Report of the Joint select committee appointed to inquire into the condition of affairs in the late insurrectionary states, so far as regards the execution of laws, and the safety of the lives and property of the citizens of the United States and Testimony taken.

ALABAMA-SUB-COMMITTEE. 16 79
Question. Was it not the duty of the officers not to allow a man to vote who was not
registered?
lAnswer. I don't lknow whether the officers had a copy of the registration lists or not.
This is only a presumption of mine. I say I presume the fact was not ascertained til
the poll-list was compared with the registration.
Question. What was the aggregate vote polled on the question of adopting the State
constitution in February, 1868
lAnswer. The aggregate vote was 2,467.
Question. How long did the election continue?
Answler. That election-the original order, I think, was for three lays; subsequently,
it Vwas extended to include the whole week, making five days. But before the order
was received here the time had expired. That is my recollection.
By the CHAIRMAN:
Question. How long did the voting continue?
Answlei. Three days; that is, the poll was closed in three days. The voting ceased
before that time.
Question. That was in February, 1868?
Answer. Yes, sir.
By Mr. BLAIR:
Question. In that election, what was the falling off from the colored registration?
A nswer. It was 1,204.
Question. What was the falling off of the radical vote from the election of October,
41867 S
Answzer. It was 659.
Question. Was there any investigation made by Federal authority into the management of the election in which the State constitution was rejected, in February, 1868?
Answer. Yes, sir. I don't know whether it extended to every county in the State,
but it did to a number of counties in this part of the State. There was an investigation
made in this county by a military officer-I have forgotten his name-with reference
to the manner in which the election had been conducted, &c. I saw him. He was
here for some time. I made inquiries of him, and he told nme he had been unable to
discover any unfairness in the manner in which it had been conducted.
Question. What was the vote polled at the presidential election in 1860?
Answer. The aggregate vote of the county was 3,985.
Question. What was the vote polled at the gubernatorial election of 1870?
Inswer. Three thousand four hundred and ninety-three.
Question. How do you account for the falling off of the radical vote from that given
to General Grant?
Answer. Well. there were various influences tending to produce that result, one of
which was that the League of which I speak was no longer in existence. These carpetbaggers, who had been manipulating the negroes, had left and were gone; and their
organization was defective in consequence-not complete. A good many negroes who
had quit tlhem had taken an active part in the canvass. The county was canvassed
very thoroughly by the white democrats; but there was no canvass on the other side
to speak of. There was one meeting held, at which Governor Smith and Senator Parsons, and, I believe, Senator Warner spoke; but the canvass was all on one side, and
every effort was made to enlighten the negroes.
Question. Did the speeches of Es-Governor Smith and Senators Parsons and Warner
have any noticable effect on the negroes who heard them?
Answ'r. They did not; not in the way in which, I presume, it was designed that they
should have; but it did result in the negroes convening a meeting subsequently on the
same day themselves. The speaking was at the court-house door, and after the adjournment some of the negroes organized a meeting up-stairs in the court-house, and I
was told-I did not see or hear it-that they sent an invitation to those gentlemen,
Snlith, Warner, and Parsons, to come over and meet with them. There were several
others in the party, but these were the only ones who delivered addresses.
Qutestion. Did these negroes deliver speeches?
Answler. Yes, sir; several were delivered. I went up to the meeting from curiosity,
and a nllmuber of other whites, and they wanted us to address them; but we decliued
doing so; told them it was their own meeting; told them to go on and conduct it themselves. They did so. There were a numLberof speeches made-if you call them speeches;
there were some of considerable point.
Question. Do you recollect any speech that was made there that night particularly?
Anlswer. I remember several of them. Tbere was one reported or published at the
time.
Question. Have you got a copy of it?
Answer. Yes, sir; by the same negro who had that card published last fall.
Question. Let us have that speech; I would like to hear it.