A. J. HAMILTON APPOINTED PROVISIONAL GOVERNOR OF TEXASâASSEMBLES A
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONâTHE TEXANS
DISSATISFIEDâLAWLESSNESSâOPPRESSIVE LEGISLATIONâEX-CONFEDERATES
CONTROLLING LOUISIANAâA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONâTHE MEETING
SUPPRESSEDâA BLOODY RIOTâMY REPORTS OF THE MASSACREâPORTIONS SUPPRESSED
BY PRESIDENT JOHNSONâSUSTAINED BY A CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEEâTHE
RECONSTRUCTION LAWS.
Although in 1865-66 much of my attention was directed to international
matters along the Rio Grande, the civil affairs of Texas and Louisiana
required a certain amount of military supervision also in the absence
of regularly established civil authority. At the time of Kirby Smith's
surrender the National Government had formulated no plan with regard to
these or the other States lately in rebellion, though a provisional
Government had been set up in Louisiana as early as 1864. In
consequence of this lack of system, Governor Pendleton Murray, of
Texas, who was elected under Confederate rule, continued to discharge
the duties of Governor till President Johnson, on June 17, in harmony
with his amnesty proclamation of May 29, 1865, appointed A. J. Hamilton
provisional Governor. Hamilton was empowered by the President to call
a Constitutional convention, the delegates to which were to be elected,
under certain prescribed qualifications, for the purpose of organizing
the political affairs of the State, the Governor to be guided by
instructions similar to those given the provisional Governor of North
Carolina (W. W. Holden), when appointed in May.
The convening of this body gave rise to much dissatisfaction among the
people of Texas. They had assumed that affairs were to go on as of
old, and that the reintegration of the State was to take place under
the administration of Governor Murray, who, meanwhile, had taken it
upon himself, together with the Legislature, to authorize the election
of delegates to a State Convention, without restriction as to who
should be entitled to vote. Thus encouraged, the element but lately in
armed rebellion was now fully bent on restoring the State to the Union
without any intervention whatever of the Federal Government; but the
advent of Hamilton put an end to such illusions, since his proclamation
promptly disfranchised the element in question, whose consequent
disappointment and chagrin were so great as to render this factor of
the community almost uncontrollable. The provisional Governor at once
rescinded the edict of Governor Murray, prohibited the assembling of
his convention, and shortly after called, one himself, the delegates to
which were to b chosen by voters who could take the amnesty-oath. The
proclamation convening this assemblage also announced the policy that
would be pursued in governing the State until its affairs were
satisfactorily reorganized, defined in brief the course to be followed
by the Judiciary, and provided for the appointment, by the Governor, of
county officials to succeed those known to be disloyal. As this action
of Hamilton's disfranchised all who could not take the amnesty oath,
and of course deprived them of the offices, it met at once with
pronounced and serious opposition, and he quickly realized that he had
on his hands an arduous task to protect the colored people,
particularly as in the transition state of society just after the close
of the war there prevailed much lawlessness, which vented itself
chiefly on the freedmen. It was greatly feared that political rights
were to be given those so recently in servitude, and as it was
generally believed that such enfranchisement would precipitate a race
war unless the freedmen were overawed and kept in a state of
subjection, acts of intimidation were soon reported from all parts of
the State.
Hamilton, an able, determined, and fearless man, tried hard to curb
this terrorism, but public opinion being strong against him, he could
accomplish little without military aid. As department commander, I was
required, whenever called upon, to assist his government, and as these
requisitions for help became necessarily very frequent, the result was
that shortly after he assumed his duties, detachments of troops were
stationed in nearly every county of the State. By such disposition of
my forces fairly good order was maintained under the administration of
Hamilton, and all went well till the inauguration of J. W.
Throckmorton, who, elected Governor in pursuance of an authorization
granted by the convention which Hamilton had called together, assumed
the duties of the office August 9, 1866.
One of Governor Throckmorton's first acts was to ask the withdrawal or
non-interference of the military. This was not all granted, but under
his ingenious persuasion President Johnson, on the 13th of August,
1866, directed that the new State officials be entrusted with the
unhampered control of civil affairs, and this was more than enough to
revive the bulldozing methods that had characterized the beginning of
Hamilton's administration. Oppressive legislation in the shape of
certain apprentice and vagrant laws quickly followed, developing a
policy of gross injustice toward the colored people on the part of the
courts, and a reign of lawlessness and disorder ensued which,
throughout the remote districts of the State at least, continued till
Congress, by what are known as the Reconstruction Acts, took into its
own hands the rehabilitation of the seceded States.
In the State of Louisiana a provisional government, chosen by the loyal
element, had been put in operation, as already mentioned, as early as
1864. This was effected under encouragement given by President
Lincoln, through the medium of a Constitutional convention, which met
at New Orleans in April, 1864, and adjourned in July. The constitution
then agreed upon was submitted to the people, and in September, 1864,
was ratified by a vote of the few loyal residents of the State.
The government provided under this constitution being looked upon as
provisional merely, was never recognized by Congress, and in 1865 the
returned Confederates, restored to citizenship by the President's
amnesty proclamation, soon got control of almost all the State. The
Legislature was in their hands, as well as most of the State and
municipal offices; so, when the President, on the 20th of August, 1866,
by proclamation, extended his previous instructions regarding civil
affairs in Texas so as to have them apply to all the seceded States,
there at once began in Louisiana a system of discriminative legislation
directed against the freedmen, that led to flagrant wrongs in the
enforcement of labor contracts, and in the remote parishes to numbers
of outrages and murders.
To remedy this deplorable condition of things, it was proposed, by
those who had established the government of 1864, to remodel the
constitution of the State; and they sought to do this by reassembling
the convention, that body before its adjournment having provided for
reconvening under certain conditions, in obedience to the call of its
president. Therefore, early in the summer of 1866, many members of
this convention met in conference at New Orleans, and decided that a
necessity existed for reconvening the delegates, and a proclamation was
issued accordingly by B. K. Howell, President-pro-tempore.
Mayor John T. Monroe and the other officials of New Orleans looked
upon this proposed action as revolutionary, and by the time the
convention assembled (July 30), such bitterness of feeling prevailed
that efforts were made by the mayor and city police to suppress the
meeting. A bloody riot followed, resulting, in the killing and
wounding of about a hundred and sixty persons.
I happened to be absent from the city at the time, returning from
Texas, where I had been called by affairs on the Rio Grande. On my way
up from the mouth of the Mississippi I was met on the night of July 30
by one of my staff, who reported what had occurred, giving the details
of the massacreâno milder term is fittingâand informing me that, to
prevent further slaughter, General Baird, the senior military officer
present, had assumed control of the municipal government. On reaching
the city I made an investigation, and that night sent the following
report of the affair:
"HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE GULF,
"NEW ORLEANS, LA., Aug. 1, 1866.
"GENERAL U. S. GRANT:
"You are doubtless aware of the serious riot which occurred in this
city on the 30th. A political body, styling themselves the Convention
of 1864, met on the 30th, for, as it is alleged, the purpose of
remodeling the present constitution of the State. The leaders were
political agitators and revolutionary men, and the action of the
convention was liable to produce breaches of the public peace. I had
made up my mind to arrest the head men, if the proceedings of the
convention were calculated to disturb the tranquility of the
Department; but I had no cause for action until they committed the
overt act. In the meantime official duty called me to Texas, and the
mayor of the city, during my absence suppressed the convention by the
use of the police force, and in so doing attacked the members of the
convention, and a party of two hundred negroes, with fire-arms, clubs,
and knives, in a manner so unnecessary and atrocious as to compel me to
say that it was murder. About forty whites and blacks were thus killed,
and about one hundred and sixty wounded. Everything is now quiet, but
I deem it best to maintain a military supremacy in the city for a few
days, until the affair is fully investigated. I believe the sentiment
of the general community is great regret at this unnecessary cruelty,
and that the police could have made any arrest they saw fit without
sacrificing lives.
"P. H. SHERIDAN,
"Major-General Commanding."
On receiving the telegram, General Grant immediately submitted it to
the President. Much clamor being made at the North for the publication
of the despatch, Mr. Johnson pretended to give it to the newspapers.
It appeared in the issues of August 4, but with this paragraph omitted,
viz.:
"I had made up my mind to arrest the head men, if the proceedings of
the convention were calculated to disturb the tranquility of the
Department, but I had no cause for action until they committed the
overt act. In the mean time official duty called me to Texas, and the
mayor of the city, during my absence, suppressed the convention by the
use of the police force, and in so doing attacked the members of the
convention, and a party of two hundred negroes, with fire-arms, clubs,
and knives, in a manner so unnecessary and atrocious as to compel me to
say it was murder."
Against this garbling of my reportâdone by the President's own orderâI
strongly demurred; and this emphatic protest marks the beginning of Mr.
Johnson's well-known personal hostility toward me. In the mean time I
received (on August 3) the following despatch from General Grant
approving my course:
"HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,
"WAR DEPT., WASHINGTON, D. C., "August 3, 1866â5 p.m.
"MAJOR-GENERAL P. H. SHERIDAN,
"Commanding Mil. Div. of the Gulf,
"New Orleans, La.
"Continue to enforce martial law, so far as may be necessary to
preserve the peace; and do not allow any of the civil authorities to
act, if you deem such action dangerous to the public safety. Lose no
time in investigating and reporting the causes that led to the riot,
and the facts which occurred.
"U. S. GRANT,
"Lieutenant-General."
In obedience to the President's directions, My report of August 1 was
followed by another, more in detail, which I give in full, since it
tells the whole story of the riot:
"HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE GULF,
"NEW ORLEANS, LA., August 6, 1866.
"His EXCELLENCY ANDREW JOHNSON,
"President United States
"I have the honor to make the following reply to your despatch of
August 4. A very large number of colored people marched in procession
on Friday night, July twenty-seven (27), and were addressed from the
steps of the City Hall by Dr. Dostie, ex-Governor Hahn, and others.
The speech of Dostie was intemperate in language and sentiment. The
speeches of the others, so far as I can learn, were characterized by
moderation. I have not given you the words of Dostie's speech, as the
version published was denied; but from what I have learned of the man,
I believe they were intemperate.
"The convention assembled at twelve (12)M. on the thirtieth (30), the
timid members absenting themselves because the tone of the general
public was ominous of trouble. I think there were about twenty-six
(26) members present. In front of the Mechanics Institute, where the
meeting was held, there were assembled some colored men, women, and
children, perhaps eighteen (18) or twenty (20), and in the Institute a
number of colored men, probably one hundred and fifty (150). Among
those outside and inside there might have been a pistol in the
possession of every tenth (10) man.
"About one (1) p. m. a procession of say from sixty (60) to one
hundred and thirty (130) colored men marched up Burgundy Street and
across Canal Street toward the convention, carrying an American flag.
These men had about one pistol to every ten men, and canes and clubs in
addition. While crossing Canal Street a row occurred. There were many
spectators on the street, and their manner and tone toward the
procession unfriendly. A shot was fired, by whom I am not able to
state, but believe it to have been by a policeman, or some colored man
in the procession. This led to other shots and a rush after the
procession. On arrival at the front of the Institute there was some
throwing of brickbats by both sides. The police, who had been held
well in hand, were vigorously marched to the scene of disorder. The
procession entered the Institute with the flag, about six (6) or eight
(8) remaining outside. A row occurred between a policeman and one of
these colored men, and a shot was again fired by one of the parties,
which led to an indiscriminate fire on the building through the windows
by the policemen. This had been going on for a short time, when a
white flag was displayed from the windows of the Institute, whereupon
the firing ceased, and the police rushed into the building.
"From the testimony of wounded men, and others who were inside the
building, the policemen opened an indiscriminate fire upon the audience
until they had emptied their revolvers, when they retired, and those
inside barricaded the doors. The door was broken in, and the firing
again commenced, when many of the colored and white people either
escaped throughout the door or were passed out by the policemen inside;
but as they came out the policemen who formed the circle nearest the
building fired upon them, and they were again fired upon by the
citizens that formed the outer circle. Many of those wounded and taken
prisoners, and others who were prisoners and not wounded, were fired
upon by their captors and by citizens. The wounded were stabbed while
lying on the ground, and their heads beaten with brickbats. In the
yard of the building, whither some of the colored men had escaped and
partially secreted themselves, they were fired upon and killed or
wounded by policemen. Some were killed and wounded several squares
from the scene. Members of the convention were wounded by the police
while in their hands as prisoners, some of them mortally.
"The immediate cause of this terrible affair was the assemblage of this
Convention; the remote cause was the bitter and antagonistic feeling
which has been growing in this community since the advent of the
present Mayor, who, in the organization of his police force, selected
many desperate men, and some of them known murderers. People of clear
views were overawed by want of confidence in the Mayor, and fear of the
thugs, many of which he had selected for his police force. I have
frequently been spoken to by prominent citizens on this subject, and
have heard them express fear, and want of confidence in Mayor Monroe.
Ever since the intimation of this last convention movement I must
condemn the course of several of the city papers for supporting, by
their articles, the bitter feeling of bad men. As to the merciless
manner in which the convention was broken up, I feel obliged to confess
strong repugnance.
"It is useless to disguise the hostility that exists on the part of a
great many here toward Northern men, and this unfortunate affair has so
precipitated matters that there is now a test of what shall be the
status of Northern menâwhether they can live here without being in
constant dread or not, whether they can be protected in life and
property, and have justice in the courts. If this matter is permitted
to pass over without a thorough and determined prosecution of those
engaged in it, we may look out for frequent scenes of the same kind,
not only here, but in other places. No steps have as yet been taken by
the civil authorities to arrest citizens who were engaged in this
massacre, or policemen who perpetrated such cruelties. The members of
the convention have been indicted by the grand jury, and many of them
arrested and held to bail. As to whether the civil authorities can
mete out ample justice to the guilty parties on both sides, I must say
it is my opinion, unequivocally, that they cannot. Judge Abell, whose
course I have closely watched for nearly a year, I now consider one of
the most dangerous men that we have here to the peace and quiet of the
city. The leading men of the conventionâKing, Cutler, Hahn, and
othersâhave been political agitators, and are bad men. I regret to say
that the course of Governor Wells has been vacillating, and that during
the late trouble he has shown very little of the man.
"P. H. SHERIDAN,
"Major-General Commanding."
Subsequently a military commission investigated the subject of the
riot, taking a great deal of testimony. The commission substantially
confirmed the conclusions given in my despatches, and still later there
was an investigation by a select committee of the House of
Representatives, of which the Honorables Samuel Shellabarger, of Ohio,
H. L. Elliot, of Massachusetts, and B. M. Boyer, of Pennsylvania, were
the members. The majority report of the committee also corroborated,
in all essentials, my reports of the distressing occurrence. The
committee likewise called attention to a violent speech made by Mr.
Johnson at St. Louis in September, 1866, charging the origin of the
riot to Congress, and went on to say of the speech that "it was an
unwarranted and unjust expression of hostile feeling, without pretext
or foundation in fact." A list of the killed and wounded was embraced
in the committee's report, and among other conclusions reached were the
following: "That the meeting of July 30 was a meeting of quiet
citizens, who came together without arms and with intent peaceably to
discuss questions of public concern.... There has been no occasion
during our National history when a riot has occurred so destitute of
justifiable cause, resulting in a massacre so inhuman and fiend-like,
as that which took place at New Orleans on the 30th of July last. This
riotous attack upon the convention, with its terrible results of
massacre and murder, was not an accident. It was the determined
purpose of the mayor of the city of New Orleans to break up this
convention by armed force."
The statement is also made, that, "He [the President] knew that
'rebels' and 'thugs' and disloyal men had controlled the election of
Mayor Monroe, and that such men composed chiefly his police force."
The committee held that no legal government existed in Louisiana, and
recommended the temporary establishment of a provisional government
therein; the report concluding that "in the meantime the safety of all
Union men within the State demands that such government be formed for
their protection, for the well being of the nation and the permanent
peace of the Republic."
The New Orleans riot agitated the whole country, and the official and
other reports served to intensify and concentrate the opposition to
President Johnson's policy of reconstruction, a policy resting
exclusively on and inspired solely by the executive authorityâfor it
was made plain, by his language and his acts, that he was seeking to
rehabilitate the seceded States under conditions differing not a whit
from those existing before the rebellion; that is to say, without the
slightest constitutional provision regarding the status of the
emancipated slaves, and with no assurances of protection for men who
had remained loyal in the war.
In December, 1866, Congress took hold of the subject with such vigor as
to promise relief from all these perplexing disorders, and, after much
investigation and a great deal of debate, there resulted the so-called
"Reconstruction Laws," which, for a clear understanding of the powers
conferred on the military commanders, I deem best to append in full:
AN ACT to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel
States.
WHEREAS, no legal State governments or adequate protection for life or
property now exist in the rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida,
Texas, and Arkansas; and whereas, it is necessary that peace and good
order should be enforced in said States until loyal and republican
State governments can be legally established; therefore,
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That said rebel States shall
be divided into military districts and made subject to the military
authority of the United States as hereinafter prescribed; and for that
purpose Virginia shall constitute the first district; North Carolina
and South Carolina, the second district; Georgia, Alabama, and Florida,
the third district; Mississippi and Arkansas, the fourth district; and
Louisiana and Texas, the fifth district.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the
President to assign to the command of each of said districts an officer
of the army not below the rank of brigadier-general, and to detail a
sufficient military force to enable such officer to perform his duties
and enforce his authority within the district to which he is assigned.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each
officer assigned as aforesaid to protect all persons in their rights of
person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder, and violence,
and to punish, or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public
peace and criminals, and to this end he may allow local civil tribunals
to take jurisdiction of and to try offenders, or, when in his judgment
it may be necessary for the trial of offenders, he shall have power to
organize military commissions or tribunals for that purpose, and all
interference, under cover of State authority, with the exercise of
military authority under this act, shall be null and void.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all persons put under military
arrest by virtue of this act shall be tried without unnecessary delay,
and no cruel or unjust punishment shall be inflicted; and no sentence
of any military commission or tribunal hereby authorized affecting the
life or liberty of any person, shall be executed until it is approved
by the officer in command of the district; and the laws and regulations
for the government of the army shall not be affected by this act except
in so far as they conflict with its provisions: Provided, That no
sentence of death, under the provisions of this act, shall be carried
into effect without the approval of the President.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That when the people of any one of
said rebel States shall have formed a constitution of government in
conformity with the Constitution of the United States in all respects,
framed by a convention of delegates elected by the male citizens of
said State twenty-one years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or
previous condition, who have been resident in said State for one year
previous to the day of such election, except such as may be
disfranchised for participation in the rebellion, or for felony at
common law; and when such constitution shall provide that the elective
franchise shall be enjoyed by all such persons as have the
qualifications herein stated for electors of delegates; and when such
constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the persons voting on
the question of ratification who are qualified as electors for
delegates, and when such constitution shall have been submitted to
Congress for examination and approval, and Congress shall have approved
the same; and when said State, by a vote of its legislature elected
under said constitution, shall have adopted the amendment to the
Constitution of the United States proposed by the Thirty-ninth
Congress, and known as article fourteen; and when said article shall
have become a part of the Constitution of the United States, said State
shall be declared entitled to representation in Congress, and senators
and representatives shall be admitted therefrom on their taking the
oath prescribed by law; and then and thereafter the preceding sections
of this act shall be inoperative in said State: Provided, That no
person excluded from the privilege of holding office by said proposed
amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be eligible to
election as a member of the convention to frame a constitution for any
of said rebel States, nor shall any such person vote for members of
such convention.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That until the people of said rebel
States shall be by law admitted to representation in the Congress of
the United States, any civil government which may exist therein shall
be deemed provisional only, and in all respects subject to the
paramount authority of the United States at any time to abolish,
modify, control, or supersede the same; and in all elections to any
office under such provisional governments all persons shall be entitled
to vote, and none others, who are entitled to vote under the fifth
section of this act; and no person shall be eligible to any office
under any such provisional governments who would be disqualified from
holding office under the provisions of the third article of said
constitutional amendment.
SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
LAFAYETTE S. FOSTER, President of the Senate pro tempore.
AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled "An act to provide for the more
efficient government of the rebel States," passed March second,
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate restoration.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That before the first day of
September, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the commanding general in
each district defined by an act entitled "An act to provide for the
more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March second,
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, shall cause a registration to be made
of the male citizens of the United States, twenty-one years of age and
upwards, resident in each county or parish in the State or States
included in his district, which registration shall include only those
persons who are qualified to vote for delegates by the act aforesaid,
and who shall have taken and subscribed the following oath or
affirmation: "I,âââ, do solemnly swear (or affirm), in the presence of
the Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State of ââââ-; that I
have resided in said State forââ- months next preceding this day, and
now reside in the county of âââ-, or the parish of ââââ, in said State,
(as the case may be); that I am twenty-one years old; that I have not
been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion or civil war
against the United States, nor for felony committed against the laws of
any State or of the United States; that I have never been a member of
any State Legislature, nor held any executive or judicial office in any
State, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I
have never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States,
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 United States, and afterwards engaged
in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or
comfort to the enemies thereof; that I will faithfully support the
Constitution and obey the laws of the United States, and will, to the
best of my ability, encourage others so to do: so help me God."; which
oath or affirmation may be administered by any registering officer.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That after the completion of the
registration hereby provided for in any State, at such time and places
therein as the commanding general shall appoint and direct, of which at
least thirty days' public notice shall be given, an election shall be
held of delegates to a convention for the purpose of establishing a
constitution and civil government for such State loyal to the Union,
said convention in each State, except Virginia, to consist of the same
number of members as the most numerous branch of the State Legislature
of such State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned
among the several districts, counties, or parishes of such State by the
commanding general, giving each representation in the ratio of voters
registered as aforesaid as nearly as may be. The convention in
Virginia shall consist of the same number of members as represented the
territory now constituting Virginia in the most numerous branch of the
Legislature of said State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be
apportioned as aforesaid.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That at said election the
registered voters of each State shall vote for or against a convention
to form a constitution therefor under this act. Those voting in favor
of such a convention shall have written or printed on the ballots by
which they vote for delegates, as aforesaid, the words "For a
convention," and those voting against such a convention shall have
written or printed on such ballot the words "Against a convention." The
persons appointed to superintend said election, and to make return of
the votes given thereat, as herein provided, shall count and make
return of the votes given for and against a convention; and the
commanding general to whom the same shall have been returned shall
ascertain and declare the total vote in each State for and against a
convention. If a majority of the votes given on that question shall be
for a convention, then such convention shall be held as hereinafter
provided; but if a majority of said votes shall, be against a
convention, then no such convention shall be held under this act:
Provided, That such convention shall not be held unless a majority of
all such registered voters shall have voted on the question of holding
such convention.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commanding general of
each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as may be
necessary, consisting of three loyal officers or persons, to make and
complete the registration, superintend the election, and make return to
him of the votes, list of voters, and of the persons elected as
delegates by a plurality of the votes cast at said election; and upon
receiving said returns he shall open the same, ascertain the persons
elected as delegates, according to the returns of the officers who
conducted said election, and make proclamation thereof; and if a
majority of the votes given on that question shall be for a convention,
the commanding general, within sixty days from the date of election,
shall notify the delegates to assemble in convention, at a time and
place to be mentioned in the notification, and said convention, when
organized, shall proceed to frame a constitution and civil government
according to the provisions of this act, and the act to which it is
supplementary; and when the same shall have been so framed, said
constitution shall be submitted by the convention for ratification to
the persons registered under the provisions of this act at an election
to be conducted by the officers or persons appointed or to be appointed
by the commanding general, as hereinbefore provided, and to be held
after the expiration of thirty days from the date of notice thereof, to
be given by said convention; and the returns thereof shall be made to
the commanding general of the district.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That if, according to said
returns, the constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the votes
of the registered electors qualified as herein specified, cast at said
election, at least one-half of all the registered voters voting upon
the question of such ratification, the president of the convention
shall transmit a copy of the same, duly certified, to the President of
the United States, who shall forthwith transmit the same to Congress,
if then in session, and if not in session, then immediately upon its
next assembling; and if it shall moreover appear to Congress that the
election was one at which all the registered and qualified electors in
the State had an opportunity to vote freely, and without restraint,
fear, or the influence of fraud, and if the Congress shall be satisfied
that such constitution meets the approval of a majority of all the
qualified electors in the State, and if the said constitution shall be
declared by Congress to be in conformity with the provisions of the act
to which this is supplementary, and the other provisions of said act
shall have been complied with, and the said constitution shall be
approved by Congress, the State shall be declared entitled to
representation, and senators and representatives shall be admitted
therefrom as therein provided.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all elections in the States
mentioned in the said "Act to provide for the more efficient government
of the rebel States" shall, during the operation of said act, be by
ballot; and all officers making the said registration of voters and
conducting said elections, shall, before entering upon the discharge of
their duties, take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the act
approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An act
to prescribe an oath of office": Provided, That if any person shall
knowingly and falsely take and subscribe any oath in this act
prescribed, such person so offending and being thereof duly convicted,
shall be subject to the pains, penalties, and disabilities which by law
are provided for the punishment of the crime of wilful and corrupt
perjury.
SEC. 7. And be if further enacted, That all expenses incurred by the
several commanding generals, or by virtue of any orders issued, or
appointments made, by them, under or by virtue of this act, shall be
paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the convention for each State
shall prescribe the fees, salary, and compensation to be paid to all
delegates and other officers and agents herein authorized or necessary
to carry into effect the purposes of this act not herein otherwise
provided for, and shall provide for the levy and collection of such
taxes on the property in such State as may be necessary to pay the
same.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the word "article," in the
sixth section of the act to which this is supplementary, shall be
construed to mean, "section."
SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
B. F. WADE, President of the Senate pro tempore.