Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME XLIV.
MILLEDGEYILLE, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1863.
NUMBER 45.
in
r. M. O R M E & SON,
editors and proprietors.
STEPHEN F. MILLER,
ASSOCIATE EDITOR.
Terms after first of June, 1865.
tfalHoription, per annum, fti *dranc«,....$ 5 00
TRANSIENT ADVERTISING.
$ 1 50 par square of ten lines for the first,
wjd 75 cent* for each *ub*equent insertion.
Tributes of Respect. Resolutions by So
fties, Obituaries, Ac., exceeding six Huts,
be charged as transient advertising.
LEGAL ADVERTISING.
Ordinary's—
Citations for Letters of Administration, by
Administrators, Executors, Guardians, &c., 3 00
Application for Letters of Diamission
from Administration, 6 00
Application for Letters of Dismission
from Guardianship, 4 00
Application for leave to aell Land and
Negroes ‘ 6 00
Notice to Debtors and Creditor*, 4 00
Sales of personal or perishable property,
per square of ten lines 2
Sales of Land and Negroes, per square ef
ten lines, 6
iikeriJF'f—
Bach levy of ten lines, or less,
Mortgage sales of ten lines, or less,
AH advertisements of sales by Sheriffs ex
ceeding tea lints, will be charged in pro
portion.
Clerk's—
Foreclosure of Mortgage and other menth-
;« advertisements, $1 50 per aquare of ton
Jnes for each insertion.
Establishing lost papers, per square of
tt-u lines,
For a man advertising his wife, in advance, 10 00
No deviation from the above soale of price* un-
dor any pretence.
:"Jr Remittances by mail at onr ri*lc.
00
00
3 00
6 00
8 00
EXCHANGE NOTICE, No. 6.
Kiqsmoxr, September 12, 1863.
T 1HE FOLLOWING Confederate officer* and
oien. captured at Vicksburg. Mis* , July 4,
]>C3, nud subsequently paroled, have been duly
exchanged, and are hereby »o declared:
]. The officers and men of Geu. C. L. Steven
son's division.
2. The officers and men of Gen. Bowen’* divis
ion.
.1. The officer* aud men of Brig. Gen. Moore *
brigade, -
4. The officer* aud men of the 2d Texa* Regi
ment.
5. The officer* and men of Waul’* Legion.
6. Also, all Confederate officers and men who
have been delivered at City Point, at any time
previous to July 25th, 1863, have been duly ex-
diauged, and arc hereby so declared.
RO. OIJLD, Agent ef Exchange.
October 6. 1863 _ 4Q 6£
^ ni/wilbs. ° F soap for * al ° at thc
Milledgeville Hotel.
’ F. A. HUSON.
October 13,1863 41 **
Foe Sale.
HOUSE AND LOT oa Wayne atreet,
between B ildwin and Scriven streets, where
_the subs •riber now live*, containing one
acre, together » ; n all other necessary buildings.
Aiso, one acre b t lying opposite, with good Sta
bler, Carriage-ho i..e, Cribs, &c., with a woll of
most excellent wi-t r. • P- FA.IR.
Milledgeville, S <i»t. 1, 1863 -H? 4t
To the Citfcnas of South-Western
Georgia.
UREKA MEDICAL INFIRMARY,
Of the Olapathie System.
1 HAVE located at tW beautiful, retired and
accessible point, to all sections in S*Pith-W eat-
nof Georgia, where there i* plenty of good water,
pure air and clever citizens, where I will be pleased
to attend to all oalls and receive patient* of all *ox-
e«, and treat them for any and all aeeute and
ehronic diseases that human flesh is heii to. . After
an experience of two years in the UospitaU in Eu
rope, and fifteen year* in the malarious sections,
from Virginia to the Gult <>t Mexico, I tael pre
pared to offer and to render iny service* toall who
may need medical or surgical aid 1 have had
(treat experience and success in tha treatment of
allsneh diseases as are peculiar to tcinale*. I will
attend patients or consultations at any distance.
I have associated -the"Rev. Doctor Ravins with me
in practice, who wlfl continue my treatment, and
attend to my patients when it is not convenient
fur me to bo with them, for riding aud attending
>o patients. I will be governed by the established
rate of charges as published by the board of prac
ticing physicians of America*. Then to *11 ieko
would save time, health and money, / mould say. do
sot delay to see your physician early if you hope for
relief (Bill* due when services are rendered.)
As for who I am, I will very respectfully refer to
the following names: J. W. Jones, M. D., and
Professor of the Atlanta Medical College; Hon—
D. J. Bailey, of Griffin, Ga.; Hon. R. II. dark, ef
Albany, Ga. For further particulars, see me at
toy office in Ellaville, Schlev county, Georgia.
Very truly, J- M- TROTTER, M. D.
Ellaville, Sept. 8, 1863 36 tf
C ITY TAX NOTICE.—My books are now open
for the collection of the City Taxes, assessed
bv the Council for the present year. Office under
tf>e Milledgeville Hotel.
JAMES C. SHEA, Clerk
Milledgeville, July 28, 1863 30 tf
Ceiton Cards, Coffee & Sole Leather.
1 HA PAIR WHITTMORE’S Cotton Card*,
X number 10.
500 lbs. COFFEE.
500 lbs. SOLE LEATHER.
Just received and for sale by
J. GANS & CO.
Milledgeville, April 14, 1863 15 tf
1ST otlce.
Office Gx. Relief & Hospital Associx's I
Angnsta, Ga., June 23d, 1863. )
A MESSENGER of the Georgia Relief & Hos
pital Association will leave Atlanta on or near
die 10th of each ini«th for Mixsissippi, aud will
Like charge of all boxes and packages intended tor
the Georgia tryops i u that State, and will cjirry
them to some safe poiut near the army and deposit
diem, and notify the owners, or deliver thani to
the owners, if practicable, free of charge. The
boxes and packages must be marked with the
Wimes of the owners, their company and regiment,
^id to the care of the Georgia Relief and Hospital
Association. Atlanta, Ga. The Association will
n *t be responsible for any box containing, perish-
‘‘ble articles, such as green vegetables, «fcc. Box-
tod packages will bo deposited at the Wayside
a °me, Atlanta, Ga.
W. H. POTTER. Gen’i. Superint’dt.
Newgp a p crB 0 f this State will please copy daily
t-Uring the first week oteaeh month, and send bill*
1(5 this office. W. II- POTTER. Gen’i Sup’t.
July 7, 1863 . 27 lstwem
^JPEOIAL NOTICE —The undersigned having
i removed from Milledgeville, desires and in-
to close up his business matter* of that
P*kce a* speedily as possible. All persons indebt-
?? notified that my notes and account* are in
^ hands efj. A Breedlove and P. H. Lawler,
ho ar e author z ?d to collect and make settle-
®nt8. If n( jt a-iinged at an early day, settle
entswill been "creed by law.
A. C. YAIL, Agent.
19,1862 33 tf
GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE.
Executive Department, I
Milledgeville, Nov. 5, 1863. j
To the Senate and House
of Representatives :
Since the last annual meeting of the
General Assembly, our noble State, in cou
uectiou with her Southern sisters, has
passed through the vicissitudes of another
year of bloody war, Waged with more than
savage cruelty, by a revengeful and un
just, though powerful enemy. Thousands
of her most gallant and chivalrous sons
have poured out their life’s blood upou the
battle held, or yielded to the stern mes
senger, upon the siek couch of the soldier;
and as they have entered the dark valley
of the shadow of *deatb, covered with
wounds, or emaciated with disease, they
have cast a lingering look back upou the
land for whose freedom they have fought;
and iu the heaving pangs of dissolution,
have exhorted all who survive to emulate
their example, and die, as they have died,
sooner than permit their descendants to be
enslaved. These noble men have risked
and lost all in their own, and our defence,
-and we tdtold merit and receive the scorn
of the civilized world, if we should permit
their orphan children to pass under the
yoke of bondage, fop lack of manliness ou
our part, to meet the foe face to face, aud
grapplo with him hand to hand, while he
invades our territory and we are able to
maintain an army in the field, or to strike
a bl ow in freedom’s cause.
No one can doubt what his duty is, if he
reflects upon the nature of the contest in
which we are eugaged, and the motives
which impel the people of the two govern
ments to action.
We of the South aro fighting for the
great principles of self government, be
queathed to us by our fathers of the revolu
tion of 1776. We are fighting for the land
of our nativity, our homes and our prop-,
erty, our wives and our children. We
have waged no aggressive war upon the
people of the Northern States. We have
not denied their right to govern them
selves, or to adopt such form of govern
ment, a* they may prefer. We have nei
ther insulted their wives, destroyed their
cities, stolen their property, desecrated
their churches, nor the graves of their an
cestors; but we have couceded their right
•f self-government, respected their private
property, and treated as sacred the altars
of their religion, and the resting places of
their dead. All these have been violated
•n onr soil by their vandal armies.
In imitation of our fathers of the first
revolution, we submitted to wrong, till our
grievances were intolerable, aud when we
could no louger livo with the people of the
Northern States in peace, and were oblig
ed to throw off the yoke, we only asked to-
be permitted to depart in peace. This
right was deuied us, and the present creel
and unjust war was waged against us. We
fight then, for the inalienable right of self
government, and for the civil and religious
liberties of ourselves and our unborn pos
terity.
For what are our enemies fighting?
They fight for power and plunder, and for
the destruction of the right of self-govern
ment. They commenced the war und,er
the hypocritical pretext, of restoring the
Union, and maintaining the Constitution.
Recently, however, the despot who now
rales at Washington, has throne off this
mask, and has informed a committee from
a Southern State, claiming loyalty to his
government, that he now conducts the war
for the abolition of slavery, the subjugation
of the Southern States, and the confisca
tion of their property. Abolition, subju
gation, and confiscation, are the term* of
fered to us. Who that is not a dastard is
prepared to submit to either?
I have heard it remarked that this is
the rich man’s quarrel, and the poor man’s
fight, aud that the abolition of slavery
would not injure the poor, who are not
slaveholders. A greater error has never
been conceived. While I admit that ma
ny of the rich have fallen far short of the
discharge of their doty iu this contest, and
have merited the condemnation of all true
patriots; I affirm that no class of society
would suffer as much from abolition as the
poor, and that no class has a greater inter
est in every thing but property at stake
upon the triumph of our arms, and the suc
cess of our cause.
Mr. Lincoln avows his purpose to abol
ish slavery by force of arms ; and to estab
lish negro equality among us. If he is
successful, the rich who own slave* will
lose their money which is invested in them,
but they will generally have enough left,
to enable them to take their families, and
get away, from a state of society so wretch
ed and so degrading. The poor who have
not the means to enable them to leave,
must remain with their families ; and sub
mit to negro equality. What is the result?
The poor white man goes to the polls to
vote, if he is ever again permitted t" vote,
and the negro, claimed by Mr. Lincoln to
be bis equal, goes by bis side, to exercise
the same right, aud make a set off against
| rote. The poor man enters the jury
! box iti the Court of justice, where impor-
Blanks for Sale at this Office*
taut rights are to be decided, and the ne
gro takes his seat by his side, aud is rec
ognized by the Court as his equal. I’he
poor man is on trial for his life, the negro
appears upon the >tand, as his equal, and
is permitted to testify against him- a ue
poor man who labors for his daily bread,
goes to his wealthier neighbor to seek em
ployment, the negro appears by his side
and'underbids him ill fixing the price ol
labor. The poor man sends his children
to school, ami.the children of the negro
| are seated by their side, and if he remon
strates he is informed that the negro clnlu
is the equal of his own.
Again, our form of government is em
phatically Ahe poor man’s best government;
and be loses all his political rights, if be
permits it to be overthrown. If our gov*
eminent were monarchical, and wealth
aud honors, with the right to govern, de
scended^ the laws of the kingdom in
the same family, from generation to gen
eration, the poor man would have but lit
tle interest in it, and but little inducement
to fight for it. But under our form of gov
ernment, wealth and honors are the ex
clusive prerogatives of no particular fami
ly. Like the waves of the oceap, they
are constantly changing place, and are
transferred as generations pass, from one
family lo another. The youth who learns
that his father has wealth and honors, is
apt to make them his dependence, and res
lax his energies, and it nof unfreqirently
occurs that his mental and physical con
stitution are destroyed by drunkenness or
other dissipations. The consequence is,
that he descends to a lower position in so
ciety. Ou the other hand, the son of the
poor man, who has been trained in the
school of adversity and labor, if lie has
ambition, talent, honesty, integrity and
euergy, finding the road to wealth and
honor open before him, eften distances
competition, and carries oft’ the .most val
uable prize. Some little bright eyed boy,
now meanly clad and neglected, _ the sou
of the poorest man in the Confederate ar
my, may, by his economy and his euergy,
become the wealthiest mau of his State, or
by his talent and eloquence, he may in
tuture, lead the Senate ; or on accouut of
his wisdom, his patriotism, and his admin
istrative ability, he may be called to the
responsible position of President of the
Confederacy. Tell me not that the poor
man lias no interest in this contest, when
the social elevation, or degradation', of
himself and his children, depend upon its
results. Let it never be said that he is
disinterested, when the momentous decis
ion is to be made, whether, he is in future
to be the superior or only the equal of the
negro. Surely no poor man will say that
this is not his fight, when the very exist
enco of republican government is at stake,
which is the only government that guar
antees to,.him and his children equality of
political rights. Let the South be con
quered,aud the sun of liberty will set ia
blood, military despotism will be estab
fished, and the equal political rights of
the poor and their children will be forever
lost.
But the abolitiou of slavery is not the
only object for which the’war is now pros
ecuted. We are informed that the armies
of the enemy are to be used for our subju
Ration. What would then be our condi
tion ? We should have no political rights,
except such as onr masters chose to per-,
mit us to exercise. Our States would be
reduced to provinces or territories. We
could neither have Legislatures nor Courts
without the consent of the victors. Our
right to vote, or to hold property, or to set
upon juries, or to testify in Court, would
we subject to tbeir caprice Whether we
were permitted to worship God according
to the dictates of our own consciences, or
must submit to such established form of
religion as our conquerors might prescribe,
would depend entirely upon their will, as
we should then have no constitutional
rights, a^d no guarantee of the liberty of
conscience. It is impossible to conceive
of a people in a more wretched condition,
tbau we would be after our subjugation.
But our misery is not to end here. Our
slaves are not only to be set free among
us and made our equals, and our subjuga-
tion to be complete, but all our propeity is
to be confiscated to pay the war debt of
the abolition government, and to maintain
an insolent army in our midst to dragoon
us into perpetual submission, and rivet our
chains more closely from generation to
generation.
Every reflecting mind is obliged to
comprehend that it would take nearly or
quite the whole property of the South to
pay the immense war debt of the North ;
and if any should be left after its payment,
that Yankee capidity in possession of un
restrained power, would sooti appropriate
the balance to its own nse. But suppose
the abolition government should modify
its policy and repeal the confiscation act,
what would be the result 1 We Bhonld be
permitted to keep the .possession of our
property, but we should ho taxed to the
full extent of its annual incomes. Instead
of giving it up to pay the debt at once, we
should be compelled to act as overseers for
the Lincoln government, receiving a bare
subsistence for our labor. Whether onr
property is all confiscated and sold to pay
the debt immediately or is left in our
hands, aud taxed till it is worthless to us
matters very little, as in either case we
are subjugated serfs—mere paupers and
slaves to abolition power. Not only every
principle of honor and of manliness, but
every obligation which ancestry cau be
under to future posterity-qpquires, that we
should never yield to subjugation, but
that wc should defend our liberties and
strike for independence, as loug as wo havo
a man to muster or a weapou to nse.
The reconstructionist who imagines that
if the war were ended, we should be pla
ced back where we were when it commen
ced, labors uuder an egregious error. The
Lincoln government offers no such terms,
and it is not in its power to grant any such,
as it could not restore our slaughtered kin
dred, compensate our injured females, or
return our devastated fields and cities, as
they were when this wicked war was wag
ed upon us. Let the recoustructionist re
member that the terms offered by the gov
ernment at Washington are not the re
storation of the Union, and compensation
for the injuries it has done us ; but they
are abolition, subjugation, and confisca
tion. It is announced by an officer high iu
position, upon the.authority of the Supreme
Court, that all the property of all the citi
zens of the State in rebellion, as they term
us, is subject to confiscation ; whether such
citizen favored the rebellion o* not. In
other words,' they declare' their iuteution.
so soon as we are subjugated, to coutiscate
all the property, of Jll the people of the
Confederate Statepsv'no matter what may
have been their opinions of the war, or
their conduct during its prosecution. These
terms cannot be very consoling to the
friends of the abolition government, if
there be any such in the Confederacy.
Substitutes in the Army.
That portion of the conscript act which
authorise* those within conscript age to
employ substitutes, has in xtiy opinion,
been productive of the most unfortunate
results. If conscription is right, or it it is
to be acquiesced in as a matter of necessi
ty, it is certainly ju6t that if act upon all
alike, whether rich or poor. With the
substitution principle in the act, its effect
has been to compel the poorer class wlfo
have no money with which to employ sub
stitutes, to enter tbe army, no matter what
may be the condition of their families at
home, while the rich, who have money
with which to employ substitutes, have
often escaped compulsory service. This
is not jnst as between man and man. While
I trust I have shown that the poorest man
iu the Confederacy has such interest at
stake as shuuld stimulate him to endure
any amount of hardship or danger for the
success of our cause, it cannot be deuied
that the wealthy are under as great obli
gation to do service, as they have, in ad
ditiou to the rights and liberties of them
selves and their childreu, a large amount
of property to protect. If every wealthy
mau would do his duty, aud share his part
of the dangers of the war, "but few com
plaiyts would be heard from the poor. But
if the money of the rich is to continue to
securo him from -the hardships, privations
aud dangers to which the poor are exposed.,
discontent, and more or less demoraliza
tion in the finny must be the inevitable
result.
He who has paid two or three thousand
doHars for his substitute, has often made it
back in a single mouth by speculation,
and it has not unfrequently happened that
the families of those in -service at eleven
dollars per month, have been the most un
fortunate victims of his speculation and
extortion. 11
A very large number of stout, able bod
ied young men, between IS and -15 years
of age, are now out of the army, and in
tbeir places tbe Goverument has accepted
old men over 45, who have, in most cases,
been unable to undergo long marches, pri
vatiou and fatigue. Thousands of these
Lave sunk by tbe way, either into the
hospitals or into the grave. It is also un
derstood that much the larger number of
deserters and stragglers from tbe army
have been substitutes, who have entered
it for hire, aud after receiving tho stipu
lated price, have sought the first opportu
nity to escape, which they havo in some
instauces been permitted to do, with the
acquiescence and eucouragement of offi
cers. who have been their partners in guil
ty speculation. Thus the same individual
has been accepted as a substitute tor each
of several able-bodied young men, who
have been left at home to seek for gain
and enjoy comfort, while our enemies hare
gained advantages on account of the
weakness of our armies.
If we expect to be successful in onr
struggle, the law must be so changed as to
place in service the tens of thousands of
young men who are now at home. This
would reinforce our armies, so as to ena
ble us to drive back the enemy upon eve
ry part of our borders. After this change
in the law, tbe Government could provide
for tbe protection of the most important
interests at homo, by making proper de
tails of such persons as arc indispensably
necessary. This would be much bettqgf
than tbe extension of the conscription act
up to 50 or 55, as it would bring into the
field young men able to endure service in
the place of old men who must soon fail
when exposed to great fatigue and hard
ship, many of whom are as competent as
young men to oversee plantations and at
tend to other home interests.
But it may be denied that the Govern
ment can now so change tho law, as to
make those who have furnished substitutes
liablo to service, as it is bound by its con
tract to exempt them, and they have ac
quired verted rights under the coutract,
wbich it is not in the power of the Gov
ernment to Let ns examine this
for a moment. I purchase a lot of land
from the State of Georgia, and pay her
one thousand dollars for it, and she con
veys it to me by grant under her great
seal. The contract is as solemn and bind
ing as the Government can make it. My
fee simple title is vested and complete.
But while I have the grant in my pocket
and the State h^s my money in her treas
ury, i; is discovered that public necessity
requires the State t to repossess herself of
the land ; I refuse to sell to her ; she may
pay me just compensation, and take thc
land without my consent, and she violates
no fundamental principle, as all our pri
vate rights must yield to the public good,
and if we are injured we cau only require
just compensation for the injury.
Again, suppose I have labored hard and
made upon my land a surplus of provisions,
whicli are my own right and property,
and I refuse to sell them to the Govern
ment, when the army is in need of them :
it may take them without my consent and
pay me just compensation, and I have
been deprived of none of my constitutional
rights. ■ •
The right of a person who has employ
ed a substitute to be exempt from military
service, cau certainly stand upoy no high
er ground. The Government has extend
ed to such persons the privilege of exemp
tion upon the employment of a proper sub
stitute, but if the public safety^tequirc* it,
the Government certainly has -as much
right to revoke this privilege as it has to
take Horn me my land, or my provisions,
or other property, for public use; and all
that tbe person wliaemployed the substitute
could demand would be just compensation
for tbe injury. Tbe measure of damage*
.might be the amount paid by the principal
for’his substitute, less, a just pro rata, for
th» time the substitute has served; and
upon the payment of the damage or the
just eomponsatiou for it, the Government
wonld have the right to retain the substi
tute, as well as the principal, in service, as
the'substitute has been paid by the princi
pal for tbe service, and tbe principal has
been compensated for the damage done
him by ordering him into service. It would
be competeqt, however, in estimating tbe
damages in such case, to take into the ac
count, tbe interest the principal has in the
saccess of our cause, and the establishment
of our independence, as necessary, to the
perpetuity of his liberties, aud the security
of all his rights. It would also be compe
tent to inquire whether he has indeed suf
fered any pecuniary loss. If he has paid
three thousand dollars for a substitute, and
has been kept out of the army for that
sum for oue year, and during that time h«
has made ten thousand dollars more, by
speculation, or otherwise, than he would
have made had he been in the army, at
eleven dollars per mouth, the actual
amount ef compensation due from the Gov
ernment to him might be very small in
deed, if anything.
Believing that the public necessity re
quires it, aud entertaining no doubt that
Congress possesses the powor to remedy
the evil, without violating vested rights, I
respectfully recommend the passage of a
joint resolution by this General Assembly,
Requesting Congress to repeal that part of
the conscript act, which authorises the em
ployment of substitutes, and as conscrip
tion is the present policy of the Govern
ment, to require all persons able to do
military duty, who have substitutes in
service, to enter the military service of the
Confederacy, with the least possible de
lay, and to provide some just rule of com
pensation to those who may be injured by
the euactmeut of such a law. 1 also rec
nmnieud that said resolution instruct our
Senators, and request our Representatives
in Congress, to vote .for and urge tho pas
sage of this measure at the earliest possi
ble day.
Deserters and Stragglers from the Army.
Deserters aud stragglers from the army,
and tbe too eommou practice of overstay
ing tbe time allowed those ou furlough,
are evils which if not checked, must result
in great injury to our cause aud endanger
our success.
A person who has travelled over the
country to any considerable extent, can
not have failed to observe the vast number
of persons in the uniform of Confederate
officers, aud of soldiers, who crowd our-
railroad cars, and fill every hotel ou our
lines of travel. Many of these persons are
telieved to be neglecting duty, and at-
bending to speculation, and other private
interests, or pleasure. Some who are not
in commission no doubt wear the Confed
erate uniform to enable them to avoid en
rollment as conscripts. Those absent on
sick leave have frequently stayed week*
and months after they were able to return
to camps, and have procured from unscru
pulous surgeons, certificates, which have
excused them with their commanders.
Others overstay their time without excuse,
till they fear the penalties that await
them, and they then determine never to
return. By these piar.tices, the army is
greatly depleted, and has not in the field,
much more than half its strength; and
many in service are denied furloughs
which ought to bo granted, because others
have not been compelled to do their duty,
and return at the appointed time. Wheth
er thpse abuses are caused by thc favorit
ism or negligence of officers iu command,
or by the failure of the people at home to
require of all who are absent iu violation
ef orders, to return, I do not pretend to de
cide. Tbe evil is an alar/ning one howev
er, and calls for a speedy remedy.
In response to the request of Confeder
ate Generals in command, I have by proc
lamation, directed the civil and military
officers of this State, and the State tioops,
to be vigilant in tbe arrest of deserters and
stragglers. Many have been arrested by
them, and returned to their respective
commands, but further legislation is requi
red, to enable the Executive to apply an
effective remedy. It is necessary that tbe
law make it the imperative duty of ail
sheriffs, constables, aud all other civil offi
cers of every grade; and of all the militia
officers of this State, to arrest each and
every person iu their respective counties
who belong to the Confederate army, and
cannot show that he has a legal furlough,
and has not overstayed the time allowed
him. A heavy penalty should be imposed
upon eaqli officer wbo neglects to discharge
his duty, and execute the law; and a suf
ficient sum should be appropriated to de
fray the expense of the arrest of all tbe
deserters and stragglers, aud of their con
veyance and delivery, to a Confederate
officer authorized to receive, and return
them to their command. A resolution
should also be passed, requesting the Con
federate Government to refund to Georgia,
all sitm8 necessarily expended in the re
turn of such persons to their places of ser
vice; or to authorize the Post Quartermas
ter at the place where the deserter or
straggler may be delivered to a Confeder
ate officer, to pay all necessary expenses.
Tbe latter plan if adopted by Congress,
would be the more equitable aud just, aud
would be attended with less complication
of the accounts between the Confederate
aiul State Goverument. c
If each State will adopt a policy of the
character- above indicated, aud the Gov
ernment at Richmond will require its Gen
erals in command of Departments, to pun
ish severely, all officers guilty of favorit
ism, in granting furloughs; and will com-'
pel all its Chief Commissaries and Qua^
termasters to dismiss from their service, all
persons subject to conscriptiou. and to
send back to tbe army, the large number
of idlers, who aro found about our towns
and cities, many of whom have details
with very little duty to perform, or posi
tions, which are of little practical use,
other than to keep them out of reach of
danger; and if it will put negroes in the
place of eight out often of our teamsters in
the army, leaving euougb of the most ex
perienced and energetic white teamsters
to coutrol the negroes; and will fill with
negroes the'places of nine tenths of the
white men now engaged in making potash,
and attending to other similar duties, and
will in each case compel the white men
relieved, to take tbeir positions in the
ranks as soldiers, and wril order into ser
vfee the sWarm of enrolling officers, who,
in some of tbe eoanties, are spending their
time in idleness and dissipation, aud are
scarcely sending to the camp of instruction
Jarge aS their own number; we shall »ooh
see the army greatly strengthened, and
the t*eops much better contented and more
irresistible. Justice to those who have
done tbeir duty faithfully requires that
others shall be compelled to do likewise,
i Exemption of State Officers.
The Congress of the Confederate States,
at its last session, passed an act exemptiug
from couscriptiou, all State officers, claim
ed as exempt by the Governor of eaeh
State, till the meetiug of the next legisla
ture of the State. After the date of the met.
It is uow left for the General Assembly of
this State to determine what State officers
shall in future be exempt from conscription.
While Congress has no power to disband
the Government of a State, or take from
it any of its officers civil or military by
conscription, without its consent, the State
has the power if it chooses to exercise it,
to turn over any of its officers not necessa
ry to its existence, to tho Confederate
Government, for military service.
Entertaining the opinion that the State
should always keep within her limits, and
at her command, a sufficient force to exe
cute her laws, do police duty, aud repel
raids and robber bauds from her soil, and
should preserve intact her government; I
have felt it my duty, to refuse to permit
her officers to be enrolled as conscripts;
but I have required them to hold them
selves in constant readiness to do local
service, aud to enter tbe organizations
formed for homo defence, without regard
to rank ; and have given the officers fur
loughs when necessary, to enable them to
discharge even the duties of privates in
volunteer organizations. When I refused
to permit the officers to be taken as con
scripts I acted upon a principle, and not
from favoritism to the officers as individu
als, as I have lio personal acquaintance
with one in ten of them, aud there is no
reason why l should be more partial to
them than other good citizens. Though
my course at the time gave much dissatis
faction, aud political opponents seized up
on the occasiou to prejudice the minds of
the people against me, 1 trust the result
has vindicated my conduct.
Had I permuted the military organiza
tion of the State to be disbanded, it would
not have been, in my power to have filled
the late requisition of the President upon
this State for 8,000 troops for local defence,
as I should have had no officers at my
■command iu the several couuties to con
duct the organization, required by the
President. This will be more clearly seen
by contrasting the action of Georgia with
that of Alabama. The Legislature of Al
abama, by joint resolution, if I mistake
not, turned over all militia officers iu that
State, within conscript age, to enrollment.
Georgia retained hers. The President
called upon Georgia for 8,000 men for
borne defence; and upon Alabama for her
quota. Georgia raised aud tendered over
18,000. Alabama failed to raise tbe num
ber required, and tbe Governor was obliged
to convene the Legislature and recommend
tbe re-erganizatiou of the militia, and the
appointment of new officers, before the
quota of the State could be filled. The
fault rested not with thc people of Alaba
ma, for none are more loyal, gallant and
patriotic, but it resulted from the action of
the Legislature in permitting the militia
system of the State to be virtually de
stroyed by the enrolling officers, which
left the Governor without officers to obey
his orders aud oonduct the organization*
necessary to fill the quota.
He who yields to popular clamor, in the
midst of excitement aud abaudons princi*
pie. whether from mistaken ideas of patri
otic duty, or for mere expediency, is sure
to have abundant cause to regret it. The
majority of the people are houest, and
though they may become excited, and
may for a time be led astray by designing
politicians or unprincipled leaders, they
will, when correctly informed, generally
do right, and stand by principle, and will
iu the end bestow their confidence most
liberally upon tbe public man wbo has tbe
moral firpiness and.determination to resist
their will when they are excited and mis
led, qnd to invite them 'back to the true
pAth of first principles.
Pay of Soldiers.
The rate of monthly compensation fixed
by law for officers and soldiers when
everything was^ipon tbe gold basis, which
was the case when tbe act was passed,
may then have been sufficient. But the
currency has been depreciated till it is now
virtually no reward for tbeir services.
Take for iustance a Lieutenant in a compa
ny, who has to purchase his clothing and
rations out of his pay, and his wages will
not pay for his board, much less will it
clothe him. .Our company officers have to
live upon scanty allowance, and cannot
generally afford to purchase uniforms, to
distinguish them iroin privates. The pri
vate gets rations and clothing and eleven
dollars per inouth in the present deprecia
ted currency. The question of an Increase
of compensation was at my suggestion
pressed upou Congress by the last legisla
ture of this State, but the Senate refused
to sanction it. The objection nrged a-
gainst the measure with the most earnest
ness seemed to be, that the soldiers were
not fighting for pay, but for glory, liberty,
patriotism and independence. There might
be some force iu this positiou, if Congress
which compels the soldier to fight at elev
en dollars per month, for independence
.and glory, could compel the manufacturer
to make cloth to clothe the soldier’s naked
families, or the tanner to make leather for
their shoes, or the merchant to sell them
goods, or the fanner to supply them with
provisions, at tho rates wbich existed at
the commeuceineut of tbe war, when the
soldier’s pay was fixed, and to take all
the balance of the present price in glory
and independence. There is not tbe sem
blance of justice in the pretext, that it is
the duty of the soldier to serve his country
at these low prices, when every necessary
of life which bis famiiy must purchase has
riseu five fold ia the market. When the
products of the mauufacturer, the goods of
tbe merchant, the leather of the tauoer,
once a month, a number of conscripts aa ] the corn and meat o| the farmer, and tho
