 
 must save the sinking ship. John R. Scott was again made- the 
 pliant tool of the ring, though he professed to be opposed to 
 them. They agreed that Scott should be put in nomination for 
 Speaker by the Republican caucus, and that Martin should 
 be held in reserve for the Democrats to vote for, as they knew 
 that the whites had naturally rather have a white man to preside 
 over them than one of their fomer slaves. Scott, as usual, was 
 silly enough to believe that the ring favored him for Speaker. 
 
2 24 CARPETBAG RULE IX FLORIDA, 
 
 Scott was to be put forward because he was black, thus com- 
 pelling the representatives from Leon County to vote for him or 
 to suffer violence from the freedmen, who would be told that the 
 Leon delegation had voted against one of their own color for 
 Speaker. This delegation being thus forced to vote for Scott, 
 some carpet-bagger would nominate Martin and the other car- 
 pet-baggers, violating the caucus obligation, were to follow after 
 the Democrats had given votes enough to elect with the carpet- 
 bag vote thrown to them. The friends of Governor Reed were 
 not united as to the best course to pursue, and he had no white 
 friend among the carpet-baggers in the Legislature upon whom 
 he could depend. This division among the Governor's friends 
 caused some of the anti-ring members to ally themselves with 
 S. B. Conover, the Governor's State Treasurer, and support him 
 for the Speakership, not because they had any special confidence 
 in him, but because they believed him to be the most available 
 man against Martin, whom the Democrats had agreed to support 
 in case there was any chance of Scott's election. Conover was 
 reported to have voted for Bloxham when he ran for Lieutenant- 
 Governor in 1870, and unless he falsified his own word, he 
 voted for Bloxham this year when he ran for Governor. The 
 object of the ring in attempting to secure the Speakership was 
 that they had instituted several contests for Democratic 
 seats so as to turn enough of them out of the Legislature to 
 elect Osborn without the aid of the Leon County delegation, 
 who were pledged to the whites of that county never to vote for 
 Osborn. In our next chapter we shall see how they succeeded. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Governor Harfs Administration. The Ring Makes preparation to 
 Capture the Organization of the Lower Honse of the Legis- 
 lature. The Meeting of the Legislature of 18^4, and Carpet- 
 bag Treachery to the Negro. Extracts frofn Governor Harfs- 
 Message. Protest of the European Bo7idholders Against the 
 Neglect of the State of Florida. The Protests of Bondholders 
 Gotten up to Cover Stearn^s Tracks. The Assembly Lnvestigat- 
 ing the Stealing Statutes. The Attempted Sale of West Flor- 
 ida. M. Martin and the State Prison. Governor Reed 
 Attempts to Head off Stearns' Railroad Steal. Governor Reed's 
 Memorial as to His Claim Against the State, and the Appoint- 
 ment of a Joint Committee. A Scramble for the Agricultutal 
 College Money. Varnum Trips up Cowgill. 
 
 The administration of Governor Hart, though he was the 
 first native Governor of Florida, was full of vacillation and 
 uncertainty as to a real line of policy. His administration lasted 
 for fifteen months, the most of which time he spent at the North 
 in the fruitless attempt to rebuild his health, which he had 
 wrecked beyond hope of recovery by being forced into the can- 
 vass of 1872 by the members of the Ring for the express purpose 
 of incapacitating him for the exercise of his official authority if 
 elected. The Ring, now further to humiliate Governor Reed, 
 had Hart appoint him a member of the Board of County Com- 
 missioners of Duval County, thinking that he would spurn the 
 idea of accepting so inferior a position after having been Gov- 
 ernor of the State. He, however, took them by surprise and 
 accepted the position, and it was not long before he began to 
 investigate and stir up the carpetbag scrip ring in Jacksonville, 
 and after having struck one blow at a fradulent scrip grab, in 
 which he beat them out of a couple of thousand dollars, his' 
 removal was demanded by the Ring, and he was at once decapi- 
 tated by Hart. Hart went to the North after the adjournment of 
 the Legislature of 1873, and M. L. Stearns, Lieutenant-Gov- 
 15 
 
226 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ernor, assumed the head of the government. His first step was 
 to lay wires by which to force the State to aid him to secure 
 the nomination for Governor three years henee. WilUam Archer 
 Cocke, the Attorney-General, refused to be used for that jjur- 
 pose, and Stearns was driven to the alternative of employing 
 outside counsel to bring suit in the United States Supreme Court, 
 pretending to protect the interest of the State, but for the real 
 purpose of getting possession of the Jacksonville, Pensacola and 
 Mobile Railroad, the earnings of which were to be exclusively 
 used, as far as possible to force his election to the United States 
 Senate at the next meeting of the Legislature ; but failing in tha^ 
 to compel his nomination for Governor by intimidating and 
 buying out those freedmen who so bitterly opposed him. He 
 began to interfere with the local school boards of the different 
 counties, and whenever he could influence its members, no one 
 m the black belt counties could get a school unless he was in 
 favor of Stearns' and Hart's so-called administration. This 
 administration inaugurated a most alarming proposition among 
 the freedmen, which came near precipitating them into a war 
 among themselves with reference to the representation in the 
 Legislature from the colored Methodist and Baptist churches. 
 The freedmen prior to the emancipation knew nothing of any 
 other churches than the Missionary Baptist, Primitive or foot- 
 washing Baptist, and the Methodist Episcopal; but at the close 
 of the war the A. M. E. Church sent ministers from the North, the 
 most of whom were men of intelligence, and these men enlisted 
 some of the most intelligent of the freedmen under their banner as 
 ministers. These ministers, discerning the scarcity of leaders 
 among the freedmen, went into politics. A large number of 
 them, previous to this year, had been repeatedly elected to the 
 Legislature and had been fighting the Ring under the leadership 
 of Governor Reed, which had alienated them permanently from 
 that faction. The freedmen who belonged to the Baptist 
 churches were taught that the members of the Methodist churches 
 were cheating them out of a just representation and of their 
 share of the offices; and that the Ring would see to it that the 
 Baptist members should be elected to the Legislature. This 
 teaching created church jealousy and great prejudice, which, in 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 227 
 
 some counties, caused frequent rows, and but for the foresight 
 and better judgment of the more inteUigent ones in the churches, 
 a general outbreak and bloodshed would have been the result 
 among the colored churches. There were some vacancies to be 
 filled in the Legislature of that year, caused by resignations, 
 some of the members being appointed to Federal offices by 
 Walls, Purman and Conover, or through their recommendation. 
 In one county two Baptist ministers were put up for the Legis- 
 lature without a regular nomination, one of them could 
 neither read nor write, and when called upon to make a speech 
 said to his auditors that if elected he would do whatever Gov- 
 ernor " Starns " told him to do. This was an old colored Bap- 
 tist preacher in Leon County, named Henry Griffin. Acting 
 Governor Stearns and C. A. Cowgill, Comptroller, took the 
 stump for this intelligent candidate, and brought to bear the 
 whole jDOwer of the so-called administration in his behalf. Grif- 
 fin was a Primitive or foot-washing Baptist, and the other candi- 
 date was a minister of the Missionary Baptist Church, whose 
 name was John N. Stokes. The white Democrats and the freed- 
 men united and defeated Griffin and Stokes, but Stokes was 
 counted in by one majority. 
 
 The Ring having been defeated in the attempt to re-elect 
 Osborn, turned their attention to M. L. Stearns to save the day. 
 Conover, who had been elected to the United States Senate, now 
 began, with the assistance of Purman and Walls, the Congress- 
 men, to appoint some of the most influential colored men to some 
 of the most important Federal offices, with, also, a good sprink- 
 ling of Democrats. These appointments alarmed Stearns and 
 his followers, as the masses of the freedmen now saw, for the 
 first time in the history of the State, their own color filling Federal 
 offices that had heretofore been held by some of the most 
 inferior members of the carpetbag ring. There was an agree- 
 ment among the members of the Ring to go On no bond of 
 any freedman appointed by Conover, Purman & Co. The 
 white Democrats in many portions of the State did not hesitate 
 to endorse these appointments, as they preferred an honest col- 
 ored man in a Federal office rather than have the State infested 
 with strangers whose sole purpose in the state was to fatten at the 
 
228 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 expense of those whose interests were identified with the soil; and 
 the Osborn carpet-baggers who had grown rich from plunder, 
 Federal and State offices, absolutely refused to go on these col- 
 ored men's bonds until forced to do so when discovering that the 
 Southern whites were only waiting for them to refuse so as to 
 give them an opportunity of going on the bonds themselves, 
 hereby proving to the frcedmen what they had repeatedly 
 asserted, that the carpet-baggers cared nothing for the interest of 
 the negro, but to secure his vote to place them in office. This 
 administration witnessed the inauguration of the packing of juries 
 for political purposes, of w^hich we shall treat in a future chap- 
 ter. 
 
 The Ring, desiring to recover their lost ground in the lower 
 branch of the Legislature, and being unwilling to trust any one 
 of the members of the Ring as candidate for the Speakership on 
 account of the anti-ring sentiment among' the Republicans in 
 that body, determined to capture the Assembly by stratagem. 
 The night previous to the meeting of the Legislature the Ring 
 members of the Legislature called a caucus meeting of all the 
 Rep; b'.ican members to settle upon some one as the Republican 
 nominee for Speaker. They had arranged secretly with the 
 Democrats to elect M. Martin, warden of the State prison, for 
 Speaker. The Democrats did not desire to vote for Martin, and 
 any considerable number of them could not be brought to his 
 support unless the Ring could show that a very incompetent 
 Republican would be nominated by the caucus. So the Ring set 
 to work among the colored members and advocated the election 
 of Alfred B. Osgood, of Madison County, colored, who had 
 always supported the Ring, not because he endorsed their action, 
 but because he feared their power. The better informed colored 
 members warned Osgood that the Ring was only putting him up 
 as man of straw to be knocked down ; but he, being ambitous, 
 heeded not the warning, and was nominated for Speaker of 
 the Assembly by the unanimous voice of the Republican caucus. 
 While Osgood was a good fellow, he was not competent to act 
 as Speaker. The Ring, however, had now carried their point, 
 and went to the Democrats complaining, saying they were willing 
 to do almost anything to prevent a negro being elected Speaker. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 229 
 
 If Osgood had been better posted in parliamentary law the 
 Democrats would have preferred him to Martin, and he would 
 have been elected. The author of this work and the whole dele- 
 gation from Leon County, while they were confident that Osgood 
 would be slaughtered in the house of his friends — as was intended 
 when John R. Scott was nominated for Speaker — supported him 
 in good faith, prepared for the defeat which awaited him. Both 
 branches of the Legislature met January 6th, 1874. Before 
 swearing in any of the new members of the Assembly, McKin- 
 non. Democrat, made a motion, which was carried, that M. Mar- 
 tin take the chair in the temporary organization. This motion 
 was voted for by all the members of the Ring and all the Demo- 
 crats, which showed that the secret work of the Ring had been 
 well performed. The Assembly then adjourned until the follow- 
 ing day. During this time the Ring ^members employed their 
 time in encouraging the colored ^members to stand by Osgood 
 and they would elect him on the following day, while at the" 
 same time they were telling the Democrats thac they would do 
 all they could to defeat him. The next morning the members- 
 elect were sworn in and the Assembly proceeded to elect its 
 Speaker. Several ballots were taken before a result was reached, 
 the most of the Democrats who had voted for Conover for United 
 States Senator hesitating at first to vote for Martin, and many of 
 them voted for Swearengen, Democrat, from Wakulla County, 
 who had voted for Conover for United States Senator ; and, had 
 the anti-ring Republicans not been intimidated by the freedmen 
 and feared losing their influence with them, Swearengen would 
 have been elected, as he should have been, to beat the treacher- 
 ous members of the Ring. The colored brother got wrathy at 
 the action of the carpet-baggers in voting against Osgood, but 
 this availed nothing, as the bargain had been signed and sealed, 
 and the goods must be delivered. Martin was finally elected. 
 Bryant, of Polk, and Hardee, of Brevard, would never consent 
 to vote for Martin, and if the other Democratic members had 
 followed the same course Martin would have been defeated, and 
 a Democrat elected Speaker. In the Senate the same sharp 
 skirmishing relative to the swearing in of the newly elected 
 members, four in number, took place. These were three 
 
230 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Republicans and one Independent or Conservative Republican, 
 the Hon. Samuel Spearing, from Duval County, colored, who 
 had been elected by the assistance of the most respectable Demo- 
 crats in the county. Before the Senators-elect were sworn in a 
 resolution was offered by John A. Henderson that the seat of 
 Sturtevant, from the Twenty-first' Senatorial District, be declared 
 illegally held by him, and that Israel M. Stewart be declared the 
 rightful Senator. Of course the Ring was not prepared to allow 
 so damaging a resolution to pass, which would nearly transfer 
 the Senate into the hands of the Democrats before Stearns could 
 assume the reins of government, which the Ring so ferverently 
 prayed might not be long in coming. After considerable 
 wrangling the Senators-elect were sworn in and the Senate organ- 
 ized, with a full set of Republican officers. On the 9th of Janu- 
 ary Governor Hart addressed his message to both branches of 
 the Legislature, in which he said : 
 
 ''It is also very gratifying to know that the spirit of political 
 hatred and bitterness, which was the fruit of that great rebellion, 
 is well nigh extinguished, and the people of all parties are more 
 united and harmonized than they have been for many years. 
 Indeed, an era of good feeling and political toleration seems to 
 have dawned throughout the State. Political antagonisms still 
 exist, but that peculiar acerbity and rankling animosity that once 
 characterized political opposition, has given place to the ordinary 
 antagonisms that are legitimate and founded upon reasonable 
 differences of opinions. 
 
 " That spirit of lawlessness which at one time threatened the 
 peace of the Commonwealth, and which broke out in disgraceful 
 outrages, disturbing the peace of society, and throwing some 
 counties into a state of violent agitation, has, under the man- 
 agement of prudent and determined local officers, subsided, and 
 is now obedient to the "wholesome restraints of the law. 
 
 ''From my standpoint of observation as Chief Executive, 
 viewing as I do our past political history, the present condition 
 of the State and reasonable expectations that the immediate 
 future holds out, I have strong reasons for entertaining the hope 
 that our beloved State has passed through the severest fires of 
 its affliction, and that henceforth, by the united will and pur- 
 pose of our whole people, peace and good government will be 
 secured, and the people become prosperous and happy. I have 
 reasonable assurances for this hope, in the fact that all political 
 parties seem united to this end. God has given to us a goodly 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 23 I 
 
 heritage. The bright skies, balmy and heahhful atmosphere, 
 and genial and fruitful soil of Florida is now largely attracting 
 the attention of the people of the North. A good government, 
 with wise and wholesome laws and a quiet and industrious and 
 law-abiding citizenship is all that is required to make Florida, at 
 no distant day, a prosperous and happy Commonwealth. 
 
 "The condition of my health has been such that my 
 physicians thought it advisable for me to spend the summer 
 North. During my absence from the State the Lieutenant- 
 Governor constitutionally became the acting Governor, and I am 
 happy to say that in his administration of the affairs of the govern- 
 men the has proven that the confidence placed in him by the people 
 at the last general election was not misplaced. 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 "Your wise financial policy for reaching a condition of 
 cash payments established at the last session by the new law for 
 the collection of the revenue and the act known as the Funding 
 Bill started well and is progressing hopefully. We have 
 encountered many difficulties in obtaining assessors who will 
 diligently assess all the taxable property, and collectors of reve- 
 nue who will faithfully collect and pay over but, have generally 
 succeeded in obtainuig better men to hold those offices than 
 many who have heretofore held them, and now under the wise 
 provisions of your new tax law the revenew is bemg better assess- 
 ed, collected and paid in than ever before in the history of our 
 State. This fact, working together hand in hand with an earnest 
 economy everywhere urged and practiced by the Comptroller, 
 and infact by every department of the administration, has 
 already lessened the volum of scrip afloat and issuing every day, 
 and eased the treasurer some in regard to expenses that must be 
 paid in cash. Shortly after the passage of the funding law we 
 obtained the implied promise of the Board of Trustees of the 
 Agricultural College Fund to invest the proceeds of the sale of 
 their scrip with the Comptroller for new bonds, in 
 order that the treasury of the State might have the 
 benefit of that much cash to help along the benificent policy of 
 the funding law. The first effect of this promise was the appre- 
 ciation of the price of scrip and of the credit of the 
 State to a noticeable extent. While under said law the Comp- 
 troller was diligently at work disposing of bonds, and with the 
 proceeds redeeming old bonds that had been hypothecated in 
 New York, the said promise was frequently, with apparent 
 hearty ceherfulness, creating the most perjfect confidence, 
 renewed by the said board through its treasurer, when at the 
 
232 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 moment of highest expectation of fulfillment and immediate relief 
 of the credit and finances of the State, it turned out to our aston- 
 ishment and consternation that the said board was deceiving us 
 all the while, and had invested their money in bonds which the 
 Comptroller had sold in New York while redeeming said 
 hypothecated bonds, thus leaving the money in New York 
 instead of bringing it to Florida. This great dissapointment 
 gave a check to the progress of our good work, and the viola- 
 tion of the promise has otherwise wrought mischief to the State. 
 But this unwise act of the said board towards Florida cannot 
 efiect the real value of our new bonds. They are and will 
 necessarily remain among the best of securities, and as soon as 
 the late universal business panic shall have subsdied we may 
 confidently expect them to find sale at the price fixed, and the 
 policy of the funding law to be in a reasonable time a fair 
 triumph for Florida. I hold the board responsible because of 
 its emphatic endorsment of the action of its treasurer. The 
 only excuse that I have herd is that in June the treasurer of 
 the board saw a contract made by the Governor and Comp- 
 troller giving the entire control of all these bonds to the 
 New York man. I have reason to believe that the investment 
 with him was virtually made before said treasurer saw the con- 
 tract to which he refers. That contract will be found in the 
 report of the Comptroller, and it will be seen that no reasonable 
 and fair construction can torture it into such a meaning. The 
 Comptroller was in frequent, almost daily, communication with 
 said treasurer, urging the performance of said promise, and was 
 as often assured that it would soon be done, that there was 
 some difficulty in obtaining said proceeds from the purchasers 
 of said scrip, but that it would soon be done all right. The 
 said treasurer well knew that all of said bonds that had not been 
 disposed of in New York were in the Comptroller's possession, 
 in Tallahassee. I cannot imagine any good reason why we 
 should thus have been deceived and said money left in New 
 York instead of being brought to Florida, and I recommend 
 an investigation with the view of ascertaining what was the 
 inducement, provided it can be done without expense to the 
 treasury." 
 
 During this year arose a difficulty between Governor Hart 
 and Attorney-General Cocke, growing out of the very trouble- 
 some Vose claim against the State, which led to the Governor's 
 asking Cocke to resign. The following extracts from the mes- 
 sage give the Governor's version of the case and the Attorney- 
 Genral's reply to the request to resign. 
 
 "It may be seen that the suit brought in the United States 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 233 
 
 Circuit Court by F. Vose against the Board of Truestees of the 
 Internal Improvement Fund, holding all the swamp and overflowed 
 lands in trust for the purposes of the Internal Improvement 
 act of 1855, was not defended by the former board, but was 
 wholly neglected and allowed to go to decree//-^ confcsso against 
 that board and to subsequent interlocutory decrees, without 
 any attempt to set before the court the equities of the board 
 and of the State therein. That the present board has deplored 
 that neglect and intended to make every effort possible in order 
 to get these defenses set forth before the court; that it employed 
 the Attorney-General, himself a member of the board, as its 
 attorney to accomplish it if possible, fully believing that if the 
 court could be informed of the purposes and efforts and acts of 
 this board, the court would not interpose to hinder it in any 
 way. At the last term of said court, and after the Circuit Judge 
 who rendered the decree had left Florida, this board (the 
 Attorney-General being absent at Jacksonville, in attendance on 
 said court on said case) learned with astonishment and conster- 
 nation that a consent decree had been rendered, placing the 
 board in the humiliating condition of virtually admitting openly 
 in court on the records thereof all the allegations and charges 
 made in the plaintiff's bill of complaint, and thereby admitting 
 its own total incompetency and unfitness for administering the 
 said trusts as required by law, and that the court ought to appoint 
 and authorize other persons to do so in its stead. I have not 
 yet been able to learn that any attempt was made by said attor- 
 ney to have said decree pro confesso opened or to file any answer 
 setting forth said defenses before said court. The board have con- 
 sequently settled w^ith its said attorney to employ another to still 
 make now the almost hopeless effort to get all of said interlocutory 
 decrees opened so that said defenses can be filed and brought to the 
 attention of the court. For this, and for reasons arising from 
 our railroad complications, as I have elsewhere stated them, of 
 course the Attorney-General must see the great embarrassment 
 of his remaining in the Cabinet, and a quiet suggestion of my 
 desire for his resignation was made to him by me personally 
 without going into any statements or discussion of the reasons. 
 He suggested me to address him a letter and he would answer 
 it. I then wrote my request, and he declined on the ground 
 that I had not assigned my reasons. 
 
 "I sent him the following letter, viz.: 
 
 "Executive Office, ) 
 
 ''Tallahassee, Fla., January 2, 1874. ] 
 '■^ Hon. William Archer Cocke, Attorney- General of Florida, Talla- 
 hassee, Fla.: 
 ''Dear Sir — Your answer of yesterday declining to resign 
 
234 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 because I had assigned no reasons for my request, is at hand. I 
 regret this because I did not expect it of you, even if there had 
 been nothing special between us on the subject. If I remember 
 rightly, from the first you voluntarily informed me, quite as a 
 matter of course, that if at any time I should desire a change 
 a very slight mention of it would produce your resignation 
 promptly. Your course of non-action in the Anderson case, 
 after fully understanding the course which the administration 
 thought it best to pursue, and, though expressing your difference 
 of opinion on one point only, yet promising official co-opera- 
 tion, and a reasonable certainty of success in getting the decree 
 pro confesso against us opened so as to let in the defenses of the 
 State; and the effects and consequences of that course to the 
 ■State; your letter read in the Supreme Court of the United 
 States, your letter in the newspaper implying a charge agains, 
 the administration, and your consent decree in the Vose caset 
 furnish me with my reasons for desiring your resignation. 
 
 When you think calmly for a moment upon these things, 
 and upon the subsequent action of the Board of Trustees of the 
 Internal Improvement Fund on the subject of said consent 
 decree, and of its attorney, which action you have reason to 
 know that I a])]3rove, you cannot help but see that you have 
 placed yourself in antagonism, and that you and the administra- 
 tion cannot any longer work together in confidence and har- 
 mony, which the public interests so much require. 
 
 ' ' I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 
 
 ''OSSIAN B. HART, 
 
 ' ' Governor of Florida. 
 
 "In answer to which letter I have received the following 
 reply, viz.: 
 
 " Attornev-General's Of.fice, \ 
 
 ''Tallahassee, Fla., January 2, 1874.) 
 
 " To His Excellency^ O. B. Hart^ Governor State of Florida: 
 
 "Sir — Your letter of this date is received. I consider that 
 in the discharge of my official duties I have followed the law and 
 my solemn conviction of right. I hope to act in harmony with 
 the administration, but as the Attorney-General of the State I 
 must pursue such course as the law indicates and I conceive for 
 the best interests of the State. The reasons assigned by you not 
 being sufficient, I therefore respectfully refuse to resign the office 
 of Attorney-General. 
 
 "Most respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 "WILLIAM ARCHER COCKE, 
 " Attorney-Cieneral of the State of Florida. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 235 
 
 "It may be seen that the "Cabinet of administrative 
 officers," who, the Constitution provides, shall aid the Governor, 
 is required, by this refusal, to endure the presence in it of an 
 Attorney- General in whose abilities as a lawyer, and diligence 
 in attending to his important duties in the courts, the Governor 
 has lost all confidence. Believing that the interests of the 
 State require it, I recommend action by the Legislature in the 
 matter." 
 
 At this time the holders of certain bonds of the State issued 
 in aid ofthe Jacksonville, Pensacola & Mobile Railroad, known 
 as the Dutch Bondholders, through their attorneys made the fol- 
 lowing protest, which was laid before the Legislature by the 
 Governor : 
 
 To the Gove?'nor of ilie State of Florida : 
 
 The undersigned respectfully represents that he is the duly 
 authorized agent in this country of Geo. M. Boisevain, Joseph 
 Zadacks, Adrian Stoop, Adrian J. Milders, N. J. deu Tex and 
 many other persons residing in the Kingdom of Holland aaid 
 elsewhere, bona fide purchasers and holders to a very large 
 amount, to- wit : to the amount of more than three million 
 dollars of the bonds of the State of Florida, issued by the said 
 State in aid of the Jacksonville, Pensacola & Mobile Railroad 
 Company, and bearing date the first day of January, A. D. 1870, 
 payable on the first day of January, A. D. 1900, and which 
 bonds were issued by the said State under and in pursuance of 
 an act of the Legislature thereof, passed June 24, 1869, and the 
 several amendments thereto, in which act and amendments it 
 was and is among other things, provided, and in exchange for 
 the bonds so issued by the said State, the company should exe- 
 cute and deliver to the said State its own first mortgage bonds, 
 embracing all and singular its railroad property and appur- 
 tenances, and which latter bonds were so issued and delivered to 
 the State, in compliance with the laws aforesaid, and are now 
 held by the State as a trustee for the benefit of the purchasers 
 of the said State bonds as a further security of the same. The 
 undersigned further represents that it was the duty of the State 
 of Florida to defend and protect the Hen of the bonds of the 
 said Railroad Company so issued as aforesaid, for the* benefit of 
 all concerned in the preservation of such lien, and for this pur- 
 pose through its agents and officers to exercise all due diligence 
 to prevent the success of any and all attempts to impair the said 
 iien by legal proceedings or otherwise. 
 
 The undersigned further represents that there is now pend- 
 
236 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ing in the Circuit Court of the United States of the Fifth Cir- 
 cuit and Northern District of the State of Florida, an action, in 
 which Edward C, Anderson, Jr., and others are plaintiffs, and 
 the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Company and 
 others are defendants, in which action the bill of complaint was 
 filed on or about the 24th day of July, 1872, and which action 
 has for its object the foreclosure of a pretended mortgage lien 
 upon those parts of the line of the Jacksonville, Pensacola and 
 Mobile Railroad Company heretofore known as the Pensacola 
 and Georgia Railroad and the Tallahassee Railroad. The under- 
 signed further represents that the State of Florida, through its 
 Governor, Attorney-General, and proper officers, had due notice 
 to appear and defend the said suit, and were requested to do so 
 on behalf of the bondholders, whom the undersigned now repre- 
 sents, but refused to appear or take any action in the same, and 
 wholly and entirely neglected their duty in the premises, and 
 permitted a judgment and decree to be taken by default in favor 
 of the plaintiffs in the said action, notwithstanding the fact, 
 which the plaintiff is informed and believes to be true, th^t the 
 pretended mortgage lien, asserted by the plaintiffs in the said 
 action, had and have no existence whatever. It has been con- 
 stantly represented on behalf of the said State by its officers, 
 including the Governor, that the bonds of the Jacksonville, Pen- 
 sacola and Mobile Railroad Company delivered to the State were 
 a first lien upon the entire line of the said Company, and that 
 fact has been so declared in the opinion of lawyers of the State 
 of Florida, from time to time consulted on that subject, and es 
 the undersigned believes in a judicial decision of the highest 
 court of that State, and the bondholders, whom the undersigned 
 represents, purchased the bonds of the State of Florida upon 
 the faith of such representations and such opinions. The under- 
 signed is informed that in and by the decree in the cause referred 
 to, it is directed that that part of the line of road referred to 
 shall be sold on the fifth day of January proximo. 
 
 The undersigned, on behalf and by the direction of the 
 purchasers and holders of the State bonds referred to, and 
 whom he represents as hereinbefore stated, hereby protests 
 against the action of the State of Florida in the premises as wanting 
 in good faith to the bona fide purchasers of its bonds. And fur- 
 ther protests against the said judicial decree and the action of the 
 State of Florida in permitting the same to be rendered ; and par- 
 ticularly protests against the proposed sale of the said Railroad, 
 or any part thereof thereunder ; and against any and all pro- 
 ceedings taken, or to be taken, in the said cause, as against good 
 faith, contrary to law and of no validity against the bondholders, 
 on whose behalf this protest is made, and on whose behalf such 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 proceedings will hereafter be taken in the premises as they may- 
 be advised are necessary for the full protection of their rights. 
 
 The undersigned further protests, in the names, and on 
 behalf of the said holders of the said bonds of the State of 
 Florida, against the failure of the State of Florida to pay the 
 interest thereon at maturity, according to the tenor of its obliga- 
 tions, as an act of bad faith not only unjust to the said bond- 
 holders, but unlawful in itself, and an act of repudiation destruc- 
 tive to the credit of the State of Florida, rendering her promises 
 and obligations worthless in the markets of the world. 
 
 The undersigned, in the name and on behalf of the said hold- 
 ers of the bonds of the State of Florida, demands that the State of 
 Florida shall, with all due diligence, take whatever steps may 
 be necessary to prevent the sale of any part of the line of the 
 said Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad under the 
 said decree, or under any other proceeding of whatsoever kind, 
 which can in any way impair or affect the lien of the bonds of 
 the said Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad as a first 
 and prior lien now held by the State as aforesaid for the security 
 of its obligations to the State and through the State as a Trustee 
 for the security of the holders and purchasers of the State bonds. 
 The undersigned, in the name and on behalf of the said holders 
 of the bonds of the State of Florida, also demands that the 
 State of Florida shall make provision for the prompt payment of 
 the outstanding and over-due coupons of its bonds, hereinbefore 
 referred to, and give due and public notice of the time and 
 place of such payment, in order that such coupons may be duly 
 presented at the time and place designated for payment. 
 
 (Signed) Robert H. Hardaway, 
 
 Attorney for M. K. Jesup & Company, of the City and State of 
 
 New York, who are lawful Attorneys for George M. Bocse- 
 
 vain, Joseph Zadack, Adrian Stoop, Adrian J, Milders, and 
 
 N. J. deu Tex. 
 
 Witness — Edward M. West, 
 
 Justice of the Peace. 
 
 This protest, while looking plausible on paper, was con- 
 ceived in sin and born in iniquity. The Democratic papers 
 throughout the State were denouncing the action of the Acting 
 Governor Stearns is employing, without authority of law, counsel 
 to bring suit in the United States Supreme Court to saddle the 
 four million fraudulent Littlefield bonds upon the people of Flor- 
 ida, and he, fearing an anti-administration Legislature, instigated 
 this protest to cover his foot-prints. It will be seen by the mes- 
 
238 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 sage of Governor Hart, Assembly Journal of 1874, p. 29, that 
 the suit was commenced in the summer of 1873, ^^^^ ^^"'g Pro- 
 test of the bondholders was not filed until the 29th of December 
 of that year. The administration afterwards furnished another 
 glaring bit of testimony showing the utter insincerity of its 
 action. D. P. Holland, who claimed that he had bought the 
 Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad, by virtue of an 
 execution issued out of the United States Circuit Court, 
 Northern District of Florida, and held a deed thereunder, was 
 importuned by the members of the Ring to offer to sell his interest 
 to the State, which he acceded to. The condition on which he 
 offered to sell the road to the State and put it in possession was 
 that there should be ])aid to him sixty-two thousand five hundred 
 and thirty-three dollars, together with costs and interest, the 
 State assuming the amount then due on account of the operatmg 
 expenses and repaying the sums of cash that he had borrowed 
 to improve the property, and he to take his pay in the six per 
 cent, bonds of the State at the price fixed by law. This propo- 
 sition was equally acceptable to the ring, and a bill was intro- 
 duced in the Legislature to carry the i:)roposition into effect* 
 The Ring now called a Republican caucus, and James Johnson, 
 carpet-bagger, and M. L. Stearns, Lieutenant-Governor, ap- 
 peared before it in advocacy of the passage of the bill as a 
 strictly party measure. They said in their speeches before the 
 caucus that if this measure was passed, "Old Dyke" and the 
 Democratic party would be utterly outgeneraled and as mad the 
 "fretful porcupine." Attorney-General Cocke had explained 
 this scheme to the members of the Legislature, who did not 
 understand it before, and the colored members from the counties 
 of Leon and Alachua, with the assistance of part of the delega- 
 tion from Duval, had an understanding with the whites to defeat 
 the measure. The Leon and Alachua delegations and honest 
 Dan Mclnnis from Duval County, gave the ring to understand 
 that they would vote for the bill, though they did not tell them 
 so. These delegations made no resistance in the caucus, there- 
 fore the Ring thought they were all right. Attorney-General 
 Cocke prepared some telling points and placed them in the 
 hands of some of the colored members to be used in the attack. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 239 
 
 The bill was called up, and the Ring was happy in the assurance 
 that they would hear no opposition from any of the Republican 
 members, while some of the Democrats, who did not know that 
 enough colored men had been secured to defeat the bill, had 
 blood in their eyes and were howling "fraud, fraud, fraud!" 
 The author of this work led the fight, which took the ring by 
 surprise. Hon. H. H. Mitchell, of Hillsborough County, 
 Democrat, followed; the members from Alachua, Gass, 
 and Washington, colored, followed, and Dan Mclnnis, from 
 Duval County, brought up the rear. The fraud was so glaring 
 that before the discussion ended the most of the carpet-baggers 
 left the hall and did not dare to vote for the measure, and it was 
 defeated by a large majority. The bill as defeated in the Assem- 
 bly, was to pay Holland one hundred thousand dollars in State 
 bonds bearing six per cent, interest, and it was generally believed 
 that the bonds were to be divided among the getters-up of the 
 scheme. The colored members were jubilant over the defeat of 
 this measure because they thought they had got partially square 
 with the carpet-baggers for their treachery to Osgood, and the 
 carpet-baggers were given to understand that bolting the solemn 
 action of caucuses was a game they could play too. 
 
 The Ring, at the beginning of their ravages in the State,had 
 secured the passage of a law which had worked great injury and 
 inconvenience to the people all over the State, that all legal 
 advertisements should be made in papers designated by the Sec- 
 retary of State. This law was enacted to support carpetbag 
 papers, which were so unj^opular in the communities in which 
 they existed that they could not sustain themselves. The peo- 
 ple were compelled to advertise in them, and there was no limit 
 designated by law as to their charges, and enormous prices were 
 charged for such advertisements, which the people had to pay. 
 The Democratic press had, from the beginning, denounced this 
 law, and continued their denunciation from year to year unti 
 the anti-ring Republicans acknowledged the justness of their 
 cause. At the session 1873 ^^^^ ^^""^^ """^^^ repealed by the united 
 action of the anti-ring Republicans and the Democrats and was 
 signed by the presiding officers of the respective houses, but was 
 stolen either before or after it reached the Governor. This was 
 
240 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 not the only statute that was stolen at this and previous sessions, 
 as statute stealing had become an active industry among the car- 
 petbag statesmen. The following is the resolution passed in ref- 
 erence to this statute and the appointment and report of a com- 
 mittee thereunder : 
 
 Whereas, That the last regular session of the Legislature 
 passed an act repealing the legal advertising act ; and whereas, 
 said act or bill was stolen by some unknow-n party or parties ; 
 thefore 
 
 ^'Resolved, That a committee of three be elected by this 
 Assembly to find out the party or parties who stole said bill, and 
 said committee shall have power to send for persons and papers, 
 and that this committee endeavor to find all bills which were lost 
 or misplaced last session." 
 
 Messrs. Wallace, Swearingen and Mclnnis were elected 
 said committee, who made the following report : 
 
 "That inasmuch as statute stealing has come to be some- 
 what systematized in Florida, the committee made a most 
 patient and persistent effort to uncover the thief in question. 
 The testimony in the case is not sufficient, in the opinion of the 
 committee, to convict the thief. The chief clerk of the Assem- 
 bly, however, testified most unqualifiedly that he delivered the 
 bill to the then private secretary of the Governor, but the Gov- 
 ernor's secretary testifies with equal clearness that he did not 
 receive it; and with this discrepent testimony the committee 
 would respectfully submit the case for the consideration of the 
 Assembly." 
 
 During this year an attempt was made by the State of Ala- 
 bama to acquire that portion of the territory of Florida lying 
 west of the Apalachicola River, and sent three commsssioners 
 to Tallahassee to conduct the negotiations to that end on behalf 
 of that State. The following resolutions and reports give a full 
 hisrory of this affair : 
 
 ANNEXATION OF WEST FLORIDA. 
 
 To THE Hon. M. Martin, 
 
 Speaker of the 'Assembly : 
 Whereas, We the undersigned, were appointed a Joint 
 Committee on the part of the Senate and Assembly to consult 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 241 
 
 with the Commissioners appointed by the State of Alabama, in 
 relation to the Annexation of West Florida to Alabama, find, 
 upon investigation, that a former Commission was appointed by 
 that State for the same purpose, and that upon representations 
 made by them, the following Joint Resolution was passed by the 
 Legislature of this State, and approved by the Governor on the 
 24th day of January, A. D. 1869, to-wit : 
 
 JOINT RESOLUTION relative to the Alabama Commissioners. 
 
 Whereas, The State of Alabama has appointed a Commission 
 to visit the State of Florida for the purpose of procuring 
 the annexation of all that portion of Florida lying west of 
 the Apalachicola River; And, Whereas, It is the desire 
 to promote the best interest of all the people of our State ; 
 therefore, be it 
 
 Resohed, That the Governor of the State be and he is here- 
 by authorized and directed to appoint a committee of three to 
 confer with the Commission appointed by the State of Alabama ; 
 and the said Commission are authorized to go to Montgomery 
 and there confer with the Commission and authorities of the 
 State of Alabama ; and the said committee are appointed the 
 duly accredited agents of this State' to negotiate for the said 
 transfer ; and they shall report at the next session of the Legis- 
 lature by bill or otherwise. 
 
 Be it further resolved, That between this time and the time 
 of the next meeting of the Legislature, the Governor shall issue 
 his proclamation for an election in the district proposed to be 
 annexed, to be held and conducted in the manner of a special 
 election as prescribed by law ; and at such election the qualified 
 eiectors in said district shall vote for annexation or against 
 annexation. 
 
 Be it further resolved, That prior to the aforesaid election 
 the Commissions appointed by the respective States shall agree 
 upon the terms and conditions of transfer ; and in the proclama- 
 tion of election the aforesaid terms and conditions shall be set 
 forth for the information of the electors ; and in making returns 
 of the election in the county of Holmes, the returns of 
 votes on the east and west side of the Choctawhatchie river 
 shall be kept separate and apart, in order to get a cor- 
 rect expression of the people on the east and west side of that 
 river. 
 
 Be it further resolved, That the aforesaid election shall not be 
 final or binding until the Legislature or people of the State of 
 Florida, and the Congress of the United States, shall consent 
 to the transfer of said territory. 
 Approved January 27, 1869. 
 16 
 
242 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 In conformity with said Joint Resolution, the Governor of 
 the vState of Florida appointed a Commission consisting of the 
 Hon. W. J. Purman, Charles E. Dyke and N. H. Moragne, 
 who visited Montgomery in conformity with the provisions of 
 that resolution, and they entered into an agreement and stipula- 
 tion with the duly constituted authorities of the State of Ala- 
 bama, a copy of which is hereunto attached, and reported their 
 doings to the then Governor of Florida. The Governor then, 
 in acjordance with the said Joint Resolution, issued his procla- 
 mation for an election in West Florida, and a majority of the 
 votes cast at that election were in favor of the annexation of 
 West Florida to Alabama, and it is quite evident to your Com- 
 mittee that a large majority of the people of West Florida are 
 still in favor of annexation. The Governor of the State of 
 Florida in his next annual message after the election presented 
 to the Legislature the report and doings of the Commission ; 
 since that time there has been no further legislation upon the 
 part of Florida in relation to that matter. 
 
 The Legislature of the State of Alabama passed an act 
 which was approved by the Governor of that State on the 27 th 
 day of March, A. D. 1873, ^ ^^VY ^^ which is hereunto 
 annexed, and in accordancts with the provisions of said act, the 
 Governor of Alabama has appointed the Hons. R. W. Cobb, J. 
 C. Goodloe and ex-Governor Parsons, to confer with the proper 
 authorities of the State of Florida, with full power to carry out 
 the provisions of that act. These gentlemen are now in the 
 city. In view of these facts, your committee are of the opinion 
 that the matter is of sufficient importance to warrant some 
 decided action upon the part of this Legislature. We therefore 
 recommend the passage of the following concurrent resolution : 
 Resolved, That the Hons. R. W. Cobb, J. C. Goodloe and 
 ex-Governor Parsons, Commissioners appointed by the Governor 
 of Alabama to confer with the properly constituted authorities 
 of the State of Florida in relation to the cession of West Florida 
 to Alabama, be invited to address the Senate and Assembly in 
 joint convention in the Assembly Hall at 10 o'clock a. m. on 
 Tuesday the 27th inst. 
 
 A. L. McCASKILL, 
 L. G. DENNIS, 
 
 Senate Committee. 
 JNO. L. McKINNON, 
 J. W. MENARD, 
 W. H. GLEASON, 
 
 Assembly Committee. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 243 
 
 AN ACT to provide for the annexation of West Florida to the 
 State of Alabama with the assent of the State of Florida 
 and Congress of the United States. 
 
 Section i. Be it eiiacted by the General Assembly of Ala- 
 bama, That the sum of one million dollars in coupon bonds of 
 the State of Alabama, of not less than one thousand dollars 
 each, payable in thirty years after the date thereof, bearing eight 
 per cent, interest per annum, payable semi-annually at the office 
 of the State Treasurer in the city of Montgomery, be and the 
 same is hereby appropriated and is to be paid to the lawfully 
 constituted authorities of the State of Florida as a considera- 
 tion and compensation to said State for the cession by said State 
 to the State oi Alabama, of all the soil and jurisdiciion now held 
 by the State of Florida into and over that portion of the terri- 
 tory of the State of Florida lying and being west of the thread 
 of the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers, and west of a 
 line running due south from the thread of the mouth of the 
 Apalachicola, bending west so as to pass between the Islands of 
 St. George and St. Vincent, known and called West Florida , 
 including the lands belonging to and heretofore owned by the 
 State of Florida, within the district of country above described, 
 whether of seminary, school, sixteenth sections, internal 
 improvement, swamp and overflowed, together with the five 
 per cent, arising from the sales of the United States land, lying 
 west of the rivers above mentioned, accruing after the cession of 
 said territory, and guaranteeing to the State of Alabama full and 
 complete title thereto, with indemnity for all loss the State of 
 Alabama may sustain growing out of any adverse claim or claims 
 which may be set up thereto, provided that this sum shall be 
 paid by this State and accepted by the State of Florida in full 
 satisfaction of the share or proportion falling to West Florida of 
 the public debt of the State of Florida, and the State of Ala- 
 bama shall in no wise nor to any extent be responsible for any 
 portion of said public debt of the State of Florida by reason of 
 said purchase. 
 
 Section 2. Be it further enacted, That the Governor be and 
 he is hereby authorized and empowered to appoint three com- 
 missioners on behalf of the State of Alabama to tender to the 
 lawful authorities of the State of Florida the aforesaid bonds of 
 this State in consideration of the cession aforesaid, and that the 
 said commissioners be and they are hereby authorized and em- 
 powered on behalf of this State to make the tender aforesaid, 
 and to do and perform all the acts and things which may be 
 requisite and necessary to perfect and consummate the cession 
 of the territory aforesaid by the State of Florida to the State of 
 
244 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Alabama, and the delivery by the State of Alabama to the State 
 of Florida of the bonds aforesaid in compensation for said ces- 
 sion : Provided, That said commissioners be and they are here- 
 by limited and restricted to the tender of the sum of one million 
 dollars in the first section of this act mentioned and set forth : 
 And provided further, That upon the acceptance by the State of 
 Florida of the tender aforesaid, and the ratification by the Con- 
 gress of the United States of the act of cession as aforesaid, the 
 cession herein provided for shall be complete, and tl^e bonds of 
 the State hereinbefore mentioned shall be executed and delivered 
 by the authorities of the State of Alabama to the authorities of 
 the State of Florida in full satisfaction and compensation of the 
 cession of the territory aforesaid. 
 
 Section 3. Be it further enacted, That the sum of three 
 thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, be 
 and the same is hereby appropriated to pay the expenses of said 
 commission, to be paid out of the treasury on the warrant of the 
 Auditor, to be issued on the order of the Governor. 
 
 Approved March 27, 1873. 
 
 DAVID P. LEWIS, Governor. 
 
 ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT 
 
 Between the Commissioners of the two States for the Cession of 
 West Florida to Alabama. 
 
 An agreement entered into this 17th day of May, A. D. 
 1869, between W. J. Purman, C. E. Dyke and N. H Moragne, 
 Commissioners on the part of the State of Florida, appointed 
 under joint resolutions on the 25th of January, 1869 and Messrs. 
 J. L. Pennington, A. J. Walker and Charles A. Miller, Com- 
 missioners on the part of the State of Alabama, appointed under 
 joint resolution approved December 31, 1868, witnesseth as 
 follows : 
 
 First. The State of Florida cedes to the State of Alabama 
 that portion of Florida lying west of the thread of the Chat- 
 tahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers, and west of a line running 
 due south from the thread of the mouth of the Apalachicola, 
 bending west so as to pass between the Islands of St. George 
 and St. Vincent, which territory so ceded is called in this Agree 
 ment West Florida. 
 
 Second. The State of Florida bargains, sells, grants and 
 conveys to the State of Alabama all the lands heretofore acquired 
 by the State of Florida, and situated within the district of coun- 
 try above described, which may be undis})Osed of at the date of 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 245 
 
 the consummation of this agreement, whether of Seminary, 
 School, or Sixteenth Sections, Internal Improvement, Swamp 
 and Overflowed, and the five per cent, arising from the sale of 
 the United States lands lying West of the rivers above men- 
 tioned, accruing from and after the date of the consummation of 
 this agreement, and guaranteeing to Alabama full and complete 
 title thereto for the purposes hereinafter specified, and agreeing 
 to indemnify the said State of Alabama for all loss she may sus- 
 tain growing out of any adverse claims which may be set up 
 thereto. Provided, that the State of Florida, pending the con- 
 summation of this agreement, shall dispose of none of the lands 
 above mentioned, either by sale, donation or otherwise, except 
 in accordance with the laws in force in said State at the date of 
 the signing of these presents and for the benefit of West 
 Florida. 
 
 Third. The State of Alabama takes the said lands sub- 
 ject to the trusts imposed by the acts of Congress granting the 
 same. 
 
 Fourth. That immediately after the assent of the Congress 
 of the United States to this Agreement between the State of 
 Florida and the State of Alabama, it shall be the duties of the 
 Governors of Florida and Alabama to issue their respective 
 proclamations, naming a day within sixty days after such assent 
 of Congress shall be obtained, when the jurisdiction of Florida 
 shall cease, and when the officers and people of the territory of 
 West Florida shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the State of 
 Alabama in accordance with and under the laws and Constitu- 
 tion of same. 
 
 Fifth. That all judicial and other local officers in the terri- 
 tory of West Florida shall continue to exercise the functions of 
 their several offices, after the said transfer shall have been 
 consummated, for the full terms for which they wer& elected or 
 appointed; and all such judicial and all other proceedings of 
 such officers shall be in accordance with the Constitution and 
 laws of Alabama. 
 
 Sixth. That the several counties in West Florida shall com- 
 pose one Judicial Circuit of the State of Alabama, and the Judge 
 of the Court of the First Judicial District of Florida shall be the 
 Judge of the Circuit Court of the State of Alabama, for a circuit 
 composed of said counties, until his term as Judge of the District 
 Court of Florida shall terminate, and the said counties shall com- 
 pose a Chancery District of the Southern Chancery Division of 
 the State of Alabama, and the Chancellor of such Division shall 
 be the Chancellor of the said Chancery District, and the terms 
 thereof shall be held at times and a place to be prescribed by 
 such Chancellor, and all Chancery causes pending in the Dis- 
 
246 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 trict or Circuit Court of said counties, shall, with all the papers 
 and records of the proceedings therein, certified by the several 
 Clerks of the said District or Circuit Court, be transferred to the 
 said Chancery Court, and be therein cognizable, and the said 
 Chancellor shall appoint a Register for such Court. 
 
 Seventh. And the County Judges of the respective counties 
 above named shall be Judges of Probate under the laws of the 
 State of Alabama until their respective terms, for which they 
 were elected or appointed under the laws of Florida, shall termi- 
 nate. And the Board of County Commissioners of the said 
 respective counties shall be the County Commissioners in their 
 several counties for the terms for which they were elected or 
 appointed. And the Sheriffs, Coroners, Justices of the Peace, 
 Clerks of the Circuit or District Court, by whichever name they 
 may be called, County Treasurers, Collectors of Revenue and 
 Assessors of Taxes, shall fill the corresponding offices under the 
 laws of the State of Alabama to the end of the terms for which 
 they were respectively elected or appointed. And the several 
 Clerks of the Circuit or District Court shall be the Clerks 
 of the Circuit Court under the laws of the State of Ala- 
 bama ; and the said Circuit Court shall have jurisdiction of all 
 cases in the District or Circuit Court of the said counties, except 
 that the Chancery causes shall be transferred to the Chancery 
 Court as hereinbefore stated. And the said Judges of the 
 County Court shall be Probate Judges, and have jurisdiction of 
 the causes in their respective County Courts, and be Probate 
 Judges under the laws of the State of Alabama. And the said 
 County Commissioners and County Judges shall execute all the 
 powers of County Commissioners and Probate Judges under the 
 laws of Alabama. 
 
 Eighth. The State of Alabama, in consideration of the ces- 
 sion by th^ State of Florida hereinbefore mentioned, shall pay 
 to the said State, within ninety days after the consummation of 
 the annexation of West Florida to the State of Alabama, the 
 sum of one million of dollars in bonds, bearing interest at the 
 rate of eight per cent, per annum, redeemable at the Treasury 
 of the State of Alabama in thirty years from the date thereof, 
 the interest to be payable semi-annually in the City of New 
 York. The said sum of one million of dollars shall be in com- 
 pensation to the State of Florida for the proportion of the debt 
 of said State, which the amount of taxes paid by the several 
 counties embraced in the district of country ceded to Alabama 
 may bear to the taxes paid by the remaining portion of the said 
 State of Florida ; and the balance of the said sum of one mil- 
 lion of dollars shall be in full payment for the Seminary, Six- 
 teenth Section, Internal Improvement, Swamp and Overflowed 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 247 
 
 lands ceded to the State of Alabama, the title to which is guar- 
 anteed by the State of Florida as hereinbefore mentioned, which 
 said balance shall be for the use and purposes contemplated in 
 the grants of the said lands by the Congress of the United 
 States, and as provided for by the laws of the State of Florida 
 in force at the date of this agreenment. 
 
 Ninth. That the counties respectively in the territory of 
 West Florida shall be allowed, and by this stipulation have 
 authority to retain the State taxes assessed and collected for 
 the first year under the revenue laws of the State of Alabama, 
 and the amounts so retained shall be appropriated by the County 
 Commissioners to the improvement and erection of court-houses 
 and other public buildings in their respective counties. 
 
 Tenth. The benefit of the indorsement laws of the State of 
 Alabama, to the extent of sixteen thousand dollars per mile, 
 shall apply to the construction of a railroad from the point of 
 junction with the Pensacola and Georgia Railroad of Florida, 
 on the Apalachicola River, in the direction of Quincy, to the 
 waters of Escambia Bay, or to a junction with the Pensacola 
 and Louisville Railroad in Florida, or the Alabama and Florida 
 Railroad in Alabama, and to the Pensacola and Louisville Rail- 
 road, and to no other railroad, for the period of three years 
 from the date of the consummation of this Agreement ; and the 
 charter of the Pensacola and Georgia Railroad of Florida, 
 with the amendments thereto, shall be in force in the district of 
 country embraced in the first Article of this Agreement, for the 
 purposes specified in said charter and amendments, and the 
 Pensacola and Georgia Railroad Company shall be entitled to 
 construct their roads and shall be entitled to all the benefits of 
 the indorsement laws of Alabama, as hereinbefore expressed, 
 the same as if their said charter and amendments had been 
 granted by the State of Alabama; and the State of Alabama, 
 neither under any general act of incorporation now in 
 force, nor by any special act of legislation heretofore or hereaf- 
 ter to be adopted, shall authorize the construction of any rail- 
 road from the Chattahoochee or Apalachicola Rivers through 
 the district of country before mentioned, in the direction of the 
 waters of Escambia Bay, or to a junction with the Pensacola 
 and Louisville Railroad, for the period of three years from the 
 date of the Agreement hereinbefore set forth. 
 
 Eleventh. Until otherwise provided, the counties as now 
 constituted lying west of the line mentioned in the first Article 
 of this Agreement, shall be entitled to the same representation 
 in the General Assembly of Alabama that they are now entitled 
 to in the Legislature of Florida ; and that portion of Franklin 
 County embraced within and lying west of said line shall be 
 
248 CARPETRAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 known as the county of Franklin, and shall be entitled to at 
 least one Representative in the General Assembly of Alabama, 
 and the Senators and Representatives of the above counties 
 shall hold their offices for the full term for which they were 
 elected. 
 
 Twelfth. The solvent taxes returned from the district of 
 country agreed to be annexed, unpaid at the time such annexa- 
 tion shall be consummated, shall be the property of the State of 
 Florida, and shall be assumed by the State of Alabama and paid 
 in money. The amount so due and unpaid shall be ascertained 
 from the tax returns made to the Comptroller of the State of 
 Florida. 
 
 Thirteenth. This agreement shall not be of force until the 
 same shall be ratified and approved by the States of Florida and 
 Alabama in a legal manner, and by the legal and proper authori- 
 ties, and the Congress of the United States has given its assent 
 thereto. 
 
 (Signed) W. J. PURMAN, 
 
 N. H. MORAGNE, 
 J. L. PENNINGTON, 
 A. J. WALKER, 
 . CHAS. A. MILLER, 
 
 Commissioners. 
 
 For the sole purpose of bringing the matter contemplated 
 in the Resolutions of the State of Florida before the people 
 thereof, I assent, as a Commissioner on the part of said State, 
 to the above, reserving to myself as a citizen the right to judge 
 of the expediency or inexpediency of accepting a?iy terms for 
 ceding to a foreign and alien jurisdiction any part or portion of 
 the people and Territory of Florida. 
 
 C. E. DYKE. 
 
 The Alabama Commissioners met the two houses in joint 
 session, and in their address strongly urged the annexation 
 scheme ; but the matter went no further because of the exhorbi- 
 tant demands of the Ring that the commissioners should " talk 
 turkey " before any legislative action should be taken. 
 
 Mr. Martin, who was Warden of the State prison while 
 Speaker of the Assembly, in which situation he was able to so 
 shape appropriation bills' as to give him a good margin after 
 scantily feeding and clothing the prisoners, was determined that 
 the inside workings of that institution should be known to no 
 one but himself and the inmates. Heretofore the committee 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORFDA. 249 
 
 appointed to visit and inspect the institution went rather on a 
 frolic than for the purpose of a real inspection, and of course 
 he would make it doubly pleasant for them, especially when his 
 conduct in the management was reported by many to be very 
 questionable. A committee was elected to visit the prison and 
 report to the Assembly. The anti-ring Republicans and the 
 Democrats assisted in getting Dan Mclnnis, colored, of Duval, 
 and T. C. Gass, colored, of Alachua, on the committee. Mar- 
 tin, suspecting mischief in Mclnnis and Gass, as they did not 
 take much to carpetbag conduct, had a special train prepared 
 with wines, whiskies and cigars on board for the comfort of the 
 visiting guests. He gave Gass and Mclnnis to understand that 
 the train would start at a designated hour, but to the astonish- 
 ment of his colored guests the train left just two hours sooner 
 than the time designated and the colored brother was left behind. 
 Mclnnis was a very energetic and determined representative, 
 and by other means he and Gass were on the ground in time to 
 see Martin out, who pretended .that they had misunderstood 
 him as to 'the time. Martin at once set out his liquors and 
 cigars, which Gass and Mclnnis refused to partake of, but went 
 about their investigation. Martin had been working the prison- 
 ers on his own private farm or vineyard while pretending to be 
 cultivating grapes for wine-making for the State, and he made 
 thousands of dollars for himself out of the prisoners while the 
 State lost thousands by his management. This conduct, and his 
 cruelty to the prisoners, had been whispered around among col- 
 ored members by the Democrats, and Mclnnis was disposed to 
 give the matter a thorough sifting, as far as in him lay. In 
 his tour of inspection he came to an apartment where there were 
 a number of prisoners chained down flat on their backs. Mar- 
 tin, who had lost sight of Mclnnis, started on his trail, and 
 finally found him standing over the chained convicts, interroga- 
 ting them as to their treatment. Martin out with an oath, say- 
 ing, *' Get out of here, you son of a b— ." Mclnnis refused to 
 depart. Martin then called his guard and had the drum corps 
 play the " rogue's march " and marched Gass and Mclnnis off 
 the premises at the point of the bayonet. This action on the 
 part of Martin was reported to the Legislature, and an investi- 
 
250 CARPETBAG RULE IN Fi ORIDA. 
 
 gation was ordered under the following resolution, introduced by 
 Mr. Proctor : 
 
 Whereas, It is reported that two of the members appointed 
 by the Assembly to visit and inspect the State prison were, 
 without any cause, forcibly ejected from the prison by order of 
 the Warden, who is Speaker of the Assembly ; therefore 
 
 " Be it Resolved, That the Assembly inquire into the con- 
 duct of the Speaker-warden on the occasion of the visit of said 
 members of the Assembly to said prison, that the Assembly may 
 take such action in the premises as may be deemed necessary. " 
 
 On motion of Mr. Wallace, a committee of five was elected 
 by the Assembly, under the resolution above recited, to investi- 
 gate the conduct of the warden of the State prison ; namely, 
 Messrs. Swearingen, Wallace, Chadwick, Mitchell and Washing- 
 ton. This committee, after making a thorough investigation 
 into this outrage, reported to the Assembly concerning Martin's 
 conduct, after which the following resolution was adpoted ; but 
 owing to the early adjournment he was spared from exposure 
 and disgrace : 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of two on the part of the 
 Assembly and one on the part of the Senate, be elected to 
 inspect the State Penitentiary, to proceed immediately to 
 thoroughly inspect the condition of the State prison ; and 
 said committees be instructed to ascertain, if possible, the 
 quantity and quality of food and clothing furnished to convicts 
 the past year, and the disposition made of the labor of said con- 
 victs, and that said committee be authorized to summon, swear 
 and examine witnesses, and books and papers properly belong- 
 ing to the State Penitentiary. 
 
 While the members of the Ring were looking anxiously for 
 the death of Governor Hart, and desiring the possession of the 
 railroad to assist them in the gigantic fraud which they had 
 already planned to retain possession of the State, this proposi- 
 tion was left at the adjournment of the Legislature as unfinished 
 business, having been referred to the Committee on Railroads, 
 where it was strangled. 
 
 At this time Gov. Reed, desiring to get rid of the compli- 
 cations growing out of the unsatisfactory condition of the 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 25 1 
 
 railroads and to if possiable place them on a sound and healthy- 
 basis, made to Gov. Hart, and through him to the Legislature a 
 proposition to buy the roads and retire the outstandings bonds. 
 The offer was coldly received and was not acted upon. 
 
 Tallahassee, February 9, 1874. 
 His Excellency, Ossian B. Hart, 
 
 Governor of Florida : 
 Sir : In view of the present complication of affairs in 
 connection with the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Rail- 
 road and the efforts to involve the State in further embarrass- 
 ment in relation to it, as well as to injure its credit, I beg to sub- 
 mit the following proposition for the consideration of yourself 
 and the two houses of the Legislature, viz : If the State will 
 make a clear and full title to the Road from Jacksonville to the 
 Chattahoochee, with its branches and all its franchises, rolling 
 stock and property, I will agree within ninety days to find a 
 responsible party to purchase the same and pay three hundred 
 thousand dollars, ($300,000) return the outstanding State bonds 
 issued to the Company and guarantee the construction of the 
 road from the Chattahoochee to the State line within five years 
 from the date of the transfer. 
 
 I have the honor to be. 
 
 With great respect. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 HARRISON REED. 
 
 At this session also. Governor Reed made an attempt to get 
 a settlement of his claims against the State for moneys expended 
 by him while in the discharge of his duties as Governor of the 
 State. The following memorial shows the nature and extent of 
 his claim : 
 
 The memorial of the undersigned respectfully represents — 
 That from June 8th, 1868, until January 8th, 1873, he was 
 the Governor of Florida, elected by the people in accordance 
 with the Constitution of the State and the Laws of the United 
 States ; 
 
 That as such Governor he was charged with extraordinary 
 responsibilities and complicated duties, involving the rights and 
 liberties of the people, the peace and order of society, and the 
 integrity and honor of the State; 
 
 That it became necessary, in carrying out the laws of the 
 State without money in the Treasury or credit abroad, for him 
 to borrow large sums of money on his own personal responsi- 
 
252 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 bility, to discharge his duties efficiently and save the State from 
 disorder, and resist successfully the efforts to disorganize and 
 overthrow the (rovernment; 
 
 That he was subjected to expenditures of more than ten 
 thousand dollars for attorney fees and expenses in defence 
 against unjust charges in im])eachmeht, and resisting revolution- 
 ary schemes calculated to bring the State under martial law ; 
 and for which he has never received remuneration nor presented 
 any claim ; 
 
 That his extraordinary expenditures for the maintenance of 
 civil government and constitutional righcs, and to meet the 
 (sometimes unreasonable) exactions of the people under the 
 laws, amount to over thirty thousand dollars, for which he has 
 received no compensation ; and but for these expenditures the 
 State would have been remitted to military government and a 
 condition of anarchy and bloodshed, as well as almost irretriev- 
 able bankruptcy, as other reconstructed States, under far more 
 favorable circumstances, have been; 
 
 That the accounts of your memorialist for the expenditures 
 were examined and allowed by a committee of the Legislature 
 in 187 1 to the amount of sixteen thousand dollars, and again 
 in 1873 to the amount of twenty-four thousand dollars; 
 
 That he is now largely indebted and his property encum- 
 bered, on account of these expenditures, and he is now subject 
 to a heavy interest which, if not speedily arrested, will absorb 
 the accumulation of years of frugal industry. 
 
 And your memorialist further represents— 
 
 That while it is contrary to his desire as a private citizen to 
 array himself in hostility with or question the veracity of any 
 State officer, and especialy one in whom he had formerly placed 
 implicit confidence, yet justice to himself and to the State, 
 whose high trust he has executed, requires that he should deny 
 in detail and in extenso each and every allegation, of the report 
 of the State Comptroller in relation to the action of your 
 memorialist in connection with the hypothecation of bonds in 
 New York, and that he state unqualifiedly that, while Governor he 
 never at any time received money on account of the State, nor 
 in any manner ever bound the State, nor attemped to bind the 
 State, nor ever pledged its bonds for any money for which he 
 has not accounted to the Treasury and the Legislature ; 
 
 That it is not true that your memorialist hypothecated any 
 bonds with the New York Warehouse and Security Company, 
 nor increased the rate of interest on loans made by others from 
 that company ; but that he did procure the extension of a loan 
 previously made from that company for three months upon the 
 same terms as the loan previously carried, which were uncon- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 253 
 
 scionable and unreasonable, and which he would never have 
 consented to as an origional proposition; 
 
 That there was no such claim — legal or equitable — against 
 the remaining bonds of the State im the hands of Bayne & Co. 
 as that which the Comptroller claims to have allowed and paid ; 
 That the Comptroller nor any other person has seen or holds 
 any receipt, note or obligation executed by yonr memorialist 
 on account of the State of Florida, by which the bonds could be 
 charged with any such sum as he has allowed and claims to 
 have paid; 
 
 That your memorialist, when called upon by the Comptrol- 
 ler, pubhcly stated in the Senate Chamber that all that was 
 properly and legally chargeable against said bonds was the 
 amount set forth in his report to the Legislature, and that 
 when the Senate was prepared to pay that amount he would 
 guarantee the return of the bonds ; and that subsequently he 
 presented that report to the Comptroller in his office and re- 
 newed the pledge to procure the return of the bonds upon pay- 
 men in accordance therewith ; and on another occasion he 
 repeated the statement, and finally, in a letter, set forth in the 
 Comptroller's report, called attention to that report as correct; 
 That he offered his personal services, gratuitously, and all 
 official information, to assist in the settlement upon the basis of 
 his statement aforesaid; and all overtures were repelled with 
 what your memorialist regarded as indignity and arrogance ; 
 
 That the representative ot Bayne & Co., then in attendance 
 here, said to your memorialist that they would surrender the 
 bonds upon payment in cash of what your memorialist admitted 
 to be due, and said at the same time that they held additional 
 collaterals from General Littlefield of near five hundred thou- 
 sand dollars ; 
 
 That the statement of account of Bayne & Co. against 
 General Littlefield and now in his hands, and which your memo- 
 rialist is imformed was laid before the Comptroller, showed 
 that these bonds were held as collateral for only about eighty- 
 three thousand dollars. 
 
 Your memorialist, therefore, in view of the public interest 
 involved as well as his own, most respectfully and urgently 
 request that your honorable body will appoint a joint committee 
 to examine and investigate thoroughly and impartially all 
 matters touching the charges of the Comptroller referred to, 
 and everything in connection with the hypothecation and 
 redemption of the State bonds in question ; and that your com- 
 mittee also examine and adjust the claims of your memorialist, 
 And as in duty bound will ever pray, &c., 
 
 HARRISON REED. 
 Tallahassee, January i6, 1874. 
 
254 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Mr. Sturtevant offered the following joint resolution in the 
 Senate, which was adopted: 
 
 Resolved^ By the Senate, the Assembly concurring, That 
 a joint commit ' ffive, two members of the Senate and three 
 from the Assembly, be appointed to take into consideration the 
 memorial of Ex-Governor Harrison Reed, and to report as soon 
 as practicable to the Legislature all matters pertaining thereto. 
 
 In pursuance of this resolution, John L. Crawford and E. 
 C. Howe, on the part of the Senate, and E. R. Chadwick, J. B. 
 Browne, and John E. Proctor, on the part of the Assembly, 
 were appointed a committee to investigate and report upon the 
 accounts of Governor Reed as prayed for in the memorial. On 
 the 14th of February, 1874, the committee reported as follows: 
 
 The committee to whom was referred the memorial of ex- 
 Governor Harrison Reed, ask leave to make the following re- 
 port : 
 
 The amounts claimed by ex-Governor Reed are as follows : 
 
 Expenditures under act of the Legislature of 1868, $22,603.19 
 
 General contingent expenses 6,067.30 
 
 Balance on Executive contingent expenses . . . . 5>^45-85 
 
 House rent and interest on same 5,690.00 
 
 Total $39»6o6.34 
 
 Of this amount, $32,900.06 is the principal of the account, 
 and $6,706.28 is interest, reckoned at 7 per cent. 
 
 Vouchers were presented for $20,070. 25,* leaving a balance 
 for which there are no vouchers, save the official statement of 
 Governor Reed, of $12,820.81. 
 
 Evidence taken before the committee went to show 
 
 that Governor Reed had borrowed $24,136.29 
 
 Which amount the State had paid and holds a 
 receipt for the same. From this amount, how- 
 ever, should be taken the amount Governor 
 Reed paid Warehouse and Security Company, 
 New York, charges on hypothecated bonds . . i, 5^7-^5 
 
 Leaving a balance of $22,549.14 
 
 which should be deducted from the amount due 
 him from the State. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 255 
 
 The committee are of the opinion that at most Gov- 
 ernor Reed can only claim $500 per year for 
 house rent. Allowing this, would leave the 
 principal of his account at $29,460.06 
 
 From which deduct 22,549,14 
 
 Leaving a balance of $ 6,910.02 
 
 in his favor. 
 
 As Governor Reed claims three years' interest at 7 
 per cent, on whatever sum may be due him, 
 and as the committee desire to present his claim 
 in full, in order that each member of the Leg- 
 islature may know the extent and particulars of 
 the claim, we add to the above three years' in- 
 terest at 7 per cent $1,451-28 
 
 Making a total of $8,362.20 
 
 Governor Reed also claims that he paid $2,000.00 
 
 interest on bonds in New York, but the coupons 
 he claims to have paid have not been returned 
 to the State, but are still in New York. If he 
 should secure the return of those coupons and 
 that amount is allowed him, and all the other 
 items of his accounts are allowed also, then the 
 grand total of his account against the State 
 would be $10,362.20 
 
 It is proper for the committee to state that most of the 
 expenditures claimed to have been made by Governor Reed 
 were incurred under the head of secret service, and under the 
 provisions of chapter 1,660, Laws of Florida. As to the neces- 
 sity or propriety for those expenditures, each member of the 
 Legislature can judge as well as your committee. 
 
 If Governor Reed should only be allowed the amount for 
 which he presented vouchers, he would then stand in debt to 
 the State, but the committee think that large latitude should be 
 allowed him in the consideration of his claim, and in view of all 
 the circumstances under which the expenditures were made, the 
 committee recommend that the Legislature should treat the 
 claim of the ex-Governor with the utmost generosity consistent 
 with the interests of the State. 
 
 In the Senate the report of the committee was not 
 acted upon at this session, the Lieutenant-Governor, M. L. 
 Stearns, using his influence quietly against its consideration. 
 
256 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 At the session of 1873, ^" ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ passed authorizing 
 the issue of one million dollars of State bonds, to bear six per 
 cent, interest in gold, and payable in thirty years. These 
 bonds were to be sold for not less than eighty cents on the dol- 
 lar. Thousands of dollars of State scrip had been issued to run 
 the State government, and as soon as the bill became a law a 
 scrip ring was formed about the capitol among some of the cab- 
 inet officers, for the purpose of converting the scrip into these 
 bonds. As, at this time, scrip was selling for thirty-five and 
 forty cents on the dollar, these industrious gentlemen were able 
 to drive quite a profitable trade. 
 
 The Agricultural College scrip, amounting to about one 
 hundred thousand dollars, was soon to be received from the gen- 
 eral government. It would sell for about eighty thousand dol- 
 lars. While Cowgill, Hart, Stearns and Company were smack- 
 ing their greedy mouths over this expected prey, Varnum 
 slipped to New York and purchased State bonds from Bayne & 
 Co., already held by them against the State. Cowgill intimates 
 in his report that something was rotten in this transaction of Var- 
 num's, but whatever may have induced him to make the pur- 
 chase, he did at least one righteous act while treasurer of the 
 Agricultural College, by beating these vultures out of eighty 
 thousand dollars. The following is Cowgill's lamentation to 
 Hart on this matter : 
 
 ' ' While I know that much has been accomplished by this 
 settlement, yet the reasonable expectations which were enter- 
 tained of selling all the bonds have not been realized. 
 
 ' ' To this end I attempted to have the money arising from 
 the sale of the Agricultural College scrip invested in these bonds, 
 so that the money might come into the Treasury. 
 
 ''Assurances had been given by several of the Trustees of 
 their approval of this investment. 
 
 "To induce them to do so, I addressed to them the follow- 
 ing letter: 
 
 Tallahassee, May 17, 1873. 
 
 Gentleman : I have the honor to request that you will 
 invest the money belonging to the Agricultural College in the 
 new bonds of the State of Florida. 
 
 I would not make this application did I not feel assured, 
 both as a citizen and as Comptroller, knowing the resources of 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 257 
 
 the State, that the investment will be perfectly secure, and more 
 advantageous to the College than any likely to be made. 
 
 These bonds are sold at 80 cents, and bear interest payable 
 semi-annually at six per cent, in gold ; thus for $800 you get a 
 bond for $1000, and when U. S. currency and gold are equal in 
 value the interest is 7^ per cent, on your investment, and with 
 gold at 14 per cent, premium (at or about which rate it will 
 probably continue for some time), the investment yields a trifle 
 over 8}4 per cent. 
 
 I enclose copy of a letter I sent to Bayne & Co., of New 
 York, with whom I am successfully negotiating in reference to 
 the return of the old hypothecated bonds of 1868 and 1869, and 
 also refer you to a statement published in the last Sentinel con- 
 cerning the receipts and expenditures of the State since ist of 
 January, as evidences of our return to a healthful condition 
 financially. 
 
 If those interested in the future of our State, (and who is 
 not ?) will cordially unite in assisting to restore our finances, we 
 will soon be on a cash basis ; and I regand the expression of your 
 confidence in this progressive prosperity of our State, as will be 
 evidenced by this investment, as a very important, and perhaps 
 essential auxiliary. 
 
 I am leaving for New York on business, and I hope to hear 
 from you formally, so that I can show to bankers the confidence 
 your board reposes in the recuperative energy of our State. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 C. A. CowGiLL, Comptroller. 
 Trustees of the Florida Agricultural College. 
 
 A favorable response to this request was personally solicited 
 from the Trustees by Lieutenant-Governor Stearns and other 
 gentlemen. The board met May 2 2d, and after their adjourn- 
 ment, Lieutenant-Governor Stearns was informed by members 
 that the investment was directed to be made in the new bonds 
 and so telegraphed to me in New York. General Varnum, 
 Treasurer of the Agricultural Board, came to New York and 
 informed me that the Trustees had come to no definite conclu- 
 sion, but had left the whole matter of investment in his hands. 
 Obtaining from him no satisfactory information, and snpposing 
 that he was for some unknown reason delaying the action and yet 
 never doubting that in the end and at the time when the State 
 most needed the money, the purchase would be made from the 
 State, I returned to Florida. 
 
 It was not until October that I suspected that General Var- 
 num might have invested in the bonds belonging to Bayne 
 
 17 
 
258 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 & Co., and October 15th I addressed a letter to them, asking if 
 General Varnum had purchased bonds from them. In reply to 
 this letter I received a telegram and a letter as follows : 
 
 New York, October 27, 1873. 
 Dr. Cowc.iLL : 
 
 My Dear Sir: — We dispatched to you a few days ago in 
 reply to your favor of the 15th inst., as follows: "Varnum 
 alone can give the information." 
 
 I answered thus, at the instance of General Varnum who 
 proposed to see you in person with reference to the subject mat- 
 ter of your note. 
 
 This is the first time that you have put a direct question to 
 me, as to whether or not Varnum, Treasurer, had bought bonds 
 from us. If you had done so, under restrictions placed upon me, 
 I should have declined to answer you, but in so doing that of 
 itself would have given rise to suspicion upon your part, that 
 probably some such transaction had taken place. 
 
 You would have then sought and obtained the information 
 from the party or parties who alone had the right to communi- 
 cate it. 
 
 I never could see myself any good reason for not convers- 
 ing freely with you upon the subject, yet I assure you we are not 
 at liberty to do so. It is proper to say that the resolution of the 
 Board of Trustees, confirming the purchase of the bonds from 
 us made early in last June, and indeed the preliminaries of the 
 negotiations, dating very much earlier than that, with some of the 
 Trustees exacts of Treasurer positively secrecy as to the purchase 
 and sale referred to, until the matter was consummated and 
 ordered officially to be given to the public. 
 
 My relations with you warrant me in withholding no inform- 
 ation from you, when sought, and by consent of Varnum I 
 write this. Yours truly, 
 
 L. P. Bayne. 
 
 P. S. — The transaction was one of pure business. Varnum 
 wanted to buy, and we certainly wanted to sell. 
 
 In this letter Mr. Bayne says truly that it was the first time 
 I '' had ever put a direct question to him as to whether or not 
 Varnum, Treasurer, had bought bonds," and it is equally true 
 that I had never put an indirect question upon the subject, as 
 the possibility of either General Varnum purchasing for, or of 
 Mr. Bayne selling to the College, had never crossed my mind 
 until October. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 259 
 
 I then addressed to the Trustees of the Agricuhural College 
 two communications, as follows : 
 
 Office of Comptroller, ) 
 
 Tallahassee, Fla., November lo, 1873. j' 
 
 To the Ti'ustees of the Florida Agricultural College : 
 
 Gentlemen — Section 1 7 of the act entitled an act to estab- 
 lish the Florida Agricultural College, approved February 18, 
 1870, says the "Trustees shall report to the Comptroller annu- 
 ally on the first day of October " their action in reference to the 
 sale of land or land scrip, and the disposition of the proceeds of 
 said sale, in such form as he may direct. This seems to make 
 it the duty of the Comptroller to indicate to the Trustees the 
 form in which this report shall be made. 
 
 I therefore request the report to be made in the form of full 
 and explicit answers to the following questions : 
 
 I St. Was the land or land scrip sold? 
 
 2d. At what time was the sale made ? 
 
 3d. Upon what terms, whether for cash or upon credit, and 
 if for credit, mention manner and date of payment. 
 
 4th. To whom was the sale made, and by whom as the 
 agent of the board ? 
 
 5th. Have the terms of sale been strictly complied with : if 
 not, mention the date and place and mode of actual payment. 
 
 6th. To whom was the money paid as the agent of the 
 Trustees ? 
 
 7th. What disposition was made of this money — was it at 
 once invested permanently, or was it placed on temporary 
 deposit ? If so, at what rate of interest ? 
 
 8th. What permanent investments hav^ been made, date of 
 purchase of bonds or other securities, description of bonds, 
 from whom purchased and at what price ? 
 
 9th. By whom such investments were made as the^agent of 
 the Trustees, and by what authority ? 
 
 loth. An itemized account of all necessary expenses incurred 
 in these transactions. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 C. A. Cowgill, Comptroller. 
 
 Comptroller's Office, | 
 
 Tallahassee, Fla., Nov. 10, 1873. j 
 
 To the Trustees of the Florida Agriculrwal College. 
 
 Gentleman — In May last, I addressed you a communication 
 which was designed to place before you the propriety of invest- 
 
26o CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ing the fund, derived from the sale of the lands given by Con- 
 gress to the College, in the new six per cent, gold bonds of the 
 State of Florida. 
 
 Believing then as I do now, that it would be to the advan- 
 tage ot the College if the Trustees would invest this money so as 
 to benefit the State by placing funds in the Treasury, thereby 
 assisting materially in restoring the State to a cash basis, I urged 
 them to do so, saying that I considerid the endorsement of the 
 State's credit by this action of the Trustees almost essential to 
 such restoration. 
 
 No formal reply was given to this communication, but 
 Lieutenant-(}overnor Stearns was distinctly told by some of the 
 Trustees that they had directed the investment to be made in 
 Florida bonds, and that it was clearly understood that these bonds 
 should be the bonds of 1873, so that the purchase money would 
 come into the Treasury. This assurance Lieutenant-Governor 
 Stearns telegraphed to me, according to an arrangement made 
 between us previous to my departure for New York, where I was 
 then engaged in redeeming the hypothecated bonds of 1868-9, 
 and the information thus conveyed to me was used by me offi- 
 cially while endeavoring to place the bonds upon the Stock 
 P^xchange of New York. 
 
 A day or two after I had received the telegram from Lieu^ 
 tenant-Governor Stearns, General Varnum, as the Tresurer and 
 Agent of the Board, appeared in New York and informed me 
 that the action of the Trustees in reference to this investment 
 was a secrect; that the whole matter was left in his hands to be 
 acted upon at his discretion, and that Lieutenant-Governor 
 Stearns could have had no authority for giving me the informa- 
 tion. That he was not prepared to say what he would do — that 
 he desired to do the best thing for the College, and he wished to 
 ])revent speculators from taking advantage of the opportunity 
 to sell their bonds. 
 
 After my return to Florida, which occurred on the 6th of 
 July, General Varnum, in other conversations, by saying "that 
 all would be right," that he "had authority to invest, but could 
 not say when he would do so, but that all would be right," and 
 by using similar expressions to myself and other Cabinet Officers, 
 induced us to rest perfectly confident in the belief that the invest- 
 ment was to be made in the bonds of 1873, and that the money 
 would go into the State Treasury. We could place no other con- 
 struction upon the exjiression "that all would be right," as we 
 were thinking and talking in this connection of nothing but the 
 means of appreciating the State's financial condition. 
 
 I never was more greatly surprised and grieved than when I 
 learned by a letter from Mr. Bayne, of New York (a copy of 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 26 I 
 
 which is herewith enclosed), that the money had been invested 
 by General Varnum in the purchase of bonds held and owned 
 by him (Mr. Bayne) as his own' private property, and to-day I 
 am informed that while General Varnum was in New York in 
 June, he then purchased 50 bonds for $40,000 from Bayne & 
 Co., and contracted to purchase 50 more when there mainder of 
 the Agricultural College Scrip money should be paid by Mr. 
 Lewis, while at this time in New York, and afterwards in Talla- 
 hassee, he informed me that " he did not know what he should 
 do, but must keep all a secret until his mind was made up," etc. 
 
 I can perfectly understand why the Trustees might feel it 
 to be their duty to say to the Comptroller in answer to his letter, 
 " we would like to purchase the bonds from the State so as to 
 benefit the State Treasury, but we must purchase from those who 
 will sell the cheapest, therefore we will buy in the open market 
 after advertising for proposals, but I cannot understand why, 
 after an apparently studied reticence on the part of your agent, 
 every departure from which only misled me and other State 
 officers, whether so intended or not, the money should have been 
 invested in bonds owned by a private individual — no one hear- 
 ing of the transaction until its consummation, and no other par- 
 ties having a chance to make a lower offer. 
 
 I think I may with propriety, and therefore do ask : Was 
 not the State of Florida deserving of some consideration in this 
 transaction ? She has acted liberally by providing that all neces- 
 sary expenses of obtaining and investing this money shall be 
 paid from the State Treasury (Sec. 11 of Chap. 1766), and I 
 think she was entitled to a prompt, courteous and candid reply 
 to the communication made by the Comptroller. I have the 
 honor to ask if the money has been thus invested, and if there 
 remains no chance for the State to receive any benefit from the 
 Agricultural Fund. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 C. A. CowGiLL, Comptroller. 
 
 On the 1 2th of November, the Trustees acknowledged the 
 reception of these letters, promising a speedy answer, and 
 requested that I would furnish them with a copy of the contract 
 made with Bayne & Co., with which request I promptly com- 
 plied. 
 
262 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 The following letter from the President of the Board of 
 Trustees was sent to me on December loth. 
 
 Office Superintendenj- of Puiujc Instruction, | 
 Tallahassee, Fla., December 10, 1873. I 
 
 C. A. CowGiLL, Esq., Comptroller: 
 
 Sir — Your communications to the Trustees of the Agricul- 
 tural College bearing date November loth, were received, and I 
 have been directed by the Board of Trustees to place in your 
 hands the entire action of the Board in relation to the subject of 
 your communications, which you will find in the annual report of 
 Trustees to His Excellency, O. B. Hart, a copy of which I will 
 furnish you at an early day. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 JONATHAN C. GIBBS, 
 
 President Board of Trustees. 
 
 On the 17th of December, a proof of this report to the 
 Governor was furnished me. In it I look in vain for even an 
 allusion to my second letter of November loth, in which I state 
 how the proposals made by me to General Varnum to purchase 
 bonds from the State were received, and also ask why the 
 purchase was not made according to my request, although a 
 copy of the contract with Bayne & Co. furnished to them by me in 
 response to their wishes is printed as part of General Varnum's 
 report with other matter equally irrelevant. 
 
 I am surprised to find no assertion that the Trustees 
 intended to purchase from the State, as I had always supposed 
 such to have been their intention, as their order to invest in the 
 1873 bonds was given in response to my letter of May 17th, 
 strengthened by the personal solicitation of yourself and others, 
 and quifie recently most of the Trustees have informed me that 
 they had so intended and supposed the bonds had been pur- 
 chased from the State. 
 
 General Varnum, as agent of the Trustees, went to New 
 York, and while there refused confidential communication with 
 me and when the State daily asked him, through the Comp- 
 troller, who, by your permission, held exclusive charge of the 
 bonds, to buy her bonds, gave no direct reply, and certainly 
 gave not the slighteht intimation that he was then buying or had 
 bought from Bayne & Co. as the supposed agents of the State. 
 
 In his report to the 'JYustees of the College, General 
 Varnum says ''that Messrs. Bayne tS: Co. by contract with the 
 Comptroller had been authorized to make exclusive sale of the 
 new bonds until October first," and further that " Bayne & Co. 
 having in their possession all of the new bonds which had been 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 263 
 
 issued or ready for sale under the contract with the Comptroller 
 of the State," etc. 
 
 Both of these assertions I deny most positively. The third 
 paragraph of the agreement made by your Excellency and my. 
 self with Bayne & Co. gives them no control of the bonds. Its 
 only force is a 7noral obligation resting on Bayne & Co. to aid 
 and assist us in selling the State bonds, and by reference to Mr. 
 Bayne's letter to me of October 27, it will be seen that there is 
 no claim on his part that he was acting for the State ; on the 
 contrary, he asserts that secrecy was an essential part of the 
 agreement between General Varnum and their firm, that the 
 transaction was not to be made known to me, and of course not 
 to the State. Who ever before heard of any one purchasing 
 from an agent and making it a condition of the sale that the 
 agent should not inform his principal of what had been done ? 
 
 Again, Mr. Bayne did not have in his possession all the 
 bonds that were for sale. He had only the ' ' bonds " sold to 
 him. If General Varnum had read article 3 of the agreement 
 referred to, before he purchased the bonds, he would have seen 
 that if Bayne & Co. sold any bonds for the State they must be 
 paid for in Tallahassee before delivery, and a glance at the 
 numbers of the bonds delivered to him in June by Bayne & Co., 
 being i to 5 and 126 to 170, must have shown that they were 
 part of the two hundred and fifty bonds sold to Bayne & Co. 
 
 A circular is presented by General Varnum as part of his 
 report and called by him "the circular of Bayne & Co. as State 
 Agents for sale of bonds." 
 
 This circular is not dated (perhaps purposely), and contains 
 no assertion that it was issued by Bayne & Co. as State Agents. 
 I knew nothing of it until a copy was sent to me in August or 
 September, two" or three months after the purchase of Bayne & 
 Co.'s own bonds by the Trustees. 
 
 Mr. Bloxham says in his report to the Trustees detailing the 
 sale of the Land Scrip, "one-half of the money, the first pay- 
 ment, amounting to 40,500, was paid down and deposited to the 
 order of the Trustees." This being the case, the reason of the 
 difficulty in collecting this money in June spoken of by General 
 Varnum is not apparent, and it appears strange that General 
 Varnum did not collect it himself when in Cleveland for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Mr. Bloxham has told me there was no necessity that 
 General Varnum should have gone to New York to collect it, as 
 his check sent through our bankers in Tallahassee would have 
 brought the money here, where the bonds of 1873, belonging to 
 the State, could have been obtained. 
 
 Even in October, the last instalment of $40,000 might have 
 
264 CARPETBAG RULE IN Fi ORIDA. 
 
 been given to the State, for there was not the slightest necessity 
 to give Bayne & Co. the money and a large bonus in addition in 
 order to save it, as the financial panic could not affect the land 
 scrip belonging to the College, which had not passed out of the 
 control of the Trustees, for Mr. Bloxham says in his report that 
 the "scrip unpaid for is deposited in the name of the Trustees in 
 the Merchants National Bank of Cleveland, a government 
 depository, and to be delivered to Mr. Lewis only upon his paying 
 the purchase money for the same. In other words, we hold 
 possession of the property, the very best security." 
 
 The facts thus stated force me to the conclusion that the 
 agent of the Trustees never intended to purchase the bonds from 
 the State, and if the Trustees desired to do so, it is difficult to 
 understand why they passed a vote of thanks "for the faithful 
 and efiicient manner in which he had carried out the instructions 
 of the Board." 
 
 '"I do not consider that the report of the Trustees of the 
 Agricultural College to the Governor contains full and satisfac- 
 tory answers to my communications." 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Meeting of the Legislature of 1873. An Extract from Gov, 
 Barfs Message. His Cabinet. The Election of United States 
 Senator, and Acts of Bribery. The Exposure of the Little- 
 field Fraud by Attorney- General Cocke. The State's Ungrate- 
 fulness to Gov. Reed. Miscellaneous. 
 
 Both branches of the Legislature met Tuesday, January 7, 
 1873. In the Senate there were twenty-three of the twenty-four 
 members present— ten Democrats and thirteen Republicans, one 
 Republican coming in next day, which made the Senate ten 
 Democrats and fourteen Republicans. The Senate, after swear- 
 ing in the newly elected Senators, adjourned until the next day. 
 The next morning the Senate elected its officers, who were all 
 Republicans, and notified the House of its organization. The 
 great struggle for the supremacy of the ring was made in the 
 House, where they resorted to every artifice imaginable to 
 secure the Speakership. Colored men were brought from 
 counties where the ring had great influence, for the purpose of 
 exciting the masses of the freed men around Tallahassee, and 
 they were actually advised to commit violence on any member 
 of the Legislature who would not abide by the caucus nominee. 
 Notwithstand'.ng the threatened violence, five Republican mem- 
 bers refused to attend the caucus. These members were Bush, 
 of Columbia, white; Lee, of Sumter, white; both Southern 
 Republicans; Wallace and Proctor, of Leon, colored, and 
 Thompson, of Columbia, colored. The ring men began to see 
 danger ahead, and word was sent to the freedmen in the sur- 
 rounding country that the Leon county delegation had sold out 
 to the Democrats. The freedmen were at the State-house next 
 morning in large numbers denouncing the delegation if they 
 should dare vote against a colored man for Speaker, and caused 
 one of the members of the delegation, Mr. W. G. Stewart, 
 colored, to hesitate and vote for John R. Scott. The House 
 was called to order by W. H. Gleason, ex-Lieutenant-Governor, 
 and now a member from Dade. The Assembly consisted of 
 
266 CARPETRAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 twenty-eiglit Republicans and twenty-five Democrats, with two 
 Democrats and one Republican absent. The ring members, 
 now reeling and tottering for fear, nominated John R. Scott, of 
 Duval, colored, for the Speakership. The author of this work, 
 amid hisses and threats of violence, nominated S. B. Conover as 
 against Scott. Conover received twenty-eight votes — the solid 
 Democratic vote being cast for him and the five Republican 
 votes who refused to attend the caucus. Scott received twenty 
 votes, and Conover was therefore declared elected. The scene 
 in the House, among the members of the ring, and anti-ring 
 members, was almost indescribable. The members of the ring 
 were swearing and denouncing the Leon delegation while with 
 bowed heads they carried the news of the disaster to their chief. 
 The anti-ring members and the Democrats, both in and outside 
 the Legislature, were jubilant, and stood around in little knots 
 defying the misguided freedmen, who wanted nothing but the 
 blood of the Leon county delegation. In fact, the author of 
 this work was menaced by a mob of the freedmen, who had been 
 taught that they had been sold out by him, and but for his 
 having been armed and ready for this, his life would have been 
 taken. The Assembly adjourned until next day, and then per- 
 fected its organization by electing a full Republican set of 
 ofilcers. The ring being satisfied that the election of Conover 
 Speaker meant to turn no member out of the Legislature who 
 had been legally elected, held a consultation to have the Com- 
 mittee on Privileges and Elections elected by the Assembly in 
 place of by appointment of the Speaker, but the expediency of 
 this proposition was doubted by Osborn, as it would only exas- 
 perate the anti-ring element and probably cause them to vote for 
 a Democrat for the Senate rather than for him. So this propo- 
 sition was abandoned, and Osborn proposed to await the 
 appointment of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, and 
 then capture it by money. Before the committee was appointed 
 several petitions giving notice of contests were presented in 
 favor of Republicans, looking to unseat Democratic members. 
 Conover, who, knowing that great pressure would be brought to 
 bear on the Republican members of the committee to unseat 
 Democrats, and that the unseating of Democratic members 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 267 
 
 would defeat himself for the Senate, and elect Osborn, was 
 much perplexed as to whom to rely upon among the Repub- 
 licans who would withstand Osborn's money and vote with the 
 Democratic minority of the committee. He finally approached 
 the author of this work, and said to him that he had made up his 
 mind to appoint him chairman of the Committee on Privileges 
 and Elections, and that he hoped he would not vote to unseat 
 any member of the Legislature who had been honestly elected. 
 The author gave him to understand that neither money nor 
 promises would cause him to swerve from the path of duty. 
 Poor Conover gave a long sigh and departed On the loth 
 of January the Assembly met at its usual hour, and the 
 standing committees were announced by the speaker. The 
 Committee on Privileges and Elections was Wallace, of Leon, 
 chairman; Montgomery, of Madison; McKinnon, of Washing- 
 ton ; Hannah and Elijah — three Republicans and two Demo- 
 crats. The Democrats were well pleased with the appointment 
 of the committees, they having the chairmanship of the Judiciary 
 Committee — H. L. Mitchell, of Hillsborough. The ring now 
 saw that there was work ahead to be done, and they went about 
 it w^ith a will. Nothing of interest was done for several days, 
 the Legislature awaiting the message from the Governor. 
 
 The message of Governor Hart was received eight days 
 after the meeting of the Legislature, and every one looked for a 
 very able paper, more especially on account of such delay. The 
 message, when received, to the utter astonishment of those who 
 believed Hart to be an able man, was the poorest and most 
 sickly State paper that had ever been delivered to the Legisla- 
 ture by any Governor of Florida. The most important subject 
 in the message was his reference to the scrip that a former 
 Legislature had ordered to be destroyed, some of which found 
 its way back into the State treasury and was again paid. He 
 said: "I am informed that there is an uncertain amount of old 
 State scrip out that has been paid, but is being brought in and 
 paid again. Why it was not cancelled, when paid, how it got 
 out of the treasury again, and how much there is of it out — 
 whether $10,000, or $300,000, or $400,000 — is uncertain. It 
 is known that some old scrip that was in the office has been 
 
268 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 destroyed by burning, but I am not informed how much." 
 
 The ring, though defeated in the election of speaker of the 
 Assembly, lost no time in arranging Hart's Cabinet. They 
 insisted that no colored man was fit for a Cabinet position but 
 Jonathan C. Gibbs, and he, they insisted as pre-arranged, had 
 attempted to count in Bloxham, a Democrat, as against Hart, a 
 Republican ; and while some of the more ignorant of the colored 
 brothers were loud in denunciation of Gibbs for this supposed 
 treachery, they contended that if Gibbs was the only colored 
 man qualified for| a position in the Cabinet, he should be 
 appointed by Hart and then watched. Hart and the ring pro- 
 tested against this proposition until the colored brother held a 
 caucus and demanded Gibbs' appointment, with a threat that 
 the colored members would combine with the Democrats and 
 clog the wheels of the administration. The colored of both 
 branches of the Legislature went to Hart in a body and in- 
 timated their intention, whereupon Hart became frightened and 
 conceded their demand, and Gibbs was appointed Superin- 
 tendent of Public Instruction of the State. The yielding of this 
 point by Hart and the ring was a signal for the colored brother 
 to be defiant as to Halt's threat, thereafter made, that he would 
 use the whole power of his administration against any member 
 of the Legislature, for any office or for re-election to the Legis- 
 lature, who should dare to vote for any one for United States 
 Senator whom he, Hart, considered not in full accord with his 
 administration, which was then wholly controlled by Osborn and 
 his ring. The balance of the Cabinet consisted of Samuel B. 
 McLin, Secretary of State; Charles Foster, Treasurer; C. A. 
 Cowgill, Comptroller; William Archer Cocke, Attorney-General; 
 Dennis Eagan, Commissioner of Lands and Immigration, and 
 John Varnum, Adjutant-General. The Cabinet was a very fair 
 one, wiih the exception of McLin, who was a deserter from the 
 rebel army, and being self-condemned for his own treachery for 
 having volunteered in the Confederate service and then deserted 
 before he smelled gunpowder, he was satisfied that neither the 
 Democrats nor the carpetbaggers cared to trust him, and he was 
 therefore the tool of the most rabid and unprincipled members 
 of the carpetbag dynasty of the State. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 269 
 
 Osborn and his ring followers, convinced by the independ- 
 ent action of the colored members of the Legislature in demand- 
 ing the appointment of Gibbs, that they would have hard work 
 to secure permanently any considerable number of them to vote 
 for Osborn, began open bribery to carry their project through. 
 There were three caucuses held every night until the Senator 
 was elected. Osborn and his bribe offerers assembled nightly at 
 the old City Hotel, and reported to each other what progress was 
 being made to secure votes for the chief, and to devise other 
 plans that might be a sort of auxiliary to the main plan of 
 bribery. S. B. Conover and his followers held nightly caucuses 
 over the old bar room once run by Scott, while spies were sent to 
 the Osborn den who reported nightly what was done and said in 
 the Osborn caucuses. The Democrats held nightly caucuses in 
 the Capitol, and some of them reported nightly to Conover and 
 his caucus what had taken place and what was said by the Dem- 
 ocrats. The Osborn managers having convicted C. H. Pearce 
 for bribery, and expecting that Pearce would make this the op- 
 portunity to get even with them, contrived a new plan of bribery 
 in which they could not be detected. Before the voting for Sen- 
 ator commenced some of Osborn's leading strikers would place 
 in the hands of such colored members as they thought money 
 could control, an envelope sealed, saying at the same time, 
 *'Take this, I know it will do you some good." After the re- 
 cipient had had a reasonable time to open the envelope and count 
 the money, the fellow who gave it would have occasion to run on 
 him again and engage in the praise of Osborn, winding up by 
 expressing the hope that the recipient would vote for him when 
 it became necessary to secure his election. These sealed envel- 
 opes generally contained from two hundred and fifty to three 
 hundred dollars. If the member was very influential this dose 
 of two hundred and fifty would be repeated, and if that did not 
 get the patient in such condition as to enable him to talk Os- 
 born, a third dose was given sufficiently large to double the 
 other two. This would enable the patient to vote for and talk 
 Osborn for some considerable time ; but it will be seen hereafter 
 that these double doses did not effect a permanent restoration to 
 Osborn. Conover and the notorious Fred Dockray had entered 
 
270 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 into an agreement that one or the other should be elected to the 
 Senate. Dockray had lots of the Government money, which he 
 had stolen while Collector of Customs at the port of Jackson- 
 ville, which he was using lavishly to secure the election of him- 
 self or Conover, and Osborn had all he could do for some time 
 to hold the colored members whom he had secured through con- 
 quest of money in the different counties. After Dockray saw 
 there was really no chance for himself he told Conover he must 
 hold up as he saw no way of getting his money back! This was 
 a gala time for the colored brother, and those of Osborn's strikers 
 whose pockets had suffered famine for want of fat P>deral offices. 
 The first Senatorial caucus held by the ring revealed the fact that 
 Osborn had been ''weighed in the balance and found wanting." 
 and that those whom he had confidently relied upon to support 
 him were voting for some one else. Another discouraging feat- 
 ure of the general caucus was the absence of some Republican 
 members who would never attend the Osborn or general caucus. 
 The ring, after failing in their attempt to force these Republican 
 members into the caucus, turned their attention to the Committee 
 on Privileges and Elections. They planned to turn seven Dem- 
 ocrats out of the lower branch of the Legislature and put in 
 seven men — be they Democrats or Republicans — whether 
 elected or not, who would promise to vote for Osborn first and 
 last after being seated. They set the masses of the colored men 
 around Tallahassee at work to intimidate those Republican mem- 
 bers of the Committee who were not inclined to unseat mem- 
 bers of the Legislature to secure the election of Osborn. The 
 freedmen were told that the Democrats whose seats were con- 
 tested were " Ku-Klux" and held their seats at the price of in- 
 nocence of negroes, and that any negro who would refuse to un- 
 seat them ought to be mobbed or secretly murdered. A band of 
 freedmen was regularly employed to follow, watch and brow- 
 beat the chairman of the committee, who, at every meeting of 
 the committee, had voted with the two Democrats to postpone 
 the report until after the Senatorial contest. The committee had 
 examined the testimony in each contest and found that there was 
 no testimony on which to base a real contest ; that the contests 
 had been gotten up solely in the interest of Osborn. The chair- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 27 I 
 
 man of the committee deemed it advisable to be accompanied by 
 friends in going to and from the Conover caucuses at night, and 
 often passed the employed band of freedmen, who uttered curses 
 and threatenings against him for not having unseated Democrats 
 and put in '' 'Publicans." The Osborn jacobins at this juncture 
 were desperate, and seemed willing to commit almost any crime 
 to secure the election of their chief ; and they now having ex- 
 hausted all the fury of threats and intimidation on the chairman 
 of the Committee on Privileges and Elections to no advantage 
 concluded to change the base of operations and to attack him 
 with moral suasion — promises of money and property. Honest 
 W. K. Cessna, of impeachment notoriety, w^as appointed by 
 Osborn to use money and promises, and O. Morgan was ap- 
 pointed to use property. W. H. Gleason had specific work laid 
 out for him. Under the Osborn Constitution the Seminole In- 
 dians in the Southern part of the State were entitled to one rep- 
 resentative in each branch of the Legislature. As the Seminoles 
 reside mostly in the counties of Dade and Monroe, and as 
 Gleason was then a member from the county of Dade, and was 
 supposed to know many of the members of the tribe, he was to 
 bring a man from somewhere, with high cheek bones, tall and 
 dark-skinned, and represent him as belonging to the Indian 
 tribe. 
 
 At the proper time the man was brought before the com- 
 mittee and introduced by Gleason as J. King, one of the Semi- 
 nole Indians from the everglades. It was very amusing to see 
 this fellow trying to act, look and talk Indian. The committee 
 could not understand anything he said, but Gleason talked for 
 him. It was evident to the committee that the fellow was 
 either a cracker from some of the southern counties, or that he was 
 picked up about Jacksonville to be used for the purpose and was 
 well paid for his attempt to simulate an Indian. It was some 
 few days before the committee reported on the case of 
 the Indian, and he seemed to be very anxious for ad- 
 mission. This white Indian one day approached the chair- 
 man of the committee and said to him m good English that he 
 would give him twenty dollars to report in his favor. The chair- 
 man thereupon inquired of him could he not talk more English. 
 
272 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 He said "No, that would be known." The chairman gave him 
 to understand that he cared nothing for his twenty dollars, but 
 that the committee would report in a few days. Of course the 
 committee reported against him, and sent him home. 
 Up to this time the chairman of the committee had not been 
 directly approached on the subject of unseating Democrats for 
 money. Honest Cessna now goes about his worR. The contest 
 for Senator was waxing warm, and the ring saw no way to steer 
 clear of defeat. John E. Proctor, one of the rebellious members 
 from Leon county was given seven hundred dollars by one of 
 the Osborn managers to be used to influence the chairman to 
 report in favor of the contestants. Proctor took the money and 
 bought two mules for his farm and requested the chairman to 
 stand his ground. Cessna, thinking that the seven hundred 
 had somewhat softened the heart of the chairman, waited until 
 the Lord's day to make his last grand effort to elect Osborn to 
 the Senate. He quietly rej^aired to the residence of the chair- 
 man and requested a private interview. He presented the fol- 
 lowing proposition: That the Republican members of the com- 
 mittee should unseat William Peeler, of Clay county, Democrat, 
 and seat Henry Brown, a Republican; unseat W. W. Harkins, 
 of Lafayette county, Democrat, and seat William D. Sears, Re- 
 publican; unseat Joshua H. Lee, of Hamilton county, Demo- 
 crat, and seat James Burnan, Republican; unseat Emory Vann, 
 of Taylor county. Democrat, and seat Mark Richardson, Repub- 
 lican; unseat Samuel Hope, of Hernando county, Democrat, and 
 seat Authur St. Clair, Republican; and seat J. King, the Semi- 
 nole Lidian. If this proposition was consented to by the chair- 
 man, he was to receive one thousand dollars, which amount was 
 counted out to him by Cessna in hundred dollar packages and 
 shaken in his face, with the promise of any office that he should 
 desire. This amount of money to a poor man was very hard to 
 refuse; but the chairman, remembering the promise he had made 
 to the white friends who had prevented his being swindled out of 
 his election, informed Cessna that the testimony in these cases 
 would not sustain such action on the part of the committee. 
 Cessna also informed the chairman that O. Morgan desired to 
 see him Monday morning. Before the meeting of the Legisla- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 273 
 
 ture on Monday, Morgan met the chairman and wanted to know 
 whether he had seen Mr. Cessna or not, and was answered in 
 the affirmative. Morgan asked if their meeting was satisfactory, 
 and if so, he desired to say that the large house just behind the 
 City Hotel was his property, and that he would give him clear 
 title to the same. The chairman had now become threadbare, 
 and he informed Morgan that neither money nor" property would 
 change his opinion as to those contests. The house and lot 
 which was thrown into the attempted bargain was valued at 
 three thousand dollars. Conover, who had learned of these 
 negotiations, became very much alarmed, and from that 
 time to the end of the contest the chairman, for the most of his 
 time when he was not asleep, was honored with the presence of 
 the vigilant doctor. At one stage of the contest a false alarm 
 got out that the chairman had yielded to the tempter, and Cono- 
 ver came rushing to him almost with tears in his eyes, and said: 
 "My whole fortune is in your hands, and if you go back on me 
 by turning Democrats out of the Legislature, who were legally 
 elected, it will be looked upon as my act, as you are my friend, 
 which will drive every Democrat from me. Do you want any 
 money?" The chairman told him if he had any money to spend 
 to go and buy those who desired to sell; that he should stand 
 firm without money. This answer certainly lightened the bur- 
 den on Conover's heart, and he went flying to other parts of the 
 battlefield to use the money where it would do the most good. 
 The ring having failed to get up a contest in Brevard county, 
 by any RepubUcan, A. D. Johnson was brought forth to con- 
 test the seat of Robert A. Harden, Democrat. Both these men 
 were Democrats, but the ring had made a bargain with Johnson 
 that they would seat him if he would promise to vote for Osborn. 
 Johnson promised to do this, and so they attempted to seat him. 
 It will be seen that they desired to unseat six legally elected 
 members and put in one white man as an Indiah, which would 
 give the ring seven votes for Osborn independent of the five 
 votes from Leon and two from Columbia county who would not 
 be brought to Osborn's support. The ring, after being forced to 
 the conclusion that they could not capture the chairman of the 
 Committee on Privileges and Elections, called a meeting in the 
 
274 CARPET15AG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 City Hotel, at which M. L. Stearns presided. At this meeting it 
 was decided that all the members of the ring should vote for 
 James D. Westcott, jr. for Senator, under the understanding 
 with Westcott that if elected they who voted for him should have 
 the offices— in other words the bargain was that the Osborn con- 
 spirators should control the Federal offices. By some means this 
 news was communicated to Capt. Charles E. Dyke, then editor 
 of the Flo7'idian. The news v>^as brought to Dyke by one of the 
 Democratic members, who thought' this a good thing. Dyke 
 went to work to prevent the consummation of this bargain for 
 the reason, he said, that it would be a dangerous thing to have 
 a smart man like Westcott go to the United States Senate in the 
 interest of a corrupt ring. Those Republicans who had sworn 
 vengeance against Osborn had made up their minds to vote for 
 William D. Bloxham before they would see Westcott elected by 
 the ring, and Bloxham would have been elected had it not been 
 for Dyke, who used his influence in favor of Conover. When 
 Dyke came to Conover's rescue he had given up the fight for 
 himself, but was trying to hold his friends together to get them 
 off his hands to the highest bidder. His colored friends did not 
 propose to be disposed of in that way, and so they had a talk 
 with Bloxham, and without any promises from him promised to 
 vote for him if so casting their votes would elect him. This 
 proposition was mide to Bloxham the night previous to the elec- 
 tion. Dyke's work had been so thoroughly cemented the night 
 before, and the colored brother, who had made all he could 
 out. of Osborn and the whole concern, had become weary of the 
 nighdy whisky, oyster, and cigar festivities, brought the contest 
 to a close on the 31st day of January, after a struggle of eleven 
 days, during which time there had been twenty-one ballots. 
 The last day of the voting for Senator the members of the ring 
 became greatly excited, and every exertion was made by them to 
 prevent the election. Just before the voting commenced one 
 of them rushed to W. G. Stewart, one of the members from Leon 
 county, and crowded an envelope filled with money into his 
 hand and requested him to use it as he pleased. Stewart, being 
 one of those members who would not take money for his vote, 
 undertook to hand it back to him, but he would not receive it. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN KLUklDA. 275 
 
 Stewart threw the envelope on the ground, whereupon the briber 
 told him he was a crazy man, picked up the envelope and put it 
 in his pocket. Proctor, who had appropriated seven hundred 
 dollars of Osborn's money, learning of the desire of this briber 
 to give away money, requested Stewart to inform him that he, 
 Proctor, would take all the money he had to give away; but 
 Proctor's light for Osborn had been hid under a bushel and 
 could not be trusted further. The joint session met at the usual 
 hour, and it was evident to every one that some great catastro- 
 phe was to take place, as the ring men and anti-ring men were 
 now at swords points. The first conflict of words was indulged 
 in by Chadwick, of Putnim, white carpetbagger, and W. G. 
 Stewart, colored, of Leon. Chadwick was denouncing the col- 
 ored men who were voting with the Democrats for Conover, and 
 
 Stewart in return denounced him for a nigger-hating 
 
 On this day there were five ballots taken, some member 
 
 of the ring moving to adjourn at the close of every 
 ballot; but the joint assembly refused to adjourn. On 
 the fifth ballot John R. Scott, of Duval, who had also worked 
 Osborn's pocket for all it was worth, now rose and denounced 
 Osborn and his ring followers and exposed in the open Assembly 
 the bargain between Westcott and the ring. Horatio Jenkins, 
 on the part of the ring, defended Osborn and the combination 
 which they had entered into, and reminded the Democrats that 
 this was (meaning Scott) part of the Chinese thunder from the 
 Constitutional Convention of 1868, and intimated that the elec- 
 tion of Conover meant negro supremacy. Scott was applauded by 
 the anti-ring men and Democrats, which showed that the death 
 knell of the ring had been sounded, while Jenkins drove the 
 remaining colored members who had previously opposed Cono- 
 ver to his support. This was amfdst the calling of the roll, and 
 the greatest excitement prevailed, and when tally keepers of the 
 Osborn-Westcott combination perceived that Conover had re- 
 ceived the necessaay number of votes, their pencils fell from 
 their hands as though they had a paralytic stroke. M. L. 
 Stearns, now Lieutenant-Governor, who by virtue of his office 
 presided over the joint assembly, now undertook to use his oflfi- 
 cial power to cheat the representatives of the people out of their 
 
276 CARPETnAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 victory over the ring. Senator John A. Henderson, who had 
 not voted for Conover, waited to hear what Stearns had to say. 
 Stearns then said that there was some mistake, and suggested a 
 re-call of the roll, while members of the ring began to move 
 around among the members for the purpose of bribery, if possi- 
 ble. Senator Henderson arose and said: "This man has been 
 fairly elected, and I demand fair play." Stearns soon saw what 
 would follow, and declared Conover elected Senator. When 
 the result of the vote was declared the scene in the joint assem- 
 bly was indescribable; anti-ring Republicans and Democrats 
 who had voted against Westcott could be seen and heard shout- 
 ing and shaking hands over their victory, while the members of 
 the ring, both in and out of the Legislature, seemed awe-strick- 
 en and utterly demoralized. This ended the Senatorial contest 
 in Florida in the year 1873. It will be seen that nineteen col- 
 ored members could not be controlled by the carpetbaggers to 
 support Westcott, and voted for Conover. The remaining six 
 of the twenty-five colored members voted scattering. — See Jour- 
 nal of Joint Assembly, 1873, page 132. 
 
 After the election of Senator the members of the ring, for the 
 sole purpose of crippling Conover's influence at Washington, 
 and not for the purpose of purifying elections of any kind — for 
 they were utterly incapable of that — had a resolution adopted 
 by the Assembly to investigate the reports of bribery of mem- 
 bers in voting for United States Senator. They attempted to 
 pack the committee by having it elected, thinking they might 
 be successful in bribing colored members enough to enable them 
 to so shape the report as not to implicate the bribed members, 
 while it should work to the injury of Conover. There is no 
 doubt that Conover did use some money to secure his election, 
 but the real wholesale bribery was carried on under the auspices 
 of the members of the ring. Chadwick, of Putnam, carpetbag- 
 ger, who had voted for the iron-handed Bisbee for United States 
 Senator, but who was ready to vote for Westcott whenever his 
 vote would elect, was put forward to get this resolution through. 
 The anti-ring members and the Democrats at once saw the 
 dodge, and united to elect a committee who would expose all 
 persons on whom they could get any clue who had attempted or 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 277 
 
 had been successful in offering or guilty of receiving a bribe. 
 M. W. Downie, a striker for General Sanford, appeared before 
 the committee and testified that Dockray had given Conover 
 money at different times, wl^ich Conover had spent in the Sena- 
 torial contest; at the time Westcott and the ring were making 
 their greatest fight Conover had gotten from Dockray eight hun- 
 dred dollars, which Conover divided into one hundred and one 
 hundred and fifty dollar packages and put these packages of 
 money into envelopes to give to members of the Legislature to 
 prevent them from voting for Westcott. When Dockray was 
 called he admitted having loaned Conover money, but he did 
 not seem to know how much. He said Conover put the money 
 in three or four packages and put it in envelopes, and that he 
 remarked to him at the time that he hoped Westcott would be 
 defeated. When Conover was called he said that he had been 
 in the habit of lending money to members of the Legislature 
 while he was -State Treasurer, and he had loaned some money to 
 members of the Legislature at this session. The committee be- 
 ing convinced that it was useless to undertake to prove bribery 
 by bribe-givers and bribe-takers, reported that they could find 
 no sufficient testimony upon which to spot the guilty parties. 
 
 The assembly, forced through the clamoring of the people, 
 passed a resolution relative to the disposition of the four mil- 
 lions of bonds issued in aid of the J., P., & M., railroad. Attor- 
 ney-General WiUiam Archer Cocke sent the following communi- 
 cation to the Govenor, who forwarded the same to each House 
 of the Legislature : 
 
 ''Having observed in the proceedings of the House of 
 Representatives that a resolution of inquiry relative to the four 
 millions of state bonds issued in aid of the Jacksonville, Pensa- 
 cola & Mobile Railroad Company has been referred to the 
 House Committee on Railroads, I desire to lay before your Ex- 
 cellency matters which have come to my knowledge, from 
 sources deemed to be reliable, relative to the disposition made 
 and proposed to be made of such bonds, which in my opinion, 
 show that immediate action is needed on the part of the govern, 
 ment of the State to protect its interest, and to prevent, if possi- 
 
278 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ble, the entire loss of the funds provided by law in aid of the 
 railroad. I send herewith a newspaper which contains an ac- 
 count stated to have been made by S. W. Hopkins & Co., of 
 New York, which account, I am informed, contains in many 
 respects correct statements of payments made by said firm, by 
 order of officers of the railroad company, from money received 
 by Hopkins & Co. from John CoUinson, of London, for 2,800 of 
 the State bonds which Hopkins & Co., when acting as agents of 
 the raih'oad company, sold to him. A portion of the amounts 
 charged in the account, I am informed, has never been paid. I 
 am not, of course, able to state with prescision what were the 
 actual payments made by Hopkins & Co. out of the funds, but 
 to the best of my information it exceeds six hundred thousand 
 dollars. Of this large amount I am satisfied, from examination 
 of the items in the account, not more than one hundred and 
 seventy-five thousand dollars were applied to the equipment, 
 construction or repair of the railroad. A large sum, about three 
 hundred thousand dollars, I am informed was paid to parties 
 from whom Milton S. Littlefield purchased shares of stock in 
 the Florida Central Railroad, and which stock he claims to be 
 his property. About fifty thousand dollars was paid to Aaron 
 Barnett on a contract made with him, by the said Littlefield, rel- 
 ative to the navigation and trade of the Chattahooche river, and 
 for steamboats. Fifty thousand dollars were paid to a certain 
 railroad in North Carolina on account of a large claim made by 
 it against said Littlefield. One hundred and four thousand dol- 
 lars were paid to J. B. Clarke, the brother-in-law of Littlefield, 
 part of which was on account of a judgement obtained by the 
 United States against the Pensacola and Georgia railroad. 
 Fifty thousand dollars were paid to G .W. Swepson, and about 
 twenty thousand dollars to a Tennessee bank, both of 
 which payments were on account of private transactions of 
 said Littlefield. I have specified the foregoing amounts of 
 money misai)propriated, basing the statement on particular and 
 reliable information as to the remaining sums charged in the ac- 
 count, whether paid or unpaid. I am informed that there are 
 likewise unjustifiable demands against the board fund, arising 
 out of transactions foreign to the purposes for which the bonds 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 279 
 
 were issued. It will be observed by the Legislature, upon ex. 
 amination of the account, that Hopkins & Co. admit a sale by 
 them of 2,800 bonds. The amount for which they give credit 
 on this account is nine hundred and ninety-seven thousand nine 
 hundred and twenty dollars ; the amount stated as received 
 per bond, one hundred pounds sterHng ; from this was deducted 
 ten pounds per bond for commissions, making on 2,800 bonds 
 twenty-eight thousand pounds sterling — about one hundred and 
 forty thousand dollars. There also was deducted twenty-four 
 pounds per bond — sixty-seven thousand two hundred pounds, 
 about three hundred and forty thousand dollars, which amount 
 was deposited in London to meet the first three instalments of 
 interest. It thus appears from the account, taking the price at 
 which the bonds are stated to have been sold as correct (which 
 will hereafter appear not to be so) that the amount received for 
 2,800 bonds equalled one milHon four hundred thousand dol- 
 lars ; and yet the total credit given in the account is nine hun- 
 dred and ninety-seven thousand nine hundred and twenty dol- 
 lars ; a subtraction of four hundred thousand dollars ; equal to 
 thirty-four per cent, of the amount for which the bonds are 
 stated to have been sold. Disastrous as the above transaction 
 may appear, there had taken place another shave by Hopkins 
 & Co. They received, in fact from, CoUinson one hundred 
 and thirty-eight pounds sterling per bond, instead of one hun- 
 dred pounds, equal to one million nine hundred and thirty 
 thousand dollars more than the net amount for which credit 
 was given by them, and five hundred and thirty ahousand dol- 
 lars more than the sum of money which Hopkins & Co. , in the 
 account stated as the net amount received by them for the 
 bonds. 
 
 'Tt will be seen by reference to a letter signed M. S. Lit- 
 tlefield, dated in London, November 14, 1870, that he offered 
 to sell the bonds to Hopkins & Co. for one hundred pounds 
 per bond. They, H. & Co., allege they had a right to credit 
 the bonds in their account at that rate because of this offer, 
 which they assert they accepted and acted on. Collinson states 
 in a bill in chancery, filed by him against Hopkins & Co., that 
 his contract for purchase of the bonds had been already com- 
 
2So CARPETBAG RULE IN FI>ORIDA. 
 
 pleted when Littlefield wrote the letter above stated; that Little- 
 field knew the fact; and it also appears, by a sworn statement 
 made by Hopkins & Co., that they did not accept Littlefield's 
 offer until two months after they had made the sale to Collinson. 
 "Twelve hundred of the four thousand bonds remained in 
 the hands of Hopkins & Co.. in October, 187 1, and are specified 
 in a deed of trust made by the company to F. H. Flagg and C. 
 L. Chase, and are hereby conveyed in trust to be applied solely 
 to the construction of the unfinished portion of the road. These 
 trustees laid before the members of the Legislature at its last 
 session a letter signed by them, in which they submit extracts 
 from this deed, state the objects of it, and assert that up to that 
 time they had not received any money from the sales of the 
 bonds. This was true at that time. Since then C. L. Chase, 
 one of said trustees, obtained a power of attorney from the offi- 
 cers of the railroad company, and under it placed one hundred 
 and ninety of the bonds in the hands of L. P. Bayne, of New 
 York, giving at same time Hopkins & Co. a release of all lia- 
 bility to the railroad company, as a means of obtaining posses- 
 sion of said bonds, one hundred and eighty-six of which Chase 
 sold to Collinson, and paid to Bayne about one hundred thou- 
 sand dollars in gold from proceeds, to be credited by Bayne on 
 an account which he sets up against the railroad for damages, 
 amounting to two hundred thousand dollars, for a breach of 
 contract, made by Littlefield with him, by which Bayne was to 
 be employed to sell the bonds. This claim Chase liquidated at 
 one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and secured to Bayne 
 the one hundred and ninety bonds. Chase, also, as attorney, 
 agreed, in addition to the cash paid to Bayne, to secure him out 
 of the future sales of such of the one thousand two hundred 
 bonds as he might get possession of, a further sum sufficient to 
 make up the amount of one hundred and fifty^ thousand dollars. 
 Chase, as agent of the road, also agreed to pay Bayne from the 
 sales of the bonds, and from other resources belonging to the 
 railroad, a further sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
 lars, which Bayne claimed he had advanced to Littlefield for the 
 purposes of the railroad, and for which he had in possession 
 about four hundred thousand dollars of State bonds, called six 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 281 
 
 per cent, bonds, as collateral, which bonds Bayne has been 
 pressing the Legislature to redeem for several years, and his 
 debt has been represented by those who supported his request, 
 as a debt due by the State for money advanced by Bayne for the 
 benefit of the State. Chase, also, as attorney for the road, 
 agreed with the agents of the Western Division of the Western 
 North Carolina Railroad, to apply two hundred thousand dollars 
 out of the proceeds of the sale of the 1,200 bonds so remaining 
 unsold, whenever payment therefor should be received from 
 CoUinson, to pay towards a debt due by Littlefield to said road. 
 The balance of said debt he agreed should be secured and paid 
 by the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad in like man- 
 ner as was agreed for the payment to Bayne. 
 
 "The debt claimed by the North Carolina Railroad to be 
 due to it by littlefield, arose out of his connection and that of 
 George W. Swepson with the business of said road. Littlefield 
 has been indicted in North Carolina on account of his acts as 
 President of such road. He was demanded of your predecessor 
 by the Governor of North Carolina, but owing, as I am in- 
 formed, to certain proceedings in our State courts, he was not 
 delivered up. 
 
 ''C. L. Chase, acting under the power of attorney, given to 
 him by the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad, and 
 also in his capacity as trustee u^ider the deed of trust, united in 
 New York in November or December last, with the agents of 
 the North Carolina Railroad, L. P. Bayne and others, and pro- 
 cured and caused to be entered in a court in the City of New 
 York a decree whereby the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile 
 Railroad and the trustees consented that the bonds remaining 
 unsold (except 324 which are to be returned to the State), are to 
 be delivered to Collinson, who is to have the right to buy at any 
 time inside of seven months. If Collinson does purchase, the 
 price of the bonds is to be paid by him to the National Trust 
 Company, of New York City, by it to be kept subject to the 
 said 4ecree, which provides that the money sliall be paid out as 
 follows: The North Carolina Railroad is to receive $200,000; 
 L. P. Bayne $60,000; Chase and his company, $80,000; Aaron 
 Barnett $30,000; Calvin Tjttlefield $25,000; Collinson's lawyer, 
 
252 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 Hopkins' lawyer, receiver etc., about $25,000. and sundry other 
 sums are to be paid amounting to more than the sum for which 
 the bonds will sell. I shall be able to lay before you a copy of 
 this decree. 
 
 "I am informed that the railroad company has assented to 
 the entry of judgments in Gadsden Circuit Court in favor of 
 Chase and his copartners, who were contractors to construct the 
 road to Mobile, doing business under the style of the Florida 
 Construction Company. The judgment is asserted to be given 
 for money, due the company for work done on the road and ma- 
 terial furnished. I am assured that of the amount for which 
 judgment was taken more than two-thirds is for money for which 
 the road is not liable, and as to matters disconnected with its 
 construction. I am also informed that Chase received of Bayne 
 nearly forty thousand dollars in connection with the sale of the 
 bonds, and part of the sum of one hundred thousand which 
 Chase secured to Bayne. The Florida Construction Company 
 caused the steamboats which the railroad company owned to be 
 attached in Georgia in a suit based on the said judgment, and 
 the boats were sold for a small sum. The railroad being thereby 
 unable to carry freight on the river, earnings fell short a very 
 large amount of what they should have been. Two other judg' 
 ments have been obtained in Gadsden county against the rail- 
 road, and on the first Monday eg* January last twenty miles of 
 the road, which had been levied on under executions issued on 
 the several judgments, were sold by the sheriff, and the pur- 
 chaser is in possession and claims to hold independent and free 
 of the lien of the State adverse thereto. No notice of this illegal 
 sale was given to the State authorities by the railroad company, 
 so far as I am informed, and no application was made to the 
 courts to prevent the sale. 
 
 "At the last term of the United States Circuit Court, held in 
 Jacksonville, certain persons, citizens of other States, obtained a 
 decree by the consent and assistance of the President, Milton S. 
 Littlefield, by which the marshal of the Northern District* is di- 
 rected to take possession of that portion of the line of road be- 
 tween Lake City and Quincy, and between Tallahassee and St. 
 Marks, and to sell the same at public outcry to satisfy and pay a 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 283 
 
 sum of four hundred thousand dollars, or thereabouts, being the 
 amount of principal and interest of bonds issued by the Pensa- 
 cola and Georgia Railroad which was made by the trustees of 
 the internal improvement fund. The holders of these bonds 
 were not paid because the trustees took the check of George W. 
 Swepson as cash, which check has never been paid. At the 
 time when the decree was rendered in the United States Circuit 
 Court, the road was in the hands of a receiver, appointed by the 
 Judge of the Second Judicial circuit, at the suit of certain parties. 
 The suit was afterwards dismissed, and thereupon, by order of 
 the Judge of the State Court, the receiver gave up possession of 
 the road and the United States Marshal took possession of it 
 under the authority of the decree of the United States Circuit 
 Court. A receiver had been in possession of the road under an 
 order made by the Judge of the Fifth circuit of the State, in a 
 suit brought by the trustees of the internal improvement fund, 
 but the Judge of the Second circuit treated the order as null, and 
 put his own receiver in possession, as before stated. I am in- 
 formed that a sale of the road will be made by the marshal in a 
 few weeks, unless prevented by judicial authority. It is thus 
 apparent that the lien of the State on a large portion of the line 
 of railroad owned by the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile 
 Railroad, is in danger of being rendered insecure, and that the 
 earnings will be applied by those who purchase the road at the 
 sale under the legal proceedings of the State. The entire scheme 
 of railway connection with Mobile will be thus destroyed and 
 the State greatly damaged. This result is not only the conse- 
 quence of the illegal acts of the officers of the Jacksonville, Pen- 
 sacola and Mobile Railroad, the result of the gross frauds in re- 
 spect to the bonds, but has been aided overtly and covertly by 
 the President of the road. That portion of line of the road be- 
 tween Lake City and Jacksonvile is also in the hands of, a re- 
 ceiver, and is operated by him as an independent road. This 
 suit in which the receiver was appointed was brought to estab- 
 lish the claim of a party who alleges that he has stock in the cor- 
 poration by which said part of the Hne of the Jacksonville, Pen- 
 sacola and Mobile Railroad was formerly owned, and alleges 
 that the Florida Central Railroad, which was formed by those 
 
284 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 who purchased said Hne of road at a sale thereof in 1869, by the 
 trustees, is still the owner thereof, and still in existence and cor- 
 poration, never was merged in the company called the Jackson- 
 ville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad; that the issuance of the 
 State bonds based on such a line of road was illegal, and that 
 the State has no lien on the road. 
 
 ''It will be seen that the State is deeply interested in this 
 question. The principal owner of the stock in the Flerida Cen- 
 tral Road is Milton S. Littlefield. He purchased the greater 
 part of the stock with money which he obtained from Hopkins 
 & Co. out of the proceeds of the sale of the 2,800 State bonds. 
 He has endeavored to keep separate the business accounts of the 
 line formerly owned by the Florida Central Road, and by his 
 votes and that of others he has kept on foot a separate set of 
 officers, such as President and Directors of said Central Road. 
 By the terms of the law under which the State bonds were issued 
 to the Pensacola and Mobile Railroad the road was to pay 
 interest to the State each six months, and the State v/as to pay 
 interest to the bondholders. The fund provided by law to 
 pay such interest was to be derived from the net earnings of the 
 road. It was asserted by the company that when the road 
 should be repaired, equipped and extended from Quincy to the 
 river — twenty miles — the earnings would be sufficient to pay 
 interest on the four million dollars. The result has been other- 
 wise. The earnings have not increased ; the road has been and 
 is out of repair ; the rolling stock has run down and been de- 
 stroyed by reason of the bad condition of the road. The 
 expenses have been great; enormous salaries, utterly beyond the 
 business done, have been paid, and a large amount of the earn- 
 ings has been spent in litigation and in improper and illegal 
 ways. The extra expenses which have been, by the placing of 
 the road at various times in hands of receivers of courts, should 
 have been avoided. Owing to these causes no interest has been 
 paio by the road to the State to enable it to pay the interest on 
 State bonds. I am assured, however, that all the interest coupons 
 up to this date have been cancelled, and that all will be delivered 
 to the State. I regret, however, to learn that this result has been 
 obtained by appropriating money paid by Collinson for bonds; that 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 285 
 
 already a sum of between four and five hundred thousand dollars 
 has been spent of the bond fund in that way. 1 respectfully sug- 
 gest that the Legislature should make provision for the protection 
 of the interests of the State in the public works it has loaned the 
 credit of the State to complete, and to compel those who have 
 fraudulently possessed themselves of money arising from a sale 
 of the bonds to refund it with interest; to defeat the schemes 
 that are on foot to work further wrong and injury to the State, 
 and insure proper application of the proceeds of the bonds and 
 the completion of the important enterprise itself, that adventurers 
 be no longer allowed to make the said public works a means of 
 raising enormous sums of money to be dissipated with reckless 
 profligacy. WILLIAM ARCHER COCKE, 
 
 Attorney General. 
 
 L. P. Bayne appeared before the Legislature in person at sev- 
 eral sessions and attempted to impress upon the minds of the 
 members of that body that the bonds which he held against the 
 State had been issued by the State to raise revenue for the sup- 
 port of the government. His position was that an Act should 
 be passed issuing one million State bonds bearing six per cent, 
 interest, to mature in thirty years. That these bonds were to be 
 sold for not less than seventy-five cents on the dollar, and the 
 first proceeds thereof be applied in taking up or redeeming the 
 bonds held by Bayne from Littlefield. It is evident that Bayne 
 and Littlefield understood each other in this scheme, and had 
 Bayne been successful Littlefield would have shared with him in 
 the spoils. Many of the less informed members of the Legisla- 
 ture, believing Bayne to be an "honest 'Publican from de 
 Norf," favored and voted for his proposition, which they did not 
 understand then, nor do they understand to this day. Some of 
 the influences brought to bear which induced the colored mem- 
 bers to vote for the measure were that Bayne had procured the 
 assistance of some of the influential white citizens around Talla- 
 hassee to advocate the passage of this measure. The Legisla- 
 ture, however, refused to pass it because Bayne did not pay 
 money enough to the carpet-bag members. Although this glar- 
 ing fraud was so fully exposed by Hart's Attorney-General, yet no 
 act was passed by the Legislature to recover the money fraudu- 
 
2 86 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 lently expended or appropriated by Litdefield. This was, of 
 course, natural, as Littlefield had so abundantly filled the cof- 
 fers of the carpet-bag members at the very inception of his fraud- 
 ulent career in Florida. 
 
 In the Senate a concurrent resolution, which originated in the 
 House and passed that body by almost unanimous consent, was 
 now passed, authorizing the appointment of a joint committee of 
 three on the part of the House and two on the part of the Senate 
 to examine and adjust the accounts of ex-Governor Reed, which 
 accounts had been referred to in his last annual message. L. G. 
 Dennis and A. D. McKinnon were appointed on the part of the 
 Senate, and W. F. Green, J. W. Johnson and J. C. Gass on the 
 part of the Assembly. After a thorough investigation the com- 
 mittee, on the T2th day of February, made the following report; 
 
 ''The undersigned joint committee, appointed to examine and 
 adjust the accounts of ex-Governor Harrison Reed, referred to 
 in his last message, beg leave to report that they have performed 
 that duty and find justly due to Governor Reed the sum of 
 twenty-four thousand dollars for legitimate and necessary ex- 
 penditures, principally under the Act of the Legislature of 
 August, 1868, which imposed heavy responsibilities for which 
 no adequate means were provided, and rendered necessary by the 
 disorganized and unsettled condition of the State during the first 
 year of his administration. They submit the accompanying bill 
 and unanimously recommend its passage. 
 
 (Signed) '' L. G. Dennis, 
 
 " Chairman." 
 
 In the Senate the bill accompanying the report of the com- 
 mittee to pay the Reed claim, was referred to another committee 
 with Horatio Jenkins, Governor Reed's old enemy, as chair- 
 man, and that committee reported back the claim and recom- 
 mended the passage of the bill to pay it. When the general 
 appropriation bill came up for consideration, L, G. Dennis 
 moved that $24,000 be appropriated for the relief of ex-Governor 
 Harrison Reed, in accordance with the recommendations of 
 report of Joint Special Committee, provided, that the Comp- 
 roUer shall deduct from this sum any amount which may be 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 287 
 
 found due the State on account of appropriations heretofore 
 made for contingent expenses of the Governor. This amend, 
 ment was lost by seven to nine. Shortly after a motion was 
 made to reconsider, and still another to lay the motion to 
 reconsider on the table. This motion would have been defeated 
 had it not been for the vote of M. L. Stearns, Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor. When the vote stood ten for and ten against laying on 
 the table, Stearns, remembering how Governor Reed's friends 
 had charged him with stealing the freedmens' meat and flour, 
 thought this a good opportunity to get even with him, and he 
 therefore gave the casting vote in favor of laying the amendment 
 on the table. This ended the Governor's claim in the Senate. 
 In the Assembly the bill paying Governor Reed's claim came up 
 for consideration, and after several amendments were offered 
 and defeated, it was referred back to the committee with 
 instructions to report at the next meeting of the Legislature. 
 Thus it was that this just claim was defeated. Twenty-four 
 thousand dollars was a small compensation for Governor Reed, 
 who had maintained peace and civil government in the State 
 under the most trying circumstances that had ever occurred in 
 its history. Corrupt men stirring up strife between the races 
 as a cloak with which to hide their corrupt acts from the public 
 gaze of the North ; some of the most rabid whites urging their 
 people to open resistance ; the' carpetbagger, after instigating 
 this teaching, encouraging the freedmen to strike the first blow ; 
 the Governor not only expended the small amount of the con- 
 tingent fund voted him by the Legislature, but the author was 
 personally cognizant of the thousands of dollars which Governor 
 Reed paid from his pocket to maintain peace and order in these 
 most trying days of the State's history. Although Governor 
 Reed left the executive chair a poor man, stripped of nearly all 
 his earthly wealth by means of which he had saved the State and 
 its people thousands, yea, hundreds of thousands of dollars and 
 at the same tmie prevented the general shedding of innocent 
 blood, yet he had the consolation to know that He who watches 
 over the destiny of all peoples, governments, kingdoms, and 
 principalities, would reward him as one who had deprived him- 
 self for the benefit of the many. 
 
288 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 At this session of the Legislature there was not that bitter- 
 ness on the part of the Democrats that had heretofore been 
 exhibited, for the reason that the cause had been removed. 
 Every session of the Legislature before that time had witnessed 
 the unseating of Democratic members who had been fairly 
 elected, which caused a great deal of bad blood. The civil 
 rights bill had passed at this session without any great opposi- 
 tion, the whites knowing that all the negro wanted was fair 
 treatment on railroads and steamboats — for he was not able to 
 eat in the hotels even if he had a desire to do so, and he could 
 not therefore give any trouble. Hart and the ring, anticipating 
 Conover's course as United States Senator, entered into a plot to 
 hold as many of the leading freedmen as possible. Conover 
 not being very popular, it would be necessary for him to appoint 
 more colored men to office than Hart. The ring and Hart were 
 determined to beat both Conover and the negro. The plan was 
 to send to the Senate the names of colored men to fill offices in 
 Democratic counties whenever it could be done without exposing 
 their object. Of course the Democratic Senators would object, 
 and thereupon enough carpetbag Senators would vote with them 
 to defeat the confirmation of the negro, and he having no way 
 of knowing who voted against him, was told that Governor 
 Hart and the ring did all that they could for him and had sent 
 his name to the Senate, but the Democrats had defeated his con- 
 firmation. One colored man, whose name was sent up to the 
 Senate from Waukulla County for Tax-Assessor, could scarcely 
 write his name, but he had great influence among the colored 
 brethren and could secure the delegation from that county in 
 political conventions. He was not confirmed, of course, but his 
 name being sent u]) secured him to the ring for all time to come. 
 
 This session of the Legislature was a very disastrous one for 
 the ring. Scarcely had they got over the shock of being routed 
 in the election of Senator before Hamilton Jay, Conover's secre- 
 tary while Treasurer, was elected State Printer, which took the 
 printing from the ring and placed it in the hands of Charles E. 
 Dyke, who had assisted Conover in his election to the Senate. 
 The Democrats who voted for Conover and the anti-ring Repub- 
 licans now held a secret meeting for the purpose of laying plans 
 
CARPETBACx RULE IN FLORIDA. 289 
 
 to continue their resistance to the ring for the next four years. 
 At that meeting was Conover, Purman, Dyke, C. H. Pearce 
 and a host of others. The Democrats seemed satisfied with the 
 good intentions of all the Republicans, but it was evident that 
 they had no faith or confidence in Mr. W. J. Purman. It was, 
 however, agreed in that meeting that while the members of each 
 party would retain their principles as such, they would continue 
 to co-operate until the ring and its methods should be utterly 
 swept from power in Florida. 
 
 After a session of forty-three days the Legislature adjourned 
 on the 1 9th day of February, sine die. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Death of Governor Hart. Stearns Assicmes the Reijis of Govern- 
 ment. He Attempts to Get Rid of Attorauey- General Cocke by 
 Stratagem. The Preliminary Party Returning Boards. 
 Stearns Attempts to Tie the Hands of a High Judicial Officer. 
 Freedmen to Support Stearns^ So- Called Administration. The 
 Election of Congressmen and Members of the Legislature of 
 1874. Frauds Cofjimitted in the Counties of Leon and Jeffer- 
 son. 
 
 After the adjournment of the Legislature of 1874, Governor 
 Hart was not able to attend to the duties of his office other than 
 to sanction any appointments which Stearns and other carpet- 
 baggers would desire ; and while these appointments were sup- 
 posed to be made by him, yet they were really made by Stearns. 
 Many of the names that had been rejected by the Senate were 
 now again appointed in utter violation of the constitution, 
 notable among which was E. C. Weeks, of Leon County, as 
 Sheriff. Weeks was now appointed Sheriff, which meant a death 
 struggle for the supremacy of the ring in Leon County and a 
 general war in the State to suppress all opposition to this formid- 
 able combination. 
 
 Governor Hart died in Jacksonville on the i8th of March, 
 1874, and was given a large and respectable funeral by all 
 classes of citizens. At the news of his death Stearns, although 
 in his proclamation expressing great sorrow at the departure of 
 the deceased Governor, yet the catastrophe so lighted up his 
 path to the United States Senate or to the gubernatorial chair 
 that he could not hide the ecstasy into which he had fallen. In 
 fact, a general rejoicing was indulged in throughout the carpet- 
 bag clan who were friendly to the ring, and social meetings 
 were held at which they renewed the pledge to each other for 
 fraud and plunder. Stearns was the most rotten piece of guber- 
 natorial timber that was ever placed at the helm of government. 
 
 Hart had attempted, during his administration, to force Attor- 
 ney General Cocke to resign his position in the Cabinet, but had 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 29 1 
 
 not succeeded. Stearns, now finding Cocke, by virtue of his 
 office, a member of the State Returning Board, undertook to get 
 rid of him by stratagem. He had an understanding with all the 
 members of Hart's Cabinet to resign, and present their resigna- 
 tions in a body. This was to be done apparently out of courtesy 
 to the incoming Governor, but the real object was to obtain 
 Cocke's resignation, which would be accepted, while he would 
 refuse to accept the resignations of the others. Everything was 
 made ready to capture this Samson. Cocke had not informed 
 the other members of the Cabinet that he would not be caught 
 in this trap, and it was hopefully expected that he would follow 
 in their wake. When the hour arrived to commence the play 
 Cocke was missing, but the others proceeded to the Executive 
 Chamber and presented their resignations to the chief, who, after 
 looking around for Cocke, deHvered a short address, refusing to 
 accept their resignations, which was full of disappointment and 
 distress. The play ended in failure, owing to the absence of the 
 leading performer. The resignation of Jonathan C. Gibbs, who 
 had been appointed by Governor Hart after a hard fight by the 
 colored brother, would have been accepted but for fear of the 
 same power. 
 
 Stearns, baffled in the effort to get rid of Cocke, now buckled 
 on his sword for the United States Senatorial contest. He and 
 other leading members of the carpet-bag ring met in Jacksonville 
 and agreed to make a determined fight in all the counties — and 
 especially in the Black Belt counties— to elect members to the 
 Legislature of 1875 who would vote for a Ring carpet-bagger for 
 the next United States Senator. To get Colonel Bisbee's indi- 
 vidual support in this fight he was put forward as the candidate 
 of the Ring ; but those who belonged to the inner ring, consist- 
 ing of Martin, Stearns, Wentworth and the "Litde Giant," L. 
 G. Dennis, were secretly arranging for the election of Stearns, 
 he agreeing to appoint Wentworth Lieutenant Governor as soon 
 as he should be elected United States Senator. 
 
 The Ring had succeeded in every one of the Black Belt coun- 
 ties in estabHshing county Republican committees in opposition 
 to the regular Republican committees. These committees were 
 even now denominated as the party returning boards of the 
 
292 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 different counties. These preliminary returning boards, when- 
 ever there were not enough Ring supporters in a precinct to 
 bring up a Stearns delegation, would appoint delegates from 
 other precincts to make up the full measure. A convict was as 
 suitable for their purposes as the most honest man. The pre- 
 cinct returning boards, through the instructions from the county 
 returning boards, would commit all frauds necessary to sustain 
 the county returning boards in throwing out any precinct that 
 was not solid for Stearns and the Ring managers. The county 
 returning boards were to superintend, perfect and defend all 
 frauds committed by the Ring, and make all necessary arrange- 
 ments for taking any case in which the preliminary boards had 
 failed to beat the masses to the State Returning Board, or to the 
 Central Committee, of which Mr. E. M. Cheney was still Chair- 
 man. The State Returning Board had a general supervision 
 over all the frauds of these county preliminaries and decided all 
 contests coming up from the counties in favor of the Ring ; and 
 the question of right or wrong, of majorities or minorities, found 
 no favor with this corrupt carpet-bag party Returning Board. 
 Another power assumed by this Returning Board was to prepare 
 all the papers and make good all the frauds committed upon the 
 ballot box in the different counties by the Ring, and define the 
 same before the State Board of Canvassers. Whenever opposi- 
 tion in any county was so strong among the freedmen that mon- 
 ey and intimidation was not sufficient to remove it the Ring 
 would propose a compromise by having the two committees to 
 meet jointly, and the side that could poll the most votes at the 
 meeting should have the Republican organization of the coun- 
 ty. To illustrate their desperate efforts when these committees 
 would meet, the most of whose members were freedmen, the 
 carpetbaggers would take members of the committee into their 
 houses, seat them at their tables for dinner or breakfast, and 
 give them money to come over before the committee took a 
 vote ; and when this failed, they would hand the freedman 
 some fine book to read (when perhaps the poor fellow did 
 not know *'B from a bull's foot") and tell him to sit 
 awhile in the parlor and enjoy himself; while they would retire, 
 locking the door behind themselves and rush to the committee 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 293 
 
 meeting. The other side in a great state of excitement would 
 hunt diligently for their lost statesman, who could not be found 
 until the committee had accomplished its work and the Ring 
 through fraud and false imprisonment had procured their legal 
 status in the county. Whenever the leading colored men had 
 pluck, they would resist the carpetbag organizations obtained in 
 this way, as was the case in the counties of Leon and Jefferson. 
 The Ring, in the attempt to capture the Black Belt counties, 
 did not hesitate to resort to anything, however disgraceful it 
 might be. In Duval county they drew the color line on honest 
 Dan Mclnnis, and circulated among the fieedmen the story 
 that Mclnnis wanted to get up a mulatto church. John R. 
 Scott now played the traitor to Mclnnis and supported the 
 charge made by the Ring. Joseph E. Lee, who had not been 
 long in the State, had been sent to Jacksonville from Talla- 
 hassee by Jonathan C. Gibbs, to A. A. Knight for employ- 
 ment. Lee was from Philadelphia, and knew nothing of the 
 condition of the State and the trouble through which the colored 
 people had passed by reason of carpetbag management. He, too, 
 joined in with the Ring against Mclnnis, who undoubtedly was 
 one of the most honest and upright colored men that was ever 
 elected to the Legislature in this State. Martin, Stearns and 
 many other leading members of the Ring came to Jacksonville 
 to assist in the fight made on Mclnnis, and succeeded in beat- 
 ing him in the county convention, and Lee and Scott were 
 nominated for the lower branch of the Legislature. Thus, 
 through falsehood and deception, the man who had been work- 
 ing for the people and against carpetbag treachery was de- 
 feated to make place for those whom the Ring managers could 
 control. 
 
 Archibald, a carpetbagger who had been appointed Judge 
 of the Fourth Judicial Circuit by a former Governor, had com- 
 plained that the salary of his office was not sufficient for him 
 to subsist on. Stearns and the Ring managers being very 
 anxious to get rid of W. H. Christy, their old enemy, as Super- 
 intendent of Schools in Duval county, and retain Archibald and 
 make a judicial ally of him, called a secret meeting in Jackson- 
 ville® to^ take into consideration this important subject. The 
 
2 94 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 meeting was attended by Stearns as Governor and other mem- 
 bers of the Ring, and a spirited discussion ensued. It was final- 
 ly decided that Archibald should be appointed Superintendent 
 of Schools in Duval, and Christy removed. The edict went 
 forth, and Archibald was appointed. It happened, however, 
 before Archibald qualified, a question then arose as to whether, 
 under the Constitution, -he could hold the office of Judge and 
 that of Superintendent of Schools at the same time. 
 
 Archibald, a carpetbagger who had been appointed Judge 
 of the Fourth Judicial Circuit by a former. Governor, had com- 
 plained that the salary of his office was not sufficient for him to 
 subsist on. Stearns and the Ring managers being very anxious 
 to get rid of W. H. Christy, their old enemy, as Superintendent 
 of Schools in Duval county, and retain Archibald and make a 
 judicial ally of him, called a secret meeting in Jacksonville to 
 take into consideration this important subject. This meeting 
 was attended by Stearns as Governor, and other members of the 
 Ring, and a spirited discussion ensued. It was finally decided 
 that Archibald should be appointed Superintendent of Schools in 
 Duval and Christy removed. The edict went forth, and Archi- 
 bald was appointed. It happened, however, before Archibald 
 qualified, a question arose as to whether, under the Constitution, 
 he could hold the office of Judge and that of Superintendent of 
 Schools at the same time. They cared nothing for the Constitu- 
 tion, but the real question was as to how Randall and Westcott 
 would decide the matter. It was therefore agreed to get the pri- 
 vate opinion of the Chief Justice, which was had. He informed 
 them that the very moment Archibald accepted the office of 
 Superintendent of Schools he vacated his office as Judge. A sec 
 ond meeting was called in Jacksonville, which brought Stearns 
 and his ring managers together. At this meeting it was decided 
 that one of Archibald's best friends should bea])pointed and that 
 Archibald draw the pay and perform the duties of the office. 
 This decree was at once put in execution by the appointment of 
 one Rollins, of Ft. George, in Duval county, as Superintendent, 
 and Archibald drew the pay and performed the duties of the 
 office. This little transaction worked nicely for several months, 
 when there appeared in the political horizon a speck of cloud 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 295 
 
 which kept increasing in size and ugliness until the terror-strick- 
 en carpetbaggers were forced to call Rollins to his post. J. W. 
 Bentley, a wealthy Democrat, being a member of the School 
 Board, contended that Rollins,the real Superintendent, could not 
 deputize Archibald to perform his duties. The carpetbaggers, 
 fearing that the matter might be made public, called Rollins to 
 his post. The Judge, however, was paid from the time he was 
 appointed — that is, from the time he was appointed preceding 
 RoUins's appointment. Whether the Judge continued to receive 
 the salary of Superintendent after the storm created by Bentley 
 was over, is not known, but it is presumed that a fair division 
 was made of the salary, as he did not resign the judgeship. 
 
 The lines between the Ring and anti-Ring element in the 
 Republican party were now drawn more distinctly than were the 
 lines between the Democratic and Republican parties. Colored 
 men in the Black Belt counties, soiie of whom could scarcely 
 write their names, had been appointed Justices of the Peace, and 
 were now called upon to use their authority to compel the freed- 
 men to swear allegiance to Stearns. False charges were trumped 
 up and they were carried before these Justices — the Sheriffs in 
 some counties assisting in getting up the charges. The colored 
 defendant was often conveyed to jail secretly, and after being 
 safely lodged in prison would be told by the Sheriff that if he 
 would support Stearns and the Ring he should be set at liberty. 
 We take for illustration the following: In Leon County the op- 
 position to Stearns and the Ring was more powerful than in any 
 other county, for the reason that the colored leaders in opposi- 
 tion to the Ring in that county had more pluck Two young 
 colored men who were natives of the county, had been sent 
 to school in Georgia, and had come back with a fair education. 
 Of course when they came back to the county they had sufficient 
 intelligence to cast their fortunes with the anti-Ring freedmen. 
 They, being natives, had great influence with the freedmen. The 
 Ring discovered this fact, and undertook to buy them off and 
 bring their influence to Stearns. One of these young men, 
 James D. Thompson, now an attorney at law, was paid some 
 fifty dollars to go over to the Ring. He received the money 
 very thankfully, and then went to the livery stable, hired a horse 
 
296 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 and buggy, and went out to a public meeting where he exposed 
 the Sheriff — Major E. C. Weeks, carpetbagger — who had paid 
 him the money. This action on the part of Thompson had the 
 effect of greatly injuring the Ring in that county. A few days 
 after, Thompson was arrested and lodged in jail by the Sheriff 
 without any complaint having then been made against him. 
 Thompson gave bonds, and was attempting to proceed against 
 the Sheriff for false imprisonment. This was discovered by the 
 Sheriff and Thompson was again arrested, when he then filed a 
 petition before Judge J. D. Westcott, one of the Supreme Judges, 
 for a writ of habeas corpus^ which was at once granted, and be- 
 fore the Sheriff had time to fix things up Thompson was before 
 the court. The Judge at once inquired into the cause of Thomp- 
 son's imprisonment, and found that the Sheriff had no commit- 
 ment or other authority upon which to hold him. In the peti- 
 tion for the writ of habeas corpus Thompson had prayed that a 
 summons duces tecum be issued to one De Vaughn, a colored Jus- 
 tice of the Peace, to show whether he had issued any warrant 
 against him. De Vaughn made his appearance before Judge 
 AVestcott, and he and the Sheriff being separated, and not al- 
 lowed to hear each other's evidence, De Vaughn swore that he 
 had given the Sheriff a commitment for Thompson on account 
 of an affidavit taken in his court against him, but could not pro- 
 duce the affidavit, nor could he tell the nature of the complaint 
 nor by whom made. The Judge took this testimony in writing. 
 When the Sheriff testified, he stated that De Vaughn had not 
 given him a commitment for Thompson, and that he had arrest- 
 ed Thompson on suspicion. Thompson was discharged, and 
 when the Grand Jury met it happened that a majority of it was 
 composed of Democrats and anti-Ring freedmen. Westcott ap- 
 peared before the Grand Jury and presented this testimony. 
 De Vaughn was indicted for perjury. AVhen he was arraigned 
 before the court for trial, a jury was impanneled of the most ig- 
 norant and dishonest of the colored men, all blacks — in fact, 
 they were picked for their special notoriety in the community as 
 cow, hog and chicken thieves, and kept around the court house 
 and up and down the streets of Tallahassee, whiskied, fed and 
 paid to uiduce the masses to sustain Stearns and the Ring. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 297 
 
 Judge Westcott's testimony against De Vaughn had no more 
 effect upon the minds of this so-called jury than a drop of fresh 
 water would have upon the Atlantic ocean to affect its saltness. 
 De Vaughn was acquitted after the jury had spent some time in 
 room, though during the time spent there they were not delib- 
 erating upon the testimony and the law given them by the Court, 
 but deliberating as to who they could get to write their verdict. 
 Finally the Deputy Sheriff wrote the verdict and signed the name 
 of the foreman. This was a grand victory for Stearns — the sav- 
 ing this perjured colored brother from the State prison, and all 
 the cow, hog and chicken thieves throughout the county and 
 State, as the news was conveyed to them, shouted hurrah for 
 Stearns. This is only one iaiperfect sample (but the imperfec- 
 tion consists in not being able to give the full details of the vic- 
 tory) of the many acts of oppression the|people of Florida under- 
 went while passing through the fiery furnace of carpet-bagism. 
 
 The Northern machine politicians assert that it was the in- 
 competence and unfaithfulness of the negro voter to the Repub- 
 lican party that brought about the unhealthy condition of things 
 which made the solid South, — it was these and kindred acts 
 of the carpetbaggers which furnish the key to unlock the door 
 that reveals the secrets of the solid South, while these very car- 
 petbaggers were sustained by the Northern machine poHticians. 
 From the beginning to the end of Stearns' so-called administra- 
 tion it was contaminated with packed juries for political pur- 
 poses, and during the last two years of his term it became a 
 patent fact that scarcely a person brought before the courts in 
 the Black Belt counties could be convicted from the fact that the 
 petit juries were mostly composed of the very worst element 
 among the freedmen — that element that made its living by steal- 
 ing pigs, chickens, cows, and other property from the whites 
 and the more industrious freedmen. When an acquittal could not 
 be had in the most conclusive case of larceny by reason of some 
 honest freedman or some white man on the jury, the thieves on 
 the jury, or those who sympathized with the thief, would cause 
 a mistrial, which, in most cases would end in an acquittal. So 
 far as the juries and the ministerial officers were concerned, the 
 courts for the last two years of Stearns' administration were mere 
 
298 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 political clubs for the purpose of securing his election. The peo- 
 ple, both black and white, became disheartened on account of 
 the loss of Stock through thieft and almost gave up in some 
 sections the industry of stock-raising, which, for some years 
 ruined the Black Belt counties, and brought those who 
 owned the lands in debt, as well as the freedmen, who had 
 to get the landlord or merchant to send off and buy every pound 
 of meat that they ate. 
 
 The Congressional delegation, with the exception of Abijah 
 Gilbert, now being against the Ring, they determined to make a 
 desperate fight to secure both Congressmen, the United States 
 Senator, and' as many members of the Legislature as possible 
 preparatory to gaining control of the entire Federal patronage, 
 or at least to so cripple Conover as to leave him with no influ- 
 ence with the President. The Democrats nominated Judge Fin- 
 ley in the Second Congressional District, and J. T. Walls com- 
 pletely cleaned out the Ring in that District and was nominated. 
 John A. Henderson then resided in Leon county. The notori- 
 ous Purman, then a member of Congress from the First Congress- 
 ional District, was determined to be renominated ; but the Ring, 
 with Stearns at its head, could not afford to have him go back to 
 Congress after having betrayed them and gone in with Conover. 
 The returning boards of the party had been instructed in all the 
 counties in this District to send anti-Purman delegates ; and 
 whenever they could not get people enough together to hold a 
 convention, they were to appoint delegations and send them up 
 to the District Convention. This was accordingly done. The 
 astute Purman hearing of this fact, so arranged things as to cap- 
 ture the convention, the delegates sent up by the returning 
 boards to the contrary notwithstanding. The convention was 
 €alled to order and an anti-Ring delegate elected as chairman. 
 A full set of officers was elected, all of whom were anti-Ring, 
 and a committee on credentials appointed. The convention 
 then took a recess to await the report of the committee on cre- 
 dentials. When the convention reassembled it found that the 
 Ring had captured the State Assembly Hall in which they had 
 assembled, and had put a Ring chairman in the place of the one 
 elected by the convention. When the anti-Ring delegates at- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 299 
 
 tempted to enter a general mob began. The scene was now in- 
 describable. Knives, pistols, clubs and everything that could 
 be used for head-breaking, were sought after as eagerly as though 
 the life of the seeker depended upon the discovery of the article 
 sought, and this was about the case. The poor ignorant freed- 
 men knocked each other down with clubs and broke each others 
 heads, until there was not left a desk in the Assembly chamber 
 but had lost from one to all its legs to be used upon the heads 
 and bodies of the freedmen in the defence of the most de- 
 ceptive and corrupt set of men that have ever planted foot on 
 Southern soil. Stearns, being at the head of the government, 
 ordered Purman and his followers from the capitol, and threat- 
 ened to call out the militia (most of whom were disreputable col- 
 ored persons lying around to intimidate other freedmen into the 
 support of Stearns) if they should refuse to go. Purman called 
 his convention in the public street and then nominated himself 
 for Congress. The Ring and Stearns had promised to nominate 
 Jonathan C. Gibbs, then in Stearns' Cabmet; but they were 
 afraid to nominate him, as they thought he might be able to 
 whip Purman out of the field and get to Congress, when, remem- 
 bering how the Ring had treated himself and Governor Reed, this 
 elephant might, with his heavy black foot, [be able to crush them 
 worse than Purman could. Robert Meacham, who had always 
 been completely controlled by the Ring, was nominated as the 
 Ring candidate. Mr. Gibbs, who had always opposed Purman 
 and his methods, both in Jackson county and in his former nomina. 
 tion to Congress, was in perfect health before the meeting ot the 
 convention and during its sitting. He had just finished deliver- 
 ing a powerful speech against Purman in the Stearns' convention, 
 reacapitulating all his cruelty. He went home and ate a hearty 
 dinner, after which he suddenly died. It was whispered and 
 generally believed that he was poisoned by some of the carpet- 
 baggers, because they dreaded his growing popularity ; but 
 whether it was the Ring or Purman wing, was not ascertained. 
 The contest now opened in the Black Belt counties in West and 
 Middle Florida for Ring supremacy. Osborn, and other mem- 
 bers of the Ring being interested in the scheme of the Great 
 Southern Railroad, and having hopes that the scheme would be 
 
300 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 successful, had passed through the Legislature a general bill for 
 the incorporation of railroads and canals. This bill authorized 
 the arrest and imprisonment of any person who allowed stock to 
 walk on any railroad. Martin was Speaker when the bill passed 
 and Stearns presided over the Senate at the same time, and these 
 officers of course signed the bill. The Leon county delegation 
 had always made it a point to vote against all railroad bills that 
 they did not understand, and this was one which they had voted 
 against. They expected a fight with Stearns and the Ring, and 
 saved this little campaign document to be used in^the proper time. 
 Purman was hard pushed by the Ring, until the author of this 
 work informed him of this law, which had been voted for by all 
 the members of the Ring in the Legislature ; and he at once 
 made use of it in his speeches. He would read the law and then 
 explain it as an act aimed at the freedmen by Stearns and other 
 members of the Ring. At Chattahoochee, in Gadsden county, 
 Stearns and Martin had a cart-load of guns brought to a pub- 
 lic meeting to be used against Purman and his followers. 
 They had fed the freedmen on so much bad whisky that they 
 came near getting themselves killed. The freedmen became 
 uncontrollable and commenced shooting indiscriminately in 
 every direction, routing Stearns, Martin and Purman, and run- 
 ning them away from the meeting. Purman returned later in 
 the evening and called a lot of colored women together, and 
 after giving each of them some money, he said to them that he 
 was a good "Publican," and wanted supper; and to further as- 
 sure them that he was a good "Publican," told them that he did 
 not want to sleep with any white person, but wanted to sleep 
 with the blackest person in the neighborhood. John D. Harris, 
 a Methodist preacher, was along as one of Purman's canvassers, 
 and it looked as though he had been "dipped" three or four 
 times, and so Purman selected him to sleep with. This action 
 on the part of Purman had its desired effect, as most of the freed- 
 men spoke out and declared him to be a good "Publican," and 
 he had no more trouble in that part of the county. 
 
 Purman being one of the trained members of the Ring, was 
 confident that fraud at the ballot box would be attempted to de. 
 feat him for Congress, so he had himself nominated in Jackson 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 30I 
 
 county for the Assembly. This was for a two-fold purpose — first, 
 to make what he could out of the election of U.S. Senator, which 
 was to take place at the coming session. Second, to intimidate 
 Stearns and cause him to desist from opposing him, Stearns fear- 
 ing that Purman would expose in the Legislature the rottenness 
 of his administration. The fight went on for several weeks, 
 when at length Stearns sued for peace. Meacham was then 
 taken out of the field by Stearns, and Purman was required to 
 pay the war debt, which was estimated at five hundred dollars. 
 Meacham said that as he had been the victim of Stearns' fight and 
 spent his own money, the benefits of the compromise should 
 inure to him. Purman told that he paid the five hundred dol- 
 lars to Stearns, and Meacham came out minus the five hundred. 
 Walls, in the Second District, was less fortunate than Pur- 
 man, as he had a secret enemy to fight. The Ring did not dare 
 to oppose him openly for fear of weakening themselves with the 
 mass of the freedmen; but they worked like heroes to defeat 
 him secretly. The Democrats that year did but very little to 
 carry the First District, but the watchful and still-hunting Finley 
 worked hard for his election in the Second District. For some 
 reas6n not altogether known, there was a falling off from the 
 Democratic vote in that district, and the canvass did not amount 
 to much more than organizing for 1876. Both Purman and Walls 
 were counted in, while Purman was also elected to the Legisla- 
 ture. The leading colored men in the district did not support 
 Purman because they had any confidence in him, but because 
 he was the strongest man they could confront the Ring with. 
 Had Bloxham been nominated for Congress by the Democrats 
 that year, he would have defeated Purman. Judge Finley con- 
 tested the seat of Walls and was admitted into Congress. 
 Stearns and the Ring, anticipating that the Legislature would be 
 very close, and knowing that if Leon and Jefferson counties sent 
 up anti-Ring delegations to the Legislature they would be un- 
 able to pass plunder legislation, set to work to carry these coun- 
 ties at whatever cost. Thousands of dollars were expended in 
 these counties to defeat the anti-Ring regular Republicaw tickets, 
 and the whole power of the administration was brought to bear, 
 with now and then a tithe of recogaition from the State party 
 
30 2 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 returning board, and urging the election of the Ring tickets. 
 The freedmen were told that the Ring was in favor of 
 high taxes upon the lands of the ex-slaveholders so as 
 to compel them to sell these lands cheaply to the freedmen or 
 the State would take the lands for taxes and give them out to the 
 freedmen. They would tell the freedmen that the anti-Ring 
 members of the party were in favor of low taxes, so that the 
 whites could hold the land and rent them to the colored people 
 at high prices. While the better informed freedmen paid no at- 
 tention to this demagogism, there were quite a number of the 
 more ignorant class who believed these sayings were righteous 
 and that Stearns and the Ring were good 'Publicans, as they 
 wanted to give the colored brother land. The whites in these 
 counties seeing the great disadvantages under which the anti- 
 Ring nominees w^ere laboring, refused to put a legislative ticket 
 in the field, and advised the Democrats in Leon county to vote for 
 the anti-Ring Republican ticket. Stearns soon learned what had 
 taken place, and called his Ring followers together at Jacksonville. 
 In the caucus it was decided, if the anti-Ring ticket had any show 
 of election, fraud upon the ballot box should be resorted to as it 
 was at Yellow Bluff. It was also decreed that the County Commis- 
 sioners in these counties should appoint none but Ring inspectors 
 at the ballot boxes in these counties, except now and then a rep- 
 resentative of the Democratic party to keep down suspicion. 
 This order was carried out to the letter; inspectors were ap- 
 pointed in the largest colored precincts Avith instructions to re- 
 turn the vote for the Ring candidates. In Leon county the no- 
 torious Joseph Bowes and De Leon, ballot-box stuffers of the 
 very highest type, were selected as inspectors of the two largest 
 precincts in the county. C. H. Walton, editor of the Tallahas- 
 see Sentinel, w^hich was one of the leading papers in the support 
 of Stearns'^so-called administration, was on the Board of County 
 Commissioners in Leon county, and was the chief manipulator 
 in securing the appointment of Bowes and DeLeon as inspectors 
 of election. These two worthies, who were aware that the whites 
 would be on the watch for them, proceeded to the polling places 
 over night in order to get what freedmen they could, by giving 
 them whisky and money, to give countenance to the fraud. De 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 303 
 
 Leon was so closely watched at his precinct by the whites that he 
 could do nothing. Bowes was more successful. At his precinct 
 the Democratic inspector did not arrive until after the polls were 
 opened, and before opening the polls he stuffed three hundred 
 fraudulent tickets into the box, and these tickets were counted 
 for the Ring legislative ticket, and yet the precinct was carried 
 against them. Both Leon and Jefferson gave large majorities 
 against the Ring, and anti-Ring delegations were elected. When 
 news reached Stearns that the Ring had been defeated in these 
 counties he became wrathful with his manipulators and sleep left 
 his eyes, until a plan was devised to^change this most damaging 
 result. Another council was called, this time in the Executive 
 office, and there it was determined to instruct the legal County 
 Returning Boards to throw out sufficient precincts in each of the 
 counties to show majorities for the Ring candidates. In Leon 
 county DeL^eon, who had failed to commit fraud at the Micco- 
 sukie precinct, made affidavit that some illegal votes were polled 
 at that precinct. Though the affidavit did not state who voted 
 illegally nor for what candidate these illegal votes were cast, the 
 precinct was thrown out by the Board, which consisted of Major 
 E. C. Weeks, Sheriff; a so-called Justice of the Peace, Samuel 
 Snowden, colored, appointed for the purpose, and Samuel 
 Walker, County Judge, who voted No. Sufficient precincts were 
 thrown out in Jefferson county to secure the election of the Ring 
 candidates. Geo. W. Witherspoon, headed the anti-Ring ticket 
 in Jefferson county, and the author of this work headed the anti- 
 Ring ticket in Leon county for the Senate. There was no Sen- 
 ator to be elected in Jefferson county, and Witherspoon headed 
 the ticket for the Assembly. Stearns and the Ring were now 
 happy, and thought the war was over. 
 
 As soon as these so-called canvassers adjourned sine die, 
 counsel was employed by Wallace and Witherspoon to compel 
 an honest canvass of the votes. Judge R. B. Hilton, Democrat, 
 was employed by the anti-Ring members in Leon county, T. 
 F. Clark, Esq., and Whitfield, of Jefferson county. Demo- 
 
 crats, were employed by Witherspoon. These ^gentlemen pro- 
 ceeded by a writ of mandamus against these Boards of Can- 
 vassers, and Judge P. W. White, of the Second Judicial Circuit, 
 
304 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 who had been appointed by Governor Reed, granted a peremp- 
 tory writ ordering the Board to count the votes as returned, and 
 forward the same to the State Returning Board. At one time 
 they hesitated to obey the order of the Judge, for the reason that 
 they thought if they were ordered to prison it would not really 
 be confinement. The sheriffs of Leon and Jefferson counties were 
 Ring carpetbaggers, but the Judge intimated to some of their 
 friends that should they disobey his order he intended sending 
 them down into Wakulla county for imprisonment, where the 
 '* Crackers" were waiting with their mouths open to take them 
 in. The order was then obeyed without a murmur, and a second 
 return was sent up to the State Board of Canvassers. Stearns 
 was still determined to continue the counting out process. The 
 whites in Leon county now became incensed at the action of the 
 Governor and his Ring managers, and loudly denounced these 
 repeated attempts at fraud. The anti-Ring freedii;ien had a con- 
 sultation with some of the whites, at which the freedmen came 
 to the determination that it was their duty to adopt the shot-gun 
 policy against those who should undertake to hold a seat in the 
 Legislature to which they were not elected. It was there sol- 
 emnly agreed that if John N. Stokes was counted in as Senator 
 the anti-Ring freedmen were to walk into the Senate chamber and 
 kill him in his seat. The same judgment that was to be visited 
 on Stokes was to be visited on the other members holding seats 
 by fraud. Great excitement prevailed throughout the two coun- 
 ties that had been cheated out of their just representation, and 
 if it had been persisted in, would have caused a general uprising 
 of the anti-Ring freedmen, and with the whites -as auxiliaries, 
 bloodshed would have been certain, with Stearns as the first vic- 
 tim. Some of the Conover carpet-baggers who had been in- 
 formed what would certainly take place made haste to inform 
 Stearns of what would be the certain outcome if the fraud were 
 persisted in, positively stating to him that it could not be con- 
 summated without force and violence. On the day of the can- 
 vass of the vote by the State Returning Board a large number of 
 the freedmen who supported the Ring, and the anti-Ring freed- 
 men, were present. Many of themjrom the country brought with 
 them such arms as they could secure, thinking, some of them, 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 305 
 
 that the proceedings under mandamus was a man who was to 
 compel the Board of Canvassers to count the true returns; they 
 declared if "Old man Daniels" did not count in the rightful 
 candidates, he and Stearns should be put to death. 
 
 R. B. Hilton, Esq., appeared before the Board and de- 
 manded the counting of the returns sent up by the order of 
 Judge White, and proceeded to argue his case. He denounced 
 the action of the County Board of Canvassers for throwing out 
 precincts without the authority of law, and threatened a man- 
 damus to compel the Board to count the true return should they 
 fail to do so. T. F. Clark and Whitfield also appeared and ar- 
 gued the case of Witherspoon. Stearns, in the meantime, fear- 
 ing the consequences, had instructed the Board'to count in the 
 anti-Ring delegations from Leon and Jefferson counties, and 
 sent for the author, and after inquiring what would be the result 
 should the Ring ticket be counted in, admitted the fraud and 
 said it was done without his approval; but his action in 
 keeping these men in office was sufficient testimony of a guilty 
 knowledge without further evidence. He finally wound up by 
 saying : 
 
 "The saddest thing under my chin — 
 The Wallace ticket is counted in." 
 
 The Board, after the conclusion of the arguments of coun- 
 sel, counted the true returns from Jefferson and Leon counties, 
 which elected the anti-Ring delegations. Purman was also 
 counted in as a member of the Assembly from Jackson county. 
 
 19 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The Beginning of the End. The Steivart-Sturtevant Contest. 
 Election of United States Senator, and Miscellaneous Subjects. 
 
 A week before the meeting of the Legislature of 1875, the 
 leading members of the Ring began to assemble at the capital to 
 look after the interests of their secret candidate for Senator. 
 Nightly caucuses were held in the Executive office, and the 
 counting of noses was gone over every night as to how each 
 Republican member would probably stand on the election of 
 Speaker of the Assembly and President of the Senate. The 
 Democratic leaders also assembled in goodly numbers to look 
 after the interests of their favorite candidates. The attempted 
 frauds by the Carpetbaggers in the counties of Jefferson and 
 Leon was reasonably looked to by the Democrats to give them 
 the organization of both branches of the Legislature and the 
 LTnited States Senator. 
 
 The night preceding the meeting of the Legislature a caucus 
 was called by the Ring members for the purpose of organizing 
 the two houses next day. David Montgomery, of Madison 
 county, carpetbagger, was put forth for Speaker, but the colored 
 brothers from Leon and Jefferson, who had been the victims of 
 unsuccessful fraud by the Ring, hesitated to put a man in the 
 chair who would have no scruples in packing a Committee on 
 Privileges and Elections that would oust the two anti-Ring 
 delegations from these counties. The Ring members pretended 
 that the fight was over and that the "lion and the lamb must 
 now lie down together;" but the anti-Ring delegations knew 
 that this meant that the lamb was to lie down in the lion's belly. 
 Three days were spent in the attempt to elect a Speaker, but 
 before the Speaker could be elected a caucus was called of the 
 Democratic, anti-Ring Republican and Independent members. 
 The caucus determined to elect Thomas Hanna, Democratic 
 member from Washington county, as Speaker, the other offices 
 to be divided between the Democrats and the colored men. On 
 the meeting of the Assembly the next day it was evident that 
 
308 CARPE'IP.AG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 the scepter of the Legislature of Florida would in a few minutes 
 pass from the hands of the despoilers and into the hands of those 
 whose interest was inseparable from its soil and whom Stearns 
 afterwards in his message described as being "as loyal and 
 patriotic as any people in the Union." William Watkin Hicks, 
 of Dade county, put forth the name of Mr. Hanna, and Mont- 
 gomery was his opponent. Hanna was elected by a large 
 majority. The Democrats, true to their promise, then electedy- 
 with the assistance of the anti Ring members, H. S. Harmon, 
 colored. Chief Clerk, and James D. 'Hiompson, colored, 
 Sergeant-at-Arms, Nearly all the minor offices were filled by 
 colored men. The colored brother was now even with the 
 Ring for the defeat of Osgood for S])eaker in 1874. The 
 election of Hanna utterly demoralized tHe Ring in the Assembly, 
 and it was unable to muster its forces in sufficient number any 
 more at this session to misrepresent those who had voted for 
 them. In the Senate the struggle for supremacy was a deadly 
 one. By the consent of the Republicans, Senator J. L. Craw- 
 ford, Democrat, was elected temporarily President. The Senate 
 was composed of twenty-four members, and the Democrats and 
 Republicans had equal numbers. The object of the Republicans 
 in consenting to let Senator Crawford preside as temporary 
 Chairman was that it would silence his vote; but the Doctor 
 decided that he was not Lieutenant-Governor, and as a Senator 
 his vote could not be questioned. Ten days were wasted in the. 
 attempt to elect a Republican for President pro iem.^ during 
 which time Stearns and his Ring managers were holding secret 
 meetings with the Democrats to secure his election 4:o the United 
 States Senate and to have a Democratic President of the Senate 
 during his canvass to secure his election to the Senate, and thus 
 leave the State under a Democratic Governor. There were 
 plans and counter-plans made by the Democrats, who had no 
 faith in Stearns' i)ower as to leaving the State a Democratic 
 (iovernor. Some of the friends of ex-Governor Walker suggested 
 the plan to elect an anti-Ring colored man President of the 
 Senate. They contended that this would have the effect of 
 bringing to the support of (iovernor Walker all of the anti-Ring 
 colored members, and at the same time would drive those 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA 309 
 
 Democrats who thought the election of Stearns as Senator would 
 give them the State government from him for fear that a negro 
 might become Governor. There were several caucuses held 
 looking to the consummation of this plan, and the most notable 
 thing in these caucuses was the sentiment of the ex-slaveholders, 
 both in and out of the Senate, that they would rather see an 
 honest ex-slave in the presidential chair of the Senate than to see 
 Stearns go to the United States Senate by their votes, wnen they 
 believed him to be a party to all the election frauds that had 
 been committed in the State since iS68. The Democratic 
 members from the west were almost unanimous for the election 
 of Stearns, provided they could get the State government. The 
 struggle in the Senate contiHued until Stearns was assured that 
 he could be elected. A majority of the Democratic members 
 finally consented to the election of Stearns to the United States 
 Senate, leaving them the State government. Stearns immedi- 
 ately called a caucus of all the Republican Senators, to whom he 
 proposed the election of A. L. McCaskill, Democrat, as Presi- 
 dent//-^ tern, of the Senate. It was then propounded to him by 
 both wings of the Republicans as to whether he was an aspirant 
 for Senator. He solemnly declared that he was not, and that 
 he would not accept if elected. The caucus then adjourned, 
 and within five minutes after its adjournment McCaskill was 
 elected President pro tem. of the Senate, all the Republicans 
 voting for him but one, and this was Stearns' henchman Hill, 
 of Gadsden county. The anti-Ring Republicans did not know 
 exactly where they stood, nor did they know where to find 
 Btearns until he delivered his message to the Legislature. Hear 
 him appeal to those "loyal and patriotic people" whom he and 
 his Ring followers had defrauded out of seats in the Legislature 
 for seven years: "It will become your duty, on the second 
 Tuesday after your organization, to proceed, in accordance with 
 an act of Congress and the Constitution of the State, to the 
 choice of a United States Senator for the term commencing the 
 fourth of March next. While I am aware of the great interest 
 felt upon this subject, and fully appreciate the importance of 
 securing an able and upright representative in the councils of the 
 nation, yet I venture the suggestion that the people of the State 
 
3IO CARPETHAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 have greater interest in the home government." He here 
 attempts to impress upon the minds of the Democrats that it 
 was their first duty to get clear of him by electing him to the 
 Senate and leave A. L. McCaskill Governor. Again he 
 attempted to impress upon their minds that should they elect 
 him they would read no ''bloody-shirt" speeches from him; nor 
 would he vote for any bill in Congress looking to the protection 
 of all classes of citizens in the State against discrimination on 
 account of color. He says: '' Freedom of political opinion and 
 action has been accorded alike to all, and recognized as an 
 essential principle of free government. Equal civil and 
 political rights are denied to none, and the most cordial good 
 will prevails among all classes of our people. We need no 
 Congressional enactments or other interference to secure to any 
 class of our citizens the full enjoyment of their just constitutional 
 rights, since slavery and secession are things of the past, buried 
 beyond the possibility of resurrection ; since all the States are 
 restored to their constitutional relations with the general govern- 
 ment, and true and lasting peace has come." These utterances 
 of Stearns took very well with Democratic members, who were 
 not aspiring to the United States Senate, but they fell like cold 
 water on the politicians, and though he thought he should cer- 
 tainly pull through, these Democratic aspirants were busy at. 
 work to prevent the consummation of this plan. The Demo- 
 crats now commenced in earnest the memorable struggle to oust 
 Sturtevant, Republican, from the Twenty-first Senatorial District, 
 and seat Stewart, the legally elected member. The following 
 report exhibits the real facts in the case : 
 Hon. A. L. McCaskill, President of the Senate: 
 
 Sir— Pending the investigation of the following preamble 
 and resolution : 
 
 Whereas, Mr. Sturtevant holds his seat in this Senate as 
 Senator from the Twenty-first District illegally and unjustly; and, 
 whereas, the election returns from Dade and Brevard counties 
 show that a large majority of the votes cast were given for Mr. 
 Israel M. Stewart as Senator, but by partisan trickery and fraud 
 he has been unlawfully deprived of his seat as such Senator, and 
 that Mr. Sturtevant now occupies the seat without right and with- 
 out a shadow of title ; therefore, be it 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 31I 
 
 Resolved, That we declare the seat now occupied by the 
 said Sturtevant to be vacant, and that Israel M. Stewart, the 
 Senator elect, come forward and be sworn in as Senator from 
 the Twenty-first District. 
 
 The official opinion of the Attorney-General as to whether 
 there is any law now in force governing contested election cases 
 in this State, was referred to the Committee on Privileges and 
 Elections, and a thorough investigation and consideration of the 
 sahie resulted in two reports. The majority report fully 
 sustained the Attorney-General's opinion, that is, that the act 
 referred to in Thompson's Digest is now in force in this State, 
 and the report was adopted by the Senate. The adoption of the 
 majority report, however, does not settle the question as to Mr.. 
 E. T. Sturtevant's right and title to a seat in this Senate. Per 
 cofitra : the committeee are of the opinion that inasmuch as the 
 returns of Brevard county (one of the counties composing the 
 Twenty-first Senatorial District), have not yet been canvassed 
 and counted by the Board of State Canvassers, his right and 
 title to a seat in this Senate is not touched by the adoption of the 
 majority report. The returns of the Twenty-first Senatoria 
 District must be canvassed and counted by the Board of State 
 Canvassers before "notice" of contest can be legally served. 
 In January, 1873, Mr. Israel M. Stewart petitioned the Senate 
 to canvass and count the returns of Brevard county, and pro- 
 nounce an enlightened and just judgment thereon ; and his 
 petition, by the unanimous consent of the Senate, was referred 
 to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. No legal or 
 other objection was then raised against Mr. Stewart's petition. 
 Mr. Sturtevant did not then raise the question that " notice " of 
 contest was not given, and the legality of his petition to the 
 Senate for a seat as Senator of the Twenty-first Senatorial 
 District was unanimously acknowledged. But the committee^ 
 kind to Sturtevant, but cruel to Stewart and the people of the 
 Twenty-first Senatorial District, pocketed the petition. In 
 January, 1874, the following resolution was introduced in the 
 Senate : 
 
 Resolved, by the Senate of the State of Florida, That Israel 
 M. Stewart, who was duly elected as Senator from the Twenty- 
 first Senatorial District of said State at the last regular election 
 
312 CARPETBAG RULE IN' FLORIDA. 
 
 held in that District in the year A. D. 1872, be now sworn in as 
 Senator from the Twenty-first District of Florida, and that Mr. 
 Sturtevant is hereby declared as not entitled to a seat on this 
 tloor. 
 
 Mr. Stewart's legal right to contest having been recognized 
 by Mr. Sturtevant and the entire Senate in 1873, could not be 
 denied in 1874. A majority vote of the Senate was Mr. Sturte- 
 vant's sheet-anchor of hope, and as a dernier resort to save him- 
 self he voted for himself; and notwithstanding Mr. Stewart, in 
 the name of his insulted and outraged constituency, vigorously 
 and persistently demanded his right to a seat as Senator of the 
 Twent)'-first Senatorial District from January, 1873, to January, 
 1875, ^^^- Sturtevant now says for the first time that ''notice" 
 of contest was not served on him. Inasmuch as Mr. Sturtevant 
 cannot clami protection under the law now in force governing 
 contested election cases in 'his State, the committee report 
 further that at the general election held on the fifth day of 
 November, 1872, in the counties of Dade and Brevard, com- 
 prising the Twenty-first Senatorial District, E. T. Sturtevant was 
 a candidate for the office of State Senator in said District ; that 
 he was also Judge of the County Court of Dade county ; that 
 there was but one precinct in said county; that Judge Sturtevant 
 was made an Inspector at said precinct, and at the close of the 
 election on that day, as Inspector, he and two other Inspectors 
 solemnly certified under oath that the whole number of votes 
 cast for State Senator in Dade county was thirty, of which 
 Israel M. Stewart received sixteen and E. T. Sturtevant fourteen 
 — majority of two for Mr. Stewart. This statement has not 
 been denied at any time or by any person. Subsequently, 
 however. Judge Sturtevant petitioned himself as the clerk of the 
 election and also judge of the County Court, (and, furthermore, a 
 candidate at said election for the Assembly — these two, E. T. 
 Sturtevant and W. H. Gleason, constituting the modest Board 
 of County Commissioners( to set aside his own return under oath 
 as a precinct inspector, and to reject from such return the 
 names of three citizens who had voted for Israel M. Stewart, al- 
 leging as a sufficient reason for such rejection that two of them, 
 citizens of foreign birth, were permitted to vote without produc- 
 ing their naturalization papers, and the name of the other did not 
 
CARPETBAG RUT.E IX FLORIDA. 313 
 
 appear on the registration book. As Judge of the County Court 
 E. T. Sturtevant took the evidence in ex-parte affidavits, and as 
 one of the Board of County Commissioners sat in judg- 
 ment on his own case, and deliberately declared his return, 
 made under oath, to be illegal, rejected the votes of three citi- 
 zens, and declared himself to have received a majority of the 
 votes cast in Dade county. These returns were on file in the 
 Secretary of State's office, are in the recollection of many Sena- 
 tors who are present, and are testified to by them. The Consti- 
 tution of Florida, Article III, reads— ''The powers of the Gov- 
 ernment of the State of Florida shall be divided into three de- 
 partments : Legislative, Executive and Judicial, and no person 
 properly belonging to one of the departments shall exercise any 
 functions appertaining to either of the others." &c. Now, if 
 Judge Sturtevant properly belonged to the judicial department, 
 and if the function of the legislative department is to judge of 
 the returns and election of its members, then neither as judge 
 nor county canvasser could he make this judgement— that is, 
 rejecting the votes of these citizens and declaring himself to 
 have received a majority of the votes cast in Dade county ; nor 
 could the executive department make, nor any act of a pre- 
 vious Legislature be mandatory to a subsequent Legislature as 
 to the force and effect of evidence, either as prima facie or con- 
 clusive, as to the election of their members ; for, as to this, each 
 house is sovereign and absolute and must prescribe its own 
 rules of procedure in judging of the qualifications, elections, 
 and returns of its members. The returns of Brevard county 
 show that the Avhole number of votes cast for S^^te Senator was 
 sixty-nine, of Avhich Israel M. Stewart received thirty-nine, C. 
 B. Magruder seventeen and James Payne, Sr., thirteen, a major- 
 ity of nine for Mr. Sturtevant over all the other candidates. Mr. 
 Sturtevant received not a single vote in Brevard county. It is 
 alleged that from accidental or other causes the returns from 
 Brevard county were not received in time for the Board of State 
 Canvassers, and not until after a certificate had been given to 
 Mr. Sturtevant, bottomed on his own certificate of the vote of 
 Dade county, showing a majority of one over Stewart in said 
 county. That the returns of Brevard county were filed with 
 
314 CARPETIJAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 the Board of State Canvassers and subsequently submitted to a 
 committee of the Senate on Privileges and Elections, is within 
 the recollection of many Senators who are present and testified 
 to bv them. Also the committee are in possession of a certified 
 copy of the returns on file in the clerk's office of Bre- 
 vard county. The facts here stated are known to be true 
 by at least one-half of the Senators present; they are proven 
 to a demonstration, beyond all question, have not been de- 
 nied, and are without just ground of objection. The aggregate 
 number of votes cast for State Senator, in the Twenty-first Sena- 
 torial District on the fifth day of November, 1872, foots up 
 thus : For Israel M. Stewart, fifty-two ; for C. B. Magruder, 
 seventeen ; for E. T. Sturtevant fourteen, and for James Payne, 
 Sr., thirteen — majority for Stewart thirty-eight over Sturtevant, 
 and of eight over all the other candidates, that is, Magruder, 
 Sturtevant and Paine. 
 
 Your committee present this case as one most extraordinary 
 in its various phasesjof moral turpitude. A just regard for the 
 rights and privileges of the Senate, a decent "respect for public 
 opinion, for the offended laws and the principles long estab- 
 lished for the government of judicial and legislative procedure 
 demands an unqualified censure by every Senator. The stat- 
 utes of this State, the rules of every court of law, the customs 
 of every country, and our own natural sense of justice between 
 men — all, all forbid that a man shall be a judge in his own 
 case ; yet we have here the legislative power of the Senate held 
 for years by a Senator so-called under a decision made by him- 
 self on his own certificate, and kept in the Senate by his own 
 vote, without an election of the people, swearing that he is 
 qualified for the office of Senator under the Constitution, and 
 seemingly without hesitation. In conclusion the Committee 
 recommend the adoption of the following resolution : 
 
 Resolved, by the Senate, That E. T. Sturtevant was not 
 elected as Senator of the Twenty-first Senatorial District, and is 
 not entitled to a seat in this Senate, and that Israel M. Stewart 
 was elected as Senator at the regular election held on the fifth 
 day of November, 1872, and that he be now sworn in as Senator 
 of the Twenty-first Senatorial District. 
 
 John L. Crawford, Chairman. 
 
 A. D. McKiNNON, 
 
 F. A. Hendry. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 315 
 
 The minority report admits the election of Stewart, but con- 
 tends that no notice was given to Sturtevant of the contest. The 
 minority report was too barefaced for any decent man to sign, 
 and though the carpet-baggers wrote the report which is signed 
 by Frederick Hill, colored, it is evident that Durkee, carpet-bag 
 Senator from Duval county, refused to sign it because of its ad- 
 mission of fraud and oppression. Hill, therefore, was made the 
 cats-paw for "society carpet-bag gentlemen." When the ma- 
 jority report was read it created a stampede among Republican 
 Senators, and it was some time doubtful whether the Ring mem- 
 bers could hold their grip b}^ drawing tightly the party lines. 
 The Democrats resorted to every thing they possibly could 
 which they thought would secure to them that majority of one 
 which they were entitled to. The carpet-baggers and Governor 
 Stearns, on the other hand, brought every thing to bear to re- 
 tain Sturtevant in his seat. The "Little Giant," L. G. Dennis, 
 was put forward by Stearns as the carpet-bag leader of the Sen- 
 ate for the express purpose of keeping Sturtevant in his seat, and 
 to also make him more influential throughout the State among 
 the freedmen preparatory to leading them to the standard of 
 Stearns in his struggle for the nomination for Governor in 1876, 
 should he miss the United States Senate. Pending the discus- 
 sion of the report of the committee, sometimes the Democrats 
 would outgeneral the "Little Giant," and he would thereupon 
 order the Republicans to leave the Senate without a quorum. 
 This went on for several days, when the Democrats, getting tired 
 of this fighting and retreat tastics, ordered the Sergeant at- Arms 
 to take to his assistance two other persons and arrest the ab- 
 sconding members. The Republican members were at the 
 house of a citizen taking dinner when the two assistants came in 
 and seized the worst looking fellow in the crowd. It turned out 
 that the man whom they thought could be easily carried was the 
 worst customer of the lot. This was Parlin, of Escambia 
 county. No sooner had they seized him than he drew an old 
 revolver — about half a yard long it seemed to be — and com- 
 menced firing m the direction of the two assistant Sergeant-at- 
 Arms, who returned the fire, but fortunately no one was hurt. 
 The news in a short time was all over town and great excite- 
 
310 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 ment prevailed. The "Little Giant" then, to get up a bloody- 
 shirt sensation, in company with three or four of the absconding 
 Senators, marched up and down the streets with revolvers m 
 their hands, cursing Democrats. This pleased some of the more 
 simple of the freedmen on the streets, for they thought that 
 Dennis was a good "Publican." The absconding Senators did 
 not return to the Senate until next morning, when all sorts of 
 resolutions were introduced denouncing the conduct of the as- 
 sistant Sergeant-at-Arms. After Dennis had exhausted all his 
 parliamentary law and the other Republican members had seen 
 Stearns' giant cleaned up, each Republican member commenced 
 leading himself. Senator McCauley, Democrat, from the Elev- 
 enth Senatorial District, had been set upon by the carpet-bag- 
 gers as an offset to Sturtevant, and every time the question of 
 Sturtevant's right to a seat was called up they would call in ques- 
 tion the seat of McCauley. There was no ground whatever 
 upon which to question the right of McCauley to a seat. To put 
 an end to the matter — as no Republican Senator dared to put 
 in Stewart at the peril of his life, the author of this work made 
 the point that neither Sturtevant nor McCauley could vote upon 
 the question, as both were interested that the other should go out. 
 Of course the Chair ruled that McCauley could vote and Sturte- 
 vant could not. The Chair was appealed from, and on that 
 appeal involving the question of McCauley's right to vote, he 
 was prevented from voting, and the Chair was not sustained in 
 his ruling. This ended the farce of attempting to get Sturtevant 
 out. The Senators of the previous Senate were responsible for 
 this outrage on a free ballot; and!while this Senate was also not 
 blameless, yet they had something behind which they could hide 
 the shame of the crime in the shape of res judicatia. There are 
 two acts of mine, committed during these days of reconstruction, 
 which I regret: that of voting to sustain Sturtevant, and voting 
 for Stearns for Governor in 1876. 
 
 The Democrats, now baffled in the attempt to oust Sturte- 
 vant, turned their undivided attention to the election of U. S. 
 Senator. Some of them still clung to the idea of electing Stearns 
 to the Senate, while the larger number of them, influenced by 
 aspirations for Senatorial honors, vigorously oi)posed this plan. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 317 
 
 The colored brothers now held first class diplomas of a seven 
 years' course of instruction from carpetbag university of bribery 
 and fraud in Florida, and if they did not practice what they had 
 been taught in this school, ic was because manly instinct forbade 
 them. General caucuses and demagogue speeches would not 
 bring them, nor could the "corner" caucuses control them. 
 The carpetbag aspirants found it necessary to treat them as they 
 did white carpetbag members of the Legislature — that is, to give 
 champagne and oyster suppers for their entertainment, at which 
 supper the aspirant must be present and partake with his guests, 
 and approach them on the subject of the Senatorship, and those 
 who could be bought got something worth the name of bribe- 
 taking. Although the colored brothers held these diplomas, 
 but a very small minority of them at this session of the legisla- ' 
 ture availed themselves of the benefits of their education. The 
 Democrats, in the canvass which had just closed, had denounced 
 from the stump the many acts of bribery committed by the Re- 
 publican members of the Legislature, and it had its effect, at least 
 upon the mind of the average colored member, who now saw 
 that both branches of the J.egislature had been lost to the Re- 
 publicans, which loss was greatly attributed to these acts of 
 bribery. There was a good deal of money spent by different 
 carpetbag aspirants to secure the coveted prize of Senator, but 
 the colored brother made it a businessjto take what money he 
 could get and all the merchandise the briber could muster up 
 before he was called upon to vote, and then vote against the 
 candidate of the briber. For an illustration : George Wither- 
 spoon, colored, was approached by a Jew to vote for Gov. 
 Walker for Senator. This was without Walker's knowledge. 
 This Jew was a great admirer of the ex-Governor, and thought 
 if Witherspoon could be secured that the whole delegation from 
 Jefferson County would follow. The Jew had his doubts about 
 Witherspoon, but promised to pay him five hundred dollars and 
 all the merchandise he needed for his family if he, Witherspoon, 
 would vote for Gov. Walker — the Jew being a merchant at the 
 time. Witherspoon was not the man to let this chance pass, but 
 said he thought the money and goods must be had before voting. 
 The Jew objected to this, and asked W. G. Stewart, who was 
 
3l8 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 postmaster at the time, as to whether Witherspoon could be 
 trusted with his five hundred dollars or not. Stewart informed 
 him that he did not care to have anything to do with the affair. 
 The lew then made Witherspoon swear that he would vote for 
 Gov. Walker when the time arrived, which oath Witherspoon 
 did not hesitate for a moment to take. The money was paid, 
 and Witherspoon also had free access to the store of the Jew, 
 and silks and finery to the amount of several hundred dollars 
 were added to the money consideration for the -coveted vote. 
 The Jew was now in great glee and anticipated a splendid suc- 
 cess. When the roll was called on the vote for Senator, With- 
 erspoon voted for Samuel Walker, Republican. This startled 
 the Jew, who went inside the bar of the Assembly chamber and 
 requested Witherspoon : "Give me that ting back," meaning the 
 money and goods aforesaid. Witherspoon contended that he 
 had voted for Walker, but the Jew insisted that it was not the 
 Walker agreed upon. Witherspoon, to get rid of him and yet 
 retain the goods and money, in a loud tone of voice threatened 
 to have him arrested for attempted bribery, when the Jew, fear- 
 ing the conse([uences, begged him to say no more about the mat- 
 ter and he might have both money and merchandise. 
 
 Some of Gov. Walker's friends had secured another Repub- 
 lican vote, as they thought, which would certainly carry the 
 ex-Governor through. This man was Charles Avery, carpetbag- 
 ger from Leon county. When the roll was called in the joint 
 session Gov. Walker received one majority of all the votes cast — 
 Avery voting for Walker. The Democratic members were so 
 much elated over the election of Walker that they -could not re- 
 main in their seats, and one of them — Duncan,from Hamilton — 
 ran across the chamber and shook his fist in the face of W. W. 
 Hicks, Independent. The Republicans now began to *cry: 
 "Treason!" "Sold out, sold out!" The outcry being against 
 Avery — some swearing that he ought to be killed. Avery, not 
 being strong enough to stand the fire, after the excitement had 
 somewhat abated, arose and informed the presiding officer that 
 his vote was cast for Samuel Walker, Republican. In the 
 meanwhile Governor Walker had been sent for by his friends 
 and informed that he had been elected United States Senator. 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN KLUKIDA. 319 
 
 The Governor hurried to the scene. He tells us that as he was 
 nearing the Assembly Chamber the sun began to rise higher and 
 higher, and as he turned to walk up the steps to the hall his 
 pathway got brighter until he reached the hall, when he was 
 informed that it was a mistake— he had not been elected. The 
 sun by this time had begun to set, and the elements became 
 darker and darker, until there was not a ray of Senatorial light 
 anywhere around him. The vote cast by Avery was undoubt- 
 edly cast for Governor Walker, but he was intimidated into de- 
 claring that it was intended for Samuel Walker. Samuel Walk- 
 er had opposed the election of Avery in the election just 
 closed, and was even a candidate against him for the Assembly. 
 
 After the Walker failure the Democrats became very de- 
 spondent relative to the election of any of the Democratic aspir- 
 ants, and Stearns was again secretly pushed forward by his 
 friends. By some means not entirely known. Col. Horatio Bis- 
 bee had secured the supi)ort of most of the Independents, 
 and if Stearns had been true to him he would have been elected. 
 Stearns set apart a day for the election, and the|whole power of 
 his rotten administration was to be brought to^bear to secure the 
 election of Bisbee, and he held back the appointments in most 
 of the counties to accomplish this end — at any rate, he gave this 
 as his reason for holding them back. All of the members of the 
 Teon county delegation would have voted for Bisbee if Stearns 
 would have agreed to send to the Senate for confirmation anti- 
 Ring officers' for that county. This he agreed to do; but feeling 
 confident that this would secure the election of Bisbee and defeat 
 his combination with the Democrats, he refused to carry out his 
 promise before the day arrived for the election, which caused 
 the Leon and Alachua county delegations to vote for some other 
 candidate. 
 
 The next attempt to elect a Democrat was made by S. B. 
 Conover, United States Senator. Hon. John A. Henderson, 
 who, when Conover was elected Senator in 1873, and Stearns as 
 Lieutenant-Governor undertook to cheat him in the open joint 
 session out of his election, demanded fair play, was now settled 
 upon by Conover and the Democrats to be elected on a certain 
 day. This movement was only revealed to those Republicans 
 
320 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 who were to vote for Henderson and to the Democratic mem- 
 bers. The plan was that three colored Re[)ublicans should be 
 absent when the roll was called in joint session and thus leave 
 the Democrats in the majority, when all of them were to vote 
 for Henderson. Ten minutes before the joint session met the 
 Republican members of the Senate received a note from Judge 
 J. D. Westcott stating that three colored men were out (men- 
 tioning their names), and that Henderson would be elected that 
 day. This news was conveyed to all the Republican members 
 of both Houses and to the freedmen on the streets, and a gener- 
 al outcry was made among the faithful to bring back the sheep 
 that were lost. Houses were searched and buggies were sent in 
 every direction, and the cry of treason could be heard from the 
 mouth of every colored brother, who was urged on by the subtle 
 carpetbaggers, all adding fury to the excitement. The three 
 stray sheep, hearing the furious howls of these would-be wolves, 
 soon made their appearance, and were thrown upon the shoul- 
 ders of the carpetbag shepherds and safely landed in the fold. 
 There was great rejoicing among the ninety-and-nine, and Hen- 
 derson was defeated. 
 
 AV. W. Hicks, whose peculiar mission seems to have been 
 to elect Bisbee fo the United States Senate — while he was pro- 
 fessing to be Independent, and Bisbee was considered by the 
 Democrats to be a very obnoxious partisan — now, maddened at 
 the defeat of Bisbee, arose in the joint session and, after charg- 
 ing bribery to the members of the Legislature, in a very elabor- 
 ate speech nominated C. W. Jones of Escambia county for Sena- 
 tor. This somme::sault of Hicks fell flat and Jones fell with it, 
 but only to rise again when the Stearns plan was exposed. The 
 election of Stearns was then thought to be assured, but unfortu- 
 nately for him the Little Giant was overheard in the darkness 
 of the night explaining to another carpetbagger how the thing 
 was to be done. Stearns was to appoint George E. Wentworth, 
 carpetbagger of Escambia county, Lieutenant-Governor on the 
 day he, Stearns, was elected Governor. Wentworth would take 
 possession of the Executive office as soon as Stearns was elected, 
 when he was to hand in his resignation of the office of Govern- 
 or to Wentworth. The first act of Wentwoi th in his new capac- 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 32 I 
 
 ity was to accept this resignation. This was to be kept secret 
 from the Democrats until Stearns had crossed the Senatorial 
 gulf. The next day this plan became noised abroad among 
 some of the Republicans, but it was doubted by some of the 
 Democrats, who thought they would soon be in possession of 
 this strong carpetbag fortification. Geo. P. Fowler, white Re- 
 publican, but not a member of the Legislature, proceeded post 
 haste to the boarding-house of that old Democratic veteran, J. 
 L. Crawford, and demanded to see him at once. The doctor 
 hesitated to get out of his bed, as the night was very cold and it 
 was raining, but Fowler said, "I must see you." The doctor's 
 curiosity now being excited, he got up and received the tidings 
 of the messenger. Fowler then informed him that Stearns had 
 appointed Geo. E. Wentworth as Lieutenant-Governor, which 
 appointment was not to be made known until after Stearns was 
 elected United States Senator. He said he got his information 
 as an eye witness, having seen the commission signed by Stearns, 
 and that its authenticity could not be doubted; and urged the 
 doctor to inform all the Democrats of this treason at once. The 
 doctor, in less than an hour after receiving this intelligence, had 
 informed every Democratic member of the Legislature. The 
 Stearns stock from this hour went down to rise no more in the 
 Senatorial market. 
 
 The Ring, in the session of 1873, voted for J. D. Westcott 
 upon an agreement of controlling the Federal offices, and was now 
 given an opportunity, by the Leon county delegation, to again 
 vote for him. Westcott, who had been severely criticized by 
 some of the whites for allowing his name to be used by the ring 
 in the previous Senatorial struggle, had alienated himself from 
 them and had gone in with the anti-ring Republicans. Of course 
 the Ring had pledged each other to touch no one for any office 
 who was not aUied to them, and the Democrats would not vote 
 for him because they desired that he should remain on the Su- 
 preme bench. C. W. Jones now made another attempt. When 
 he had come within one vote of the necessary number, he arose 
 from his seat and addressed the presiding officer of the joint 
 
 20 
 
^2 2 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 assembly, and said, ''that in behalf of fifteen hundred voters 
 whom I have the honor to represent, I cast my vote for C. W. 
 Jones." M. Martin then rose and cast his vote tor C. W. Jones," 
 thereby giving him two majority, when Jones withdrew his own 
 vote. The Democrats did not rejoice very much over Jones' 
 election, as he was not their choice. This ended the last circus 
 of carpetbag Senatorial elections in the Florida Legislature, after 
 taking twenty-five ballots. 
 
 Stearns, furiously mad on account of his defeat, now turned 
 his whole attention to the gubernatorial nomination of 1876. 
 No Republican could be appointed to office without swearing 
 allegiance to him and his ring. The anti-ring Republicans in 
 the Legislature, anticipating his object, went to work to defeat 
 all nominations sent to the Senate under such contract. What- 
 ever may be said about the white people's unfriendly attitude to 
 the Republican party in the State, they showed a willingness, 
 when such names were sent to the Senate, to vote against their 
 confirmation if it could be proved to them that these appoint- 
 ments were made to suppress the anti-ring freedmen in their 
 attempts to oppose Stearns. 
 
 C. H. Walton, editor of the Tallahassee Sentinel, after hav- 
 ing done all he possibly could to defraud the Leon delegation 
 out of an honest election, now came up for State Printer, and 
 undertook to intimidate this delegation into his support; but the 
 delegation, having already humiliated themselves by voting for 
 carpetbag ring candidates for U. S. Senator, and in the Senate 
 by voting to sustain Sturtevant, had made up their minds to 
 swallow no more of this deadly poison, and voted openly for 
 Charles E. Dyke, Democrat, who had demanded in his paper 
 an honest canvass of the votes in Leon county. The ring 
 howled "Treason," but to no effect. 
 
 At this session of the Legislature the amendments proposed by 
 the former Legislature were adopted, among which was the 
 amendment abolishing annual sessions and creating biennial ses- 
 sions. 
 
 The claim of (iov. Reed was again considered by this ses- 
 sion of the Senate, and a committee appointed to e.\amine the 
 claim made the following report : 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN B^LORIDA. 323 
 
 *'The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the claims 
 of ex-Gov. Reed, upon examination of the case, find that it has 
 been passed upon by special committees of two successive ses- 
 sions of the legislature, and considerable amounts reported due 
 him. They find, also, that there are large amounts alleged to 
 have been paid him on account of the State, which are denied 
 by him ; and as grave legal questions are involved in the final 
 adjustment of the accounts, which cannot be determined by your 
 committee, they therefore recommend that the whole matter be 
 referred to the Attorney-General for final adjustment." 
 
 A bill was reported for that purpose which was not acted 
 upon at this session. Thus the pioneer of civil government in 
 Florida, and the restorer of peace, was denied justice at the 
 hands of the people's representatives. Nothing was done in the 
 Assembly with regard to this claim. 
 
 W. J. Purman, member of Congress, served as a member of 
 this Legislature, and took part in the election of Senator. A res- 
 olution was adopted by the Assembly calling upon the Con- 
 gressional delegation of our sister State, Georgia, to represent 
 Florida in the Congress of the United States, as Conover and 
 Purman were here in Florida in attendance upon the Legisla- 
 ture. 
 
 The carpetbaggers, having virtually lost their majority in both 
 branches of the Legislature, and both branches having Demo- 
 cratic presiding officers, were unable to pass plunder bills at this 
 session, and the people breathed pure air. After a session of 
 fifty- two days the two houses akjourned on the 26th of February, 
 sine die. This Legislature sounded the death knell of the last 
 carpetbag 'law-making power in Florida. 
 
 The number of representatives in the Legislature who could 
 neither read nor write, during the seven years of carpetbag rule 
 in Florida, was six — four colored men, RepubHcans, in the As- 
 sembly and one in the Senate, and one Democrat in the Assem- 
 bly, white ; and for the benefit of those who contend that the 
 Southern white man cherishes no good will for his black brother, 
 or that "■ no good thing can come out of Nazareth," it is only 
 
324 
 
 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 necessary to say that the colored men, however illiterate, when 
 they rose to address the presiding officers of either branch of the 
 Legislature,, were listened to with marked attention by the South- 
 ern whites, even though sometimes their remarks had been 
 taught them by some unprincipled carpetbagger for the purpose 
 of exciting the feelings of the whites against the negro. The 
 same considereation accorded them in the open sessions was 
 maintained in the committee rooms. Not one word of criticism 
 or ridicule was ever heard from one of them. They showed 
 themselves ever ready and willing, when the colored members 
 would listen to them, to instruct them in their legislative duties. 
 Nearly nine-tenths of the bills introduced in the Legislature by 
 the average colored member — outside of plunder bills — were 
 written by Southern white men. The colored men who began to 
 and continued to study professions found a ready friend in the 
 Southern white man, who freely extended the right hand of fel- 
 lowship to push the ex-slave to the zenith of his profession. Now 
 and then you would run upon some puppy in the shape of a 
 Southern white man whose attainments in his profession were 
 more in the color of his skin and in the fine clothes bought by 
 his parents than in his cranium, who would endeavor to riducule 
 colored professional men who were his superiors in the profes 
 sion. The carpetbagger, as a general thing, did not believe a 
 negro should aspire to any profession, nor would they give him 
 any instruction as to his profession unless the benefit of it would 
 inure to some carpetbagger in the way of political aggrandize- 
 ment-. From the very inception of reconstruction to this session 
 of the Legislature, whenever a colored man would attempt to 
 express his opinion against the (juestionable methods of the gang 
 of adventurers who were in possession of the government, he 
 would be whistled at, hissed at, and ridiculed, while on the floor 
 of the legislative hall, and his language criticised, to compel him 
 to desist from opposing them. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Tiie Campaign 0/1876 — Preparation for Fraud. Drew before the 
 Supreme Court. Stearns in Consultation. Drew Inaugu- 
 rated. The Colored Brother Worth a Promise, but not 
 Worthy to have it Fulfilled. Carpetbag Legacies to the Colored 
 Brother. 
 
 In the Spring of 1875 Stearns called the members of the 
 Ring together in Jacksonville, and at that meeting it was 
 determined that he, and no other, should be the next Governor 
 of Florida. W. W. Hicks, who pretended to oppose the Ring 
 as an Independent at the commencement of the Legislatm-e, was 
 appointed by Stearns as Superintendent of Public Instruction of 
 the State. This at once mustered him into the Ring as a 
 leading member. The public schools and school teachers, as 
 far as possible, worked for the nomination and election of the 
 Chief. In the black-belt counties any one could get a certificate 
 to teach school for the colored people who would pledge him or 
 herself to canvass for Stearns in the neighborhood where they 
 were to teach, no matter how illiterate the person might be. In 
 Leon County, where there was the greatest opposition to 
 Stearns, he had appointed the notoriously immoral ballot-box 
 stufTer, Joseph Bowes, as Superintendent of Education. There 
 Avas no crnne so great, no act so low but that he was capable of 
 committing it. 
 
 To enable the reader to form an intelligent conception of 
 some of the colored teachers appointed as instructors under the 
 regime of Stearns, the following is given— a sample of what 
 came under our personal observation, in an attempt to instruct 
 the pupils in arithmetic. "What will ten hogsheadsfull of 
 molesses come to at twenty-five dollars a hogshead?" The 
 pupil, who had been taught by better teachers under the 
 administration of Governor Reed, would protest, and inform 
 their professor that the words were "hogshead" and " mo- 
 lasses;" but the professor would scold and storm at them and 
 threaten to punish them by a severe flogging if they did not 
 
326 CARPKTBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 accept his pronunciation. The pupils would of course have to 
 succumb. After finishing the arithmetic lesson they must next 
 go through the catechism. ''Who is the 'Publican Governor of 
 the State of Florida?" Answer — " Governor Starns." ''Who 
 made him (Governor?" Ans.— "The colored people." " Who 
 is trying to get him out of his seat ?" Ans.—" The Democrats, 
 Conover, and some white and black Liberal Republicans." 
 '- What should the colored people do with the men who is trying 
 to get Governor Starns out of his seat?" Ans.—" They should 
 kill them." This was done that the patrons, some of whom could 
 read, v\^ould be impressed by the expressions of their children, 
 and would be ready to put any one to death who would come 
 out into the country and say anything against Governor Stearns. 
 In many instances this teaching had its effect upon the minds of 
 freedmen. These teachers received from twenty-five to thirty- 
 five dollars per month. The whole public school system was 
 made a powerful auxilliary to the campaign fund of Stearns in 
 the year 1875-6. The State Superintendent, while possessing 
 unquestionable ability relative to the duties of his office, devoted 
 his whole energy and time to the nefarious canvass for the 
 nomination of Stearns to the utter neglect of the education of the 
 masses. The same was true as to the Superintendents of some 
 of the black belt and other counties — organizing political chibs 
 instead of schools. 
 
 At the January term of the Supreme Court of the State for 
 1876, Stearns and the Ring received a terrible black eye at the 
 hands of that court. Stearns attempted to establish the validity 
 of the four millions of bonds issued in aid of the Jacksonville, 
 Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Company. The Ring, after 
 having at a previous session of the Legislature attempted to buy 
 out Holland's claim, now brought suit against him before Judge 
 Archibald, of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, to oust Holland, 
 claiming that he had no title; and to get possession for the 
 State. The validity of these bonds was not discussed by the 
 Supreme Court of the United States in the suit brought then by 
 Colonel Bisbee — who had been employed by Stearns without 
 .authority of law— and the King thought they had reasonable 
 hopes that our Supreme Court would not dare to decide against 
 
CARPETBAC; RULE IN FLORIDA. 327 
 
 their constitutionality. The author of this work, at the session 
 of the Legislature of 1874, anticipating the object of the Ring to 
 get possession of the railroad so as to more completely override- 
 the will of the people, had a consultation with Charles E. Dyke, 
 editor of the Floridian, as to the propriety of slipping a clause 
 into the amendments to the State Constitution whereby the State 
 would be prohibited from owning stock in railroads. This 
 amendment was introduced and adopted without being noticed 
 by the Ring, and became a part of the Constitution in 1875. 
 The amendment is as follows : "The State shall not become a 
 joint owner or stockholder in any company, association or 
 corporation." The Supreme Court, in rendering its opinion, 
 said: " We hold that the Governor is not authorized to speak 
 for and in the name of the State in this case; that there is no- 
 statute or warrant of law which authorizes him to bring this pro- 
 ceeding or set up this claim; that the Governor cannot, by- 
 pleading or otherwise, bind the State and fasten on her people 
 obligations for miUions of dollars without statutory authority 
 commanding him so to do." . . . . " So here we have the 
 spectacle presented of the people of Florida, by their representa- 
 tives, impeaching the Governor who issued these bonds, for so 
 doing with intent to violate the Constitution and Act of 1870, 
 and the present Governor, Stearns, employing private counsel 
 and using the name of the State of Florida to fasten on the 
 people this enormous debt, under the pretext that they are pro- 
 tecting the State by assuming an obligation which the State 
 never recognized." The Court, in commenting on the point 
 made by Colonel Bisbee, Stearns' private counsel, that Holland 
 could not raise the point of the unconstitutionality of the bonds, 
 said: "Why? Because our sovereign Lord and King, that is, the 
 present Governor and his private counsel, have seen fit to clairrs 
 and allege that they, in the name of the State and for the State^ 
 are seeking to establish a lien on this property." 
 
 One of the points raised by Holland in the Circuit Court 
 was that the plaintiff had no cause of action. This point, with 
 others, had been overruled by the Judge. The Supreme Court, 
 after citing the clause of the Constitution before mentioned, de- 
 cided that the bonds issued in aid of the Jacksonville, Pensacola 
 
328 CARPETBAG RULE IX FLORIDA. 
 
 and Mobile Railroad were unconstitutional, and that the plaintiff 
 had no cause of action. Justice Westcott, of the Supreme 
 Court, and Judges Goss and Bryson, of the Circuit Court, all 
 Southern men — Bryson and Goss, Republicans, and Westcott, 
 Democrat — adjudicated this important case. [See 15 Fla. Re- 
 ports, page 455.] Stearns was one of the leading impeachers, 
 and this action on his part is only further evidence of the utter 
 fallacy of the several attempts to impeach Governor Reed. 
 
 The attempt to saddle the four millions of bonds on the 
 State, by the Governor, who should have used his official power 
 in its interest, was a powerful campaign document placed in the 
 hands of the Democrats in the canvass of this year and added 
 many votes to that party. Stearns, although defeated in this 
 scheme, did not relax his efforts to secure his nomination. The 
 Stearns managers had, pending this suit, promised some of the 
 freedmen to make them conductors and baggage masters in the 
 event that it was successful. These men, now seeing no hope 
 of the promises being carried out, were rather left in condition 
 to be captured by the anti-ring Republicans. Stearns, to offset 
 this tendency, now for the first time informed them what he 
 knew about certain lands around Lake Jackson, in Leon county. 
 He had for several years been United States Surveyor-General, 
 and had discovered fractional pieces of Government lands around 
 this lake that had been occupied for a number of years by the 
 white planters whose lands were adjoining. W. U. Saunders, 
 who had been temporarily mustered into the ring, was employed 
 to bring this matter to the attention of the freedmen in the 
 name of Stearns, and while Saunders would make good fees in 
 securing entries for them, he could also be able to raise Stearns 
 in the estimaation of the freedmen, many of whom entered these 
 lands, paying enormous fees to Saunders, and forcibly took pos- 
 sessesslon of them only to be ousted, which was done by pro- 
 ceedings for forcible entry. Saunders informed them that all 
 the lands and large plantations around Lake Jackson were Gov- 
 tirnment land, and if Stearns was elected he would see to it that 
 they would get them all. This was a convincing argument, and 
 many of the freedmen deserted the anti-ring Rei>ublicnns and 
 wf-nt in fnr Stearns "to get land." 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA 329 
 
 The so-called Central Committee of the Republican party 
 called themselves together in the latter part of the Spring of 1876 
 for the purpose of calling a State convention to nominate a can- 
 didate for Governor and appoint delegates to the National Re- 
 publican Convention. The Ring, knowing that a large majority 
 of the Republicans of the State was opposed to their man Stearns, 
 were at a loss as to where to hold the Convention so as to better 
 intimidate and terrorize the delegates who should come to the 
 convention against Stearns, "for their name was legion." At 
 the suggestion of Stearns it was agreed to hold this convention 
 at Madison, the home of the carpet-baggers Eagan and Mont- 
 gomery, who were really complete masters of the freedmen, and 
 could make some of them do anything— as in the case of Mont- 
 gomery, who, it was reported and generally believed, while he 
 was tax collector of the county became a defaulter for severa^ 
 thousands of dollars and then induced some of the freedmen to 
 set fire to the court-house and thus destroy the tax records. 
 From the issuance of the call for the convention until and dur- 
 ing its riotous session, whisky was the strongest argument used 
 to demorahze the colored people, with now and then a little 
 money thrown in to keep up the hired loafers who did nothing 
 but follow up white carpet-bag ballot-box stuffers and halloo 
 themselves hoarse for Stearns. The school teachers of the type 
 mentioned, in this chapter, at the command of the preliminary 
 fraudulent county returning boards, and alPthe county officers 
 were in attendance at the precinct meeting and County Conven- 
 tions interfering with and disturbing the proceedings in riotous 
 manner in the interest of Stearns. Through all these outrageous 
 exertions four-fifths of the delegates sent to the convention were 
 opposed to the nomination of Stearns, and these delegates could 
 not be bought, although repeated attempts were made to buy 
 enough of them to secure his nomination. This faiUng, on the 
 part of the State Fraudulent Returning Board, or Central Com- 
 mittee, of which Mr. E. M. Cheney was Chairman, through the 
 direct order of Stearns, arrogated to themselves the right to say who 
 were the legal delegates to the convention. This Committee, a 
 majority of whose members were under the the thumb of the Ring, 
 actually took the place of the convention, and decided the eligibility 
 
330 CAKPETBAO RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of the delegates, and without regard to decency or justice, ex- 
 cluded every delegation that they had any idea v/ould oppose 
 Stearns. In fact, the colored people in the Black Belt Counties 
 who had sent up delegations solidly against Stearns were as com- 
 completely disfranchised as they were before being allowed to 
 vote by the National Government; and if the colored people had 
 known then that Democratic success in the State would be no 
 worse than it hasi proved, they would have dragged that Com- 
 mittee from their hiding place (for they were locked up in a room) 
 and hanged them to the first limb of a tree accessible and then 
 voted the Democratic State ticket. 
 
 One of the most amusing incidents that happened during 
 this mob was that Stearns desired to find out whether Conover 
 had much money to use in his canvas in case the delegates who 
 were turned out of the convention should nominate him as 
 against Stearns. He did not want the nomination if Conover 
 had plenty of money, for the reason that he would not be able 
 to buy him out of the field before the day of election. W. H. 
 Le Cain, carpetbagger, a member of this Central Committee and 
 a professional ballot-box stuffer, was sent to Conover as a spy. 
 He pretended that he would vote to let in the legal delegations 
 if Conover would give him several thousand dollars. Conover 
 had between five and six hundred dollars in greenbacks, but 
 told LeCain to come back in the evening, when he would have 
 plenty of money. He was staying with a wealthy citizen of 
 Madison, and as soon as LeCain departed he sent out and had 
 this money exchanged for dollars and half dollars in silver, and 
 put it into a shot bag. When LeCain returned in the evening 
 Conover drew his bag on him and gave him to understand that 
 this was a bag of gold, at the same time exhibiting several gold 
 pieces in his hand. He told LeCain if he would vote to put in 
 the legal delegations he could have it all, amounting to five 
 thousand dollars. LeCain wanted to see "the pig in the bag,'" 
 which the astute Conover refused, but he said: "You can get 
 it all." LeCain returned to Stearns with the news of the scare 
 ity of money with Conover. Stearns was then willing to take 
 the nomination, feeling certain of being able to buy Conover ofl 
 the field before the election. 
 
CARPKTBACx RULE IN FLORIDA. 33 I 
 
 The freedmen had been ordered in from the country, and 
 large numbers from the slums of the different counties and cities 
 of the State, armed with such weapons as were obtainable, now 
 pervaded the city under the influence of bad whiskey, ready to 
 fight for the despot Stearns, and this so-called convention must 
 therefore go down to posterity as nothing less than a raging mob, 
 with the Governor of the State and four members of his Cabinet, 
 McLin, Cowgill, Eagan and Hicks, as the leaders. One person 
 was shot and several wounded by the mob, which lasted several 
 days, and when the legally elected delegates became fully con- 
 vinced that they could not be heard in the Stearns convention 
 they organized an open air convention and nominated S. B. 
 Conover, of Leon county, for Governor, and Josiah A. Lee, of 
 Sumter county, for Lieutenant-Governor, and a full set of dele- 
 gates to the National Convention. Stearns, after a hard fight 
 even with the delegates of his own choice, was nominated for 
 Governor. David Montgomery, of Madison county, was nomi- 
 nated for Lieutenant-Governor. The Stearns mob then elected 
 delegates to the National Convention, but unfortunately for them 
 they very unwisely excluded the colored brother from the list of 
 delegates. The Conover convention headed its delegation— 
 one-half of which was colored — with ex-Governor Harrison 
 Reed. J. Willis Menard was also chosen as one of the colored 
 delegates. This delegation was admitted to seats in the National 
 Convention, while the mob delegation was sent back to Florida 
 in disgrace— that is to say, any other set of human beings would 
 have considered it a disgrace, but it had apparently no effect 
 upon these heartless plunderers. 
 
 The delegation to the National Convention returned to the 
 State, and Conover, who had been recognized by that body as 
 the Republican nominee, brought with hmi a letter from the 
 Republican National Committee recognizing him as the regular 
 nominee of the parly and advising Stearns to retire from the 
 field. In the meantime the Congressional District Conventions . 
 had been called— one to meet in Tallahassee and the other in 
 Jacksonville, and Stearns had his managers at work in the sev- 
 eral counties buying up the delegates, in order to get himself 
 indorsed by these bodies as the regular nominee of the party. 
 
;^T,2 CARPETI'.AG RULE IX FLORfDA. 
 
 Conover delivered the letter brought by him from the National 
 Committee to Stearns, who paid no attention to it, as he was 
 confident that all was well. When the convention of the First Dis- 
 trict was organized as upposed Conover man was elected chairman. 
 It was soon learned, however, that Stearns had secured him by 
 unfair means. This man was R. H. Dennis, colored, of Es- 
 cambia county. The skirmishing had not proceeded far before 
 George Washington Witherspoon, colored — whom Stearns had 
 attempted to defraud out of a seat in the Legislature in 1875, 
 and one of the delegates who had been disfranchised at Madi- 
 son — arose and declared for Stearns. Of course every one knew 
 what carried George to that side. Before the vote was put, the 
 author of this work warned the convention that if Stearns was 
 endorsed he would be defeated; nevertheless, he was endorsed 
 by the convention, after which W. J. Purman was nominated 
 for Congress, and the convention adjourned. 
 
 In the Second District John R. Scott, of Duval, was one of 
 the aspirants for the Congressional nomination, and he had a 
 very strong following. W. H. Sampson, who was Scott's per- 
 sonal and political friend, advised him not to accept the nomi- 
 nation, but to give his support to some one who would be 
 friendly to him, and suggested that he should see Colonel Bis- 
 bee, which Scott did. He proposed, if Bisbee would secure to 
 himself or his friend the collectorship of customs at Jacksonville, 
 he would, when the convention met, go in for the Colonel for 
 the Congressional nomination and advise his friends to do so 
 also. Bisbee agreed to this. He then turned to Sampson and 
 desired to know what he wanted. Sampson replied that he 
 wanted nothing. Colonel Bisbee then said that in case he was 
 nominated and elected, anything he could do for him would be 
 done with pleasure — and thus the bargain was confirmed. We 
 shall see further on in this chapter whether the colored brother 
 was "worth a promise" or not. 
 
 The District Convention met in Jacksonville. Stearns hav- 
 ing been endorsed in the First District, many of the Republicans 
 having come to the conclusion the party was on its last legs, 
 went in and endorsed him here also. Gen. J. T. Walls was an 
 aspirant for a third nomination, but Scott, true to his promise to 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 333 
 
 Colonel Bisbee, threw his influence to his support, and the Col- 
 onel was nominated. The Conover State ticket still remained in 
 the field, and the Democrats saw nothing ahead but success. 
 The Democratic State Convention was called to meet at Quincy. 
 Everything was cut and dried for the nomination of Geo. F. 
 Drew, of Madison. Some of the Democrats were opposed to 
 the nomination of Drew, for the reason, as they said, that he 
 had blown both hot and cold during the rebellion. This oppo- 
 sition was overcome by the promise of some of Drew's friends 
 that he would put ten thousand dollars into the State canvass. 
 Drew was nominated as a conservative Democrat, and Noble A. 
 Hull, of Orange county, was nominated for Lieutenant-Govern- 
 or. R. H. M. Davidson was nominated for Congress in the 
 First District, and Jesse J. Finley received that nomination in 
 the Second District. Conover being financially embarrassed, 
 was unable to make a canvass, and informed Charles E. Dyke 
 that he would have to withdraw from the field unless the Demo- 
 crats would furnish him sufficient money for the expenses of the 
 campaign. Dyke, remembering the promises of Drew's friends, 
 left Tallahassee in haste and went in search of the millionaire. 
 Drew — unlike the self-sacrificing Bloxham, willing to gives his 
 few thousands for the redemption of his people — would not 
 recognize the promise, and refused to entertain Dykes' proposi- 
 tion to give Conover sufficient money to make his canvass. 
 Things began to look very gloomy for Conover, and to mislead 
 Stearns and compel him to make some effort to get him to with- 
 draw, he issued a public circular to his friends disclosing his 
 determination to remain in the field until the day of election. 
 This circular had the desired effect. A private consultation was 
 had between Stearns and Conover, and an agreement was entered 
 into that, in consideration of twelve or fifteen hundred dollars, 
 Conover should withdraw and advise his friends to to support 
 Stearns. The money was paid, and Conover withdrew, but he 
 did not carry out one very important part of the bargain, name- 
 ly, "advise his friends to support Stearns." In fact, he could 
 not, with any show of decency, ask his friends to vote for 
 Stearns. If the Ring had suffered Conover to be the regular 
 nominee of the party he would have been elected by a good 
 
334 CARPETBAG RULE IX FLORIDA. 
 
 majority, but the Democrats would have secured both branches 
 of the Legislature. Conover would have secured enough fair- 
 minded Democrats to give his administration a fair trial. Had 
 Governor Reed, ini872, resorted to one-fifth oft he dirty work of 
 which Stearns was guilty, he would have been renominated and 
 elected Governor. 
 
 ■ Each party now had their candidates fairly before the peo- 
 ple for their inspection. The Democrats went into the canvass 
 with candidates whose integrity and honesty could not be at- 
 tacked by the Republicans, except that Drew's Union record 
 was secretly assailed by Purman in a circular signed ''A True 
 Democrat." On the other hand, the Republicans witnessed the 
 spectacle of their candidate for Governor being charged with 
 stealing the meat and flour given by the government as a chari- 
 table contribution to helpless men, women and children, who 
 had just emerged from two hundred years of slavery, many of 
 Avhom were clad in rags; the second man on their ticket, Daniel 
 Montgomery, publicly charged with arson ; the third man on 
 the ticket, W. J. Purman, burdened with the crime of causing 
 the slaughter of the innocent victims of the Jackson county 
 troubles; and the fourth man on the ticket, Col. Horatio Bisbee, 
 having arrested Democratic members of the Legislature on 
 trumped up charges, in order to give the carpetbaggers a ma- 
 jority, and further, with attempting through the agency of Stearns 
 of attempting to fasten the illegal four millions of bonds upon 
 the State. The Colonel had for several years been United 
 States District Attorney, during which time these acts were com- 
 mitted, and the Democrats laid them at his door; and he did 
 not then, nor will he ever explain them to the satisfaction of the 
 Southern people. 
 
 Stearns and his helpers went forth to fill their appointments, 
 as planned by the State Central Committee. They had not been 
 in the field long before they became convinced from the outlook 
 that Stearns would be repudiated at the polls. When he returned 
 to Tallahassee after filling his first appointment, he called a 
 meeting of his intimate ring friends and informed them of the 
 outlook. At this meeting it was decreed by McLin, Eagan, 
 Martin, Montgomery, L. G. Dennis, Cheney, and a number of 
 
CARPETBAG RUr.E IN I I.OKIDA. 335 
 
 Other leading lights, that Stearns should be counted in, whether 
 he received sufficient votes or not. Col. William M. Saunders, 
 colored, was designated to encourage the colored voters, many 
 of whom were doubtful of Stearns' election, and were ready to 
 turn over to the opposition. The author of this work was not 
 present at this meeting, but obtained his information as to the 
 intention of Stearns and his managers from Saunders; and, judg- 
 ing from their subsequent acts, such a decree was issued. Many 
 schemes were contrived at the Executive office to put Stearns in 
 as Governor, and among the most notable were the following : 
 First: That the ring county officers, whose duty it was to appoint 
 the inspectors of election, should appoint only those as Republi- 
 can inspectors who would commit all the fraud that possibly 
 could be committed at the ballot box in favor of Stearns. Second: 
 In large Democratic precincts where the ring inspectors would 
 be watched so closely that they could not commit fraud, gross 
 irregularities were to be committed, so that the precinct could 
 be thrown out by the board of county canvassers. Third: In 
 Democratic counties having a full set of Republican officers, or 
 a majority of the board of canvassers, Democratic precincts were 
 to be thrown out on account of these irregularities if the people 
 would submit to it without violence. Fourth: If the throwing- 
 out process raised too much excitement, these irregularities were 
 to be sent up to the State Returning Board, while the action of 
 the county board was to be sent immediately to E. M. Cheney, 
 chairman of the fraudulent returning board of the party at Jack- 
 sonville, who would prepare the papers for the final count. 
 Fifth: In the black belt counties general repeating was to be re- 
 sorted to by the freedmen,andif detected, Stearns, the Governor- 
 elect, would protect them. The 'plans were so systematically 
 laid that those leading colored m.en who had heretofore been 
 lukewarm toward Stearns, now came to the conclusion that he 
 would be the next Governor in spite of all opposition. The re- 
 peating part of the game, in Leon county, was placed by Stearns 
 in the hands of W. U. Saunders, concerning whom we shall give 
 more light hereafter. These rules were laid down by experts who 
 had no difficulty in enforcing their strict enforcement. It will be 
 noticed that the species of fraud contemplated in this election was 
 
336 CARPETBAf; RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of about the same order as those practiced in the election of 1870. 
 mentioned in the ninth chapter, when Bloxham ran for Lieutenant- 
 (rovernor, with the addition of repeating*. The Democrats had 
 now commenced the canvass in earnest. Judge R. B. Hilton, 
 Democratic candidate for Presidential elector, and Wilkinson 
 Call, commenced the canvass in the west, and when 
 they had proceeded as far as Leon county the 
 Judge discovered that he needed funds; and as the million- 
 aire Drew had not come up to the promises of his friends, the 
 Judge found it necessary to mortgage sufficient property to B. C. 
 Lewis & Sons to raise six hundred dollars for the purpose of de- 
 fraying his expenses. This done, he proceeded with the can- 
 vass. The theme of his argument was high taxes and carpet-bag 
 misrule, which awakened those Democrats, Northern settlers and 
 honest colored men who had heretofore turned a deaf ear to 
 Democratic arguments. The great orator. Senator Ben Hill, of 
 Georgia, was called over to "Macedonia to help them." Hill 
 addressed a large concourse of both colors in Jefferson County, 
 and if there was any doubt about the solidity of the whites it 
 was dispelled after this speech. He also made many converts 
 among the colored men. The seat of war was in Leon County, 
 where Rev. W. G. Stewart, colored, had, before Conover with- 
 drew, denounced Stearns from the stump in the most severe 
 terms for stealing the freedman's meat and flour. Stewart had 
 lived several years in Quincy, and had learned the whole history 
 of the matter. Bloxham, who had often heard Stewart arraign 
 Stearns for this crime, was always on hand at the Republican 
 meetings to remind the people of what Stewart had said, and 
 gave us so much trouble that we devised a plan to dodge him. 
 We ceased announcing our meetings by posters, and instead sent 
 men around on horseback to give the necessary notice two or 
 three hours before the time of speaking. By this means we got 
 clear of Bloxham at our meetings. At these meetings the people 
 would be instructed not to go out to hear Bloxham, but for our 
 lives we could not keep the black brother away from the silver- 
 tongued orator. We would go to a precinct and get the brother 
 all right for Stearns, and would report that all was well; but 
 when wc would hear from that precinct again Bloxham had been 
 
(•ARPETBA<; RULE IN FLORIDA. 3^7 
 
 there and taken him back. This thing continued until the 
 day of election. At one of the Democratic demonstrations in 
 Tallahassee, Stearns' managers, for the purpose of getting United 
 States troops into the State, undertook to create a disturbance. 
 The colored people were in town in large numbers, and of 
 course fearful of Democratic ascendency, were much excited. 
 Bowes, the Superintendent of Public Schools, instructed the 
 colored people to interfere with the Democratic procession, and 
 if it had not been for the intervention of the author and W. G. 
 Stewart perhaps hundreds of innocent people would have been 
 sent to untimely graves. This was towards the end of the con- 
 test, and the average white man had "blood in his eyes." Two 
 weeks before election the colored brothers in every precinct 
 were notified by Saunders, Bowes, and other leaders that, unless 
 they voted as many times as they could on the day of election 
 they would be put back into slavery. This trick had a great 
 deal of weight with some of the colored men who, while hating 
 Stearns, were afraid to trust the Democrats. The author of this 
 work and W. G. Stewart advised the colored people to each cast 
 one vote for Stearns, and if such votes would not elect him let 
 him be defeated. 
 
 One of the most daring acts of oppression during this cam- 
 paign was the conduct of Stearns in Manatee county. Capt. 
 John F. Bartholf, Republican, Clerk of Court in this County, 
 resigned the position on account of sickness. He sent his resig- 
 nation immediately to the Governor, and with it the name of 
 a man whom he recommended as his successor. This was in 
 time to have the clerk appointed before the time for the appoint- 
 ment;;of,. inspectors and the making other necessary arrangements 
 for conducting the election had passed. Stearns received the 
 resignation and the name of the man recommended; but now 
 was the opportunity to silence a whole Democratic county, for 
 to have no clerk made it impossible to have an election, and so 
 he absolutely refused to make any appointment. On the day of 
 election the white citizens of the county showed themselves 
 equal to the occasion. They organized in each precinct a Board 
 of Inspectors and secured such papers as were necsesary, polled 
 the full Democratic vote and sent the returns to the State Board 
 
 21 
 
i:v 
 
 CARPETP.A(; RULF. IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of Canvassers. In Leon county, on the day of election, the 
 whites worked industriously among the colored men and secured 
 at least four hundred votes for the Democratic ticket, nine-tenths 
 of whom were not coerced, but cast their votes against Stearns 
 because they were disgusted with his methods. 
 
 The colored brothers, now following the instructions given 
 them by Stearns through Saunders, began to vote early and 
 often. From the Georgia line to the capital was a distance of 
 twentv miles, with three or four precincts between those points. 
 They started early in the morning and voted at every precinct 
 on that line of march to the capital, and each time the same 
 man would vote under an assumed name. It can be fairly esti- 
 mated that at least five hundred votes were secured in Leon 
 county alone by this method. How much of this repeating was 
 done in other parts of the State we shall not attempt to say; but 
 this was a general order to be observed throughout the State, 
 when it could be done without detection. The counties were 
 not then divided into precincts as they are now, and therefore 
 the voter could cast his ballot any where in the county. At 
 one of the Lake Jackson polls, where Stearns had worked up 
 considerable influence through his Government land informa- 
 tion, the handy Superintendent, Joseph Bowes, had camped all 
 night, carrying with him a cart load of rifles. He had notified 
 the colored people to meet him out there, which was done. 
 He informed them that Governor Stearns had sent the rifles out 
 there for their protection. On the contrary, the guns were 
 carried out for his protection in case the whites should detect 
 him in his contemplated frauds. Bowes had prepared in the 
 office of the Tallahassee Sentinel, the official organ of the Gov- 
 ernor, several hundred tickets with the names of the Republican 
 candidates printed in very small type. The tickets were about 
 an inch and a half long by an inch wide. He opened the polls 
 on the morning of election,before the hour designated, and before 
 the whites arrived and deposited in the box as many of these 
 tickets as he desired. When the whites arrived they felt confi- 
 den that something was wrong, but what it was they could not 
 exactly tell, but at the close of the polls, when the ballot box 
 ■V2S opened the secret was revealed. Several hundred of these 
 
CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 339 
 
 ''little jokers" bounced out and were counted just as though 
 they had been honestly voted. The whites protested against 
 counting them, but Bowes and the balance of the board said 
 that they were in the box and must be counted. A large major- 
 ity was by this means sent in for Stearns, from this poll, and 
 Bowes was lionized by the Governor and his managers for this 
 heroic act. 
 
 Before the polls closed on the day of election the Stearns 
 managers sent up the cry of fraud, and commenced to send 
 messages to different parts of the State to make good the frauds 
 and irregularities committed under their instructions, and turn 
 them to the injury of the Democratic candidates. United States 
 troops were sent down to insure a fair count, closely folio «\'ed by 
 the "visiting Statesmen." There have been many things said 
 throughout the country about a bargain between the Democrats 
 and Republicans, with reference to the State being given to 
 Drew, the Democratic nominee for Governor, and to Hayes, the 
 Republican nominee for President. The facts are these: 
 The Tilden managers from the North, Sellers and Biddle, 
 were simply caught in the trap that Stearns had set for 
 them. The Stearns managers commenced filing affidavits 
 before the Board of Canvassers, and Sellers and Biddle 
 insisted that the Democrats should do the same. Judge Hilton, 
 N. L. Campbell and George P. Raney became disgusted with 
 these know-alls, and contended that the powers of the board 
 were purely ministerial ; but as these gentlemen were from New 
 York, and were sent by Tilden, their judgmentprevailed. Hayes 
 was more fortunate than Tilden, as he had the Governor at his 
 back, as well as a majority of the canvassing board. From 
 abroad were General Barlow, William E. Chandler, Gen. Lew 
 Wallace, Governor Noyes and others, all managers on behalf of 
 Hayes. This board, waiting for affidavits from some of the 
 counties, the returns from which had not been sufficiently doc- 
 tored, delayed the commencement ot the canvass. The Tilden 
 managers, not knowing what the Hayes managers meant, ap- 
 plied to the Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, P. W. White, 
 for a mandamus commanding the board to commence the can- 
 vass. Pending the consideration of the petition, the board com- 
 
340 CARPETBAt; RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 menced the canvass, and the proceedings under the petition were 
 discontinued. The board decided that it had power to hear evi- 
 dence as to the legality or illegality of votes cast in a county, 
 and to add to or exclude votes from the returns sent up by the 
 county boards of canvassers. During the canvass, which lasted 
 several days, the little band of conspirators could be seen at 
 night hovering around Stearns in hi^ room at the City Hotel, re- 
 lating to him what they intended to do in the final result. The 
 Democratic lawyers were wasting time and breath when they 
 undertook to argue a point before the two so-called Republican 
 members of the board unless their argument would keep on the 
 fraud inaugurated. Just before the final result it seems that 
 something broke loose among the conspirators, and it was whis- 
 j)ered around that one of them, Cowgill, was about to cave. 
 Whether this was true or not we are not able to say ; but the 
 Hon. W. E. Chandler was much excited about something, and 
 wanted a thousand dollars at once, and M. Martin, carpetbagger 
 from Gadsden county, gave him the money. How much more 
 was raised we never learned. wShortly after this money was 
 given the excitement ceased. In order to keep down any ex- 
 citement and to commit Attorney-General Cocke to the process 
 of excluding votes, the conspirators agreed to take up Clay 
 county, where twenty-nine votes were rejected by the Board of 
 County Canvassers which were cast for Drew, and six votes 
 were rejected that were cast for Stearns. .These votes were now 
 added to the respective candidates, the Attorney-General voting 
 with the conspirators for their restoration. Some of the Demo- 
 cratic managers thought this a very impartial beginning, and 
 were jubilant at the result; but Judge Hilton, who sat in the 
 Amen corner of the Democratic party, thought it boded no good 
 for the final result, and gave them Lochiel's warning. They 
 next came to Manatee county, and here the real intention of the 
 conspirators was made apparent. The board rejected the whole 
 vote of this county upon the ground that it appeared in evidence 
 that there were such irregularities and fraud in the conduct of 
 the election in receiving votes of persons not registered, and on 
 account of there being no registration, and consequently no legal 
 list of qualified voters, no designation of voting places, and no 
 
CARPETBAC. RULE IN FI.ORIDA. 34 I 
 
 notice of election. Cocke, the Attorney-General, now began to 
 vote "No." In Hamilton county a Democratic precinct was 
 deducted from the returns upon the grounds of violation of the 
 election law and of fraud. Five votes were deducted from the 
 returns of Hernando county upon the ground that they were 
 illegally cast. Five hundred and fifty-seven votes were deducted 
 from the returns of Jackson county upon the ground of fraud 
 and irregularity. When Leon county was reached the Democrats 
 showed conclusively that the ballot box at Lake Jackson precinct 
 had been stuffed with the "little jokers," and moved to throw it 
 out, but the conspirators voted No. Two votes, however, were 
 deducted upon the ground that they were illegally cast. From 
 Jefferson county's returns sixty-one votes were deducted upon 
 the ground that they were fraudulently cast. Seven votes were 
 deducted from the Orange county return upon the ground that 
 they were illegally cast. From the returns of Monroe county 
 the vote of a whole precinct was deducted upon the ground of 
 irregularity and fraud. Judge Cocke, not to be inconsistent, 
 voted with the conspirators, except upon the rejection of Man- 
 atee, Monroe, Hamilton and Jackson counties. Thus it was 
 that nine-tenths of the irregularities committed were in Demo- 
 cratic counties, and were the work of officers appointed by 
 Stearns for that very p irpose, and of which he and his managers 
 reaped the benefit. A majority of four hundred and ninety- 
 seven for Drew was turned into four hundred and fifty-eight for 
 Stearns. A majority of ninety-three for Tilden was turned into 
 nine hundred and twenty-eight for Hayes. The board having 
 completed its dishonest work, adjourned without delay. If the 
 Tilden managers had let this board go on and make their can- 
 vass, and had then applied to the Supreme Court for a manda- 
 mus to compel them to count the returns as sent up by the 
 county boards of canvassers, Tilden would have received, what 
 he was really entitled to, the electoral vote of Florida. 
 
 The conspirators were now happy in anticipation of the re- 
 turns of both masters, Stearns and Hayes. McLin, one of the 
 conspirators, and one of the then editors of the Tallahassee 
 Sentinel, cameout in a long editorial declaring that one of the fixed 
 
342 CARPETBAH RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 things of the times was that Stearns would be the (xovernor of 
 Florida for the next four years. 
 
 The visiting statesmen returned to the North and the Flor- 
 ida lawyers now began to set up shop for themselves. R. B 
 Hilton, N. L. Campbell and Geo. P. Raney, on the T3th day 
 of December filed in the Supreme Court a petition for a writ of 
 mandamus, and entered a motion for an alternative writ to be 
 issued according to the prayer of the petition, which asked that 
 the Board of State Canvassers be compelled to reassemble and 
 canvass the returns as sent up by the County Boards of Can- 
 vassers or show cause why they should not do so. Hie al- 
 ternative writ was issued, and Stearns employed J. P. C. Em- 
 mons, who had been so successful in Gov. Reed's case, to 
 defend his title before the court. The board, in their first an- 
 swer, raised the question of jurisdiction of the court, which 
 answer was afterwards amended showing upon what grounds 
 the votes from the several returns were not counted as sent up. 
 The counsel of Drew demurred to the answer of the respondent. 
 The demurrer was sustained by the court and a peremptory writ 
 was issued, commanding the board to count the votes from the 
 face of the returns. Of course there is no answer to any such 
 writ, but the conspirators undertook to tiifle with the court 
 and filed a protest instead of executing its mandate. The court 
 then intimated clearly to the conspirators what they might ex- 
 pect if its mandate was not immediately obeyed. The con- 
 spirators, viewing the iron bars of the prison house in fear and 
 trembling, with weeping eyes returned and made the canvass. 
 The second canvass gave Drew 195 majority over Stearns, and 
 the Hayes electors 214 over Tilden. The board in this canvass 
 threw out the returns from Clay county so as to save the Hayes 
 electors. Cocke, the Attorney-General, submitted a protest to 
 the court against the throwing out of Clay county. Tlie board 
 did not recanvass the vote for Congressmen. Purman had been 
 counted in by 295 majority, and Bisbee by 141 majority. Bis- 
 bee retained his seat but Parman was ousted. As there was 
 nothing before the court but the prayer of the relator to have 
 the vote for (Governor canvassed, the court struck from the return 
 to its order all that related to the canvass of votes other than 
 
CAKrETBAc; RULE IN KLORIDA. 343 
 
 those for (iovernor, saying : that because the respondents had 
 encumbered the records of the court with unnecessary matter, in 
 which the court was not concerned, they do pay the cost of 
 the proceeding. 
 
 Stearns, looking back over the hard labor of his plundering 
 career, and seeing that the packing of juries, the prostitution of 
 the public schools, the disfranchising of whole counties, mob 
 conventions, planned irregularities in elections, the public 
 money expended to get posession of railroads, and the whole- 
 sale stuffing of ballot boxes had availed nothing, still was loath 
 to give up the Government when he was actually in sight of the 
 ])ron-)ised land. He called a consultation of the Ring chiefs at 
 the City Hotel and required to know from them whethtr 
 they would support him should he maintain that he was Governor, 
 the decision of the Supreme Court to the contrary notwithstand- 
 ing. With one voice they all answered yea ! The understand- 
 ing was that all the colored people in the surrounding country 
 should be notified that Stearns would be inaugurated on the day 
 set apart by the constitution, and they were notified accord- 
 ingly. Some of the carpetbaggers doubted the propriety o fdeiy- 
 ing a Republican Supreme Court, but the " Litde Giant" de- 
 clared if Stearns did not hold on to the Government he would 
 kill him. The day before Drew was to be inaugurated Stearns 
 saw many strange faces in Tallahassee among the whites, and he 
 began to grow pale and talk weak. The "Little Giaut " now 
 .seeing that Stearns was about to yield up the ghost, went out 
 and filled himself with the red beverage of hell and came to the 
 hotel to murder him, and he would have attempted to do so, if 
 he had not been locked in a room and detained until he fel^ 
 asleep. In the meantime the whites had made great prepara- 
 tions for the inauguration of Drew. Early the next morning 
 Drew and Stearns were seen coming out of a house together, as 
 though they had been holding a long consultation. The whites 
 we're on hand from Georgia and from all parts of the State in 
 large numbers, and the confiding freedmen came also to see the 
 inauguration of-Stearns. Drew seems to have made it all right 
 with Stearns or Stearns with Drew; and Stearns procured a 
 team and drove into the countrv while Drew was inaugurated. 
 
344 
 
 CARPETBAG RULE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 The whites had stationed in an old cotton storehouse close by 
 the capital, between three and five hundred men, armed 
 with repeating rifles, with the intention of slaughtering 
 the men who might attempt to inaugurate the defeated candi- 
 date. Everything, however, passed off quiedy, and the new 
 liovernor was inaugurated amidst the shouts of thousands of 
 glad-hearted people, both white and black, who now boasted 
 that their votes had done the work. Thus ended the eight years 
 of carpetbag famine and pestilence. 
 
 The Democrats, as soon as the Legislature was organized 
 in 1887, passed a law for the organization of a new Board of 
 Canvassers, consisting of Democrats, and caused a recanvass of 
 the electoral vote of the State as sent up by the Republican 
 County Boards, which showed that Tilden had carried the State 
 by ninety-three majority. The certificate of this result was sent, 
 one to the President of the United States Senate, and one to the 
 Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 
 Horatio Bisbee, now snugly seated in Congress for two 
 years, put there through the influence and labor of the indefait- 
 gable Scott — was looked upon as being above any political tur- 
 jjitude toward his black brother. He was now put in a position 
 to use the great traits which he was supposed to possess, and to re- 
 member the promises made to his colored benefactor, but before 
 the cock crowed thrice he had denied Scott. Gen. Hopkins, 
 of Jacksonville, a Democrat, was appointed Collector of 
 Customs without the knowledge or indorsement of Scott, and 
 was confirmed. Elder Sampson, who had been with Scott when 
 the bargain was made, and to whom the Colonel had also offered 
 .service, chanced to have his son Walter at Washington learning 
 the trade of tyi)e-setting. He thought this an excellent chance 
 to have the Colonel do something for him, and accordingly ad- 
 vised his son to reijuest his aid in procuring a situation in the 
 Government ])rinting office. Walter made the re^juest, but was 
 put off from time to time with the recpiest to ''call again," until, 
 as he said, his shoes, his patience and his money became ex- 
 hausted, and he gave up the pursuit. Some time afier Congress 
 ^i\d adjourned the Colonel came back to Jacksonville, and Samp 
 son somewliat astonished at his conduct, called upon liim to know 
 
carpi: IliAG RULE IN II.ORIDA. 345 
 
 Avhy the promise had not been fulfilled. The Colonel replied 
 that if Scott's name had been sent to the Senate his incompetency 
 would have defeated his confirmation. "But," said Sampson, 
 "Colonel, was that the understanding?" The Colonel, not 
 caring to hear any more about the promise, said abruptly — "Oh 
 
 h 1, I have something else to attend to," and then quietly 
 
 strode away. 
 
 Although the carpet-bag Government was overthrown in 
 1876, a certain property was bequeathed to the colored people 
 by the carpet-baggers which has been and still is to a certain ex- 
 tent very damaging and burdensome to them. They left upon the 
 minds of thousands of our people the impression that the drunk- 
 ard, the thief or the most ignorant were as fit to represent them 
 in the government as the most intelligent and upright men of the 
 race. They impressed upon the minds of thousands of our peo- 
 ple the idea that the great privilege of the suffrage is a purchas- 
 able merchandise; that political meetings and conventions must 
 be run and controlled by mobs, so that peaceable and intelli- 
 gent men should not have a hearing in them; that the best way 
 to accumulate money and acquire an education was to spend 
 their time in gossipping in politics. The demoralization in 
 which our people were left by the cari)et-baggers is gradually be- 
 ing wiped out by the labors of the best men and women and by 
 the colored press of the State. Our people are becoming fully 
 awakened to the necessity of the proper education of their chil- 
 dren. The greater portion of them, who heretofore spent their 
 time in going around electioneering for the purpose of pulling 
 carpet-baggers into office to the neglect of legitimate and profit- 
 able occupation, now turn their attention to acc^uiring property 
 and education. From reliable statistics it appears that they have 
 accumulated, since emancipation, two millions of dollars of 
 property. In all the professions, trades and occupations it is ad- 
 mitted both by our friends and our foes that our progress is sat- 
 isfactory, and in many instances wonderful. While our people 
 were much excited and dissatisfied with the Democratic ascen- 
 dency in the State government in 1876, and while in some local- 
 ities they were the victims of some injustice under Democratic 
 rule, still it has proved a blessing in disguise. The future is full 
 
^4.6 CARPEinAG RILE IN FLORIDA. 
 
 of hope. Prejudice on account of color is passing away, and' 
 the negro has experienced his worst day in this State. But there 
 is one pillar under the right-hand corner of this great edifice of 
 progress that is full of decay and which threatens its destruction. - 
 It is the greatest enemy of our people, and must be met and de- 
 stroyed. Whence comes this threatened danger? Strange, but 
 nevertheless true, it proceeds from the house of God, and its 
 name is Immorality— Licentiousness. Numbers of immoral and 
 ignorant men have invaded the pulpits of our churches and are 
 using the livery of Heaven to serve the devil in. In some of the 
 church denominations the Board of Examination of candidates- 
 to preach are in no better standing as to morality and education 
 Than are the candidates, and therefore, often, unfit candidates 
 have no trouble in procuring a license to preach. In many in- 
 stances these disciples of Satan are frequenters of bar-rooms, 
 and their conduct is no better than the lowest class that fre- 
 quents such places. These men have in times past been guilty 
 of every wrong that can be committed against innocence and 
 virtue, and have violated every moral law and obligation. It 
 will require energetic work and patient teaching to put up the 
 bars against them. We have as good and virtuous men and 
 women among us as are to be found anywhere in the world; and 
 these the subject of this part of this chapter will not affect, other 
 than to cause them to put forth greater efforts to stamp out this 
 curse from among us. As a general rule contagious diseases 
 breaking out in a community have their origm in the most 
 filthy portions of that community, and if not stamped out at 
 once, they penetrate to the cleanest dwellings and attack the 
 learned and wealthy as well as those living in the sluiis. If 
 we will apply this rule to the malady of immorality among our 
 people, we may be profited in every effort that is made to stamp 
 it out. Immorality is one of the worst enemies to the negro's- 
 intellectual and material progress. 
 
 The End. 
 
^^.l^FENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF FLORIDA, 1868. 
 
 We, the people of the State of Florida, by our delegates in 
 convention assembled, in order to secure to ourselves and our 
 posterity the enjoyment of all the rights of life, liberty and prop- 
 erty, and the pursuit of happiness, do mutually agree, each with 
 the' other, to form the following constitution and form of govern- 
 ment in and for said State. 
 
 ARIICLE I. 
 
 Section i. We do declare that all citizens, subjects and 
 people of this State are by birthright free and equal, entitled to 
 equal rights and privileges under the Constitution and laws of 
 the United States. 
 
 Sec. 2. No law shall be made that in spirit or intent recog- 
 nizes any right of property in man, nor shall slavery or involun- 
 tary servitude exist in any form except as punishment for crime 
 after due conviction in courts of law. 
 
 Sec. 3. That all political power is inherent in the people, 
 and all free governments are founded on their authority and 
 established for their benefit, therefore, they have at all times an 
 inalienable and indefeasible right to alter or abolish their form 
 of government in such manner as they may deem expedient. 
 
 Sec. 4. That all men have a natural and inalienable right 
 to worship A mighty God according to the dictates of their own 
 conscience, and that no preference shall ever be given by law to 
 any religious establishment or mode of worship in the State. 
 
 Sec. 5. That no property qualificaiion for eligibility to 
 office, or for the right of suffrage, shall ever be required in this 
 State- 
 
 Sec. 6. That every citizen may freely speak, write, and 
 publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the 
 abuse of that liberty; and no law shall be passed to curtail, 
 abridge, or retam the liberty of speech or of the press. 
 
 Sec. 7. That the right of trial by jury shall forever remain 
 inviolate. 
 
348 APPK.NDIX. 
 
 Sec. 8. That the people shall be secure in their persons, 
 houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable seizures and 
 searches; and that no warrant to search any place, or seize any 
 person or thing, shall issue without describing the place to be 
 searched, and the person or thing to be seized as nearly as may 
 be, nor without probable cause supported by oath or affirmation. 
 
 Si-x. 9. That no person shall be taken, imprisoned, or disseized 
 of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, 
 or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty, or 
 property, but by law of the land. 
 
 Sb-C. 10. That courts shall be open, and every person for 
 an injury done him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, 
 shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice 
 administered without sale, denial, or delay. 
 
 Sec. II. That in all criminal prosecutions the accused hath 
 a right to be heard by himself or his counsel, or both; to demand 
 the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with 
 the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for ob- 
 taining witnesses in his favor; and in all prosecutions by indict- 
 ment or presentment a speedy and public trial by an impartial 
 jury of the county or district where the offence was committed, 
 and shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself. 
 
 Skc. 12. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient 
 securities, unless in capital offences where the proof is evident or 
 the presumption is strong; and the habeas corpus act shall not be 
 suspended unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the pub- 
 lic safety may require it. 
 
 Sec. 13 That excessive bail shall in no case be required; 
 nor shall excessive fines be imposed; nor shall cruel or unusual 
 punishment be inflicted. 
 
 Sec. 14. That no person shall for the same offence be twice 
 put in jeopardy of life and limb. 
 
 Sec. 1 5. That private property shall not be taken or ap- 
 plied to public use unless just compensation be first made therefor. 
 
 Sec. 16. That in all prosecutions and indictments for libel 
 the truth may be given in evidence, and if it shall appear to the 
 jury that the libel is true, and published with good motives and 
 for justifiable ends, that the truth shall be a justification, and the 
 jury shall be the judges of the law and facts. 
 
 Sec. 17. That no person shall be put to answer any crimi- 
 nal charge but by [)resentment, indictmet or impeachment ; but 
 the Legislature may provide for the trial of persons without pre- 
 sentment or indictment for crimes below felon) . 
 
 Sec. 18. That no conviction shall work corruj)tion of blood 
 or forfeiture of estate. 
 
 Sec. 19. That retrospective laws punishing acts committed 
 
APPENDIX 349 
 
 before the existence of such laws, and by them only declared 
 penal or criminal, are oppressive, unjust, and incompatible with 
 liberty, wherefore no ex post facto law shall ever be made. 
 
 Sec 20. That no law impairing the obligation of contracts 
 shall be passed. 
 
 Sec. 21. That the people shall have a right in a peaceable 
 manner to assemble together to consult for the common good, 
 and to apply to those invested with the powers of government 
 for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by petition, 
 address, or remonstrance. 
 
 Sec. 22. That no soldier, in time of peace, shall be quar- 
 tered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in 
 time of war but in a manner prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 23. That no standing army shall be kept up without 
 the consent of the Legislature, and the military sha.l be in strict 
 subordination to the civil power. 
 
 Sec. 24 That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to 
 the genius of a free people and ought not to be allowed. 
 
 Sec. 25 That no hereditary emoluments, privileges, or 
 honors, shall be granted or conferred in this State. 
 
 Sec. 26. That a frequent recurrence to fundamental princi- 
 ples is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. 
 
 Sec. 27. That this State has no right to sever its relations to 
 the Federal Union, or to pass any law in derogation of the para- 
 mount allegiance of the citizens of this State to the Government 
 of the United States. 
 
 Sec. 28. That, to guard against transgressions upon the 
 rights of the people, we declare that everything in this article is 
 excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall 
 forever remain mviolate, and all laws contrary thereto, or to the 
 following provisions, shall be void. 
 
 ARTICLE IL 
 
 DISTRIBUTIVE POWERS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Section i. The powers of the Government of the State of 
 Florida shall be divided into three distinct departments, and 
 each of them confided to a separate body, to wit: those which 
 are legislative to one, those which are executive to another, and 
 those which are judicial to another. 
 
 Sec. 2. No person or collection of persons,' being one of 
 these departments, shall exercise any powers properly belonging 
 to either of the others, except in the instance expressly provided 
 in this constitution. 
 
350 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 EXECUTIVE DKPARTMEN'I. 
 
 Setion I. The supreme executive power of the State shall 
 be vested in a Governor, who shall be commander-in-chief of 
 the army and navy of the State, and the militia, except when 
 called into actual service of the United States. 
 
 Sec;. 2. He shall be elected for four years, and remain in 
 office until his successor is chosen. He shall be a natural-born 
 citizen of the United States, and shall be at least thirty years of 
 age. He shall have been a resident of this State at the adoption 
 of this Constitution, or for three years next preceding his elec- 
 tion. He shall hold no other office under the State or the United 
 States while exercising the office of Governor. 
 
 Sec. 3. He may require information in Avriting from the 
 officers of the executive department upon any subject relating to 
 their respective duties. 
 
 Sec. 4. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the 
 Legislature by proclamation, and shall, at the commencement 
 of every session, communicate in writing such information as he 
 may possess in reference to the condition of the State, and 
 recommend such measures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 Sec. 5. In all cases of disagreement between the two houses 
 in respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn the Leg- 
 islature to such a time as he may think proper, not beyond its 
 Tegular meeting. 
 
 Sec. 6. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, 
 pardon, reprieve, and commute, after conviction, for all offences 
 except treason and cases of impeachment, subject to such regu- 
 lations as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 7. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be 
 kept by the Governor, and used by him officially, which shall 
 be the great seal of the State. 
 
 Sec. 8. There shall also be a Lieutenant-Governor, who 
 shall be an advisory officer of the Governor, and shall be chosen 
 at the same time, and possess the same qualifications as the 
 Governor, and who shall, in case of a vacancy by death, resig- 
 nation, or otherwise, in the office of Governor, exercise all the 
 power and authority belongmg to that office. He shall be ex- 
 ofjicio President of the Senate during the sessions of the General 
 Assembly, but, except in case of a tie, shall have no vote. 
 
 Sec. 9. There shall also be chosen, at the same time and 
 place, and for the same period, a Secretary of State, Treasurer, 
 Auditor, Attorney-General, Adjutant-General, Superintendent 
 of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Emigration, and 
 
APPEXKIX. 351 
 
 Register of Public Lands. Any vacancy in the offices named 
 in this and the preceding section occurring by death, resigna- 
 tion, or otherwise, to be filled by appointment of the Governor, 
 with consent of the Senate, and holding the offices until the next 
 general election. 
 
 Sec. 10. The returns of every election for the officers named 
 in this section shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of 
 government by the returning ofificer, directed to the presiding 
 •officer of the Senate, who, during the first week of the session, 
 shall open and publish the same in the presence of a majority of 
 the members of the General Assembly. The person having the 
 highest number of votes shall be declared duly elected. But, if 
 two or more shall be highest and equal in votes for the same 
 office, one of them shall be chosen by the joint vote of both 
 "houses. Contested elections for executive officers shall be de- 
 termined by both houses of the General Assembly, in such man- 
 ner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. II. The executive officers named in this article shall 
 receive for compensation such sums per annum, payable quarter- 
 annually, not less than the following : Govc-nor, five thousand 
 •dollars; Lieutenant-Governor, four diousand dollars; Secretary 
 of State, three thousand five hundred dollars; Treasurer, three 
 thousand five hundred dollars ; Auditor, three thousand five 
 hundred dollars ; Attorney General, three thousand dollars ; Ad- 
 jutant General, three thousand five hundred dollars ; Superin- 
 tendent of Public Instruction, three thousand five hundred dol- 
 lars ; Register of Public Lands, three thousand dollars ; which 
 sum shall not be increased nor diminished during the term for 
 which they were elected. 
 
 Sec. 12. All commissions shall be in the name and by au- 
 thority of the State of Florida, be sealed with the State seal, and 
 signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State. 
 
 Sec. 13. Every bill which shall have passed both house* of 
 the General Assembly shall be presented to the Governor. If 
 he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it with 
 his objections to the house in which it shall have originated, who 
 shall enter the objections at large upon the journals, and proceed 
 to reconsider it ; and if, upon such reconsideration, two-thirds of 
 the whole number voting shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be 
 sent, with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall be 
 reconsidered; and, if approved by two thirds of the whole num- 
 ber voting, it shall become a law. And if any bill shall not be 
 returned by the Governor within five days, (Sundays excepted,) 
 after its having been presented to him, the same shall become a 
 law ; unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, pre- 
 vent its return, in which case it shall not become a law. The 
 
352 APPENDIX 
 
 same rule as in this section shall apply to e\ery order, resolu- 
 tion, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses may be 
 necessary. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 I.KCISI-ATIVE DEPARTMKN'l'. 
 
 Section i . The legislative power of this State shall be vested 
 in two distinct branches, the one to be styled the Senate, the 
 other the House of Representatives, and both the General As- 
 sembly of the State of Florida, and the style of laws shall be, 
 "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
 the State of Florida in General Assembly convened.*' 
 
 Sec. 2. The members of the House of Represenratives shall 
 be chosen by the qualified voters and shall serve for the term of 
 two years from the day of the general election and no longer. 
 And the sessions of the General Assembly shall be annual, and 
 commence on the second Tuesday of December in each year, 
 until otherwise directed by law. 
 
 Sec. 3 The Representatives shall be chosen every two years 
 on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November until 
 otherwise directed by law. 
 
 Sec. 4. No person shall be a Representative unless he be a 
 citizen of the United States, and shall have been a resident ot 
 the State at the tinje of the adoption of this Constitution, or for 
 two years next preceding his election, and the last six months 
 thereof a resident of the county in which he shall be chosen, and 
 shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 Sec. 5. The Senators shall be chosen by the qualified elect- 
 ors for the term of four years, at the same time, in the same 
 manner, and in the same place where they vote for members of 
 th^House of Representatives ; and no person shall be a Senator 
 unless he be a citizen of the United States, and shall have been 
 a resident of this State at the time of the adoption of this Consti- 
 tution, or for two years next preceding his election, and the last 
 six months thereof a resident of the district or county in which 
 he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-five 
 years. 
 
 Sec. 6. The House of Representatives, when assembled, 
 shall choose a speaker and its other officers, and the Senate its 
 other officers, and in the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor a 
 President /w tetnpore, and each house shall be judge of the qual- 
 ifications, elections, and returns of its members ; but a contested 
 election shall be determined in such a manner as shall be directed 
 bv law. 
 
APPENDIX. 353 
 
 Sec. 7. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum 
 to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
 day, and com})el the attendance of absent members in such man- 
 ner and under such penalties as each house may prescribe. 
 
 Sec. 8. Each house may determine the rules of its own pro- 
 ceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and with 
 the consent of two-thirds expel a member, but not a second time 
 for the same cause 
 
 Sec. 9. Each house, during the session, may punish by im- 
 prisonment any person not a member for disrespectful or disor- 
 derly behavior in its presence, for obstructing any of its proceed- 
 ings, provided such imprisonment shall not extend beyond the 
 end of the session. 
 
 Sec. 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
 and cause the same to be published immediately after its adjourn- 
 ment ; and the yeas and nays of the members of each house shall 
 be taken and entered upon the journals upon the final passage ot 
 every bill, and may by any two members be required upon any 
 other question, and any member of either house shall have lib- 
 erty to dissent from or protest against any act or resolution which 
 he may think injurious to the public or an individual, and have 
 the reasons of his dissent entered on the journals. 
 
 Sec. II. Senators and Representatives shall in all cases, ex- 
 cept treason, felony or breach of peace, be privileged from arrest 
 during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to or 
 returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty 
 miles such member may reside from the place at which the Gen- 
 eral Assembly is convened, and for any speech or debate in 
 either house they shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall make provision by 
 law for filling vacancies that may occur in either house, by death, 
 resignation, or otherwise, of any of its members. 
 
 Sec. 13. The doors of each house shall be open whe» in 
 legislative session, except on such occasions as, in the opinion of 
 the house, the public safety may imperiously require secrecy. 
 
 Sec. 14. Neither house shall, without the consent of the 
 other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
 than that in which diey may be sitting. 
 
 Sec. 15. Bills may originate in either house of the General 
 Assembly; and all bills passed by one house may be discussed, 
 amended or rejected by the other ; but no bill shall have the 
 force of law until on three several days it be read in each 
 house, and time for discussion being allowed thereon, unless, in 
 case of emergency, four-fifths of the house in which the same 
 shall be pending may deem it expedient to dispense with the 
 22 
 
354 APPENDIX 
 
 rule; and every bill having passed both houses shall be signed 
 by the Speaker and President of their respective houses. 
 
 Sec. 1 6. Each member of the General Assembly shall re- 
 ceive from the public treasury such compensation for his ser- 
 vices as may be fixed by law, but no increase of compensation 
 shall take effect during the term for which the Representatives 
 were elected when such law passed. 
 
 Sec. 17. The session of the General Assembly shall not ex- 
 tend in duration over sixty days, unless it be deemed expedient 
 by a concurrent majority of two-thirds of the members of each 
 house ; and no member shall receive pay from the State for his 
 services after the expiration of ninety days continuously, from 
 the commencement of the session. 
 
 Sec. 18. The General Assembly shall by, law, authorize 
 the Circuit Court to grant licenses for building toll-bridges, and 
 to establish ferries, and to regulate the tolls for both; to con- 
 struct dams across streams not navigated : to ascertain and de- 
 clare what streams are navigable, but no special law for such 
 purpose shall be made. 
 
 Skc. 19 The General Assembly shall pass a general law 
 prescribing the manner in which the names of persons might be 
 changed, but no special law for such purpose shall be passed ; 
 and no law shall be made allowing minors to contract or 
 manage their estates. 
 
 Sec. 20. The General Assembly shall pass a general law 
 for the incorporation of towns, religious, literary, scientific, 
 benevolent, military, and other associations, not commercial, 
 industrial or financial ; but no special act incorporating any such 
 association shall be passed. 
 
 Sec. 21. No act incorporating any railroad, banking, in- 
 surance, commercial or financial corporation shall be introduced 
 into the General Assembly, unless the person or persons apply- 
 ing for such corporation shall have deposited with the Treasurer 
 the sum of one hundred dollars as a bonus to the State. 
 
 Sec. 22. Officers shall be removed from office for incapac- 
 ity, misconduct, or neglect of duty in such manner as may be 
 provided by law, when no mode of trial or removal is provided 
 in this Constitution. It shall be the duty of the General Assem- 
 bly to pass a homestead law, by which any public lands belong- 
 ing to the .State may be disposed of to actual settlers at a nomin- 
 al price. 
 
 ARTK LE V. 
 
 .iUI)lCI.\L I'EPARTMKNT. 
 
 Section i. 'ihe judicial powers of this State, both 
 as to matters ot law and equity shall be vested in a Supreme 
 
APPENDIX 355 
 
 Court, Court of Chancery, Circuit Courts, County Courts, and 
 Justices of the Peace, and such Corporation Courts as the Gen- 
 eral Assembly may establish ; but no Corporation Court shall 
 have criminal jurisdiction in capital cases, nor shall courts 
 have civil jurisdiction above the sum ot two hundred dollars. 
 
 SUPREME COUR r. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise di- 
 rected in this Constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction 
 only, which shall be co-extensive with the State, under such re- 
 strictions and regulations, not repugnant to this Constitution, as 
 may from time to time be prescribed by law : Provided^ said 
 courts shall always have power to issue writs of injunction, man- 
 damus, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and such other and 
 remedial writs as may be necessary to give it a general superin- 
 tendence and control of all other courts. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Supreme Court shall consist of three Justices, 
 one of whom shall be a Chief Justice, and shall be holden at 
 such times and places as may be prescribed by law. The 
 Justices of the Supreme, and Judges of the Circuit Court shall 
 be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Senate, and the Justices of the Supreme Court shall 
 hold their office from the date of their appointment and con- 
 firmation for the space of nine years, unless sooner removed 
 as herein prescribed. 
 
 Sec. 4. No man shall be eligible as Justice of the Supreme 
 Court unless he be a citizen of the State at the time of the adop- 
 tion of this Constitution : Provided, That from the date of five 
 years after the adoption of this Constitution no man shall be 
 eligible as Justice of the Supreme Court unless he shall have re- 
 sided in this State five years next preceding the date of his 
 appointment and confirmation, and shall have practiced law in 
 the courts of chancery and common law of this State two 
 years next preceding his appointment and confirmation. 
 
 Sec. 5. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall receive 
 such compensation for their services not less than four thousand 
 dollars to each Justice per annum, as may be fixed by law, which 
 shall not be diminished during their continuance in office, but 
 said Justices shall receive no fees, perquisites of offtce, nor hold 
 any office of profit under the United States, or any other power. 
 
 Sec. 6. There shall be appointed by the Justices of the 
 Supreme Court a clerk whose duties shall be prescribed by law : 
 Provided, The General Assembly shall have power to provide lor 
 the appointment of a reporter, whose duties shall be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
^ 
 
 356 APPENDIX. 
 
 CIRCUIT COURTS. 
 
 Sec. 7. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits ; 
 and for each circuit there shall be a Judge who shall, after his ap- 
 pointment and confirmation, reside in the circuit for which he 
 has been appointed, and shall receive for his services a salary 
 not less than three thousand five hundred dollars per annum ; 
 but said Judges shall receive no fees, perquisites of office, nor 
 hold any other office of profit under the State, the United States 
 or any other power. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Circuit Courts shall have original jurisdiction in 
 all matters, civil ,and criminal, not otherwise excepted in this 
 Constitution ; and, until the General Assembly shall establish 
 separate courts of chancery, the Circuit Courts shall have juris- 
 diction in all chancery cases, under such rules and regulations as 
 may be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 9. A Circuit Court shall be held in such counties, and 
 at such times, and places therein, as mayjbe prescribed by law ; and 
 the Judges of the several Circuit Courts may hold courts for each 
 other, either for the entire circuit or a portion thereof; and they 
 shall do so when required by order of the Governor, or the Chief 
 Justice of the Supreme Court; and they may exercise jurisdic- 
 tion in cases of writs of habeas corpus in any judicial circuit in 
 which the Judge may happen to be at the time the case arises. 
 
 Sec to. The General Assembly shall have power to es- 
 tablish and organize a separate court or courts of original equity 
 in jurisdiction. 
 
 Sec. II. The same qualification, and none other shall be 
 required for eligibility for office for the Judges of the Circuit 
 Courts and Chancellors as are now required by this Constitution 
 for Justices of the Supreme Court, and they shall hold their 
 office for the space of six years from the date of their appoint- 
 ment and confirmation. 
 
 Sec. 12. There shall be appointed for each county in this 
 State, by the Judge of the Circuit Court thereof, a clerk, 
 whose duty shall be prescribed bylaw, and who shall hold his 
 office four years unless otherwise directed by law. 
 
 Sec 13. There shall be appointed by the Governor, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate, for each county, in 
 this State, a Judge of the County Court, whose duty shall be to 
 take probate of wills, to grant letters testamentary of administra- 
 tion and guardianship, to attend to the settlement of the estates 
 of decedents and minors, and to discharge the duties usually ap- 
 pertaining to courts, of ordinary and such other duties as may be 
 required by law, and exercise such criminal jurisdiction not to 
 extend to crimes of as high grade as felony, and such civil juris- 
 diction not to extend to amounts over five hundred dollars, as 
 
APPENDIX. 357 
 
 may be prescribed by law, which County Court shall be subject 
 to the direction of the Circuit Court by appeal. 
 
 Sec. 14. The Judge of the County Court shall have power 
 to appoint a Clerk in certain counties, to be specified by law, 
 who shall receive such compensation in fees as may be pre- 
 scribed by law. The Judges of the County Court shall receive 
 such compensation for their services as may be prescribed by 
 law; provided, the General Assembly shall fix the pay of said 
 Judges according to the number of inhabitants in the county in 
 'which "they may preside. 
 
 Sec. 15. A competent number of Justices of the Peace 
 shall, from time to time, be appointed by the Governor, who 
 shall hold their offices for four years from the time of their ap- 
 pointment, and shall exercise such jurisdiction, criminal and 
 civil, with the right of appeal, as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 16. The Justices of the Supreme Court, and the Judges 
 of the Circuit Court, shall not be removed from office during the 
 term for which they may have been appointed and confirmed, 
 except for wilful neglect of duty or reasonable cause, (which 
 shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment,) for which the 
 Governor may remove any of them, on the address of two-thirds 
 of the General Assembly: Provided, however. That the cause or 
 causes shall be notified to the justice or judge so intended to be 
 removed, and shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defence 
 before any vote for such removal shall pass; and, in such case, 
 the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered on the 
 journals of each house, respectively; and, in cases of appoint- 
 ment to fill a vacancy in said offices, the person so appointed 
 shall only hold office for the unexpired term of his predecessor. 
 
 Sec. 17. Whenever a vacancy shall occur, either in the Su- 
 preme, Circuit, or Chancery, or County Courts, or in the office 
 of Justice of the Peace, or any other office provided for in this 
 article of the Constitution, such vacancy shall be supplied by the 
 power having, in this article of the Constitution, the appoint- 
 ment of said officer, and shall be for only the unexpired term 
 made vacant; but it shall not be competent for the Governor to 
 fill a vacancy in the Supreme, Chancery, or Circuit Courts, ex- 
 cept by and with the advice and consent of the Senate: provided, 
 the Governor may fill such vacancy during the recess of the 
 General Assembly, which shall be valid until confirmed or re- 
 jected by the Senate. 
 
 Sec. 18. All officers provided for in this article of the Con- 
 stitution, whose removal has not been herein prescribed, may be 
 removed for misbehavior, or other reasonable cause, by the 
 power having their appointment; but no such officer shall be re- 
 
358 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 moved, except for wilful neglect of duty, or a violation of the 
 criminal law of the State. 
 
 Sf.c. 19. The Justices of the ^Supreme Court, Judges of the 
 Circuit Court, and Justices of the Peace, shall, by virtue of their 
 offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State. 
 
 Sec. 20. The style of al process shall be "the State of 
 Florida," and all criminal prosecution shall be carried on in the 
 name of the State, and all indictments shall conclude against the 
 peace and dignity of the same. 
 
 Sec. 21. There shall be one Solicitor for each circuit, who 
 shall receive his appointment from the Judge presiding over the 
 circuit for which he shall be appointed, and hold his office for 
 the same term as the Judge of the Circuit Court. 
 
 Sec. 22. No Justice of the Supreme Court shall sit as a 
 Judge, or take part in the Appellate Court, in the trial or hearing 
 of any case which he shall have decided in the court below. 
 
 Sf.c. 23. The General Assembly shall have power to estab- 
 lish in each county a Board of County Commissioners, for the 
 regulation of county business therein. 
 
 Sec. 24. No duty, not judicial, shall be imposed by law 
 upon the Justices of the Supreme Court, Chancellors, or Judges 
 of the Circuit Courts of this State, except in cases otherwise pro- 
 vided for in this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 25. It shall be the duty of the Governor to appoint for 
 cach county in this State one Sheriff, and a number of con- 
 stables, to be fixed by law, whose duties shall be prescribed by 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 SUFFRAGE AND ELK^BILITV. 
 
 Section i. All elections by the people shall be by ballot, 
 and all voters shall be registered at least one day before the 
 election. 
 
 Sec. 2. (General elections shall be held biennially on the 
 Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, and the term 
 of service of State and county officers elect shall commence on 
 the third Tuesday of December following. 
 
 Sec. 3. Every male i)erson of twenty-one years and upwards 
 who shall have been a bona fide resident of this State at the 
 time of the adoption of this Constitution, or a bona fide resident 
 of this State for six months next preceding the election, and a 
 bona fide resident of the county in which he offers to vote, for 
 thirty days next preceding the election, and who shall not have 
 held any office, civil or military, under the Tnited States, or 
 
ATPENDJ-X. 359 
 
 under any State, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or re- 
 bellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the 
 enemies thereof, and who shall, before registering, take and sub- 
 scribe the following oath, shall be deemed a qualified voter at 
 any public election in this State: 
 
 I^ . do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am twen- 
 ty-one years of age; that I am a citizen of the State of Florida; 
 
 that I have resided in said State months next preceding 
 
 this day; days in this county next preceding this day; that 
 
 I have never held any office of honor or trust, civil or military, 
 under the United States, or under any State, and afterwards 
 engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, 
 or given anv aid or comfort to the enemies thereof: that I will 
 faithfully support the Constitution and laws of the United 
 States, and the Constitution and laws of Florida, and will, to the 
 best of my ability, encourage others so to do; that I wili not in 
 any w^ay or manner injure, or countenance in others any attempt 
 to injure, any person or persons on account of past or present 
 support of the Government of the United States; and that I will 
 not deprive or attempt to deprive any person or persons of any 
 civil or political right on account of race, or color, or previous 
 condition, or for affiliation with any political party, which right 
 may be enjoyed by any other class of men: so help me God. 
 
 But the General Assembly may remove the disability hii- 
 posed on account of participation in the rebellion by a two- 
 thirds vote of each house. 
 
 Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 
 provide, from time to time, for the registration of all persons 
 qualified by this article as electors. 
 
 Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 
 enact adequate laws, giving protection against the evils arising 
 from the use and sale of intoxicating liquors at elections. 
 
 Sec. 6. Returns of elections for all civil officers elected by 
 the people, who are to be commissioned by the Governor, and 
 also for the members of the General Assembly, shall be made to 
 the Secretary of State. 
 
 Sec. 7. No person who may hereafter be a collector or 
 holder of public moneys shall have a seat in either house of the 
 General Assembly, or be eligible to any office of trust or profit 
 under this State until he shall have accounted for and paid into 
 the treasury all sums of w^hich he may be accountable. 
 
 Sec. 9. No Senator or Representative shall, during the 
 term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any 
 civil office of profit under this State which shall have been 
 created, or the emolument of which shall have been in- 
 
360 APPENTIIX. 
 
 creased, during such term, except such office as may be filled by 
 election by the people. 
 
 Sec. 10. All civil officers of the State at large shall reside 
 within the State, and all district or county officers within their 
 respective districts or counties, and shall keep their respective 
 offices at such places therein as may be required by law. 
 
 Sec. II. Every person shall be disqualified from serving as 
 Governor, Senator, Representative, or from holding any other 
 office of honor or profit in this State for the term for which he 
 shall have been elected, who shall have been convicted of having 
 L^fiven or offered any bribe to procure his election. 
 
 Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 
 regulate by law in what cases and what deductions from the sal- 
 aries of public officers should be made for an) neglect of duty 
 in their official capacity. 
 
 Sec. 13. No member of Congress, or person holding or ex- 
 ercising any office of profit under the United States, or any for- 
 eign power, shall be eligible as a member of the General As- 
 sembly of this State, or hold or exercise any office of profit under 
 the State. 
 
 Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall by law provide for 
 the appointment or election, and removal from office, of all 
 officers, civil and military in this State, not provided for in this 
 constituton. 
 
 Sec. 15. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 Sec. 16. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; 
 when sitting for that purpose the Senators shall be upon oath or 
 affirmation : and no person shall be convicted without the con- 
 currence of two-thirds of the members present. 
 
 Sec. 17. The Governor and all civil officers shall be liable 
 to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office, but judgment in 
 such cases shall not extend further than to removal from office 
 and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit 
 under this State; but the parties nevertheless shall be liable to 
 indictment, trial and punishment, according to law. 
 
 ARTICLE Vll. 
 
 Mii.niA. 
 
 Seciiu-n I. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 
 provide for the organization of the militia of the State, and of- 
 ficers therein shall be appointed under such rules as the General 
 .\ssembly may direct. 
 
 Sec. 2. Xo commission shall l>e vacated except by a sen- 
 
AT'PENDIX. 361 
 
 tence of a court martial or upon resignation accepted by the 
 Governor. 
 
 ARTICLE MIL 
 
 TAXATION AND REVENUE. 
 
 Section i. The General Assembly shall devise and adopt a 
 system of revenue, having regard to an equal and uniform mode 
 of taxation throughout the State. 
 
 Sec. 2. No other or greater amount of tax or revenue shall 
 at any time be levied than may be required for the necessary ex- 
 penses of the Government. 
 
 Sec. 3. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in 
 consequence of an appropriation by law, and a regular statement 
 of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be 
 published and promulgated annually with the laws of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall have power to author- 
 ize the several counties and incorporated towns in this State to 
 impose taxes for county and corporation purposes, respectively, 
 and all property shall be taxed upon the principles established in 
 regard to State taxation. 
 
 Sec. 5. The General Assembly shall have power to author- 
 ize the levying of a capitation taxation tax not exceeding one dol- 
 lar upon each voter in any one year, the same to be used exclu- 
 sively for school purposes. 
 
 Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the Governor to appoint for 
 each county in this State one Assessor and Collector of Taxes, 
 whose duties shall be prescribed by law, who shall hold his of- 
 fice for two years from the time of his appointment, but may be 
 removed in the manner prescribed in the Constitution for the re- 
 moval of Justices of the Peace. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 CENSUS AND APPORTIONMENT. 
 
 Section 1. The (General Assembly shall, in the year one 
 thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, and every tenth year 
 thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made of all the inhabi- 
 tants of the State; and thev shall then proceed to apportion the 
 Representatives and Senators among the different counties, ac- 
 cording to such enumerntion, on the ratio of population as near 
 as may be. and which rates shall not be changed until a new 
 census shall have been taken. 
 
362 APPENDIX. 
 
 Skc. 2. \Vhen any Senatorial or Representative district 
 shall be composed of two or more counties, the counties of 
 which such district consists shall not be entirely separated by any 
 county belonging to another district, and no county shall be di- 
 vided in forming districts. 
 
 Sec. 3. No county now organized shall be divided into new 
 counties, so as to reduce the inhabitants of either below the rates- 
 of representation. 
 
 Sec. 4. The several counties of this State shall be entitled 
 to the following representatives, viz: Escambia, two; Santa 
 Rosa, one; Walton, one; Washington and Holmes, one; Jack- 
 son, four ; Calhoun and Franklin, one ; ( iadsden and Liberty^ 
 four; Wakulla, one; Leon, seven ; Jefferson, five; Madison, 
 four; Taylor and Lafayette, one; Hamilton, one ; Suwanee, 
 one; Columbia, two; Baker and Bradford, one ; Nassau, one ; 
 Duval two; Clay, St. Johns and Putnam, two; Alachua and 
 Levy, four; Marion, five; Hernando and Sumter, one; Or- 
 ange, Volusia, Brevard and Dade, one ; Hillsborough, Polk and 
 Manatee, one; Monroe, one. The several counties of this 
 State shall be entided to the following Senators : Escambia, one:. 
 Santa Rosa, Walton and Holmes, one; Jackson, Washington, 
 and Calhoun, two ; Gadsden, Liberty and Franklin, two; Leon 
 and Wakulla, four; Jefferson and Taylor, three; Madison and 
 Hamilton, three; Suwanee and Columbia, one; Baker and Nas- 
 sau, one; Duval, one; Clay, St. Johns and Putnam, one; Brad- 
 ford, Alachua and Lafayette, two; Marion and Levy, two; Her- 
 nando, Sumter, Orange, Volusia, Brevard and Dade, one; Hills- 
 borough, Polk, Manatee and Monroe, one. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 EJ^UCAIION. 
 
 Section 1. It shall be the duty of theCieneral Assembly tc 
 provide a liberal system of free schools, to 1)e under the super- 
 vision of the school commission of the State. 
 
 Sec. 2. The proceeds of all public lands for the use of 
 schools and seminaries of learnings shall be and remain a per- 
 petual fund, the interest of which, together with all moneys ac- 
 crued from any other source applicable to the same object, shalL 
 be inviolably appropriated to the use of schools and seminarie^^ 
 of learning, respectively, and to no other purpose. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Ceneral Assembly shall take such measures a^ 
 may be necessary to preserve from waste or damage all public 
 lands so granted and a))proj)riated for the purpose of education. 
 
 Sec 4. The Cieneral Assembly of this State shall forever be 
 
APPENDIX. ^^3 
 
 prohibited from making any distinctions in schools, seminaries 
 and colleges based upon caste, color or birth. 
 
 Sec. "5. The General Assembly shall have power to estab- 
 lish an agricultural college at the earliest possible moment. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 PUBLIC DOMAIN. 
 
 Section i. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 
 provide for the prevention of waste and damage of the public 
 lands that have been or may hereafter be ceded to the State of 
 Florida, and it may pass laws for the sale of any part or portion 
 thereof, and in such cases provide for the safety, security and 
 appropriation of the proceeds. 
 
 Sec. 2. A liberal 'system of internal improvements, being 
 essential to the development of the resources of the State, shall 
 be encouraged by the Government of this State ; and it shall be 
 the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as practicable, to as- 
 certain by law proper objects for the extension of internal im- 
 i.rovements, in relation to roads, canals and navigable streams, 
 and to provide for a suitable application of such funds as may 
 have been or may hereafter be appropriated by said General As- 
 sembly for such improvements. 
 
 Sec. 3. The General Assembly may create internal improve- 
 ment districts, composed of one or more counties, and may grant 
 a right to the citizens thereofto tax themselves for their improve- 
 ments. Said internal improvement districts, when created, 
 shall have the right to select Commissioners, shall have 
 power to appoint officers, fix their pay, regulate all matters 
 relative to the improvements of their districts, pro^-ided such im- 
 provements will not conflict with the general laws of the State. 
 
 Sec. 4. The General Assembly may grant aid to said dis- 
 tricts out of the funds arising from the swamp and overflowed 
 lands granted to the State by the United States for that purpose, 
 or otherwise. 
 
 Sec. 5. The General Assembly may at any time cede to the 
 United States Government a sufficient parcel or fraction of land 
 for the purpose of coast defence and other national purposes. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 boundaries. 
 
 Section i. The boundaries of the State of Florida shall be 
 as follows : Commencing at the mouth of the river Perdito; from 
 thence up the middle of said river to where it intersects the south 
 
364 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 boundary line of the State of Alabama and the thirty-first degree 
 of north latitude ; then due east to the Chattahoochie river; then 
 down the middle of said river to its confluence with the Flint 
 river; from thence direct to the head of the Saint Mary's river; 
 thence down the middle of said river to the Atlantic ocean ; 
 thence southwardly to the Gulf of Florida and Gulf of Mexico: 
 thence northwardly and westwardly, including all islands within 
 five leagues of this, to the beginning. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 CORPORA 11 OXS. 
 
 Section i. Corporations may be formed under general laws 
 for municipal, religious, literary, 'scientific, benevolent, military 
 and other associations, not commercial, industrial or financial, 
 but no special act incorporating any such association shall be 
 passed. All general laws and special acts passed pursuant to this 
 section may be altered, amended or repealed. 
 
 Sec. 2. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such 
 individual liabilities of the corporators or other means as may be 
 prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 3. Each stockholder in any corporation shall be liable 
 to the amount of the stock held or owned by him. 
 
 Sec. 4. The property of corporations, now existing or here-. 
 after created, shall forever be subject to taxation the same as 
 property of individuals, except corporations for educational and 
 charitable purposes. 
 
 Sec. 5. No right of way shall be appropriated to the use of 
 any corporation until full compensation therefor be first made in 
 money or secured by a deposit of money to the owner, irrespect- 
 ive of any benefit from any nnprovement proposed by such cor- 
 poration, which compensation shall be ascertained*by a jury of 
 twelve men in a court of record, as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall not have power to es- 
 tablish or incorporate any bank, banking company or moneyed 
 institution for the purpose of issuing bills of credit, or bills pay- 
 able to order or bearer, except under the conditions prescribed 
 in this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 7. No bank shall be established otherwise than under 
 a general banking law, as pro\'ided in the first section of this 
 article. 
 
 Sec. S. The (General Assembly may enact a general banking 
 law, which law shall provide for the registry and countersigning, 
 by the Governor of the State, of all paper credit designed to be 
 created as money : and for ample collateral security convertible 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 365 
 
 into specie, or the redemption of the same in gold or silver, shall 
 be required, and such collateral security shall be under the con- 
 trol of such officer or officers as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 9. All bills or notes issued as money shall be at all 
 times redeemable in gold or silver, and no law shall be passed 
 sanctioning directly or indirectly the suspension, by any bank or 
 banking company, of specie payments. 
 
 Sec. 10. Holders of bank notes shall be entitled, in case of 
 insolvency, to preference of payment over all other creditors. 
 
 Sec. II. Every bank or banking company shall be required 
 to cease all banking operations within twenty years from the time 
 of its organization, and promptly thereafter to close its business. 
 
 Sec. 12. No bank shall receive, directly or indirectly, a 
 greater rate of interest than shall be allowed by law to individ- 
 uals lending money. 
 
 Sec. 13. The State shall not be a stockholder in any bank, 
 nor shall the credit of the State ever be given or lent to any bank- 
 ing company, association or corporation, except for the purpose 
 of expediting the construction of railroads or works of internal 
 improvement within this State, and the credit of this State shall 
 in no case be given or lent without the approval of both houses 
 of the General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 14. All corporations shall have the right to sue, and 
 shall be subject to be sued, in all courts in like cases as natural 
 persons. 
 
 Sec. 15. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 
 provide for the organization of cities and incorporated towns, 
 and to restrict their power of taxation, assessments and contract- 
 ing of debts. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 INDUSIRIAL RESOURCES. 
 
 Section i. A bureau of industrial resources shall be estab- 
 slihed, to be under the management of the Commissioner of Emi- 
 gration, who shall be elected at the first general election, and 
 shall hold his office for the term of four years. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Commissioner of Industrial Resources shall col- 
 ect and condense statistical information concerning the produc-1 
 ive industries of the State; and make or cause to be made, at 
 careful, accurate, and thorough report upon the agriculture and 
 geology of the State, and annually report such additions as the 
 progress of scientific development and extended explorations 
 may require. He shall, from time to time, disseminate among 
 the people of the State such knowledge as he may deem impor- 
 
366 APPENDIX. 
 
 tant concerning improved machinery and production, and for 
 the promotion of their agricultural, manufacturing, and mining 
 interests; and shall send out to the people of the United States 
 and foreign countries such reports concerning the industrial re- 
 sources of Florida as may best make known the advantages 
 offered by the wState to emigrants; and shall perform such other 
 dutiesas the General Assembly may require. 
 
 Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, at the 
 first session after the adoption of this Constitution, to pass such 
 laws and regulations as may be necessary for the government 
 and protection of this bureau, and also to fix and provide for the 
 compensation of the Commissioner. 
 
 Sec. 4. This bureau shall be located, and the Commissioner 
 shall reside at the capital of the State; and he shall annually 
 make a written or printed report to the Governor of the State, 
 to be laid before the General Assembly at each session. 
 
 Sec. 5. Incase of the death, removal, or resignation of the 
 Commissioner, the Governor, with the approval of the Senate, 
 shall have power to appoint a Commissioner for the unexpired 
 term. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 ELIGIHILITV AND TENURE OF OFFICE. 
 
 Section i. All ofticers of this State, civil and military, be- 
 fore they enter upon the execution of the duties of their respec- 
 tive offices, shall take and subscribe the following oath: I do 
 solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne 
 arms against the United States since I have been a citizen there- 
 of; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, or en- 
 couragement, to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that 
 I have neither sought, nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise 
 any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility to the United 
 States; that I have not yielded voluntary support to any pretend- 
 ed government, authority, power, or constitution within the 
 United States, hostile or inimical thereto; and I do further swear 
 (or affirm) that I will, to the best of my ability and knowledge, 
 support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and 
 of the State of Florida, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; 
 that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take 
 this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose 
 of evasion; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the 
 office on which I am about to enter: so help me God. Any per- 
 son who shall falsely take this oath shall be deemed guilty of 
 perjury, and on conviction thereof, in addition to the penalties 
 
APPENDIX. 367 
 
 which may by law be prescribed for that offence, shall be de- 
 prived of his office, and rendered forever incapable of holding 
 any office in this State; but the General Assembly may, on the 
 recommendation of the Governor, by a vote of two-thirds of 
 <each house, remove the disability imposed in this article for aid- 
 ing or countenancing the rebellion. 
 
 AR I ICLE XVI. 
 
 AMENDMENTS AND REVISION. 
 
 Section i. No part of this Constitution shall be altered 
 ■except by a convention duly elected. 
 
 Sec. 2. No convention of the people shall be called unless 
 by the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of each 
 house of the General Assembly, made known by the passing of 
 a bill, which shall be read three times on three several days in 
 each house. 
 
 Sec. 3. Whenever a convention shall be called proclama- 
 tion of an election for delegates shall be made by the Governor 
 at least thirty days before the day of election. Every county 
 and Senatorial district shall be entitled to as many delegates as 
 it has Representatives in the General Assembly. The same 
 qualifications shall be required in delegates and electors that are 
 required in members of the ( reneral Assembly, and voters for 
 the same, respectively, and the election of delegates to a con- 
 vention, and the returns of such election, shall be held and 
 made in the manner prescribed by law for regulating elections 
 for members of the General Assembly; but the convention shall 
 judge of the qualifications of its own members. 
 
 ARTICLE XVII. 
 
 SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Section i. The seat of government shall be, and remain 
 permanent, at the city of Tallahassee, until otherwise provided 
 for by the action of a convention of the people of the State. 
 
 ARTICLE XVIII. 
 
 general powers. 
 
 Section i. The jurors of this State shall be citizens of the 
 United States, possessed of such qualifications as may be pre- 
 scribed by law. :^_^_^ 
 
-68 APPENDIX. 
 
 Sec. 2. Treason against the State shall consist only in levy- 
 ing war against it or the United States, or in adhering to its 
 enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be con- 
 victed of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the 
 same overt act, or his confession in open court. 
 
 Sec. 3. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be 
 allowed bufby the judgment of a court, as shall be prescribed 
 bv law. 
 
 Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall declare by law what 
 parts of the common law and what parts of the civil law, not 
 inconsistent with this Constitution, shall be in force in this State. 
 
 Sec. 5. The oath of office directed to be taken under this 
 Constitution may be administered by any Judge or Justice of the 
 Peace in the State of Florida, until otherwise provided by law. 
 
 Sec. 6. In all actions of law, civil and criminal, every citi- 
 zen of this State shall be equally competent to give evidence, 
 under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the 
 General Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 7. No person shall be capable of holding or bemg 
 elected to any post of honor, profit, trust, or emolument, civil 
 or military, legislative, executive or judicial, under the govern- 
 ment of this State, who shall hereafter fight a duel, or send or 
 accept a challenge to fight a duel, the probable issue of which 
 may be the death of the challenger or challenged, or shall be a 
 second to either party, or who shall in any manner aid or assist 
 in such a duel, or shall be knowingly the bearer of such a chal- 
 lenge, or acceptance, whether the same occur or be committed 
 in or out of the State; but the legal disability shall not occur 
 until after the trial and conviction according to due form of law. 
 
 ARTICLE XIX. 
 
 SCHEDULE AND ORDIN ANC E. 
 
 Section i. All laws of the State, passed and in operation be- 
 fore the assembling of this Convention, not repugnant to the 
 Constitution of this State and the Constitution of the United 
 States, and acts of Congress of the United States, and the ordi- 
 nances of this Convention, shall be valid and remain of full 
 force and effect until amended, changed or repealed by the Gen- 
 eral Assembly. All writs, actions, prosecutions, judgments and 
 decrees of the courts of this State, all executions and sales made 
 thereunder, and all acts, orders and proceedings of the J udges 
 of Probate, and of executors, administrators, guardians and 
 trustees, provided they were in conformity to the laws passed 
 and to the Constitution of the State and the United States, the 
 
APPENDIX. 369 
 
 acts of Congress, and not repugnant to the ordinances of this 
 Convention, shall be as valid as if made under the usual and 
 ordinary legislation of the country. 
 
 Sec. 2. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, obligations and es- 
 cheats heretofore accruing to the State of Florida, and not made 
 unlawful by the Constitution of this State, and the Constitution 
 of the United States, and the acts of Congress, and the ordi- 
 nances of this Convention, shall continue to accrue to the use of 
 the State. 
 
 Sec. 3. All recognizances heretofore taken shall remain 
 valid, and all bonds executed to the Governor of the State of 
 Florida, either before or since the first day of January, 1861, 
 or to any other officer of the State in his official capacity, shall 
 be of full force and virtue for the uses therein respectively ex- 
 pressed, and may be sued for and recovered accordingly ; and 
 all criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen 
 may be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the 
 State, not repugnant to the Constitution of this State, the Con- 
 stitution of the United States, the acts of Congress of the United 
 States, and the ordinances of this Convention. 
 
 Done in open convention. In witness, the undersigned, the 
 President of said Convention and delegates present, representing 
 the people of Florida, do hereby sign our names this the eighth 
 day of February, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, 
 and of the independence of the United States the ninety-third ; 
 and the Secretary of the Convention doth countersign the same. 
 
 D. RICHARDS, President. 
 A. G. Bass, Liberty Billings, 
 
 William Bradwell, Wm. R. Cone, 
 
 Andrew Shuler, Jesse H. Goss, 
 
 Green Davidson, Jonathan C. Gibbs, 
 
 Fred Hill, Major Johnson, 
 
 John N. Krimminger, R, Meacham, 
 Joseph E. Gates, Anthony Mills, 
 
 Charles H. Pearce, Alexander Cnandler, 
 
 John Wyatt, Eldridge L. Ware, 
 
 Josiah T. Walls, O. B. Armstrong, 
 
 Wm. U. Saunders. 
 
 [General Orders No. 110 ] 
 
 Headquarters Third Military District, 
 
 (Georgia, Alabama and Florida,; 
 
 Atlanta^ Georgia, December 28, 186'j: 
 Whereas, by General Orders No. 74, from these headquar- 
 ters, dated Octobei 5, 1867, ^^ election was ordered to be held 
 
370 APl'EXDIX. 
 
 in the State of Florida, on the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth 
 days of November, 1867, at which election, in pursuance of an 
 act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for the more 
 efficient government of the rebel States," and the acts supple- 
 mentary thereto, the registered voters of said State might vote 
 '•for a convention" or "against a convention," and for delegates 
 to constitute the convention in case a majority of the votes given 
 on that (juestion should be for a convention, and in case a ma- 
 jority of all the registered voters should have voted on the (jues- 
 tion of a convention; 
 
 And, whereas, at an election held in pursuance of said orders, 
 and in conformity to said acts, there were polled on the question 
 of a convention votes to the number of fourteen thousand five 
 hundred and three (14,503), being more than one-half of twenty- 
 ' seven thousand one hundred and seventy-two (27,172), the whole 
 number of registered voters in said State; and of the whole num- 
 ber of votes polled on the question of a convention, fourteen 
 thousand three hundred (14,300), being a majority of the same, 
 were cast for a convention. 
 
 And, whereas, at said elec'ion the following named persons 
 were elected as delegates to said Convention from the respective 
 election districts in which they were so chosen : 
 
 From the first election district — George W. ^^'alker, George 
 1. Alden, Lyman W. Rowley. 
 
 From the second election district — John L. Campbell. 
 
 From the third election district — W. J. Purman, L. C. Ar- 
 mistead, E. Fortune, H. Bryan. 
 
 From the fourth election district — D. Richards, W. U. Saun- 
 ders, Frederick Hill. 
 
 F>om the fiith election district — J. W. Childs. 
 
 From the sixth election district — T. W. Osborne, Joseph E. 
 Gates, C. H. Pearce, John Wyatt, Green Davidsoli, O. B. Arm- 
 strong. 
 
 From the seventh election district— John W. Powell, A. G. 
 Bass, Robert Meacham, Antony Mills. 
 
 From the eighth election district — Roland T. Rombauer, 
 Major Johnson, William R. Cone. 
 
 From the ninth election district — Thomas Urcjuhart, An- 
 drew Shuler. 
 
 From the tenth election district — J. N. Krimminger. 
 
 From the eleventh election district — Horatio Jenkins, jr., 
 Wm. K. Cessna, Josiah T. Walls. 
 
 From the twelfth election district— S. B. Conover, Auburn 
 Erwin. 
 
 From the thirteenth election district — B. M. McRae. 
 
APPENDIX. 371 
 
 From the fourteenth election district — L. Billings, N. C. 
 Dennett, William Bradwell, J- C. Gibbs. 
 
 From the fifteenth election district — J. H. Goss, A. Chand- 
 ler, W. Rogers, I). House. 
 
 From the sixteenth election district — Samuel J. Pearce. 
 
 From the seventeenth election district — C. R. Mobley. 
 
 From the eighteenth election district — David Mizell. 
 
 From the Nineteenth election district — Eldridge L. Ware. 
 
 It is ordered that the persons above named do meet in con- 
 vention at Tallahassee, Florida, at the Capitol, on Monday, the 
 twentieth (20th) day of January, icS68, and proceed to frame a 
 constitution and civil government for the State of Florida, ac- 
 cording to the provisions of the acts above referred ro, and that 
 when the same shall have been so framed the said constitution 
 be submitted for ratification to the registered voters of said State, 
 as further required by law. 
 
 JOHN POPE, 
 Brevet Major- General Coninianding, 
 Official: 
 
 CHARLES F. LARRABEK, 
 Brevet Captain United States Arni\\ 
 Acting Assistant Adjutant- General^ District of Florida. 
 Tallahassee, Fla., February 15, 1868. 
 
 Dear Sir : The Constitutional Convention for the State of 
 Florida adjourned on last Saturday to meet again to-day, in the 
 hall of the House of Representatives, at 10 o'clock a. m. 
 
 In the meantime I learn that parties broke into the said hall 
 at midnight and formed there an organization assuming to be a 
 Constitutional Convention, and now refuse to surrender posses- 
 sion of said hall. 
 
 As the said pretended convention, now in possession of the 
 hall, is an illegal and revolutionary organization, tending to im- 
 pede, if not defeat, reconstruction in this State, and that the 
 legally organized body may assemble without a collision and, 
 perhaps, serious consequences, I most respectfully ask you, as 
 the highest civil executive officer in our State, to cause to be 
 arrested and removed from the capital Horatio Jenkins, the j^re- 
 tended President of the said pretended convention; Sherman 
 Conant, the pretended Secretary; M. Martin, the pretended 
 Sergeant- at-arms, and all other persons who now prevent, or 
 threaten to prevent, the officers of the regularly organized Con- 
 stitutional Convention entering upon the discharge of their 
 official duties in said hall. 
 
 You are also requested to cause to be arrested at once O. B. 
 Hart, T. W. Osborne, C. R. Mobley, S. B. Conover, J. W. 
 
372 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Purman, and C. M. Hamilton as leading conspirators in dis- 
 turbing the public peace and inciting to riot, and for illegally 
 attempting to obstruct and defeat reconstruction, and remove 
 them from said hall and capital. 
 
 I am yours most respectfully, 
 
 D. RICHARDS, 
 President of Constitutio7ial Conver?tio?i, Florida. 
 Hon. David S. Walker. 
 
 Executive Department, | 
 
 Tallahassee, Fla., February 15, 1868. ) 
 
 Sir : Your communication of this instant is received. 
 
 I cannot comply with your request. The gentlemen now 
 occupying the Representative hall claim that they are the 
 majority of the convention, and are entitled to seats upon the 
 .^oor. I learn from the gentleman now occupying the Presi- 
 dent's chair that a majority of the members of the convention 
 have elected him President, and that every member of the con- 
 vention have elected him President, and that every member of 
 the convention is at liberty to go into the hall and occupy his 
 seat if he desires to do so. It is clearly not for me to determine 
 whether yourself or General Jenkins is the rightful President of 
 the convention. 
 
 For the purpose of preserving the peace I shall feel it my 
 duty to use all the power I can command to prevent a collision 
 by the attempt of either party forcibly to eject the other from 
 the hall. 
 
 Earnestly hojjing that all the members of the convention 
 will meet together and harmonize, I am vours most respectfully, 
 
 D. S. WALKER, Governor, etc. 
 Hon. 1). Richards. 
 
 Tallahassee, Fla., February 15, 1868. 
 
 Dear Sir : The enclosed is a copy of the request made on 
 Governor David S. Walker, the chief executive civil officer in 
 our State, and he declines to take any action thereon. You, 
 therefore, as commander of the military at this place, are respect- 
 fully requested to ])romptly arrest and remove from the hall and 
 the capital all parties who offer or encourage any opposition to 
 the legally constituted officers of the Constitutional Convention 
 of Florida entering ui)on the discharge of their duties in the hall 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 373 
 
 of the capital. And you are especially requested to arrest and 
 remove from the capital those persons named in communication 
 to Governor Walker. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 D. RICHARDS, 
 President of Coiisiitiitiojial Convention^ Florida. 
 CoLONEi, F. F. Flint, 
 
 Comnianding Post at Tallahassee. 
 
 Headquarters Post ok Tallahassee, Fla., ] 
 February 15, 1868. j 
 
 Sir : I have the honor to acl^nowledge the receipt of your 
 note of this date enclosing copy of a communication from you to 
 Governor Walker, also of this date, and in reply have to inform 
 you that I must decline to comply with your request. 
 I am, sir, verv respectfully, vour obedient servant, 
 
 F. F. FLINT, 
 Lieutenant- Colonel yth United States Infantry, Conunanding. 
 Mr. D. Richards, Tallahassee, Fla. 
 
 Tallahassee. Fla.. February 17, 1868. 
 Dear Sir : As President of the Constitutional Convention 
 of Florida I feel it necessary to endeavor to enter upon the dis- 
 charge of my duties at the earliest practicable moment after the 
 forcible opposition is withdrawn from the hall in which we were 
 to meet. As you indicated to our committee to-day that the 
 organization now in possession of the hall " had no legal status, 
 nor could get one," I can see no reason why the regularly 
 organized convention should not be permitted to assemble to- 
 morrow morning at the regular hour of meeting. Would be 
 very glad to know your Avishes on the subject. 
 Most respectfully vours, 
 
 D. RICHARDS. 
 
 President of Convention. 
 Major-Gkneral George G. Meade, 
 
 Coninianding Third Military District. 
 
 The undersigned, being a majority of the delegates to the 
 Constitutional Convention of the State of Florida, hereby assent 
 and agree to the following propositions: 
 
 1. Richards to resign. 
 
 2. Jenkins to resign. 
 
 Both to hand their written resignations to Secretary S. 
 Conant. 
 
374 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 3. S. Conant, Secretary, to call convention to order,. and 
 perform the duties of temporary chairman. 
 
 4. Election of President. 
 
 Billings, Saunders, Pierce, and Richards to take their seats 
 and vote on the question. 
 
 5. The whole convention to abide by action of majority on 
 all and everv question. 
 
 HORATIO JENKINS, Jr., President. 
 C. R. MOBLEY, 
 T. W. OSBORNE, 
 O. B. HART, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 Tallahassee, Florida, 
 
 February 18, 1886. 
 
 Dear Sir : I enclose you herewith a proposition received 
 this morning from that portion of the convention organized un- 
 der the presidency of Mr. Jenkins. I have already advised you 
 that I am satisfied, from the information .obtained here, that it is 
 entirely impracticable for you to obtain the quorum, twenty- 
 four, necessary to give validity to the acts of the body over 
 which you preside, and which up to February i, the date of the 
 withdrawal of the members, I consider as the regular organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 The withdrawal of these members, and the accession to thei, 
 numbers sufficient to give them twenty-five elected membersr 
 and their organization and refusal to return to your body or 
 harmonize, except upon the terms here indicated, satisfy me 
 that either the convention must be broken up, or must be re- 
 organized so as to permit the majority to have its rightful influ- 
 ence. Under these circumstancies, I feel it my duty to appeal 
 to your desire not to obstruct the discharge of the duties as- 
 signed to the convention, and deeming the enclosed proposi- 
 tion a reasonable compromise, to urge you to conform to it, with 
 a view of harmonizing the unfortunate difficulties that have 
 arisen, and thus restore peace and tranquility to the whole body. 
 Very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 
 
 GEORGE G. MEADE, 
 Maj. Gen. U. S. Army, Commanding Third Military District. 
 
 D. Richards, 
 
 President Constitutional Con^rntion. 
 
^4lI*PENDIX b. 
 
 LAST CONSTITUTIOM FRAMED AFTER A NEW CON- 
 VENTION WAS ORGANIZED. 
 
 Constitution of the State of Florida^ fnDiied by a co)ivcntion of t/i£ 
 people assembled at Tallaha'^sce, on the 20th day of 
 January 1S6S. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We, the people of the State of Plorida, grateful to Almighty 
 God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings and form a 
 more perfect government, in^iring domestic tranquility, main- 
 taining public order, perpetuating liberty, and guaranteeing 
 equal civil and political rights to all, do establish this Constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 
 
 Section i. All men are by nature free and equal, and have 
 certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and 
 defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting 
 property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. 
 
 Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Gov- 
 ernment is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of 
 its citizens, and they have the right to alter or amend the same 
 whenever the public good may require it; but the paramount al- 
 legiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government, and 
 no power exists with the people of this State to dissolve its con- 
 nection therewith. 
 
 Sec. 3. This State shall ever remain a member of the Amer- 
 ican Union, the people thereof a part of the American nation, 
 and any attempt from whatever source, or upon whatever pre- 
 tence, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, shall be 
 resisted with the whole power of the State. 
 
 Sec. 4. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all and 
 remain inviolate forever; Ijut in all civil cases a jury trial may be 
 waived by the parties in the manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 5. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious pro- 
 fession and worship shall forever be allowed in this State, and 
 
376 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 no person shall be rendered nicompetent as a witness on account 
 of his religious opinions; but the liberty of conscience hereby 
 secured shall not be so construed as to justify licentiousness or 
 practices subversive of the peace and safety of the State. 
 
 Sec. 6. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not 
 be suspended, unless when, in case of invasion or rebellion, the 
 public safety may rec^uire its suspension. 
 
 Sec. 7. E.xcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
 fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment be inflicted, nor 
 shall witnessess be unreasonably detained. 
 
 Sf.c. 8. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, 
 unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident the pre- 
 sum.ption great. 
 
 Skc. 9. No i)erson shall be tried for a capital or otherwise 
 infamous crime, except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of 
 the militia when in active service in time of war, or whic^ the 
 .State may keep, with the consent of Congress, in time of peac^, 
 and in cases of petit larceny, made under the regulation of the 
 Legislature, unless on presentment and indictment by a grand 
 jury; and in anv trial by any court the party accused shall be 
 allowed to appear and defend in person, 'and with counsel, as in 
 civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in 
 jeopardy for the same offence, nor shall be compelled in any 
 criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of 
 lif^, liberty, or property without due process of law ; nor shall 
 private propertv be taken without just compensation. 
 
 Sec. 10. Every citizen may fully speak and write his senti- 
 ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that 
 right, and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty 
 of speech or the press. In all criminal prosecutions and civil 
 actions for libel, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury, 
 and if it shall appear that the matter charged as libellous is true, 
 but was published from good motives, the party shall be acquitted 
 or exonerated. 
 
 Sec. II. The people shall have the right to assemble to- 
 gether to consult for the common good, to instruct their repre- 
 sentatives, and to petition the Legislature for redress of grievance. 
 
 Sec. 12. Alflaws of a general nature shall have a uniform 
 oi^eration. , . 
 
 Skc. 13. The military shall be subordinate to the civil 
 l^ower. . 
 
 Sec. 15. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
 any house, except with the consent of the owner, nor in time of 
 war, except in manner prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 15. Representatives shall he apportioned according to 
 population, as well as may be, but no county shall have more 
 
APPENDIX. 377 
 
 than four representatives and less than one representative in the 
 assembly. 
 
 Sec. r6. No person shall be imprisoned for debt except in 
 case of fraud. 
 
 Sec. 17. No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, impairing 
 the obligations of contracts, shall ever be passed. 
 
 Sec. 18. Foreigners who are, or who may hereafter become, 
 bona fide residents of the State, shall enjoy the same rights in 
 respect to possession, enjoyment, and inheritance of property as 
 native-born citizens. 
 
 Sec. 19. Neither slavery or involuntary servitude, unle.->> 
 for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated in this 
 State. 
 
 Sec. 20. The right of the people to be secure in either per- 
 son, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable seizures 
 and searches, shall not be violated, and no warrants issued but 
 in probable cause; supported by oath or affirmation, particularly 
 describing the place or places to be searched, and the person or 
 persons, and thing or things to be seized. 
 
 Sec. 21. Treason against the State shall consist only in levy- 
 ing war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and 
 comfort ; and no person shall be convicted of treason unless on 
 the testimony of two witnesses to the overt act or confession in 
 open court. ' This enunciation of rights shall not be construed 
 to impair or deny others retained by the people. 
 
 Sec. 22. The people shall have the right to bear arms in 
 defence of themselves and of the lawful authority of the State. 
 
 Sec. 23. No preference can be given by law tu any church, 
 sect or mode of worship. 
 
 .ARTICLE II. 
 
 BOUNDARIES 
 
 The boundaries of the State of Florida shall be as follows . 
 Commencing at the mouth of the River Perdido ; from thence 
 up the middle of said river to where it intersects the south 
 boundarv line of the State of Alabama on the thirty-first degree 
 of north'latitude; thence due east to the Chattahoochee river; 
 thence down the middle of said river to its confluence with the 
 FHnt river: from thence straight to the head of the St. Mary's 
 river ; thence down the middle of said river to the Atlantic 
 Ocean; thence southeastwardly along the coa>t to the edge of 
 the Gulf stream ; thence siuthwestwardly along the edge of the 
 Gulf stream and Florida reefs to and including the Tortugas 
 islands ; thence northwestwardly to a i)oint five leagues from the 
 
378 APPENDIX. 
 
 mainland: thence northwestwardly ;rom the shore, including 
 all islands, to a point five leagues due south from the middle of 
 the mouth of Perdido river; thence to the j)lace of beginning. 
 
 ARTICLE Hi. 
 
 SEAr OF C.OVKRNMENT. 
 
 The seat of government shall be and remain permanent at 
 the city of Tallahassee, in the county of Leon, until otherwi.se 
 located by a majority vote of the Legislature, and by a majority 
 vote of the people. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 DISTRll'.UriON OF POWER. 
 
 The powers of the government of the State of Florida 
 shall be divided into three departments, to wit: Legislative, 
 Executive and Judicial. No person properly belonging to one, 
 of the departments shall exercise any functions appertaining to 
 cither of the others, except in those cases expressly provided for 
 by this Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 LEOISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Section i. The Legislative authority of this State shall be 
 vested in a Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated 
 '• the Legislature of the State of Florida," and the sessions thereof 
 shall be held at the seat of government of the State. 
 
 Sec. 2. The sessions of the Legislature shall be annual ; the 
 first session on' the second Monday of June, A. D, 1886, and 
 thereafter on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of Janu- 
 uary, commencing in the year A. D. 1869. The Governor 
 may, in the i/iterii/i, convene the Legislature in extra session by 
 his proclamation. 
 
 Sec. 3 The members of the Assembly shall be chosen 
 ']>ienially; those of the first Legislature on the first Monday, 
 Tuesday and Wednesday of May A. D. 1868, and thereafter on 
 the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November commenc- 
 ing with the year A. IX 1870. 
 
 Sec. 4. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, 
 at the same time and place as members of the Assembly : Provided^ 
 That the Senators elected at the first election from the Senatorial 
 districts shall vacate their seats at the expiration of two years. 
 
APPENDIX. 379 
 
 and thereafter all Senators shall be elected for the term of four 
 years, so that one-halt of the whole number shall be elected 
 bienially . 
 
 Sec. 5. Senators and members of the Assembly shall be 
 duly qualified electors in the respective counties and districts 
 which they represent. 
 
 Sec. 6. Each house shall judge of the qualifications, elec- 
 tions and returns ot its own members ; choose its own officers, 
 except the President of the Senate, determine the rules of its 
 proceedings, and may punish its members for disorderly conduct 
 and with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members pres- 
 sent, expel a member. 
 
 Sec. 7. Either house during the session, may punish by mi- 
 prisonment any person, not a member, who shall have been 
 guilty of disorderly or contemptuous conduct in its presence ; 
 but such imprisonment shall not extend beyond final adjourn- 
 ment of the session. 
 
 Sec. 8. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum 
 to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
 ^ay and may compel the presence of absent members in such 
 manner and under such penalties as eacn house may prescribe. 
 
 Sec. 9. Any person who shall be convicted of embezzle- 
 ment or defalcation of the funds of this State, or of having 
 given or offered a bribe to secure his election or appointment 
 to office, or of having received a bribe to aid in the procure- 
 ment of office for any other person, shall be disqualified from 
 holding any office of honor, profit, or trust in the State ; and the 
 Legislature shall, as soon as praticable, provide by law for the 
 punishment of each embezzlement, defalcation, or bribery as a 
 felony. 
 
 Sec. 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its own pro- 
 ceedings, which shall be published, and the yeas and nays of the 
 members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of 
 any three members present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 Sec. II. The doors of each house shall be kept open dur- 
 ing its session, except the Senate while sitting in executive 
 session ; and neither shall, without the consent of the other, ad- 
 journ for more than three days, or to any other town than that 
 in which they may be holding their session. 
 
 Sec. 12. Any bill may orginate in either house of the Legis- 
 lature and alter being passed in one house may be amended in 
 the other. 
 
 Sec. 13. The enacting clause of every law shall be as fol- 
 lows : '* The people of the State of Florida, represented in Sen- 
 ate and Assembly, do enact as follows :" 
 
 Sec 24. Each law enacted in the Legislature shall embrace 
 
380 APPENDIX. 
 
 but one subject, anc matters properl}- connected therewith, 
 which subject shall be l>riefly expressed in the title; and no law 
 shall be amended or revised by reference to its title only, but in 
 such case, the act as revised, or section as amended, shall be re- 
 enacted and published at length. 
 
 Sec. 15. Every bill shall be read by sections in three sev- 
 eral ways in each house, unless, in case of emergency, two-thirds 
 of the house where such bill may be pending shall deem it ex- 
 pedient to dispense with this rule ; but the reading of a bill by 
 sections on its fmal passage, shall in no case be dispensed with ; 
 and the vote on the final passage of every bill, or joint resolution, 
 shall be taken by yeas and nays, to be entered in the journal of 
 each house, and a majority of the members present in each 
 house shall be necessary to pass every bill or joint resolution, 
 and all bills or joint resolutions so passed shall be signed by the 
 presiding officers of the respective houses; and by the Secretary 
 of the Senate and Clerk of the Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 16. No money shall be drawn from the treasury except 
 bv appropriation made by law, and accurate statements of the 
 receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be attached 
 to and published with the laws passed at every regular session ot 
 the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. 17. The Legislature shall not pass special or local laws 
 in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say : regula- 
 ting the jurisdiction and duties ot any class of officers, or for the 
 inmishment of crime or misdemeanor ; regulating the practices 
 of courts of justice ; providing for changing venue of civil and 
 criminal cases ; granting divorces; changing the names of per- 
 sons; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public 
 squares ; summoning and empanelling grand and petit juries, and 
 I)roviding for their compensation ; regulating <ounty, township, 
 and municipal business ; regulating the election of county, town- 
 ship and municipal officers ; for the assessment and. collection of 
 taxes for State, county and municipal purposes ; providing for 
 opening and conducting elections lor State, county and municipal 
 officers, and designating the places of voting ; providing for the 
 sale of real estate belonging to minors or other persons laboring 
 under legal disabilities ; regulating the fees of officers. 
 
 Sec. 18. In all cases enumerated in the preceding section, 
 and in all other cases where general law can be made applicable, 
 all laws shall be general and of uniform operation throughout the 
 State. 
 
 Sec. 19. Provision may be made by general law for bring- 
 ing suit against the State as to all liabilities now existing or here- 
 after originating. 
 
 Sec. 20. Lotteries are hereby prohibited in this State. 
 
APPENDIX. 381 
 
 Sec. 21. The Legislature shall establish a uniform system of 
 county, township and municipal government. 
 
 Sec. 22. The Legislature shall provide by general law for 
 incorporating such municipal, educational, agricultural, mechan- 
 ical, mining and other useful companies or associations as may 
 be deemed necessary. 
 
 Sec. 23. Laws shall be passed regulating elections, and pro- 
 hibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence, thereon 
 from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practice. 
 
 Bec. 24. Kegular sessions of the Legislature may extend to 
 sixty days, but any special session convened by the Governor 
 shall not exceed twenty days. 
 
 Sec. 25. All property, both real and personal, of the wife, 
 owned by he.: before marriage, or acquired afterward by gift, 
 devise, descent or purchase shall be her separate property, and 
 not liable for the debts of her husband. 
 
 Sec. 26. The Legislature shall provide for the election by 
 the people, or appointment by the Governor, of all State, county 
 or municipal officers not otherwise provided for by this Constitu- 
 tion, and fix by law their duties and compensation. 
 
 Sec. 27. Every bill which may have passed the Legislature 
 shall, before becoming a law, be presented to the Governor ; if 
 he approves it he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it with 
 his objections to the house in which it originated, which house 
 shall cause such objections to be entered upon its journals, and 
 proceed to reconsider it ; if after such reconsideration it shall pass 
 both houses by a two-thirds vote of the members present, which 
 vote shall be entered on the journal of each house, it shall be- 
 come a law. if any bill shall not be returned within five days 
 (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to the Gov- 
 ernor, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed 
 it. If the Legislature by its final adjournment prevent such ac- 
 tion, such bill shall be a law, unless the Governor, within ten 
 days next after the adjournment, shall file such bill with his ob- 
 jections thereto in the office of the Secretary of State, who shall 
 lay the same before the Legislature at its next session, and if the 
 same shall receive two-thirds of the votes present it shall become 
 a law. 
 
 Sec. 28. The Assembly shall have the sole power of im- 
 peachment, but a vote of two-thirds of all the members present 
 shall be required to impeach any officer ; and all impeachments 
 shall be tried by the Senate when sitting for that purpose. The 
 Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation, and no person shall 
 be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Sena- 
 tors present. 
 
 The Chief Justice shall preside at all trials by impeachment, 
 
3^- 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 except in the trial of the Chief Justice, when the Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor shall preside. 
 
 The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, members of the Cabi- 
 net, justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of the Circuit 
 Court, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in 
 office ; but judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal 
 from office and discjualification to hold any office of honor, trust, 
 or profit under the State ; but the party convicted or acquitted 
 shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial and punishment 
 according to law. All other officers who shall have been ap- 
 pointed to office by the Governor, and by and with the consent 
 of the Senate, maybe removed from office upon the recommend- 
 ation of the Governor and consent of the Senate, but they shall 
 nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial and punishment accord- 
 ing to law for any misdemeanor in office ; all other civil officers 
 shall be tried for misdemeanors in office in such manner as the 
 Legislature may provide. 
 
 Sec. 29. The Legislature shall elect United States Senators 
 in the manner prescribed by the Congress of the United States, 
 and by this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 30. Laws making aj)propriation for the salaries of pub- 
 lic officers and other current expenses of the State shall contain 
 provisions on no other subject. 
 
 ARTICLE VL 
 
 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Section i. The supreme executive power of the State shall 
 be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled the Gov- 
 ernor of Florida. 
 
 Sec. 2. The (governor shall be elected by the qualified elect- 
 ors at the same time and places of voting for the members of the 
 Legislature, and shall hold his office for four years from the time 
 of his installation : Provided, That the term of the first Governor 
 elected under this Constitution shall expire at the opening of the 
 regular session of the Legislature of A. D. 1873, and until his 
 successor shall be qualified. He shall take the oath of office 
 prescribed for all State officers. 
 
 Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor 
 who is not a qualified elector, and who has not been nine years 
 a citizen of the United States, and three years of the State of 
 Florida, next preceding the time of his election. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the 
 military forces of the State, except when they shall be called into 
 the service of the United States. 
 
APPENDIX. 383 
 
 Sec. 5. He shall transact all executive business with the 
 officers of the Government, civil and military, and may require 
 information in writing from the officers of the administrative de- 
 partment upon any subject relating to the duties of their respect- 
 ive offices. 
 
 Sec. 6. He shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. 
 
 Sec. 7. When any office, from any cause, shall become va- 
 cant, and no mode is provided by this Constitution or by the 
 laws of the State for filling such vacancy, the Governor shall 
 have the power to fill such vacancy by granting a commission 
 which shall expire at the next election. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Governor may, on extraordinary occasions, 
 convene the Legislature by proclamation, and shall state to 
 both houses, when organized, the purpose for which they have 
 been convened, and the Legislature then shall transact no legis- 
 lative business except that lor which they are specially convened, 
 or such other legislative business as the Governor may call to the 
 attention of the Legislature while in session, except by the unan- 
 imous consent of both houses. 
 
 Sec. 9. He shall communicate by message to the Legisla- 
 ture at each regular session the condition of the State, and rec- 
 ommend such measures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 Sec. 10. In case of a disagreement between the two houses 
 Avith respect to the time of adjournment, the Governor shall have 
 power to adjourn the Legislature to such a time as he may think 
 proper, provided it is not beyond the time fixed for the meeting 
 of the next Legislature. 
 
 Sec. II. The Governor shall have power to suspend the 
 collection of fines and forfeitures, and grant reprieves for a 
 period not exceeding sixty days, dating from the time of convic- 
 tion, for all offences except in cases of impeachment. Upon 
 conviction for treason, he shall have power to suspend the execu- 
 tion of sentence until the case shall be reported to the Legisla- 
 ture at its next session, when the Legislature shall either pardon, 
 direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve; 
 and if the Legislature shall fail or refuse to make final disposi- 
 tion of such case, the sentence shall be enforced at such time 
 and place as the Governor may by his order direct. The Gov- 
 ernor shall communicate to the Legislature at the beginning of 
 every session every case of fine or forfeiture remitted or reprieved, 
 pardon or commutation granted, stating the name of the convict, 
 the crime for which he was convicted, the sentence, its date, 
 and the date of its remission, commutation, pardon, or reprieve. 
 
 Sec. 12. The Governor, Justice of the Supreme Court and 
 Attorney-General, or a major part of them, of whom the Gov- 
 ernor shall be one, may. upon such conditions and with such 
 
384 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 limitations and restrictions as they may deem proper, remit fines 
 and forfeitures, commute punishments, and grant pardon after 
 conviction, in all cases except treason and impeachments, sub- 
 ject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the 
 manner of applying for pardons. 
 
 Sfx. I T,. The grants and commissions shall be in the name 
 and under the authority of the State of Florida, sealed by the 
 <^reat seal of the State, signed by the Governor, and counter- 
 sife'ned bv the Secretary of State. 
 
 Sec! 14. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the 
 same time and place, and in the same manner as the Governor, 
 whose term of office and eligibility shall also be the same. He 
 shall be President of the Senate, but shall have only a casting 
 vote therein. If during a vacancy of the office of Governor the 
 Lieutenant-Governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, 
 or become incapable of performing the duties of his olTtice, or be 
 absent from the State, the president pro tempore of the Senate 
 shall act as Governor until the office be filled or the disability 
 
 cease. 
 
 Sec. 15. In the case of the impeachment of the Governor, 
 or his removal from office, death, mability to discharge his offi- 
 cial duties, or resignation, the power and duties of the office 
 shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor for the residue of 
 the term, or until the disability shall cease; but the Governor 
 shall not, without the consent of the Legislature, be out of the 
 State in time of war. 
 
 Sec. r6. The Governor may at any time require the opinion 
 of the Justices of the Supreme Court as to the interpretation of any 
 portion of this Constitution, or upon any point of law, and the 
 Supreme Court shall render such opinion in writing. 
 
 Sec. 17. The Governor shall be assisted by a cabinet of 
 administrative officers, consisting of a Secretary of State, Attor- 
 ney General, Comptroller, Treasurer, Surveyor General,^ Super- 
 intendent of Public Instruction, Adjutant-Cieneral, and Commis- 
 sioner of Immigration. Such officers shall be appointed by the 
 (iovernor, and confirmed by the Senate, and shall hold their 
 offices the same time as the Governor, or until their successors 
 shall be qualified. 
 
 Sec. 18. The Governor shall, by and with the consent of 
 the Senate, appoint all commissioned officers of the State militia. 
 
 Sec. 19. The Governor shall appoint, by and with the con- 
 sent of the Senate, in each county, an Assessor of taxes and 
 Collector of Revenue, whose duties shall be prescribed by law, 
 and who shall hold their offices for two years, and be subject to 
 removal upon the recommendation of the Governor and consent 
 of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint in each county a 
 
APPENDIX. 385 
 
 County Treasurer, County Surveyor, Superintendent of Common 
 Schools, and five County Commissioners, each of whom shall 
 hold his office for two years, the duties of which shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. Such officers shall be subject to removal by the 
 Governor, when in his judgment the public welfare will be ad- 
 vanced thereby: Provided, No officer shall be removed excei)t 
 for wilful neglect of duty, or a violation of the criminal laws of 
 the State, or for incompetency. 
 
 Sec. 20. The Governor and Cabinet shall constitute a 
 Board of Commissioners of State Institutions, which board shall 
 have supervision of all matters connected therewith, in such 
 manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 21. The Governor shall have power, in cases of insur- 
 rection or rebellion, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus within 
 the State. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Section i. The judicial power of the State shall be vested 
 in a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, County Courts, and Justices 
 of the Peace. 
 
 Sec. 2. The style of all process shall be, '^The State of 
 Florida," and all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name 
 and by the authority of the same. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice 
 and two Associate Justices, who shall hold their offices for life, 
 or during good behavior. They shall be appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor and confirmed by the Senate. 
 
 Sec. 4. The majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court 
 shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business. The 
 Supreme Court shall hold three terms each year, in the Supreme 
 Court room at the seat of government. Such terms shall com- 
 mence on the Second Tuesday of October, January, and April. 
 respectively. 
 
 Sec. 5. The Supreme Court shall have appellatejurisdiction 
 in all cases in equity, also in all cases of law in which is involved 
 the tide to or right of possession of real estate or the legality of 
 any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, or in which 
 the demand or the value of the property in controversy exceeds 
 300 dollars, also in all other civil cases not included in the gen- 
 eral subdivisions of law and equity; also in all questions of law 
 alone, in all criminal cases in which the offences charged amount 
 to felony. The court shall have power to issue writs of man- 
 
 24 
 
386 
 
 PPKNI.IX. 
 
 damns, certiorari, prohibition, quo v:arranto, habeas corpus, and 
 also all writs necessary or proper to the complete exercise of its 
 appellate jurisdiction. 
 
 Each of the Justices shall have the power to issue writs of 
 habeas corpus iod^x\y \)d.x\. oi l)\t State, upon petition by or on 
 behalf of any person held in actual custody, and may make such 
 writs returnable before himself or the Supreme Court, or before 
 any Circuit Court in the State, or before any judge of said courts. 
 
 Sfx. 6. The Supreme Court shall appoint a Clerk of the 
 Supreme Court, who shall have his office at the Capitol, and 
 diall be Librarian of the of the Supreme Court Horary; he shall 
 hold his office until his successor is appointed and qualified. 
 
 Sec. 7. There shall be seven Circuit Judges appointed by 
 the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, who shall hold their 
 office for eight years. The State shall be divided into seven 
 judicial districts, the limits of which are defined in this Consti- 
 tution, and one judge shall be assigned to each circuit. Such 
 judge shall hold two terms of his court in each county within 
 his circuit, each year, at such times and places as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. The Chief Justice may, in his discretion, order 
 a temporary exchange of circuits by the respective judges, or any 
 judge to hold one or more terras in any other circuit than that to 
 which he is ass'gned. The Judge shall reside in the circuit to 
 whtch he is assigned. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Circuit Courts in their several Judicial Courts 
 shall have original jurisdiction in all cases of equity; also in all 
 cases at law which involve the title or the right of posession to, 
 or the i)osession of, or the boundaries of real property ; of the 
 legality of any tax, impost, or assessment, toll, or municipal^ 
 fine, and in all other cases in which the demand or the value of 
 property in controversy exceeds three hundred dollars, and of 
 the action of forcible entry and unlawful detainer, and also in 
 all criminal cases amounting to felony. I'hey shall have final 
 appellate jurisdiction in all civil cases arising in the County Court 
 in which the amount of controversy is one hundred dollars and 
 upwards and in all cases of misdemeanor. The Circuit Courts 
 and the Judges thereof shall have power to issue writs of man- 
 damus, injunction, quo warranto, certiorari, and all other writs 
 proper and necessary to the complete exercise of their jurisdic- 
 tion, and also shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus 
 on petition by or on behalf of any person held in actual custody 
 in their respective circuits. 
 
 Sec. 9. There shall be a County Court organized in each 
 county. The Governor shall appoint a County Judge for each 
 county, who shall be confirmed by the Senate, and such Judge 
 
APPENDIX. 387 
 
 shall hold his office for four years from the date of his commis- 
 sion, or until his successor is appointed and qualified. 
 
 Sec. 10. The County Court shall be a court of oyer and ter- 
 miner. 
 
 Sec. II. The County Court shall have jurisdiction of ail 
 misdemeanors and all civil cases where the amount in contro- 
 versey does not exceed three hundred dollars; and its jurisdic- 
 tion shall be final in all civil cases where the amount in contro- 
 versey does not exceed one hundred dollars ; but in no case 
 shall the County Court have jurisdiction when the tide or bound- 
 aries of real estate is in controversey, or where the jurisdiction 
 will conflict with that of the several Courts of Record; but they 
 may have coextensive jurisdiction with the Circuit Courts in 
 cases of forcible entry and unlawful detention of real estate, sub- 
 ject to appeal to the Circuit Court. The County Court shall have 
 full surrogate or probate powers, but subject to appeal. Provis- 
 ion shall be made by law for all other powers, duties and responsi- 
 bilities of the County Courts and Judges. There shall be a reg- 
 ular trial term of the County Courts six times in each year, at 
 such times and places as may be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec 12. The grand and petit jurors shall be taken from 
 the registered votes of the respective counties. 
 
 Sec. 13. In all trials, civil and criminal, in the Circuit and 
 County Courts, the evidence shall be reduced to writing by the 
 clerk of the court or his deputy, under control of the court ; and 
 every witness after his examination shall have done, shall be a: 
 liberty to correct the evidence he has given, and afterwards 
 shall sign the same ; such evidence shall be filed in the office of 
 the- clerk, with the papers in the case. 
 
 Sec. 14. All pleas shall be sworn to either by the parties or 
 their attorneys. 
 
 Sec. 15. The Governor shall appoint as many Justices of 
 the Peace as he may deem necessary. Justices of the Peace 
 shall have criminal jurisdiction and civil jurisdiction not to ex- 
 ceed fifty dollars, but this shall not extend to the trial of any 
 person for misdemeanor or crime. The duties of Justice of the 
 Peace shall be fixed by law. Justices of the Peace shall hold 
 their offices during good behavior, subject to removals by the 
 Covernor at his own discretion. 
 
 Sec. 16. The Legislature may establish courts for municipal 
 purposes only m incorporated towns and cities. All laws for 
 the organization or government of Municipal Courts shall be 
 general in their provisions, and be equally applicable to the 
 Municipal Courts of all incorporated towns and cities. 
 
 Sec. 17. Any civil cause may be tried before a practicing 
 attorney as referee upon the application of the parties, and an 
 
388 APPENGIX. 
 
 order from the court in whose jurisdiction the case may be author- 
 izing such trial and appointing such referee. Such referee shall 
 keep a complete record of the case, including the evidence 
 taken, and such record shall be filed with the papers in the case 
 in the office of the clerk, subject to an appeal in the manner pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 18. No other courts than those herein specified shall be 
 organized in this State. 
 
 Sec. 19. The Governor by and with the advice of the 
 Senate shall appoint a State attorney in each judicial circuit, 
 whose duties shall be prescribed by 1 aw. He shall hold his 
 office for four years from the date of his commission, and until 
 his successor shall be appointed and qualified. The Governor, 
 :>y and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint 
 a Sheriff and Blerk of the Circuit Court, who shall also be Clerk 
 of the County Court and Board of County Commissioners, Re- 
 corder, and ex-ofifico Auditor of the county, each of whom shall 
 hold his office for four years. Their duties shall be prescribed 
 "by law. 
 
 Sec. 20. A constable shall be elected by the registered 
 voters in each county for every two hundred (200) registered 
 voters ; but each county shall be entitled to at least two con- 
 stables, and no county shall have more than twelve constables. 
 They shall perform such duties under such instructions as shall 
 be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 21. Attorneys at law, who have been admitted to 
 practice sn any court of record in any State in the Union, or to 
 any United States court, shall be admitted to practice in any 
 court of this State on producing evidence of having been so ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 administrative department. 
 
 Section i. There shall be a cabinet of administrative 
 officers', consistingof a Secretary of State, Attorney General, 
 Comptroller, Treasurer, Surveyor General, and Superintendent 
 of Public Instruction, Adjutant General, and Commissioner of 
 Immigration, who shall assist the Governor in the performance 
 of his duties. 
 
 Sec 2. The Secretary of State shall keep the records of 
 official acts of the Legislature and executive departments of 
 the governments, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all 
 matters relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature, 
 and shall be the custodian of the great seal of the State. 
 
APPENDIX. 389 
 
 Sec. 3. The Attorney General shall be the legal adviser of 
 the Governor and of each of the Cabinet officers, and shall per- 
 form such other legal duties as the Governor may direct, or as 
 may be provided by law. He shall be reporter for the Supreme 
 
 Court. 
 
 Sec. 4. I'he Treasurer shall receive and keep all tund>, 
 bonds, or other'securities, in such manner as may be provided 
 by law, and shall disburse no funds, bonds or other securities, 
 except upon the order of the Comptroller, countersigned by the 
 Governor in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 5. The duties of the Comptroller shall be prescribed 
 bv law. , . 
 
 Sec. 6. The Surveyor General shall have the administra- 
 tive supervision of all matters pertaining to the public lands, 
 under such regulations as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 7. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall have 
 the administrative supervision oi all matters pertaining to public 
 instruction ; the supervision of buildings devoted to educational 
 purposes, and the libraries belonging to the university and the 
 common schools. He shall organize an historical bureau for the 
 purposes of accumulating such matter and information as may 
 be necessary for compihng the history of the State. He shall 
 also establish a cabinet of minerals and other natural productions. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Adjutant General shall, under the orders of the 
 Governor, have the administrative supervision of the military de- 
 partment, and the supervision of the State prison, and of the 
 quarantine of the coast, in such manner as shall be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 Sec. 9. The Commissioner of Immigration shall organize a 
 Bureau of Immigration for the purposes of furnishing informa- 
 tion and for the encouragement of immigration. The office of 
 Commissioner of Immigration shall expire at the end of fifteen 
 vears from the ratification of this constitution, but the Legisla- 
 ture shall have power to continue it by law. 
 
 Sec. 10. Each officer of the cabinet shall make a full report 
 of his official acts, of the receipts and expenditures of his office, 
 and of the requirements of the same, to the Governor, at the 
 beginning of each regular session of the Legislature, or when- 
 ever the Governor shall require it. Such reports shall be laid 
 before the Legislature by the Governor at the beginning of each 
 regular session thereof. Either house of the Legislature may at 
 any time call upon any cabmet officer for information recpiired 
 by it. 
 
39P APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Seciion I. It is the paramount duty of the State to make 
 ample provision for the education of all the children residing 
 -.vithin its borders, without distinction or preference. 
 
 Skc. 2. The Legislature shall provide a uniform system of 
 common schools and a university, and shall provide for the 
 liberal maintenance of the same. Instruction in them shall be 
 free. 
 
 Sec. 3. There shall be a Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion, whose term of office shall be four years, and until the 
 appointment and qualification of his successor. He shall have 
 general supervision of the educational interests of the State. 
 His duties shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 4. The common school fund, the interest of which 
 shall be exclusively applied to the support and maintenance of 
 common schools and purchase of suitable libraries and apparatus 
 therefor, shall be derived from the following sources : 
 
 The proceeds of all lands that have been or may hereafter 
 be granted to the State by the United States for educational 
 purposes. Donations by individuals for educational purposes. 
 Appropriations by the State. The proceeds of lands or other 
 property which may accrue to the State by escheat to forfeiture. 
 The proceeds of all property granted to the State, when the 
 purpose of such grant shall not be specified. All moneys which 
 may be paid as an exemption from military duty. All fines 
 ct)llected under the penal laws of this State. Such portion of 
 iht pel capita tax as may be prescribed by law for educational 
 purposes. Twenty-five per centum of the sales of public lands 
 which are now or hereafter may be owned by the State. 
 
 Sec. 5. A special tax of not less than one mill on the 
 dollar of all taxable property in the State, in addition to the 
 other means provided, shall be levied and apportioned annually 
 for the support and maintenance of common schools. 
 
 Sec. 6. T'he principal of the common school fund shall 
 remain sacred and inviolate. 
 
 Sec. 7. Provision shall be made by law for the distribution 
 of the common school fund among the several counties of the 
 State in proportion to the number of children residing therein 
 between the ages of four and twenty-one years. 
 
 Sec. 8. Kach county shall be recjuired to raise annually by 
 tax, for the support of common schools therein, a sum not less 
 than one-half the amount apportional to each county for that 
 year from the income of the common school fund. Any school 
 district neglecting to establish and maintain for at least three 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 391 
 
 months in each year such school or schools as may be provided 
 by law for sucli district shall forfeit its portion of the common 
 school fund during such neglect. 
 
 Sec. 9. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, Secre- 
 tary of State, and Attorney-General, shall constitute a body 
 corporate to be known as the Board of Education of Florida. 
 The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be President 
 thereof. The duties of the Board o( Education shall be pre- 
 scribed by the Legislature. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 HOMESTEAD. 
 
 Sectkkx I. A homestead, to the extent of one hundred and 
 sixty acres of land, or the half of one acre within the limits of 
 any incorporated city or town, owned by the head of a family, 
 residing in this State, together with one thousand dollars in 
 value of personal property, and the improvements on the real 
 estate, shall be exempted from forced sale under any process of 
 law, and the real estate shall not be alienable without the joint 
 consent of husband and wife, when that relation exists. But no 
 property shall be exempt from sale for taxes, or for the payment 
 of obligations contracted for the purchase of said premises, or 
 for the erection of improvements thereon, or for house, field or 
 other labor performed on the same. The exemption herein pro- 
 \ ided for in a city or town shall not extend to more improve- 
 ments or buildings than the residence and business houses of the 
 owner. 
 
 Sec. 2. In addition to the exemption provided for in the 
 first section of this article, there shall be and remain exempt 
 from sale by any hgal process in this State, to the head of a 
 family residing in this State, such property as he or she may 
 select to the amount of one thousand dollars ; said exemption in 
 this section shall only prevent the sale of property in cases wheie 
 the debt was contracted, liability incurred, or judgment obtained 
 before the loth day of May, A. D. 1S65. Nothing herein con- 
 tained shall be construed as to exempt any property from sale 
 for payment of the purchase-money of the same, or for the pay- 
 ment of taxes or labor. 
 
 Sec. 3. The exemptions provided for in sections one and 
 two of this article shall accrue to the heirs of the party having 
 enjoyed or taken the benefit of such exemption, and the exemj)- 
 tion provided for in section one of this article shall apply to all 
 debts except as specified in said section, no matter when or 
 where the debt was contracted or liability incurred. 
 
39^ 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 PUHF.IC INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Section i. Institutions for the benefit of the insane, blind 
 and deaf, and such other benevolent institutions as the pubhc 
 good may re<iuire, shall be fostered and supported by the State, 
 subject to such regulations as may be provided by law. 
 
 Sec. 2. A state prison shall be established and maintained 
 in such a manner as may be fixed by law. Provision may be 
 made by law for the establishment and maintenance of a House 
 of Refuge for juvenile offenders, and the Legislature shall have 
 power to establish a home and workhouse for common vagrants. 
 
 Skc. 3. The respective courts of the State shall provide in 
 the manner fixed by law for those of the inhabitants who by 
 reason of age, infirmity, or misfortunes, may have claims upon 
 the aid and sympathy of society. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 MILITIA. 
 
 Section 1. All able-bodied male inhabitants of the State, 
 between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, who are 
 citizens of the United States, or have declared their intention to 
 become citizens thereof, shall constitute the militia of the State, 
 but no male citizen of whatever religious creed or opinion shall 
 be exempt from military duty except upon such conditions as 
 may be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 2. I'he Legislature shall provide by law for organizing 
 and disciplining the militia of the State, for the encouragement 
 of volunteer corps, the safe keeping of the public arms, and for 
 a guard for the State prison. 
 
 Sec. 3. The x\djutant General shall have the grade of Ma- 
 jor General. The Governor, by and with the consent of the 
 Senate, shall appoint two Major Generals and four Brigadier 
 Crenerals of militia; they shall take rank according to the date of 
 their commissions. The officers and soldiers of the State militia, 
 when uniformed, shall wear the uniform prescriljed for the 
 Cnited States Army. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Governor shall have power to call out the 
 militia to preserve the public peace, to execute the laws of the 
 State, and to suppress insurrection or rej)el invasion. 
 
 ARTICLE .\I1I. 
 
 rAX.\TION AND I IN A NCI.. 
 
 Seciion I. The Legislature shall provide for a uniform and 
 eipial rate «>f taxation, and shall prescribe such regulations as 
 
APPENDIX. 393 
 
 shall secure a just valuation of all property, both real and per- 
 sonal, excepting such property as may be exempt by law for 
 municipal, educational, literary, scientific, religious, or char- 
 itable purposes. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Legislature shall provide for raising reveni:- 
 sufficient to defray the expenses of the State for each nscal year, 
 and also a sufficient sum to pay the ])rincipal and interest of th t 
 existing indebtedness of the State. 
 
 Sec. 3. No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of lav/. 
 
 Sec. 4. No moneys shall be drawn from the Treasury ex- 
 cept in pursuance of appropriation made by law. 
 
 Sec. 5. An accurate statement of the receipts and expen- 
 ditures of the public moneys shall be published with the laws of 
 each regular session of the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. 6. The Legislature shall authorize the several counties 
 and incorporated towns in the State to impose taxes for county 
 and incorporation purposes, and for no other purpose, and alL 
 property shall be taxed upon the principle established for Stat^ 
 taxation. The Legislature may also provide for levying a spe- 
 cific capitation tax on licenses. But the capitation tax shall not. 
 exceed one dollar per annum for all purposes, excepting hr 
 State, county, or municipal taxes. 
 
 Sec. 7. The Legislature shall have power to provide for 
 issuing State bonds bearing interest, for securing the debt of the 
 State, and for the erection of State buildings, support of Sta*:e 
 institutions, and perfecting public works. 
 
 Sec. 8. No tax shall be levied upon persons for the benefit 
 of any chartered company of the State, or for paying the interest 
 on any bonds issued by said chartered companies, counties, cr 
 corporations, for the above-mentioned purposes, and any laws to 
 the contrary are hereby declared null and void. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 census and apportiontmhxt. 
 
 The Legislature shall, in the year one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and seventy- five, and every tenth year thereafter, cause an 
 enumeration to he made of all the inhabitants of the State; and 
 they shall then proceed to apportion the representaiion among 
 the different counties, giving to each county one representative 
 at large, and one additional to every one thousand registered 
 votes therein, but no county shall be entitled to more than four 
 representatives. 
 
 The Legislature shall also, after every such enumeration, 
 proceed to fix by law the number of Senators which shall con- 
 
394 
 
 AIM'l.NDIX. 
 
 stitiiie ihe Senate of Florida, and which shall never be less than 
 one-tourth, nor more than one-half of the whole number of the 
 Assembly. When any Senatorial district shall be composed of 
 two or more counties, the counties of which such district con- 
 r,ists shall not be entn-ely separated by any county belonging to 
 another district, and no county shall be divided in forming a 
 district, and all counties shall remain as now organized unless- 
 changed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 SUKKRAGK AND KLIGIHILITN. 
 
 Skction 1. Every male person of the age of twenty-one 
 years and upw ards, of whatever race, color, nationality, or pre- 
 vious condition, or who shall, at the time of offering to vote, be 
 a citizen of the United States, or who shall have declared his in- 
 tention to become such in conformity to the laws of the United 
 States, and who shall have resided and had his habitation, dom- 
 icil, home, and place of permanent abode in Florida for one year, 
 and in the county for six months, next preceding the election at 
 which he shall offer to vote, shall in such county be deemed a. 
 «!ualified elector at all elections under this Constitution. Every 
 elector shall, at the time of his registration, take and subscribe- 
 to the following oath: 
 
 I, , do solemnly swear that I will support, protect^ 
 
 and defend the Constitution and Government of the United 
 States, and the Constitution and Government of Florida, against 
 all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith, loy- 
 alty, and allegiance to the same, any ordinances or resolution of 
 any State Convention or legislation to the contrary notwithstand- 
 ing, so help me Ciod. 
 
 Sec. 2. No person under guardianship, uon compos mentis, 
 or insane, shall be qualified to vote at any election unless restored 
 to civil rights 
 
 Sec. 3. At any election at which a citizen or subject of an\ 
 foreign country shall offer to vote, under the })rovisions of this- 
 Constitution, he shall present to the persons lawfully authorized 
 to conduct and supervise such election a duly sealed and certified 
 copy of his declaration of intention; otherwise he shall not be 
 allowed to vote; and any naturalized citizen offering to vote- 
 shall produce before said persons, lawfully authorized to con- 
 duct and supervise the election, his certificate of naturalization, 
 or a duly sealed and certified copy thereof; otherwise he shall 
 not be permitted to vote. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Legislature shall have i)()wer and shall enact 
 
APPENDIX. 395 
 
 the necessary laws to exclude from every office of honor, power, 
 trust or profit, civil or military, within the State, and from the 
 right of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, lar- 
 ceny, or of infamous crime, or who shall make or become, di- 
 rectly or indirectly, interested in any bet or wager, the result of 
 which shall depend upon any election; or who shall hereafter 
 fight a duel, or send or accept a challenge to fight, or who shall 
 be a second to either party, or be the bearer of such challenge 
 or acceptance; but the legal' disability shall not accrue until after 
 trial and conviction by due form of law. 
 
 Sec. 5. In all elections by the Legislature the vote shall be 
 viva voce, and in all elections by the people the vote shall be by 
 ballot. 
 
 Sec. 6. The Legislature at its first session after the ratifica- 
 tion of this Constitution, shall by law provide for the registration, 
 by the Clerks of the Circuit Court in each county, of all the 
 legally qualified voters in such county, and for the returns of 
 elections; and shall also provide that after the completion, from 
 time to time, of such registration, no person not duly registered 
 according to law shall be allowed to vote. 
 
 Sec. 7. The Legislature shall enact laws requiring educa- 
 tional qualifications for electors after the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and eighty, but no such laws shall be made applicable 
 ro any elector who may have registered or voted at any election 
 previous thereto. 
 
 ARTICLE XVL 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 Section i. That all ordinances and resolutions heretofore 
 passed by any convention of the people, and all acts and reso- 
 lutions of the Legislature conflicting or inconsistent with the 
 Constitution of the United States and the statutes thereof, and 
 with this constitution, and in derogation of the existence or po- 
 sition of the State as one of the States of the United States of 
 America, are hereby declared null and void, and of no effect. 
 
 Sec. 2. That all acts and resolutions of the General Assem- 
 bly, and all olhcial acts of the civil officers of the State, not in- 
 consistent with the provisions of the Constitution and statutes 
 of the United States, or with the Constitution, or with any ordi- 
 nance or resolution adopted by the convention, and which have 
 not been, and are not by this constitution, annulled, are in force, 
 and shall be considered and esteemed as the laws of the State 
 until such acts or resolutions shall be repealed by the Legislature 
 of the State or this convention. 
 
396 APPKNDIX. 
 
 Sec. 3. All laws of the State passed by the so-called Gen- 
 eral Assembly since the loth day of January, A. D, 1868, not 
 conflicting with the word and spirit of the Constitution and laws 
 of the United States, or with this constitution, shall be valid ; all 
 writs, acts, proceedings, judgments, and decrees of the so-called 
 courts of the State, when actual service wa*^ made, as the defen- 
 dant, all executions and sales made thereunder, and all acts, or- 
 ders and proceedings of the Judges of Probate, and of executors, 
 administrators, guardians, and trustees, provided they were in 
 conformity with the laws then in force, and did not conflict wuh 
 the Constitution and the laws of the United States and this con- 
 stitution, shall be valid ; the sales of the property or effects of 
 deceased persons shall not prevent the widow from claiming said 
 property in kind, in whosoever hands the same may be found, 
 where the sale had not been made for the purpose of paying the 
 debts of deceased, and where other than lawful money of the 
 United States was obtained for said property. 
 
 Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to make 
 any one who was an officer of any court, or who acted under the 
 authority of any court individually liable, provided they acted 
 strictly in accordance with what was then considered the law of 
 the State, and not conflicting with the laws and Constitution of 
 the United States. 
 
 All fines, penalties, forfeitures, obligations, and escheats 
 heretofore accruing to the State of Florida shall continue to ac- 
 crue to the use of the State. 
 
 All recognizances heretofore taken shall remain valid, and 
 all bonds executed to the Governor of the State of Florida, either 
 before or since the loth day of January, A. D. 1861, or to 
 any other officer of the State, in his official capacity, shall be of 
 full force and virtue, for the uses therein respectively expressed, 
 and may be sued for and recovered accordingly, unless they 
 were contrary to the laws of the United States or this constitu- 
 tion, or to any ordinance or resolution adopted by the conven- 
 tion ; also all criminal prosecutions which have arisen maybe 
 prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State. 
 
 All actions at law or suits in chancery, or any proceedings 
 jjending in the courts of thij State, either prior to or subsequent 
 to the loth day of January, A. D., 1861, shall continue in all re- 
 si)ects valid, and may be prosecuted to judgment and decree. 
 
 All judgments and decrees rendered in civil causes in any 
 of the courts of the State during the period of time above speci- 
 fied, are hereby declared of full force, validity, and effect, pro- 
 vided that unless otherwise providiai in this constitution, the 
 statute of limitation shall not be j^leaded upon any claim in 
 the hands of an}- person for the period of time between the 
 
APPKNDIX 397 
 
 loth day of January, A. D., 1861, and the 25th day of Octo- 
 ber, A. D., 1865, whether proceedings at law had been com- 
 menced before the 25th day of October, 1865, or not; provid- 
 ed further, that all claims of widows, minors, and decen- 
 dents, which were not barred by the statutesof this State, on 
 the loth day of January, A. D., 1861, shall be considered good 
 and valid for the period of two years for the ratification of this 
 constitution. 
 
 Sec. 4. That State treasury notes, all bonds issued, and all 
 other liabilities contracted by the State of Florida, or any county 
 OF city thereof, on and after the i6th day of January, A. D., 
 1861, and before the 26th day of Obtober, A. D., 1865, except 
 such liabilities as may be due to the seminary or school fund, 
 be and are declared null and void, and the Legislature shall 
 have no power to provide for the payment of the same or any 
 part thereof, but this shall not be construed so as to invalidate 
 any authorized liabilities of the State contracted prior to the loth 
 day of January A. D., 1 861, or subsequent to the 25th day of 
 October, A. D., 1865. 
 
 Sec. 5. No money shall ever be appropriated by this Slate 
 to reimburse purchasers of United States land who purchased 
 the same of the State of Florida. 
 
 Sec. 6. All proceedings, decisions, or actions accomplished 
 by civil or military officers acting under authority of the United 
 States subsequent to the loth day of January, 1861, and prior to 
 the final restoration of the State to the government of the United 
 States, are hereby declared valid, and shall not be subject to ad- 
 judication in the courts of this State; nor shall any person act- 
 ing in the capacity of a soldier or officer of the United States, 
 civil or military, be subject to arrest for any act performed by 
 him pursuant to authorized instruction from his superior officers 
 during the period of time above designated. 
 
 Sec. 7. That in all cases where judgments have been ob- 
 tained against citizens of the State after the loth day of January, 
 1 86 1, previous to the 25th day of October, 1865, and where ac- 
 tual service was not made on the person of any department. 
 Such defendant, not served with process, may appear in court 
 within one year after the adoption 0/ this constitution, and make 
 oath that injustice has been done and that he or she has a good 
 and valid defence, and upon making such oath and filing said 
 defence the proceedings in the judgment shall cease until the 
 defence is heard. 
 
398 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE XVII. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Seciion I. Any person debarred from holding office in the 
 State of Florida by the third section of the fourteenth article of 
 tne proposed amendment to the Constitution of the L^nited 
 States, which is as follows : 
 
 "No person shall be a Senator or Represenative in Congress, 
 or elector of President or Vice-President, or hold any office, civil 
 or military, under the United States or under any State, who. 
 having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as 
 an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Leg- 
 islature, or as an exeeutive or judicial officer of any State, to 
 support the Constitution of the United States, shall have en- 
 gaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid 
 and comfort to enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote 
 of two-thirds of each house, remove such disabiUty," is hereby 
 debarred from holding office in this State : Provided, That when- 
 ever such disability from holding office shall be removed from 
 any person by the Congress of the United States, the removal of 
 such disability shall also apply to this State, and such person 
 shall be restored, in all respects, to the rights of citizenship as 
 herein provided for electors. 
 
 Sec. 2. Any person elected to the Senate of the United 
 States by the Legislature of this State, or any person elected by 
 the people, or appointed to office by the Governor of the State, 
 or by any officer of the State, under the provisions of the Con- 
 stitudon adopted by the convention of the people, convened on 
 the 25th day of October. 1865, shall not be empowered to hold 
 such office after the same position or office shall have been^ filled 
 by election or appointment under the provisions of this Consti- 
 tution. Provided, That all officers holding office under the pro- 
 visions of the Consdtution adopted the 25th day of October, A. 
 D. 1856, and not provided for in this Constitution, shall con- 
 tinue to hold their respective offices, and discharge the duties 
 thereof, until the Governor shall, by his proclamation, declare 
 such offices vacant. 
 
 Sec. 3. The several judicial circuits of the Circuit Courts, 
 shall be as follows : The first judicial circuits shall be composed 
 of the counties of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Holmes, 
 Washington and Jackson ; the 2d judicial circuit shall be com- 
 posed of the counties of Gadsden, Liberty, Calhoun, Franklin. 
 Leon, Wakulla and Jefferson ; the 3d judicial circuit shall be 
 composed of the counties of Madison, Taylor, Lafayette, Ham- 
 ilton, Suwanee and Columbia ; the 4th judicial circuit shall be 
 
APPENDIX. 399 
 
 composed of the counties of Nassau, Duval, Baker, Bradford, 
 Clay and St. Johns; the 5th judicial circuit shall be composed of 
 the counties of Putnam, Alachua, Ivevy, Marion and Sumpter ; 
 the 6th judicial circuit shall be composed of the counties of Her- 
 nando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk and Monroe; the 7th judi- 
 cial circuit shall be composed of the counties of Volusia, Brevard, 
 Orange and Dade. 
 
 Sec. 4. The salary of the Governor of the State shall be 
 ^5,000 per annum; that of the Chief Justice shall be $4 500 ; 
 that of each Associate Justice shall be $4,000; that of each 
 Judge of the Circuit Court shall be $3,500 ; that of the Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor shall be $2,500 ; that of each Cabinet officer shall 
 be $3,000. The pay of the members of the Senate and House 
 of Bepresentatives shall be $500 per annum, and in addition 
 thereto ten cents per miles for each mile traveled from their re- 
 spective places of residence to the capital, and the same to re- 
 turn. But such distances shall be estimated by the shortest gen- 
 eral public thoroughfare. All other officers of the State shall be 
 paid by fees as per diem fixed by law. 
 
 Sec. 5. The Leg:islature shall appropriate $2,000 each year 
 for the purchase of such books for the Supreme Court library as 
 the said Court shall direct. 
 
 Sec. 6. The salary of each officer shall be payable (juarterly 
 upon his own requisition. 
 
 Sec. 7. The tribe of Indians located in the southern por- 
 tion of the State, and known as the Seminole Indians, shall be 
 entitled to one member in each house of the Legislature. Such 
 members shall have all the rights, privileges and remuneration as 
 other members of the Legislature. Such members shall be 
 elected by the members of their tribe, in the manner prescribed 
 for all elections by this Constitution. The tribe shall be repre- 
 sented only by a member of the same, and m no case by a 
 M-hite man : Provided, That the representatives of die Seminole 
 Indians shall not be a bar to the representative of any county by 
 the citizens thereof. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Legislature may at any time impose such tax 
 on the Indians as they may deem proper ; and such imposition of 
 tax shall constitute the Indians citizens, and they shall thence- 
 forward be entitled to'all the priviliges of other citizens, and there- 
 after be barred of special representation. 
 
 Sec. 9. In addition to other crimes and misdemeanors for 
 which an officer may be mnpeached and tried, shall be included 
 drunkenness and other dissipations ; incompetency, malfeasance 
 in office, gambling or any conduct detrimental to good morals, 
 shall be considered sufficient cause for impeachment and convic- 
 tion. Any officer when, impeached by the Assembly shall be 
 
400 APPENDIX. 
 
 deemed under arrest, and shall be disqualified from performing 
 any of the duties of his office until acquitted by the Senate. 
 But any officer so impeached and in arrest may demand his 
 trial by the Senate \\ ithin ten days from the date of his impeach- 
 ment. 
 
 Sec. io. The following shall be the oath of office for each 
 officer in the State, including members of the Legislature : "I do 
 solemnly swear that I will support, protect and defend the Con- 
 '^titution and Government of the United States, and of the State 
 of Florida, against all enemies, domestic or foreign, and that I 
 will bear true faith, loyalty and allegiance to the same, and that 
 1 am entitled to hold office under this Constitution. That I will 
 
 ^vell and faithfully perform all the duties of the office of , 
 
 which 1 am about to enter : so help me God." 
 
 Sec. II. The Legislature may provide for the donation of 
 .he public lands to actual settlers. But such donation shall 
 not exceed one hundred and sixty acres to any one person. 
 
 Sec. 1 2. All county officers shall hold their respective offices 
 at the county seats of their counties. 
 
 Sec. 13. The Legislature shall provide for tlie speedy pub- 
 lication of all statutes and laws of general nature. All decisions 
 of the Supreme Court, and all laws and judicial decisions shall 
 be for free publication by any person. But no judgment of the 
 Supreme Court shall take effect and be operative until the 
 opinion of the court in such a case shall be filed with the clerk of 
 said court. 
 
 Sec. 14. The Legislature shall not create any office, the 
 term of which shall be longer than four years. 
 
 Sec. 15. The Governor, Cabinet and Suj^reine Court shall 
 keep their offices at the seat of Government. But in case of in- 
 vasion or violent epidemics, the Governor may direct that the 
 offices of the Government shall be removed temporarily to some 
 other place. The session of the Legislature may be adjourned 
 for the same cause to some other place ; but in such case of re- 
 moval, all the Departments of the Government shall be removed 
 to one place. But such removal shall not continue longer than 
 the necessity for the same shall continue. 
 
 Sec 16. A plurality of votes given at an election by the 
 people shall constitute a choice when not otherwise provided for 
 by this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 17. The term of the State officers elected at the first 
 election under this Constitution, not otherwise provided for, 
 shall continue until the first Tuesday of January, A. D. 1873. 
 and until the installation of their successors, excei/ting the mem- 
 bers of the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. 18. Each county and incorporated city shall make pro- 
 
JOHNATHAN C GIBBS. 
 
APPENDIX. 401 
 
 vision for the support of its own officers, subject to such regula- 
 tions as may be prescribed by law. Each county shall make 
 provision for building a court-house and jail, and for keeping the 
 same in good repair. 
 
 Sec. 19. If at the meeting of the Senate at any session the 
 Lieutenant-Governor has not qualified or is not present, the Sen- 
 ate shall elect one of its members as temporary President before 
 proceeding to other business. 
 
 Sec. 20. The Legislature shall at the first session adopt a 
 seal for the State, and such seal shall be the size of the Ameri- 
 can silver dollar. But said seal shall not again be changed after 
 its adoption by the Legislature; and the Governor shall, by his 
 proclamation, announce that the said seal has become the great 
 seal of the State. 
 
 Sec. 21. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and all the 
 State officers elected by the people shall be installed on the first 
 day of the meeting of the Legislature, and immediately assume 
 the duties of their respective offices. 
 
 Sec. 32. The Governor andLieutenant Governor shall have 
 been, before their election to office, nine years a citizen of the 
 United States, and three * years a citizen of the State. All 
 other officers shall have been one year a citizen of the State, and 
 six months a citizen of the county from which they are elected 
 or appointed. No person shall be eligible to any office unless he 
 be a registered voter. 
 
 Sec. 23. The Governor or any State officer is hereby pro- 
 hibited from giving certificates of election or other credentials 
 to any person as having been elected to the House of 
 Representatives of the United States Congress, or the United 
 States Senate, who has not been two years a citizen of the State. 
 and nine years a citizen of the United States, and a registered 
 voter. 
 
 Sec. 24. The property ot all corporations, whether heretofore 
 or hereafter incorporated, shall be subject to taxation, unless 
 such corporatian be for refigious, educational, or charitable pur- 
 poses. 
 
 Sec. 25. All bills, bonds, notes, and evidences of debt out- 
 standing and unpaid, given for or in consideration of bonds or 
 treasury notes of the so-called Confederate States, or notes and 
 bonds of this State paid and redeemable in the bonds and notes 
 of the Confederate States, are hereby declared null and void, 
 and no action shall be maintained thereon in the courts of this 
 State. 
 
 Sec. 26. It shall be the duty of the courts to consider that 
 there is a failure of consideration, and it shall be so held by the 
 
 25 
 
40 2 
 
 APPRNDIX. 
 
 courts of this State, upon all deeds or bills of sale given for slaves 
 with covenant or warranty of title or soundness, or both; upon 
 all bills, bonds, notes, or other evidences of debt, given for or in 
 consideration of slaves, which are now outstanding and unpaid, 
 and no action shall be maintained thereon; and all judgments 
 and decrees rendered in any ot the courts of this State since the 
 loth of January, A. D. 1861, upon all deeds or bills of sale, or 
 upon anv bond, bill, note, or other evidence of debt based upon 
 ihe sale or purchase of slaves, are hereby declared set aside, and 
 the plea of failure of consideration shall be held a good defence 
 in all actions to said suit: and that when money was due previ- 
 ous to the 10th day of January, 1861, and slaves were given in 
 consideration for such money, thase shall be deemed a failure 
 of consideration for the debt: Provided, That settlements and 
 compromises of such transactions made by the parties thereto 
 shall be respected. 
 
 Sec. 27. All persons who, as alien enemies under the se- 
 ta uestration act of the so-called Confederate Congress, and now 
 Resident of the State, had property sequestered and sold by any 
 person acting under a law of the so-called Confederate States, 
 or the State of Florida, subsequent to the loth of January, A. 
 D. i86r, and prior to the ist of January, 1865, shall be empow- 
 ered to file a bill in equity in the Circuit Court of the State, and 
 shall be entitled to obtain judgment against the State lor all dam- 
 ages sustained by said sale and detention of property. The 
 court shall estimate the damages upon the assessed valuation of 
 the property in question in the year A. D. 1870, with interest, 
 at six per cent, from the time the owner was deprived of the 
 same. But all judgments against the State shall be paid only 
 in certificates of indebtedness, redeemable in State lands. Said 
 certificates shall be issued by the Governor, countersigned by 
 the Secretary of State and by the Comptroller, upon the decree 
 of the court. Oral testimony shall be sufficient to establish the 
 fact of a sale having been made. 
 
 Sec. 28. There shall be no civil or political distinction in 
 this State on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
 servitude, and the Legislature shall have no power to prohibit 
 by law any class of persons on account of race, color, or previ- 
 ous condition of servitude, to vote or hold any office, beyond 
 the conditions prescribed by this constituion. 
 
 Skc. 29. The api)ortionment for the Assembly shall be as 
 follows: Escambia, two; Santa Rosa, one; Walton, one; Holmes, 
 one; Washington, one; Jackson, three; Calhoun, one; (iadsden, 
 two; Franklin, one; Liberty, one; Wakulla, one; Leon, four; 
 lefferson, three; Madison, two; Taylor, one; Hamilton, one; 
 Suwanee, one: Lafayette, one; Alachua, two; Columbia, two; 
 
APPENDIX. 403 
 
 Baker, one; Bradford, one; Nassau, one; Duval, two; Clay, 
 one; St. John's, one; Putnam, one; Marion, two; Levy, one; 
 Volusia, one: Orange, one; Brevard, one; Dade, one; Hillsbor- 
 ough, one; Hernando, one; Sumter, one; Polk, one; Manatee, 
 one; and Monroe, one. There shall be twenty-four senatorial 
 districts, which shall be as follows, and shall be known by their 
 respective numbers from one to twenty-four inclusive. The first 
 senatorial district shall be composed of Escambia county; the 
 second, of Santa Rosa and Walton: the third, of Jackson; the 
 fourth, of Volusia and Washington; the fifth, of Calhoun and 
 Franklin; the sixth, of Gadsden; the seventh, of Liberty and 
 Wakulla; the eighth, of Leon: the ninth of Jefferson; the tenth, 
 of Madison; the eleventh, of .Hamilton and Suwanee; the 
 twelfth, of Lafayette and Taylor: the thirteenth, of Alabhua 
 and Levy; the foureenth, of Columbia; the fifteenth, of 
 Bradford and Clay; the sixteenth, of Baker and Nassau; 
 the seventeenth, of St. John's and Putnam; the eight- 
 eenth, of Duval: the nineteenth, of Marion; the twen- 
 tieth, of Volusia and Orange; the twenty-first, of Dade 
 and Brevard; the twenty-second, of Hillsborough and 
 Hernando; the twenty-third, of Sumter and Polk; the twenty- 
 fourth, of Manatee and Monroe: and each senatorial district 
 shall be entitled to one Senator. 
 
 Sec. 30. No person shall ever be appointed a Judge of the 
 Supreme Court or Circuit Court who is not 25 years of age and 
 practicing attorney. 
 
 Sec. 31. The Legislature shall, as soon as convenient, 
 adopt a State emblem having the design of the great seal of the 
 State impressed upon a white ground of six feet six inches fly 
 and six feet deep. 
 
 ARTICLE XVHL 
 
 amendments. 
 
 Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may 
 be proposed in either branch of the Legislature; and if the same 
 shall be agreed upon by a two-thirds vote of all the menibers 
 elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or 
 amendments shall be entered on their respective journals, with 
 the yeas and nays thereon, and referred to the Legislature then 
 next^to be chosen, and shall be published for three months next 
 preceding the time of making such choice; and if, in the Legis- 
 lature next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or 
 amendments shall be agreed to by a two-thirds vote of all the 
 members elected to each house, then it should be the duty of 
 
404 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Legislature to submit such proposed amendment or amend- 
 ments to the people in such manner and at such time as the 
 Legislature may prescribe; and if the people shall approve and 
 ratify such amendment or amendments by a majority of the 
 electors qualified to vote for members of the Legislature voting 
 thereon, such amendment or amendments shall become a part 
 of the Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 2. If at any time the Legislature, by a vote of a ma- 
 jority of all the members elected to each of the two houses, shall 
 determine that it is necessary to cause a revision oi this entire 
 Constitution, such determination shall be entered on their re- 
 spective journals, with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred 
 to the Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be published 
 for three months next preceding the time of making such choice. 
 
 And if m the Legislature next chosen aforesaid such proposed 
 revision shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected 
 to each house, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature to 
 recommend to the electors of the next election for members of 
 the Legislature to vote for or against a convention; and if it 
 shall appear that a majority of the electors voting at such elec- 
 tion shall have voted in favor of calling a convention, the Legis- 
 lature shall, at its next session, provide by law for a convention, 
 to be holden within six months after the passage of such law, 
 and such convention shall consist of a number of members not 
 less than both branches of the Legislature. 
 
 In determining what is a majority of the electors voting at 
 such election, reference shall be had to the highest number of 
 votes cast at such election for the candidates for any office or on 
 any (Question. 
 
^PPEi^DIX C 
 
 FLORIDA. 
 
 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
 
 STATES, 
 
 Transmitting papers relating to proceedings in the State of Florida. — 
 May 2(p, 1868 — Referred to the Committee on Recon- 
 struction and ordered to be printed. 
 
 To the Senate a)id House of Representatives : 
 
 I transmit to Congress the accompanying documents, which 
 are the only papers that have been submitted to me relating to, 
 the proceeding's to which they refer in the State of Florida. 
 
 ANDREW JOHNSON. 
 
 Washington, D. C, May 27, 1868. 
 
 Washix(;ton, D. C, May 27, 186S. 
 
 Sir : In compliance with a provision of an Act of the United 
 States Congress, entided "An Act supplementary to an Act to 
 provide a more efficient govermnent in the rebel States," I have 
 the honor, as President of the Constitutional Convention of the 
 State of Florida, herewith to transmit to you a copy of the Con- 
 stitution framed and adopted by the convention, and ratified by 
 the people of Florida at a duly authorized election held on the 
 4th, 5th and 6th instant. 
 
 I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant. 
 
 HORATIO JENKINS, Jr., 
 
 President, of the Constitutional Convention, State of Florida. 
 
 His Excellency, Andrew Johnson, 
 
 President of the United States. 
 
4C6 APPENDIX. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We. the j^eople of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty 
 God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings and form a 
 more perfect government, insuring domestic tranquillity, main- 
 taining public order, perpetuating liberty and guaranteeing equal 
 civil and political rights to all, do establish this Constitution. 
 
 1)K( LAKA'llON OK KKiHTS. 
 
 Section- i. All men are by nature free and equal, and have 
 certain inalienable rights, among Avhich are those of enjoying and 
 defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting 
 property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. 
 
 Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Gov- 
 ernment IS instituted for the protection, security and benefit of 
 its citizens; and they have the right to alter or amend the same 
 whenever the public good may require it, but the paramount al- 
 legiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government, and 
 no power exists with the people of this State to dissolve its con- 
 nection therewith. 
 
 Sec. 3. This State shall ever remain a member of the Ameri- 
 ' an Union; the people thereof a part of the American nation ; 
 and any attempt from whatever source, or upon whatever pre- 
 tence, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, shall be 
 resisted with the whole power of the State. 
 
 Sec 4. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and 
 remain inviolate forever ; but in all civil cases a jury trial may be 
 waived by the parties, in the manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 5. The free exercise and enjoyment of all religious pro- 
 fession and worship shall forever be allowed in this State, and 
 no person shall be rendered incompetent as a witness on account 
 of his religious opinions : but the liberty of conscience hereby 
 secured shall not be so construed as to justify licentiousness, or 
 practices subversive of the peace and safety of the State. 
 
 Sec. 6. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not 
 be suspended, unless when in case of invasion or rebellion the 
 public safety may require its suspension. 
 
 Sec. 7. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
 fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted, nor 
 shall witnesses be unreasonably detained. 
 
 Sec. 8. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, 
 unless for capital offences when the ]jroof is evident 01 the pre- 
 sumption great. 
 
AI'I'ENDIX. 407 
 
 Sec. 9. No person shall be tried for a capital or otherwise 
 infamous crime, except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of 
 the militia when in active service in time of war, or in w^hich the 
 State may keep, w'ith the consent of Congress, in time of peace, 
 and in cases of petit larceny under the regulation of the Legisla- 
 ture, unless on presentment and indictment by a grand jury; and 
 in any trial by any court the party accused shall be allowed to 
 a|)pear and defend in person and with counsel, as in civil ao 
 tifjns. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy 
 for the same offence, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case 
 to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or 
 property without due process of law ; nor shall private property 
 be taken without just compensation. 
 
 Sec. 10. Every citizen may fully speak and write his senti- 
 ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that 
 right, and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the lib- 
 erty of speech or the press. In all criminal prosecutions and 
 civil actions for libel the truth may be given in evidence to the 
 jury, and if it shall appear that the matter charged as libellous is 
 true, but was published for good motives, the party shall be ac- 
 quitted or exonerated. 
 
 Sec. II. The people shall have the right to assemble to* 
 gether, to consult for the common good, to instruct their repre- 
 sentatives, and to petition the Legislature for a redress of griev. 
 ances. 
 
 Sec. 12. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform 
 operation. 
 
 Sec. 13. The mihtary shall be subordinate to civil power. 
 
 Sec. 14. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
 any house except w4th the consent of the owners, nor in time ot 
 war, except in manner prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 15. Representatives shall be apportioned according 
 to population, as well as may be, but no county shall have 
 more than four Representatives or less than one Representative in 
 the Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 16. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, except m 
 case of fraud. 
 
 Sec. 17. No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, or laws 
 impairing the obligations of contracts shall ever be passed. 
 
 Foreigners who are, or who may hereafter become, bona 
 fide residents of the State, shall enjoy the same rights in re- 
 spect to posession, enjoyment and inheritance of property as 
 native born citizens. 
 
 Sec. 19. Neithe:- slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless 
 for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated in this State. 
 
 Sec. 20. The rights of the people to be secure in their 
 
400 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 persons, houses and cftects, against unreasonable seizures and 
 searches, shall not be violated ; and no warrants issued but in 
 ]^robable cause, supported by oath or affirmation particularly- 
 describing the place or places to be searched, and the person or 
 persons and thing or things to be seized. 
 
 Sec. 2 1. Treason against the State shall consist only in 
 levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them 
 aid and comfort ; and no person snail be convicted of treason 
 unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same covert act 
 or confession in open court. 
 
 Skc. 2 2. The people shall have the right to bear arms 
 in defence of themselves and of the lawful authority of the State. 
 
 Skc. 23. No preference can be given by law to any church, 
 sect or mode of worshij). 
 
 Skc. 24. This enunciation of rights shall not be construed 
 to impair or deny others retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 F.JUND ARIES. 
 
 The boundaries of the State of Florida shall be as follows: 
 Commencing at the mouth of the river Perdido ; from thence 
 up the middle of said river to where it intersects the south 
 boundary line of the State of Alabama and the thirty-first degree 
 of north latitude ; thence due east to the Chattahoochee river ; 
 thence down the middle of said river to its confluence with the 
 Flint river; from thence straight to the head of the St. Mary's 
 river; thence down the middle of said river to the Atlantic 
 Ocean : thence southeast wardly along the coast to the edge of 
 the (rulf Stream; thence south westwardly along the edge of the 
 (rulf Stream, and Florida reefs to and including the Tortugas 
 islands ; thence northeastwardly to a point three leagues from 
 the main land; thence northwestwardly three leagues from the 
 land to a point west of the mouth of the Perdido river; thence to 
 the place of beginning. 
 
 ARTICLE n. 
 
 SKAT OF (lOVKRNMl'.X 1 . 
 
 The seat of government shall be and remain permanent at 
 ilie city of Tallahassee, in the county of Leon, until otherwise 
 located by the majority vote of the people. 
 
APPENI)I.\. 409 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF TOWERS. 
 
 The powers of the government of the State of Florida shall 
 be divided into three departments, to wit : legislative, executive, 
 and judicial and no person properly belonging to one of the de- 
 partments shall exercise any functions appertaining to either of 
 the others, except in those cases expressly i)rovided for by this 
 'Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 LEGISTATIVE 1 )KPARTMEN'l'. 
 
 Sec. I The legislative authority of this State shall be vested in 
 .-a Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated the "Legisla- 
 ture of the State of Florida," and the sessions thereof shall be 
 held at the seat of government of the State. 
 
 Sec. 2 The sessions ofthe Legislature shall be annual, the first 
 sessions on the second Monday of June, A. D. 1868, and there- 
 after on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of January, 
 commencing in the year A. D. 1869. The Governor may in 
 the interim convene the same in extra session by his proclamation. 
 
 Sec. 3. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen 
 biennially, those of the first Legislature on the first Monday, 
 Tuesday Vnd Wednesday of May, A. D. 1868, and thereafter on 
 the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November commenc- 
 ing with the year A. D. 1870. 
 
 Sec. 4. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, 
 .at the same time and place as members of the Assembly : 
 Froinded, That the Senators elected at the first election from 
 the senatorial districts designated by even numbers shall vacate 
 their seats at the expiration of two years, and thereafter all Sen- 
 ators shall be elected for the term of four years, so that one-half 
 of the whole number shall be elected biennially. 
 
 Sec 5. Senators and members ofthe Assembly shall be dulv 
 qiialified electors in the respective counties and districts which 
 they represent. 
 
 Sec. 6. Each house shall judge of the ([ualifications, elec- 
 tions and returns of its own members, choose its own officers, 
 except the President of the Senate, determine the rules of its 
 proceedings, and may punish its members for disorderly con- 
 duct, and." with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the mem- 
 bers present, expel a member. 
 
 Sec. 7. Either house, during the session, may punish by 
 
410 
 
 AFPKM>IX. 
 
 imprisonment any person not a member who shall have been 
 guilty of disorderly or contemptuous conduct in its presence, but 
 such'imprisonment shall not extend beyond the final adjourn- 
 r/ient of the session. 
 
 Sec. 8. A majority of each house shall constitute a (piorum to 
 do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
 dav, and may compel the presence of absent members, in such 
 manner and under such penalties as each house may prescribe. 
 
 Sec. 9. Any person who shall be convicted of embezzle- 
 ment or defalcation of the funds of the State, or of havmg given 
 or ofiered a bribe to secure his election or appointment to office, 
 or of having received a bribe to aid in the procurement of office 
 for anv other person, shall be disqualified from holding any 
 office of honor, profit or trust in the State ; and the Legislature 
 .<ihall. as soon as practicable, provide by law for the punishment 
 of such embezzlement, defalcation, or bribery, as a felony 
 
 Sec. 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its own pro- 
 ceedings, which shall be published, and the yeas and nays of the 
 members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of 
 any three members present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 Sec. II. The doors of each house shall be kept open dur- 
 ing its session, except the Senate while sitting in executive 
 session, and neither shall, without the consent of the other, ad- 
 journ for more than three days, or to any other town than that 
 in which they may be holding their session. 
 
 Sec. 12. Any bill may orginate in either house of the Legis- 
 lature, and alter being passed in one house may be amended in 
 the other. 
 
 Sec. 13. The enacting clause of every law shall be as fol- 
 lows : '' The people of the State of Florida, represented in Sen- 
 ate and Assembly, do enact as follow^s :" 
 
 Sec 14. Each law enacted in the Legislature shall embrace 
 but one subject and matter properly connected therewith, which 
 subject shall be briefly expressed in the title, and no law shall be 
 amended or revised by reference to its title only, but in such 
 case the Act as revised, or section as amended, shall be re-en- 
 acted and iniblished at length. 
 
 Sec. 15. Every bill shall be read by sections on three sev- 
 eral days in each house, unless in case of emergency two-thirds 
 (i the house where such bill may be pending shall deem it ex- 
 j'edient to dispense with this rule; but the reading of a bill by 
 sections on its final {massage shall in no case be dispensed with ; 
 find the vote on the final jjassage of every bill or joint resolution 
 shall be taken by yeas and nays, to be entered on the journal of 
 each house, and a majority of the members present in each house 
 shall be necessary to pass every bill or joint resolution : and all 
 
APF^ENDIX. 411 
 
 bills or joint resolutions so passed shall be signed by the presid- 
 ing officers of the res})ective houses, and by the Secretary of the 
 Senate and Clerk of the Assembly. 
 
 Sec. 16. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury ex- 
 cept by appropriation made by law, and accurate statements (jf 
 the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be at- 
 tached to and published with the laws passed at every regular 
 session of the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. 17. The Legislature shall not pass special or local laws 
 in any of the following enumerated cases : That is to say, regu- 
 lating the jurisdiction and duties of any class of officers, or for 
 the punishment of crime or misdemeanor; regulating the prac- 
 tices of courts of justice; providing for changing venue of civil 
 and criminal cases; granting divorces; changing the names of 
 persons ; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public 
 squares ; summoning and impanelling grand and petit juries 
 and providing for their compensation : regulating county, town- 
 ship and municipal business; regu'ating the election of county, 
 township and municipal officers ; for the assessment and 
 collection of taxes for State, countyand municipal purposes ; 
 providing for opening and conducting elections for State, 
 county and municipal officers, and designating the places of vot- 
 ing; providing for the sale of real estate belonging to minors or 
 other persons laboring under legal disabilities ; regulating the 
 fees of officers. 
 
 Sec. 18. In all cases enumerated in the preceding section, 
 and in all cases where general law can be made applicable, all 
 laws shall be general and of uniform operation throughout the 
 State. 
 
 Sec. 19. Provision may be made by general law for bring- 
 ing suit against the State as to all liabilities now existing or here- 
 after orignating. 
 
 Sec. 20. Lotteries are hereby prohibited in this State. 
 
 Sec. 21. The Legislature shall establish a uniform system of 
 county, township and municipal government. 
 
 Sec. 22. The Legislature shall provide by general law for 
 incorporating such municipal, educational, agricultural, mechan- 
 ical, mining and other useful companies or association as may 
 be deemed necessary. 
 
 Sec. 23. No person who is not a qualified elector of this 
 State, or any person who shall have been convicted of bribery, 
 forgery, perjury, larceny or other high crime, unless restored to 
 civil rights, shall be permitted to serve on juries. 
 
 Sec. 24. Laws shall be passed regulating elections and pro- 
 hibiting, under adetfuate penalties, all undue influence thereon 
 from power, bribery, tumult or other improper practice. 
 
412 API'KXIMX. 
 
 Skc. 25. Regular sessions of the Legislature may extend 
 to sixty davs : but any sj^ecial session convened by the Governor 
 shall not exceed twenty days. 
 
 Sec. 26. All property, both real and personal, of the wife 
 owned by her before marriage or accjuired afterward by gift, de- 
 vise, descent or purchase, shall be her separate property and not 
 liable for the debts of her husband. 
 
 Sec. 27. The Legislature shall provide for the election by 
 the people or appointment by the Governor of all State, county 
 or municipal officers not otherwise provided for l)y this Constitu- 
 tion, and fix by law their duties and compensation. 
 
 Sec. 28. Every bill which may have passed the Legislature 
 shall, before becoming a law, be presented 10 the Governor. 
 If he approves it he shall sign it; but it not, he shall return it 
 with his objections to the house in which it originated, which 
 house shall cause such objections to be entered upon its journals 
 and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration it 
 shall pass both houses by a two-thirds vole of the members pres- 
 ent, which vote shall be entered upon the journal of each house, 
 it shall become a law. If any bill shall not be returned within 
 five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented 
 to the Governor, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he 
 had signed it. If the Legislature by its final adjournment pre- 
 vent such action, such bill shall be a law unless the Governor 
 within ten days next after the adjournment shall file such bill 
 with his objection thereto in the office of the Secretary of State, 
 who shall lay the same before the Legislature at its next session, 
 and if the same shall receive two-thirds of the votes present it 
 shall become a law.' 
 
 Skc. 29. The Assembly shall have the sole i>ower of im- 
 peachment ; but a vote of two-thirds of all the members present 
 shall be re([uired to impeach any officer, and all impeachments 
 shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting for that purpose the 
 Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation, and no person shall 
 be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Sena- 
 tors present. The Chief Justice shall preside at all trials by im- 
 jjeachment, except in the trial of the Chief Justice, when the 
 Lieutenant-Governor shall preside. The Governor, Lieutenant- 
 Governor, members of the Cabinet, Justices of the Supreme 
 Court and Judges of the Circuit Court, shall be liable to 
 impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; but judgment 
 in such cases shall extend only to removal from office and 
 disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit 
 under the State; but the party convicted or actiuitted 
 shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial and punishment 
 according to law. All other officers who shall have been ap- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 413 
 
 pointed to office by the Governor, and by and with the consent 
 of the Senate, may be removed from office upon the recommend- 
 ation of the Governor and consent of the Senate, but they shall 
 nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial and punishment accord- 
 ing to law for any misdemeanor in office ; all other civil officers 
 shall be tried for misdemeanors in office in such manner as the 
 Legislature may provide. 
 
 Sec. 29. Laws making appropriation for the salaries of pub- 
 lic officers and other current expenses of the State shall contain 
 provisions on no other subject. 
 
 Sec. 30. The Legislature shall elect United States Senators 
 in the manner prescribed by the Congress of the United States, 
 and by this Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Section i. The supreme executive power of the State shall 
 be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled the Gov- 
 ernor of Florida. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified elect- 
 ors at the time and places of voting for the members of the 
 Legislature, and shall hold his office for four years from the time 
 of his installment : Provided^ That the term of the first Governor 
 elected under this Constitution shall expire at the opening of the 
 regular session of the Legislature of A. D. 1873, ^nd until his 
 successor shall be qualified. He shall take the oath of office 
 prescribed for all State officers. 
 
 Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor 
 who is not a qualified elector, and who has not been nine years 
 a citizen of the United States, and three years of the State of 
 Florida, next preceding the time of his election. 
 
 Sec 4. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief of the 
 military forces of the State, except when they shall be called into 
 the service of the Ur)ited States. 
 
 Sec. 5. He shall transact all executive business with the 
 -officers of the Government, civil and military, and may require 
 information in writing from the officers of the administrative de- 
 partment upon any subject relating to the duties of their respect- 
 ive offices. 
 
 Sec. 6. He shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. 
 
 Sec. 7. When any office, from any cause, shall become va- 
 cant, and no mode is provided by this Constitution or by the 
 laws of the State for filling such vacancy, the Governor shall 
 "have the power to fill such vacancy by granting a commission 
 which shall expire at the next election. 
 
414 APPENDIX. 
 
 Sec. S. The (rovernor may, on extraordinary ©ccasions, 
 convene the Legislature by proclamation, and shall state to 
 both houses, when organized, the purpose for which they have 
 been convened, and the Legislature then shall transact no legis- 
 lative business except that for which they are specially convened, 
 or such other legislative business as the Governor may call to the 
 attention of the Legislature while in session, except by the unan- 
 imous consent of both houses. 
 
 Sec 9. He shall communicate by message to the Legisla- 
 ture at each regular session the condition of the State, and rec- 
 ommend such measures as he may deem expedient. 
 
 Skc. 10. In case of a disagreement between the two houses 
 with respect to the time of adjournment, the Governor shall have 
 power t J adjourn the Legislature to such a time as he may think 
 proper, provided it is not beyond the time fixed for the meeting 
 of the next Legislature, 
 
 Sec. II. The Governor shall have power to suspend the 
 collection of fines and forfeitures, and grant reprieves for a 
 period not exceeding sixty days, dating from the time of convic- 
 tion, for all ofTences except in cases of impeachment. Upon 
 conviction for treason, he shall have power to suspend the execu- 
 tion of sentence until the case shall be reported to the Legisla- 
 ture at its next session, when the Legislature shall either pardon, 
 direct the execution of^ the sentence, or grant a further reprieve; 
 and if the Legislature shall fail or refuse to make final disposi- 
 tion of such case, the sentence shall be enforced at such time 
 and place as the Governor may by his order direct. The Gov- 
 ernor shall communicate to the Legislature at the beginning of 
 every session every case of fine or forfeiture remitted or reprieved, 
 ))ardon or commutation granted, stating the name of the convict, 
 the crime for which he was convicted, the sentence, its date, 
 and the date of its remission, commutation, pardon, or reprieve. 
 
 Sec, 12. The Governor, Justices of the Supreme Court and 
 Attorney-General, or a major part of them, of whom the Gov- 
 ernor shall be one, may, upon such conditions and with such 
 limitations and restrictions as they may deem proper, remit fines 
 and forfeitures, commute punishments, and grant pardons after 
 conviction in all cases except treason and impeachment, subject 
 to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the 
 manner of applying for pardons. 
 
 Sec, 13. The grants and commissions shall be in the name 
 and under the authority of the State of Florida, sealed by the 
 great seal of the State, signed by the (Governor and countersigned 
 by the Secretary of State, 
 
 Sec, 14, A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at the 
 same time and places and in the same manner as the Governor, 
 
APPKNDIX. 415 
 
 whose term of office and eligibility shall also be the same. He 
 shall be the Presi(fent of the Senate, but shall have only a casting- 
 vote therein. If, during a vacancy of the office of Governor, 
 the Lieutenant Governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, 
 die or become incapable of performing the duties of his office, or 
 l)e absent from the State, the President pro tempore of the Sen- 
 ate shall act as Governor until the office be filled or the disability 
 cease. 
 
 Sec. 15. In the case of the impeachment of the Crovernor, 
 or his removal from office, death, inability to discharge his offi- 
 cial duties, or resignation, the power and duties of the office 
 shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor for the residue of 
 the term, or until the disability shall cease : but the Governor 
 shall not, without the consent of the Legislature, be out of the 
 State in time of war. 
 
 Sec. 16. The Governor may at any time require the opinion 
 of the Justices of the Supreme Court as to the interpretation of 
 any portion of this Constitution, or upon any point of law, and 
 the Supreme Court shall render such opinion in writing. 
 
 Sec. 17. The Governor shall be assisted by a cabinet of ad- 
 ministrative officers, consisting of a Secretary of State, Attorney 
 General, Comptroller, Treasurer, Surveyor General, Superin- 
 tendent of Public Instruction, Adjutant General and Commis- 
 sioner of Immigration. Such officers shall be appointed by the 
 Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and shall hold their of- 
 fices the same time as the Governor, or until their successors 
 shall be qualified. 
 
 Sec. 18. The Governor shall, by and with the consent of 
 the Senate, appoint all commissioned officers of the State militia. 
 
 Sec. 19. The Governor shall appoint, by and with the con- 
 sent of the Senate, in each county an assessor of taxes and col- 
 lector of revenue, whose duties shall be prescribed by law, and 
 who shall hold their offices for two years and be subject to re- 
 moval upon the recommendation of the Governor and consent of 
 the Senate. The Governor shall appoint in each county a 
 County Treasurer, County Surveyor, Superintendent of Common 
 Schools, and five County Commissioners, each of whom shall 
 hold his office for two years, and the duties of each shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. Such officers shall be subject to removal by the 
 Governor when in his judgment the public welfare will be ad- 
 vanced thereby : Provided, No officer shall be removed except 
 for wilful neglect of duty, or a violation of the criminal laws of 
 the State, or for incompetency. 
 
 Sec. 20. The Governor and cabinet shall constitute a Board 
 of Commissioners of State institutions, which board shall have 
 
41 6 APPENDIX. 
 
 supervision of all matters connected therewith, in such manner 
 as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Skc. 21. The (Jovernor shall have pow-er, in cases of insur- 
 rection or rebellion, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus within 
 the State. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 jlDICIAI. DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Skchon I. The judicial po\ver of the State shall be vested 
 in a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, County Courts and Justices 
 of the Peace. 
 
 Sf.c. 2. The style of all process shall be "The State of Flor- 
 -.da," and all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name and 
 by the authority of the same. 
 
 Sf.c. 3. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice 
 and two Asspciate .Justices, who shall hold their offices lor life^ 
 or during good behavior. They shall be appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor and confirmed by the Senate. 
 
 Sec. 4. The majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court 
 shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business. The 
 Supreme Courr shall hold three terms each year in the Supreme 
 Court room at the seat of government. Such terms shall com- 
 mence on the second Tuesday of October, January and April re- 
 spectively. 
 
 Skc. 5. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdic- 
 :ion in all cases in equity, also in all cases of law in which is 
 involved the title to, or right of, possession of real estate, or the 
 legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, 
 or in which the demand or the value of the property in contro- 
 versy exceeds three hundred dollars, also, in all other civil 
 cases not included in the general subdivisions of law and equity; 
 also, in all rpiestions of law alone; in all cruninal cases in which 
 the offences charged amount to felony. The Court shall have 
 j.ower to issue writs of mandamus, certiorari prohibition, quo 
 warranto, habeas corpus, and also writs necessary or proper to 
 the complete exercise of its appellate jurisdiction. Each of the 
 Justices shall have the power to issue writs of habeas corpus to 
 any part of the State upon petition by, or on behalf of any 
 jjerson held in actual custody, and may make such writs return- 
 able before himself or the Supreme Court, or before any Circuit 
 ('ourt in the State, or before any Judge of said courts. 
 
 Skc. 6. The Supreme Court shall appoint a Clerk of the 
 Supreme Court, who shall have his office at the cai)itol, and 
 shall be Librarian of the Supreme Court library. He shall hold 
 his office until his successor is appointed and (pialified. 
 
APPENDIX. 417 
 
 Sec. 7. There shall be seven Circuit Judges appointed by 
 the Governor and contirmed by the Senate, who shall hold their 
 office for eight years. The State shall be divided into seven 
 judicial districts, the limits of which are defined in this consti- 
 tution, and one Judge shall be assigned to each circuit. Such 
 Judge shall hold two terms of his court in each county within 
 his circuit, each year, at such times and places as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law. The Chief Justice may, in his discretion, order 
 a temporary exchange of circuits by the respective Judges, or 
 any Judge, to hold one or more terms in any other circuit than 
 that to which he is assigned. The Judge shall reside in the 
 circuit to which he is assigned. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Circuit Courts in the several judicial circuits 
 shall have original jurisdiction in all cases of equity, also in all 
 cases at law which involve the title or right of possession to, or 
 the possession of, or the boundaries of real property; of the 
 legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, 
 and in all other cases in which the demand or the value of 
 property in controversy exceeds three hundred dollars, and of 
 the action of forcible entry and unlawful detainer, and also in all 
 criminal cases amounting to felony. They shall have final 
 appellate jmisdiction in all civil cases arising in the County 
 Court in which the amount in controversy is one hundred dollars 
 and upwards, and in all cases of misdemeanor. The Circuit 
 Courts and the Judges thereof shall have power to issue writs of 
 mandamus, injunction,* quo warranto, certiorari, and all other 
 writs proper and necessary to the complete exercise of their 
 jurisdicsion, and also shall have power to issue writs of habeas 
 corpus on petition by or on behalf of any person held in actual 
 custody in their respective circuits. 
 
 Sec. 9. There shall be a County Court organized in each 
 county. The Governor shall appoint a County Judge for each 
 county, who shall be confirmed by the Senate,, and such Judge 
 shall hold his office for four years from the date of his commis- 
 sion, or until his successor is appointed and quaUfied. 
 
 Sec. 10. The County Court shall be a Court of Oyer and 
 Terminer. 
 
 Sec. II. The County Court shall have jurisdiction of all 
 misdemeanors and all civil cases, where the amount in contro- 
 versy does not exceed three hundred dollars; but in no case 
 shall the County Court have jurisdiction when the title or 
 boundaries of real estate is in controversy, or where the juris- 
 diction will conflict with that of the several Courts of Records ; 
 but they may have coextensive jurisdiction with the Circuit 
 Courts in cases of forcible entry and unlawful detention of real 
 
 26 
 
41 8 APPENDIX. 
 
 estate, subject to appeal to the Circuit Court. The County 
 Court shall have full surrogate or probate powers, but subject to 
 appeal. Provision shall be made by law for all other powers, 
 duties, and responsibilities of the County Courts and Judges. 
 There shall be a regular trial term of the County Courts six 
 times- in each year, at such times and places as may be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 ^c. 12. Grand and petit jurors shall be taken from the 
 registered voters of respective counties. 
 
 Sec. 13. In all trials, civil and criminal, in the Circuit and 
 County Courts, the evidence shall be reduced to writing by the 
 Clerk of the Court or his deputy under the control of the Court ; 
 and every witness, after his examination shall have closed, shall 
 be at liberty to correct the evidence he has given, and afterward 
 shall sign the same ; such evidence shall be filed in the office of 
 the Clerk with the papers in the case. 
 
 Sec. 14. All pleas shall be sworn to either by the parties or 
 their attorneys. 
 
 Sec. 15. The (rovernor shall appoint as many Justices of 
 the Peace as he may deem necessary. Justices of the Peace 
 shall have criminal jurisdiction and civil jurisdiction not to 
 exceed fifty dollars, but this shall not extend to the trial of any 
 person for misdemeanor or crime. The duties of Justices of the 
 Peace shall be fixed by law. Justices of the Peace shall hold 
 their offices during good behavior, subject to removal by the 
 Governor at his own discretion. 
 
 Sec. 16. The Legislature may establish Courts for munici- 
 pal purposes only, in incorporated towns and cities. All laws 
 for the organization or government of Municipal Courts shall be 
 general in their provisions, and be equally applicable to the 
 Municipal Courts of all incorporated towns and cities. 
 
 Sec. 17. Any civil cause may be tried before a practicing 
 attorney as referee upon the application of the parties, and an 
 order from the Court in whose jurisdiction the case may be, 
 authorizing such trial and appointing such referee. Such referee 
 shall keep a complete record of the case, including the evidence 
 taken, and such record shall be filed with the papers in ttie case 
 in the office of the Clerk, and such cause shall be subject to an 
 appeal in the manner prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 18. No other C'ourts than those herein specified shall 
 be organized in this State. 
 
 Sec. 19. The Governor, by and with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Senate, shall appoint a State Attorney in each 
 judicial circuit, whose duties shall be prescribed by law. He 
 shall hold his office for four years from the date of his com mis" 
 sion, and until his successor shall be api)ointed and qualified. 
 
APPENDIX. 419 
 
 The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
 shall appoint in each county a Sheriff and Clerk of the Circuit 
 Court, who shall also be Clerk of the County Court and Board 
 of County Commissioners, Recorder, and ex-officio Auditor of 
 the county, each of whom shall hold his office for four years. 
 Their duties shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 20. A constable shall be elected by the registered 
 voters in each county for every two hundred (200) registered 
 voters; but each county shall be entitled to at least two con- 
 stables ; and no county shall have more than twelve constables. 
 They shall perform such duties and under such instructions as 
 shall be prescribed iSy law. 
 
 Sec. 21. Attorneys-at-law, who have been admitted to 
 practice in any Court of Record in any State of the Union, or 
 to any United States Court, shall be admitted to practice in any 
 Court of this State on producing evidence of having been so 
 admitted. 
 
 ARTICLE Vn. 
 
 ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMEN T. 
 
 Section i. There shall be a cabinet of administrative 
 officers, consisting of a Secretary of State, Attorney-General,^ 
 Comptroller, Treasurer. Surveyor-General, Superintendent of 
 Public Instruction, Adjutant-General, and Commissioner of Im- 
 migration, who shall assist the Governor in the performance of 
 his duties. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Secretary of State shall keep the records ot 
 official acts of the Legislature and executive department of the 
 government, and shall, when required, lay the same and all 
 matters relative thereto before either branch of the Legislature, 
 and shall be the custodian of the great seal of the State. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Attorney-General shall be a legal adviser of 
 the Governor and of each of the Cabinet officers, and shall per- 
 form such other legal duties as the Governor may direct, or as 
 may be provided by law. He shall be reporter for the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Treasurer shall receive and keep all funds, 
 bonds or other securities in such manner as may be provided by 
 law, and shall disburse no funds, bonds or other securieties ex- 
 cept upon the order of the Comptroller, countersigned by the 
 Governor, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 5. The duties of the Comptroller shall be prescribed by 
 
 law. 
 
 Sec. 6. The Survevor-General shall have the administrative 
 
420 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 s, jpervision of all matters pertaining to the public lands, under 
 such regulations as shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 7. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall have 
 the administrative supervision of all matters pertaining to public 
 instruction; the supervision of buildings devoted to educational 
 purposes, and the libraries belonging to the university and com- 
 mon schools. He shall organize a historical bureau for the pur- 
 poses of accumulating such matter and information as may be 
 necessary for compiling and perfecting the history of the State. 
 He shall' also establish a cabinet of minerals and other natural 
 productions. 
 
 Sec. S. The Adjutant-General shall, under the orders of the 
 Governor, have the administrative supervision of the Military 
 Department and the supervision of the State prison, and of the 
 quarantine of the coast, in such manner as shall be prescribed by 
 law. 
 
 Sec. 9. The Commissioner of Immigration shall organize a 
 Bureau of Immigration for the purposes of furnishing informa- 
 lion, and for the encouragement of immigration. The office of 
 Commissioner of Immigration shall expire at the end of 15 years 
 from the ratification of this Constitution, but the Legislature 
 shall have the power to continue it by law. 
 
 Sec. 10. Each officer of the Cabinet shall make a full re- 
 port of his official acts, of the receipts and expenditures, of his 
 office, and of the requirements of the same, to the Governor at 
 the beginning of each regular session of the Legislature, or when- 
 ever the Governor shall require it. Such reports shall be laid 
 before the Legislature by the Governor, at the beginning of each 
 regular session thereof. Either House of the Legislature may, 
 at any time, call upon any Cabinet officer for any information 
 required by it. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Section i. It is the paramoimt duty of the State to make 
 ample provision for the education of all the children residing 
 within its borders, without distinction or preference. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Legislature shall provide a uniform system of 
 common schools, and a university, and shall provide for the 
 liberal maintenance of the same. Instruction in them shall be 
 free. 
 
 Sec. 3. There shall be a Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion, whose term of office shall be four years, and until the ap- 
 pointment and qualification of his successor. He shall have 
 
APPENDIX. 421 
 
 general supervision of the educational interests of the State. 
 His duties shall be prescribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 4. The common school fund, the mterest of which 
 shall be exclusively applied to the support and maintenance of 
 common schools, and purchase of suitable libraries and apparatus 
 therefor, shall be derived from the following sources: the pro- 
 ceeds of all lands that have been or may hereafter be granted to 
 the State by the United States for educational purposes; dona- 
 tions by individuals for educational purposes; appropriations by 
 the State; the proceeds of lands or other property which may 
 accrue to the State by escheat or forfeiture; the proceeds of all 
 property granted to the State, when the purpose of such grant 
 shall not be specified; all moneys which may be paid as an ex- 
 emption from military duty; all fines collected under the penal 
 laws of this State; such portion of the per capita tax as may be 
 prescribed bv law for educational purposes; 25 per centum of the 
 sales of public lands which are now or which hereafter may be 
 owned by the State. . , ■, ,. 
 
 Sec. 5. A special tax of not less than one mill on thedoliar 
 of all taxable property in the State, in addition to the other 
 means provided, shall be levied and apportioned annually tor 
 the support and maintenance of common schools. 
 
 Sec. 6. The principal of the common school fund shall re- 
 main sacred and inviolate. . . 
 
 Sec. 7. Provision shall be made by law for the distribution 
 of the common school fund, among the several counties of the 
 .State, in proportion to the number of children residing therein, 
 between the ages of 4 and 21 years. 
 
 Sec. 8. Each county shall be required to raise annually by 
 tax, for the support of common schools therein, a sum not less 
 than one-half of the amount apportioned to eadi county for that 
 year from the income of the common school fund. Any school 
 district neglecting to establish and maintain for at least three 
 months in each vear such school or schools as may be provided 
 by law for such district, shall forfeit its portion of the common 
 school fund during such neglect. 
 
 Sec. 9. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, Secretary 
 of State, and Attorney-General shall constitute a body corporate 
 to be known as the Board of Education of Florida. The Super- 
 intendent of Public Instruction shall be the President thereof. 
 The duties of the Board of Education shall be prescribed by tl:e 
 Legislature. 
 
42 2 ArrENDix. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 HOMESTEAD. 
 
 Section i. A homestead, to the extent of 1 60 acres of land, 
 or thehalf of one acre, within the Hmits of any incorporated city 
 or town, owned by the head of a family residing in this State, 
 together with $1,000 worth of personal property, and the im- 
 provements on the real estate, shall be exempted from forced 
 sale under any process of law, and the real estate shall not be 
 alienable without the joint consent of husband and wife, when 
 that relation exists. But no property shall be exempt from sale 
 for taxes, or for the payment of obligations contracted for the 
 purchase of said premises, or for the action of improvements 
 thereon, or for house, field or other labor performed on the 
 same. The exemption herein provided for in a city or town 
 shall not extend to more improvements or buildings than the 
 residence and business house of the owner. 
 
 Sec. 2. In addition to the exemption provided for in the 
 first section of this article, there shall be and remain exempt 
 from sale, by any legal process in the State, to the head of a 
 r'amily residing in this State, such property as he or she may 
 •-elect, to the amount of $1,000; said exemption in this section 
 ^hall only prevent the sale of property in cases where the debt 
 was contracted, liability incurred, or judgment obtained before 
 the loth day of May, A. D. 1865. Nothing herein contained 
 shall be so construed as to exempt any property from sale for 
 payment of the jnirchase money of the same, or for the payment 
 of taxes or labor. 
 
 Sec. 3. The exemption provided for in sections one and 
 two of this article shall accrue to the heirs of the party having 
 enjoyed or taken the benefit of such exemption, and the ex- 
 emption provided for in section one of this article shall apply to 
 hU debts, except as specified in said section, no matter when or 
 ^.vhere the debt was contracted or liability incurred. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 PUHLIC INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Skci'ion I. Institutions for the benefit of the insme, blind 
 r.nd deaf, and such other benevolent institutions as the public 
 ^•ood may require, shall be fostered and supported by the State, 
 Mibject to such regulations as may be provided by law. 
 
 Sec. 2. A State prison shall be established and mamtained 
 in such manner as may be fixed by law. Provisions may be 
 made by law for the establishment and maintenance of a house 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 423 
 
 of refuge for juvenile offenders, and the Legislature shall 
 have power to establish a home and workhouse for common va- 
 grants. 
 
 Sec. 3. The respective counties of the State shall provide 
 in the manner fixed by law for those of the inhabitants who by 
 reason of age, infirmity or misfortunes, may have claims upon 
 the aid and sympathy of society. 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 MILITIA. 
 
 Section i. All able bodied male inhabitants of this State be- 
 tween the ages of 18 and 45 years, who are citizens of the L'nited 
 States, or have declared their intentions to become citizens 
 thereof, shall constitute the militia of the State, but no male 
 citizen, of whatever religious creed or opinion, shall be exempt 
 from military duty, except upon such conditions as may be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Legislature shall provide by law for organiziEg 
 and disciplining the militia of the State for the'encouragement of 
 volunteer corps, the safe keeping of the public arms, and for a 
 guard for the State prison. 
 
 Sec. 3. The Adjutant-General shall have the grade of Major-. 
 General. The Governor, by and with the consent of the Sen- 
 ate, shall appoint two Major-Generals and four Brigadier Gen- 
 erals of militia. They shall take rank according to date of 
 their commissions. The officers and soldiers of the State militia, 
 when uniformed, shall wear the uniform prescribed for the United 
 States army. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Governor shall have power to call out the mil- 
 itia to preserve the public peace, to execute the laws of the State, 
 and to suppress insurrection or repel invasion. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 TAXATION AND FINANCE. 
 
 Section i. The Legislature shall provide for a uniform and 
 equal rate of taxation, and shall prescribe such regulations as 
 shall secure a just valuation of all property, both real and pe^-- 
 sonal, excepting such property as may be exempted by law for 
 municipal, educational, literary, scientific, religious or charitable 
 purposes. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Legislature shall provide for raising revenue 
 sufficient to defray the expenses of the State for each fiscal year, 
 
424 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 and also a sufficient sum to pay the principal and interest of the 
 existing indebtedness of the State. 
 
 Sec. 3. No tax shall be levied, except in pursuance of law. 
 
 Sec. 4. No raoneys shall be drawn from the treasury, except 
 in pursuance of appropriations made by law. 
 
 Sec. 5. An accurate statement of the receipts and expendi- 
 tures of the public moneys shall be published with the laws of 
 each regular session of the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. 6. The Legislature shall authorize the several counties 
 and incorporated towns in the State to impose taxes for county 
 and corporation purposes, and for no other purpose, and all 
 property shall be taxed upon the principle established for State 
 taxation. The Legislature may also provide for levying a special 
 capitation tax and tax on licenses. But the capitation tax shall 
 not exceed $1 per annum for all purposes, either for State, 
 county or municipal taxes. 
 
 Sec. 7. The Legislature shall have power to provide for 
 issuing State bonds bearing interest, for securmg the debt of the 
 State, and for the erection of State buildings, support of State 
 institutions and perfecting public works. 
 
 Sec. 8. No tax shall be levied upon persons for the benefit 
 of any chartered company of the State, or for payingjthe interest 
 on any bonds issued by said chartered companies, or by coun- 
 ties, or by corporations, for the above mentioned i)urposes. 
 
 ARTICLE XIIL 
 
 CENSUS AND APPOINTMENT. 
 
 Section i. The Legislature shall in the year 1875, and 
 every tenth year thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made of 
 all the inhabitants of the State, and they shall then proceed to ap- 
 portion the representation among the different counties, giving to 
 each county one reprepresentative at large, and one additional to 
 every 1,000 registered voters therein, but no county shall be en- 
 titled to more than four representatives. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Legislature shall, also, after every such enu- 
 meration, proceed to fix by law the number of Senators which 
 shall constitute the Senate of Florida, and which shall never be 
 less than one-fourth, nor more than one-half of the whole num- 
 ber of the Assembly. When any Senatorial district shall be 
 composed of two or more counties, the counties of which such 
 district consists >hall not be entirely separated by any county 
 l)elonging to another district, and all counties shall remain as now 
 organized unless changed by a two-tliirds \ote of both houses of 
 the Leirislature. 
 
APPENDIX. 425 
 
 ARTFCLE XIV. 
 
 SUFFRAGE AND KLICIKUATY. 
 
 Section i. Every male person of the age of twenty-one 
 3'ears and upwards, of whatever race, color, nationality or previ- 
 ous condition, or who shall at the time of offering to vote be a 
 citizen of the United States, or who shall have declared his in- 
 tentions to become such in conformity to the laws of the United 
 States, and who shall have resided and had his habitation, domi- 
 cile, home and place of permanent abode in Florida for one 
 year, and in the county for six months, next preceding the elec- 
 tion at which he shall offer to vote, shall be deemed a qualified 
 elector at ail elections under this constitution. Every elector 
 shall, at the time of his registration, take and subscribe to the 
 
 following oath : I, , do solemnly swear that I will 
 
 support, protect and defena the Constitution and Government of 
 the United States, and the Constitution and Government of the 
 State of Florida, against all enemies, foreign or domestic ; that I 
 will bear true faith, loyalty and allegiance to the same, any ordi- 
 nances or resolutions of any State Convention or Legislature 
 to the contrary notwithstanding : so help me God. 
 
 Sec. 2. No person under guardianship, non compos mentis 
 or insane, shall be qualified to vote at any election, nor shall any 
 person convicted of felony be qualified to vote at any election 
 unless restored to civil rights. 
 
 Sec. 3. At any' election at which a citizen or subject of any 
 foreign country shall offer to vote, under the provisions of this 
 Constitution, he shall present to the persons lawfully authorized 
 to conduct and supervise such election a duly sealed and certi- 
 fied copy of his declaration of intention ; otherwise he shall not 
 be allowed to vote; and any naturalized citizen offering to vote 
 shall produce before said persons lawfully authorized to conduct 
 and supervise the election, his certificate of naturalization, or a 
 duly sealed and certified copy thereof; otherwise he shall not be 
 permitted to vote. 
 
 Sec. 4. The Legislature shall have power and shall enact 
 ^he necessary laws to exclude from every office of honor, power, 
 trust or profit, civil or military, within the State, and from the 
 right of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, lar- 
 ceny, or of infamous crime, or who shall make or send or accept 
 a challenge to fight, or who shall be a second to either party, or 
 be the bearer of such challenge or acceptance : but the legal dis- 
 ability shall not accrue until after trial and conviction by due 
 form of law. 
 
 Sec. 5. In all elections by the l,egislature the vote shall be 
 
426 APPKNDIX. 
 
 viva voce, and in all elections by the peo})le the vote shall be b>- 
 ballot. 
 
 Sec. 6. The Legislature at its first session after the ratifica- 
 tion of this Constitution shall, by law, provide for the registra- 
 tion by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county of all the 
 legally qualified voters in such county, and for the returns of 
 elections : and shall also provide that after the completion, from 
 lime to time, of such registration, no person not duly registered. 
 according to law shall be allowed to vote. 
 
 Sec. 7. The Legislature shall enact laws requiring educa- 
 tional (lualifications for electors after the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and eighty, but no such laws shall be made applicable- 
 :o any elector who' may have registered or voted at any election, 
 previous thereto. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 Section i. That all ordinances and resolutions heretofore- 
 passed bv any convention of the people, and all Acts and reso- 
 lutions of the Legislature conflicting or inconsistent with the- 
 Constitution of the United States and the statutes thereof, and 
 with this Constitution, and in derogation of the existence or po- 
 sition of the State as one of the States of the United States o5 
 America, are hereby declared null and void, and of no effect. 
 
 Sec. 2. That all Acts and resolutions of the General Assem- 
 bly, and all official Acts of the civil officers of the State, not in- 
 consistent with the provisions of the Constitution and statutes of 
 the United States, or with this Constitution, or with any ordi- 
 nance or resolution adopted by this convention, and which have 
 not been and are not by this Constitution annulled, are in force, 
 and shall be considered and esteemed as the laws of the State 
 until such Acts or resolutions shall be repealed by the Legisla- 
 ture of the State or this convention. 
 
 Sec. 3. All laws of the State passed by the so-called Gen- 
 eral Assembly since the 10th day of January, A. D. 1861, not 
 conflicting with the word or spirit of the Constitution and laws- 
 of the United States, or with this Constitution, shall be valid. 
 All writs, acts, proceedings, judgments and decrees of the so- 
 called courts of the State, where actual service was made on the- 
 defendant : all executions and sales made thereunder, and all 
 acts, orders and proceedings of the judges of Probate, and ot 
 executors, administrators, guardians and trustees, provided the\ 
 were in conformity with the laws then in force, and did not con- 
 flict with the Constitution and laws of the United States and this^ 
 
APPENDIX. 427 
 
 Constitution, shall be valid. The sales of the property or effects 
 of deceased persons shall not prevent the widow from claiming 
 said property in kind, in whosesoever hands the same may be 
 found, when the sale had not been made for the purpose of pay- 
 ing the debts of the deceased, and where other than lawful 
 money of the United States was obtained for said property. 
 Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to make any 
 one who, as an officer of any court, or who acted under the au- 
 thority of any court, individually liable, provided they acted 
 irtrictly in accordance with what was then considered the law of 
 the State, and not conflicting with the Constitution and laws of 
 the United States. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, obligations 
 and escheats heretofore accruing to the State of Florida shall con- 
 tinue to accrue to the use of the State. All recognizances here- 
 tofore taken shall remain valid, and all bonds executed to the 
 Governor of the State of Florida, either before or since the loth 
 day of January, A. D. t86i, or to any other officer of the State 
 in his official capacity, shall be of full force and virtue for the 
 uses therein respectively expressed, and may be sued for and re- 
 (overed accordingly, unless they were contrary to the laws of the 
 United States or to this Constitution, or to any ordinance or res- 
 olution adopted by the convention ; also all criminal prosecu- 
 tions which have arisen may be prosecuted to judgment and ex- 
 ecution in the name of the State. All actions at law or suits in 
 chancery, or any proceedings pending in the courts of this State 
 either prior to or subsequent to the loth day of January, A. D. 
 1 86 1, shall continue in all respects valid, and may be prosecuted 
 to judgment and decree. All judgments and decrees rendered 
 in civil causes in any of the courts of the State during the period 
 of time above specified are hereby declared of full force, validity 
 and effect : Provided^ That unless otherwise provided in this 
 Constitution the statute of limitation shall not be pleaded upon 
 any claim in the hands of any person for the period of time be- 
 tween the loth day of January, A. D. 1861, and the 25th day 
 of October, A. D. 1865, whether proceedings of law had been 
 commenced before the 25th day of October, 1865, or not : Pro- 
 vided, further, That all claims of widows, minors and decedents 
 which were not barred by the statutes of this State on the loth 
 day of January, A. D. 1861, shall be considered good and valid 
 for the period of tAvo years from the ratification of this Constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 Sec. 4. That State treasury notes, all bonds issued, and all 
 other liabilities contracted by the State of Florida or any county 
 or city thereof, on and after the loth day of January, A. D. 
 1 86 1, and before the 25th day of October, A. I). 1865, except 
 such liabilities as may be due to the seminary or school fund, be 
 
428 APPKXDIX. 
 
 and are declared null and void, and the Legislature shall have 
 no power to provide for the payment of the same or any part 
 thereof; hut this shall not be construed so as to invalidate any 
 authorized liabilities of the State, contracted prior to the loth 
 day of January, A. D. 1861, or subsequent to the 25th day of 
 October, A. D. 1865. 
 
 Sec. 5. No money shall ever be appropriated by this State 
 to reimburse purchasers of United States land who. purchased the 
 same ot the State of Florida. 
 
 Sec. 6. AH proceedings, decisions or actions accomplished 
 by civil or military officers acting under authority of the United 
 States subsequent to the 10th day of January, 1861, and prior 
 to the final restoration of the State to the government of the 
 United States, are hereby declared valid, and shall not be sub- 
 ject to adjudication in the courts of this State ; nor shall any 
 person acting in the capacity of a soldier or officer of the United 
 States, civil or military, be subject to arrest for any act per- 
 formed by him, pursuant to authorized instructions from his su- 
 l)erior officers during the period of time above designated. 
 
 Sec. 7. That in all cases where judgments have been ob- 
 tained against citizens of the State after the tenth day of January, 
 eighteen hundred and sixty-one, previous to the twenty-fifth day 
 of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and where actual 
 service was not made on the person of any defendant, such de- 
 fendant not served with process may appear in court within one 
 year after the adoption of this Constitution, and make oath that 
 injustice has been done and that he or she has a good and valid 
 defence, stating the defence, and upon making such oath, and 
 filing said defence, the proceedings on the judgment shall cease 
 until the defenc« is heard. 
 
 ARTICLE XVI. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Sectiox I. Any person debarred from holding office in the 
 State of Florida by the third section of the fourteenth article of 
 the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the Ll'nited 
 States, which is as follows: *'No person shall be Senator or 
 representative in Congress, or elector of President, or Vice-Presi- 
 dent, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United 
 States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oatii 
 as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, 
 or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or 
 judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the 
 I'nited States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion 
 
APPENDIX. 429 
 
 against the same or given aid and comfort to the enemies 
 thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each 
 house, remove such disabiUty," is hereby debarred from holding 
 office in this State: Provided, That whenever sucji disability 
 from holding office shall be removed from any person by the 
 Congress of the United States, the removal of such disability 
 shall also apply to this State, and such person shall be restored 
 in all respects to the rights of citizenship as herein provided for 
 electors. 
 
 Sec. 2. Any person elected to the Senate of the United 
 States by the Legislature of this State, or any person elected by 
 the people, or appointed to office by the Governor of the State, 
 or by any officer of the State, under the provison of the Consti- 
 tution adopted by the convention of the people, con- 
 vened on the 25th day of October, 1865, shall not be empowered 
 to hold such office after the same position or office shall have 
 been filled by election or appointment under the provisions of 
 this Constitution : Provided, That all officers holding office 
 under the provisions of the Constitution adopted the 25th day 
 of October, A. D. 1865, and not provided for in this Constitu- 
 tion, shall continue to hold their respective offices, and discharge 
 the duties thereof, until the Governor shall by his proclamation, 
 declare such offices vacant. 
 
 Sec. 3. The several judicial circuits of the Circuit Courts 
 shall be as follows : The first judicial circuit shall be composed 
 of the counties of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Holmes, 
 Washington and Jackson ; the second judicial circuit shall be 
 composed of the counties of Gadsden, Liberty, Calhoun, Frank- 
 lin, Wakulla, and Jefferson ; the third judicial circuit shall .be 
 composed of the counties of Madison, Taylor, Lafayetce, Ham- 
 ilton, Suwannee and Columbia ; the fourth judicial circuit shall 
 be composed of the counties of Nassau, Duval, Baker, Bradford, 
 Clay and St. John's; the fifth judicial circuit shall be composed 
 of the counties of Putnam, Alachua, Levy, Marion and Sumter; 
 the sixth judicial circuit shall be composed of the counties of 
 Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk and Monroe; the 
 seventh judicial circuit shall be composed of the counties of 
 Volusia, Brevard, Orange and Dade. , 
 
 Sec. 4. The salary of the Governor of the State shall be 
 five thousand dollars per annum ; that of the Chief Justice shall 
 be four thousand five hundred dollars ; that of each Associate 
 Justice shall be four thousand dollars ; that of each Judge of the 
 Circuit Court shall be three thousand five hundred dollars ; that 
 of the Lieutenant Governor shall be two thousand five hundred 
 dollars ; that of each cabinet officer shall be three thousand 
 dollars ; the pay of the members of the Senate and House of 
 
43° 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Representatives shall be five hundred dollars per annum, and in 
 addition thereto ten cents per mile for each mile traveled from 
 their respective places of residence to the capital, and the same 
 to return ; ln4 such distances shall be estimated by the shortest 
 general thoroughfare. All other officers of the State shall be 
 ])aid by fees, or per diem, fixed by law. 
 
 Sf,c. 5. The Legislature shall appropriate two thousand 
 dollars each year for the purchase of such books for the Supreme 
 Court library as the said court shall direct. 
 
 Skc. 6. The salary of each officer shall be payable quarterly, 
 upon his own requisition. 
 
 Sec. 7. The tribe of Indians located in the southern portion 
 of the State and known as the Seminole Indians, shall be entitled 
 to one member in each house of the Legislature. Such member 
 shall have all the rights, privileges and remuneration as other 
 members of the Legislature. Such members shall be elected by 
 the members of their tribe, in the manner prescribed for all elec- 
 tions by this Constitution. The tribe shall be represented only 
 by a member of the same, and in no case by a white man: 
 Provided. That the representative of the Seminole Indians shall 
 not be a bar to the representation of any county by the citizens 
 thereof. 
 
 Sec. 8. The Legislature may at any time mipose such tax on 
 the Indians as it may deem proper ; and such imposition of tax shall 
 constitute the Indians citizens, and they shall thenceforward be 
 entitled to all the privileges of other citizens, and thereafter be 
 barred of special representation. 
 
 Sec. 9. In addition to other crimes and misdemeanors for 
 which an officer may be impeached and tried, shall be included 
 drukenness and other dissipation, incompetency, malfeasance in 
 office, gambling, or any conduct detrimental to good morals, 
 shall be considered sufficient cause for impeachment and convic- 
 tion. Any officer when impeached by the Assembly, shall be 
 deemed under arrest, and shall be disqualified from performing 
 any of the duties of his office until acquittal by the Senate. But 
 any officer so impeached and in arrest may demand his trial by 
 the Senate within one year from the date of his impeachment. 
 
 Sec. 10. The following shall be the oath of office for each 
 officer in the State, including members of the Legislature: 'T 
 do solemnly swear that I will support, protect, and defend the 
 Constitution and government of the United States, and of the 
 State of Florida, against all enemies, domestic or foreign, and 
 that I will bear true faith, loyalty, and allegiance to the same, and 
 that I am entitled to hold office under this Constitution. ^ Hiat 
 I will well and faithfully perform all the duties of the oftice of 
 , on which I am about to enter : so help me God.'' 
 
APPKNDIX. 431 
 
 Sec. II. The Legislature may provide for the donation ot 
 the public lands to actual settlers. But such donation shall not 
 •exceed one hundred and sixty acres of land to any one person. 
 
 Sec. 12. All county officers shall hold their respective 
 •oftices at the county seats of their counties. 
 
 Sec. 13. The Legislature shall provide for the speedy pub- 
 lication of all statutes and laws of a general nature. All decis- 
 ions of the Supreme Court and all laws and judicial decisions 
 •shall be free for publication by any person. But no judgment 
 of the Supreme Court shall take effect and be operative until the 
 opinion of the court in such case shall be filed with the Clerk of 
 of said court. 
 
 Sec. 14. The Legislature shall not create any office the term 
 ■of which shall be longer than four years. 
 
 Sec. 15. The Governor, Cabinet, and Supreme Court shall 
 keep their offices at the seat of government. But in case of in- 
 vasion or violent epidemics the Governor may direct that the 
 otfices of the government shall be removed temporarily to some 
 other place ; but in such case of removal all the departments of 
 the government shall be removed to one place. But snch re- 
 moval shall not continue longer than necessity for the same shall 
 •continue. 
 
 Sec 16. A plurality of votes given at any election by the 
 people shall constitute a choice, when not otherwise provided by 
 this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 17. The term of State officers elected at the first elec- 
 tion under this Constitution, not otherwise provided for, shall 
 •continue until the first Tuesday of January, A. D. 1873, and 
 until the installation of their successsors, excepting the members 
 of the Legislature. 
 
 Sec. 18. Each county and incorporated city shall make 
 provision for the support of its own officers, subject to such reg- 
 ulations as may be prescribed by law. Each county shall make 
 provision for building a court-house and jail, and for keeping 
 the same in good repair. 
 
 Sec. 19. If at the meeting of the Senate at any session, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor has not been qualified, or is not present, 
 the Senate shall elect one of its members as temporary President 
 before proceeding to other business. 
 
 Sec. 20. The Legislature shall at its first session adopt a 
 .a seal for the State, and such seal shall be of the size of the 
 American silver dollar. But said seal shall not again be changed 
 after its adoption by the Legislature; and the Governor shall, 
 by his proclamation, announce that said seal has become the 
 great seal of the State. 
 
 Sec. 21. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and all tiie 
 
432 
 
 APPKNDIX. 
 
 State officer^ elected by the people, shall be installed on the first 
 day of the meeting of the Legislature, and immediately assume 
 the duties of their respective offices. 
 
 Sec. 2 2. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall 
 have been before their election to office nine years citizens of 
 the United States, and three years citizens of the State. All 
 other officers snail have been one year citizens of the State, and 
 six months citizens of the county from which they are elected 
 or appointed. Xo person shall be eligible to any office unless 
 he be a registered voter. 
 
 Sec. 23. The Governor or any State officer is hereby pro- 
 hibited from giving certificates of election or other credentials to- 
 any person a.s having been elected to the House of Representa- 
 tives of the United States Congress, or the United States Senate, 
 who has not been t\vo years a citizen of the State, and nine yea'-s 
 a citizen of the United States, and a registered voter. 
 
 Sec. 24. The property of all corporations, whether hereto- 
 fore, or hereafter incorporated, shall be subject to taxation, un- 
 less such corporation be for religious, educational, or charitable 
 purposes. 
 
 * Sec. 25. All bills, bonds, notes, or evidences of debt out- 
 standing and mpaid, given for or in consideration of bonds or 
 ireasury notes of the so-called Confederate States, or notes and 
 bonds of this State paid and redeemable in the bonds and notes 
 of the Confederate States, are hereby declared null and void, 
 and no action shall be maintained thereon in the courts of this 
 State. 
 
 Sec. 26. It shall be the duiy of the courts to consider that 
 there is a failure of consideration, and it shall be so held by the 
 courts of this State, upon all deeds or bills of sale given for 
 slaves with covenant or warranty of title or soundness, or both: 
 upon all bonds, notes, or other evidences of debt, given for or 
 !n consideration of slaves, which are now outstaading and un- 
 paid, and no action shall be maintained thereon; and all judge- 
 ments and decrees rendered in any of the courts of this State 
 since the loth day of January, A. I)., 1861, upon all deeds or 
 r)ills of sale, or upon any bond, bill, note, or other evidence 
 of debt based upon the sale or purchase ot slaves, are hereby 
 declared set aside, and the plea of failure of consideration shall 
 ])e held a good defence in all actions to said suit; and when 
 money was due previous to the loth day of January, 1861, and 
 slaves were given in consideration for such money, there shall 
 ])e deemed a failure of consideration for the debt: Provided, 
 That settlements and compromises made by the parties thereto 
 shall be respected. 
 
 Sec. 27. All persons who as alien enemies under the se- 
 
APPENDIX. 433 
 
 questration act of the so-called Confederate Congress, and no^ 
 resident of the State, had property sequestered and sold by any 
 person acting under a Ia>v of the so-called Confederate States, 
 or the State of Florida, subsequent to the loth day of January, 
 A. D., 1861, and prior to the ist day of May, 1865, shall be 
 empowered to file a bill in equity in the Circuit Court of the 
 State, and shall be entitled to obtain judgment against the State 
 for all damages sustained by said sale and detention of property. 
 The court shall estimate the damages upon the assessed valua- 
 tion of the property in question in the year A. D., i860, with 
 interest at six per cent, from the time the owner was deprived 
 of the same. But all judgments against the State shall be paid 
 only in certificates of indebtedness redeemable in State lands. 
 Said certificates shall be issued by the Governor, countersigned 
 by the Secretary of State and by the Comptroller upon the de- 
 cree of the court. Oral testimony shall be sufficient to estab- 
 lish a sale having been made. 
 
 Sec. 28. There shall be no civil or political distinction in 
 this State on account of race, color, or previous condition 
 of servitude, and the Legislature shall have no power to prohibit 
 by law any class of persons on account of race, color, or previ- 
 ous condition of servitude, to vote or hold any office, beyond 
 the conditions prescribed by this Constitution. 
 
 Sec. 29. The apportionixfent for the Assembly shall be as 
 follows: Escambia, two; Santa Rosa, one; Walton, one; Holmes, 
 one; Washington, one; Jackson, three; Calhoun, one; Gadsden, 
 two; Franklin, one; Liberty, one; Wakulla, one; Leon, four; 
 Jefferson, three; Madison, two; Taylor, one; Hamilton, one; 
 Suwannee, one; Layayette, one; Alachua, two; Columbia, two; 
 Baker, one; Bradford, one; Nassau, one; Duval, two; Clay, one; 
 St. John's one; Putnam, one; Marion, two; Levy, one; Volusia, one; 
 one; Orange, one; Brevard, one; Dade, one; Hillsborough, one; 
 Hernando, one; Sumpter, one; Polk, one; Manatee, one; and 
 Monroe, one. There shall be twenty-four senatorial districts, 
 which shall be as follows, and shall be known by their respec- 
 tive numbers from one to twenty-four inclusive. The first sen- 
 atorial district shall be composed of Escambia county, the sec- 
 ond of Santa Rosa and Walton, the third of Jackson, the fourth 
 of Holmes and Washington, the fifth of Calhoun and Franklin, 
 the sixth of Gadsden, the seventh of Liberty and Wakulla, the 
 eighth of Leon, the ninth of Jefferson, the tenth of Madison, the 
 eleventh of Hamilton and Suwannee, the twelfth of Lafayette 
 and Taylor, the thirteenth of Alachua and Levy, the fourteenth 
 of Columbia, the fifteenth of Bradford and Clay, the sixteenth 
 of Baker and Nassau, the seventeenth of St. John's and Putnam, 
 
 37 
 
434 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the eighteenth of Duval, the nineteenth of Marion, the twentieth 
 of Volusia and Orange, the twenty-first of Dade and Brevard, 
 the twenty-second of Hillsborough and Hernando, the twenty- 
 third of Sumter and Polk, the twenty-fourth of Manatee and 
 Monroe, and each senatorial district shall be entitled to one 
 Senator. 
 
 Sec. 30. No person shall ever be appointed a Judge of the 
 Supreme or Circuit Court who is not twenty-five years of age 
 and a practicing attorney in this State. 
 
 Sec. 31. The Legislature shall as soon as convenient adopt 
 a State emblem, having the design of the greai seal of the State 
 impressed upon a white ground of six feet six inches fly and six 
 feet deep. 
 
 ARTICLE XVn 
 amendments. 
 
 Section i. Any amendment or amendments to this Con- 
 stitution may be proposed in either branch of the Legislature, 
 and if the same shall be agreed upon by a two-thirds vote of all 
 the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed 
 amendment or amendments shall be entered on their respective 
 journals, with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred to the 
 Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be published for 
 three months next preceding the time of making such choice, 
 and if, in the Legislature next chosen as aforesaid, such pro- 
 posed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two- 
 thirds vote of all the members elected to each house, then it 
 shall be the duty of the Legislature to submit such proposed 
 amendment or amendments to the people in such manner and at 
 such a time as the Legislature may prescribe, and if the people shall 
 approve and ratify such amendment or amendments by a ma- 
 jority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the Leg- 
 islature voting thereon, such amendment or amendments shall 
 become a part of the constitution. 
 
 Sec. 2. If at any time the Legislature, by a vote of a ma- 
 jority of all the members elected to eaeh of the two houses, shall 
 determine that it is necessary to cause a revision of this entire 
 constitution, such determination shall be entered on their re- 
 spective journals, with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred 
 to the Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be published 
 for three months next preceding the time of making such choice. 
 And if the Legislature next chosen aforesaid such proposed re- 
 vision shall be agreed by a majority of all the members elected 
 to each house, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature to 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 435 
 
 recommend to the electors of the next election for members of 
 Legislature to vote for or against a convention; and if it shall ap- 
 pear that a majority of the electors voting at such election shall 
 have voted in favor of calling a convention, the Legislature shall, 
 at its next session, provide by law for a convention to be holden 
 within six months alter the passage of such law, and such con- 
 vention shall consist of a number of members not less than both 
 branches of the Legislature. In determining what is a majority 
 of the electors voting at such election, reference shall be had to 
 the highest number of votes cast at such election for the candi- 
 dates for any office or on any question. 
 
 Done in open convention. In witness whereof, we, the un- 
 dersigned delegates, representing the people of F'lorida,.in con- 
 vention assembled, do hereunto affix our name this the twenty- 
 fifth day of February, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred 
 and sixty-eight, and of the independence of the United States 
 the ninety-second, and the secretary doth countersign the same. 
 HORATIO" (ENKINS, Jr., President. 
 S. CONANT, Secretary. 
 
 Countersigned by — 
 
 George J. Alden. 
 Lyman W, Rowley. 
 J. W. Butler. 
 John L. Campbell. 
 W. J. Purman. 
 L. C. Armistead. 
 E. Fortune. 
 H. Bryan. 
 M. L. Stearns. 
 J. E. A. Davidson. 
 Frederick Hill. 
 J. W. Child.v 
 T. W. Osborn. 
 Joseph E. Oats. 
 Richard Wells. 
 Green Davidson. 
 O. B. Armstrong. 
 John Wyatt. 
 John W. Powell. 
 Robert Meacham. 
 Anthony Mills. 
 A. G. Bass. 
 
 Roland T. Rombauer. 
 
 Major Johnson. 
 
 William R. Cone. 
 
 Thomas Urquhart. 
 
 Andrew Shuler. 
 
 J. N. Krimminger. 
 
 William K. Cessna 
 
 Josiah T. Walls. 
 
 S. B- Conover. 
 
 Auburn Erwin- 
 
 B. McRae. 
 
 A. B. Hart. 
 
 N. C. Dennett. 
 
 William Bradwell 
 J. C. Gibbs. 
 J. H. Goss. 
 A. Chandler. 
 W Rogers. 
 Samuel J. Pearce 
 C. R. Mobley. 
 David Mizell. 
 E. L. Ware. 
 
 I, Sherman Conant, secretary of the said convention, do 
 hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the constitution 
 adopted on the 25th day of February, A D., 1868. 
 
 SHERMAN CONANT, Secretary, 
 
APPENDIX D 
 
 FLORIDA POLITICAL FRAUDS. 
 
 The following correspondence between Mr. George Couch, 
 of the State of New York, who, with his family, spent last win- 
 ter and spring in Tallahassee, and Mr. Hilton, of this city, 
 speaks for itself: 
 
 Canandaigua, October 6, 1876. 
 Judge Hilton^ Tallahassee. Fla.: 
 
 Dear Sir — I learned while at Florida that in your Govern- 
 or's election, when Bloxham run, that it turned out at or nearly 
 the close of the time of the expiration of office, that Bloxham 
 was fairly elected but was cheated out of the office through 
 fraudulent returns. I wish you would write out the facts relat- 
 ing to this and send them to me immediately in a statement that 
 I can vouch for. I want to show some of the croakers that the 
 frauds practiced South come from a different side of the house 
 than what they preach. Please answer by return mail. 
 
 GEORGE COUCH. 
 
 Tallahassee, October 12, 1876- 
 George Couch, Esq., Canandaigua, N. Y.: 
 
 Dear Sir — To your note of the 6th mst. , received this 
 morning, I reply at once. 
 
 The facts of the case to which you refer are these: At the 
 election held in this State, November 8, 1870, W. D. Bloxham, 
 Esq., was candidate for the office, not of Governor, but Lieii- 
 tenant-Governor; Mr. Niblack being at the same election candi- 
 date for the office of Representative in Congress — Florida then 
 compsising but one Congressional District. Both were Demo- 
 crats, and both were elected. Their opponents were Samuel T. 
 Day, for the office of Lieutenant-Governor, and Mr. Josiah T. 
 Walls (colored) for Congressman, Republicans ; and they, though 
 neither of them received as many votes as his Democratic com- 
 petitor, were declared by the State Canvassing Board elected. 
 The Canvassing Board consisted at the time of Jonathan C. 
 Gibbs (colored). Secretary of State, Sherman Conant, Attorney. 
 General (and at the same time Deputy U. S. Marshal), both 
 Republicans, and R. H. Gamble, an old Line Whig, who dis- 
 sented from the action of a majority of the Board. 
 
43S APPENDIX. 
 
 The Board were able to perpetrate this outrage by suppress, 
 ing and refusing to canvass and count the returns from nine 
 counties, in which Bloxham received a majority of 678 votes, 
 and in which Niblack received a still larger majority. 
 
 As counsel Tor Mr. Bloxham, I thereupon applied to the 
 Supreme Court of the State (our highest judicial tribunal), for 
 an order (known in law as a writ of mandamus)^ to compel the 
 Board to include in the canvass the rejected returns, and as a 
 result to declare Bloxham elected, and to award him a certificate 
 of his election. The petition praying for the mandaTnus set forth 
 fully the facts of the case — that the election had been held — that 
 Bloxham was a candidate — that he possessed the legal qualifica- 
 tions for the office — that he had received a majority of the votes 
 cast, but was wrongfully denied a certificate of his election by 
 the refusal of the Board to canvass and count the votes cast in 
 the nine counties above mentioned. None of these facts were 
 denied by the counsel for the Board in the arguments before the 
 court on the question of granting the peremptory writ. The 
 objection made was that the court had no jurisdiction, of the case, 
 and for that reason should not make the order. But the author- 
 ities furnished by the decisions of other judicial tribunals (par- 
 ticularly of the Supreme Court of Iowa), were so directly in 
 point that our court was compelled to decide that it had rightful 
 jurisdiction in the matter. But the court discovered a very nice 
 technical defect in the petition for the fnandamus, which had not 
 occurred either to the minds of counsel for the Board or to that 
 of counsel for Bloxham., which was this: The petition not only 
 asked that the Board of Canvassers be ordered to count the re- 
 jected returns and declare Bloxham elected (which was all right), 
 but that the Secretary of State as the organ of the Board 
 (made so by law), be required to give him a certificate of his 
 election. The court held that inasmuch as the Board had not 
 counted all the the returns and declared Bloxham elected, it had 
 never been the duty of the Secretary to furnish him the certifi- 
 cate; that the petition must therefore be amended by striking 
 out so much as asked that that officer be ordered to give the 
 certificate, and that upon such amendment being made the 
 order requiring the Board to count the rejected returns and de- 
 clare Bloxham elected, would be granted. 
 
 The petition was thereupon amended to meet the views of 
 the court. A few days f perhaps three or four), however, 
 elapsed before the matter could be brought in the court again ; 
 and then it was discovered that during the interval a bill had 
 been surreptitiously hurried through the Legislature (in which 
 body, by reason of the rejection of the returns from the eight 
 counties, the Republicans bad secured a majority) and had be- 
 
APPENDIX. 439 
 
 come a law bv the approval of the Governor, whereby the State 
 Canvassing Board had been abolished, so that, as the court held, 
 there could be no further legal proceedings against them to 
 compel them to do their duty. Thus (as far as I am aware), by 
 an unprecedented legislative outrage, judicial proceedings insti- 
 tuted in the name ot the State, to secure for one of her citizens 
 the office to which a majority of the people had elected him, 
 were summarily arrested. 
 
 If you have access to any lawyer's library containing the Flor- 
 ida Reports you will find the case published in the 13 volume, 
 Florida Reports, comm.encing at page 55, where all the facts are 
 given. The title of the case is "The State of Florida ex rel" 
 Wm. D. Bloxham vs. Jonathan C. Gibbs, Secretary of State, et 
 aV Thus thwarted in the prosecution of his legal rights 
 through the summary and expeditious process of mandamus 
 by the intervention of the Legislature, nothing was left for Blox- 
 ham but to institute in the same court tedious proceedings by an 
 action at law against his competitor to recover the office. In 
 these proceedings, involving great expense and delays, he v/as 
 finally successful, and by the unanimous judgment of a court, 
 two-thirds of whose members were Republican in politics, he ob- 
 tained a decision awarding him the office to which the people 
 had more than eighteen months previous elected him. This 
 second case, for some reason which we are left to conjecture, 
 has not gone into the Florida Reports, but I send you a certified 
 copy of the judgment rendered, taken from the records. 
 
 ' As regards Judge Niblack, elected to Congress at the same 
 time that Mr. Bloxham was elected Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 defrauded of a certificate of his election in the same way, what 
 of him? I answer, after a contest before the House of Repre- 
 sentatives at Washmgton, he finally suceeded in ousting Walls, 
 who had usurped the seat for twenty-ihree months. This tardy 
 act of justice he obtained at the hands of members of Congress 
 two-thirds of whom were Republican. I may add that in the 
 election of 1874, the same gentleman, Mr. Walls, was again a 
 candidate for Congress, Judge Finley being his Democratic op- 
 ponent. Again he obtained a certificate of election to a seat to 
 which he appears not to have been entided; and again the 
 House of Representatives (this time Democratic) after a much 
 shorter contest, however, required him to give place to his Dem- 
 ocratic opponent. 
 
 One thing I have not mentioned in connecdon with the 
 State Canvassing Board who perpetrated the fraud of which 
 Bloxham and Niblack and the people who elected them were 
 the victims. That is this: Sherman Conant, U. S. Deputy 
 Marshal and now holding the office of Marshal, was not Attor^ 
 
440 APPENDIX. 
 
 ney-General and thus a member of the State Canvassing Board 
 at the time of that election. The then Attorney-General re- 
 signed between the date of the election and the day when the 
 election returns were canvassed. He resigned, it is believed, 
 rather than be a party to the fraud which the Republican man- 
 agers required at the hands of the Board. Marshal Conant was 
 appointed to the vacant office of Attorney-General, and thus 
 one of the Board of Canvassers (still, however, retaining his 
 Federal office) because his reputation as a ballot-box stuffer, es- 
 tablished at the election for Governor in 1868, showed that there 
 was no political job unworthy of his hands. As I have said, he 
 is still United States Marshal. 
 
 It was during his reign when it was necessary, in 187 1, at 
 the meeting of the Legislature, for the Republicans to obtain 
 control of the Senate, that two Democratic Senators were arrested 
 here at the capital and taken ofi" 165 miles to Jacksonville (al- 
 though Tallahassee was and is one of the places fixed by law for 
 holding the U. S. Court). They were kept at Jacksonville on a 
 trumped up charge of crime, for which neither of them was ever 
 tried, imtil the Radicals, by ousting me7?ibers entitled to seats 
 and ptitti?ig in t/ieir places 7ne?i havifig no clai?n to membership, ob- 
 tained a working majority of both branches of the Legislature. 
 Under the same reign, too, it was that a few days before the 
 Tallahassee municipal election in 187 1, at which it was thought 
 the vote between parties would be very close, a number of our 
 prominent citizens, all Democrats, were taken to Jacksonville, 
 at the expense of the United States Government, as witnesses, 
 summoned to go before the U. S Grand Jury, not one of whom 
 was, after getting there, called upon to testify. 
 
 In view of outrages like these, the recital of which would 
 fill not a letter but a volume, which we have suffered at the 
 hands of our carpet-bag officials, both State and Federal — (our 
 Legislature has been largely controlled by Federal office holders 
 also members of that body), you need not be surprised to hear 
 that the people of Florida are looking with aching eyes and 
 yearning hearts for the man, be he Tilden or Hayes, who is to 
 give us Civil Service Reform. Only this, however, I add: as 
 Conant & Co. are the agencies by which the reform is expected 
 to be accomplished here, in the event of the election of Governor 
 Hayes, and as they are the parties to be reformed by their own 
 expulsion from office, we are not sanguine as to the success of the 
 reform promised us by the Northern supporters of the Republi- 
 can Presidential candidate. "Can Beelzebub cast out devils?" 
 or will he if he can ? 
 
 Very truly vour friend, 
 
 R. B. Hilton. 
 
j?lPfe:ndix e. 
 
 Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 31, 1887. 
 Hon. Harrison Reed, Jacksonville^ Fla.: 
 
 Dear Sir — I am engaged in writing up the history of the 
 reconstruction of this State, and as you were the centre of attrac- 
 tion in this theatre, please give me correct information on the 
 following points, which were commonly rumored over the State 
 while you were Governor: Was there any attempt made by Pur- 
 man, Stearns & Co. to do violence to you while Governor in 
 order to get you out of the way at all hazards? Did you ever 
 overhear any of this gang at any place plotting to put you to 
 death? If so, please state their names and the circumstances. 
 This information will be thankfully received by me. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 JOHN WALLACE. 
 South Jacksonville, Feb. 9, 1887. 
 Hon. John Wallace: 
 
 Dear Sir — In reply to the enquiries of your letter of 31st 
 ¥ilt., I regret to say that at various periods during my official 
 term as Governor attempts were made by persons holding Fed- 
 eral offices, by procurement of Senator Osborn, to compel me 
 to surrender my office ; but I was not personally cognizant of 
 any intended violence other than that which attended the at- 
 tempt to forcibly install Lieutenant-Governor Gleason as Gov- 
 ernor. On that occasion a conspiracy was formed by Osborn 
 and his military satraps, and the Richards-Billings faction, to de- 
 pose me by violence and take possession of the capitol. This 
 was within a few months after my inauguration, in consequence 
 of my refusal to obey their dictation to ''vandalize the State," 
 to quote the expression of Osborn, in my exercise of the appoint- 
 ing power. It embraced all the prominent Federal office-hold- 
 ers in the State, from the marshal down, most of whom were in 
 the Legislature, subject to orders from Osborn under penalty of 
 removal. This conspiracy was defeated only through the vigi- 
 lance of Adjutant-General Carse, aided by the faithful and in- 
 
442 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 corruptible Sheriff Munger, of Leon county, sustained by lead- 
 ing citizens. 
 
 On that occasion the capitol was under siege, and for forty- 
 six days and nights was guarded by an armed force of volunteers 
 under General Carse. By way of intimidation signal rockets 
 were sent up during the night from the City Hotel, where the 
 revolutionists had their headquarters, and my boarding-house 
 was frequently disturbed on stormy nights by the firing of guns 
 and pistols in close proximity. These measures not securing the 
 desired effect, a plan was devised to take me from my room by 
 night and secretly dispose of me, while arousing the North by 
 the charge that a Republican Governor had been assassinated by 
 ^ 'rebel Ku-Klux;" and this was only frustrated by its discovery 
 to General Carse, to whose vigilance on that occasion I owe my 
 life. 
 
 At a later period I was advised by letter of a meeting of 
 three of the conspirators at a room in the City Hotel, at which 
 it was agreed that I should be violently disposed of. Purman 
 was not of the alleged two, but Stearns was, and the other two 
 were Federal office-holders who were conspicuous in the three 
 subsequent attempts at my impeachment which dishonored the 
 Republican name and overthrew the Republican party in the 
 State. 
 
 Soon after this alleged meeting at the City Hotel, the noto- 
 rious Luke Lott, of Calhoun county, appeared in Tallahassee 
 for the avowed purpose to assassinate me, and was only pre- 
 vented by my temporary absence, and through the intervention 
 of Governor Bloxham, who learned his mission and persuaded 
 him to abandon it. 
 
 I received repeated anonymous threats, and wherever I 
 went on official or private business I was followed by Osborn's 
 spies and emissaries, and on one occasion was arrested in New 
 York at 4 o'clock in the aftei noon, on criminal charges framed 
 in Washington, and sworn to by a man I had never 
 seen, admitted to be wholly false, for the sole purpose 
 of compelling my confinement to Ludlow Street Jail over Sun- 
 day. It was supposed that at that late hour I could not 
 obtain legal assistance, but, fortunately, Lieutenant-Governor 
 
APPENDIX. 443 
 
 Woodford was found, and immediately successfully interfered 
 in my behalf. 
 
 When I assumed the prerogatives of my office, after the 
 dissolution of the court convened for my impeachment, the infa- 
 mous Lieutenant-Governor Day publicly offered a reward for 
 my head, and, with the approval of a Republican gathering at 
 Jacksonville, threatened to hang me in she Capitol Square if 
 caught in Tallahassee. 
 
 Subsequently, when Day was ousted as Lieutenant-Governor 
 by the court and Bloxham declared elected, I received from 
 Washington, marked "Important" and headed "Strictly Pri- 
 vate," a letter from a prominent representative of Osborn & 
 Stearns' Great Southern Railway Swindle, a letter of which the 
 following is a true copy: 
 
 Washington, D. C., June 2nd., 1872. 
 Hon. H. Reed: 
 
 Dear Governor — I deem it my duty to put you in posses- 
 sion of some important information I came across this morning 
 when I went to breakfast at the Ebbitt House. I was called 
 one side by a prominent Georgia Democrat with whom I became 
 acquainted two years ago at Atlanta, and whom I served by 
 helping him in a measure he had before Governor Bullock for 
 his approval. This gentleman askeu me if I was a friend of 
 Governor Reed, and if I had any interest in you personally? I 
 replied, of course I had, and, as he knew, was largely interested 
 in railroad matters. He then asked me if I had seen the Press 
 dispatches in the morning paper? I replied I had not yet read 
 the papers, when he called my attention to the dispatch saying 
 Bloxham was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor. He said he 
 was anxious to put me on my guard and to give me some very 
 valuable information for my own benefit, but I must pledge that 
 I would in no way divulge or in any way let the knowledge out 
 to any other person. I gave him a promise which I do not 
 think I am now breaking by revealing this conversation to you. 
 This man says that certain Georgia, Alabama and Florida Dem- 
 ocrats were here and had had a secret caucus, and that it had 
 been determined that Reed should not be in the way of the elec- 
 tion this fall, and that Bloxham now being in the succession and 
 
444 AFPENJ)IX. 
 
 Georgia and Alabama being Democratic, that Florida must be 
 so, even to the sacrifice of Reed, who should be put under the 
 ground if he did not ([uietly give way to them. He advised me 
 to make friends with Bloxham, and he and Governor Smith 
 would help me through with my road. I asked him if he was 
 in earnest, and he said most emi)hatically, ''By God, old Reed 
 will not be alive three months if he don't surrender. We now 
 have a chance, and we shall not let it slip — we are bound to 
 have Florida from the Republicans, cost what it may, and the 
 only thing now in the way is Reed." 1 put the question to him 
 in half a dozen different ways "how they intended to get con- 
 trol, and he replied each time in the same manner. They now 
 had the State and Reed must bite the dust or surrender. I then 
 asked him to give me the names of the parties in this move, and 
 he replied: " You did me a favor in Atlanta two years ago ; I 
 now do you one telling you how to secure your railroad inter- 
 ests in both States, but you ask me more than I will tell when 
 you ask for names." This is all I could get, and give it to you 
 as I got it, believing, as I do, every word of it. I have done 
 only for you what 1 believe you would have done for me, and 
 if I have done you a service I shall be glad. 
 I am, yours very respectfully, 
 
 h. Box 183, Washington, 1). C. 
 
 It would take reams of paper to give you all the details of 
 the conspiracy to subvert the State government to corrupt pur- 
 poses and involve the State in dishonor for the benefit of an 
 army of "bummers" and political adventurers who fastened 
 upon the Freedman's Bureau to debauch the freedmen for per- 
 sonal aggrandizement. Suffice it that the conspirators were 
 thwarted and, with a few exceptions, have gone* hence, leaving 
 the State to their political opponents, who are doing their best 
 to render Republican administration respectable in comparison. 
 Very truly, your obedient servant, 
 
 HARRISON REED. 
 
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