The convention appears to have acted, however, in accordance with what it conceived to be the President's restoration policy.

"We have by ordinance declared the entire debt growing out of, and accruing during the war null and void, and forbidden the legislature assuming or providing for the payment of any portion of it. In so complete and full a manner as language can express, we have declared ourselves on these important questions which have been deemed so vital to sustaining your policy."1 No record has been found of a suggestion by President Johnson to the provisional governor or to the convention of this repudia-tive action. He had, however, in the previous year made the suggestion to Provisional Governor Holden of North Carolina that 'Every dollar of the debt created to aid the rebellion against the United States should be repudiated finally and forever. "2

The provisional government of Texas ceased and a restored state government went into effect August 20, 1866. An act of November 9, 1866, entitled "An Act to ascertain the amount of, and adjusting and funding the State debt, and to state any and all accounts between the State and individuals," created an auditorial board "for the purpose of auditing all claims for money against the state and reauditing all the audited liabilities of the state not inhibited by the Constitution."3 The principal work of the board consisted in separating from the debt incurred between January 28, 1861, and August 5, 1865, that part incurred on account of expenditures authorized before January 28, 1861. The action of the board ceased December 1, 1867.4 An analysis of its report shows the following:

1 Report of select committee to prepare an address to President Andrew Johnson; Journal of the Convention of 1866, p. 317.

2 W. L. Fleming, Documentary History of Reconstruction, vol. 1, p. 180.

3 Laws of 1866, p. 122.

4 The report of the board is to be found in the Comptroller's Report, 1868-9, pp. 32-37; also in the Reconstruction Convention Journal, 1869, vol. 1, pp. 364-8.

The debt described in items V and VI appears to have been incurred after August 5,1865. Omitting these, therefore, for the time being, the total of the debt described in Items I-IV was, with interest, $1,217,517.96; total rejected, $897,331; total valid, $320,186.96.

lThis figure includes the $17,000 unused and the $1,000 mutilated.

The act creating the auditorial board authorized the issue of 6 per cent, ten-year bonds, interest payable semi-annually, for which audited valid claims were exchangeable at the state treasury. The board issued $149,145.34 certificates of valid claims, and $125,100.00 were exchanged for bonds known as the Throckmorton bonds.

The auditorial board confined its action to the debts due individuals and did not audit those due the special funds, suck as the school and university funds. The indebtedness of the state to these funds was defined by ordinance No. 12 of the-Convention of 1866. Pursuant to this ordinance, the legislature-by act of November 12, 1866, provided for the issue to the school fund of 5 per cent, twelve-year bonds, interest payable semi-annually, in place of the United States bonds and interest coupons transferred from that fund since January 28, 1861, and which were then in the possession of the state or which might be recovered by the state.1 Bonds of the state to the amount of $82,168.82, bearing date of January 1, 1867, were accordingly debited to the school fund.2 This same act of November 12, 1866, in obedience to the requirements of ordinance No. 12, provided for the issue of similar bonds to the university fund on account of the United States bonds and interest coupons transferred from that fund in February, 1860, and February, 1861.3 This transfer of the United States bonds was made under authority of the acts of January 31, 1860, and February 8, 1861. Bonds of the state, bearing date of January 1, 1867, to the amount of $134,472.26, were debited to the university fund in pursuance of the law of 1866. Ordinance No. 12 specifically provided that these were the only liabilities of the state to the school and university funds which the legislature had any authority to assume or provide for by taxation or otherwise. Despite this prohibition, however, every comptroller's report from 1866 to 1883 included in the school fund statement 6 per cent state bonds for $320,367.13, dated May 13, 1865, and in the university fund statement, a comptroller's certificate of indebtedness for $10,300.41, dated June 8, 1865. The 6 per cent bonds were issued to the school fund for the purpose of funding state treasury warrants received by the school fund from railroad companies in payment of interest on their bonds.1 The warrants funded were received during the period from August 31, 1863, to June 8, 1865. The certificate of indebtedness held by the university fund was on account of treasury warrants received by that fund from land sales which were fundable in the 8 per cent bonds of April 8, 1861.2 The warrants were received between February, 1861, and June 8, 1865.

1 Laws of 1866, p. 208.

2 Report of the Comptroller, 1868-9. Laws of 1883, p. 15.

3 House Journal, 17th Leg., Called Sess., p. 27.

The action on the debt of the state taken by the constitutional convention of 1866 and by the legislature of 1866 was not to be the final one, however, for the civil government which had been inaugurated on August 13, 1866, and under which an orderly ascertainment of, and provisions for, the debt had been made, was short-lived. Under the Reconstruction Acts of Congress of March and July, 1867, Texas was held to be unreconstructed, her civil government was abolished, and a military or provisional government again established.3 Another constitutional convention was ordered and held in Austin from June 1 to August 31, 1868, and from December 7, 1868, to February 6, 1869. A constitution was framed which was accepted by the people in an election held from November 30, 1869, to December 3, 1869, and this constitution was ratified by the Congress of the United States on March 30, 1870. Between the date of the amending of the constitution by the convention of 1866 and that of the framing of the constitution adopted in 1869, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States had been adopted. This amendment was proposed on June 16, 1866, and was declared by Congress adopted on July 21, 1868. Section 4 of this amendment provided that "neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States . . .; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void." Accordingly, the Texas Constitution of 1869, article 12, section 34, provided: reauditing.1 A bill was introduced in the called session of the Twelfth Legislature in 1870 to audit and ascertain the public debt, but it was not passed until the eve of adjournment and did not receive the signature of the governor.2 An auditorial board was created by this act whose duty it was to examine the work of the auditorial board of 1866 and to audit all other claims against the state. The act provided that bonds issued by the board of 1866 for claims void under the constitution should be considered void and should be canceled. A comparison of the provisions of 1866 and of 1869 shows that the only claims interdicted by the Constitution of 1869 and not by that of 1866 were: (1) the unpaid balances due those employees of the state on January 28, 1861, who did not remain loyal to the government of the United States, and (2) the 10 per cent warrants issued for military services and exchanged during the war for non-interest-bearing warrants.

1 Laws of 1863, p. 37. Laws of 1864, Called Sess., p. 9, and Second Called Sess., p. 14.

2 Laws of 1861, p. 19. Laws of 1862, p. 42.

3 Gammel, Laws, vol. 6, pp. 3-12. For the history of this period, see Texas v. White, 7 Wallace, pp. 700-743 (1868).