[Sidenote: Ratification in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana.] In the course of the next two months, April and May, voting upon the question of ratifying the new "State" constitutions took place in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana. As the Congressional Act of March 11th was in full force at this time, the result was affirmative in all cases. [Sidenote: Second attempt in Georgia to obstruct Reconstruction.] During the Reconstruction proceedings in Georgia Governor Jenkins had refused to issue an order to the "State" Treasurer to pay a sum of forty thousand dollars, on the ground that the "State" legislature (Johnson government) had not made any such appropriation. For this refusal Meade removed him and the "State" Treasurer and Controller General, and appointed military men in their places. These new officers seized the "State" buildings, but Jenkins succeeded in getting away with the money in the treasury. He went to Washington and undertook to institute a proceeding in the Supreme Court of the United States against Generals Grant and {156} Meade to restrain the officers appointed by Meade from levying taxes upon the people of Georgia, and from collecting the same and the other income of the "State," as well as from exercising other functions. The Court gave its permission to the filing of the bill, but put off the hearing of the argument until the next term, and before this arrived, the new constitution had been ratified, and new "State" officers elected along with the ratification. In the other communities mentioned no opposition to the reconstruction process was offered. [Sidenote: Rejection of the Constitution in Mississippi.] On the other hand, the opponents of the proposed "State" constitution in Mississippi went into a most earnest and energetic campaign against its ratification and succeeded, at the election on June 22d, in rejecting the same by between seven and eight thousand majority. Many of the better class of negroes voted with their old masters, that is with such of these as were allowed by the Congressional acts to register and vote, against ratification. Those in favor of ratification claimed that fraud was practised by their opponents, in the face of the fact that they had the elections in their own hands, and they petitioned the military authorities to put the proposed constitution, notwithstanding its rejection at the polls, into operation. This these authorities refused to do. {157} CHAPTER IX THE ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE PRESIDENT