Letter from Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus to William S. Barry; March 28, 1861

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Letter from Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus to William S. Barry; March 28, 1861

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People

Barry, William T. S. (William Taylor Sullivan), 1821-1868 Pettus, John Jones, 1813-1867

Events

Weather and Natural Events--Drought

Military Units

Mississippi. Militia

Organizations

Boards of Police Confederate States of America--War Department Confederate States of America--War Department. Quartermaster Department Mississippi--Executive Department

Places

Alabama--Mobile County. Mobile Florida--Escambia County. Pensacola Louisiana Mississippi--Attala County Mississippi--Hinds County. Jackson Mississippi--Leake County Sectors of Land--Mississippi. Gulf Coast

Social Identifiers

Impoverished people

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Executive Office,
Jackson, Miss: March 28^th 1861.

Hon W L Barry
President of the Convention

Sir

I would^d^ through you Respectfully call for the attention of the Convention to the distressed condition of a large portion of the people of the Central Counties of this State from Leake & Atala to the sea shore The excessive drought of last summer [?] their crops both corn & cotton & a considerable num-ber of the people of that distri-ct have not corn enough to enable them to live & are without the means or [?] to purchase bread,

Knowing that it is only necessary for these facts to be presented

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to the convention to induce them to extend to the destitute the aid Required I have deemed it my duty to ask an investi-gation of the matter & if the facts are as I am informed & believe I Regard them as suffi=cient to warrant me in invoking the full power of the State to apply the Remedy, & to effect that I would Respectfully submit the following suggestions

First that extraordinary powers be given to the Board of Polices? of such counties as an destitute of corn, to use all county funds school fun-ds &c which may be under their controll for the purchase of corn to be loaned to those who are unable to buy

second—that they be informed

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to [?] [?] [?] such Rate of interest as will enable them to dispose of it for the amount of funds Required

third—That the State advance to said Counties as a loan in Treasury notes or money a sum sufficient to Releave their distress & drive hunger their doors—The proposition is not debateable, that all the powers & Resorces of the state must be exhausted before mississippians are permitted to tarrie,

I would ask leave further to Represent through you to the Convention that arms amunition, tents cloathing &c were purchased in mobile for Mississippi troops sent to Pensacola in January last which added to their other expenses exceded by several

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thousand dollars the appropri-ation made by the convention for their support.

A further appropriation of four or five thousand will be necessary to settle the account of the Quartermaster Genl of the state of Alabama

The six twenty four pounder guns & the amunition for the same & a large portion of the other arms received by me from the state of Louisiana might be turned over to the Confederate States

The thousand of the muskets will be Required ~~be Required~~ to arm the troops of Mississippi. a considerable number of them have already been distrib-uted to volunteer companies

Very Respectfully
John J Pettus