was so outspoken in his support of the Republican ticket, that in an address before the State Republican Convention that nominated General Alcorn for the Governorship he announced, “You have my sympathy and shall have my support.”  This declaration was received by the convention with great applause, for it was known that those words from that source carried great weight.  They meant not only that the Republican party would have the active and aggressive support of the Military Governor,—­which was very important and would be worth thousands of votes to the party,—­but they also indicated the attitude of the National Administration.  The campaign was aggressive from beginning to end.  Judge Dent was at a disadvantage, since his candidacy had failed to bring to his support the influence of the National Administration, which had been the sole purpose of his nomination.  In spite of that fact Dent made a game and gallant fight; but the election resulted in an overwhelming Republican victory.  That party not only elected the State ticket by a majority of about 30,000 but it also had a large majority in both branches of the State Legislature.

The new administration had an important and difficult task before it.  A State Government had to be organized from top to bottom; a new judiciary had to be inaugurated,—­consisting of three Justices of the State Supreme Court, fifteen Judges of the Circuit Court and twenty Chancery Court Judges,—­who had all to be appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate, and, in addition, a new public school system had to be established.  There was not a public school building anywhere in the State except in a few of the larger towns, and they, with possibly a few exceptions, were greatly in need of repairs.  To erect the necessary school houses and to reconstruct and repair those already in existence so as to afford educational facilities for both races was by no means an easy task.  It necessitated a very large outlay of cash in the beginning, which resulted in a material increase in the rate of taxation for the time being, but the Constitution called for the establishment of the system, and of course the work had to be done.  It was not only done, but it was done creditably and as economically as possible, considering the conditions at that time.

That system, though slightly changed, still stands,—­a creditable monument to the first Republican State administration that was organized in the State of Mississippi under the Reconstruction Acts of Congress.

It was also necessary to reorganize, reconstruct and, in many instances, rebuild some of the penal and charitable institutions of the State.  A new code of laws also had to be adopted to take the place of the old code and thus wipe out the black laws that had been passed by what was known as the Johnson Legislature and in addition bring about other changes so as to make the laws and statutes of the State conform with the new order of things.  This was no easy task, in view of the fact that a heavy increase in the rate of taxation was thus made necessary, for the time being at least.  That this important work was splendidly, creditably, and economically done no fair-minded person who is familiar with the facts will question or dispute.