of those who heard him he related some of his experiences while he was
engaged in canvassing the county. But the speech revealed the fact that,
after all, he was nothing more than an ordinary man. No one was
impressed by any word or sentence that had fallen from his lips that
there was anything about him that was strange, impressive or unusual,
and all decided that his election was purely accidental; for it was no
more surprising than was the election of a colored Republican, Hon. J.M.
Wilson, to the same Legislature the year before, from the reliable
Democratic county of Marion.

There was not much to be done at the second session of the Legislature
outside of passing the annual appropriation bills; hence the session was
a short one. Although Governor Alcorn's term as a United States Senator
commenced March 4, 1871, he did not vacate the office of Governor until
the meeting of Congress, the first Monday in the following December. A
new Legislature and all county officers were to be elected in November
of that year. It was to be the first important election since the
inauguration of the Alcorn administration. The Governor decided to
remain where he could assume entire responsibility for what had been
done and where he could answer, officially and otherwise, all charges
and accusations and criticisms that might be made against his
administration and his official acts. The Republican majority in the
State Senate was so large that the holdover Senators made it well nigh
impossible for the Democrats to secure a majority of that body, but the
principal fight was to be made for control of the House. As already
stated the heavy increase in taxation proved to be very unpopular and
this gave the Democrats a decided advantage. They made a strong and
bitter fight to gain control of the House, and nearly succeeded.

When every county had been heard from it was found that out of the one