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At
MILLEDGE.VILLE
TUESDAY. JULY 23, 1872.
FOR PRESIDENT.
HOEACE GBEELEY,
Of New York.
FOR VICE PRESIDENT.
B. GBATZ BLOWN,
Of Missouri.
for Governor.
JAMES M. SMITH.
of Muscogee.
What thy Band flndeth (o do, do it with
thy Might.
The apologetic style of many ad
vocates of the Baltimore nominal
lions, seems to us in singularly bad
taste. If Greeley ought to be de-
feated, then oppose him openly, in
good faith and with good conscience.
If he ought to be elected, then do
your plain duty, by striving unmis
takably, fcr that result. The victim
of fever, who wastes his time and
energies in brooding over and de
nouncing the bitterness of quinine,
certainly does not prepare his stom
ach for the healing draft, nor ele
vate the public estimate of his man-
liness. “Bitter pill,” indeed ! Rank
childishness, at least, would charac
terize such conduct, if some other
motive, more rational, perhaps, but
less commendable on other accounts,
did not lurnish a solution. What is
it? Do these gentlemen, whilst ad
vocating a clear duty to support Bal
timore, fear that love, per se, for old
Chappaqua might be attributed to
them? Do they begin to suspect
themselves of too strong a leaning
that way ? Are they dubious of their
own standing in the community, as
Southern men, or Democrats? Is it
necessary to nurse their ‘good names’
that this incessant ‘disavowal’ must
accompany every argument? If so,
surely the paternity of the quill is on
very uncertain footing, as to their
sincerity, or the public mind is in a
very morbid stale of suspiciousness
Perhaps it is being poisoned by ex
halations from political fungi—spu
rious offshoots on the body politic—
whose conceptions of patriotism ex*
tend only to their own promotion
We remember, long ago, when dem
agogues manufactured preferment
by denouncing all adversaries as
‘traitors to the South.’ The best
men in the land suffered from the
absurd slander, and selfish presump
tion bore off the official palm against
modest independent virtue. It is
greatly to be hoped that a frank,
bold, intelligent press will make
such things rare, if not impossible,
hereafter. This apologetic, uncer*
tain,prepare-to-jump-both- ways con-
duct, certainly has not that virtuous
tendency, and i3 altogether unwor
thy of the Georgia press. If it is
right that we and others support
Baltimore, let us give the reasons
why we should do so*—frankly avow
our own purposes, and submit them
candidly and freely to the public,
without fear and without shame. He
that proclaims bis own ‘honesty’ too
often, bores the pnblic with too fre*
quent and lengthy disquisitions on
his own merits—is apt to excite sus
picions of—something else.
GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE.
Executive Department,
Atlanta, Ga., July 17,1S72.
To the Senate and j
House of Representatives:
It is made my duty by the Con*
stitution to give to the General As
sembly information of the slate of
the Commontvealth, and to recom
mend to their consideration such
measures as may be deemed neces*
sary and expedient for the public
good. I approach the discharge of
this duly with a feeling of diffidence,
produced by a consciousness that
the subjects before me will require
a more extended notice than I shall
be able to bestow upon them.
When I entered upon the dutifs
of the Executive office, in January
last, great confusion existed in al
most every department of our pub
lic affairs. Our finances were in the
utmost disorder, and the stock boards
of this country and of Europe had
been flooded with bonds, purporting
to have been issued by this State,
but yet regarded as of doubtful va
lidity. The administration of jus
tice had been rendered ineffective
by the abuse of the pardoning pow*
er; the confidence of the pebple in
their public servants had been im-
I mired by the faithless conduct of
eading officials, arid a feeling of
general distrust and insecuiity pre
vailed. The civil authorities bad
so long been subordinated to milita
ry power that many true men had
reached the melancholy conclusion
that civil liberty had already ceased
to exist.
The earnest efforts of every de
partment of the government have
been ^directed to the correction of
these abuses, and if these efforts
have not yet proved entirely suc
cessful, it has been because the evils
sought to be remedied were mani
fold and deeply rooted. Evils, the
result of years of misrule, cannot be
extirpated in a day. Much patient
labor yet remains to be done, and in
its performance I earnestly invoke
the assistance of the representatives
of the people.
Public Debt and Ftnvnces.
By legislative act, entitled “an
act to protect the people of the State
of Georgia against the illegal and
fraudulent issue of bonds and secu
rities, and for other purposes con
nected with the same,” passed De
cember 9, 1871, it was provided
that a joint committee of the Senate
and house of representatives should
be appointed, whose duty it should
be to ascertain report the num
ber of bonds and indorsements which
had been issued and put into circu
lation by Rufus B. Bullock, late
Governor; the aggregate amount
thereof, by whom the same were
sold,{the amount ofmoney paid there
for, the times when, and the persons
to whom such payments were made,
and all other facts connected with
the history of said bonds.
The committee appointed by vir
tue of this act will submit their re
port, I learn, during the present ses
sion of the Legislature. While it is
proper that I postpone any extend
ed remarks upon theciasses of claims
and securities mentioned in the act,
until after the information collected i
by the committee shall have been
laid before you, yet I feel constrain
ed to say that, in my opinion, the
State is bound for the redemption of
only such obligations as have been
issued in conformity with law. It
money raised upon unauthorized se
cutities has come into the treasury,
the Slate is bound to account for the
same. But considerations of public
policy forbid that the Slate should
recognize as valid and binding any
contract entered into by any person
not authorized to make the same.—
The Governor has no authority, by
virtue of his office alone, to issue
bonds of the State. To do this, he
must be specially authorized by a
legislative act, passed for that pur
pose. When so empowered, he be
comes a special agent, and cannot
transcend the limits of the grant
conferring his powers. It 13 a well
established principle, that persons
having dealings with public agents,
in matters like this, are strictly
bound to look to the authority of such
agents.
The following is a consolidated
statement of the existing debt of the
State, created before the 4th day of
July, 1868, showing the amount and
dates of the issue and maturity of
the bonds:
When Amount.
When issued. due
1842 and 1852 1872....$
,1842 and 1843 1873....
1844 and 1848 ....1874....
1858 1878....
1859 1879....
1860 1880....
1861 1881 100,000 00
1666 1886 3,600.000 00
650.500 00
137.000 00
251.500 00
100.000 00
200,000 00
200,000 00
Gra id $5,238,500 00
From the foregoing tabular state
ment, it will appear that the total
amounlof our bonded debt, contract
ed prior to July 4, 1868, is $5,233,-
500.
To meet the bonds falling due the
present summer, the Governor was
authorized to issue bonds to the a-
mount of $700,000, due in twenty
years, and bearing interest at a rale
not exceeding seven per cent, per
annum, payable semi-annually. As
required by the provisions of ibis
act, I have caused bonds to be pre
pared, and the same are now being
used in exchange and redemption of
the old bonds falling due the pres
ent year. By the third section of
the act, a temporary loan was au
thorized in a sum not exceeding
$300,000, for the purpose of paying
the semi-annual interest, due the
present Snmmer, upon the bonds of
the Slate issued before the 1st day
of June, 1868, which loan, it is pro
vided, shall be paid back out of the
moneys received from the taxes paid
into the Treasury during the year
1872.
Acting under the authority thus
conferred, I borrowed from the Na
tional Bank oi Commerce, in New
York, the sum of $200,000, at 7 per
cent, per annum, to be repaid on the
first day of December next. This
sum was placed to the credit of the
State on the 29th day of June last,
and is sufficient to pay the interest
falling due upon our old debt in the
months of June, July and August.
An arrangement has also been ef
fected with the National Bank of
Commerce to act as the agent of the
Stale in exchanging tbe old for the
new bonds falling due this year.
This arrangement is as follows : An
offer is made to the holders oi the
old bonds to exchange therefor the
new 7 pet cent, bonds authorized to
be issued by said act. In the event
this offer shall not be accepted, it is
proposed that the semi-annual inter
est shall continue to be-paid upon
the old bonds until the State shall
Be able to redeem the same. This
arrangement is the best that could
be effected in the present condition
of the public credit, and it is believ
ed that it will give satisfaction to our
creditors. There exists no law au
thorizing the payment of interest up
on the old bonds after their mSturi-
ty, but being satisfied that the prop
osition to that effect, embraced in
the arrangement above referied to,
if carried out, will be promotive ot
the public welfare, I respectfully re
commend that the same be approved
by the Legislature.
In effecting these arrangements, I
have to acknowledge the obligations
under which I rest to the Hon. C. J.
Jenkins, who, while refusing all pe
cuniary compensation therefor as the
agent of the State, brought to my
aid the benefit of his well-known
wisdom and experience.
By the wasteful expenditures of
the late administration, the Slate
was deprived of the means of pay
ing the semi-annual installment ot
interest upon the public debt, and
to supply such means it became ne
cessary to resort to the doubtful ex
pedient of a short loan. The ne
cessary effect of this will be to place
three semi-annual installments oi
interest on the public debt upon the
revenues of the present year. In
December next, we shall have to
pay the temporary loan contracted
to meet the interest falling due this
Summer. Then, following closely
in January and February thereafter,
another semi-annual installment will
fall due. This we shall probably
be able to meet without serious dif
ficulty. In June, July and August
of next year, however, another like
installment will become due, and
will be upon us before the taxes of
next year can be collected. The
temporary loan just negotiated
should be promptly paid at maturi
ty, and provision be made to meet
future installments of interest with
out recourse to temporary expedi
ents.
It is of the highest importance that
the credit of the State be fully re
established, to the end that the heavy
burdens now resting upon the peo
ple may be removed as speedily as
possible. The present impoverished
condition of the country, produced
by the late civil war, the disorgani
zation of our labor system, and die
wasteful extravagance which char*
acterized the acts of those lately in
authority, render the practice ot the
most rigid economy indispensably
necessary. Our resources should
be husbanded, our expenditures con
fined within the strictest limits of
necessity, and public officials held
to rigid accountability. By a wise,
honest and faithful administration of
the government, the public credit
will soon be restored, and the peo
ple relieved of the weight of taxa
tion which now oppresses them.
Floating Debt of Western and Allan-
tic Railroad.
Your attention is also respectfully
called to the propriety of making
provisions lor the payment of the
floating debt of the Western and At
lantic Railroad. The annual report
of the Comptroller General, here
with transmitted, shows that there
was paid out of the public treasury
during the^year 1871, to claims be
longing to the class just named, the
sum ot $452,080 92. There is still
a large number of such claims out
standing, a portion of which have
been audited by the commissioners
appointed by the Legislature, in the
act approved October 24,1870.
At the late session of the General
Assembly, a committe was appoint
ed with power to investigale the
conduct of the said commissioners,
and to inquire whether any claims
had been allowed by them after be
ing rejected by the Legislature or
by the courts, or whether any claims
had been allowed which had been
barred by the statute of limitations,
and whether any fraudulent and il
legal claims had been allowed, and
upon what evidence. No warrants
have been issued for the payment of
these claims since my accession to
office. It is a matter of doubt
whether any appropriation exists for
their payment, and I deemed it
proper and respectful to await ac
tion on the part of the Legislature,
before directing further payments to
be made. (
I would also call your attention to
the fact, that there is outstanding a
large amount of claims against the
Slate, in the form of change bills,
and notes issued by the Western
and Atlantic Railroad. Most of
these purport to have been issued
during the late war, and others bear
date as far back as the lime when
the road was being constructed. I
have been informed tfia^ it has been
held by the courts of’lTen.nessee,
that the full amount specified on the
face of the change bills issued dur
ing the war is recoverable. In view
ot the fact that much litigation may
arise, and great expense be incur
red in suits brought in the courts of
Tennessee for the collection of these
bills, I respectfully recommeud^hat
some provision be made whereby
these evils may be avoided.
Lease if the Western and Atlantic
Railroad. .*•
The attention
has never been
the lease of the
of the Legislature
formally called to
Western and At
lantic Railroad, and . 1 therefore
transmit herewith copies of all the
papers of record and oh file in thi3
department, referring to this same.
Frodfr these papers it Will appear
that on the 1 27th day of December,
1870, tiijr Predecessor leased the
road, its rolling Stock and other prop
erty, for the term of twenty years,
for the sum of $25,000 per month,
or $300,000 per annum. This rental
has been regularly and punctually
paid. The terms and conditions oi
the lease are fully set forth in the
accompanying documents, and need
not be recapitulated here.
The-circumstances attending this
transaction from its inception to its
consummation, have excited great
interest in the public mind, and
have been the subject of much di
verse criticism. In consequence of
this fact, the Legislature at its late
session, by a joint resolution, provi
ded for the appointment of a com
mittee, whose' duty it was made to
investigate and report upon the lease*
This committee, I arn informed,
will submit their report during your
present session. Any discussion of
the lease, therefore, at this lime, and
in advance of the official evidence,
might justly be deemed prema
ture.
The magnitude oi the interests
involved, and the concern which the
transaction has excited in the public
mind, render it proper that I should
invoke at your hands, whenever you
shall feel it to be your duty to take
up this important matter for consid
eration; the exercise of your highest
wisdom and justice. In the dis
cussion which will doubtles arise, I
feel assured that you will lose sight
of neither the true interests of the
people,the honor and dignity of the
State, W»r the rights of the lessees.
Popular Education.
I transmit herewith the report of
the State School Commissioner upon
the present condition and wants of
our common school system, to which
I respectfully invite your attention.
The attempt to establish the com
mon school system in this State has
not been crowned with the success
which was anticipated. It is not
difficult to understand the causes
which have led to this result. In
the impoverished condition of the
people, it has been found impracti
cable to raise the means at once to
carry into successful operation a
system so expensive, without too
great an increase of taxation. Even
the scant means which have come
into the; treasury, and which by the
Constitution were set apart and de
voted to common school purposes,
have been misapplied.
By order oi the General Assem
bly, in the year 1870, the sum of
$242,026 62, belonging to the school
fund, was taken from the treasury.
Soon after this was done the Legis-
lure passed an act establishing a
common school system. The grave
wrong was committed of first mis
appropriating the school fund, and
next of establishing a cumbrous and
expensive system, requiring for its
successful operation a heavy outlay of
money. No sufficient appropriation
was made for defraying the expen*
ses of the system. The necessary
consequence of this unwise proce
dure was that heavy debts were
contracted in the employment of
teachers, and for other purposes
The present General Assembly at
its late session sought to correct ex
isting evils by remodeling the whole
system. The law as it now stands,
although an improvement upon pre
vious legislation, is still very dei'ec
five., These defects are pointed out
in the report of the Commissioner,
and the necessary remedial legisla
lion suggested. I cannot too ur
gently recommend that provision be
at once made for paying the just
claims of teachers.
Whan the school fund was taken
from the Treasury, certain bonds
of the State were deposited in iieu
of the same. The Governor was
authorized to sell those bonds to
raise money to pay the teachers, but
the power to sell was expressly made
dependent upon the condition that
such sale could be made without in
jury to the public credit. Upon in
quiry made of the Treasurer, I found
that the bonds bore lithographed
coupons, and in his judgment were
so defectively executed as to be of
little or no value. As an evidence
of this, it was stated that they had
been offered by the late Governor,
in the New York market, but a sale
Finding that the time in fthidh the
college in this State must be estaB^
fished, if at all, would expire before
the meeting of the General Assem
bly*, and feeling unwilling to apply,
to Congress to extend the time, for
the reason that such application in
all probability would have been used
as a pretext for attaching to the do
nation conditions which would have
rendered the same odious to the peo
ple, I determined that it was my
duty to exercise the power confer
red upon the Executive by the Leg
islature, and to save this important
fund for our people. The question
arose, how could this best be done.
In looking over the State, it was
found that we had several excellent
institutions of learning, and that the
people in several localities desired
to have the college established in
their midst. This was natural and
praiseworthy. But my duty was
plainly pointed out by law, and be
yond this, I could not no go. The
act of the Legislature, approved
December 12, 1866, conferred upon
the Governor all the power necessa
ry to save the fund to the State.
The act of Congress, however, ma
king the donation, required that the
college should be actually establish
ed by the second day of July, 1872.
There was no such college in exis
tence in this State, and I, as the
chief executive officer under the gov
ernment, had no authority to create
such an institution. The Legisla
ture had failed to organize a college
for this purpose, or to dispose of the
fund, and would not re-assemble in
time to take the necessary action.
What then could be done ?
By the terms of its charter, the
trustees of the University of the
State located at Athens, and already
successful operation, possessed
in
of them,had. been found impracti-
cablef (except at ruinous sacrifice.
Being satisfied that the mere fact
of these bonds, thus executed, be
ing placed upon the market would
greatly impair the credit of the
State, f deemed it to be my duty to
defer.any attempt to sell them, and
to submit the matter to the Genetal
Assembly
Agricultural Land Scrip.
By an act of Congress, passed in
the year 1862, donations of land
were offered to the States for the
purpose of establishing agricultural
and mechanical colleges. The States
accepting the donations were allow
ed until the 2d day of July, instant,
to establish the colleges. The scrip
issued to the State of Georgia, un
der the provisions of said act of
Congress, was sold by my imme
diate. predecessor, at ninety cents
per acre, making the sum of $243,-
000. Of this, the sum of $50,400
has been received. The remaining
portion will not become due until
the third day of July, 1873.
ample powers to establish such a
college as that described in the act
of Congress making the donation,
and it was only by the prompt ex
ercise of these powers by the trus
tees that the fund did not become
forfeit. The trustees held a meet
ing in this city on the thirtieth day
of March last, when they organized
a college in conformity to the law
granting the donation, made formal
application for the use of the fund,
and received an Executive order
bestowing the same upon the Uni
versity.
I herewith transmit copies of the
proceedings had at said meeting of
the trustees, and of the Executive
order referred to.
It may be remarked that the act
of Congress prescribed the condi
tions upon which the donation was
made. One of these conditions re
quired that the State, upon accep
ting the donation, should become
bound to preserve the fund, and to
see that no part of the same was
lost or misapplied. The acceptance
of the fund made the State a trus
tee for the uses declared in the act
creating the trust. To enable the
State to perform its duty and to pro
tect the fund it was manifestly nec
essary that the same should be kept
within the control of the legislature.
The University is a State institution,
and the action of the trustees may
be reviewed by the General Assem
bly. This is true of no other insti
tut ion of learning in the State. In
granting the use of the fund to the
University, therefore, I was careful
to place it where the Legislature
would still retain the power to in
terpose for its proper application
and preservation. No part of the
principal fund, or of the interest,
could be appropriated to the pur
chase or erection ot buildings for the
college, but no delay was occasion
ed on this account, since there were
already suitable buildings belong
ing to the University, which could
be used for that purpose.
For these and other reasons which
might be given, I deemed it to be
my duty to save the donation in the
only practicable way left open to
me, and to grant the fund to the
University of the State.
It may be added that the college
went into operation on the first day
of May under the most promising
auspices, and that there are already
about one hundred students receiv
ing instruction in the same, free of
charge. The prospect is that this
number will be largely increased,
and that the State, so far at least as
her agricultural and mechanical in
terests are involved, will soon enter
upon a new and more prosperous
career. What we most need is
thorough and practical education,
and this the new college promises to
secure to all classes of tbe people—
to the poor as well as to the rich and
more fortunate.
Penitentiary.
By authority of the act approved
December 14, 1871, authorizing the
Governor to farm out the convicts
in tbe Penitentiary, I proceeded,
after due notice given, to lease the
same for the term of two years, to
Messrs. Grant, Alexander & Co., at
the sum of fifty dollars per capita
per annum. The number of con
victs in the Penitentiary on the day
the lease was executed, was 432.
The number on the first of this
month had increased to475. Thirty*
two have been discharged in the
meantime, their terms having expir
ed.
This marked increase in the num
ber of convicts is not due to any
augmentation of crime in the State,
but is believed to be the result en*
tirely of a more rigid nnd proper
enforcement of the laws. This in*
stitution heretofore has been a source
df eipetise to tbe State. Under the
present arrangement, however, it is
riot probable that .any appropria*
tions will become necessary for its
Support and maintenance.' On the
contrary, it will probably be produc
tive of considerable revenue.
Pardoning Power.
It rray be here remarked that in
the present state of society, I have
felt it to be my duty to confine the
exercise of the pardoning power
within very strict limits. Courts
and juries constitute the proper tri
bunal for the trial of criminal of
fenses, and it is no part of tbe du
ly of the Executive to intervene
to screen the guilty from punishment.
The theory of the law upon this
subject is, that when guilt has been
ascertained in the manner prescri
bed by the supreme authority, the
interest of society demands that the
offender be punished. The most
painful duty which devolves upon
the Chief Magistrate of the com
monwealth is the refusal of appeals
made to Executive clemency. Im
pressed as I have been, however,
with the conviction that the good
order, peace and welfare of satiety
depend in a large measure upon the
due enforcement of the laws, I have
felt constrained to refuse to interfere
with the due execution of judgments
pronounced by the judicial authori
ties. It is believed that a strict ad
herence to this line of duty will re
sult, at no distant day, in restoring
to the people that feeling of securi
ty, without which society can be
neither prosperous nor happy. I
am glad to have it in mv power to
add that there has been a marked
diminution of crime throughout the
Slate, and that there is reason to
believe that this diminution will be
come more marked in tbe future.
Lunatic Convicts.
Your attention is respectfully call
ed to the defects in the law as it now
stands in regard to the proper dis
position to be made of lunatic con
victs. Under our present system
there is no provision ot law special
ly adapted to such cases. When
the convicts were confined in the
State prison, under the direct con
trol of the principal keeper, a pro
vision existed for the removal of lu
natic convicts from the Penitentiary
to the Lunatic Asylum, upon proper
certificates of lunacy being made by
the physician of the penitentiary and
the principal keeper.
At thi3 time, however, there is no
such officer as a physician of the
penitentiary, and the principal keep
er has ceased to have the peculiar
custody and control of the convicts.
The only evidence, therefore, upon
which the Soperintendent of the
Lunatic Asylum is authorized to re
ceive a convict into the Asylum can
not be supplied. The lessees are
bound by theii contract and by the
law to treat tbe convicts with hu-
manity, and to confine them secure
ly ; but there is no provision pre
scribing the proceedings to be bad
in case any of them becomes lunatic.
I therefore recommend the passage
of such act as will cure the evil here
pointed out.
Lunatic Asylum.
I herewith transmit the report of
the special committee appointed to
investigate the condition of the Lu
natic Asylum. The investigations
of the committee have been thorough,
and the information which they have
collected in regard to this great char
ity cannot fail to attract the earnest
attention of the General Assembly
The number of patients now being
treated in tbe Asylum is large, and
the expenses attending the same are
heavy. These unfortunates must
be cared for, however, and to that
end all needed reforms in the ad
ministration of tbe institution should
be introduced, and all existing abus
es corrected. Tbe committee, whose
report is now submitted, is cornpos
ed of |gentlemen of high character
and marked abilities, and any sug
gestions that they may make are
entitled to the most respectful con
sideration.
Maimed Soldiers.
I respectfully ask that your atten
tion be directed to the subject of
supplying means to furnish artificial
limbs to such indigent soldiers of
this State as were maimed in the
late war, whether in the service of
the State of Georgia or of the Con
federate States. The General As
sembly, in 1866, made an appropri
ation for this purpose, but I am ad
vised that there are still many indi
gent soldiers remaining, who have
never beenj supplied with artificial
limbs. The report of the Comp
troller General, made in the year
1869, shows that a portion of the ap
propriation made in 1866 is still un
expended. As this fund cannot now
be drawn from the Treasnry with
out further action by the Legisla
ture, 1 respectfully recommend that
an appropriation be made sufficient
to meet the wants of this meritorous
and unfortunate class of our fellow-
citizens. These patriotic men gave
their natural limbs to the service of
the State, and it is but little to ask
that the Slate should' replace them
with artificial limbs.
Our Dead Soldiers.
Your attention is also earnestly
called to the fact that tbe bodies of
over two thousand soldiers who fell
fighting upon our own soil, still re
main uncared for on the hillsides
and in the valleys, where they fur-
rendered their lives in our defense.
By appropriation heretofore made.
and
by private
means and time
yet
contributions of
, . . . - expended under
ihe patriotic direction ot the ladio,
Composing the Board of Trustees r f
tbe Georgia Memorial Association
twenty-two huudred and eighty b 0 ]
ies have been gathered up and ,| P *
cenlly interred in the soldiers’
*tery laid out for that purposed
Marietta. All the means on h a ,
have long since been exhausted
Nothing fuither has been done wiV
in the last three years, and now
en the cemetery, prepared with such
pious care, has fallen into decay
from lack of funda to keep it Up j
respectfully-.inquire how long tin
neglect shall be permitted to con"
tinue? Having put our hands t 0lhi *
good work, shall we turn back and
leave it unfinished ? These men died
for us. Shall we not, then, at l eait
save their bones from the plowshare
and put them tenderly away? d u( ’
calls us, and our noble women star’
ready, with tearful eyes, to p er f or l
the holy task. Our people are
and the State is cramped in 1
finances—for the stranger and ^
spoiler have been among us—but w*
are not so poor but that we can
bury our dead.
Military Interference.
It may be that it is unnecessarv
to call your attention to the correC
pouden.ee which was recently had
by this department with the com
mand of the military forces of the
United States stationed at this place
in reference to the inteiference i |
our local affairs by armed Federd
soldiery. The copies of letters here
with ‘transmitted, will’put y 0u m
possession o, al 1 the taels connected
with this unauthorized attempt to set
aside and supercede the authority of
the State. It is the earnest desire
of the people of Georgia to preserve
good order, to put down crime in
their midst, to discharge all their
duties, public and private, in a
peaceable manner, and to maintain
between the authorities of this State
and the United Slates kind and
pleasant relations. Such is own fix-
ed purpose as the Governor of the
Stale. It is hoped, however, that
we have seen the last of this kind of
interference with our domestic af
fairs. There is neither reason for it
or warrant of law. It is my sworn
duty, as Chief Magistrate of the
Commonwealth, to uphold the laws,
to maintain good order within our
borders, and to protect the people in
their rights of person and property.
To discharge this high duty, the
Legislature has clothed the Execu*
live with ample powers. There is
not likely to arise an emergency
when the aid of the Federal authori
ties will be required, and there can
never occur a case in which the vol
untary and unauthorized interfer
ence cf the military forces of the
Government can be necessary or
justifiable. And so long as I hold
the office with which the people
have so freely honored me, I shall
protest against such interference
with all the earnestness of outraged
justice. The people have no thought
ot offering any kind of resistance to
the enforcement of the laws ot the
United States, but they do protest,
and will continue to protest, against
all illegal and unauthorized attempts
to trample under foot the great rights
of local self-government, whether
such attempts be made by the mili
tary forces or by the Judiciary of
the Federal Government.
JAMES M. SMITH.
Dolly Vardenism is a mild form
of idiocy now lamentably preva
lent. We have not only Dolly Var*
den gowns and petticoats, which
are well enough in their (ugly) way,
but Dolly Yarden strawberry short*
cake, and there is even announced
a Dolly Varden magazine. -Miss
Varden was probably too good a
cook to spoil strawberries by smoth
ering them between layers of half-
baked dough, but as to the maga
zine, it will quite surely be worthy
of that lady’s taste in literature. It
was gravely announced the other
evening by an organ of the pro-
foundest political economy that
theie had been a “Dolly harden
wedding,” at which the bridgroom
wore a Dolly Varden shirt and
neck-tie, although the process by
which those articles of male apparel
came to have the Dolly Yarden
quality was not revealed. We can
imagine that Miss Dolly’s two arms
would make a neck-tie that would
be thought very agreeable and be
coming by the possessor of any male
neck; but as to the other garment,
we, blushing properly, abandon con-
tecture. We would not “break a
butterfly upon a wheel,” but the na*
jure of that particular kind of intel-
lectual feebleness and vulgarity
which makes such cant as Dolly
Vardenism prevalent, would be an
interesting subject of metaphysics
inquiry. A year or two ago there
was a “Shoo Fly” rage; and then " e
had shoo fly hats and bonnets, al
though why they were shoo fly |fl ‘
stead of “scat, you beast,” or
out, you dog,” it would have pcZ'
zled tbe makers and wearers to te. >
even to their own satisfaction. «hy
not have a proper committee, com
posed of two candidates for t he Pre=-
idency—Mrs. Woodhull and
Greeley, and their two backers t- e
Patriarch Andrews and Mr. Thee
dore Tilton—to investigate and dc*
cide this important question?
“Sugar Tit,” is the meliifliK^
name of a precinct in Early county*