only point of amendment intended was to give the permission to Congress to levy duties on exports. This has been done heretofore, but the period has expired within which the constitution permitted it. The vote stood 22 to 19. All the provinces were represented in proportion to their representation in Congress. Among other reforms aimed at is a reorganization of the common-school system. A commission was, in 1866, engaged in examining the various systems in the world, with reference to thorough and radical reforms. It was regarded as likely that the school system of the United States would be adopted.

The estimate for the wool-clip for the year 1866 is one hundred millions of pounds. The export duty on wool, hides, bones, tallow, etc., produces about three millions of silver dollars per annum. This tax is designed chiefly to pay interest and for the reduction of the public debt. As the amount of exports doubles every four years, this export duty must soon lift the nation out of debt.

The government imitated the policy of that of the United States in issuing treasury notes, bearing interest, for payment of government dues, and to be received in payment of customhouse duties. They represent silver dollars, and are of the denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.

Immigration for 1865 to the Argentine Confederation foots up to two thousand five hundred and forty. This does not include those who came by steamer, neither does it except those who left the country for foreign parts, of whom there have been many. The greatest progress immigration has made is in the province of Santa Fé, where the first colonial settlements began ten years ago, and where now over five hundred and fifty foreign families are settled. In the Gran Chaco a California colony has been established, which is doing very well, and already has a great many acres in grain. The Argentine Government look upon this colony as one of great hope and promise.

In consequence of the foreign immigration, Protestant churches and schools are being established in a number of places. The most numerous Protestant body in the country is the Protestant Episcopal Church. From the latest report of the superintendent of the Methodist mission, Rev. Dr. Goodfellow, dated October 10, 1866, we gather the following intelligence: In the city of Buenos Ayres the Methodist congregation has 92 members, 44 probationers; total, 136; 90 scholars in Sunday-school, and 19 officers and teachers. In Buenos Ayres circuit there are 6 regular preaching-places, and 1 occasional, with 11 members and 9 probation ers. In Rosario the Sunday school has about 20 scholars, and the day school 40. The settlement of Californians on the border of the Indian territory would soon be visited by a missionary. Esperanza has a Protestant population of 500 souls, mostly Germans. The government has agreed to aid the Protestant school with $25 Bolivian

currency per month, about $20 silver. Sán Carlos has about 300 Protestant persons, and the Methodist mission has a church, school, and parsonage. In Villa de Urquiza there are about 200 Protestants, mostly German, with a school taught by the Methodist missionary. In Cordova a Sunday-school has been established.

ARKANSAS. The government of the State of Arkansas continued during the year as it had been organized in 1864, with the exception of the resignation of the Lieutenant-Governor. An election was held, on the first Monday of August, for the choice of an Auditor, Treasurer, Supreme Court Judges, and members of the Legislature. The total vote given for Auditor was 34,407, which was divided among three candidates as follows: Miller, Union, 15,241; Fagan, Union, 12,690; Berry, Republican, 6,476. Cunningham was chosen Treasurer; and Clendenin and Walker, Judges of the Supreme Court. Twenty-five Union members were chosen to the Senate, and seventy-nine members to the House, of whom five were Republicans. All persons were allowed to vote who were free white male citizens of the United States, and had attained the age of twentyone years, and had been citizens of the State during the last previous six months, without taking a test oath or any other preliminary oath whatever. The Legislature had attempted to require a test oath to be taken by all voters in the State, as a prerequisite to their right to exercise the elective franchise Under this atthority Governor Murphy in his first proclamations stated that no one could be allowed to vote until he had taken the oath. But in December, 1865, the Supreme Court of the State declared the law to be unconstitutional, and all oaths were abandoned.

The Legislature assembled at Little Rock, on November 5th. It was the first session, in which all parts of the State were represented, that had been held since the reorganization in 1864. Its acts were confined almost entirely to local interests. It accepted the lands donated by Congress for agricultural colleges; located an institution for the blind at Arkadelphia, with an appropriation for its support; and previous to its recess, near the close of the year, inaugurated measures for the remission of taxes for the years from 1861 to 1865; to rebuild the court-houses and jails burned down; to repeal the stay law; to define the rights of persons of color; to provide for the support of wounded and disabled soldiers, and the indigent children of deceased soldiers, whether in the Northern or Southern service; to provide for the payment of debts in instalments; to bestow civil rights on mulattoes and negroes, except the right of intermarrying with whites, of voting, serving on juries, mingling in public schools with whites, and doing militia duty; to regulate the labor system; to encourage immigration, etc., etc. In the House, on November 16th, a resolution was offered, setting forth that President Johnson was entitled to and would receive the support

and gratitude of the people of Arkansas, in pursuing the policy exhibited in his official acts, and standing between the citizens and the unholy legislation of radical majorities. A motion to lay on the table was lost-yeas, 17; nays, 55. It was referred to the Committee on Federal Relations.

On December 8th the following resolution was offered:

That this General Assembly, and the people of the State of Arkansas, tender our gratitude to General Jefferson Davis, for the noble and patriotic manner in which he conducted the affairs of our government, while President of the Confederacy; and that we assure him of our most earnest and heart-felt sympathy while with unexampled fortitude he endures in Northern prisons unparalleled suffering as a martyr to liberty; and that although we may strive to forget the wrongs unjustly heaped upon him, yet his name is and ever shall be enshrined in every true. Southern heart. May he outlive his persecution, to comfort his family, honor his country, and adorn the world!

It was referred to the Committee on Federal Relations.

On December 10th the following was offered, and referred to the same committee:

Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, That to calm the troubled waters of our political atmosphere, we ratify the Constitutional Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, as recommended by his excellency Governor Murphy.

The views of the Legislature on various public questions were expressed in the reports of committees, and the debates. On December 10th the Committee on Federal Relations in the Senate reported the following resolution relative to the Constitutional Amendment proposed by Congress:

Resolved, That the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas declines to ratify the amendment, adding article fourteen to the Constitution of the United States, as proposed by joint resolution of Congress. The reasons urged by the committee in support of their recommendation were as follows:

1. It is not known, nor can it be, to the State of Arkansas, that the proposed amendment was ever acted upon by a Congress of such a character as is provided for by the Constitution, inasmuch as nearly one-third of the States were refused representation in the Congress which acted upon this amendment. 2. This proposed amendment was never submitted to the President for his sanction, as it should have been, according to the very letter of that Constitution under which Congress exists, and which it has sought 3. The great and enormous power sought to be conferred on Congress by the amendment, by giving to that body authority to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of the first article of said amendment, would, in effect, take from the States all control over their local and domestic concerns, and virtually abolish the States.

to amend.

4. The second section seems, to the committee, an effort to force negro suffrage upon the States; and whether intended or not, it leaves the power to bring this about, whether the States consent or not; and the committee are of the opinion that every State

Legislature should shrink from ever permitting the possibility of such a calamity.

5. The third section, as an act of disfranchisement

which would embrace many of our best and wisest citizens, must, of necessity, bo rejected by the people of Arkansas.

The committee say that they have particularly remarked one peculiar feature in the first section of the proposed amendment; that is, the portion which declares, "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." "This is almost identical in language with the fifth amendment to the Constitution, and if this provision already in existence will not secure the object designed, what assurance have we, that a similar one will not be disregarded." They decline to recommend it on the further grounds that it imposes new and additional obligations on the people not contemplated or intended when the general amnesty was proclaimed, on May 29, 1865. They say: "The people of Arkansas have accepted and performed all the conditions of the surrender and general amnesty, and with wonderful unanimity have accepted the results of the war, and according to all law are entitled to all their rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, and to be restored to the Union as before the war. They have submitted in good faith, with an earnest desire to make the United States a common country, to be cherished in our hearts and defended by our

arms.

"We cannot tell what may be in store for this State. She and others may be forced to take this amendment, and even harsher terms; but as valuable as restoration may be, the people of Arkansas can never agree to purchase it at such a sacrifice of principle, dignity, and self-respect as is demanded in the adoption of this proposed amendment. We had better bear our troubles, trials, and deprivations, and even wrongs, in dignified silence, than commit an act of disgrace, if not annihilation, such as would result from the adoption of this amendment by the Legislature."

No action was taken by the Legislature relative to the passage of this amendment previous to the recess at the close of the year. But a commission, to be sent to Washington, was provided for, which was to consist of the President of the Senate and three members of that body, seven members of the House, and three citizens, not members of the Legislature, to be appointed by Governor Murphy. The Governor declined to appoint. The object of the commission was to confer with the Federal Government respecting their mutual relations. This commission was in part induced by the assembling in convention at Fort Smith of citizens calling themselves "Loyalists," who addressed a memorial to Congress for the removal of the existing State government, by the passage of an "enabling act," authorizing them to form a new State government.

On November 23d the following resolution mously. Subsequently it was concurred in by was offered in the House, and passed unanithe Senate:

Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, That a joint committee, to be composed of the separate Committees on Federal Relations, of the Senate and House of Representatives, is hereby created, with instructions to prepare and report to each House a memorial to the President and Congress of the United States, setting forth the true position of the State of Arkansas, and the spirit and wishes of the people thereof, with regard to the restoration of the Union in all its parts; and the measures which might be most efficient in restoring a condition of harmony; and the cooperation of all the States in the promotion of the national prosperity in a manner consistent with the honor and dignity of the citizens of the respective States.

The reasons urged for the adoption of the resolution were stated to be a conviction that the people of the Northern States had been deceived by misrepresentations made to them as to the opinions of the people of the Southern States, and the motives which dictated their actions: whereas justice to the people of Arkansas and their posterity demanded that the truths of history should be known. The present Legislature was the first official body convened for four years which represented all parts of the State. Every shade of political opinion had an opportunity to represent itself through a free election, and in the resolution they resolved to appeal to the better judgment of the American people.

The views of the Legislature respecting the action of the State in her legislative capacity during the war, and indirectly her relations to the Union, were expressed in connection with some questions arising out of certain land sales by her agents during the war. The question presented was, to what extent the present constitution of the State repudiates or makes null and void the action of the authorities between May 1, 1861, the day on which the State seceded, and the adoption of the present constitution. The Judiciary Committee made a majority and a minority report. The former took the ground that the Legislature itself had acknowledged the present constitution as the supreme organic law of the State, by assembling in obedience to its commands. This constitution declared the entire action of the convention of 1861 to be null and void, and never binding, nor any action of the State under its authority. But it provided that this declaration should not be so construed as to affect the rights of individuals, change county boundaries, invalidate the acts of justices of the peace, conveyances, marriages, etc. The words "rights of individuals " were too vague, indefinite, and ambiguous to mean any thing specially, and must be regarded as inoperative and void; therefore, with the exceptions specifically named, all actions of the State done under the authority of the convention of 1861 must be treated as null and void, and this included sales of land.

The minority report admitted the present constitution to be the supreme organic law of the State, and asserted that the same rules of interpretation and construction were applicable to it as to any other constitution of the State for the purpose of ascertaining its mean

ing and effect. It then submitted the following propositions:

1. That the Constitution of the United States, and all laws made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties, are the supreme law of the land, any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary, notwithstanding.

2. That the people of this State have now, and always have had, the exclusive right, as a free people, of governing themselves, and of exercising and enjoying every power, jurisdiction, and right pertaining to a State which was and is not delegated to the United States.

3. That aside from the fact that the end and ob

jet of all government, especially in the United States, is the safety of the people and the preservation of property, and that, by tacit reservation of the people, the State has, in exercising the powers of government by the consent of the people, either in convention assembled or by ordinary legislation, no power to ruin the one or destroy the other; that the Bill of Rights, in every constitution of the State, has declared, that no man shall be imprisoned or disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or in any way deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the judgment of his peers or the laws of the land; and that no ex post facto laws, or law, impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be made in this State.

4. That the conventions of 1861 and 1864, being both conventions of the people, were equal in power and authority. That while the latter had the power and authority to declare that the entire action of the former was not, from the time of the adoption of the latter, binding and obligatory, and that all the action of the State, of whatever character, under the authority of the convention of 1861, was no longer binding, but null and void from the time of the adoption of the constitution of 1864, saving the exceptions therein stated; yet the convention of 1864 had no power to declare that acts done under said convention of 1861 and its constitution relating to inState, and not relating to the powers delegated to ternal government and police regulations in the the national Government; never were binding and obligatory upon the people of this State, but void ab initio. This character of ex post facto and retrospective ordinances and legislation is beyond even the power of a convention; for if an act be done under a law, even a convention cannot undo it. The past cannot be recalled by the most absolute power. And by maintaining that the convention of 1864 did do this, would be, in effect, declaring a hiatus in the government of the State from 1861 to 1864, during which there was no civil authority whatever; whereas, it appears not to have been so considered by said convention of 1864, for they recite the object of their convening to be, among other things, to "continue ourselves as a free and independent State."

5. That the ordinance of secession of the convention of 1861, and all other actions of said conven

tion and the State under its authority, in contraven

tion of or in conflict with the Constitution, constitutional laws, and treaties of the United States and the delegated powers of the General Government were null and void and inoperative ab initio. This would So, aside from any declaration to that effect in the constitution of 1864.

be

6. That all parts of the constitution are to be reconciled with each other and the general subject, and therefore the proviso "that this ordinance shall not be so construed as to affect the rights of individuals," from the public history of the country at the time of its adoption, the manifest object in view and general purview of the ordinance, was intended to protect the rights of individuals in all internal which were not void ab initio by reason of conflict municipal laws and police regulations of the State, with the delegated powers and just authority of the United States, and which were rendered nuli and

void from and after the adoption of said constitution of 1964. And as conclusive that some meaning was attached to this proviso, and that the convention were desirous of preventing a more extended construction of this proviso, whereby the State might become bound to individuals, they further provided, "that no debt or liability of the State of Arkansas incurred by the action of said convention or of the Legislature, or any department of the government under the authority of either, shall ever be recognized as obligatory." But to give to those words the extended meaning of which they would be susceptible in other connections, would lead to the absurdity contended for by the majority report, which the minority are of the opinion would be contrary to the manifest intent of said convention, as gathered from the whole instrument.

7. "How legitimate rights can be acquired under authority declared to be illegal and void," can be conceived by recurring to the fundamental principle that the past cannot be recalled by the most absolute powers; that all the acts of the State, relative to her internal municipal laws and police regu lations, were valid, and were only rendered invalid, saving the exceptions named, from the adoption of said constitution of 1864. Were this not the case, if another civil war should arise, persons entertaining different views might succeed, and again declare that the present constitution and all acts done under it were, and ever had been, null and void.

In accordance with these views, the minority be and of the lands of persons, on account of their allegiance thereto, were at all times, and are now, by the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of 1864, null and void. No legislation can protect the supposed interests of persons in the purchase of the same; but that the State ought to be bound by her action in selling lands, which, prior to, and on the 6th of May, 1861, belonged to her, and that suita ble legislation could and ought to be made, to protect the interests of persons interested therein.

lieve that all sales of lands of the United States

In the Senate, the minority report was substituted for the majority and adopted-yeas 16, nays 6.

The election of a Senator to Congress for the long term, and another for a short term, occasioned by the resignation of William M. Fishback, commenced in each House under the recent act of Congress on November 20th. Neither House was able to agree upon a Senator, and both met in joint convention on the 24th, when John T. Jones was elected for the short term. No choice was made for the long term. A joint convention was again held on the 26th, without success; but on the 27th, Andrew Hunter was chosen, who had been for the last twenty-five years an itinerant minister of the Methodist Church.

The recommendation of the Governor relative to public schools was promptly responded to by the Legislature. A bill was introduced providing for the support of these schools by levying a special tax of one-fifth of one per cent. on all taxable property belonging to white citizens, and admitting to the benefit of the schools all white children between the ages of six and eighteen years. Special officers were to be appointed to administer the system.

The present debt of the State was created entirely on account of the banks, and on Jantary 1, 1860, amounted to $3,182,968. Of this sum $2,097,145 is secured by a mortgage upon

188,110 acres of the best and most valuable lands in the State. The remaining sum of $1,085,822 is a total loss to the State. The entire debt, with interest, on December 31, 1866, was $3,575,121. No measures were adopted during the year for the liquidation of this debt. It was suggested to the Legislature to issue twenty-year bonds, and to provide for their payment by a sinking-fund. This would put an annual burden on the State of $254,000; while her present revenue was estimated at $500,000. The internal resources of the State can hardly be exaggerated. Eight rivers, all navigable to a greater or less extent, and with numerous tributaries navigable at certain seaand contribute to a fertility and diversity of sons, flow through the State to the Mississippi, soil unsurpassed. In Northern Arkansas all the grains, such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, and corn are grown with great success, and the apple, the pear, the peach, the quince, and the grape, and all species of the melon thrive most abundantly. South of, and along the Arkansas River, which cuts the State into two nearly these fruits are grown equally as well; and equal parts from northwest to southeast, all others of a more tropical nature, as the fig and apricot, are easily produced. Cotton is nevertheless the great staple of the State. The uplands produce from 800 to 1,200 pounds of seed cotton per acre. On the river bottoms the increase is still larger. Timber on the uplands is abundant and consists of black, white, red, and post oaks, hickory, yellow pine, dogwood, and maple, while on the margins of the little streams are the walnut, beech, elm, and yam. Coal has already been found and surveyed in twelve counties, and in those farthest from the great coal-basin east of the Mississippi. In other minerals the State is very rich.

The Governor, in his message to the Legislature, in November, speaks of a proscriptive party spirit, which had shown itself in portions of the State so violent as to threaten an appeal to arms. No facts were stated, and the press urged the Legislature to call upon him for more specific information, declaring an utter ignorance of the facts upon which his remarks were based. That body, soon after its organization, directed a select committee to consider so much of the message as referred "to the development of a proscriptive party spirit," and to extend the field of investigation so as to inquire in what manner the freedmen were treated in the State. The only disturbance known at the time of the elections occurred in Washington County. There an armed party of about one hundred men interfered and broke up certain of the political appointments of their opponents. Between the friends of the measures of Congress who were desirous of inaugurating a Territorial Government in the State, and who appear to be few in number, and the more active of their opponents who sustain the President, a warm political feeling may have existed. The commanding officer at Fort Smith,

General Edwards, under date of October 7th, writes: "Union men are just as safe in this State as anywhere else. We have not our proportional part of lawlessness in comparison with other States. There are but few instances of violence being committed on political considerations, and where these have occurred the wrongs have been committed as much by one party as the other." Active efforts were made to induce capitalists and laborers to become citizens of the State, and assurances were given that persons of all shades of political opinions were as safe in person and property within the State as they could be anywhere. Measures were taken to improve and extend the various railroads in operation, as conducive to public prosperity; it is believed that in a few years the State will be traversed by them in every direction.

The public sentiment of the State had become favorably changed with regard to the freedmen, and measures for their education and general improvement were advocated in the most influential quarters. The passage of laws securing to all the equal protection of person and property, was a proposition universally approved. Few, however, could at present be found who would consent to make them full citizens of the State, and as such, entitled to an equality of all rights. It was apprehended that the embarrassments arising in the State from a scarcity of labor would tend to increase in subsequent years, in consequence of the rapid disappearance of the negro.

ARMINIAN CHURCHES. CHURCHES.)

(See EASTERN

ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. By a communication from the War Department, in response to a resolution adopted by the House of Representatives, it was shown that on January 9, 1866, the Army, both regular and volunteer, comprised 152,611 officers and men, organized and distributed as follows:

Thus, in eighteen months from the cessation of hostilities, 1,023,021 men were disbanded and transported to their homes. Seven-eighths of this force were discharged previous to January 1, 1866, and the whole number could easily have been disposed of within a year of the termination of the war, had it not been deemed necessary to retain a considerable force of volunteers in the service pending the reorganization of the regular army. So soon as the latter shall be placed upon a permanent soldier will be found in the Army. footing, it is not likely that a single volunteer

During the first session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, two important bills were introduced, regulating the military peace establishment of the United States, one of which originated in the Senate, and the other in the House of Representatives. The former, known as Senator Wilson's bill, provided for five regiments of artillery, six of cavalry, and thirty-seven of infantry; the latter, which was drawn up by Mr. Schenck, of the House of Representatives, differed from the former principally in making the infantry force comprise fifty regiments, of which ten were to be formed from the Veteran Reserve Corps. It also aimed at appointing regimental adjutants, quartermasters, and commissaries, and of filling original vacancies in the lower grades of officers, from among those who had been officers or soldiers of the volunteers; favored promotion by seniority in several departments of the Army; and was considered to do injustice to officers of the regular service. The Senate bill passed the body in which it originated early in the session, but made no further progress, the House adhering tenaciously to its own bill. As it was feared that between the rival projects no bill whatever would be passed, which under existing circumstances would have proved detrimental to the interests of the country, Gen. Grant was induced to send the following communication to the Secretary of War, recommending the Senate bill, which, on May 17th, was laid before Congress by the President:

HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, Į WASHINGTON, D. C.. May 16, 1566. Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War: SIR: In view of the long delay, in the lower House