stitution of the United States, as it now is or as it would be by the proposed amendment, and the exercise of such power is protested against by the State of Alabama.

Mr. Bethea introduced the following as a

1819 to 1861, to show, "that as a peaceful and quiet member of the Federal Union, we had grown from an infant State, to one of greatness, wealth, and power. Our growth was gradual,

Be it further Resolved, That this amendment to the Constitution of the United States is adopted by the Legislature of Alabama, with the understanding that it does not confer upon Congress the power to legislate upon the political status of freedmen in this

State.

The propriety of adopting this amendment was discussed by several members, and the question being taken, by yeas and nays, it was adopted-yeas, 75; nays, 15.

An act was passed to provide for the more effectual distribution of food to the destitute families in the State, and also the following act to protect freedmen in their rights of person and property:

Be it enacted, &c., That all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, shall have the right to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in all the different and various courts of this State, to the same extent that white persons now have by law; and they shall be competent to testify only in open court, and only in cases in which freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes are parties, either plaintiff or defendant, and in civil and criminal cases for injuries in the persons and property of freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, and in all cases, civil or criminal, in which under this act a freedman, free negro or mulatto is a witness against a white person, or a white person against a freedman, free negro or mulatto, the parties shall be competent witnesses, and neither interest in the question in suit, nor marriage, shall disqualify any witness from testifying in open court.

An act concerning apprentices was adopted, which authorizes the probate courts of each county to apprentice all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes under the age of eighteen years, who were orphans, or whose parent or parents have not the means, or who refuse to provide for and support such minors. The act contains provisions for the protection of both master and apprentice, and allows any freedman, free negro or mulatto having a minor child or children to apprentice the same. An act was also passed to regulate contracts with freedmen, and to enforce the same. It grants the right to contract to all freedmen; requires all contracts for a longer period than one month to be in writing and subscribed in presence of two white citizens. It prescribes penalties in damages for the non-performance of the contract, and makes every freedman who runs away or abandons the service he agreed to perform, without good cause, guilty of a misdemeanor, and liable on conviction, to forfeit his wages and become subject to the vagrant laws. A large number of acts respecting local affairs were introduced and considered or adopted, and about the 15th of December the Legislature took a recess to January 15th, 1866.

11th of January, 1861, "we were brought to a sudden and violent halt in our proud and rapid march on the high road to prosperity and happiness." My judgment did not approve of either the doctrine or act of secession." "But while firmly entertaining this opinion, I deemed it a duty as a citizen of Alabama, to yield a peaceful obedience to what had been done." The act of secession, he states, caused from 35,000 to 45,000 of her brave sons to perish in the service, and the "loss in actual and substantial wealth of at least $500,000,000!" "I think we may all profit much by contrasting the prosperity and happiness which our country enjoyed at the beginning of the recent war, with its present crippled and almost ruined condition."

66

The Governor then reviews and commends the President's policy, which has been unhesitatingly accepted by the people of Alabama. He says: We may rightfully claim, therefore, that our State is fully entitled to be placed in that position in the Union where she will stand as the political equal of any other State under the Federal Constitution."

With reference to emancipation, he said: "The extinction of slavery is one of the inevitable results of the war." "We will not only extend to the freedman all his legitimate rights, but will throw around him such effective safeguards as will secure him in their full and complete enjoyment." "At the same time it must be understood that, politically and socially, ours is a white man's government. In the future, as has been the case in the past, the State affairs of Alabama inust be guided and controlled by the superior intelligence of the white man. The negro must also be made to realize that freedom does not mean idleness or vagrancy. Emancipation has not left him where he can live without work."

On December 18th the Secretary of State, at Washington, sent the following despatch to the Provisional Governor, Parsons:

SIR: The time has arrived, in the judgment of the President of the United States, when the care and conduct of the proper affairs of the State of Alabama may be remitted to the constitutional authorities chosen by the people thereof, without danger to the peace and safety of the United States.

By direction of the President of the United States, heretofore reposed in you as Provisional Governor therefore, you are relieved from the trust which was of the State of Alabama, whenever the Governor elect shall have accepted and become qualified to discharge the duties of the executive office. You will in your custody to his Excellency the Governor transfer the papers and property of the State now elect.

ministration.

I have the honor to be, your Excellency's most obedient servant, WM. H. SEWARD. On the same day the Secretary addressed the following despatch to the newly inaugurated Governor, Patton:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 1865. SIR-By direction of the President, I have the honor herewith to transmit to you a copy of a communication which has been addressed to his Excellency Lewis E. Parsons, late Provisional Governor of Alabama, whereby he has been relieved of the trust heretofore reposed in him, and directed to deliver into your Excellency's possession the papers and property relating to that trust.

I have the honor to tender you the cooperation of the Government of the United States whenever it may be found necessary in effecting the early restoration and the permanent prosperity and welfare of the State over which you have been called to preside.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, WM. H. SEWARD.

At the close of hostilities and the recognition of emancipatic by the white inhabitants, the freedmen, in large numbers, left the plantations and resorted to the cities. Of this class a meeting was held in the neighborhood of Mobile, on Sunday, August 13th, of which the "Advertiser" of that city gave the following report:

Nine hundred of them assembled to consider their condition, their rights and duties under the new state of existence upon which they have been so suddenly launched. Our informant was surprised at the hard, practical sense and moderation of tone with which the spokesmen of the meeting urged their views. After long talk and careful deliberation, this meeting resolved, by a vote of seven hundred voices to two hundred, that they had made a practical trial for three months of the freedom which the war has bequeathed to them; that its realities were far from being so flattering as their imagination had painted it; that they had discovered that the prejudices of color were by no means confined to the people of the South, but, on the contrary, that it was stronger and more marked against them in the strangers from the North, than in the home people of the South, among whom they had been reared; that negroes, no more than white men, can live without work, or be comfortable without homes; that their northern deliverers from bondage had not, as they had expected and been taught to expect, undertaken to provide for their happy existence in their new state of freedom, and that their old masters had ceased to take any interest in them or have a care for them; and finally, that their "last state was worse than the first," and it was their deliberate conclusion that their true happiness and wellbeing required them to return to the homes which they had abandoned in a moment of excitement, and go to work again under their old masters. And so the resolutions were passed, and at last accounts the wanderers were packing up their little stock of movable goods, preparatory to the execution of their sensible purposes.

Near the close of the year, on November 22d, a Convention of colored persons was held at Mobile, at which the following series of resolutions was adopted:

Whereas, Under the providence of a gracious God, the colored people of the United States are permit ted to enjoy the inestimable boon of liberty, and now have the privilege of demonstrating what they can do as a people; and

Whereas, The unprecedented privilege is now granted us of peaceably assembling in convention in this city of Mobile, and conferring and deliberating

upon matters involving our common interests; there. fore

that our freedom is the gift of God, and that we are Resolved, That we shall ever inculcate the truth under the highest obligations to Him so to improve our new privilege as that His gift shall not be in vain.

Resolved, That we shall labor to foster in the hearts of our people sentiments of peace, friendship, and good will toward all men-especially toward our and while we would relinquish none of the rights of white fellow-citizens, among whom our lot is cast; our common manhood, we will studiously, according to our best knowledge and ability, so conduct our selves as to be profitable to them and to ourselves.

Resolved, That we know and admit the fact, that labor, faithfully and judiciously performed, is the only just foundation of wealth, and that it will continue to be our purpose and effort to work industriously and honestly for the support of our families and the prosperity of the community in which we live.

Resolved, That we will perform faithful labor for every man who will pay us just wages; nor do we either expect or desire to receive any man's property without giving him a just equivalent. freedom not only presents new motives to industry, Resolved, That we feel that our new condition of but also imposes new obligations upon us to cultivate all the virtues of good citizenship, and that, therefore, it is our purpose to fulfil all the duties of our new positions according to the ability which God has given us.

Resolved, That we recognize civil government as an ordinance of God, and that it shall be a matter of conscience with us to obey the laws, and to discoun tenance in every way all violation and all contemplated violation of law.

Resolved, That the assertion made in certain quarters, that there is a plot among our people to rise in insurrection, is utterly without foundation, inconsistent with our history as a people, and the farthest from our desires and possible intentions.

Resolved, That we feel in our hearts the glow of gratitude and the purpose of unfaltering fidelity to the Government of the United States, and shall ever regard as pledged to its support our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

Resolved, That we regard the education of our children and youth as vital to the preservation of our liberties, and true religion as the foundation of all real virtue, and shall use our utmost endeavors to promote these blessings in our common country.

The principles upon which the Freedmen's Bureau was organized are stated under the proceedings of Congress. The plan of its operations in each State is described under the title FREED

MEN.

During the existence of the Confederate Government, the Protestant Episcopal Church South was organized, and the prayer for the President of the United States and all in Civil Authority in the Book of Common Prayer was changed to one for the Confederate authorities. Upon the restoration of the United States authorities, the prayer for the President was omitted altogether by the recommendation of Bishop Wilmer. Whereupon Maj.-Gen. Woods issued an order, of which the following is an extract:

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to the directions of Maj. Gen. Thomas, commanding the Military Division of the Tennessee, that said Richard Wilmer, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of the diocese of Alabama, and the Protestant Episcopal Clergy of said diocese be, and they are hereby sus pended from their functions, and forbidden to preach or perform divine service.

Bishop Wilmer urged the following reason for his recommendation to the clergy:

Now the Church in this country has established a form of prayer for the President and all in Civil Authority, the language of that prayer was selected with careful reference to the subject of the prayer-all in Civil Authority-and she desires for that authority, prosperity and long continuance. No one can reasonably be expected to desire a long continuance of military rule. Therefore the prayer is altogether inappropriate and inapplicable to the present condition of things, when no civil authority exists in the exercise of its functions. Hence, as I remarked in the circular, we may yield a true allegiance to, and sincerely pray for grace, wisdom, and understanding, in behalf of a government founded on force, while at the same time we could not, in good conscience, ask for its continuance, prosperity, &c.

In reply to this the order stated, that at the time when the recommendation was issued, there was a President of the United States, a Cabinet, Judges of the Supreme Court, etc., and that since then a civil government and other civil officers for the State of Alabama had been appointed, but the prayer had not been restored. The prayer, it was further stated, was not a prayer for the continuance of military rule, but simply for the temporal and spiritual weal of the persons in whose behalf it was offered.

One of the closing paragraphs of the order was the following:

The advice of the bishop to omit this prayer, and its omission by the clergy, is not only a violation of the canons of the Church, but shows a factious and disloyal spirit, and is a marked insult to every loyal citizen within the department. Such men are unsafe public teachers, and not to be trusted in places of power and influence over public opinion.

The order was subsequently set aside by President Johnson,

Immediately upon the cessation of hostilities the work of repairing the railroads was begun with much energy. All public institutions prepared to meet the changed order of affairs.

ALLEN, Hon. PHILIP, formerly U. S. Senator and Governor of Rhode Island, born in Providence, R. I., September 1st, 1785, died there December 16, 1865. His rudimentary education was completed in his native town, but he subsequently studied at the Taunton Academy, and was for three years a pupil in the celebrated school of Robert Rogers, of Newport. He graduated in 1803 at the Rhode Island College, now Brown University, and having lost his father in 1801, became actively engaged in the mercantile business and foreign commerce, and particularly in the West India trade, which his father had carried on. As early as 1812, foreign commerce being suspended by the war with Great Britain, Mr. Allen was manufacturing cotton in Smithfield, and soon became one of the foremost manufacturers in the State. Gifted by nature with unusual mechanical ingenuity, he had by careful study acquainted himself with the sciences which facilitated manufacturing processes, and possessed remarkable skill in the wisest applications of his scientific knowledge. He was the first importer of the improved bobbin and fly frames, now in general use, and the

lapping machines for cotton cards. Having been successful in this early enterprise, he extended his business to printing the cotton goods made by himself and other manufacturers. He began printing calicos in 1831, at the large establishment, still known by his name, situated on the river north of Providence. The perfection of the styles of prints made at these works has justly given them a celebrity all over the Continent. He was an ardent advocate of a protective tariff, and by his ultimate knowledge of all the statistical and scientific facts bearing upon the question, was most influential in procuring the passage of laws which fostered home manufacturing interests. In 1819 Mr. Allen entered upon political life, serving that year and the two succeeding years as representative from Providence in the General Assembly, and was also one of the Commissioners of the fund appropriated for the settlement of the old State debt. In 1851 he was elected, as the candidate of the Democratic party, Governor of Rhode Island, and was reelected in 1852 and 1853. At the May session in 1853, he was elected United States Senator for six years from the 4th of March preceding, when he resigned the Gubernatorial office to accept that of Senator. He served his full term at Washington, and was a member of the Committees on Commerce and Naval Affairs. Since the close of his Senatorial career Mr. Allen had retired from public life.

AMERICA. The civil war which had convulsed the United States since 1861, drew rapidly to a close after the beginning of the year 1865. The armed resistance to the Federal authority virtually ceased after the surrender of General Lee (April 9), and the work of reconstruction began in all the seceded States, not, however, through President Lincoln, who was assassinated on April 14th, but through his successor, Andrew Johnson. Provisional governors were appointed in all the States that had formed part of the Southern Confederacy. The subsequent measures are stated elsewhere in these pages, On January 31st, the House of Representatives at Washington, adopted, by a two-thirds majority, the Constitutional Amendment abolishing slavery throughout the United States, which had been adopted by the Senate, on April 8, 1864. The Amendment was sent by the Secretary of State, in accordance with the provision of the Constitution, to the legislatures of the several States for ratification. (See UNITED STATES.)

The scheme of a British American Confederation did not make, during the year 1865, the progress which its friends expected. The plan agreed upon by the conference of Quebec was adopted by the Canadian Parliament, but some of the Lower Provinces continued to oppose it. The Home Government favored the adoption of the scheme. (See BRITISH NORTH AMERICA.)

The war of the Republicans of Mexico against the establishment of the Empire continued throughout the year. The Mexicans were too feeble to meet the combined forces of

the French, Austrians, Belgians, and the native adherents of the empire in pitched battles, and their main army, under Porfirio Diaz, was compelled to surrender at Oaxaca. But no considerable part of the empire remained free from the guerrilla war in which the Republican forces, from time to time, gained considerable successes. President Juarez had, on the approach of a French army, for a time to leave Chihuahua, which was the seat of his Government, on January 1, 1865, and to retreat to El Paso. He returned to Chihuahua in November, but had to retreat again to El Paso in December. The Presidential term of Juarez expired in November, but as the continuance of war made it impossible to hold a general election, he continued in office with the general consent of the Republican party until it would be possible to hold another election. Maximilian, strongly endorsed by the Government of France, made several attempts to obtain the recognition of the United States; and France intimated that, in case of such recognition, she would begin to make preparations for the withdrawal of her troops from Mexico; but the Government of Washington refused to enter into negotiations with Maximilian, and declared to France, that the United States were deeply concerned about the continuance of a foreign army in Mexico, and strongly desired its speedy withdrawal. (See MEXICO.)

The war of independence which the people of San Domingo had for several years sustained against the Spanish rule, ended, in 1865, in the complete success of the Dominicans. The Government of Spain determined to abandon the island, and the Cortes in April enacted a bill brought in by the Government to that effect. (See SPAIN.) The republican form of Government was consequently restored in San Domingo, but the island remained subject to internal disturbances. (See SAN DOMINGO.)

The island of Jamaica was, in October, the scene of serious disturbances. The black population of the parish of St. Thomas, in the east, rescued some prisoners, who, as their friends said, had been convicted wrongfully, and when the resistance to the authorities became general, the conduct of the Colonial Government as well as of the military authorities on this occasion gave rise to the most intense indignation throughout England. In compliance with an almost universal demand, the Home Government suspended the Governor of Jamaica from his functions, and appointed a commission of inquiry, which repaired to Jamaica to investigate the whole affair. (See JAMaica.)

The difficulties between Spain and Peru culminated on January 25, 1865, in an ultimatum presented by the Spanish Admiral Pareja. The Government of Peru submitted (January 28th) to all the essential demands of Spain, and the Spanish admiral restored the Chincha Islands. The dissatisfaction of the majority of the Peruvian people with the conduct of their Government called forth imme

diately a revolution, which continued through the greater part of the year, and ended in the overthrow of the administration of President Pezet, and the establishment of a new Government decidedly hostile to Spain. (See PERU.)

The sympathy shown by the Government and people of Chili with Peru against Spain, led to difficulties between Spain and Chili. In May, the Spanish Minister in Chili, Tavira, stated that he was satisfied with the declarations of the Chilian Secretary of War. The Spanish Government, however, disapproved the conduct of Tavira, recalled him (July 25th), and sent Admiral Pareja to Valparaiso to demand immediate reparation for offences given. On the refusal of the Chilian Government to comply with this demand, Pareja declared a blockade of the Chilian ports (September 24th), to which the Chilian Congress answered by a declaration of war. Hostilities at once commenced and continued until the close of the year. (See CHILI.)

On the Atlantic coast of South America, the insurrection in Uruguay, aided by the Brazilian Government, ended in the overthrow of the existing government. Paraguay followed up its protest against the interference of Brazil in the civil war of Uruguay, by a declaration of war (November, 1864) against Brazil. In April, 1865, the Argentine Republic was also invaded by the troops of Paraguay, and joined Brazil and Uruguay in their war against the latter power. The war was still progressing, according to the last advices (December 1865). (See ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY.)

The United States of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Hayti, and San Salvador, were all disturbed by civil wars. In Bolivia, the chief of the insurrection, Melgarejo, was successful, while in the three other States the existing Governments succeeded in quelling the rebellion. (See BOLIVIA, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, HAYTI, SAN SALVADOR.)

The "American Congress " of the representatives of Chili, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, San Salvador, the Argentine Republic, the United States of Colombia, and Venezuela, which had assembled in November, 1864, at Lima, for the purpose of forming a defensive alliance against aggressions of monarchical powers, closed its sessions on March 13, 1865. The main object of the alliance is fully defined in the following official document:

Alliance of the American States for Common Defence. In the name of God:--The States of America, which are hereinafter mentioned, desiring to unite in order to provide for their exterior security, to strengthen their relations, to maintain peace among themselves, and to promote other common interests, international compacts of which the present is the have determined to secure these objects by means of

first and fundamental one.

To that effect, they have conferred full powers as follows: By Salvador, to Don Pedro Alcantara Herran; by Bolivia, to Don Juan de la Cruz Benavente; by the United States of Colombia, to Don Justo Arosemena; by Chili, to Don Manuel Montt; by Ecuador, to Don Vincente Piedrahita; by Peru, to Don