REORGANIZATION OF THE STATE DEPARTMENTS DURING GOVERNOR ALCORN'S
ADMINISTRATION
The new Constitution of Mississippi, which had been rejected in 1868,
was to be submitted to a popular vote once more in November, 1869. At
the same time State officers, members of the Legislature, Congressmen,
and district and county officers were to be elected. Since the
objectionable clauses in the Constitution were to be put to a separate
vote, and since it was understood that both parties would favor the
rejection of these clauses, there was no serious opposition to the
ratification of the Constitution thus amended. A hard and stubborn fight
was, however, to be made for control of the State Government.
General James L. Alcorn, who had been a general in the Confederate Army
and who had recently openly identified himself with the Republican
party, was nominated by the Republicans for the office of Governor of
the State. Of the other six men who were associated with him on the
state ticket, only the candidate for Secretary of the State, the
Reverend James Lynch,--an able and eloquent minister of the Methodist
Church,--was a colored man. Lynch was a man of fine ability, of splendid
education, and one of the most powerful and convincing orators that the
Republicans had upon the stump in that campaign. He was known and
recognized as such an able and brilliant speaker that his services were
in great demand from the beginning to the end of the campaign. No
Democratic orator, however able, was anxious to meet him in joint
debate. He died suddenly the latter part of 1872. His death was a great
loss to the State and to the Republican party and especially to the
colored race.
Of the other five candidates on the ticket two,--the candidates for
State Treasurer and Attorney General,--were, like General Alcorn,
Southern white men. The candidate for State Treasurer, Hon. W.H. Vasser,
was a successful business man who lived in the northern part of the
State, while the candidate for Attorney General, Hon. Joshua S. Morris,
was a brilliant member of the bar who lived in the southern part of the
State. The other three, the candidates for Lieutenant-Governor, State
Auditor and Superintendent of Education, were Northern men who had
settled in the State after the War, called by the Democrats, "Carpet
Baggers," but they were admitted to be clean and good men who had
lived in the State long enough to become fully identified with its
industrial and business interests. H.C. Powers, the candidate for
Lieutenant-Governor, and H. Musgrove, the candidate for Auditor of
Public Accounts, were successful cotton planters from Noxubee and Clarke
counties respectively; while H.R. Pease, the candidate for State
Superintendent of Education, had been identified with educational work
ever since he came to the State. It could not be denied that it was a
strong and able ticket,--one that the Democrats would find it very
difficult to defeat. In desperation the Democratic party had nominated
as their candidate for Governor a brother-in-law of President Grant's,
Judge Lewis Dent, in the hope that the President would throw the weight
of his influence and the active support of his administration on the
side of his relative, as against the candidate of his own party,
especially in view of the fact that Dent had been nominated not as a
Democrat but as an Independent Republican,--his candidacy simply having
been indorsed by the Democratic organization. But in this they were
disappointed, for if the President gave any indication of preference it
was in favor of the Republican ticket. General Ames, for instance, was
the Military Governor of the State, holding that position at the
pleasure of the President; and Ames was so outspoken in his support of
the Republican ticket, that in an address before the State Republican
Convention that nominated General Alcorn for the Governorship he
announced, "You have my sympathy and shall have my support." This
declaration was received by the convention with great applause, for it
was known that those words from that source carried great weight. They
meant not only that the Republican party would have the active and
aggressive support of the Military Governor,--which was very important
and would be worth thousands of votes to the party,--but they also
indicated the attitude of the National Administration. The campaign was
aggressive from beginning to end. Judge Dent was at a disadvantage,
since his candidacy had failed to bring to his support the influence of
the National Administration, which had been the sole purpose of his
nomination. In spite of that fact Dent made a game and gallant fight;
but the election resulted in an overwhelming Republican victory. That
party not only elected the State ticket by a majority of about 30,000
but it also had a large majority in both branches of the State
Legislature.
The new administration had an important and difficult task before it. A
State Government had to be organized from top to bottom; a new judiciary
had to be inaugurated,--consisting of three Justices of the State
Supreme Court, fifteen Judges of the Circuit Court and twenty Chancery
Court Judges,--who had all to be appointed by the Governor with the
consent of the Senate, and, in addition, a new public school system had
to be established. There was not a public school building anywhere in
the State except in a few of the larger towns, and they, with possibly
a few exceptions, were greatly in need of repairs. To erect the
necessary school houses and to reconstruct and repair those already in
existence so as to afford educational facilities for both races was by
no means an easy task. It necessitated a very large outlay of cash in
the beginning, which resulted in a material increase in the rate of
taxation for the time being, but the Constitution called for the
establishment of the system, and of course the work had to be done. It
was not only done, but it was done creditably and as economically as
possible, considering the conditions at that time.
That system, though slightly changed, still stands,--a creditable
monument to the first Republican State administration that was organized
in the State of Mississippi under the Reconstruction Acts of Congress.
It was also necessary to reorganize, reconstruct and, in many instances,
rebuild some of the penal and charitable institutions of the State. A
new code of laws also had to be adopted to take the place of the old
code and thus wipe out the black laws that had been passed by what was
known as the Johnson Legislature and in addition bring about other
changes so as to make the laws and statutes of the State conform with
the new order of things. This was no easy task, in view of the fact that
a heavy increase in the rate of taxation was thus made necessary, for
the time being at least. That this important work was splendidly,
creditably, and economically done no fair-minded person who is familiar
with the facts will question or dispute.
That the State never had before, and has never had since, a finer
Judiciary than that which was organized under the administration of
Governor Alcorn and which continued under the administration of Governor
Ames is an indisputable and incontrovertible fact. The Judges of the
Supreme Court were E.G. Peyton, H.F. Simrall and J. Tarbell, who in
Mississippi had no superiors in their profession, and who had the
respect and confidence of the bar and of the people without regard to
race or politics. Judge Peyton was the Chief Justice, Simrall and
Tarbell being the Associate Justices. The first two were old residents
of the State, while Mr. Justice Tarbell was what the Democrats would
call a "Carpet Bagger." But that he was an able lawyer and a man of
unimpeachable integrity no one doubted or questioned. During the second
administration of President Grant he held the important position of
Second Comptroller of the United States Treasury. The Circuit Court
bench was graced with such able and brilliant lawyers as Jason Niles,
G.C. Chandler, George F. Brown, J.A. Orr, John W. Vance, Robert
Leachman, B.B. Boone, Orlando Davis, James M. Smiley, Uriah Millsaps,
William M. Hancock, E.S. Fisher, C.C. Shackleford, W.B. Cunningham,
W.D. Bradford and A. Alderson. Judges Brown and Cunningham were the only
ones in the above list who were not old residents of the State. After
leaving the bench, Judge Chandler served for several years as United
States Attorney. Judge Niles served one term as a member of Congress,
having been elected as a Republican in 1875. His son Henry Clay Niles is
now United States District Judge for the State, having been appointed to
that important position by President Harrison. He was strongly
recommended by many members of the bench and bar of the State; and the
very able and creditable way in which he has discharged the duties of
the position has more than demonstrated the wisdom of the selection.
The Chancery Courts as organized by Governor Alcorn and continued by
Governor Ames were composed of men no less able and brilliant than those
who composed the Bench of the Circuit Courts. They were: J.C. Lyon, E.P.
Harmon, E.G. Peyton, Jr., J.M. Ellis, G.S. McMillan, Samuel Young, W.G.
Henderson, Edwin Hill, T.R. Gowan, J.F. Simmons, Wesley Drane, D.W.
Walker, DeWitte Stearns, D.P. Coffee, E.W. Cabiness, A.E. Reynolds,
Thomas Christian, Austin Pollard, J.J. Hooker, O.H. Whitfield, E.
Stafford, W.A. Drennan, Thomas Walton, E.H. Osgood, C.A. Sullivan, Hiram
Cassedy, Jr., W.B. Peyton, J.D. Barton, J.J. Dennis, W.D. Frazee, P.P.
Bailey, L.C. Abbott, H.W. Warren, R. Boyd, R.B. Stone, William Breck,
J.N. Campbell, H.R. Ware and J.B. Deason. The above names composed those
who were appointed both by Governors Alcorn and Ames. A majority of
those originally appointed by Governor Alcorn were reappointed by
Governor Ames. Of the forty appointments of Judges of the Chancery
Courts made under the administrations of Alcorn and Ames, not more than
about seven were not to the "manner born." The administration of James
L. Alcorn as Governor of the State of Mississippi is one of the best
with which that unfortunate State has been blessed. A more extended
reference to the subsequent administration of Governor Ames will be made
in a later chapter.