Governor Smith; that he had made a demand upon him for the books, papers
and paraphernalia of the office of governor, and that Smith refused to
deliver them. The trial was set for three o'clock in the afternoon, and
Governor Smith was ordered to appear in person in court and show cause why
he should not be compelled to deliver the property demanded. Governor
Smith did not like the appearance which Montgomery had assumed, nor did he
relish the necessity of appearing in that court-room and before that
audience contesting the right of the people's representatives to assume
the offices to which they had elected them, nor the certainty that as soon
as judgment should be given against him an order for commitment to custody
would issue. Accordingly, he had a conference with General Pettus, and
soon thereafter announced that he "would yield, upon the ground that,
although he was satisfied he was fairly and lawfully re-elected, his
continuance of the litigation and the contest in the palpable excitement
that surrounded the whole matter would tend to disturb the public peace;
and the detriment to the material interests of the people of the state
would be infinitely greater than the possession of the office itself by
any particular man could possibly compensate."
Thus negro domination in Alabama was overcome.
And the Ku Klux rode no more.