Constitutional Convention of 1868, by Eugene Cypert
from
PUBLICATIONS OF
The Arkansas Historical Association
Edited by
JOHN HUGH REYNOLDS, Secretary
Vol.4
CONWAY, ARKANSAS 1917

Submitted by Dena Whitesell

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 (By Eugene Cypert - Note — Eugene Cypert was born, reared and educated in White county, Arkansas; read law in the office of his father, the late Jesse N. Cypert; was licensed to practice his profession in 1884. From that time forward until the senior Cypert's death in September, 1913, father and son engaged in the practice of law as partners at Searcy. Mr. Cypert, the author of this account of the Convention of '68, has served three terms as County Judge of White county, 1898-1904. He has been elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention called to meet November 19, 1917. His ability as a student of affairs and as a writer of local historical matters as well, is fully conceded by those who know him.) The State of Arkansas had enjoyed comparative peace and quiet for three years succeeding the Civil War. Under the presidential method of reconstruction inaugurated by President Lincoln, the loyal people of the State had met in 1864 and adopted a constitution which abolished slavery, but did not enfranchise the negroes.1 The constitutional convention of 1868 was the result of reconstruction acts of Congress, which had been vetoed by President Johnson, and passed by Congress over his veto. For the purpose of reconstruction in the Secession States under these various acts, all negroes and all other persons who had been in the State twelve months were entitled to vote and hold seats in the convention, "Provided that no person who has been a member of the legislature of any State, or who has held any executive or judicial office in any State, whether he has taken an oath to support the constitution of the United States or not, and whether he was holding such office at the commencement of the rebellion or not, or had held it before and who afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof should be entitled to vote." Arkansas Historical Association The qualifications of all electors were to be passed on by registrars in the various counties who were appointed by the military authorities in the South. At that time Arkansas was in the same military district with Mississippi and Gen. Edward O. C. Ord of the United States army was the commander. The apportionment in Arkansas was unequal; large negro counties like Pulaski, Jefferson and Phillips were allowed four delegates in the convention, while large white counties like Benton, Sebastian and Crawford were allowed one each. Six counties were joined, two in a district, each district being allowed only one delegate. Some of these counties thus joined together were not even adjoining each other. The whole membership of the convention consisted of seventy-five delegates, though several counties were, for some reason, not represented at all. The convention met at Little Rock on the 7th day of January, 1868, and all the proceedings were had in the old House of Representatives, where the first legislature had convened, and was also the scene of the Secession Convention in 1861. It was composed of two parties then known as Radical and Conservative. The radicals were largely in the majority. They elected Thomas M. Bo wen of Crawford president of the convention by a vote of 43, the conservatives at that time being able to rally only seven votes against him. The radical wing of the convention was, in the slang of that day, further divided into three classes, "carpet baggers," "scalawags" and negroes. There were eight negroes in the convention, of whom W. H. Grey of Phillips was decidedly the ablest. If, in the course of this article, the terms "carpet bagger" and "scalawag" are employed, it is for the purpose of designating the faction to which the person spoken of belonged, and not for the purpose of casting reproach, in any way, on the person to whom the term is applied. The carpet baggers were men who came South about the close of the Civil War and who thought it their duty to join with the other two factions in the South in carrying Constitutional Convention of 1868 but the reconstruction acts of Congress. The other faction was composed of southern radicals who saw proper to join with them and the negroes in "regenerating" the South. These two classes were about equally divided in the convention, and they, together with the eight negroes, were largely in the majority, although the conservatives made some important accessions before the close of the convention, mustering some 21 votes against the adoption of the constitution as finally reported. The radicals occupied seats on the right of the hall and the conservatives on the left. The president of the convention came from Iowa during the Civil War. He had been colonel of a Union regiment, and, being a lawyer by profession, located at Van Buren about the close of the war. He was small and slender, and a man of ability and quick perception, plausible speaker and good parliamentarian, though often charged by the conservatives with unfairness to the minority. Soon after the convention adjourned he was elected judge of the Supreme Court, and when his term expired he went to Colorado, was elected United States Senator there, and died a few years ago reputed to be wealthy. Joseph Brooks, a delegate from Phillips County, was born in Ohio, but I believe came to Arkansas from Iowa; he had been in the State five years at the time the convention met, and was decidedly the ablest man on the radical side. He was a large, raw-boned man, angular in form, with large, irregular features, was a good debater and master of invective. He was a minister in the northern branch of the Methodist Church prior to the Civil War, and, it is reported, came within a few votes of election as one of its bishops. He was called in the slang of the day "Old Brindle Tail," which name was given to his faction of the Republican party afterwards, as opposed to the "Minstrels" or Clayton wing. John McClure, who was a delegate from Arkansas County, was the most imposing looking man in the convention. He came to Arkansas with the Union army from the State of Ohio, was a man of legal ability, logical in debate, though rather prosy in style. He was afterwards associate justice of the Supreme Court of the State, and, in 1871, was appointed chief justice, succeeding Judge W. W. Wilshire. These two men, while belonging to the same party, were entirely different kind of men personally. Mr. Brooks, in all his numerous speeches in the convention, impresses one as being an honest bigot, belonging to that class spoken of in Hudibras, who "Compound for sins they are inclined to By damning those they have no mind to." He really believed that secession was treason, and that those who participated in it were traitors to the government. He honestly thought that the people of the South were not the best friends of the negro, and that the only way that they could be guaranteed "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" was by giving them the ballot. On the other hand, Judge McClure impresses one in his speeches before the convention as being a shrewd special pleader at the bar of public opinion, with whom, at all times, the end justified the means, and not always concerned as to the character of the means employed. Both of them were willing to see a large portion of the white people of the South disfranchised, and all the negroes enfranchised. W. H. Grey of Phillips County, a colleague of Mr. Brooks, was the ablest negro in the convention. He also was a minister, born in Virginia, educated in his native State and in Washington City, and, I believe, had been free all his life. He had been a servant of Gov. Henry A. Wise of Virginia, and it is said in that capacity had attended on the sittings of the Congress of the United States, and was a man of unusual attainments as a speaker. Another delegate from Phillips County was James T. White, an educated negro and also a minister. He was ten years younger than Grey, and took but little part in the debates. Geo. W. Norman J.N. Cypert R.S. Gnatt W.D. Moore   W.W. Reynolds Among the conservative members there were but few that took part in the debates, for most of them were young men, who had not been disfranchised by the reconstruction acts. Among those who participated in the debates were Gantt and Hicks of Prairie, Moore and Norman of Ashley, and J. N. Cypert of White. The latter was, at that time, very slight in figure and not above medium height, with very black hair and dark beard. He had been a member of the Secession Convention and a major in the Confederate army, and was several times reminded of that fact during the sitting of the convention. He was afterwards a member of the constitutional convention of 1874 and circuit judge of the first judicial circuit from 1874 to 1882. His colleague, Thomas Owen, of White County, had never held any office prior to the Civil War, and by reason of that fact was not disfranchised. He was a small, scholarly man, and was then a planter near West Point, though before coming to Arkansas prior to the war had been a school teacher. These two members boarded while the convention was in session at the same place where a number of students of St. John's College boarded, and Mr. Owen, in the evenings, sought recreation from the cares of state by teaching them their Latin and Greek. He was a fine, courteous gentleman, able and dignified, but took but little part in the discussion before the body. W. F. Hicks of Prairie County had never held office before, but was a very useful member of the convention. He subsequently represented Lonoke County in the legislature several times. But the most unique character of the convention was John M. Bradley of Bradley County. He had been a Methodist preacher prior to the Civil War, and frequently spoke of himself as a "back-slidden preacher" He had filled the stations at El Dorado and Pine Bluff, and had been presiding elder of the Washington District. At the commencement of the war he raised a company, and rose to the rank of colonel of the Ninth Arkansas Regiment of Infantry. At the close of the war he practiced law, and was elected to the convention as a republican or radical, and on the organization of the convention he voted for Bowen for president, and later in the session voted with the radicals against the adoption of the ordinance declaring and affirming the constitution of 1864, in lieu of any other measure. This was a measure of the conservatives. Soon after this, however, he began to waver in his allegiance to the radical wing, and, being twitted by them with being influenced by Mr. Cypert of White, who sat near him, retorted that it was the conduct of the gentlemen on the other side of the hall who were responsible for his change of front. They continued to jeer and sneer at him as a traitor and former rebel until toward the close of the session he turned savagely on his tormentors with such a storm of eloquence, mixed with scriptural quotations and denunciation, as has seldom been heard in a deliberative body in Arkansas. From the most conservative of radicals he grew to be the most radical of conservatives. He was a large man and while they must have felt his savage verbal assaults, they seldom resented it. After the adjournment of the convention he again joined the republican party, was elected circuit judge, and considered invincible before the people until finally he was defeated for that position by Judge Carroll D. Wood, now a justice of the Supreme Court. So those masters of invective and sarcasm, Mr. Brooks of Phillips and Mr. McClure of Arkansas, were finally to meet their match, and from a source they little expected at the beginning of the session. Those who were in favor of the Reconstruction measures of Congress called themselves Republicans, and persisted in calling the other side Democrats. The latter, however, disclaimed any party alliance, as most of them had been Whigs before the war, by reasons of which fact they were not disfranchised by having held office, as Arkansas had been a strong Democratic State prior to the war. A few of the conservatives, like J. H. Shoppach of Saline and Chas. W. Walker of Washington, were not old enough to vote before the Civil War, and consequently had no party affiliation, except with the conservative party afterwards. In the meantime the Gazette of Little Rock was dealing sledge hammer blows at the reconstructionists in the convention. It dubbed that body "The Menagerie" a name which was adopted throughout the State, and clung to it and its members for long years afterward. The radical members resented the abuse being heaped upon them by this powerful journal, and were at times disposed to hold the conservative members responsible for its utterances. The Gazette was frequently quoted by them, and the most bitter utterances the radicals made seemed to be provoked by the editorials in that journal. The secretary of the convention, John G. Priest, was editor of the Republican, but he was evidently no match for the Gazette, and the radical members frequently took occasion to reply to the Gazette, and charged that the utterances of the conservative members were "of a piece" with its editorials, though the stenographic report of the debates and proceedings does not seem to bear out this charge, as they, as a rule, were what their names indicated, rather conservative. But the artillery fire from the Gazette office continued throughout the session. The radicals, who occupied the right of the hall, seemed to consider the negro members their special property, and were very sensitive as to any allusions to "race, color or previous condition of servitude" The first great contest occurred on the sixth day of the convention over the ordinance introduced by Mr. Cypert of White, adopting the constitution of 1864 as the organic law of the State. This, the conservatives advocated, and the radicals opposed, because it did not disfranchise white men (except in a few instances), nor did it enfranchise negroes, while it recognized their freedom. In opening the debate, the chair ruled Mr. Cypert had the opening and closing speeches. Mr. Cypert offered the ordinance as follows: Whereas, during the rebellion, at a time when there was no organized government in the State of Arkansas in harmony with that of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States, issued his proclamation, of date December 8, 1863, for the formation of civil government in the insurgent states, on a basis which should accord with the allegiance due to the government of the United States; and,Whereas, under said proclamation the present constitution was founded, by loyal representatives of the people, and the same has been approved by President Lincoln, and has since been recognized by every department of the general government; and,Whereas, the same is republican in form, and no material change in the same is demanded at this time by the people whom we represent; Therefore be it ordained by the convention of the State of Arkansas, called in pursuance of an act of Congress, entitled "An act for the more efficient government of the rebel states" passed March 2, 1867, that we do hereby cheerfully adopt as the constitution of the State of Arkansas, in all respects the same now in force, being that adopted on the 18th day of March, 1864; and that the same shall be submitted to the people for their ratification. Mr. Hinds moved that the ordinance be referred to the special committee on the penitentiary. Mr. Cypert said that this was an attempt to ridicule a serious matter. He had offered the ordinance in good faith, and thought it a poor subject for an attempt at wit. He believed that the course he proposed would bring happiness and prosperity to the people. The constitution of this State had been agreed to by all the people, and under it the State was on the highway to prosperity, when a department of the United States Government had passed an act, the preamble of which, setting forth that these states were in rebellion, was a ridiculous falsehood. The government of the State of Arkansas had been pronounced republican by Abraham Lincoln; it had been framed by honest, loyal men, and now an attempt was being made by men who have no interest in the State of Arkansas to set that government aside. Three years only have elapsed since its establishment, and now, under the inspiration of a revolutionary political party, which sends its orders to the club room at Little Rock, this constitution, framed by loyal men, is to be set aside in the name of "loyalty". The Congress had perjured itself by legislating outside the constitution, and members of this convention, having sworn but lately to support that constitution, could not conform to the demand. The highest judicial authority in the land has decided that the negro can not be a citizen. If these military governments and arbitrary measures of Congress were designed to punish rebels, they were unconstitutional, as that must be done according to law. For himself, his destiny was with Arkansas; and he could not take up his carpet sack and leave if the country should be ruined by radicalism, as he firmly believed it would be. He had been in the South all his life. He knew the negro in all his attributes. That their people were now misled, he appealed to the negro members present. Mr. Brooks rose to a point of order. It was disrespectful to style gentlemen of the convention, negroes. Now note the common sense and true pride of race of the negro colleague of Mr. Brooks. Mr. Grey of Phillips said he took no exceptions to the appellation. His race was closely allied to the race which built the great Pyramids of Egypt. And mark the adroitness with which the president evaded the important point submitted to him as to whether a negro is a negro for the purpose of parliamentary debate: The president ruled that when there were two members or more of the convention from the same county, they should be addressed respectively as Mr.....from.....County. And now observe the true courtesy of the Southern man who was far from wounding the feelings of any one. Mr. Cypert resumed. He had intended no disrespect, and if any had been shown he was willing to retract it. He entertained respect for the member in question, and would treat him with all the courtesy due their comparative positions in society. He had spoken of him as a negro because he was such. He would yield to the rules of the body. He continued: There were many gentlemen present with whom he had long been associated; he knew they must admit his sincerity. Seven years ago from this same place he had portrayed the ruin and desolation that would follow secession; he had done all in his power to avert that fatal step and had failed. With the same foresight he felt assured that ruin and desolation would follow the rule of radicalism. He sought not to seek personal controversy with any one. He had been denounced by gentlemen on the other side of the house as a political trickster, but all he had said or done was with a view of endeavoring to render respectable the proceedings of the body. He would appeal to the Arkansas men in the convention to set themselves right upon the record, against any change in the form of government which suits the people. The present constitution was as republican in form as that of Ohio. Under this constitution Arkansas was a state and had exercised all her prerogatives of a state. It had been so recognized by the United States. The writs issued by the United States marshal of the district are therein recited to be issued in the State of Arkansas. The Congress of the United States had so recognized Arkansas as a state, in declaring it to constitute a portion of a judicial circuit. Why, then, set to work to frame a constitution not in consonance with the constitution of the United States, but with the demand of Congress alone, a demand unauthorized by that instrument and made in violation of its provisions? A gentleman (Mr. Hinds) had attempted to make a mere trifle of the present proposed ordinance, by referring it to the committee on the penitentiary, but to turn into ridicule that which appeals to the conscience of men would not always do, as gentlemen might yet live to learn. He asked that the gentleman withdraw this motion and let the issue be squarely met, and the ordinance be disposed of directly by its adoption or rejection. Under the present constitution the State of Arkansas had prospered, yet the state presents today the strange anomaly of a recognized state controlled by military force. Was this republican? Was there any present rebellion? Did armed opposition to the government exist in any county in the state? White County, which had been one of the most rebellious in Arkansas, was today the strong and earnest supporter of the National Government. The sheriff of the county was a staunch Union man, a man, too, as highly respected as any man within the county limits. He appealed to the convention not to force upon the State a measure which the people of Ohio, of Kansas, and of Minnesota had rejected. He was willing to live under the same laws as the people of the North. The constitution of Arkansas was closely similar to that of Ohio — let her have that constitution. Mr. Montgomery—The gentleman from Tennessee is out of order. He will please confine himself to the subject. Mr. Cypert replied that he had been a citizen of Arkansas for seventeen years; that he came hither from Tennessee not as a soldier, but as a matter of choice; here to make his home. He had committed no crime and done no act which would prevent his return to Tennessee or his recognition there by his former neighbors as a gentleman. It was because he had a family here, and must be identified with the future of Arkansas that he was solicitous as to the form of government which she was to have. He was glad that the negro was free. But while he would have the negroes protected as they now are by law, in all their just rights, he could never consent to have them intrusted with the elective franchise, and made the rulers of white men. The negro had his rights guarded as sacredly as the whites. The right of franchise was not a universal right, but a class right. Let it so continue. That it should thus remain the North had decided for itself. Let us do so here. Congress has no power to compel us to do otherwise. He repeated his request that the convention would meet the question squarely. Mr. Grey of Phillips replied: I must confess my surprise at the action of the gentleman from White (Mr. Cypert). I am here as the representative of a portion of the citizens of Arkansas; those rights are not secured by the ordinance introduced by the gentleman from White. I am here, sir, to see those rights of citizenship engrafted upon the organic law of the State. The gentleman says that a negro can not become a citizen. As freemen we were not denied the rights of suffrage under the State laws on account of color. The speaker then quoted from the minority opinion of Judge Curtis in the Dred Scott case, taken from Greeley's "American Conflict" to prove his contention. In the course of his criticism of the majority opinion he spoke of Chief Justice Taney as the "American Jeffries." Continuing, he said: We are told that the republican form of government must rest on the intelligence and virtue of the masses, and that we have not those qualifications. They are qualities which are, at least, susceptible of improvement in other races of men, and not largely displayed when the Huns and Vandals and other tribes were laying waste the fair fields of Italy, or when the Danes and Normans were making sad havoc of your ancestral estates. We are not far behind those who sold civilized women along the banks of the James for two hundred pounds of tobacco or less. The Saxon civilization of the nineteenth century is the product of eight hundred years, and with this start ahead with all the wealth, intelligence, power and prestige of this great government, men pretend to believe that they are afraid of negro domination, afraid that our million negroes scattered over this vast country will rule thirty million of intelligent white people! Give us our rights as citizens before the law; the right of trial by a jury of our peers—admit us into the sanctum sanctorum of justice—the jury box; give us a fair show in the courts. The idea of giving a negro justice in a court whose judge has sucked the milk of prejudice from his mother's breast, where the lawyers, though they may be the most thorough radicals extant, honestly believe me immeasurably their inferior, and the jurors there assembled are imbued with the animus of the majority of the court in the case of Dred Scott, and do not believe that I have any rights to be protected from the encroachments of that class looked upon as my superiors! But, sir, we have no fears of failing to secure those rights. We may be weak within ourselves, but liberty and justice must eventually prevail. "Truth crushed to earth will rise again; The eternal years of God are hers." The speaker closed with the following eloquent appeal for the ballot: I have no antipathy against the white people of this country, and am not surprised at their strenuous opposition. History repeats itself; they have been as hard on men of their own race, when struggling for their own freedom. The noblesse of England—the cavaliers—had as little use for the clouted yeomanry and puritanic followers of Cromwell as these gentlemen have for us. But time has a softening influence on all human'prejudices. I am willing to forget the past, and to wrap the winding sheet of oblivion over the sod that contains the bones of my wronged and oppressed ancestors for two hundred and fifty years. Oh, disturb not the sacred sarcophagus that contains the bitter, bitter memories of the past—we await the judgment day. Give us the franchise, the right to protect ourselves, our wives and children, and we are content. We are warned of the reaction in the North. I think, sir, if the question of negro suffrage had been stripped of deserters' bills, woman suffrage and everything that could be found that was unpopular, it would have been adopted; and even carrying this weight, we obtained the largest vote upon the subject ever polled in Ohio. But at the same time I do not blame the people of the North for rejecting it. It was their proposition to the South, and we had no right to place them in the position of the conquered instead of the conquerors. Strip the question of all outside issues; let the people know that we do not wish white men to make themselves the pedestals upon which to place black statues or to elevate the negro to office. We desire, simply, the means and incentives to industry and education. We will carry them triumphantly from the snow-capped hills of New England to where the dark-eyed daughters of the sunny South bathe their tiny feet in the tepid waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Ah, Mr. Grey of Phillips we yield you the palm for eloquence. Had all the negroes of the South and of Arkansas been such men as you, their enfranchisement would not have been such a grievous mistake. Mr. Brooks of Phillips obtained the floor, and the convention adjourned until the next day. From this point the reporter states that the stenographic reports begin with that day. Mr. Brooks — I hope it may not be understood that I have any set formal speech to deliver upon the proposition pending before the convention. Yet as I did make a few passing notes of the remarks of the honorable gentleman from White (Mr. Cypert) yesterday, I have thought that it might not be amiss very briefly to call attention to some of the points presented by him. I hope I shall be excused from reciprocating the epithets which might perhaps be properly characterized as billingsgate that have come from the other side of the hall. Such epithets, applied to honorable members of this convention, and to members of the Congress of the United States, as "factious," "loafers," "carpet sack gentlemen," "interlopers," "perjurers," "fools" and "liars" do not constitute the staple of argument. Mr. Cypert arose at this point (as he had occasion to do several times during Mr. Brooks' speech) to protest that he had used no such language attributed to him, concerning any member of the convention, and Mr. Brooks then continued as follows: This style of argument is not peculiar to the honorable gentleman, but is characteristic of the element of society in Arkansas which he has the honor to represent here. In this morning's issue—I believe it was—of the official organ of the party which he represents, in part, upon this floor, is language of this character—and it is such language as that class of papers is accustomed to employ ever since the assembling of this constitutional convention. (Reading from the Gazette.) "The bastard collocation whose putridity stinks in the nostrils of all decency, now in session at the capitol, has very conceited ideas of its importance and pretentious opinion of the scope of its powers." Again: "As a matter of some trifling interest to those who have not witnessed the exhibition of the menagerie, we would state that the negro members, eight in number, occupy seats on the western side of the Hall of Representatives." The words I have cited from the honorable member's speech and ? what I read from the newspaper is of a piece. Mr. Cypert — If the gentleman persists in that assertion I must denounce it as false. Mr. Brooks — It would be well for the gentleman at least to control his temper. I simply say that it is of a piece. I do not say that the gentleman quoted the precise language, but that it is characteristic of the gentleman's style, and of those whom he represents throughout the State and country, as every honorable gentleman very well knows. Here Mr. Bradley of Bradley put in his oar to protest in the name of the people of the State against such reflections upon the people of Arkansas. The chair ruled that it was legitimate argument, and other members might have an opportunity to reply. Mr. Brooks then resumed. Mr. Brooks — We present no reflections with regard to the citizens of the State. The honorable member brought forward in his remarks yesterday the proposition that the convention should adopt the existing constitution, the provisional government and the officers administering that government, this same class of gentlemen who are now so enamored of it, and who are now so overwhelmed with admiration for the loyal executive of this provisional government of Arkansas, then denounced in unmeasured terms this very provisional government, and these loyal men. No doubt whatever that having been brought in contact with the loyal government they have come to a better mind. We trust ere long to hail them brothers beloved as loyal man, ready to sustain it, the flag and the interest of the country. Mr. Cypert again asked leave to interrupt the gentleman, and said: "No word or act of mine can be brought up derogatory to the constitution of Arkansas, its executive, or the state government under which he was elected." Mr. Brooks—Oh, the gentleman should not appropriate to himself, personally, those remarks which I make of the party at large (laughter). The provisional government of Arkansas has not been recognized by the Congress of the United States, whatever may be said with respect to other departments. But a little reflection reconciled in my thoughts.the attitude assumed with the doctrine professed by the gentleman. In the first place, we should have perhaps felt embarrassed amid such surroundings, while gentlemen whose previous habits have familiarized them with efforts to overthrow without authority of law established State government, have very little scruple in that direction—can much more easily reconcile their views of duty with such a position, a position "factional" and "revolutionary" in its character, to use the gentleman's own terms. We have not been accustomed to efforts of that kind. Again, there is another view of the subject on which the gentleman favored us with some perspicuous reflections—recognizing his attitude as a member of this body as revolutionary, and without authority of law, and acknowledging that he and his friends might not be justified in taking their seats, but stating that they were here for the sake of imparting to the menagerie a shade of respectability— with no desire to occupy a seat except merely for the purpose of saving the body and the state from utter ignominy and disgrace; that they have engaged in this work, not to assist in framing an organic law, conformably to the act of Congress, and consistently with the interest of the people, but simply to rescue the reputation of the State from infamy, and in some measure to mitigate the disreputable character of the convention. We present our grateful acknowledgments. We might have saved this consumption of valuable time if we had simply referred to our consideration the veto messages and similar documents of the accidental president of the,United States. But, sir, I do not desire longer to dwell upon the matters of explanation further than to notice a single remark. But for the position occupied by the honorable gentleman, and apparently assigned to him as the leader of the opposition, we might perhaps have passed the subject by. Honorable members of this convention are denounced as "carpet sack gentlemen" and are invited to return to their homes there to remain, and exhorted to refrain from "coming down here" to assist these other gentlemen in managing their own affairs. Why, sir, but for the surroundings here I would have fancied for a moment that we had gone back for a few moments for a space of a few years, and that we were actually having our ears again saluted with the cry of '61, "Let us alone; do not interfere." No, sir; we proposed in '61 to come down here if need be — a portion of us — and interfere with the proceedings of that part of society, so far and only so far as was necessary for the protection and maintenance of the government and the honor of the old flag. I can say, Mr. President, that loyal men have left their homes in Arkansas for the last time! We claim the right to be here. They may confront us here and elsewhere with such slang as that which has been employed with regard to the odor of our members and our constituents. I have only to say, sir, if I am to elect between the two—since honorable gentlemen and opponents resort to such a line of remark as this—if I am to choose between the odor of my constituents and the smell of treason, which "smells to heaven" I affiliate over this way to all eternity! (Laughter and applause.) Mr. Cypert again protested that he had used no such language with regard to the negroes of the convention or relative to the political party to which they belonged. Mr. Brooks, as usual, paid no attention to the interruption, and proceeded with his remarks as though he had not been interrupted. Mr. Brooks — We intend to reconstruct, and we intend that these colored men upon this floor, who compare favorably with the average of the representatives of any quarter of the State, loyal or disloyal, white or black, shall enjoy the rights to which they are entitled as men—the "ignorance" which the gentleman urged yesterday to the contrary notwithstanding. The other real source of hostility on the part of the opposition here and elsewhere to the policy which we support in the contest, though not openly avowed, or directly presented, we know full well to exist; and we accept that also. It is that this reconstructed, reinaugurated civil government will be administered by men true to the country and its flag. If, in the progress of this movement, facts should be developed which shall defeat our hopes, and overthrow our purposes, in that particular we shall mourn any necessity that may arise to fix to any considerable extent, in the organic law of the State, a disf ranchisement of any portion of its inhabitants beyond that imposed upon us by the authority under which we now proceed. We not only admit it but frankly proclaim it in this hall. But we believe in so doing we shall place—or rather continue—in possession of the State Government loyal men, men whom the honorable gentleman on the other side of the hall so much admires. If it be found necessary, in order to secure the approval of the honorable member and his constituents of the loyal county of White, we might renominate the present incumbent of the executive chair (Governor Murphy) Certainly his age, his abilities, his tried patriotism, would justify such a course; and if the gentleman and his friends be sincere in their admiration of the loyal government of Arkansas and of the incumbents of the state positions—we might accommodate them, as far as we can consistently, at any rate, in order to secure reconstruction without opposition. We invite the gentleman and his associates to cooperation, and assure them that they shall not be treated, when they shall return to their fidelity, and to correct principles and policy, other than as men, honorable and faithful and true. (Applause.) At the conclusion of Mr. Brooks' speech Mr. Hinds withdrew his motion to refer the ordinance to the committee on penitentiary. Mr. Hicks then followed, advocating the adoption of the ordinance. I do not rise to reply to the gentleman from Phillips (Mr. Brooks) or to answer for the gentleman from White (Mr. Cypert). The speaker referred to the fact that President Lincoln had recognized and advised reconstruction in Arkansas, and that he had issued a proclamation, in which he excepted the states of Louisiana and Arkansas from any congressional action looking to the reconstruction of the Southern States. But he said that this was now an outside issue, and now the principal question before the convention was the enfranchisement of the negro. Continuing, he said: Among all the races of man no republican form of government has ever been established except by the Caucasian race. The gentleman from Phillips (Mr. Grey) said yesterday that we were eight hundred years educating ourselves up to our present position. I am perfectly willing to concede that he and his race shall enjoy the same privileges when they have gone through the same ordeal. I accord to that gentleman more talent than any gentleman on that side of the house; probably more than I have myself — he is certainly a talented gentleman, and one who understands the question, because he has studied it more than I have done; and there are many other honorable exceptions to the ordinary capacity of that race - men of talent — I may say men of genius. I belong to a race which in its first struggle for liberty wrested the Magna Charta from King John at the point of the sword. That was the school through which the Anglo-Saxon race, the most gifted in intellect, the most favored in circumstances of any division even of the Caucasian family has passed before it succeeded in the achievement of republican liberty. In those eight hundred years we have been slowly building the foundations of this mighty republic What has the negro race done during all that time? Or indeed during the whole period of its existence on earth? Where is its language? Where is its literature? Where are its arts and sciences? Where are its commercial interests, its ships, its flag? It has none! Continuing, the speaker referred to the many failures that had been made by the other races in Hayti, the Central American Republics, and Mexico. From reading his speech one might well suppose that he was describing conditions there at present, nearly a half century later. Hear this sage of "Old Brownsville" in Prairie County: I proclaim this principle, which I lay down as a political truth: No men on the face of the globe are capable of maintaining a republican form of government except those of the white race. As an evidence of that fact, I may refer to the numerous republics of South America, where the blood of other races is largely mixed with that of the whites. What are those republics? They are simply machines for effecting robbery. Their generals are men raised from bandits. The presidents today of a number of those republics were but a few years ago bandits in the mountains. They have a revolution there nearly every time the moon changes. They have not the first conception of the nature of a republican government. Mexico—the "Sick Man" of North America—look at her! Why, sir, it would take a cyclopaedia to keep up with her revolutions. You would have to establish a steam press to publish her manifestoes! I protest in all sincerity against granting to the negro race the elective franchise. I will admit that there are a few of them who understand our political system. But they are very few. That they do not is their misfortune. It is no fault of mine. I do not feel that I have a right, with the responsibility of the oath that I have taken, to risk the lives and happiness of my people in their hands. I am, therefore, honestly and conscientiously opposed to the movement. Mr. Bradley of Bradley, in replying to Mr. Cypert and Mr. Hicks, opened by saying: As the waters have been very much troubled, I think it may, perhaps, be well to pour on a little oil. I regret exceedingly that so much bitterness and strife, so much animosity has been manifested on both sides of the house. I did not come here as a delegate to make war on anybody. I came here because I endorsed the reconstruction plan as set forth by Congress; I endorse it today. I came here because I believed that Arkansas had been taken out of the Federal Government, that she had never regularly been taken back. Pacific Mr. Bradley of Bradley! But observe later on in the session how this same oil that he was pouring on the troubled waters caught fire and went up in smoke and flame fed by the gentleman's fiery eloquence! The speaker, continuing, stated his various objections to the constitution of 1864, the principal one being that it was then what he styled a "bogus constitution," made at a time when the State was in the throes of civil war, and the delegates to that convention representing only a small minority of the people of the State. Continuing, he said: I do not like many things that have been said on both sides. I do not like this comparison of abilities. If any of the colored members are superior in talent to myself, please be modest enough not to throw it in my face in a public place. These comparisons are odious. (Laughter.) I did not intend to make a speech; but I do want to rebuke the style of argument which has been used here for the past two days. The questions discussed have not properly come before us. When they do come it will be time enough to discuss them, and you will find me at the right place. True, sit by the side of my friend here (Mr. Cypert). Our relation is personal and social. It is understood that he belongs to one political party and I to another; and many men, I suppose, have thought we couldn't sit so close together without my making him a Republican or his making me a Democrat. Well, if the law of absorption is to obtain, I shall be certain to take him up and make a republican of him, for I have most capital to start on (referring to their relative size). (Laughter.) I believe that slavery was a curse to the whites, just as I believe that freedom is going to prove a curse to the black race. Gentlemen, in the name of everything that is good, cease from these epithets. For one I intend to show respect in my remarks to every gentleman, and if any shall then use remarks personally offensive to me I advise him that I will hold him to a fearful account. I will give no insult, I will take none, and I will hold every man to the same course. I was sorry to hear the motion to commit this subject to the committee on penitentiary. Let the ordinance go to its proper committee. I enter my solemn protest that my teeth shall not be shown tiger—or wolf like. Let us pursue a different course, one chosen with reference to the interests of the country and credit to ourselves. Mr. Bouldin Duvall of Lawrence was the next speaker to address the convention on the adoption of the constitution of 1864 as the organic law of the State. He had been for four years a Union soldier in the Civil War, but belonged to that class of northern men who opposed the congressional mode of reconstruction in the South. He had been voted for for president of the convention by the few conservatives in the convention. Throughout the sitting, from first to last, he voted with them. He began by saying: I wish to see peace and harmony restored to our country. And being one of those of whom my friend from Phillips (Mr. Brooks) has spoken that left home and family and all that was sacred and dear to man to follow the stars and stripes, that today floats from this capitol, I occupy a different position from that of any man on this floor. I periled my life through four years of bloody warfare in defense of the Union and the constitution of the United States. I am here today asking for the maintenance of that for which I fought. The gentleman from Phillips (Mr. Grey) asked for the rights of his race and refers us to Massachusetts as one of the states of the Union that granted them their rights. The colored race are not citizens of the United States. How far has Massachusetts extended the franchise to his race? Were the members of that raee in Arkansas transferred to Massachusetts, how many of them would under the constitution of that State be allowed to vote? It is well known that in Massachusetts, no man is allowed to vote unless he can read the constitution of the United States. Continuing, Mr. DuVall said that the fourteenth amendment had not yet been adopted, and if it should be then the negro would be accorded all the rights of a white man, but until that was done that Congress had no right to dictate the terms on which a state would be allowed representation; but that he had always contended that they had never been out of the Union. As a loyal man, I ask no protection from Congress. I think we are capable of taking care of ourselves if they will allow us to do so, and will cease this agitation about universal suffrage amongst us. Sir, when the war ended the rebel armies surrendered upon terms; they returned to their homes, and I am proud today to say to you that though they fought you and me manfully, up to the close of the struggle, we have since that time had a quiet and peaceable community, composed of honorable men, willing to submit to the laws of the country. Had they been so disposed to control this convention, my county has much abler men than I to represent them, and they would certainly have sent them here. But they are willing to be represented here by a loyal man, whom they knew could not be assailed by this slang of treason that has been so lavishly employed on this floor. Where is the main spring of all these proceeding? Men want office—they want the spoils of office. I entertained when in the service of my country the same views that I express today. Come here for the principles I fought for. I hold that no state ever was out of the Union, and it was for that principle I fought. Mr. Cypert of White County closed the debate on the question. He said in part: In presenting this ordinance, Mr. President, I was actuated by the purest motives, and believed its adoption would conduce to best interests of the country. I have listened to the objections which have been urged against its passage, and I still affirm my belief that it should be accepted by this body. I will proceed to assign the reason in favor of its adoption. First, it disorganizes no department of the State government. For that reason, if for no other, in the present condition of the country, we should adopt the present constitution of the State. We know how to govern the State under it, and have just begun to become accustomed to the new order of things established under its provisions. The speaker then proceeded again to show how the State of Arkansas under the constitution of 1864 had already been recognized by the highest judicial authority in the Nation, the Supreme Court, and by the executive department, the truth of which had not been denied by Mr. Brooks. He then proceeded to show that it had been recognized by the legislative department in three instances, and such recognition having been made in the most emphatic way: Sir, Congress has denied that we are possessed of a State government, not otherwise than by the refusal to receive our representatives. But I will show you, on the other hand, that they have in more ways recognized us than they have disregarded us as a duly organized state. They have recognized us by apportioning to us our portion of the direct tax under the constitution of the United States, which provides that such taxes shall be apportioned among the several states in the ratio of representation. Had they apportioned the tax to us on the basis of our representation, they would never have apportioned any, for we have no representation. But by apportioning to us our share of the direct tax, they have recognized us a State. The constitution authorizes no other basis upon which the apportionment can be made. They must have recognized our right to representation in Congress, in order to charge us with the tax. Sir, they have recognized us in other ways. They have submitted to us the proposition to amend the constitution of the United States; the legislature called under this constitution, which I propose we shall re-enact, adopted the amendment so submitted, and that amendment ratified by such authority has been accepted by every department of the national government as validly adopted. I refer, of course, to the amendment abolishing slavery. The vote of Arkansas was counted, in making up the number of states necessary for the ratification of that amendment. Here, then, is the second instance of recognition. Again, Congress recognized us by submitting another proposition, that of the fourteenth amendment, and its adoption has been recommended by the executive of this state. There is the third instance of congressional recognition. I return now to the second instance that I have cited. If the proposition be correct, that the State of Arkansas and other states, which have been in rebellion, were not at the time when the thirteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States was submitted to them for ratification states in the Union, then that amendment was not properly ratified, and has never been adopted. That amendment has been recognized by Congress and by all the departments of the government as duly ratified. Upon the theory of Congress, therefore—if that be indeed their theory—that we have no state government, the negroes of the South have not been freed and are not free today. Sir, Congress simply stultifies itself. We contend that the negroes are free, and that they have been made free through the action of the states lately in rebellion. I presume that no gentleman will say for one moment here that the negroes are still slaves. Nor will any contend that the proclamation of the president set them free. The highest judicial tribunals in the land have rendered their decision to the contrary effect. But even if the proclamation of the President had that effect in law of freeing the negroes, whom it assumed to emancipate, there were still localities— Kentucky and elsewhere—which were expressly excepted from the operation of that proclamation, by the terms of the instrument itself. Assuming now that ours is not a state government de jure, it follows that the slaves in those parts have never been set free. Sir, gentlemen must accept one or the other horn of the dilemma. This was the exercise of the highest power known to the state government, that of amending or altering the constitution of the United States—I say it is the highest power which a state can exercise in its corporate capacity, to assist in amending the organic law of this great, glorious and reverenced republic. Sir, in my opening argument I asked gentlemen to show any authority upon their hypothesis, for the announcement of the ratification of that amendment, and not one has attempted to produce it. All the argument they have brought forward has consisted in the mere allusions to the general history of the country, and in the use of the phrases, "Rebellion," "Secession" and "Disloyalty"—the old cry in times of rebellion. This has comprised the beginning, middle and end of he entire argument offered. I turn from my partial digression to resume the consideration of the argument that we ought not to adopt the present constitution, for the reason that it fails to extend the elective franchise to the negro race, whereas they are entitled to it as a portion of the inhabitants of the country. The very word "franchise," as every lawyer will bear me out in saying, means a particular and not a general right. It is not a right that belongs to everybody. Under the doctrine of Jefferson the elective franchise has been awarded to classes for the purpose of perpetuating a republican form of government and as indispensable to the attainment of that end. It was only reasonable that the privilege of the ballot should be withheld from negroes, or any other class, not citizens of the United States, destitute of the knowledge of the principies of our government, and not by nature qualified to exercise, with sufficient judgment, the privilege of the ballot. That privilege was consequently restricted to white men, citizens of the United States, and twenty-one years of age. That is the class known to all the states as voters. Every man in this house knows that, as a class, young men of the white race, from twelve to twenty-one, are more competent to exercise the right than the negro race of the South. Then why do you propose to enfranchise the negro race as a class, and to keep unenfranchised the class of whites, from twenty down to twelve years of age, knovm to be more intelligent, and to be better informed concerning our form of government? I will tell you, sir. I was told by one of the Republican members of this body yesterday morning. I asked him as a citizen of Arkansas, whose interests are identified with those of the State, "why introduce an element the introduction of which you must know will tend to the ultimate dissolution of the government?" "WE WANT THE NEGRO VOTE TO CONTROL YOU REBELS." Mr. Wyatt (in his seat)—I am the man you were talking to. That's what I want it for (laughter and applause); I want it to control just such men as you. Mr. Cypert — Is it a pure motive? I am not a rebel to the constitution of the United States, nor to the United States government, and never was. I am a rebel to fanaticism (applause from the left of the house). I am a rebel to oppression! I am a rebel against the proscription of my race! I am a rebel against tyrrany forever! (Renewed applause from the left.) But I am loyal to the constitution of the United States; I am loyal to all the powers of our government, and never would violate a law. I have never been; I have never felt otherwise. I rebel against certain politicians; against politicians who have no benefits to extend to their constituents. Is it a pure motive that leads us to seek the aid of ignorance, in order that we may overcome, put down and destroy men whom we consider rebellious? If you oppose Congress and the Republican party you are a "rebel!" Loyalty, in the lexicon of some gentlemen, means fealty to the Republican party—nothing more, nothing less. In radical parlance, if a man opposes the radical party, he is "disloyal." Is the proposition of the gentleman from Searcy (County) a laudable one? Will he admit to the ballot a class universally admitted to be incompetent to exercise intelligently, the elective franchise, simply in order to vent his party spleen upon individuals? Is it laudable or patriotic? Do you love your country better than yourself? Do you desire to perpetuate the institutions of our country to your posterity, or do you propose to keep up commotion and strife within its limits forever? If this is your wish, it is not a patriotic one. The sole desire of the patriot, in civil matters, is for the prosperity of his country—for the transmission to posterity of the institutions handed down to him by the founders of the government. The speaker then called attention of the negro members of the convention to the unconstitutional cotton tax, and told them that while this was a blow aimed by Congress at the South, it really reached the negro, who raised the cotton, and said: Since the time of which I have spoken, you have paid to the United States fifteen dollars on the bale, which is just about as much as cotton now is worth. And that very government, which was unnecessarily imposing that exorbitant tax, pretended all the while to be your devoted friend. If voting costs you fifteen dollars on every bale you raise, don't vote! The speaker then quoted from an English author, showing that wherever the African has attempted self-government, or has been admitted with the white man to equality of control in affairs of government, that the government has been a failure. The author was opposed to slavery, but said that whenever such government had been attempted that the negro was always "a thorn in the side of every such community." Continuing, the speaker said: These are legitimate comparisons, and correspond with the result of my observations of the negro race. The precocity of the negro child is greater than that of the white—I know it from having seen them play together. But the mind of the Caucasian race expands, looks to the future; it leaves edifices behind it, it builds governments and kingdoms, it rears structures that stand forever as monuments to the race. When was that ever done by the African? Where has the negro ever so much as attempted this? Wherever he has made the effort it has been an egregious failure. I speak of classes. The occasional exceptions are remarkable, but I speak of the race as class. The conclusion then at which I arrive is this: Let us afford to them the protection of the law, but let us not give them the privilege, the exercise of which would be their inevitable destruction. Let us not, as Mr. Baker says, continue that thorn in the side of the community. Let us afford them the same protection that our wives and daughters have—the right of liberty, the right of property, and of the pursuit of happiness. Let us accord them the same right enjoyed by the white man under the age of twenty-one. Let them be as minors. They are nothing but minors as yet; and when they have proven to a dispassionate people that they constitute a fit element for incorporation in our political body, it will then be ample time to bring them in. Why ask the State of Arkansas to do that which has not been done by the states, where the resident negroes have not so recently been given their freedom? In those states the negro is much more competent to exercise the elective franchise than with us. They are better educated. Many of the most undoubtedly loyal States of the Union have but recently, on an issue distinctly presented, refused to extend the franchise to a class of blacks decidedly more intelligent than those of Arkansas. Why ask us to do it? It can be from no motives other than those avowed by the gentleman from Searcy (County). I have hoped that the majority of the convention were not ready to act from so impure and prejudiced a motive, a motive prompted by the worst passions of human nature. Sir, let us extend to these erring brothers who went into the rebellion the hand of forgiveness. Let us not do another wrong for the wrong they have done. Let us not affix a punishment to a crime not known to the law when the law was made. If we do so we violate the constitution of the United States, and the oath imposed upon us to support that constitution. We took that oath. I took it gladly, for I love the constitution of the United States. I will not violate that oath by my consent to an ex post facto law. I had intended to say more, but my physical strength is failing and I will have to desist. But I must appeal to the citizens of Arkansas, I must appeal to you for the sake of posterity, in the name of everything that is sacred to an American citizen, not rashly to allow your prejudices to run you into madness. I appeal to you in the name of our common country, in the name of God, who has set His stamp upon the different races of mankind—let us not do a thing which God himself in his revelation of nature has forbidden. Let us not attempt to render homogeneous races essentially dissimilar and unequal. Our fathers made a government for the white man. Let us govern it. Let us not have forever a thorn in our own side—a bone of contention in our midst. I want the negroes to prosper. But I know as long as we hold them among us, and keep them as a bone of contention in our political affairs, they will remain a thorn in our side. I do believe that the inevitable result of the rule of the radical party will be the devastation of our country and utter ruin to the African race among us. The question submitted by the ordinance of Mr. Cypert, to readopt the constitution of 1864, was defeated by a vote of 53 to 10, the following voting in the affirmative: Messrs. Cypert, Duvall, Gantt, Hicks, Hoge, Owen, Reynolds, Shoppach, Walker and Wright. There was an election contest, from Ashley County, and Messrs, Norman and Moore had not been seated when this vote was taken. They were afterwards seated, and acted with the conservatives throughout the session. Constitutional Convention of 1868 During the sitting of the convention, or, to be explicit, on January 30, 1868, Mr. J. L. Hodges of Pulaski, late of New York, lessee of the penitentiary, and representing Pulaski County in the convention, desired to "start something." He succeeded. He threw the bomb that started the trouble and it exploded at the feet of Col. J. M. Bradley of Bradley, late of the Confederate States Army. It was following telegram, which somehow had crept into the proceedings of the Secession Convention, in 1861, and was now read with exceeding great relish by the gentleman from Pulaski, formerly of New York. (BY TELEGRAM FROM PINE BLUFF.) May 9, 1861. To Governor H. M. Rector: Steamboat Arago is owned by her papers in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and has one hundred tons provisions, belonging to owners. Shall we confiscate her here? Plenty of good Southern steamboatmen here to take her where you want her, free of charge. Capt. Jno. M. Bradley. Now be it remembered that from the date of the above message the State of Arkansas had just seceded from the Union, and was just three days old as a "Free and Independent State," and from a Southern point of view the unfortunate owners of the steamer Arago were citizens of a foreign state with which we were supposed to be at war, and Captain Bradley, as a zealous military officer of the State of Arkansas, was strictly within his belligerent rights in suggesting that she be confiscated in the name of the free and independent State of Arkansas. But it seems that Governor Rector and the Secession Convention thought more of the private rights of the owners than they did of their privileges as belligerents, and the boat was released and allowed to pursue her peaceful voyage back to Pittsburg and safety. However, Colonel Bradley of Bradley had no apologies to offer Mr. Hodges or the convention of 1868 for his action or advice in the matter, but bluntly told them that in his opinion "Governor Rector and the convention acted very foolishly" in allowing her to escape. "If they had taken his advice they would have been a steamboat better off." But Colonel Bradley was not allowed to forget his connection with this steamboat episode during the session of the convention of 1868. A few days after the finance committee of which Mr. McClure of Arkansas County was chairman made a report which further widened the breach between the gentleman from Bradley and the radicals of the convention. This report, which was very long and abusive, charged that those in authority in the State of Arkansas before the Civil War had been guilty of numerous derelictions in the management of the finances of the State, and denounced it as "a system of financiering known only to thieves and robbers without conscience." Now, as before stated in the beginning of this article, the conservative members of the convention, as a rule, had been members of the minority party before the war, and doubtless had seen proper themselves to criticise the management of the state finances, in those days, and very few of them seemed to care about what Mr. McClure's committee said, anyway, as the future finances of the State interested them more than what had transpired in the past. Not so with Colonel Bradley of Bradley, however. He championed the cause of the ante helium statesman of Arkansas. He attacked Messrs. Brooks, McClure and Hodges. Mr. Moore of Ashley entered a mild protest against the language of the report, saying in the conclusion of a very conservative statement. I had hoped that the gentleman who asks the adoption of this report would at least have declined to vote for its adoption, as it is, in point of fact, ridiculous. It is a burning shame to send out such a monstrous production. I repeat the expression of my hope, that gentlemen will reflect well before they commit themselves to its sanction. If they are going to stay in Arkansas, if they are going to become Constitutional Convention of 1868 identified with us, for God's sake let us wipe out the past, and do our present and pressing duty. Mr. Brooks of Phillips replied to Mr. Moore in a very bitter speech, in which he charged that the leaders of the dominant party in Arkansas had brought on secession in the effort to conceal their mismanagement of the State finances, and in the course of his remarks said: Were it admissible here, sir, to employ the name of Deity so frequently as has been done upon the other side, we, too, might say—great God! that a man has the brass— not the copper merely, sir, not the copper head nor the face alone, but the brass—to stand up in this hall and ask what party precipitated this debt upon the country—what portion of the people desolated the land. Who drenched it in blood? Who desolated these homes? Who destroyed this property, private and public? Who consumed the heart and ate out the vitals of the material interests of this country? Was it the Union men of Arkansas? Are they the party chargeable with all this ruin? New citizens or old citizens, "carpetsack men" or "brush-breakers" are they the ones who precipitated this condition of affairs? As to whether the Republican party in Arkansas or elsewhere—the Union party, the Union men of Arkansas—precipitated the national debt, and brought this condition of financial ruin upon the State, let the people themselves answer. We have not so understood it. Or if these gentlemen here and now want to assume this load and attempt to. carry it—if they now, at this period, desire to come to the rescue, and do up the dirty work of the old defunct dynasty of secession, rebellion and civil war, I welcome them to the task, give them good cheer of their new affiliations, and hope they will have a happy honeymoon! (Laughter and applause.) But if the conservative members were disposed to be mild in their defense of the conduct of affairs in Arkansas prior to the war, the gentleman from Bradley was not willing to allow such criticisms to pass without notice. He replied to them in language that more than matched them in invective and bitterness. In the course of his reply he said: But, sir, I scorn with indignation and contempt, in the report of this beautiful committee or elsewhere, any insinuation upon the honor, the integrity, the intelligence of the people who live—who have lived—in the State of Arkansas. Ah, sirs, what citizen of Arkansas feels other emotion than that of pride in recalling the name that is found first upon the annals of your Supreme Bench (turning to Judge Ringo, who stood in the lobby) or of the present occupants, or of all the intermediate list of its honored judges? But, ah, that bench of the future! When I gaze upon its prospects I blush! When I see that audacity that does not hesitate to come forward and denounce the judicial proceedings of the State for thirty-two years, I ask—Modesty! Modesty! art thou banished? hast thou left the land? art thou a spectator in the convention hall? Echo answers, No! (Laughter.) For God's sake, be more modest and more respectful, and show that your strength lies in the force of facts and not in your terms of expression. You can not make me, you can not make Arkansas a thief by saying so. Lawyers rise and argue cases for hours, but you do not expect that the lawyer who argues the case will give the verdict. Mr. Hodges of Pulaski—Did not the gentleman state upon the floor that if the Confederate Government had taken his advice, they would have stolen another Northern steamboat? Mr. Bradley—Yes, I said that Governor Rector and the convention had acted very foolishly; that if they had taken my advice they would have been a steamboat better off. But what figure does that cut in the case? If such taunts as that are taken for argument— Mr. Hodges of Pulaski—It was a suggestion that came to my mind—hearing so much said about— Mr. Bradley—I would hate to be responsible for all the suggestions that came to your mind. (Laughter.) I resume my remarks. Sir, I have traveled over the mountains of Arkansas; I know her people—the most Constitutional Convention of 1868 generous, hospitable, noble-hearted people I ever saw, in any country, lived here within her borders and live here today. Society has been slightly adulterated, I confess; but we can not help that (Laughter.) We are told, sir, in this report that the system of financiering pursued in this State has been one that could be "known only to thieves and robbers." Well, it was never known until that committee found it out! That is all that I have to say on that point. (Laughter.) I have almost given up my hopes for this country. As I have sat here and listened to the debates, and witnessed the proceedings, I have sometimes been ready to go to the water's edge—my friend Gantt is missing—as the Gazette said of him, I have felt like exclaiming, "Oh, that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people!" Mr. Brooks—Who slew them? As the gentleman is going to weep for the slain, I would ask him who slew them? Mr. Bradley—(Pointing to Mr. Brooks' large features.) They were slain by the instrument that the Philistines fell by! And, sir, their ranks are falling today as the weapon sweeps. This last sally brought forth roars of laughter, in which Mr. Brooks joined. Continuing, the speaker said: I want decency observed—"Let all things be done decently and in order" and "Let us have charity one for another." I am a sort of apostatized minister of the Gospel (laughter), and expected to have been reinstated by the association of the gentleman from Phillips (Mr. Brooks). But the way he gnashes his teeth does not harmonize with the thirteenth chapter of Corinthians. (Renewed laughter.) It does not manifest the same charity that Paul says, "suffereth long and is kind, envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." Continuing, Mr. Bradley urged the convention to throw aside party feeling and legislate for the good of the State. He said: Sir, let us not legislate for party. When the question comes up, for decision to save the party or the country, I would send the party to hell if necessary to save the country and save my people. I never can sit quietly when the least insinuation or reflection comes from strange lips upon "the slain of the daughters of my people." Let me inform you, sir, that at the coming day, the prophet may shake his rod over the valley of dry bones— may yet say to these dry bones LIVE. And a voice from the North—from Ohio, and Connecticut, from Pennsylvania, and New York—may come rushing like the peals of thunder, and say, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And the dry bones shall stand forth and be covered with flesh, and shall breathe and speak! I anticipate, sir, that these extreme measures, this radical policy, shall arouse a feeling of sympathy in the North, for the people of their own race, flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone that shall come to our rescue, and that, in the morning of the resurrection of the just, Arkansas—Thievish Arkansas, Robbing Arkansas—will rise and come forth clothed with the garment of righteousness—when she shall have been purged and purified from the political adventurers and invaders, who have desecrated the State and poured infamy and condemnation on her own citizens, her sons and daughters. You insult Heaven— there is a recording angel that frowns and writes, and writes and frowns; and you will remembefr when you come to judgment, the Scripture which says: "All things whatsoever that ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." I say I can not sit still and hear these things and be silent. I do not think that there is silence in Heaven this morning about them. (Some laughter on the right.) No, sir, the guardian angel which hovers over the graves of the sacred dead, whose ashes are slandered and insulted with the baseless and foul insinuations carries back the tidings to the upper skies, and proclaims that darkness still pervades the deep, and sinners inhabit the earth! (General laughter.) But Arkansas is destined to rise superior to her misfortunes. She will oust the radical wing. She is destined, sir to another and more glorious career. God has intended it He has filled her bowels with boundless wealth; he has striped her with rivers; He will check her with railroads, and He will people her with noble spirits who will represent and vindicate her honor, her integrity, and her intelligence. And if strangers and aliens and pilgrims, that know not God and obey not His gospel, shall desecrate her soil, shall insult her sons and daughters, her legitimate children, I believe that in the resurrection of the just she shall yet reassert herself, and stand forth, purged of their slanders, a brilliant and honored bride. (To Mr. Hodges of Pulaski.) Anything more "suggested" to you about that steamboat? You have had it up now three times. Have it up again— Well, if the gentleman has no more to offer on that subject I will close by saying that I hope this is the last time such a report as this will be brought in here. (To Mr. McCIure, chairman of the committee of finance.) For Heaven's sake, never bring in one if you can't make it a better report—let Mason and White of Phillips (negroes) make it out for you! (Laughter.) They can do it—they have displayed statesmanship, they have displayed dignity, they have shown a promptitude in that minority report on the penitentiary that commends them to all good men. And if they had had the subject of finance under consideration I believe we would have had a report which would not have consumed all this morning in discussion. I say that with all due respect. Mr. Kyle—I have listened to the very able and warm speeches we have had from the two clerical gentlemen who have last addressed the convention (Messrs. Brooks and Bradley) (laughter), and I think it might have been well for them to have called mourners. (Renewed laughter.) Mr. Bradley (in his seat)—I will call yet if you say so. Mr. Kyle—I think we would have had a happy time, sir! A few moments after Mr. Hodges of Pulaski asked leave to read a speech of Mr. Bradley of Bradley delivered in Little Rock the preceding September, in which he criticised the conservative party in rather severe terms. The conservative members objected, but the speech was read, over their objections. Mr. Bradley denied the correctness of the report of the speech, and Mr. Brooks then offered to prove by the editor, Mr. Price, secretary of the convention, that the report was correct. Mr. Cypert objected to such an unprecedented proceeding, and Mr. Brooks withdrew his motion according the editor the privileges of the floor. This ended all connection that Mr. Bradley had with the majority side, and he came over to the conservatives on nearly every proposition. From this time on there were numerous other defections among the "scalawag" wing of the radical party—none from the carpetbaggers or the negroes. But as the "scalawags" remaining saw their comrades desert them, those who remained became more bitter, and of all members of the convention this class was most despised by a majority of the conservatives. The committee who had in charge the arrangement and phraseology of the constitution made their final report, and the debate on its adoption proceeded. Messrs. Moore and Norman of Ashley County were the chief speakers against the adoption of the same and Mr. Brooks of Phillips and Mr. Hinds of Pulaski were its ablest champions. Lack of space will require that the report of the remarks made must consist of short extracts from the same. Mr. Norman—Nothing so pointedly distinguishes us from the brute as the desire to live in favorable memory of those who are to come after us. The man of noble instincts feels that "it is not all of life to live, nor all of death to die." How forcibly this truth ought to impress itself upon the mind of every member of this convention! The work which we are doing is not for a party, nor for the fleeting life of a day. Possibly our children's children will bless us for our patriotic, wise, prudent, far-seeing statesmanship, or mayhap they may damn us through all the coming years of time, for our folly, our partisanship, our wilful disregard of the teachings of history and the lessons of our Creator, inscribing upon our humble tombstones, "They gave to party what was meant for mankind." An intelligent and observing stranger from a remote country would be utterly astonished at the excitement, the turmoil, the angry and bitter contentions which agitate the public mind. Uncertainty, despair, forebodings and "chimeras dire" hold their unwelcome revellings in all our bosoms, and, like Banquo's ghost, will not down at our bidding. "Why," asks this uninformed stranger "all this? Why is business prostrated ? Why this great financial crisis, while the issues of greenbacks are as thick as the 'leaves that strew the vale of Vallambrosa?' Why are Jeremiahs and prophets of evil everywhere, weeping over our disasters or warning us of the future?" Our unsophisticated stranger who makes all these pertinent inquiries will be astonished to know that the now dominant party, fishing in the broad ocean of chance, for a new lease of power and plunder, could have hooked a scheme, so falsely named, and so fatally pregnant with mischief. RECONSTRUCTION is the word—which is only to be effected by the aid of African votes. This is the great sun before which all other issues and matters political and social "pale their ineffectual fire." The broad and startling proposition is announced to the world that no government can be made in these Southern States loyal and true without the aid of negro votes. Every white man who puts his fist to that clause of the proposed constitution signs a libel upon his race, and sanctions a wrong which he must know is unwarranted and unwarrantable. They themselves know as well as they know that God is in Heaven and the Devil in hell, that if there had been no negro votes in the South to help lift to office and to plunder, we would have been long ago without any aid of theirs, the most beautifully reconstructed political fabric under the broad cerulean canopy. (Applause on the left.) 0, how fatal is the spirit of party! It is now seeking to tear down a beautiful Corinthian temple, and erect in its stead a rude and disfigured fabric, with unhewn and shapeless material from Dahomey and the Nile! I tell you today, Mr. President, this opposition will grow stronger and stouter, with the developments of each returning day, and the time is not distant when all those who have attempted to degrade their own race will call upon the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them, to hide them from the wrath and indignation of an injured people. We are hourly told that the State must have reconstruction, in order that peace, prosperity and quiet should follow in its wake. Is there any sensible, honest Arkansas Republican longer to be deceived by so gross and patent a falsehood? Look at the horrid and wicked oath which the proposed constitution requires to be taken, and do you really believe that there is any honest desire to reconstruct the State government upon honorable and just terms? Like Mr. Cypert of White and Mr. Bradley of Bradley, Mr. Norman now made his appeal to the "scalawags": How basely have the Union men of Arkansas been betrayed ! How have all their assertions been belied and falsified. How have all their hopes been disappointed! We believe that Arkansas could not secede—that Arkansas, once a State was always a State; that rebellion had abolished slavery, but not all the rights and privileges of American citizens; that to have been a slave and an African did not fit men for the high duties of statesmanship. Yet such are the dreadful teachings of the hour. Such are the solemn declarations, sought to be incorporated in the fundamental law of one of the once proud states of the American Union! (Mr. Geo. W. Norman, the delegate who delivered the above notable speech is yet living (August, 1917), at Hamburg, Ashley county, at the age of ninety years. Born in the State of Georgia in 1827, he was graduated from the State University of that State, in 1849, with first honors of his class; admitted to the bar in Georgia in 1851; emigrated to Arkansas in 1869, and has practiced law here since that time. In 1862 he was elected to the State Senate from Ashley, Drew and Chicot counties, but that Legislature did not convene because it was prevented by the Federal authorities. In 1874 he was again elected to the State Senate, at the same time that Garland was elected Governor. Has not since held office, but has served as Special Judge in Ashley and adjoining counties. The circumstances under which this speech was delivered were not very encouraging. For several days the weather had been dark, rainy and foggy, typical of the gloom that was settling over Arkansas; within the.Convention hall, the smoky kerosene lamps had been supplemented by a few flickering candles. The lobbies, galleries, and at times the aisles, of the hall were crowded with noisy negroes, who remained all during the night session to witness the triumph of their cause. On the floor of the Convention, he was confronted by a hostile and triumphant majority. There was little to inspire a great speech, but Mr. Norman rose to the occasion and delivered one of the greatest ever heard in the old State House. So full of classical allusions, and historical illustrations, as well as prophecies afterward fulfilled, and yet so free from the personalities, which too often marred the proceedings, it is small wonder that it won the applause of his friends, but even gained the support of several of those who had opposed him.) I must appeal to you again, men of Arkansas—men whose destinies, whose all, are identified with our young and noble state. Will you let passion and prejudice, and the bitter memories of the past, warp your better judgment and blind your minds? "Whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad." By oaths, by gerrymandering, by means as detestable as they are unjust, three-fourths of the white people of Arkansas are deprived of voice in their own government. You who can endorse that iniquity have stouter hearts than he who leads the forlorn hope or faces the booming cannon. For I assure you, the indignation, the frowns, the curse, the just and damning denunciation of a betrayed, hopeless and despairing people will haunt you to dishonored graves. Come out from among them, then, my brothers of Arkansas ! "For while the light holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return." (Laughter.) The angry passion of the day must soon give place to reason, and the wicked purpose to plunder, wither before the sunlight of truth! The people of the United States, and a coming Congress, will yet do us justice, and strike the manacles from our limbs. I want us all to be brothers. I want that glorious old banner to be again the emblem of our national unity and brotherhood. But, sir, if that constitution upon your table becomes the law of the land, erase forever from the flag the star of Arkansas, and widen, and deepen, and lengthen the stripe, as a perpetual memorial of her degradation and her sorrows. Mr. Moore of Ashley, colleague of the last speaker, Mr. Norman, followed him. Though not so eloquent as Mr. Norman, he was more bitter. In the course of his remarks he had a colloquy with several of the radical members, among them Mr. Brooks of Phillips, who was decidedly the "whip" of the radicals throughout the session. He asked that gentleman the question: Let me turn to my apostolic friends, who propose to live under the Bible, as the man of their counsel. Let me ask them, in all good conscience, if they can do this thing? I imagine they would shirk it, unless they are the sort of people who do not know the Bible, nor its teachings. Mr. Brooks—Does the gentleman refer to that part of the Bible which says, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth?" (Laughter.) Mr. Moore — Yes, sir. I mean to refer to that part of the Bible, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," and I mean to refer to that other part of the Bible that forbids a lie. I did not come here to swear a lie. And were I to assist in proposing to the people of Arkansas a constitution that would enfranchise the African — or emancipated descendant of Africans, in these Southern States, if you will have it that way—I would be doing violence to the obligation I took, and every honest man would be doing violence to that obligation by taking such a course. If we vote for the enfranchisement of the negro, we violate that sacred oath, for we violate the constitution of the United States. This closing debate on the adoption of the constitution had progressed far into the night. Mr. Bradley of Bradley had given notice that he wished to speak on the question; several of the "scalawags" had grown restless under the eloquent appeal of Mr. Norman to the "Men of Arkansas," and indicated that they intended to break the caucus pledge, and vote against the instrument. So a vote was ordered by the majority party in the convention, and each member was allowed five minutes to explain his vote. None of the conservatives availed themselves of this opportunity, for the reason as given by Mr. C. W. Walker of Washington: Mr. Walker (when his name was called) — Were I to enumerate all the objectionable features in that instrument I should consume all the rest of the night—it is already far spent. I do not think that any explanation of my vote is necessary — at least not in this body. My constituents will demand no explanation from me why I voted against that constitution, for I consider it such a thing as no respectable white man could vote for. I therefore vote, NO (applause on the left). The conservatives contented themselves with presenting the following protest offered by Mr. Gantt of Prairie: We, the undersigned delegates to the constitutional convention, do hereby protest against the above and foregoing constitution, and decline to endorse and sign it, as the same, in our opinion, is anti-republican, proscriptive, and destructive of the rights, liberties, and privileges of the people of this State. This was signed by J. N. Cypert and Thomas Owen, delegates from White County; W. W. Adams of Izard, C. W. Walker and J. N. Hoge of Washington, Geo. W. Norman and W. D. Moore from Ashley, W. W. Reynolds from Benton, J. A. Corbell from Sevier, R. S. Gantt and W. F. Hicks from Prairie, James H. Shoppach from Saline, Joseph Wright of Carroll, Bouldin Duvall of Lawrence and John M. Bradley of Bradley. Mr. Gantt asked that it be appended to the constitution, but the request was refused. It will be observed that the name of Colonel Bradley of Bradley is signed to the above declaration, but evidently the mild protest contained in these few lines did not fully accord with his lurid ideas. His recent conversion to the conservative side had been a thorough, if not a happy one. His fiery soul refused to be quenched with any such mild declaration as that. He sent to the secretary's desk the following burning message to posterity: I ask to bequeath to my posterity no greater boon than to record my vote against that damnable engine of oppression and ruin. I ask my language to be cut in a rock, and lead poured into the letters, to stand forever. I vote nay - John M. Bradley. He accompanied this declaration with a five-minutes speech, and surely no address of that length ever contained so much of invective, denunciation and scriptural quotations as the words he hurled at his former friends and recent foes. A few extracts are given: I must, as a man who has spent his time and influence, and everything he had and was, in favoring a plan of reconstruction, under the military bill, and who came in good faith, expecting to assist in the compromise of all these great questions, growing out of the proposition for negro suffrage, say that now when I come to the last extremity, and find myself engorged with monstrosities—when I find a document which, if one could put on exhibition, throughout the United States, would make his fortune, as the rarest specimen of human production, ever known or heard of in all Christendom—I am compelled to oppose its adoption. God and angels know that I am not trifling with this question! But, gentlemen, after all this—in the name of God, in the name of your fathers and mothers, and of your sons who sleep in the graves of heroes, in the name of your children and those of your neighbors, I ask you if you propose to thrust in the same common school, with your child and mine, the children of the negro? You insult the unfortunate people of Arkansas! I say it insults Heaven! And I say tonight, before my God, that no honest man, be he black or white, advocates such a measure; and I am responsible for what I say. I ask the gentleman (Mr. Brooks), who moved this evening the suspension of the rules, that this instrument be introduced here—have you ever read those passages of Holy Writ which says, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which Constitutional Convention of 1868 despitefully use you and persecute you"—"Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also"? Do you propose to trample under your feet the bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh? Can you look upon the burning throne before which you shall stand, not only as a minister of the Gospel, but as a representative of your race, and face the record you make in this hall? I blush—your wife and children will blush—to see your record and read it in the face of future generations. I claim to be a Christian man, I was born in a Christian land; I have read the Bible and subscribed to its doctrines. I love it! I bind it with its teachings to my bosom—Mr. Williams—I call the gentleman to time. (Cries of leave.) Objection was made, and what further use the gentleman proposed to make of the sacred volume is lost to history. Now, Mr. Brooks was a true sportsman, though a bad loser six years after. He asked leave as follows: Mr. Brooks—I hope the gentleman will be allowed, by consent, to proceed. But under objection the gentleman took his seat. Mr. Brooks, when he came to reply on the roll call to Mr. Bradley, dropped the sarcastic tone that he had so often indulged in during the session and replied in the most solemn manner to the attacks that had been made on him by the gentleman from Bradley: Mr. Brooks—I regret, and all gentlemen regret, that we were unable to reconcile all the conditions and conflicting views of the friends of reconstruction. (Referring to the desertion of some of the "scalawags.") But I hope the country at large will understand the position, assumed on this floor during the progress of the convention, and especially this evening, by the members of the opposition, in this body. The assaults which they have made, they have simply made because they are opposed to all reconstruction; as I might amply prove by the documents which I hold in my hand, and from which, did time allow, I would be gratified to read while they appeal to the people against the civil and political equality of the colored race with the white, with all the eloquence of the gentleman from Bradley (Mr. Bradley), who has given in recent adherence, in toto, to the opposition, and declared that he had been all the time with the "White Man's Party," the fundamental principle of whose doctrine is opposition to reconstruction, and who make such obligation obligatory upon all the members of their party. Mr. Bradley—I never said any such thing. The President—The chair insists that gentlemen must not be interrupted. Mr. Brooks—I hope that every Republican member of this convention will vote with a distinct understanding, and with the issue distinctly presented to their minds, that gentlemen—a portion of them—who vote against this constitution, whatever may have been their professions, will vote as they have pledged themselves to vote, simply because they are opposed to all reconstruction. The position of other gentlemen, we, of course, understand, is taken on principle. They are opposed to the great cardinal principle upon which reconstruction and this constitution are based, namely, the equality of all men before the law. I have not had the opportunity to address myself to that question, and I regret that none of us has had the opportunity to do so. But I do not blush to face my wife and daughters, nor the great judgment seat for my vote tonight, in favor of the freedom and equal privilege of all men. I vote aye. (Applause.) Notwithstanding this earnest appeal to the "scalawags" to stand to their guns, nearly every one of them who responded by their votes for the constitution had some criticism to offer against the instrument. Several came over to the so-called opposition and cast their vote against it, being welcomed by hearty "Amens" from the gentleman from Bradley. Mr. Grey, the eloquent colored member from Phillips, in casting his vote gained the good will of the Southern members by his mild demeanor, so different from the bitterness that marked the closing hours of the session. He said in closing: I was in hopes when I came to Little Rock that the time had dawned, so beautifully illustrated by the ladies in Columbia, Mississippi, some months ago, when, in strewing flowers upon the graves of the dead heroes of the war, they made no distinction between those who had fought in the two opposing ranks. He then repeated two verses of Francis M. Finch's poem, closing with the lines: "Under the blossoms, the Blue, Under the garlands, the Gray." The poem was new at that time, although very familiar now, and doubtless this was the first time it had been quoted in a public address in Arkansas. The final roll call was ordered, under the rules, and the result was "for the constitution" 45 votes, and against the adoption, 21. Those voting against the adoption were as follows: W. W. Adams, William A. Beasley, John M. Bradley, Joseph H. Corbel, J. N. Cypert, Boldin Duvall, Robert S. Gantt, William F. Hicks, Anthony Hinkle, James M. Hoge, Samuel J. Mathews, W. D. Moore, George W. Norman, James P.Portis, R. G. Puntney, W. W. Reynolds, James H. Shoppach, R. C. Van Hook, Charles W. Walker, Ira L. Wilson, Joseph Wright. Total, 21. All of the above named refused to sign the constitution, with the exception of Mr. Hinkle of Conway, who signed afterward. The names of the members who voted for the adoption can be found appended to the constitution of 1868. Mr. Owen of White was unavoidably absent, so his name does not appear on either list. As the result was announced, it was received with "loud applause on the floor and with vehement and prolonged cheers from the galleries and lobbies," which had been crowded with negroes during the long hours of the night. Mr. Brooks clinched the matter by moving to reconsider the vote and to table that motion, which was also carried and greeted with loud cheers from the galleries, whereupon, Mr. Cypert remarked: I have had a little experience in revolutionary movements. Six years ago I heard just such a clamor from those galleries as I heard a while ago. It shocked me then—it shocks me now. Mr. Brooks —I am sorry for the gentleman's nerves, but I think he will feel better pretty shortly. (Laughter.) And with this last tilt between those two, the constitution of 1868 started out on its troubled voyage. The gentleman from White referred to the Secession Convention of 1861, of which he had been a member more than six years before. If Mr. Brooks could have looked forward another six years he would have realized in the full the forebodings of the other. He would have seen himself in the midst of a revolution of his own making, on this same spot—barricaded with his negro troops, in the Old State House,82 and surrounded by hostile troops—when there was "mounting in hot haste" throughout Arkansas, and fast-flying trains were bringing other men of a race who came "With the fierce native daring which instills The stirring memory of a thousand years." And then came his call on the President for Federal troops (the last resort of the Southern carpet-bagger), the refusal, and then—surrender. These two met again for the last time during the session of the convention of 1874, when strange changes had come over the fortunes of both. The one was a member of that convention, again from White County, and was entering upon a new career of honor and usefulness little dreamed of in 1868; the other was preparing to prosecute his contest for the governor's office in Congress, doomed to failure, as it seems that all his undertakings in Arkansas were doomed. Of all the careers in Arkansas that of Mr. Brooks seems the most pathetic. He was a better man than Ames of Mississippi, Kellogg of Louisiana or Clayton of Arkansas; it was not his fault that the times were so sadly out of joint when he came to Arkansas; his mistake was in believing that he was born to set them right. He has done the State some service, though they know it not. In his campaign for governor in 1872 he "went through the State like a fiery cross, denouncing Clayton and Dorsey, and all of them, telling the people if they would elect him governor he would fill the jail so full of them that their legs would stick out of the windows." He called the attention of the people, as no other man could have done, to the corruption that existed in State affairs at that time. And finally he precipitated a conflict that hastened by two years the awakening of the people from the long nightmare of reconstruction in Arkansas, a period filled with "Loyal Leagues" and "Ku Klux Klans," and "militia wars." In doing this, he placed himself outside the law, and those great lawyers, Garland and Rose, did not fail to avail themselves of it, and the people of Arkansas did not hesitate, when they knew that they had both law and right on their side. The question may be asked why so much space has been devoted to Mr. Brooks. The answer is that this is a history of the constitutional convention of 1868, and he was the convention. No one can doubt this who reads the debates and proceedings of that body. He stood sponsor for the constitution at its birth; he was its ablest defender during the six years of its troubled existence, and was finally its victim, for it was a little clause of a section in that constitution, providing that the legislature should be the tribunal; before which contests for governor should be tried that proved his final undoing. He sowed to the wind in 1868; he reaped the whirlwind in 1874. So far as the writer is informed, there are only two men now living who were members of this convention — Mr, J. H. Shoppach, then a member from Saline County, who has for years been a familiar figure in the circuit court room at Little Rock, and Mr. C. W. Walker of Washington, an honored resident of Fayetteville. Loved and honored by the people among whom they have dwelled through long years, they are the survivors of a heroic age in Arkansas.