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6.
THE ATLANTA WEEKLY ftUN, FOE THE WEEK ENDINGr APEIL 3,il872.
T HE ATL ANTA SEN
Ex-GOYEKNOK JENKINS’ LETTER TO
GOVERNOR SMITH.
It is with no ordinary pleasure we lay
before our people the following highly
important and exceedingly interesting
letter from that noble citizen of Georgia,
Cl larles J. Jenkins, detailing important
historical facta and reminiscences con
nected with his administration and remov
al from office as Governor of Georgia.
It is a simple recital, sublimely grand
in its simplicity, logic and truth :
Acocsta, Ga., Slar«-h 35, lfc72.
His Excellency, James 3f. Smith:
Sin — Since my removal irota the
office which you now hold, in Jan
uary, 1SG8, by Major General
Meade, of the United States Armv,
commanding Department of Georgia,
I have refrained from communication
with the tie facto government of the State.
Ha'd there been no interference of the
Federal Government, my term of office
would have expired in November, 18G7,
and there would then have been assem
bled a Legislature to whom I would have
rendered an account of my stewardship,
accompanied by the usual reports of tbe
Treasurer and Comptroller General for
that year. Spell a commnnication, with
like accompaniments for the preceding
year, had been submitted to tbe General
Assembly at their second session in No
vember, 186G. There having been nei
ther Governor or Legislature elected in
18G7,1, under a provision of the Con
stitution, held over; but there was no
Legislative Assembly. From th9 time of
my removal until the installation of the
present Governor aqd Legislature, those
departments have not, in my judgment,
been filled by persons rightfully repre
senting the people of Georgia or faith
fully guarding their interests.
I am informed that a committee ap
pointed for that purpose by the Legisla
ture convened in 1868, examined" tbe
books and accounts of Mr; Treasurer
. Jones for the last year of my administra
tion, and reported them correct.
I desire, however, to make a formal
representation of certain transactions
during my official term, of which no acj
count has been given, and some of which
have been grossly misrepresented to the*
public.
Such a communication to a State Ex
ecutive, from a predecessor, is, I know,
unusual, if not unprecedented; bnt
trust you will find in the circumstances,
heretofore and now surrounding me, a jus
tifii- *ion of it, and that you will kindly
ph> - it on file, 'with the archives of the
8t>where it may hereafter be accessi
ble i.-r reference if desirable.
I need scarcely remark that, owiDg to
the suspension of the State government
at tbe close of the war—serious compli
cations with the Federal government
resulting from that conflict—the utter ex
haustion of our treasury, the impover
ished condition of our people, and the
interference by Congressional legisla
tion with tbe State government first in
augurated after tho war, my administra
tion was fraught with difficulty, responsi
bility and anxiety. When I entered upon
tho duties of the office there was no
money in tbe treasury—there were out
standing liabilities of Governor Brown’s
last term, (owing to his removal by the
United States government several months
before its constitutional end)—debts con
tracted by Provisional Governor John
son , to carry on the government and tne
expenses of the Conveutiou of LSt>5,
provided for by temporary loans. There
were also ante-war bonds, and iuterest
coupons of considerable amount which
matured during and after the war—
tho expenses of the Legislature
winch came in with me, and
the accruing demands of the civil list.
The bed and track of the Western & At
lantic railroad were in a dilapidated con
dition, its depots and bridges in a great
measure destroyed, and its rolling stock
partly lost or destroyed and partly worn
out and valueless. Its Superintendent
under Provisional Governor Johnson,
with his approval, had contracted a debt
with tho United States Government of
about four hundred and seventy thous
and dollars (§470,000) in the purchase of
rolling stock and other railroad property,
and still in these items there was a large
deficiency.
The Capitol, its grounds and furniture,
and the-Executive Mansion and its fur
niture required extensive repairs and re
newals. The Penitentiary had been par
tially burned and rendered inseenre, re
quiring a large ontlay in rebuilding and
strengthening it.
Besides all this, there were no taxes
collected in 1865. In view of this con
dition of <>nr financial affairs, it must, I
think, ror-wise the reflecting mind that
. the Legislature, to meet these liabilities,
and pnt tbe machinery of government
again in motion, resorted to the credit of
tho State by the issue of its bonds only
to tbe amount of three millions and thir
ty thousand dollars (S3,030,000.)
The Convention of 1865 did, indeed,
authorize the issue of bonds, amounting
to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,-
000) to meet the emergencies of the hour.
But these, owing to restrictions put upon
them, were found available only for very
short loans, and were so used, and re
deemed with proceeds of bonds after
wards authorized by the Legislature, ex
cept about twenty-six thousand dollars,
(§26,000) which had not been presented
at tho Treasury, although called in.
There were also bonds authorized by
7th section of the act of 12th March,
1866, amounting to six hundred thou
sand dollars (§600,000), to pay the land
tax issued by the United States Govern
ment against the people of Georgia.
These bonds were engraved with others,
but as tbe United States authorities re
fused to receive payment of the tax from
the Executive of the State, were not
signed or sealed until aftor the next ses
sion of the Legislature (Nov. 1866.)
On their assembling, I reported to
them tho failure to use those bonds for
the purpose intended, and advised that
the Executive be authorized to issue them
in redemption of, or exchange for bonds
of the State, which would mature within
a short time. Authority to that effect was
given by the Legislature, and then these
bonds in all respects similar to other bonds
issued under tho act of March 12, 1866,
* were executed. As these bonds bore a
higher rate of interest than those to be
redeemed by them, and were secured by
a mortgage on the Western and Atlantic
Railroad, it was believed that no difficul
ty would be encountered in exchanging
them for the latter on terms advantag
eous to the State, and thus our suffering
people be released from taxation, to meet
u heavy demand upon the treasury at no
distant day. They were accordingly
placed in the National Bank of the Re
public (New York) for that purpose, and
notice of the terms on which the State
would make the exchange extensively
published. This exchange had been
commenced, but no great progress had
been made in it at the time of my re
moval Knowing no safer place of de
posit for them, nod desiring not to sus
pend the process of exchange, I suffered
them to remain there, giving written in
structions to the agent to continue it-, but
beyond that, to deliver them to no per
son except noon the order of John Jones,
Treasurer, <-r o? myself.
Tbe Legist-tore assembled in 1868,
passed a r s huion authorizing the Gov
ernor iuar.gnrLed by them to take pos
session of all bonds of the State executed
but not negotiated, wherever to be found.
Under this aut hority, as I have been in
formed, the acting Governor, R. B. Bul
lock, demanded of tho bank the nuex-
changed bonds then in their possession,
and the agent, under legal advice, sur
rendered them to him, but required of
him an indorsement on each bond, of the
manner in which he became possessed of
it. The precise amount so delivered I
know not, bnt suppose it could have
varied little from six hundred thousand
dollars. I am, of course, ignorant what
disposition Ims been made of them. If
they have been faithfully applied to the
object intended, they have not increased
the indebtedness of the State, but have
only postponed, to a more convenient
time, its payment, protanto, and the relief
has accrued, or will accrue, to the admin
istration succeeding mine.
If otherwise, the misapplication is
chargeable to the Executive, who, rather
than come to an account with the fairly
elected and honest representatives of the
people he has charged with having plun
dered, inglorioudy fled t ie State. In
no event can tiiose bonds be fairly set
down as an original indebtedness incur
red by tbe State during my official term,
and by my advice.
Other bonds were issned,by me, in con
formity with the act of February, 1856,
authorizing a subscribtion to the stock of
the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad Company,
and the issue of bonds of the State, in
payment of installments on that .stock,
as the corporation might show itself en
titled to them. Evidence that they were
so entitled, was in each instance adduced,
before the bonds were issued; amounts,
dates, etc., will appear by reierence to
the records of the Treasurer’s and Comp
troller General’s offices.
But this liability was incurred ten years
before my time. The amount of the two
classes of bonds last mentioned have, ia
an indiscriminating, unscrupulous par
tisan spirit, been added to the three mil
lions and thirty thousand mentioned be
fore, and the grand aggregate presented
as an increase of the public debt under
my administration and by my advice.
I think I have disposed of those two
classes, and will not again refer to them.
I no w propose ta show that the public
debt was increased by less than one-half
of the three millions and thirty thousand
dollars (§3,030,000.)
The authority for issuing these bonds,
and the purposes, to which they were to
be applied, will be found in the act of
the 12th of March, 1866, and the lltli
section of the General Appropriation
Act of the same year. The following
items embraced in the act first mentioned
were obviously provisions for funding
existing indebtedness, and therefore did
not increase the public debt:
Section 8—To pay the matured bond debt
and interest thereon $ 830,000
Section 1—To pay debt to TJujtei Siates
Government for railroad property pur
chased during Provisional Governor
Johnson’s term, and interest 500,000
Loans contracted by Provisional Governor
Johnson..... 30.000
Making an aggregate of 1,360,000
Which deducted from th ' new bond debt of
8,030,000 leaves • as increase of public
debt 1,670,000
Among the appropriations made and paid
from proceeds of these bonds wore two
extraordinary items of pure charity, hav
ing all the moral obligations of debts,
viz.: to purchase corn for the desti
tute and artificial limbs for disabled sol
diers 220,000
latnrethe expediency of authorizing the
Superintendent of the Western and At
lantic Railroad to give a bond for the
payment of the debt within two years,
and of pledging the faith of the State
for its payment. Accordingly the act of
the 13th March, 1866, was passed, and
a bond executed in conformity with it,
and delivered. Still, for lack of r-crsonal
security, the monthly payments
were demanded. In au interview
with Mr. Stanton, Secretary of
War, I protested against this,
and insisted oh the payment of the whole
sum at tho expiration ot tho two years—
urging that the pledge of the State’s
credit was more than an equivalent for
personal security.
He heard me patiently, but when I
concluded, remarked curtly, “lean give
you no relief. Yon seem to think because
this Railroad is the property of the State,
and the debt incurred, Tier debt, and be
cause she had given her bond for it, she
should b? admitted to the privilege of
purchasers giving bond and security. I
cannot make that distinction. The terms
be'eomplied with.”
Leaving a balance of 1,460,000
This balance was relied upon to repair
and complete the equipment of the Wes
tern and Atlantic Railroad; to repair and
refit the State House, and its grounds; the
Executive Mansion and furniture; the
Penitentiary; to pay the unfunded debts
of the State (by no means inconsiderable,)
and to defray the entire expenses of the
government for one year, including the
support of its great public charities, and
the accruing annual interest on the pub
lic debt.
This sum of one million four hundred
anil fifty thousand dollars was subjected
before it came into the Treasury for
general use, to a diminution by the ex
penses incident to the preparation and
engraving of the bonds, the execution of
the mortgage, commissions to agents em
ployed in the sale of them, and the rate
of discount upon them, for no bonds of
any Southern State could then be nego
tiated at par value. The bonds first sold
—about nine hundred thousand dollars
(§900,000) in.amount—yielded ninety per
cent. A few werej afterwards sold
for ninety-five, and they would un
doubtedly have reached par value
in the market but for the depressing ef
fect of Congressional legislation upon
the credit of the Southern States. Under
this withering influence, these bonds
afterwards fell below ninety in the New
York market. For more minute details
respecting the disposition of these bonds,
reference is made to the records of the
Treasury and of the Comptroller Gen
eral’s office, to which, as I write I have
not access.
I have mentioned a debt contracted by
the Provisional Superintendent of tho
Western and Atlantic Railroad under
Provisional Governor Johnson, and which
debt occasioned my first unpleasant com
plication with the United States Govern
ment. The Superintendent insisted that
he was, by the terms of the .contract, en
titled to a clear credit of two years, upon
the amount of the purchase. The Sale-
Agent of the United States, on the con
trary, affirmed that by tbe terms of
sale, the purchaser could only be
entitled to such credit, on giving
bond with approved.' personal security,
for the payment .of the debt at the ex
piration of two ‘years; in default of
which, monthly payments of the twenty-
fourth part of the debt, with interest, at
7.30 per cent, must be made, until the
debt was extinguished. The contest be
tween these officials was an unequal one.
The monthly payments were peremptori
ly demanded. I suggested to the Legis-
I asked permission to take issue with
him on that point. I pressed upon him
the universal recognized comity between
nations and States, between organized
governments, and stated as a carollary
from if, that one Govern meat would ac
cord to another a credit never given to
au individual. I concluded thus: “I
have not supposed, Mr. Stanton, I should
live to see the clay when the United
States Government would send the Gov
ernor of a State out to hunt after per
sonal security far a money contract. I
caunot lower the dignity of my State by
doing such an act.”
The stern Secretary relented, cansid-
red, and finally took tbe matter before
tbe Cabinet, who referred it to the Sec
retary of War, and the Attorney Gene
ral, with power to act. I then went be
fore the latter to discuss the question
with him. So soon, as I broached the
proposition requiring a Scate to give ner-
sonal security for a debt, Mr. Stan berry,
that u wight man, court, us gentleman,
and id le jurist, interrnp - d me with the
rema: a, “Governor, I confes that prop
osition revolts me.” “As it has done
me, Mr. Attorney General,” I replied.
He rejoined, “Oh, that will not do. Mr.
Stanton must give that up.” And he
did give it up, and cheerfully, at last.
I refer to this matter partly to show
that, among those distinguished men,
members of the administration (and, we
may infer, by the Cabinet), Georgia was,
at that time, recognized as having the
status of a State of the Union.
Early in the year 1866, the Collector of
Internal Revenue for the 4th District of
Georgia required the Superintendent of
the Western and Atlantic Railroad to
make monthly returns to him of the
gross receipts from the road, and to pay
a tax of 21 per cent, upon them.
Believing the tax to be illegal, because
assessed upon the revenue of the State.
I appealed against it to the Secretary of
the United States Treasury, who, after a
reference of the question to the Solicitor
of the Treasury and a report by him,
overruled my appeal and ordei’ed the
collection to proceed. Not satisfied with
the decision, I filed a bill in equity in
the Destrict Court of the United States,
in the name of the State of Geqrgii},
against the Collector,’seeking to enjoin
tne collection of the tax. After argu
ment upon a rule against the Collector,
tolshoiv cause in Chambers why an in
junction should not issue, the Judge re
served his decision until tbe next term of
the Court in Atlanta; but assured the
Solicitors of the State, in the presence
of the District Attorney and the Col
lector, that meantime no further action
in collection of the tax would be taken.
During his temporary absence from
the State, however, and before his deci
sion, the Collector peremptorily deman
ded payment of the tax then accrued
(amounting to more than twenty-four
thousand dollars) within ten days, in
default of which a levy would be made
upon the property of the road. In
formed of this, I directed the Superin
tendent to pay under protest, which 'was
done.
As soon as practicable afterwards, in a
personal interview with the Secretary of
the Treasury, I brought all those matters
to bis consideration, and found him pro
foundly ignorant of tbe filing of the bill,
the proceedings in Chambers, the assu
rance of the Judge respecting suspen
sion <?f action, and the subsequent en
forcement of payment. I do him the
justice to say that he manifested genuine
surprise and indignation at the last stage
of the proceeding. He pronounced it
“all wrong,” and immediately summoned
before him the Deputy Commissioner of
Internal Revenue (the chief being absent
at the time,) who, after hearing the re
cital, concurred in the Secretary’s opin
ion, and declared himself equally igno
rant and innocent of the wrong.
The result was that the Secretary or
dered the suspension of the collection,
until rendition of the Judge’s decision,
(saying he thought I had adopted the
best course for the settlement of the ques
tion,) bnt declined to refund the sum
paid under duress, which had been pro
nounced “all wrong” until the decision
was made.
At the next term of the Court, Judge
Erskine delivered an elaborate opinion,
concluding with ah order of injunction
pendente lite. A copy of this decision
was fowarded to the Department with a
second demand of repayment, which was
declined on the ground that the Secreta
ry was considering the propriety of carry
ing up the question.
The Collector, I was informed, never
answered the bill nor pnt in an appear
ance ; and at the September term, 1867,
the Judge granted a perpetual injunction,
and decreed that the sum paid under
duress, he refunded.
A third demand was then made for re
payment, but I was answered that the
legality of the tax had been referred to
the Attorney General of the United
States, and that the Department would
await his opinion. That was soon after
given, sustaining the decree of the Court,
which declared the tax illegal. Then
upon a fourth demand the money was re
funded, but interest on it was refused,
although the Treasury of the United
States had held it about eighteen months,
and also daring the sometime, interest
was accruing at the rate of 7.30 per cent,
against the Western and Atlantic Rail
road to the United States, on the debt
before mentioned, and soon after paid in
fall.
Bat for this appeal to the Judiciarv,
in limine, it cannot be doubted tfyit this
onerous and illegal tax would, year after
year, have been extorted from our impov
erished State by the spoiled and spoiling
minions of power. It is but one of
many exhibitions of the tyrannous and
rapaciou< spirit in which the ruling party
have requited the unconditional and sin
cere submission of the Southern people
to the authority of the Federal Govern
ment. These wrongs I impute to the
ruling party—theirs is the sin; and theirs,
in the time of recompense, will be the
jshame and the suffering. We can only
possess ourselves in patience, looking for
the outstretching of His right arm who
has said, “ Vengeance is mine and I will
repay”,
But these things should not be allowed
to pass unheeded or unebronicled.
Great as were the embarrassments en
compassing the office during the. first
year of my term, they were vastly in
creased by the passage of the Reconstruc
tion Acte, and the entrance into the State
of a military chieftain, transferred from
“headquarters in the saddle” to the kead-
qarters in Atlanta. This man came .in
vested with despotic power over the peo
ple of Georgia, and with authority, at
his sovereign pleasure, to remove from
office any one of their chosen public ser
vants. And these things, shades of Wash-
ington, Jefferson and Madison! were
done notwithstanding the distinct recog
nition of Georgia (either before they
were commenced or during their pro
gress) as a State witliiu the Union, by
every department of the Federal Gov
ernment. I pause not, to produce proofs
of the assertion; but I challenge an issue
upon it.
These reconstruction acts, it ■null be
remembered, bad been passed by the
Congress of the United States over the
veto of the President, based upon their
unconstitutionality. So soon as action
was taken under them—so soon as the
foot of the military Despot was impressed
upon the soil of Georgia—I repaired to
Waskingt,on 4 aud filed a Bill in the name
of the State! of Georgia, against the
intruders in the Supreme Court, seek
ing to enjoin and. set. aside these pro
ceedings, as infringements upon the re
served sovereignty of the State, and in
violation of the Constitution of the Uni
ted States.
The right of the State to file that bill, and
the jurisdiction of the Court in the case
depended upon the fact alleged, that she
was one of the States of the Union.
As a foreign power, or a conquered pro
vince, she would have had no right to do
so—the Court, no jurisdiction in the
premises. Still, as the records of the
Court show, upon fall presentation of
the Complaint," formal permission was
granted to file the bill; nor was she af
terwards dismissed the Court, unre
dressed, on the ground that she lacked
that status.
After argument, the bill was dismissed
because in it there was alleged neither
interference, nor the threat of interfer
ence, with her property, which the Court
held was necessary to make a case for their
sublime consideration. Nothing, so far,
had been disturbed, or threatened, save
the modest, though peculiar, priceless
diadem of her reserved sovereignty, (in
Radical estimation a paltry bauble), of
which that elevated Tribunal could not
condescend to take cognizance.
The deep humiliation which then per
vaded the entire mass of a proud peo
ple—proud in their historical reminis
cences, and their consciousness of thor
ough rectitude of intention, and of con
duct, will be long remembered. Their
final submission was as truthful and un
qualified as their resistance had been
honest, open, and heroic.
But that humiliation was intensified
in the person of their Executive, forced
as he was by circumstances, into daily
contact with the insolence of an intruded
Ruler, trained to arbitrary military com
mand, unfamiliar with civil government,
and rendered giddy by his unwonted
eminence. Had I yielded to the prompt
ings of personal feeling, I would at once
have escaped the pain of this unprece-
ented subordination by resigning the
office. ‘But knowing that the position
would enable me to keep open to onr
people, a channel of communication with
the Chief Magistrate of the Union (who
was a reluctant agent in their crusade
against liberty) and might thus
in some degree, alleviate their sufferings,
I resolved to remain in it, yielding all
questions of mere policy, but maintain
ing principle, to the extent of my power,
and falling (if fall I must) in its defense.
I was powerless to prevent the removal
of faithfull officers, of the judicial de
partment, or the appointment of others
to fill their places, or to arrest the latter,
in the unauthorized exercise of their ill-
gotten offices; but I declined to pay them
the salaries appropriated to officers con
stitutionally appointed and commission
ed. This alone would probably have in
duced my removal; bnt an occasion of
greater moment soon after occurred.
The Congress of the United States by
their nefarious reconstruction acts, had
provided for the assemblage of a Con
vention, at Atlanta, to frame a Constitu
tion for the State in lieu of that adopted
in 1865, after the close of the war. The
latter was confessedly Republican in
character—acknowledged as the Supreme
law of the State, the Constitution of the
United States and all acts of Congress
in conformity therewith—had received
the President’s approval, and under it,
the existing State Government had been
organized.
The Congressional act which called the
Convention of 1867 and 1868 together,
provided for defraying their expenses,
only by authorizing them to levy a tax
for that purpose. The ‘’body, finding
themselves unprovided with subsistence,
and incapable of feeding upon their
patriotism until relieved by the slow
process of taxation, experimented upon
tbe credit of the State, which, though
always previously a reliable resource in
emergencies,, failed to attract capital
when tampered with by them.
In this extremity, they turned their
longing eyes upon the Treasury of the
State. Whether originally prompted, or
only encouraged by the military Dicta
tor, they passed a resolution requiring
tho Treasurer of the State to pay to their
financial agent the sum of forty thou
sand dollars, for the present use of the
Convention. •This resolution (being on
ly an entering wedge) was approved by
General Pope, under whose broad sha
dow they held their daily sittings ; and
armed with this high authority, the agent
designated repaired to Milledgeville, and
made formal demand of the money upon
Colonel John Jones, State Treasurer.
That worthy gentleman and faithful
officer, refuse 1 payment, in the the ab
sence of an Executive Warrant. About
this time General Pope, (proofs of whose
numerous abuses of power, had been
multiplied to the President by myself
and others,) was removed from his com
mand in Georgia, and General Meade
appointed to succeed him. One of tbe
successor’s first nets was a requisition
upon me for a warrant upon tho Treasurer
to satisfy the demand of the Convention.
With this I refused to comply, on the
ground that the Constitution, under
which I was elected and inaugurated,
and which I had sworn to’obey, expressly
provided tliat no money should be taken
from the Treasury, except by Executive
warrant, upon appropriation made by law;
and that no appropriation bad been made
by law to defray the expenses of that
Convention. I insisted that the requisi
tion was unwarranted, even by the recon
struction acts. The Congress bad not
ventured upon an act so flagrant as the
direct appropriation of money from thij,
Treasury of Georgia. But they had be
stowed a largess of power upon a milita
ry chieftain, whoso lack of training in
the principles of civil government, ren
dered him little scrupulous iu overstep
ping constitutional barriers. I felt, and
feel, that tbe argument was with me; but
the power was with the General, and be
neath its pressure, I, and the argument
went down together. I was removed by
a military fiat, and Brevet Brigadier-Gen
eral Ruger, of tkeU. S. Army, a subordi
nate of General Meade, appointed to
succeed me.
On presenting himself to assume the
Government, the appointee in answer to
a question by me,‘read me an extract from
his instructions, directing him, in case, of
resistance, to employ such force as might
be necessary to overcome it. Haviug at
my command no force whatever, I con
tented myself with a protest against the
proceeding, as a flagrant usurpation, vio
lative of the Constitution of the United
States, and a declaration that I forbore
resistance, only because T was powerless
to make it—and so retired.
I believe it is pretty generally under
stood, that as far as was practicable, in
the brief interval allowed me, I placed
the movable values of the State, and cer
tainly the money then in the Treasury,
beyond the reach of the spoilers, and iu
the exercise of a legal discretion, suspen
ded the collection of taxes then in pro
gress. At all events the immediate object
of this extreme measure,the placing of the
funds actually in the Treasury at tne dis
posal of the Constitution-makers, then
unconstitutionally assembled at Atlanta,
was defeated. Gotemporaneously with
this entire, undisguised usurpation of the
Executive Office, those military men took
actual possession of the State Capitol,
and its grounds—of the Executive Man
sion and its furniture and grounds, and
of the archives of the State.
Furthermore, they revoked my order
suspending the collection of taxes, which
they required the collector to pay to their
own appointed treasurer, seized upon the
income of the Western and Atlantic Rail
road'(then in good order, and successful
operation) and, in short, took within
their grasp every dollar of the subse
quently incoming revenue of tho State.
No insinuation is intended, that they
appropriated to their own use any por
tion of the State’s money, unless in the
way of salaries to which they were not
entitled, and about which I know noth-
S-
It is doubtless true that they went
out with cleaner hands than did their im
mediate successors, the so-called Repre
sentatives of the People.
The charge is, that by the strong hand
of power, they wrested thi3 property
from the rightful possession of the
constituted authorities of the State,
and applied it, in their. discretion, to
public uses unauthorized by her funda
mental and statutory law, and subversive
of her sovereignty.
Seeing that they had then made them
selves amenable to the jurisdiction of the
U. S. Supreme Court, as that Court had
been understood to define it, in their de
cision of the previous case, and believing
myself still de jure, though not defacto,
Governor of the State, I again went
before that tribunal, alleging these acts
of progressive usurpation, and seeking
redress against the wrong-doers.
The hearing of this case would have
brought distinctly under the review of
the Court the constitutionality of the re
construction acts, which I especially de
sired. Not so the Court. They—or a ma
jority of them—felt a loyal repugnance
to that delicate issue. Leave to file the
bill, on application made in open Court,
and upon a statement of the allegations
contained in it, was unhesitatingly given;
the Attorney General of the United
States being present, and making no ob
jection; and the bill was delivered to the
Clerk.
But this permission was revoked with
in twenty-four hours, as having been im-
providently granted, although it neither
infringed any existing rule of practice,
nor committed the Court to anything
touching the merits of the case. Then
why revoked? For no conceivable rea
son other than to open .that case to the
operation of a new rule of practice,
adopted after the permission to file the
bill; and which produced unnecessary and
vexatious delay. Yet more, in subsequent
stages, additional delays were occasioned
by exceptional rulings of the Court; and
at last we were gravely told that there did
not remain of the term time enough to
hear and determine a motion for injunc
tion.
Before the commencement of the next
term (as the Court had probably antici
pated) the Atlanta Convention had done
its work—Meade and Ruger bad disap
peared from the scenes, and Bullock and
bis hungry horde, by force of the bayon
et, though under the flimsy veil of con
stitutional reform, had become “lords of
the ascendant.” The suit before tbe
Court was not of a vindictive character—
damages were not sought against the de
fendants; but only a riddance from their
usurpations. Of course, it would have
been folly to pursue them after their ab
dication. The cause could not have been
pressed against tbem.
Let it not be said that the object
aimed at by this litigation was accom
plished without the action of the Court.
Far from it. Had the Court pronounced
the reconstruction acts unconstitutional,
we would not only have been delivered
from Meade and Jtuger, but from the
whole Atlanta Convention. The existing
State Government would have been sus
tained; Bullock would have remained in
the Express Office, and the present de
rangement of our finances, as well as
many other evils, would have been
avoided.
When it is.considered that the enforce
ment of the reconsi ruction acts, then in
progress, would inevitably overthrow ex
isting State constitutions, and with them
existing State governments; that the
Executive and Legislative Departments
of th9 Federal Government were distinct
ly at issue, upon the question of the con
stitutionality of those acts, and that there
was in the Supreme Court a case pend
ing, ancl a motion In tliat case, readw
a - hearing, which called for a imr- r
settlement of that question, what can 1
case a refusal to hear it? No mom 6x ‘
mentous question was ever submit**??’
that Court. If the-allegations in tk? b ft
failed to give theCSurt jurisdiction J? 1
not say so? ’
If'the Executive Department'
wrong, and the Legislative DeparU? 0
right, on that great issue, why no 4 K 1
solemn judgment, terminate the
versy, and give quiet to the conZlt
They said there didnot remain S?'
term time enough for the hearing w
why not? o—but
The term was not closed bv' 1*
limitation, but by judicial discretbT
Were these, their Honors, weary-J?'
kausted by their judicial labors? Ahi]!
them contemplate the weariness ofsnii-u
the exhaustion of resources, since inf]
ed upon the people of Georgia by ft
misrule they were called upon to aiW
bnt would not even inquire into a»i
then justify, if they can, their deK
queney. •
I entered that Court with all the yenA.
ration for it inspired by a Marshak
a Taney, and their compeers. I j!
with the painful impression, which'tim
has not mitigated, that the then incnZ
bents (or a majority of them) had bv
procrastination, deliberately evaded \
judgmeut they could not have refused
Avithout dishonor to themselves- «»
could not have rendered without offense
to tbe despotic and menacing faction
then and still wielding the power of tie
Government.
It was probably under tho prouintinj
of a similar feeling that the venerable
Justice Grier, the senior in years of theta
all, about the same time, from his seat
on the -Bench, in open session, declared
himself ashamed of the attitude assumed I
by the Court (in another case resulting I
from post-war tyranny), and like an old I
Roman,- shook the reproach from his I
skirts.
Here I turn aside to notice a rumor I
invented and circulated to my prejudice’ I
by certain mendacious Radicals of Geor- I
gia—that in these suits I had, without !
authority of law, expended thirty thou- |
sand dollars of the people’s money. Tho I
expense of the first suit, ihstituted and I
ended whilst I was stiil undisputed Gov- I
ernor'of Georgia, amounted in all (in. I
eluding lawyers’ fees, Court costs and I
printing expenses, rendered necessary bj I
their rule of practice, and excluding my ]
personal expenses,) to two thousand I
seven hundred dhllars (§2,700).
This sum I paid out of the contingent |
fund, placed at my disposal; a balance I
of which. remained unexpended on my I
retirement. That the passage of the re- I
construction acts, and the consequent '
rape of the sovereignty of Georgia, pre- S!
seated a contingency unanticipated by j
any, save its unprincipled authors, and J
that it cried aloud for all possible resis- j
tance, no riglitminded man will deny.
Having been sustained by the opinion I
of eminent jurists, as to the practicabili-1
ty of judicial relief in the premises, 11
am content to stand or fall by the judg
ment of my Fellow-citizens, regarding I
the propriety of this expenditure.
The second suit cost the Stale not one cent.
The smallness of the expenditure iu
the first, is attributable to the public j
spirit and disinterested patriotism of the I
Solicitors employed for the State. I take
pleasure in testifying in regard to both,
cases, that the people of Georgia owa a I
debt ot gratitude^ they can never cancel, I
to Messrs. Charles O’Conor, Jeremiah & J
Black, Robert J. Brent, David Dudley |
Field and Edgar Cowan.
When I left the Executive office, I took .
with me the record of warrants drawn
upon the treasury, the book of receipts
for them, and other papers tbereAvith
connected, and the .seal of the Execu
tive Department. It was my purpose to
retain these things in my own custody,
until I should see in the Executive
office a rightful incumbent, and theu to
restore them.
The removal of the books and papers
was simply a cautionary measure for my j
own protection. Not so with the seal |
That was a symbol of the Executive an-
tliority; and although devoid of intrinsic,
material value, was hallowed by a senti-
ment which forbade its surrender to tin- i
autnorized hands. Afterwards, whilst I
was in Washington vainly seeking the |
interposition of the Supreme Court, a
formal written demand was made upon ;
me by Gen. Ruger for a return of these j
articles, with which I declined to com-"
ply. The books and papers I herewith 1
transmit to your Excellency, that they I
may resume their place among the ai-1
chives of the State. With them, I also I
deliver to you the seal of the Executive
Department. I derive high satisfaction
from the reflection that it has never been
desecrated by the grasp of a military
Usurper’s hand—never been prostituted
to authenticate official misdeeds of an ]
upstart Pretender. Unpolluted as it,
came to me, I gladly place it in the hands ;
of a worthy son of Georgia—her freely
chosen Executive—my first legitimate
successor. Anticipating as the fruits of
your Administration, distinguished bon- ■
or to yourself, and lasting benefits to i
your confiding constituents, I am,
Your Excellency’s ob’t servant,
C. J. jEXKEiS.
Important Sait in tile United Staid I
Court. I
There is now being argued before the
United States Court, a very interesting
case, brought by W. S. Heard, of Ne* ‘
York, against the Ordinary of Floy^ J
county, in which Heard tries to enfoi#
payment by the county of the Coupon 4 j
or the interest, on certain bonds—ten m j
number, of §1,000 each—issued by tbe j
county in 1860, under the provisions of ,
an act of the Georgia Legislature, pass^ j
in 1857.
These bonds were authorized, it seem 4 J
in aid of the Georgia and Alabama
road—since, tho Selma, Rome and :
ton Railroad, and we believe that no m- i
terest has ever been paid on them.
The case has been before the St® 8
Courts in Floyd county, where it s eec;; I
Heard was unsuccessful, and has no*
brought it into the Federal Court.
As we understand it, the county ,
payment upon the ground of the
ty of the issue of the bonds—alles |
that the Inferior Court, as a Court>
not sign the bonds, when lawfully na
sion; but individually, at different
and places, and then not as a Court.
Pjeksoxal.— Gen. Robt. Toomhs
registered at the H.'L Kimball Hon- 1 -'