OCR Text |
Show EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. bu.ndred and fifty thousand dollars, due to the state Clf Georgi.a, i~o eonsjderation of the cession to the United States, or in pay•nent of the stock which may or sha11 be created by the act, entitled u Au act pro· vjding for the indemnificatioiJ of certain claimants of public lanus in (he Mississippi territory." Sec. 6. And he it further enacted, That until the next gPneral censu~ shaiJ be taken, .the ~aid state shall bt~ entitled to one representative.. in the house of representatiye~ of the United St<ltes. H. CLAY, Speaker 9f the Hou.;;e of ReprPsPnt;;Jtive.s. JOHN GAILLARD, President of the Senate pro tempore. Ma1·ch l, 1817-Approved, JAMES MADISON. The state of Mississippi is divided politically into two portions. Th~ part included in the counties named in the foregoing act of congress, forms the least, but much the most valuable part of the state. The second and most extensive division remains yet in tbe possession of the Choctaw and Chickesaw Im4ians. The following table will exhibit the relative extent of the counties and their popu!atior1 in 1810. Thi~ will no do1..1bt give a ve~y inade~ q~ate conceptJ.on of the . number of inhabitants, now existing in the ~Jfferent co~nhes, ~r th~1r aggregate amount. A very considerable mfl~x of. emigrants 1s annuaJiy removing into the country qow inGluded m th1s state. eounties. Warren Claiborne Jefferson ,A. dams Franklin Wilkinson Amite *Pike -11-Lawrenc~ ·JiMarian *Hancocl) Wayne *Greene ~Jackson Statistical Table of the State of Mississippi. Sfluare Miles. ~opulation in uno. In 18l6. 414 1114 1,570 396 3102 3,500 540 4001 4 900 ) 414 10,002 10,000 378 2016 2,700 612 5068 7,270 972 4750 .5,060 720 2,620 1000 l ,780 828 1,700 2100 1,000 1800 1253 2 U80 1856 , 1050 ---- 13,080 31,30~ 44,180 Towns.. Warren Gibsons port Greeneville NATCHEZ ~iberty WnoJville Liberty J ack::-onvillc Monticello Winchester Tl~e ~onventi')p authorizt"d by the act of congress, for forming a f:OnstJtutJOn. ~nd state gov~rnment f~r the we tern part of this territory,. assembled m the town of Washington on the 7th day of July, 1817. ~~~ the delegates were present, except Colonel John Bond of Pike ~ounty. They closed their labours on the 15th of Aqgust. ' tt C.untic! made since 18~0. El\fiGRANT'S GUTOE. 100 .flis excelJeney Gov. Holmes was elected president, and conducted to the chair, ti·om which he delivered a short and impressive address; ami Lewis Winston, Esq. was elected secretary, who also addressed the convention on the occ -tsion. A que. tion was made by Judge Poindexter, to postpone, until the ·JSth March next, a resolution introuuced into the conTention [by Mr. Turner] doclaring the expediency of forming a constitution and state government at thi8 time, which was decided, yeas J 2, nays 35. · The question was then put on adopting the resolution, and decid· sd, ye!!S 36, nayi 11. Judge Poindexter voted for accepting the state government, tm the final vote. A committee was then appointed to prepare and report to the COJI.Io vention, a plan for the constitution, consisting of Messrs. Poindexter, Sin1pson, LPake, Rankin, Burnet, Downs, l\1eade, West, Wilkins,. Shaw, Brandon, Lattimore, Hanna, Minton, M'Nab, Runnels, Ford, Jourdan, M•Cay, Patton, and Bilbo. Mr. William Lattimore, late member of congress and a member of the convention, for accepting a state governrnen t for the same, delivered the following speech in the convention. It contain~ so many and so important facts respectiDi; the local subdivisions and interests of that country, and re:;pecting the var..ious land claims, that its entire insertion was judged necessary. Mr. Lattimore said, he did not presume that be could change the disposition of any member of the convention, in relation to this ques~tion. That it was one, however, in which the character and interest of the country were very dc~ply involved ; and it behooved the con .. vention to deliberate seriously, whilst it was in its powe.r to save the state, and preserve the reputation of consistency. He begged leave to premise, that he had no extraordinary feeling on this subject. The time wa• when he had such a feeling; but it had. flOW passed by. It was a subject on which he had taken an active and highly responsible part. It had been a very interesting part of his duty, which he met with zeal. That he felt, of course, a particular solicitude, so Jon~ as his conduct was mH.ler the consideration of his constituents ; but they had now decided in his favour. A very large majority of the members of the convention are elected on the grounds of their being in favour of accepting of state government, un• der the provisions of the law of congress ; and the members thu3 elected had determined, early in the iession, that it was expedient at this time to form a c()nstitution and state governn~cnt. The difiicul.ties, (said ~r. L.) whiclt now threaten us with a dissolution, have not arisen from an indisposition to state government, agreeably to the provisions of the law, bw t from a supposed conflict of local interests between the eastern and western sections of the proposf:d state. He therefore concluded, that his course bad been sanctioned by the people whom be had had the honour to represent ; and be now felt a.s happy on this subject as any man could be. That it was always his d.esir~ and care to represent the interest and wishes of his constituent~, and as far as his care went, he was now perfectly grJtified. Mr. L, aelmittetl, n~v~rlhelci~i, that he E~ilLLl,ad !ucb. a sensibility o~. |