Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

SATURDAY, February 28, 179 J. THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE - ' AND GAZETTE of the STATE . FREEDOM of the PRESS and TRIAL by JURY shall remain inviolate. Conjlitution of Georgia, • • _ - / • AUGUSTA: Printed by JOHN E. SMITH, Printer to the State,* Ejfays , Articles of Intelligence, Adver* tifements , &c. will be gratefully received , and every kind of Printing performed, [Price l’hrec Dollars per annum .] GEO R G I Jn the SUPERIOR COURT for CHATHAM COUNTY, io th February , 1795. Present JUDGE WALIO N. 'HE Grand Jury brought in their Piefent ments, which were ordered to be entered of record in the Court Books, and publilhed in the several Gazettes of this Bate, together with the Judge’s Charge ; and also, that copies be laid ( before the Convention and next Legislature. A true copy from jhe Minutes, JAMES BULLOCH, C. S. C. C. C. Gentlemen of the Grand Jary^ SINCE my arrival in the county, nothing has presented itfelf, in a judicial view, which seems to require from the Bench any particular , eharge. The Solicitor General informs me, that the criminal business before the court, heretofore • so much and so urgent, is small ai d inconfideiable. This is peculiarly fortunate at this time; for the civil doequets, in yielding to the llate calendar for several terms pad, have accumulated to a great degree. That of appeals is fald to contain many , cases of intricacy and importance, and which have been of long Handing; and to that, therefore, it is my duty to request and to direst your attention. tVhilfl you are out on the a; peals, the Petit Ju ries (hall be occupied on the common issue docqueis; and when the special cases shall be tried, or other order taken upon them, you will have opportunity for deliberating on your presentments. It certainly, Gentlemen, ought to be matter of great confutation to us, that, while the nations of Europe have been so long agitated by the prepara tions and violences of war, the United States have been able to preserve their peaceable eflabiilhment, and to exercise and enjoy the duties and blellings of society and government. And it is as surely ihe , duty of all of us, to endeavor to appreciate our advantages, by cultivating the principles of harmo- , ny and good order, and the refpeft and obedience due to the laws. The spirit of licentiousness has often assumed themafk of liberty ; and thence were the evils that lately oppressed a filter itate; but which have happily issued in the proof of the good jiefs, the firmnefs, and (lability of government. In looking back, Gentlemen, to the proceedings of the last term, a presentment is found againit a -then recent encroachment upon the hunting grounds • of the Indians, between the Oconee and Okemul gie rivers. That has been removed; and the per sons who contemplated that fettleinent have wiih drawn themselves. The Legislature has Cnee pas sed an aft having for objeft the extinguifliment of the Indian claims, and the settlement of that land by lawful authority. For which, and other pur poses, a part of the weflern territory of the (late has been fold by an aft supplementary to the for mer; and a fura, more than fufficient for the firfl purpose, has been paid into the Treasury. Should she objeft of that settlement be speedily accom pliflied, it will be of very great advantage to the llate, by forming a barrier againfl the Indians, (as I mentioned in my charge to the Grand Jury lafl summer in Glynn county) and by increasing the quantity of exports, i't being said to be one of the xicheft spots of land in the United States. This mode of difpoflngof part of the vacant ter ritory of a flare, has been found ufeful in several of them; particularly, in Massachusetts, New- York, and Pennsylvania. It brings into the trea sury funds for immediate and permanent use, re lieves the burdens of taxation, and increases the value of the remaining territory. Our wiflles (hould be, that these happy effefts may be realized in our .own llate. GEORGE 'WALTON. Savannah , Chatham County , 3 d Feb. 1795. THE Grand jury are furry there (hould lie oc r j cufion to bring forward any matters as griev- GEORGIA. ances; but it becomes a more painful talk ro them J when they feel themlclves under tae necelfity of I reprobating public measures. At the fame time, the duty they owe to their country, and the oath they have taken, compel them to bring into the *view of their fellow citizens all such matters as they conceive will have a tendency to injure the com munity, and to express their sense of the fame in plain, decent, and firm language. We therefore, the Grand jurors for the county of Chatham, without fear, tavor, affeftion, or hope of reward, do on our qaths present the follow ing as grievances. ill. We present, as a grievance of the highest magnitude, the act palled at the lall meeting of the Legislature at Augulta, entitled, “ An aft supplementary to an aft forap, reprinting a part of the weltern territory of the Itate, and for other • purposes therein mentioned, &c.” as, in our opi nions, replete with ill consequences to this (laic, for the following reasons: ilt, Because the sale of the said territory at this tine will in all probabi lity involve this Itate in dilputes with the neigh boring tribes of Indians, and vnay eventually engage her in a war with them. 2dly, Because, by poit poning the sale of the territory to a future day, , those difficulties with refpeCt to the Indians might in a great measure have been removed. 3dly, Be cause we conceive that, wasit good policy to fe l the territory at this time, (fthich we cannot aflent to) the lale ought not to have been confined to a few companies, but made asdiffuii ve as possible, as monopolies have ever been considered contrary to the spirit of free governments, highly injurious, and tending to enrich a few monied men to the exclusion of the people in gent ral. 4thly, Because we conceive that, by feding the territory to com panies, it has not brought so good a price as it would otherwise have done had it have been laid our into allotments, and proper notice given that a sale would take place ot those lands, which we understand has been the practice of fomeofour filter Hates, who have derived very great advan tages by adopting that mode of difpoling of their territory ; and we may reasonably conclude that, had our Legislature fallen upon a fnnilar plan of felling the weflern territory of this Hate, it would have brought into the treasury luch an amazing sum as in all probability, by proper management, and in the common course of things, would have re lieved this Hate from taxes for ever : Besides, by opening the door to all purchasers, the poor, who ought to be attended to by,all governments, would have had an opportunity of purchasing a few acres of land for their families, and thereby sharing, though in a small degree, in those advantages which a fa!e of so large a body of territory\ would have produced, the minds of the people would have been fatisfied, and a 1 those good consequences have resulted which generally do from public meat fures founded on policy and equal juflice. jthly, Begaufe for that molt excellent reason afligned by his excellency the governor, on his rejecting the firfl bill, *« That if public notice was given that the land was for sale, the rivaKhip in purchasers would mofl probably have increased the Aims of fered ;” and which, with his other reasons, we sincerely lament he did not adhere to when the second bill was offered for his approbation. We atnfider the reserve of two millions of acres of our own land, to he fubferibed for by the citi zens under the conditions preferibed t# the law, to be adding insult to injury, those lands being no object to the citizens at large, and will not amount, by a calculation made, to more than two hundred and fifty acres to each man in this county. And by the clause in the said law it appears that the whole of the one hundred and seventy thousand acres allotted to this county arc open to the fpccula tion of any individual v. ho may bedif, oied to pur- < chafe in thirty-four lhares, which, at iive rhonfanJ acres each (hare, will be *cur.d to amount to ia: t ! above mentioned quantity of acres, bat which, if not paid for, is by the laid clauses to revert to the companies, without any emolument to the date. The Grand Jury, upon infpeding the Judicia ry law, find a clause in the fame, \ ointing out the method of foreclofing mortgages, as follows : ** The person or j erfons entitled to forcdofea mortgage, or his or their Attorney, (hall petition the Supe rior court of the county where such mortgaged pro perty may be, &c.” which said clause in the law mud have been founded on that clause in the con* dilution which ex, refsly declares, “ That all cases of real cdatc (hall be tried in the county where said edate lies And although it appears that a clause in the act for felling part of the wcftern territory repeals the aforefaid clause in the judiciary law, pointing out the method of for doling mortgages in the (aid law, which declares, “ That the mort gages on the said lands fold to the companies (hall in default of the payment, be immediately forcclof. ed in the Superior court of any county within the date of Georgia, any law or usage regulating the mode of foreclofing mortgages to the contrary notwithdanding,” yet, whi e that clause remains in theconditution which declares, “'That all cases of real etfates (hall be tried in the counties where such edate lies,” wc do not fee how those mort gages can be foreclofed in the Superior court of any county in the date ; and as there is no county laid out within that territory fold to the companies, how the mortgages are to be foreclofed where fuck land or real edate lies. The Grand Jury do not take upon themselves to determine whether the ad is conditutional or not, but beg leave to observe, that all the rights and powers not particularly exprelfed in the conltitution are retained to the people; nor do they conceive that the framers of the conilitution pollibly could have had in contemplation that any Lcgiflature would have adopted such a mode of disposing of our territory. With refped to the different offers made by the companies, it appears to us that it would have been more for the intered of the date had the highest offer made been accepted, that of eight hundred thousand dollars, by which means the date would have been a gainer of three hundred thousand dol lars, more especially as the company made an offer of increasing the depofite to forty thousand dollars, and, in case of default in payment in December next, to forfeit the fame, and declared that they did not wilh to have a grant till they had fully completed the whole payment. ’Tis true a part of their de ; ofite confided of bills of exchange, with good endorsers, but it we are rightly' inform ed upwards of eleven thousand dollars were actual ly deposited, which would have been a considerable sum to forfeit, nor is it reasonable to suppose that they would have forfeited it, but if they had done so the laud would in that case have reverted to the date. We return our thanks to the Minority of the last general aifembly for their deady and upright con dud in attempting and using their bed endeavors to support the rights of their fellow citizens, and with them those pleasing sensations ever attendant on a conscientious difeharge of duty. We confider the holding of courts in forae coun ties, and not in others, as highly injurious to the citizens of this date, as it may so happen that a person may have a judgment or judgments obtained againd him in the county where a court is held, and have his whole property torn from him, when at the fame time he may have a large sum due to him in the counties where courts are not holden j aod y therefore we recommend tha: it there is not any law authorizing the governor to appoint judges to hold courts in case of the indifpolition of his honor the judge, such a law may be passed, at the meeting of the next Legislature, so that an equal dilribnUon < f j cities may take place throughout tie w1.0,e da e, * [Vol. IX. No. 435. J