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m— ' ..-LLgJiSB I -V 1 w’'• ■ I AVGUSTA ■ ji AND GEORGIA I —*-' — l —' ======r "-' : —\\ BV X. S. HANNON. | a , 1 111 TERMS. * t For Hie CUypnptr, (thrice a week,) Si* Dollars | f per (iinu.u, (>a\af)l« in advance, or Seven Dollars i () If nut paid Wore the end of the year. I |, ■ For the Country paper, (owe a week,) Three Dol- I l»rs per annum, payable in advance, or hour Dol- '• Tars, if not par I before the end of the year. | I Any order from a responsible subscriber to dis- j continue hi* paper will be complied with on a set- , Dement of dues, ami nut before. ! ' AJvrrihnni i Us will be inserted at the following I .fates: For the first insertion, per square, Sixty- 1 two aacl a half cents; for each subsequent, suoers rivc, insertion, Forty thrue and three quarter cunlv. 1 I Jn all other cases 62 1-2 cents per square. I j When an advertisement is sent, without a sped- i Ccution in writing of the number of insertions, it 1 will be published until ordered out, und charged , i (on hnsiness) must be post-paid—or | * they may nut meet with attention. (PT In this paper the Laws of the United {Stales j are published. . r-- —itutaiii!? | D* . TO THE EDITOR OF THE AUOUBTA CHRONICLE & OKiMKIIA ADVERTISER. J\lJledgevillc , 2d Scplembr./ s 1(122. 1 Sin,— i That fame spirit, which prompts . A faction in this Slate, the rude assaults , of whi' h, even lh*i administration of the . General Government (one individual ex- ' t ceptod) c annul escape ; everou the alert ( to render any political occurrence sub servient hs far as possible to its ambitious object", having seized upon the circum stance Stale Executive appointment to till a vacancy, and exhibited the sub ject to the public by gross misrepresenta tion and exaggeration in colors only adapt ed to ilsown utijnst purposes, has induced me to lay before the public, a correct, cir cumstantial, authentic statement ol the transaction, with necessary remarks. You will do an act of impartial justice and much oblige me by publishing it en tire if possible, in your paper; ono reason for the request, is, that the Edi torain this place, will only publish it by Sicfeemcal, another, that as this affair as been noticed by the presses in Au gusta and Savannah, it is necessary that the antidote (truth) should accompany the poison (falsehood.) Messrs. Camnk Sc Hines; The manner in which you have thought it to be your imperious duly to represent to the Public, what you term an expose of the facts, and circumstances attending a recent appointment by the Kxecutive to fil) a vacancy, renders it necessary, having a duo regard to public opinion, to lay before that Public a correct state ment of the transaction, which may not j only be relied on as coming from the best | authority, but 1 will add, can and will be , proven when necessary. I It appears then, that on or about Ihe ( llth.lnly, Abner Hammond, Secretary of | Slate, left the Seal of Government with- ; out the kn wledge or consent of the Go vernor ; that on the 12th of August the , public hii-mess could no longer proceed ( lu the Secretary of Stale’s ofiice legally: , On the morning of that day Governor , Clark was iiilbrmcd that Thomas 11., Craw lord (a young man whom Col. , Hammond had left in his oilier) was act- • tag as Deputy Secretary of State, or , sigiiiuwCol. Hammond’s name to Grants ( ol Land; &c.—upon which the Governor , directed Majcr Wood, one of the Sccre- , taries <ofthe executive Department, to ) tjf go and see upon what authority ho, Craw- j ford, was acting; hr acc rdhigly went i •L and returned with a written Power of At- i * torney, which the Colonel had given for j the purpose ; upon : wlii-h tho Laws and , Resolutions of the different Legislatures , ojtbe Slate were examined, to see if , there was any such authority given, but . noun qould ho fi uu !. Mr. Clayton, the Treasurer, a id Mr. Bozeman, the Comp troller General, were asked if they knew , of any authority for such a course of pro cedure? they both replied that they did not. Mr. Clayton walked out ol the Office, Mr. Bozeman remained, when the Go vernor eu pored ofhim, if lie knew when Col. Hammond was expected to return? He replied that he did not, and said, that he supposed it t • lie very uiicert do, us Mr. Crawford hud informed him (hat there had been a letter received from the Colon. I at St. Mary’s and that he (poke of going from thence to St Augustine. Others, ai vvell as .Mr. 110/emau, have heard Mr. Crawford say that Col. Ham mond spoke of going to St. Augustine, and if he did he. expected lie would not return until some time in Ociober. The Governor immediately sent for Mr. Crawford to cornu into tlic Executive Of fice, and upon his doing so, he was in- , formed by the Governor, that he under- Stood that tie, Mr. Crawford, was acting l ii* Deputy Secretary of State, and re- , quested him to show the authority (or > Col. Hammond making such appointment. ' Mr. Crawford replied that he did not , ’ know that there was any authority, but | that hr was authorized by Col. Hammond to art. The Governor then told him ' that there was no such authority, and ( that he forbid his acting and signing his , name as Dnmly Secretary of Stale, < Mr. Crawford was then asked by the Go vernor, when Col. Hammond was ex- i j reeled back ? He replied, aliout the . first September ; after which Mr. Crawford left the office, and for the spore of an hour or more declined doing any bu t-ines*, in consequence of the directions , given him by the Executive. In litis time George R. Clayton, Treasurer, vreat to the Office of ttie Secretary of State and immediately on his leaving it, ; My. Crawford called to General Benia' \ »niu Cleveland, for whom he had refused ! to do business in the aforesaid interim, stud who was then in die yard of the ktitellouie, and told him to come in and he would do lut business, and which was accordingly done, by him the said Craw ford, signing aGrapt, “ Thomas H. Craw ford for Abner Hammond, Secretary of Stale:” Immediately after which the Governor passed an order, appointing Si mon Whitaker, Esquire, Secretary of Stalg, to fill,the vacancy,occasioned by the absence of Abner Hammond, Esquire, and directed Mr. Wood logo and inform Mr. Whitakerof it that evening, and to request him to come in early next morn ing, if ho should accept the appointment. accordingly came, when the Gover nor informed him of all the circumstances which had led to his consid ring the office vffcant, and appointing him, And said to Mr. Whitaker, it would lie discretionary with himself whether to hold the office until tlic meeting of the Legislature, or until Col. Hammond returned, but that he should prefer his resigning it on his return ; and that lie wished him, Mr. Whitaker, to continue young Crawford and the other youth with him in the ol fice : (o which Mr. Whitaker replied, that he thought that Col. Hammond should have attended to the duties of the office while he had it, but that he should have no objection to continuing the young men in office. Mr. Whitaker then gave bond, with security, for the faithful per formance of ihe duties ol the olfice ; upon which the nathe of otfics were adminis tered to him by the Executive, after which the Governor walked with him in to the Secretary of Slate’s office, and in formed young Crawford that he had ap pointed Mr. Whitaker Secretary of Slate, and that he presumed that he would con tinue him and Ihe other young man in the ofljpe ;on which Mr. Whitaker said that he would, or that he should have no ob jection. Crawford left the office, after asking the Governor how loir., he had ap pointed Mr. Whitaker for, and being an swered, that was not material to him, and that it was understood between Mr. Whitaker and himself. The Governor then returned to the Executive Olfice, and Mr. Whitaker proceeded to the dis charge of the duties of his office, in sign* ing Grants, Sic. Not long afterward# the Governor going up t° *be Penitentiary, and returning to the Slate House, observ ed young Crawford go into the law office of Seaborn Jones, after whi<h he return ed to the Secretary of Stale’s office, and attempted, as tho Governor was informed by Mr. Whitaker, to transact business a gain as Secretary of Slate um’er Coi. Hammond, but was prevented by Mr. Whitaker ; and he refused to give up the key ofthc office, which it was presumed tic had takb.u away, as it was missing out of the lock. The Governor then told Mr. Whitaker he had better get a war nuit against him for his rudeness towards him in the olfice and for taking away the key of the office door; Mr. W hitaker Wont off, and after some time returned and said that the magistrate found some difficulty in issuing a warrant, lie was then directed to have the lock taken off and another pul on that bad a key. Soon afterwards Mr. Wadlow, a carpenter, came into tho Executive Office and said, that nmn Crawford would not let him take the lock off to put another ou; upon which the Governor directed one of Lis Secretaries, Mr. Burch, to go and have the lock put on the door, and the key giv en Mr. Whitaker. Some short lime af terwards a considerable noise being heard in the Secretary of State’s office, the Go vernor came in and enquired what was tho cause of it, and was informed that when Mr. Burch took hold of the door, to have tlie new lock put on, Crawford laid hold of him to prevent it, and a scuffle ensued between them. The Governor then directed Mr. Wadlow, to take oil' the lock, put toe other ou and give the key to Mr. Whitaker, which was accord ingly done without further interruption. Nothing more on the subject occurred until the Ifilh of August, Iti2‘2. Itisper tineut here, however, to observe, that when the difficulty first presented itself, and the Governor revolved in his mind tho measures to he adopted to prevent an entire suspension of the legal Executive administration of tlic Government, he at first thought of appointing the young man Crawford to fill the vacancy, until the return of Col. Hathmond j but when he reflected upon the importance of tho of fice; tire possibility, by death, of Col. Hammond never returning, tire youth, inexperience, and apparent unfitness of the young man, to hold an office of such high trust, ho declined the idea, and ap pointed Mr. Whitaker, nevertheless re questing him, as ha" been before mention ed, to continue Crawford in the office, which being proposed to h>m by Mr. Whitaker, Ire replied that he did not know what to do ; Ilu was told he might tie in dulged in time to think of it : ho left the office, say ing that he would return lu a short lime and let Mr. Whitaker kno’w his determination. He arcoidingly re turned and told Mr. Whitaker that lie could not accept: that tit' had taken legal advice, and must hold to the office. He was told by Mr. Whitaker, that would not do, inasmuch as the Governor had appointed him Secretary of the Slate, and lie, was in possession of the office, and that he Mr. Crawford, could do nothing more in the office but as a clerk, if he chose. On Mond iv, the 19lh August, Col. Hammond, with a cane in his hand, ac companied by a large train of persons, went into the office of the Secretary of the State. As he entered the door, Mr. Whitaker rose and said, “ How do you do, Col. Hammond?” The Colonel pop ped hi? cane down on Ihe floor, and asked by what authority, Whitaker was in the office? Whitaker replied by saying, “ Under an Executive appointment.” The Col. then said, “ God damn the Exe cutive!—who gave him the authority? I order you out bf tliis Office.”—Mr. U hitaker said, he should not go out. The Colonel h aving called on witnesses, turned to Whitaker and said, “ You damn’d insignificant rascal, I order you <”jt of this office instantaneously.”— Whitaker answered again that he should not go, and resumed his seat. The per sons present were called by Col. Ham mond to bear w itness of Whitaker’s vio lence, as he termed it : lie then went immediately to tlic Executive Olfice, ac companied by Thomas 11. Crawford and several others; (and here a scene was displayed w Inch may perhaps tie consi dered a? unparalleled for forbearance on I the one part, and Cor insolent audacity on i |* le ether. The Editors of (he Journal, in their authentic statements barely ob serve, harsh needs ensued :—they un derstand the advantageous effect ofshades 1 i« their colouring, and painting, and not i withstanding their minuteness in other ■ particulars of their invention, the pub ■ lie are left to determine, as they can, f what occurred on that occasion, or by whom the harsh words were used. If shame had any share in the suppression F of the fact, it was so far commendable ; but justice always requires the whole truth.) The Governor, being seated in the Executive chair, spoke to Col. Ham mond and asked him to take a scat, point ing to a chair. He, Col. H. however did not comply ; but advanced near to the Governor, and (in an angry and threat ening tone) addressed him in the follow ing manner:— By what authority, sir, have you tak en my office from me and given it to ano ther ? Tkc Governor. —By the authority which I possess as Executive of the State. Col. Hammond. —You have no such au thority. i The Governor, —That is not for you to decide. Col. Hammond. —l could go and take it as you liave done, but I dm not dispos ed to follow your evil example, you damn'd rascal. The Governor. —Leave the room, sir, 1 will not be abused in my office; and (ris ing from his seat turned round to a table behind him, picked up bis cane) said, go out of the room ; leave the office this instant. Col. Hammond —(retiring)—I will let you know you damn'd rascal, you are too insignificant. The main question arising from a con sideration ol these facts is, “ Had a va cancy as contemplated in the 9th Sec. 2d Article of the Constitution, occurred in the office of the Secretary of Slate ?” The words of that Sec lion are as follows: “ When any office shall become vacant “ by death, resignation or otherwise, the “ Governor shall have power to fill such “ vacancy,” ic. In examiningand determining the ques tion proposed, it becomes proper to con sider, ‘ 1st —The general powers of the Execu tive by the Constitution, to enable him to administer the government: 2ndly—Tlie nature and intention of the Secretary of Slate’s office, its connexion with, and dependence on the Executive; and drdly—W hether the duties of the Se cretary of State can be legally per formed by Deputy ? The duties required of the Governor as expressed in his oath of office, in lbs sth Sec. 2d Article of the Constitution, are, to execute faithfully the office of Governor 1 of the Stale of Georgia, and to preserve, protect, and defend the said State, and to > cause justice to be executed, in mercy, i therein according to the constitution and ■ laws thereof. The (Jth Sec. ol the same I article of the constitution declares him to be commander iu chief of the Army and Navy of ibis State and of the Militia thereof. To enable the Executive to perforin the several duties above requir ed, all the subordinate offices known to the constitution, were created, and among others, that of the Secretary of Slate. The constitution, in declaring the above to be the general duties of the Gover nor, -bows that, by the constitution, he is vested with the several powers neces sary to enable him to discharge those du ties. Besides these, the Executive is in vested by the constitution with certain other powers specifically set forth in the constitution, but iu their use & applica tion, they also may be not improperly termed general powers, such as his power to grant pardons, reprieves, ami to remit sentences, &c. &c. In the offic e of Secretary of State, all the Acts and Resolutions of the Legisla ture are deposited ; all grants for lands within this State are made out and re corded ; commissions for officers, both civil and military, are prepared and re corded ; the Great Seal of the State is there deposited. The Secretary of Stale is the proper officer lo furnish copies from the several records in his office. By the 13th Sec. 2d Article of the Constitution, the Executive office and the office of the Secretary of State, are connected ; the words of that section are, “ The Great “ Seal of (he State shall bo deposited in “ the office of the Secretary of State and “ shall not be affixed to any instrument “ of writing but by order of 1 lie Gover “ nor or General Assembly,” kc. kc. In obedience to orders from the Gover nor, the Secretary of State prepares commissions. The Secretary cannot use the Great Seal in the recess of the Legis lature, but by .order of the Governor, and yet, strange to tell, “ The Deputy Editor'" of tho Southern Recorder will i have it, that the Governor and Secreta- i ry of State are two “ officers, separate i “ and independent of each other.”— i Were it true, as this Recorder of ah- I surdities alleges, that these two “ officers ' are separate and independent of each other,” then the Secretary of State would ] be able, at his will and pleasure, to stop i 1 the proceedings of the Government. It 1 would then be in vain, that the constitu i tion has declared that the Great Seal shall i not be affixed to any instrument of -writ- i ing but by order of the Governor. How idle would it then appear iu the framers of the constitution, to have called the Governor Commander in Chief of the Militia, if he is.not clothed with autho- ; rily sufficient to organize and bring them i into the field? How can they be called into the field but by means of officers du ly commissioned ? and how are officers to be commissioned, if the Secretary of i Stale should refuse to obey the orders of i the Governor. i 'l'he Governor might then issue an or- ( der to the Secretary of State, in cast of ( emergency ; the Secretary might absent i him«elffrom bis office, whether for health, 1 pleasure or profit, is quite immaterial, or I he might flatly refuse to obey the order— < (he object of it is defeated ; and thus, on I the supposition, that the Secretary is in- i dependent of, and not subject to the or- « ders of the Governor, we readily see I how the administration of the govern- I meat may be, at any time, suspended. 1 The great interests of the people may be i sacrificed ! and so what ?—Merely to ; t gratify the whim, caprice, or pleasure of < tlie Secretary of Slate; a strange absur- j dity indeed !! C The Secretary of State is elected by the < Representatives of the people; but for I what ?—To do the business of the people, i Yes; and without any exception, he is i better paid for his services, than anyofli- t cer in the State. During.the three last I quarters of tlie present political year, I commencing on the first Monday iu No- : 1 rember, 1821, and ending on the first j Monday in August, 1822, the Secretary of State has, lor services rendered, in cluding his salary, draw n from the pub lic T casury, upwards of four thousand dollars. The fees paid by individuals during the same time for business done iu bis office, may be fairly estimated at from three to five hundred dollars. Is it then right or reasonable to say, that it was in tended by the constitution, that an officer, having so much important business com mitted to his charge, and being so libe rally paid by the people for his services, should attend or not attend lo the duties of his office, just as might beat suit his convenience ? Surely the people will not quietly consent to be gulled and imposed on iu this way. 1 will now proceed to consider, whe ther the duties of the Secretary of State can be legally performed by a Deputy. I conceive they cannot, for the follow ing reasons:— 1st —There is no law or resolution, which authorizes the appointment of a Deputy Secretary of Slate. 2dly —There is a law, the only fair construction of which, shows, that tire Secretary of State cannot legally ap point a deputy. 1 refer to an act of the Legislature passed 15th December, 1810, Clayton’s Digest, page 643 —the third section of which contains the following words. “ All grants, copy grants, tesli “ monials, or any other document or pa “ per whatsoever, heretofore issued out of “ the Secretary of Slate’s office, purporl “ iug to be signed by a deputy Secretary “ of State, shall be held and taken as le “ gal, provided the said paper shall be “ ascertained to be genuine,”—lt will be at once seen, that this Act of the Le gislature was intended for no other pur pose and goes no further in relation to this subject, than, to legalize the acts performed by a Deputy Secretary ol Slate previous to the 15th December, 1810. From the intention ol the Act and the words of the third section, the acts of a Deputy Secretary ol State ap pear tn have been'considered illegal be fore the passage of the act, and there be ing nothing in the aettb authorize a De puty Secretary of Stale to net thereafter, it follows conclusively that a deputy de rives no authority trom the act ol the 15th December, 1810; aud'fui thermore, since tlie passage of that Act, a Deputy Secre tary of State has not been known as such in this State, nor have any known at tempts been made, to introduce one, un til the present time. 3rdly—Reasoning from analogy we ar rive at the satisfactory conclusion, that the Secretary of Slate cannot appoint a deputy until he is authorized to do so by the Legislature. The 12th Sec. 2d Ar ticle of the Constitution, creates the offi ces of Secretary ol State, Treasurer and Surveyor General. Now, by comparing the dilfcrent clauses of the constitution creating the offices of Judge of Ili3 Su perior Courts, Justices of the Inferior Courts, Solicitors General, Justices ol the Peace, Clerks, Sheritfs, kc. kc. with the one creating; the office of Secre tary of State, it will be seen, that near ly the same words are used in the crea tion of them all, and that, in lact, they all exist precisely on the same principle, to wit—the mere declaration in the Con stitution that, “ they shall exist." All of them existing then on the same prin ciple, it follows, that if the Secretary of State can, without Legislative authority, appoint a deputy, a Judge of the Superi or Courts, or any of the officers before mentioned, can do the same thing. It will avail nothing against the force of this argument, lo draw distinctions be tween those officers, and call one a judi cial and another a ministerial officer. They were all created at the same mo ment ; they all breathe the same vital principle, and Urey all owe their being to the same common parent—“ The Constitution." All proceedings pf the Legislature touching the subject, from the formation of the constitution to the present time, plainly show, that they did conceive and did determine, at different times, that no one of the before mentioned officers could, without legislative authority, legally ap point a deputy, or else why did the Le gislature, as long ago as 1799, authorize Sheriffs lo have “ one or more deputies r” Sec 4l!lh Section Judiciary Law of 1799, Crawford and Marhury’s Digest, page 305. And why did the Legislature in 1817, deem it expedient and proper to authorize clerks to appoint deputies ? And now I ask whether it is right and reasonable to contend, that tlie Secreta ry of State can, without an act of the Legislature, legally appoint a deputy to discharge the important duties of his of fice, when it does undeniably appear that even a clerk could not legally appoint a deputy, until permitted lo do so by a so lemn act of the Legislature.—Lamar’s Digest, page 159. Having now considered the subject as proposed, and shown under the third and last divisions of it, that the duties of the Secretary of State cannot be legally per formed by deputy ; and it appearing from the facts that the Secretary was himself absent, and it being uncertain at what time be would return; and moreover, it being impossible for the public business to progress, legally, without a Secretary ol Slate ; it appears that a vacancy, such as contemplated in the constitution, had occurred on the 12th day of August, 1822. It is admitted that this vacancy had been occasioned “ otherwise ” than by death or resignation; but by whom was it to be determined whether the office was 1 really vacant? and what occurrences i other than death or resignation could oc- i cdsion a vacancy ? The constitution being i silent in regard to these questions, (lie ’ last one depends then entirely on thena- 1 lure of the office, and the circumstances i of the particular case, and both must, from the necessity of the thing, be deter mined by the Executive, and no one 1 else ; as he is the only person authorized < to fill the vacancy. The power to de- ( termine, is incidental (o, and united with 1 the power to fill, and these two powers ( must remain united in the same person I until separated by an alteration of the ( constitution. ( All that has been said on the subject of Mr. Burch’s ai ling for the Comptroller s General, amounts, in substance, to no- I thing. He never did undertake lo per- t form lor that office any act which was I intended or needful to be preserved, and i thereafter used as evidence. No law can s be found rendering it essential to the va- 1 lidity ol a giant, that his name should t appeaion.it. II is name for several years 1 j»»t, never has been entered on a grant, t until, since the last session of the Legis lature. Neither is it required bylaw, nor is it essential to the validity cf a grant, that the Treasurer’s name should be on it. The law requires every applicant ! lor a grant to pay into the Treasury a I given sum before it issues, and the only reason why the Treasurer’s name is on it, is to show the Governor, that the fee required by law has been paid; so that in truth, his name and that of the Comptroller-General’s on grants, add no thing to, their validity, and might be dis pensed with entirely, without injury to the grantee. Not so with the name of the Secretary of State ; the Act of 1810, before refer red to, settling the question, if it were not before settled, whether his name on a grant is essentially necessary toils validity. But it has been roundly asserted, that ! all the State House Officers have been in the habit of acting by Deputy, and An thony Porter and Edward Cary, Esquires, have been named as individuals, each having had the whole weight of the gov ernment on his shoulders at different times. In the first place, this assertion is false in point of fact; —and in the se cond, admitting it to be true, an illegal act committed yesterday, is surely no justification of the commission of the like illegal aclto-day. Thepresent. Surveyor General has, at different limes, been in office for nearly twenty years, and he never did authorize any one to act as De puty Surveyor General. That Mr. Porter, Mr. Cary, and others, have receipted on grants and en tered them for the Treasurer and Comp troller General, and done like duties for them, will not he denied. But lam well convinced, that no one in capacity of de puty ever did stand in theirstead, author ized to discharge any and every duty re quired of them- Did an execution against a defaulting Tax Collector ever issue from either of those offices signed by a deputy? If ever one did, I fancy it would puzzle even that sagacious head of tlie Recorder, with alibis law and con stitution, to conyjncea court that such ex ecution was legal and valid. Suppose the Treasurer and Comptroller were to allow a report signed by a deputy to go from their olfices to the Legislature, what would be the language of the Legisla ture to them? It would be, “Gentle “ men, you were elected by us to do “ business for the people; we committed “ to your charge an important trust, not “ to be transferred nor assigned to ano “ thcr; your duly is a personal one; — “ we never did authorize you to do your “ official duly by deputy; you will there fore be pleased to retire without fur “ ther ceremony. If we cannot find “ others willing to give their personal “ attention to the business of the public, “ we will then call for you and Jmurde “ puties.” Stress is attempted to be laid on a pow er of attorney : it is nugatory—nothing more nor less than an attempt to author ize a Deputy to perform acts that would be illegal; the principal having no au thority by law to have the duties of his office performed by Deputy, can convey no legal power; but, for mere argu ment’ssake, we will suppose such a course to be pursued. The Secretary of State, the Treasurer, the Surveyor General, and Comptroller General, all shall ap point their Deputies, each invested with a Power of Attorney. One of these heads of offices sets out to St. Marys or Augustine to bathe iu saltwater, another to Alabama on some land speculation, another to the City of Washington, or to some salubrious springs in the mountains so the preservation of his health, for five or six weeks, or months, or indeed dur ing the term of his appointment; for if the power of attorney is competent for a day it is for any term within the limits of his appointment—the Governor remains at his post, surrounded, not by the heads of' offices, tile component parts of the Executive Department of Government, but by a host of deputies or attorneys, who may be known to him, as to their qualifications or not; it was sufficient that, they were such persons as the several officers chose to place about him, and suppose that he would submit to act un der such circumstances, every act of these deputies, which might be necessa ry to be introduced as evidence into a court of justice, must be accompanied by an attested copy of the power under which they acted. It would be an idle waste of time, to enumerate all the ab surdities involved in such a> idle method of executing the office of Governor. It is a notorious fatt, that with the 12th of August a crisis had arrived when the Executive Administration of he Govern ment must cease for want of legal co operation of the Secretary of State, or the Governor must exercise the authori ty vested in him by the Constitution to guard against such a state of things, by appointing a person to fill that office. To have suspended the government would have justly subjected him to censure, greater than all the abuse so iniquilonsly poured out against him for having dis very charged his duty to the public; & the same persons, iu all probability, would have taken the lead in denunciation of him. Among the various misrepresenta tions and falsehoods in circulation, one is, that the young man Crawford had not been, as they think, duly served with a copy of the Executive order appointing Mr. Whitaker. It was furnished to Mr. Whitaker, and exhibited by him to Craw ford, who paid no attention to it. Ano ther statement, in the Recorder, is equal ly unture, that is, that Mr. Crajvford informed the Governor that Col. Ham mond was expected home daily ; all the information he gave the Governor was what has been already stated, when in terrogated to that point, that Col. Ham mond was expected to return about the Ist September. ‘ The assertion in the Recorder, that the Governor interfered in behalf of Gen, Newnan in the late election of Se cretary of State is void of truth ; nor did he even Know that Col. Hammond was opposed to him. The assertion, that Mr. Crawford was threatened to be thrown out of the house is equally unfounded in truth. With regard to what has been said about the conduct of other officers, equal ly it is sufficient to say, that they have not in any instance impeded the administration of the Government, nor is it known that they have in any in stance absented themselves for any time from their offices without the approba tion of the Governor; and indeed, from the nature of the business oftheir offices, as these remarks apply to the Comp • troller General and the Treasurer tber , is not that constant indispensable co-on/ , ration with the Executive, as with ih' i office of Secretary of State. If any , )er C ■ sons have assisted them in receipting for i fees or Grants of Lands or in checkin^ ’ such receipts, or in making any entries i their books, such a course, however im i material they might deem it, has not been i sanctioned by the Governor, and it i s ( presumed that no instrument issuing from • either of their liable to be°intro - duced as testimony, in a court of justice i and that any of their acts therein could f affect the validity thereof, has ever been . signed by any person but themselves ■ , An application was made by Mr. i ton to the Governor to sanction the am r pointment of a person to perform the du ties of his office. It was refused, and . the Treasurer told, that he had best pfcr i form them himself; and the same remark has been made to Mr. Bozeman. , How the Editors of the Journal have i been able to ascertain that the Governor and Col. Hammond were of different , politics, State and National, is unknown; i it was presumed that they were pretty much the same. Although it is not known that the Governor ever heard the i opinion of Hammond, on politics, for himself, however, it is well understood that he is no nr an-woß*hippor,nor does he i belong to any faction, i That the Editors of the two papers iu Milledgeville, so notedly conspicuous for their hostilily to Governor Clark and 1 devotion to his anetnies, should have pur sued any other than the course they have adopted, was not to be expected. Tti omit an opportunity to heap insults and i contumely upon him, whether he had acted right or wrong, would it appears be deemed by them, a dereliction of du ties in periously demanded of them; and although this language may appear strong, who, that bears in mind a recol- I lection of the torrents of scurrilous a buse, that issued almost incessantly last year from their presses against him and the three State Commissioners, who ef fected a treaty for the lands, will pre tend to doubt the correctness of it ? The i tendency of their labors was to destroy i the well-earned fame and reputation of honorable men, whose faithful services and successful efforts had eminently con tributed to the prosperity of the State. But their labors then proved vain—the good sense of the people prevailed,— and they were compelled to drink of the cup of disappointment. They now pounce upon the case of Hammond with the keen avidity of fam ished vultures, and iu imitation of their brilliant trope, of the lamp, I would say, let them go on rejoicing , if they can re joice in such a feast, until satiated, they drop off, and die spontaneously amid the extatic sensation of their own perfect repletion : but their object is the same it has heretofore been—to mislead the pub lic opinion, to deceive the people, and further the views of a faction ; hence, among many other things equally irrele vant to the true merits of the transaction under consideration, they would try to excite, and enlist the public sympa thy on their side, by stating that Col. Hammond was dependant in a good de gree upon this office for the support of his family. If this was true, it would prove too much—in the first place, that he should have been more regardful of his interest, in a proper and faithful discharge of his public duties; and, iu the second place, that he had been a very bad econ omist. He was elected to this office in the year 1811 : it is believed by those best informed on the subject, to have been worth not less than $3,000 any year, and more than $6,000 per annum for several years ; but au Average of the lowest sum, s3,oooayear, for 11 years, would make $33,000. If, after the receipt of such an amount of money, he is still dependant upon the office for the support of his fami ly in a good degree, it would amount to a prodigality in the management of his affairs which few will believe. It is, however, altogether irrelevant to the , subject, «nd merited only to be noticed to expose the object and fallacy cf its use. In the Recorder, of the 271 h instant, some Lawyer, (no offence is intended to the faculty; I only mean some quibbling Lawyer) in the borrowed garb of the prin ter, like the wolf in sheep’s clothing, in troduces himself to the public with a long farrago—the parentage is immediately known by the sinister features of the offspring. He argues, that if the Gover nor had the power, it must be general, and! not be particularly used in putting a Secretary of State into office, and that it mnst -be his duty to go to every quarter of the State (when necessary) to put all officers into possession of their offices. Now, if his perceptive faculties had not been deranged, perhaps, from the indiscriminate habit of advocating right and wrong, so far as to blind him to truth and the propriety of a measure, he would ' at once have seen the distinction, anu comprehended the reasons for it—that these officers (spoken of) throughout the State are not like the Secretrary of state’s office, one of the most important of the Executive Department of Govercment,*: by its daily co-operation, absolutejiy ne cessary to the legal administration (here of, and further, that the Great Seal *f the State, the symbol of the sovereignty of the people, the stamp of which giyet validity abroad to the instrument which receives its impress, is under the control of the governor, no one dare to use it but by the order of the Governor or General Assembly, When a Governor is elected, the Great. Seal of the State is confided and deliver ed into his hands by the Representatn « of the people, through the President or the Senate ; it becomes an attribute of his authority ; it is conveyed from his hand to the Secretary of State, to be depouteo in that office—then, if the Governoij de-- cide that a vacancy has occurred by death, resignation, (or otherwise) in that office, and appoints a person to fill it to prevent a suspension of the Executive Govern ment, should he not deliver that seal o the officer who is to use. it by his order ■ so, what then are the grounds of c arges ©flawless violence on the part of the Go vernor? It may truly be answered t ie malignity of faction. But this writer would have advised (and naturally e nough, as being in his line of business) * Mandamus, or a Quo Warranto, to e served on Col. Hammond at St. Maty 5 > or St. Augustine, two or three hum re miles off—the government in the interm to be suspended or stopped. Ihe Cover nor had no need to resort to such to put him in possession of the Great -e of the State, which was already under