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ORDINANCES
RESOLUTIONS
At a Convention of the People of the State of Alabama, begun and holden at Montgomery, on the seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and continued to the twelfth day of February in the same year.
To dissolve the Union between the State of Alabama and other States united
under the compact styled "The Constitution of the United States of
America."
WHEREAS, the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the offices
of President and Vice-President of the United States of America, by a sectional
party, avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions and to the peace and
security of the people of the State of Alabama, preceded by many and dangerous
infractions of the Constitution of the United States by many of the States
and people of the northern section, is a political wrong of so insulting
and menacing a character as to justify the people of the State of Alabama
in the adoption of prompt and decided measures for their future peace and
security; therefore,
Be it declared and ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in
Convention assembled , That the State of Alabama now withdraws, and
is hereby withdrawn from the Union known as "the United States of America",
and henceforth ceases to be one of said United States, and is, and of right
ought to be, a Sovereign and Independent State.
Section 2. Be it further declared and ordained by the people of the State
of Alabama in Convention assembled , That all the powers over the Territory
of said State, and over the people thereof, heretofore delegated to the
Government of the United States of America, be and they are hereby withdrawn
from said Government, and are hereby resumed and vested in the people of
the State of Alabama.
And as it is the desire and purpose of the people of Alabama to meet the
slaveholding States of the South, who may approve such purpose, in order
to frame a provisional as well as a permanent Government upon the principles
of the Constitution of the United States,
Be it resolved by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled ,
That the people of the States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,
Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, be and are hereby invited to meet the
people of the State of Alabama, by their Delegates, in Convention, on the
fourth day of February, A. D., 1861, at the city of Montgomery, in the State
of Alabama, for the purpose of consulting with each other as to the most
effectual mode of securing concerted and harmonious action in whatever measures
may be deemed most desirable for our common peace and security.
And be it further resolved , That the President of this Convention
be, and he is hereby, instructed to transmit forthwith a copy of the foregoing
Preamble, Ordinance, and Resolutions to the Governors of the several States
named in said resolutions.
Done by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, at
Montgomery, on this, the eleventh day of January, A. D., 1861.
AN ORDINANCE
Concerning Citizenship
Section 1. Be it declared and ordained by the people of Alabama
in Convention assembled , Every person who, at the date of the Ordinance
of Secession, was residing in this State, and was then by birth or otherwise
a citizen of the United States of America, shall continue a citizen of this
State, unless a foreign residence shall be established by such person with
the intention of expatriation.
Section 2. Every free white person who, after the date aforesaid,
may be born within the territory of this State, or may be born outside of
that territory, of a father or mother who then was a citizen of this State,
shall be a citizen thereof.
Section 3. So, also, every person who, by birth or naturalization,
was a citizen of the United States of America, or of any slaveholding State
of North America, and who, within twelve months after the date of the Ordinance
of Secession, shall come to reside in this State, with the intention of
becoming a citizen thereof. But if such person was born in a foreign State
or country, or in a non-slaveholding State, he or she shall take the oath
of allegiance to this State below provided.
Section 4. So, also, every free white person who shall furnish satisfactory
evidence of good character, and who shall be engaged in the actual service,
military or naval, of the State, and shall take an oath of his intention
to continue in such service for at least six months, unless sooner discharged
honorably, and also the oath of allegiance below prescribed. In this case,
the oaths shall be administered by some commissioned officer of the service
in which the applicant for citizenship may be engaged, superior in rank
to the applicant, but not of lower rank than Colonel, and a citizen of Alabama;
and thereupon, certificate of the citizenship of the applicant shall be
signed by the officer and delivered to the applicant, and must be recorded
in some court of record in this State.
Section 5. In all cases the citizenship of a man shall extend to
his wife, present or future, whenever she shall have a residence in the
State, and shall extend also to each of his children, who, under the age
of twenty-one years, may have a residence in this State. In like manner,
the citizenship of a woman shall extend to each of her children who, under
the age of twenty-one years, may have a residence in the State: Provided
, That in no case shall citizenship extend to any person who is not a free
white person, except those provided for in the first section of this ordinance.
Section 6. That the oath of allegiance to this State shall be in
the following form, viz: "I do swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful,
and true allegiance bear to the State of Alabama, as long as I may continue
a citizen thereof."
Section 7. The oath of abjuration shall be in the following form,
viz: "I do swear (or affirm) that I do renounce and forever abjure
all allegiance and fidelity to every prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty
whatever, except the State of Alabama."
Adopted, January 26, 1861.
No. 3]
AN ORDINANCE
To Change The Oath Of Office In This State
Be it declared and ordained, and it is hereby declared and ordained,
by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention assembled , That the
first section and sixth article of the Constitution of the State of Alabama
be amended by striking out of the fifth line of said section the words "Constitution
of the United States and the," after the word "the", and
before the word "Constitution", where they occur.
And be it further ordained as aforesaid , That all officers in this
State are hereby absolved from the oath to support the Constitution of the
United States heretofore taken by them.
Adopted, January 15, 1861.
No. 4]
AN ORDINANCE
To Repeal An Ordinance Therein Named
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention
assembled , That an ordinance adopted by the people of this State, in
Convention at Huntsville, on the second day of August, one thousand eight
hundred and nineteen, disclaiming forever all right to the waste or unappropriated
lands lying withing this State, is hereby repealed; but the navigable waters
of this State shall remain forever highways, free to the citizens of this
State, and of such States as may unite with the State of Alabama in a Southern
Slaveholding Confederacy.
Adopted, January 28, 1861.
No. 5]
AN ORDINANCE
To Provide For The Military Defense Of The State Of Alabama
Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention
assembled , That the Governor be and he is hereby authorized and empowered,
in the event of a declaration of war against the State of Alabama, or of
an actual invasion of its territory, or of imminent danger of such invasion,
to cause to be enlisted and to call into actual service a number of troops,
not exceeding one thousand non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates,
to be enlisted for a term of three years, unless sooner discharged.
Section 2. Be it further ordained , That the Governor be,
and he is hereby, authorized to organize said troops in to corps of artillery,
cavalry, or infantry, as the exigencies of the service may require, and
to appoint the commissioned officers thereof.
Section 3. Be it further ordained , That each of said enlisted
men shall be entitled to receive a bounty of ten dollars, one-half on enlisting
and the other half on joining the corps to which he may belong.
Section 4. Be it further ordained , That the officers and
non-commissioned officers shall be entitled to the same pay and allowances
as is now fixed by law for officers and non-commissioned officers of the
same grade and arm of service in the army of the United States, and the
private soldiers shall receive the same pay, clothing and allowances as
private soldiers in the same arm of service in the army of the United States.
Section 5. Be it further ordained , That whenever the public
safety shall demand it from any of the aforementioned causes, in addition
to the aforesaid number of troops, the Governor shall be, and is hereby,
empowered to accept the services of any number of volunteers who shall associate
and offer themselves for the service, either as artillery, cavalry or infantry,
and the volunteers so accepted shall have power in the first instance to
elect their own company officers, and when organized into regiments or battalions,
they shall also have power to elect their regimental field officers; but
vacancies occurring in siad regiments, or battalions, or companies, shall
be filled by regular promotion, according to rules for the regulation of
the army of the United States.
Section 6. Be it further ordained , That said volunteers,
when so accepted, shall be subject to the same rules and regulations, and
entitled to the same pay, rations, clothing, and emoluments of every kind,
except as to bounty, as the enlisted men to be raised by this Ordinance.
Section 7. Be it further ordained , That said volunteers shall
not be accepted for a less term of service than one year, unless sooner
discharged by the Governor.
Section 8. Be it further ordained , That the Governor shall
be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered to appoint one Major-General,
who shall be entitled to the pay and allowances of a Major-General in the
army of the United States, who shall hold his office during good behavior,
and shall be entitled to the command of all troops of the State when in
service, whether the same shall be regulars, volunteers, or militia. And
the Governor shall, from time to time, appoint Brigadier-Generals, according
to the number of troops in the field and the exigencies of the service,
not to exceed one Brigadier-General for every two regiments, whose pay and
allowances shall be the same as Brigadier-Generals in the army of the United
States, and who commissions shall be vacated and withdrawn according as,
in the opinion of the Governor, their services may be dispensed with; and
the said Brigadier-Generals shall take rank according to the date of their
commissions.
Section 9. Be it further ordained , That the Governor shall
be, and he is hereby, empowered to appoint an Adjutant and Inspector-General,
whose rank shall be that of a Brigadier-General, and who shall be entitled
to the pay and allowances of a Brigadier-General. And the Governor may also
appoint an Assistant Adjutant-General, with the rank, pay and allowances
of a Colonel of Dragoons. And the Governor may also appoint a Quartermaster-General,
who shall be entitled to the rank, pay and allowances of a Brigadier-General;
and two Assistant Quartermasters, who shall be entitled to the rank, pay
and allowances of a Captain of Dragoons. And the Governor may also appoint
a Surgeon-General, who shall each be entitled to the pay and allowances
of a Colonel of Infantry.
Section 10. Be it further ordained , That the staff officers
whose appointment is provided for in the foregoing section shall hold their
commissions subject to the discretion of the Governor, and may be dismissed
at any time, when in his judgment the public service requires it to be done.
Section 11. Be it further ordained , That the laws of the
United States respecting the regulations and emoluments of recruiting officers,
punishment of persons who shall procure or entice a soldier to desert, or
shall purchase his arms, uniform, clothing, or any part thereof, and the
punishment of every commanding officer of any ship or vessel, who shall
received on board of his ship or vessel, knowing him to have deserted, or
otherwise carry away any soldier, or refuse to deliver him up to his commanding
officer, shall be in force and apply to all matters and things within the
intent and meaning of this ordinance.
Section 12. Be it further ordained , That no officer of the
line or staff, who may be appointed under the provisions of this ordinance,
shall be entitled to receive pay or allowances until he shall be called
into actual service, nor for any longer time than he shall continue therein:
Provided , That nothing in this ordinance shall be so construed as to prevent
officers from receiving pay and allowances while engaged in the recruiting
service, or while prevented from the discharge of their duties by wounds
or sickness, or while absent from their posts on leave.
Section 13. Be it further ordained , That there shall be appointed
by the Governor and Ordnance Officer, with the rank, pay and allowances
of a Lieutenant-Colonel or Artillery, who shall have charge of all the public
arms and munitions of war of every kind and description whatever, and the
said Ordnance Officer shall be assisted in the discharge of his duties by
a Lieutenant or Lieutenants, who may be detailed for that purpose by the
Major-General, whenever in his opinion the public service so requires.
Section 14. Be it further ordained , That the Quartermaster-General,
Paymaster-General, Ordnance Officer, and Assistant Quartermasters,
shall each give bond and security, to be approved by the Governor, and renewable
at his pleasure, for the faithful performance of the duties of thier respective
offices.
Section 15. Be it further ordained , That the Major-General,
whose appointment is provided for by this ordinance, shall be authorized
to appoint a Military Secretary, with the rank, pay and allowances of a
Captain of Dragoons.
Section 16. Be it further ordained , That each General officer
may appoint his staff officers, whose rank, pay and allowances shall be
the same as that of staff officers of the same grade in the army of the
United States.
Section 17. Be it further ordained , That the regulations
for the army of the United States, directed to be published on the first
day of January, 1857, by Jeff. Davis, Secretary of War, shall be, and the
same are hereby, adopted by the State of Alabama, so far as they consist
with the provisions of this ordinance, and of other ordinances which have
been or may be adopted by this Convention.
Section 18. Be it further ordained , That the next General
Assembly, and each subsequent General Assembly of the State of Alabama may
make such alterations in, or amendments to, the foregoing ordinances as
in their judgment the public service may require.
Section 19. Be it further ordained , That the system of accountability
of each department of the army of the United States as now in force, with
such alterations and modifications as are or may be necessary to adapt them
to the government of the military forces of the State of Alabama, be, and
the same are hereby, adopted.
Adopted, January 19, 1861.
No. 6]
AN ORDINANCE
To Re-Organize The Militia Of The State Of Alabama
Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention
assembled , That all military commissions in the Militia of the State
of Alabama, of every grade and description, shall be, and same are hereby,
annulled, and declared to be utterly null and void: Provided, however ,
That officers now holding such commissions shall not be deprived of their
commands until a new election is held, and their successors have been qualified,
as hereinafter provide for.
Section 2. Be it further ordained , That the foregoing section
shall not apply to the Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General of the
Militia, who shall be retained in office, subject to the pleasure of the
Legislature; and may be dismissed or retained, as the Legislature shall
direct.
Section 3. Be it further ordained , That the duties of the
Adjutant-General and the Quartermaster-General of the Militia as now established
by law, shall be entirely distinct and separate from the duties of the Adjutant-General
and Quartermaster-General who appointments are provided for by an ordinance
entitled "an Ordinance to provide for the Military Defense of the State
of Alabama", and shall be confined exclusively to the militia, as contra-distinguished
from the enlisted men and volunteers actuall y in service.
Section 4. Be it further ordained , That the departments of
Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General of the militia shall be subordinate
and subject to the order, direction and control of the corresponding departments
of the regular and volunteer service.
Section 5. Be it further ordained , That the Legislature shall
have power to prescribe the time and mode of election for filling the vacancies
created by this ordinance, and to do all other acts and things in relation
thereto, or in relation to promoting the efficiency of the militia, which,
in their judgment, the public service may require, not inconsistent with
the provisions of this ordinance, or of any other ordinance which has been
or may be passed by this Convention.
Adopted, January 23, 1861.
No. 7]
AN ORDINANCE
To Authorize Colonels Of Volunteer Regiments To Appoint Their Own Staff
Officers
Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention
assembled , That each Colonel of a volunteer regiment who shall be received
into the service of the State of Alabama, under the provisions of an ordinance
entitled "an Ordinance to provide for the Military Defense of the State
of Alabama", passed January 19, 1861, shall be authorized and empowered,
and he is hereby authorized and empowered to appoint and remove at his pleasure
the following regimental staff, viz: one Adjutant and one Quartermaster,
with the rank, pay and allowances of a 1st Lieutenant of Dragoons; one Surgeon
and two Assistant Surgeons, whose rank and pay shall be the same as that
of the same officers in the army of the United States; one Sergeant-Major,
one Quartermaster-Sergeant, one Drum-Major, and one Fife-Major, who shall
be entitled to the same pay and allowances as non-commissioned officers
of the same grade in the army of the United States.
Section 2. Be it further ordained , That each Captain of a
company shall be empowered to appoint the non-commissioned officers of his
company, subject, however, to the approval of the Colonel, and removable
at his pleasure.
Section 3. Be it further ordained , That when vacancies occur
in the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of volunteers, the Colonel of the regiment
which such vacancies occur shall be authorized and empowered to fill such
vacancies by original appointment from the non-commissioned officers and
privates of the regiment.
Adopted, January 26, 1861.
No. 8]
AN ORDINANCE
Supplemental To An Ordinance Entitled "An Ordinance To Provide For
The Military Defense Of The State Of Alabama"
Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled
, That the fifth section of an ordinance entitled "an Ordinance to
provide for the Military Defense of the State of Alabama", shall be
so construed as to authorize the Governor to accept the services of separate
Companies of volunteers offering themselves for service; and such companies,
after their acceptance by the Governor, shall elect their company officers.
Adopted, January 29, 1861.
No. 9]
AN ORDINANCE
Supplemental To An Ordinance To Provide For The Defense Of Alabama
Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled
, That the Governor be, and he is hereby, authorized to extend and carry
into effect the provisions of the "Ordinance to provide for the Military
Defense of the State of Alabama", for the purpose of protecting the
coast defenses of the Gulf of Mexico, and to prevent or repel invasion in
that quarter.
Adopted, January 29, 1861.
No. 10]
AN ORDINANCE
To Provide For The Removal Of The Arms And Munitions Of War, At Mount Vernon,
In The State Of Alabama, To A Place Or Places Of Greater Security
Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled
, That the Governor of this State be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered,
to remove the arms and munitions of war of every kind and description, taken
at the United States Arsenal at Mount Vernon, in the State of Alabama, and
distribute them in such quantities as in his opinion the public service
may require, among the following named cities and towns, viz: Mobile, Eufaula,
Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Jacksonville, Selma, Talladega and Huntsville, and
such other places as the Governor may select; to be kept and delivered out
only upon the order of the Governor, for the equipment of volunteers, or
of military companies in the service of the State, except in cases of insurrection
or invasion: Provided , That none of said cities or towns shall be entitled
to receive a distributive share of said arms or munitions, unless the corporate
authorities thereof shall provide a place for the safe-keeping of the same,
and become responsible for their delivery, or the delivery of any portion
of the same, on the order of the Governor, whenever the public service may
require it.
Adopted, January 26, 1861.
No. 11]
AN ORDINANCE
In Relation To The Collector Of The Port Of Mobile
Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention
assembled, and it is hereby ordained by authority of the same , That
Thaddeus Sanford, late Collector of the Port of Mobile, and his subordinates
in office under the Government of the United States, be re-appointed to
their respective offices by the State of Alabama, and that compensation
of such officers be the same as that they received from the Government of
the United States.
Section 2. Be it further ordained , That the said T. Sanford,
Collector, as aforesaid, be instructed to retain in his hands, subject to
the order of this Convention, (and with a view to future settlement with
the Government of the United States) all such money as he may have had in
his hands, as Collector of the United States at the Port of Mobile, on the
day of the passing of the ordinance withdrawing the State of Alabama from
the Federal Union - and that the State of Alabama is hereby pledged to indemnify
and save harmless the said T. Sanford and his securities on his official
bond to the government of the United States, for any loss or damage he or
they may sustain, by complying with the requirements of this Ordinance.
Section 3. Be it further ordained , That His Excellency, the
Governor, be authorized to issue a Commission to T. Sanford, as Collector
of the Port of Mobile, and that he be required to enter into bond with security,
to be approved by the Judge of the sixth Judicial Circuit of the State of
Alabama, in the same sum as is set forth in his bond to the United States,
for the faithful discharge of his duties as Collector of said Port, such
bond to be transmitted to the Governor to be filed among the archives of
the State, and that upon the execution of said bond he proceed to grant
clearances to vessels, and collect duties, as he has heretofore done under
the laws of the United States, until otherwise ordered by this Convention.
Adopted, January 14, 1861.
No. 12]
AN ORDINANCE
Supplemental To An Ordinance Heretofore Passed In Reference To The Custom
House At Mobile
Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention
assembled, and it is hereby ordained by authority of the same , That
the Collector of the Customs at the Port of Mobile, in all his official
acts and in the style of the documents it may be necessary for him to issue,
shall do, and issue the same in the name of the State of Alabama.
Section 2. That, until otherwise provided by the Convention, the
Tariff, Revenue, Collection, Ware-housing, and Navigation Laws of the United
States, so far as they may be applicable, be, and the same are hereby adopted
and made the laws of this State, saving that no duties shall be collected
upon imports from the States forming the late Federal Union, nor upon the
tonnage of vessels owned in whole or in part by citizens of said States.
Section 3. That all vessels built in Alabama or elsewhere, one-third
of which shall be owned by a citizen or citizens of Alabama, or of any other
slaveholding State of the late Federal Union, and commanded by a citizen
thereof, and no other, shall be registered as vessels of Alabama, under
the authority of the Collector of the Port aforesaid.
Section 4. That all moneys hereafter collected by the Collector aforesaid,
whether upon goods, wares, and merchandize in bond or public store, or that
shall hereafter arrive from any foreign country, shall, after deducting
the sums necessary for the compensation of officers, and other expenses
hereinafter referred to, be paid into the Treasury of the State of Alabama,
for the use of said State, subject to the order of the Convention, or the
Governor of the State.
Section 5. That the Collector aforesaid is hereby authorized and
empowered, in the name of the State of Alabama, to take into his possession,
and subject to his control, the United States Custom House, United States
Marine Hospital at Mobile, the Light Houses at Choctaw Point, at Mobile
Point, and Sand Island, the range lights and buoys in Mobile Bay, and the
United States Revenue Cutter, Lewis Cass , now lying in the Port of Mobile,
and that the officers in charge of these several departments be re-appointed
to their respective offices: Provided , they are willing to accept the same
from the State of Alabama and if not, the Collector is hereby authorized
to fill the vacancies, under the same regulations as those prescribed for
their government under the laws of the United States; that they report,
as they have heretofore done, to the Collector; and the Collector is hereby
instructed to superintend their duties and to pay their salaries, as he
has been accustomed to do under the laws of the United States.
Section 6. That the Board of Steamboat Inspectors at the Port of
Mobile be re-appointed by the State of Alabama, and required to continue
in the discharge of their duties, as they have heretofore done under the
laws of the United States, and at the same salary - reporting, as heretofore,
to the Collector, and, instead of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United
States, to the Governor of the State.
Section 7. That the gold and silver coin of the United States, of
England, France, Spain, Mexico, and the Southern Republics, shall be a lawful
tender in payment of debts and duties, at their value, as regulated by the
laws of the United States; and that, in the computation of all duties on
imports from foreign countries into this State, the laws and the usages,
in regard to foreign invoices, of the United States, in reference to the
value of the coin or currency of the same, shall continue to be observed.
Section 8. That the weights and measures recognized by the laws of
the United States, shall be the Standard in the State of Alabama, by which
all contracts involving their use shall be regulated.
Section 9. That all discriminating tonnage duties on foreign vessels,
and all discriminating duties on foreign goods, wares and merchandize, imported
into this State, be, and the same are hereby, abolished.
Section 10. That the Collector aforesaid shall make monthly returns
of the business of his office to the Governor of the State of Alabama, embracing
an accurate account, in detail, of his receipts and disbursements; the latter
showing the expenses of the Marine Hospital, the Revenue Cutter, and the
Light Houses, and the amounts of the salaries of Steamboat Inspectors, of
officers of the customs, and such incidental charges as appertain to the
same; and unless the duties of said Collectors are hereafter modified by
this Convention, or some other competent authority, he is hereby required
to make report quarter yearly to the Governor of the State, of such statistical
returns as he has been heretofore required by the laws of the United States
to report to the Secretary of the Treasury.
Adopted, January 23, 1861.
No. 13]
AN ORDINANCE
To Continue The City Of Selma As A Port Of Entry
Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in
Convention assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of
the same , That the city of Selma and the city of Mobile are continued as
Ports of Entry in this State, as they were under the laws of the United
States, and that the ordinances heretofore adopted by this Convention in
reference to Customs and Custom-houses, shall apply to the Port of Selma,
except so far as the same are specially applicable to the Port of Mobile.
Section 2. That Jonathan Harris is hereby appointed Collector of
Customs at the Port of Selma, and that he proceed to discharge the duties
of his office upon his giving bond, with security in the same sum as that
set forth in his bond formerly given to the United States - the said bond
to be approved of by the Judge of the first Judicial Circuit, and to be
transmitted to the Governor of the State to be filed among the archives.
Section 3. Be it further ordained , That this ordinance and all other
ordinances heretofore adopted by this Convention on the subject of Customs
in this State are provisional, and shall not prevent action in reference
to the same by the Convention of Deputies to assemble at the city of Montgomery,
on the fourth day of February next.
Adopted, January 26, 1861.
No. 14]
AN ORDINANCE
To Transfer And Regulate The Jurisdiction And Practice Of The Several Federal
Courts Within The Limits Of The State Of Alabama
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention
assembled , That the judicial power heretofore forming a part of the
judicial power of the United States of America, and which has been resumed
by this State, shall be exercised by the Courts of this State hereinafter
named.
Section 2. Be it further ordained , That the several Circuit
Courts of the State of Alabama, the City Court of Mobile, and the Courts
of Chancery in the State of Alabama, shall have, take and exercise original
jurisdiction in all cases arising within the jurisdiction of the Federal
Courts of the United States, as heretofore existing in the State of Alabama,
by virtue of the Constitution of the United States and the laws of Congress
as hereinafter provided.
Section 3. Be it further ordained , That the said Circuit
Courts of this State, and the City Court of Mobile, shall have and exercise
original jurisdiction in all cases embracing matters of law or of a maritime
or admiralty nature heretofore cognizable in the District or Circuit Courts
of the United States of America, and the laws of Congress in conformity
therewith; and that the Courts of Chancery of this State exercise jurisdiction
in all cases of equity, heretofore exercised or cognizable in said courts
of the United States, under the Constitution and laws thereof: Provided
, that this grant of powers shall not be so contrued as to give to the City
Court of Mobile any right to try causes in which is involved, in direct
issue, the title of land.
Section 4. Be it further ordained , That in cases affecting
ambassadors and other public ministers, the Supreme Court of Alabama shall
have original and exclusive jurisdiction; and in such cases, and in cases
affecting consuls, there shall be in all the Courts above specified, in
the exercise of the jurisdiction hereby conferred, as near a conformity
as may be to the regulations and practice now prevailing in the United States
Courts. But in all other cases, the pleading, practice and course of proceeding,
except in cases as hereinafter stated, shall be in all respects as in ordinary
cases, arising and pending in said State courts as regulated by the laws
of this State.
Section 5. Be it further ordained , That all cases, except
where the United States of America is plaintiff, now pending in said federal
courts within the limits of the State of Alabama, and on the law side of
the said courts, or of an admiralty and maritime nature, shall be transferred,
with all the books of records, dockets, papers and documents, to the same
appertaining, to the several circuit courts in the respective counties in
which said federal courts have heretofore been holden, and all process now
running on any case now pending in said courts as aforesaid, except where
the United States of America is plaintiff, shall be executed by the marshals
holding such process and returned to the said circuit courts, and all cases
pending in said courts on the equity side of said courts, with all the papers
and documents appertaining to said cases on file in said courts, shall be
transferred to the chancery courts in the said counties in which said federal
courts have heretofore been holden, and all process now running on any such
cause now pending as aforesaid, shall be executed by the marshals aforesaid
and returned to said chancery courts.
Section 6. Be it further ordained , That the laws of the United
States which were in operation at the time of the secession of the State
of Alabama from the United States, concerning offenses connected with the
Postoffice Department, the public customs or seamen, and an act of the Congress
of the United States, entitled "an act more effectually to provide
for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States, and for
other purposes", approved March 3d, 1825, so far as applicable to the
State of Alabama, are hereby adopted as laws of this State until they may
be altered or repealed, and all offenses under said laws shall be subject
to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State, and said offenses are hereby
declared to be offenses against the State of Alabama.
Section 7. Be it further ordained , That in all cases
in which, under the laws aforesaid, trials have been had by juries, the
same shall be tried by juries according to the practice of jury trials in
the State of Alabama; and in all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction
and all other cases in which the jury trial has not been established, the
form and mode of proceeding shall be such in the said State courts taking
jurisdiction of such cases as have been heretofore in use in the said federal
courts within this State taking cognizance of such cases.
Section 8. Be it further ordained , That until otherwise ordered,
the clerks of the circuit courts in the respective counties in which the
said federal courts have been holden, shall be and become the custodians
of all records and papers belonging to the respective officers of the said
federal courts, and shall have power, in the name and style of the State
of Alabama, to issue all process or processes on final judgment existing
in said courts, except where the United States of America is plaintiff,
and all other process, mesne or final, necessary to the perfection of the
rights of suitors in said federal courts; and such process, when so issued,
may run to any county in the State of Alabama, and the sheriffs of said
counties to which said process or processes may be sent shall receive, execute
and return said process or processes to the office whence said process or
processes are issued; and shall receive the same fees for such service as
now allowed by law in the State of Alabama for like service, and shall be
subject to like pains and penalties for defaults and malfeasance in office
in regard to such process or processes as are now prescribed and are now
in force in the State of Alabama in regard to processes issued under the
laws of the said State; and such process or processes, when so returned
as aforesaid to said respective courts, shall be governed in all respects
(except as hereinbefore provided) by the same rules and practice as the
ordinary process or processes issued under the laws of the State of Alabama.
Section 9. Be it further ordained , That the United States
Marshals, in whose hands any process or processes may be running, except
where the United States of America is plaintiff, shall execute and make
return thereof to the respective courts above prescribed in the foregoing
sections, and for any default in executing or in making such returns, or
for any failure to pay over money collected on any such process or processes,
or for any malfeasance in office, or misconduct of any kind or description,
in regard to said process or processes, or in the performance of his official
duties, the several parties in interest may have the same remedies against
the said marshal or marshals and his or their securities, as are now provided
by the laws of the State of Alabama for like defaults or misconduct of sheriffs
of the several counties of the State; so, also, if such marshal or marshals
shall have been guilty of any default, malfeasance in office, or misconduct
of any kind, before the secession of the State, by which the parties in
interest have had the right to proceed against said marshal or marshals
and their securities for such defaults or liability by motion or other proceeding,
the said parties shall not lose such right by the secession of the State
of Alabama, but shall have the right to proceed to enforce the said claim
before the courts above specified, in the same manner as prescribed in the
preceding part of this section; and that such marshal shall be entitled
to the same pay as provided by the laws of the United States.
Section 10. Be it further ordained , That an act of the Congress
of the United States, passed May 26, 1790, entitled "an act to prescribe
the mode in which the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings in
each State shall be authenticated so as to take effect in every other State",
and also an act of the Congress of the United States, passed the 27th day
of March, 1804, entitled "an act supplementary to an act entitled 'an
act to prescribe the mode in which the public acts, records, and judicial
proceedings in each State shall be authenticated so as to take effect in
every other State'", and which said acts of Congress are found in the
Code of Alabama on page 50, are hereby adopted as the laws of the State
of Alabama, and that all records, papers, and documents, of every kind and
description, authenticated according to said acts of Congress, shall be,
to all intents and purposes, as valid, and of the same force and effect,
as if the State of Alabama had not seceded from the United States of America.
Section 11. Be it further ordained , That in all cases in
which an appeal or writ of error from judgment or decree of the Supreme
Court of the State of Alabama has been taken to the Supreme Court of the
United States of America, and which was pending in said Supreme Court of
the United States before the 11th day of January, 1861, the Supreme Court
of the State of Alabama shall proceed to execute such judgment as if no
appeal or writ of error had been taken, and in all cases in which an appeal
or writ of error has been taken from any district or circuit court of the
United States of America holden in the State of Alabama, to the Supreme
Court of the United States of America, and which was pending in said Supreme
Court before the 11th day of January, 1861, the appeal shall be considered
as taken to the Supreme Court of the State of Alabama, and the party appealing
or taking such writ of error, may file a transcript in said Supreme Court
of the State of Alabama, within six months from this date; and said court
shall take jurisdiction upon the same as if the appeal or writ of error
had been originally taken to said Supreme Court of Alabama, and if such
transcript be not filed within the time aforesaid, then said appeal shall
be null and void, and the proper court shall proceed to execute the judgment
originally rendered. But, before filing such transcript the party shall
give bond and security, as now required by law for appeals to the Supreme
Court of the State of Alabama, which bond shall be given in the court to
which the cause is transferred by this ordinance.
Section 12. Be it further ordained , That no suit in which
the United States of America is the party plaintiff against any citizen
or citizens of the State of Alabama, shall, by reason of the foregoing ordinance,
be transferred to, or tried, by any of the courts of the State of Alabama,
nor shall any suit be brought in the name of the United States of America,
in any of the courts aforesaid, against any citizen or citizens of this
State, until otherwise ordered by this Convention, or by the General Assembly
of the State of Alabama.
Section 13. Be it further ordained , That the federal jurisdiction
disposed of in the above and foregoing ordinance shall be exercised by the
State courts above named only until the Southern Congress now contemplated
shall otherwise dispose of the same.
Adopted, January 26, 1861.
No. 15
AN ORDINANCE]
In Reference To The Several Ordinances Passed By This Convention In Relation
To Federal Affairs
Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention
assembled , That the several ordinances passed by this Convention, in
reference to subjects over which the Federal Government had jurisdiction,
under the Constitution of the United States, before the State of Alabama
seceded from the Union, shall remain in force only till the Provisional
or Permanent Government, hereafter to be established by the Seceding States,
shall exercise its powers on the same subjects, and, by constitutional provision,
ordinance, laws, passed by authority of such Government, establish rules
and regulations inconsistent therewith.
Adopted, January 29, 1861.
No. 16]
AN ORDINANCE
To Preserve The Laws Of Alabama, And Such Offices, Rights And Remedies As
Are Consistent With The Ordinance Of Secession, And With Other Ordinances
Adopted By This Convention
Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention
assembled , That no law enacted by the authority of the State of Alabama,
in force on the eleventh day of January, A. D., 1861, and consistent with
the Constitution of this State, and not inconsistent with the ordinances
of this Convention, is affected by the ordinance known as the Ordinance
of Secession, adopted on said day, and entitled "an Ordinance to dissolve
the union between the State of Alabama and other States, united under the
compact styled, the Constitution of the United States."
Section 2. No office, civil or military, created by this State, or
under authority of its laws, in force on the eleventh day of January, A.
D., 1861, and no officer lawfully exercising the powers or duties of such
office, is affected by said Ordinance of Secession, except the offices of
the members of the House or Representatives and of the Senators of the Congress
of the United States of America, and these are abrogated.
Section 3. No offense against the laws of this State, committed before
or since the adoption of said Ordinance of Secession, is affected by said
ordinance; and no offender against said laws is relieved or discharged from
the consequences of such offenses by said ordinance; and no amercement,
fine, penalty, forfeiture, escheat, bond, or recognizance, accruing or enuring,
in whole or in part, to the State of Alabama, whether in action or in judgment,
is affected by said ordinance.
Section 4. No bond issued by authority of the laws of this State,
or bills or coin lawfully used as money in this State, and no bond, obligation,
debt or duty, due or owing to this State, or enuring, in whole or in part,
to this State, before or since adoption of said ordinance, is affected thereby.
Section 5. No process or proceeding of any court of this State is
affected by said Ordinance of Secession.
Section 6. No right, title, franchise, easement, license or privilege
given, granted, or conferred to, or upon, any person or body corporate,
under and by authority of the laws of this State, and no right of possession
or property, action or prosecution, title, claim, contract, agreement, obligation,
debt, or duty of any person or body corporate, is affected by said Ordinance
of Secession, unless the same is inconsistent with said ordinance, or is
affected by some other ordinance of this Convention.
Section 7. No rights acquired, or vested in any body corporate under
the Constitution of the United States, or under any act of Congress passed
in pursuance thereof, or under any law of this State, and not incompatible
with said Ordinance of Secession, affected by said ordinance.
Adopted January 23, 1861.
No. 17]
AN ORDINANCE
Concerning Foreign Coin
Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled
, That the laws of the United States, late in force in this State, relating
to the denomination and value of the gold and silver coin of the United
States, and other foreign countries, shall be adopted as the laws of this
State until otherwise provided; and such coins shall be a legal tender in
this State, at the value now fixed by such laws.
Adopted, January 24, 1861.
No. 18]
AN ORDINANCE
For The Issuance Of State Bonds
Be it declared and ordained, and it is hereby declared and ordained,
by the people of Alabama, by their Delegates, in Convention assembled ,
That, in order to provide for the payment of any extraordinary expenses
of the State Government, the General Assembly of this State shall have power
to cause to be issued bonds of the State of Alabama, to such an amount and
in such sums as they may deem best, the principal and interest to be made
payable at such time and place, and at such rate, as the General Assembly
may prescribe, and the faith and credit of the State to stand pledged for
the punctual payment of principal and interest of such bonds.
Adopted, January 19, 1861.
No. 19]
AN ORDINANCE
To Make Provisional Postal Arrangements In Alabama
Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled
, That the postal contracts, arrangements and regulations, in force on the
eleventh day of January, A. D., eighteen hundred and sixty-one, are permitted
to be continued, and the persons charged with the duties thereof are permitted
to continue to discharge such duties until a postal treaty, or treaties,
shall be concluded, or until otherwise ordered or provided by the authority
of this State.
Adopted, January 15, 1861.
No. 20]
AN ORDINANCE
Supplemental To An Ordinance To Make Provisional Postal Arrangements
Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled
, That, until such time as a Provisional or Permanent Government is established,
of which Alabama shall become a member, the General Assembly of the State
of Alabama has full power and authority to make provisional postal arrangements
for this State.
Adopted, January 26, 1861.
RESOLUTIONS
1]
RESOLUTION
In Relation To The Formation Of A Provisional And Permanent Government Between
The Seceding States
Resolved , That this Convention cordially approve of the suggestions
of the Convention of the people of South Carolina to meet them in Convention
at Montgomery, the State of Alabama, on the fourth day of February, 1861,
to frame a Provisional Government, upon the principles of the Constitution
of the United States, and also to prepare and consider upon a plan for the
creation and establishment of a Permanent Government for the seceding States,
upon the same principles, which shall be submitted to Conventions of such
seceding States for adoption or rejection.
Resolved , That we approve of the suggestion that each State shall
send to said Convention as many Deputies as it now has, or has lately had,
Senators and Representatives in the Congress of the United States; and that
each State shall have one vote upon all questions upon which a vote may
be taken in said Convention.
Resolved, therefore , That this Convention will proceed to elect,
by ballot, one Deputy from each Congressional District in this State, and
two Deputies from the State at large, at twelve o'clock, meridian, on Friday,
the 18th of January instant, who shall be authorized to meet in Convention
such Deputies as may be appointed by the other slaveholding States who may
secede from the Federal Union, for the purpose of carrying into effect the
foregoing and the resolutions attached to the Ordinance dissolving the Union;
and that Deputies shall be elected separately, and each Deputy shall receive
a majority of the members voting.
Adopted, January 17, 1861.
2]
RESOLUTION
In Relation To The Navigation Of The Mississippi River
Whereas , the navigation of the Mississippi river is a question
in which several Northern States and Southern States yet in the Federal
Union, are deeply interested; and whereas, the people of the State of Louisiana
are about to consider of the propriety of seceding from said Union; and
whereas, this is a subject which will properly come under the consideration
of the Convention of Seceding States to meet on the fourth day of February.
Be it resolved , That it is deliberate sense of this Convention that
the navigation of the Mississippi river to the people of the States and
Territories of the Federal Union upon it and its tributaries, should remain
free, and that no restriction upon this privilege should be made, further
than may be necessary for tonnage duties to keep open, and make safe, the
navigation of the mouth of said river, and for purposes of protection against
a belligerent and unfriendly people.
Adopted, January 25, 1861.
3]
RESOLUTION
In Relation To The African Slave Trade
Whereas , the people of Alabama are opposed, on the grounds of
public policy, to the re-opening of the African Slave Trade; therefore,
Resolved , That it is the will of the people of Alabama that the
Deputies elected by this Convention to the Southern Convention, to meet
at the city of Montgomery on the fourth day of February next to form a Southern
Republic, be, and they are hereby, instructed to insist on the enactment
by said Convention of such restrictions as will effectually prevent the
re-opening of the African Slave Trade.
Adopted, January 28, 1861.