Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/449

 MISSISSIPPI

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MISSISSIPPI

colony did not prosper. D'lljerville returned to France, leaving his two brothers, Sauvoll6 and Bien- ville, in charge of the country. In 1699 D'Iberville returned and built a fort on the Mississippi about 400 miles below Natchez. He sent Fonti on an expedition to Natchez, who built Fort Rosalie near Natchez. At that time Louisiana belonged to France, and Florida to Spain by claim of discovery. In 1763 Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain. The northern line of Florida was claimed by Spain from the mouth of the Yazoo River east to the Chattahouchie River, a claim that was not conceded north of 31° N. lat. In 1772 Richard and Samuel Swaze of New Jersey formed a permanent settlement on the Homochitto River in Adams County. In 1781 Spain, then at war with England, expelled the English from Florida, and took possession of that country. Florida was conceded to extend to 31° N. lat. and westward to the Perdido River. All south of that parallel and west of the Per- dido River belonged to France. All east of the Missis- sippi River and north of 31° N. lat. was territory of the United States and was claimed by the State of Georgia.

In 1"98 the Territory of Mississippi, established by Act of Congress, was bounded as follows: On the west by the Mississippi River, on the south by parallel 31° N. lat., on the north by a line running east from the mouth of the Yazoo River to the Chattahouchie River and along the latter river on the east. In 1802 the State of Georgia ceded to the United States its claim to all territory north of 31° N. lat. as far as the Ten- nessee line, and in 1804 Congress attached all north of 31° N. lat. and south of the Tennessee line to the Territory of Mississippi. In 1803 the Louisiana Pur- chase was effected. In 1812 Congress added what was then termed the District of Mobile to the Territory of Mississippi, being all that territorj- extending from the Pearl to the Perdido rivers, bounded on the north by 31° N. lat. and on the south by the Mexican Gulf. By the treaty of Madrid of 27 October, 179.5, Spain had conceded that the southern boundary of the United States should extend to parallel 31° N. lat., thereby waiving all claim north of that line. By the treaty of 22 February, 1819, Spain ceded all Florida, includ- ing the W'hole territory south of parallel 31° N. lat. and east of the I\li--i--i)'|ii Hiver, to the United States. But the LTnitcii Si:iti^ was then in possession of Flor- ida east of the I'lidido River, by conquest; General Jackson, having in 1818 invaded east Florida, con- quered the Indians and expelled the Spaniards. Be- fore that time the United States claimed de jure all west of the Perdido under the Louisiana Purchase. The present territory of Mississippi was acquinul and claimed as follows: That portion south of 31° N. lat. and west of the Perdido River, and extentling to Pearl River, was claimed by original title under the Louisiana Purchase. From parallel 31° N. lat. to the line from the mouth of Pearl River, east to the present Alabama line, by occupancy and proprietary right, and all north of jjarallel 31° N. lat. to the Tennessee line was territory of Georgia, and was ceded by that state to the United States. This is the de jure deriva- tion of the titles of the United States Government. The State of Mississippi was created by Act of Con- gress of 1 March, 1817.

On 9 January, 1861, Mississippi pa.s.scd the Ordi- nance of Secession and joined the Southern Confed- eracy immediately upon its establishment. The state furnished 80,000 troops to the Confc ilcracy during the war, with a total pojiulation of 70,295 white males between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. There were 545 whites and 79,000 negroes from the state enlisted in the Federal Army. Upon the surren- der of the Confederacy the state was placed under military rule. In June, 1865, a provisional govern- ment was established by President John.son, with William L. Sharkey as provisional governor. A civil state government was established by an elecr

tion by the people in October, 1865, under the auspices of President Johnson's plan of Reconstruction, with Benjamin G. Humphreys as governor. Under the Reconstruction Acts of Congress of March, 1867, the Humphreys government was abolished and a tempo- rary military government established in its place until the Reconstruction government was established, un- der the Acts of Congress, with James L. Alcorn as governor, who was inaugurated 10 March, 1870. This Reconstruction period, with unlimited negro suffrage, lasted until 1876, when the white man regained con- trol of the state. The ordinary annual expenses of the state government increased from $463,209.71 in 1869, to 81,729,046.34 in 1871, under negro rule. In 1876, under white rule, the expenses of the state were re- duced to $591,709.00 per annum. During the Recon- struction period taxation had reached the point of confiscation, and one-fifth of all the lands in the state had been forfeited to the state for taxes.

From 1876 to 1890, by various extra-legal methods the white men managed to maintain control of the state, and the constitutional convention of 1890 en- acted a constitution that placed limitations on the elective franchise. The state suffered severely during the Civil War, being the theatre of extensive military operations. During the Reconstruction period there was an enormous loss in property values. At present the state is in a highly prosperous condition, and each year witnesses its steady improvement and develop- ment.

The Diocese of Natchez (q. v.) includes the entire state; the Catholic population in 1910 amounted to 25,701, including 2017 coloured and 233 Indian Cath- olics.

Laws of the State Affecting Religion. — The State Con- stitution of 1890 provides that no testamentary be- quests of any property, real or personal, can be made to any religious or charitable uses. The statutes regulate by limitations the character of property that religious societies or associations, or ecclesiastical bodies, may own and hold, viz. : a church, a residence for a priest or minister, and a school or seminary each for male and female scholars, and also a cemetery; and a religious denomination may, in addition, own such colleges or seminaries of learning as it may deem proper, and also a place of residence for its superior clergymen. These limitations apply to all religious denominations, socie- ties and ecclesiastical bodies, without discrimination. All divorce and marriage laws, and cognate laws, ap- ply without discrimination to all citizens of the state u-respective of their religious beliefs and affiliations. All qualifications of the elective franchi.se and for office are of uniform character. So also are all laws regulating grand and petit jury duty, and road and street duty, and military service, and (^\cinpting ;M ministers of the Gospel from these duties. The State Constitution of 1890 provides that no religious tests as a qualification for office shall be required, and that no preference shall be given by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship. Absolute freedom in all matters of religion, or modes of worship, it is declared by the Constitution, "shall be held sacred". The Bible is not t o be excluded from the public schools, meaning t he schools maintained by the state. Secul:ir and business pursuits, not of a necessary ch.'i meter, are prohibile<l on Sunday. Blasphemy and profanity in any public place is prohibited. The Senate and the House, as a matter of custom, are oijcned with pr.ayer by some minister of the Gospel, on the invitation of the presiding officer of the body. The following legal holidays are designated liy the statutes of the state, viz.: 1 January, 22 Feliruary (Washington's Birth- d.ay), 26 April, Memorial Day, 3 June, Jefferson Davis Day, 4 July, ami Christmas Day.

■The laws of the state do not preserve the inviola- bility of the confessional as matter of evidence. The only privileged communications are those between a