Newspaper Page Text
NO. 30,
VOL. II.
SANDERS'VILLE, GEORGIA,- JANUARY 23, 1874.
J ... XIULOCS'C E5-HSO ASIAN®. B. L. EODGEF.S.
:jv SciUosfe, Arlinc &Rodgers.
The Hkbaid is published in Sandersville,
every Friday morning. Subscription
‘ ;j 3 TWO DOLLARS per annum.
•* y iverSseiB.en.ts inserted at the usual rates.
charge fe*r publishing marriages or
d'Ads.
MESSAGE OF GOT. SMITH.
Ex. Department of Georgia, \
Atlanta, Ga., January 14,1874. j
f 0 the General Assembly:
The reports of the Treasurer accl j
of the Comptroller-General, herewith j
transmitted, show the financial oper- j
at ions of the State Treasury for the 1
fiscal year ending December 31,1S73. '
It will be seen that the amount re
ceived into the treasury from all sour
ces during year, including the pro
ceeds of the sale of bonds, and the
balance on hand January 1, 1873, is
three million one hundred and seven-
tv-two thousand seven hundred and
eighty-eight dollars and seventy-four
cents.
The disbursements for the same
period, including the amount of the
nrincipal and interest paid upon the
public debt, are two million two hun
dred and fifty thousand two hundred
and thirty-two dollars and forty-nine
cents.
The amount of public debt, princi
pal and interest, paid during the
year, was one million three hundred
and thirty-five thousand seven hun
dred and sixty-seven dollars and sev
enty-three cents*. This amount is
made up of the following items:
bonds redeemed §320,500 00
Interest 592,142 73
Ain’t Russel Sage Claim 423,125 00
Total, as above stated. $1,332,767 73
As required by the act approved
February 19, 1873, I issued the sum
of one million two hundred thousand
dollars of bonds of the State, bear
ing eight per cent, interest, and to
become due as provided in the act.
These bonds have all been placed at
par ; and, as will appear from the re
port of the Treasurer, at an expense
of less than one per cent. I respect-
full recommend that the amount nec
essary to defray the expense of ne
gotiating these bonds be appropria
ted, and that the Governor be au
thorized to draw his warrant therefor
in favor of the Treasurer. The lar
ger portion of the bonds was dispos
ed of in this State ; and the facility
with which the loan was made shows,
not only the confidence of our peo
ple iu the pledged faith of the Gov
ernment, but the sound condition of
the public credit.
PUBLIC DEBT.
The following is a consolidated
statement of the debt of the State
on the first day of January, 1874 :
When Amount of
Lunatic Asylum
Salaries,Trustees and Chap
lain Lunatic Asylum....
University of Georgia....
Deaf and Dumb Asylum
Academy for the Blind
Public Buildings, Atlanta
and Milledgeville
Printing Fund
Contingent Fund
Secretaries,Clerks and Mes
senger Executive Depart
ment
Solicitor General fees, Su
preme Court,criminal ca
ses
Clerk Wild Land Office:. .
School Commission & Clerk
Vaccine Agent for the State
Subscription to Code of
Georgia
Supt. Pulic Works and
Keeper Public Property
Educational Fund
Old debts Western and At
lantic Railroad
Old Change Bills Western
and Atlantic Railroad..
Public Debt and Interest.
Balance 1
105,000
2,000
8,000
13,500
11,000
20,000
20,000
20.000
10,000
2,000
1,200
3,700
300
18,000
2,000
250,000
25,000
25,000
823,460
159,196
Date of Issue Bonds.
due.
principal.
1844 and 1848
.1S74
$237,000
1S73
.1875
100,000
1873
.1876
100,000
1873
.1877
100,000
1858 and 1873
.1878
200,000
1859 and 1873
.1879
300,000
1860 and 1873
.1880
300,000
1861 and 1873
.1881
200,000
1873
1882
100,000
1S73
.1883
100,000
1873
1884
100,000
1873
.1885
100,000
186G and 1873
1886
4,000,000
1870.:
.1890
2,098,000
1872
1892
307,500
Total public debt.... $8,342,500
The foregoing statement shows,
that the bonds issued in 1S44 and
1848 will become due the present
year. Means for their payment have
been already provided, in the sale of
eight per cent, bonds. Of the gold
quarterly bonds, issued under au
thority of the act of September 15,
1870, the sum of $2,098,000 is out
standing. The sum of $500,000 of
these bonds, in the liaffds of Bussell
Sage, to secure a loan of $375,000,
has been surrendered to the Agent
of the State in New York. The to
tal amount of interest to be paid
upon the public debt the present
year is $586,460. j
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR 1874. '■
The Treasurer estimates the pro- j
hable receipts and disbursements for s
the present fiscal year as follows : j
RECEIPTS.
Iu Treasury Jan. 1, 1874. .$ 922,556 ;
Receipts from general tax,
1874 .1,000,000!
Receipts from rent of Wes
tern and Atlantic R. R.
Receipts from poll tax....
Receipts from tax on insu
rance companies
Receipts from railroad tax.
Receipts from tax on shows
Receipts from tax on express
companies
Receipts from dividends on
stock
Receipts from taxes of 1873 300,000
Receipts from taxes of for
mer years
Receipts from hire convicts
Receipts from all other sour
ces
300.000
100.000
25.000
10.000
3.000
300
2.000
30,000
20,000
20,000
Total ..-..$2,722,856
DISBURSEMENTS.
Civil List 100,000
legislative Pay Roil 100,000
Total $2,722,856
The amount of taxable property
in 1873, as shown by the Comptrol
ler-General’s Report, was $242,487,-
382. This valuation, we may safely
calculate, will be increased the pres
ent year to $250,000,000. Four and
a half-tenths of one per cent, oil this
amount would raise $1,125,000; which
together with the revenue to be de
rived from other sources, will be suf
ficient to meet all just claims upon
the treasury during next year.
Your attention is respectpcctfully
invited to the amendment of the tax
laws suggested by the Comptroller-
General in his report. I renew the
suggestion made in my last Annual
Message to the General Assembly,
that the law be so amended as to se
cure a correct valuation of the taxa
ble property of the State. With
such a valuation, there is but little
reason to doubt that the money nee
ded to supply the wants of the Gov-
ment could, be raised at a reduced
rate of taxation.
AGRICULTURE.
From the vast importance which
attaches to the subject, it would seem
logical to give priority and supreme
consideration to the agriculture of the
State. It it too trite to repeat, that
this interest is so vital and extended
that it underlies and supports all oth
er industrial pursuits. We are essen
tially an agricultural people, and
will remain so, no doubt, for an in
definite period; an observing mind
does not fall to appreciate a diversi
fied industry, we, nevertheless, feel
that the best interests of our society
require that agriculture should be en
couraged as the leading industry of
the State. But is our agriculture ad
vancing ? Are the farmers and plan
ters of the State prospering, and does
that business which they have elect
ed to follow, and upon which they are
so entirely dependent, make them
such annual returns as to satisfy a
reasonable expectation ? These ques
tions, it is feared, must be answered
in the negative. I have given, of late
much earnest and anxious reflection
to the condition of this great indus
try in our State; and candor compels
me to say that the result of my in-
■ vestigation is far from satisfactory.
Many reasons might be given for the
present depressed state of our agri
culture. Chief among them are the
imperfect modes of culture and fer
tilization, which have so extensively
obtained. It must be admitted, how
ever, that there has been more intel
ligent effort directed towords the dis
covery of better and more scientific
modes, since the close of the late war
than during any previous period in
the history of Georgia husbandry.
But what a vast amount of improve
ment is yet to be made! Of all the
futile attempts upon the part of men
to secure material prosperity, noth
in" can exceed in hopelessness the
task of the farmer, who toils in the
cultivation of the soil whose sterility
refuses any adequate return. It is
not too much to assert, that there
are thousands of such acres in culti
vation in our State, and that lage sec
tions, unless soon recuperated, will
become so unproductive as to com
pel their abandonment. Here, then,
is a case which is too vital to be tam
pered with or treated with a resort
to palliating and temporary expedi-
L ^Throughout the leading States of
Europe, the public mind seems to be
profoundly interested upon the sub-
ject of improved husbandry. This
interest has, in a great measine, ex
tended throughout the older Atlautic
States; and it affords great satis
faction to know that the farmers and
planters of our own State are ener
getically seeking out new roads to
success. All seem to agree that we
can no longer suffer the exhausting
drain on our production which our
trade in fertillizers has called for.
Millions of dollars are each year
sent out of the State to pay for com
mercial' manures which have oeen
appliedio our crops; and the prevail
ing opinion among our farmers seems
to be adverse to the economy of
I their further use, at the high price
j which is demanded for them. A
j cheap and portable manure seems,
I iu our present condition, to be the
i grand desideratum in Georgia agri-
j culture. With this secured, every
other amelioration is within our
reach. But, without it, no pains-
taken iu culture, and no expenditure
' of intellect or capital will produce
encouraging results. Recent dis
coveries gave promise that the tillers
of the soil will, at no distant day, be
placeed in possession of sounder
theories on the subject of fertiliza
tion and of cheaper and more efficient
formulas for the preparation of man
ures, than they have yet had.
Sound policy requires, however,
that in matters essential to success
in this great department of industry,
nothing should be left to the mere
accidents of individual enterprise or
research. The State, very properly,
keeps jealous and sleepless watch
over its financial department. It is
deemed of A T ast importance that the
income of die State and its taxable
property should be digested in con
venient forms and tables, and that
the public treasure should be appro
priated and paid out with elaborate
particularity. But, when it comes
to the production of this Avealth, and
the means by which it is to be gath
ered in everything is left to the vol
untary and unassisted exertions of
each producer iu the State.
After much reflection upon the
subject, I am prepared to recommend
to the General Assembly the estab
lishment of a Department of Agri
culture for the State. It Avould be
difficult to enumerate the advantages
Avhicli would result from the opera
tions of such a department. Among
its duties should be included mineral
interests and resources, as Avell as
the practical application of chemistry
to agriculture and the mechanic arts.
Men noAv distrust analyses and ex
periments which are given to the
world on unofficial endorsement.
Could the information, so much need
ed in the every day operations in the
field and shop, be sent forth from
such a department as the one here
recommended, it would carry with it
a weight and sanction rendering it
acceptable to the public. Here could
be gathered from every sotirce the
most advanced ideas and methods
affecting the great interests commit
ted to this department. Gradually
scope and value of the practical op
erations of the department would
extend, so as to include a full detail
of the physical characteristics and
advantages of each county in the
State. It is Avith regret that avc ob-
serve how far the State of Georgia
is behind even some of the newly ad
mitted States, in those valuable sta
tistics justly deemed of so much im
portance by capitalists and emigrants.
In connection with the subject of
ameliorating our agricultural inter
ests, I would respectfully invite your
attention to the propriety of revising
the Lien Laws in force in this State.
The most casual observer has not
failed to note the pernicious influence
Avhich these laws have exerted upon
our agricultural and other industries.
COMMON SCHOOLS.
I transmit herewith the Annual
Report of the State School Commis
sioners, showing the operations of
that department during last year.—
Of the special tax of one-tenth of one
per cent., levied by virtue of the act
to provide for the payment of claims
due to teachers of 1871, there was
collected prior to the first day of De
cember last, $176,237 01. Of this
amount, the sum of $174,000 has al
ready been apportioned among the
counties of the State. The School
Commissioner* is not in possession of
the information necessary to enable
him to report the amount of these
claims } r et remaining unpaid.
At the time the teachers of 1871
took service, there Avas no fund in
the treasury for the payment of their
claims. One year after the schools
of 1871 Avere opened, the school fund,
amounting to $242,027 62, was bond
ed, under the provisions of the act of
July 28, 1870. This act required
that the school funds, then on hand,
should be paid into the treasury, to
be used for other than school pur
poses. The act further provided,
that the bonds, in which the school
fund was required to be invested,
should be sold “under the direction
of the Governor, to meet appropria
tions for school purposes, and for no
other purpose.” Authority was giv
en by the act of August 19, 1872, to
destroy these bonds and substitute
other “lawfully executed bonds” in
their place. These substituted bonds
were required to be sold “at rates
not injurious to the credit ,of the
State,” and the proceeds apportion
ed among the counties on the basis'
of the school population. The fund
so apportioned was required to be
applied to the payment of the claims
of teachers for 1871, till such claims
were satisfied, “and then to future
school work.” ' *
At no time since the passage of this !
act has it been practicable to dispose j
of these bonds “at rates not injurious I
to the credit of the State.” The con
dition of the public credit, since the
passage of the-aet, has required the
exercise of great prudence and cau
tion in placing our securities upon the
market. Much as I have desired that
the just claims of teachers should be
paid, I have felt that it would not
be proper to raise money for that pur
pose by the sale of bonds. I espec
ially invite the attention of the Gen
eral Assembly to so much of the re
port of the School Commissioner as
lias reference to .the claims now un
der consideration. If it should be
thought proper to provide for their
full settlement, I recommend that the
suggestion of the Commissioner in
reference to the manner of payment
be adopted.
At the date of the Commissioner’s
Report, he had received reports of
school operations in one hundred
and thirteen counties. Three months’
schools have been kept up in most of
the counties, with results Avhich have
generally, been satisfactory. The
faithfulness Aviih which financial ob
ligations have been met, has secured
the confidence of the public. The
system which lias been inaugurated
should be firmly established, and in
creased efficiency should be given to
the Avork so auspiciously begun.
The sum of $250,000 was distribu
ted among the counties for the sup
port of schools last year. This sum
is made up from* poll tax, from the
half rental of flie Western and At
lantic Railroad, and from the divi
dends on stoci owned by the State
in the Georgia Railroad and Bank
ing Company. I concur in opinion
wiih'the School Commissioner, that
the amount annually received from
these sources should not be material
ly increased by appropriations from
the State Treasury. This amount
will be sufficient—at least for some
time to come-—for the support of
schools in the several counties of
the State, for three months in the
year. All amounts supplemental of
this, intended for school purposes,
should be raised by local taxation.
the North Georgia Agricultural Col
lege, located at Dahlonega, became
a branch of the State College and a
department of the University. That
college Avas formally opened in Jan
uary, 1873, and numbered, during its
first session, one hundred and seven-
ty-seA-en students. The Chancellor,
in his report, speaks in the most en
couraging terms of this branch of the
University.
The income of the University for
last year from all sources, and in
cluding cash balance, was $34,798.92
Of this amount, there was received
from tuition fees $10,540; from in
terest on the Land Scrip Fund, $10,-
234 15; and from all other sources,
$14,024 77. The expenditures for
the same period Avere: for salaries,
$27,383 27; for sundry expenses, $5,-
51S 99: cash balance July 29, 1873,
$1,896 66. The expenditures on ac
count of the State College were; for
salaries, $9,706 91; for sundry expen-
ces, not including repairs, $3,259 18.
The last payment for the Agricul
tural College Land Scrip, amounting
to $96,192 have been invested in the,
eight per cent, bonds of this State,
which have been turned over to the
Trustees of the University. The
eminent rank which the University
has assumed among the institutions
of learning is a just cause of pride on
the part of the people of Georgia.
DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM.
I submit ’ herewith the Sixteenth
Annual Rebort of the Trustees of the
Institution for the Education of the
Deaf and Dumb. The number of
pupils admitted to the institution
during the year was sixty-seven.
Six pupils completed within the
year the term of six years allowed by
the State.
The sum of $13,500 was appropri
ated at the last session of the Gen
eral Assembly to pay the officers and
teachers of the institution, and for
the support and education of the in
digent pupils therein. This sum was
found sufficient; and, in the opinion
of the Trustes, a similar sum will
I fully approve the views expressed ' meet all the wants of the institution
by the Commitsioner upon the sub- the present year. The General As-
ject, and recortimend them to the
careful consideration of the General
Assembly.
Your attention is invited to that
portion of the Commissioner’s report
referring to the "appropriation made
by the Genral Assembly, at its last
sembly, at the last session, appropri
ated the sum of $1,500 to construct
water works for the institution, and
the further sum of $1,000 for repairs.
By a judicious expenditure of these
sums, the buildings have been repair
ed and furnished, adding greatly to.
session, to the Atlanta University, j the comfort of the pupils; and water
That institution is not responsible to j works have been constructed of-suf-
the State Government for the prop- | ficient capacity to supply theinstitu
— application of donations
made
for its support. Our institutions of
learning, as far as practicable, should
be fostered *>y the State Govern
ment ; but no money should be given
from the treasury for that purpose,
Avithout a sufficient guaranty for its
proper application.
STATE UNIVERSITY.
I have the honor of presenting
here Avith the reports of the Board
of Trustees and of the Board of Visi
tors, showing the operations of the
State Uuniversity during last year.
The session closed August 6, 1873 ;
on which occassion degress Avere
conferred upon thirty-three students,
who had passed the examinations in
the schools of the University, with
which they had been connected. The
number of students matriculated,
during the year, Avas three hundred
and eighteen. The several courses
of study prescribed, and the num
ber of students pursuing each course,
are reported by the Chancellor as
follows :
The Classical Course.... 53 students
The Scientific Course.... 26 students
The Elective Course.... 19 students
The Sophomore Class.. 51 students
The Law School 16 students
The State College 153 students
The University had no prepara
tory school, and no Freshman class,
and the matriculation indicates a
change in structural working of the
University.
Of the three hundred and eighteen
students who attended the Universiy
last year, two hundred and ( ninety-
one were from this State. This fact
indicates that our people not only
feel an increased interest in educa
tion, but that they also have a just
appreciation of the educational ad
vantages afforded by the State Uni
versity.
The last session of the State Col
lege of Agriculture and the Mechan
ic Arts showed the increasing pros
perity of that institution. Under the
careful supervision of President
Broun, aided by the professors asso
ciated with him, it is rapidly growing
in public faA r or, and promises soon to
perform a prominent part in the work
of education in the State. The Col
lege uoav has three departments, viz.:
Agriculture, Engineering and Applied
Chemistry—each having its appro
priate professor. In addition to the
instruction obtained in these depart
ments, the sudents of the College are
also instructed by the professors in
the schpol of the University-in Math
ematics, Natural Philosophy, Mod-
ren Languages and English Litera
ture. They also have the advantage
of all the auxiliries of education such
as the libraries, museum and literary
societies of the University.
Towards the. close of the year 1872,
tion. The Trustees recommend that
an additional term of three years in
the institution he alioAved to such pu
pils as may prove themselves com
petent, intellectually and morally,
for the same; and, also, that a depart
ment be established for teaching
articulation. They also suggest , that
the institution needs additional
school room furniture and proper
systems of drainage and ventilation.
I recommend that an appropriation
of $13,500 be made to meet the ordi
nary annual expenses of the institu
tion, and that such other sum be
specially appropriated as its Avants
may require.
ACADEMY FOE THE ELIND.
Herewith is presented the report
of the Board of Trustees of the
Academy for the Blind, for the year
1873, with accompanying documents.
The affairs of the Academy have
been managed with due regard to
economy, and its condition reflects
credit upon the officers and Trustees.
The receipts during the yeaj- were:
From unexpended balance,
January 1st, 1873 $ 1,115 37
Appropriation for the sup
port of the Academy, 1873.11,000 00
Special appropriation for
repairs, 3,000 00
Total receipts for 1873. .$15,115 37
DISBURSEMEMTS IN 1873.
For support of Acapemy,
1873 $11,200 00
For repairs 3,000 00
Total disbursements.. $14,200 00
The number of students in the
Academy has increased to a degree
which will require a larger appropria
tion for the support of the institu
tion during the present year. Tho
principal estimates that the sum
required will be $12,000, which
will give less than $275 to each stu
dent in attendance at the Academy.
A special appropriation of $3,000
is also asked for to complete certain
improvements already commenced,
and to repair the buildings. I recom
mend that these additional appropri
ations be made.
LUNATIC ASYLUM.
I have the honor to submit here-
Avith the report of the Trustees of the
Lunatic Asylum. The number of
patients in the Asylum at the date
of the report was five hundred and
seventy-six. The capacity of the in
stitution is not sufficient to accom
modate over six hundred patients,
and it is not improbable that it will
be filled the present year.
The report shows that the Asylum
is in good condition; that its depart
ments are well organized, and its
business conducted Avith reference to
economy and efficiency. No allow
ances of any kind are made to the
officers and employes of the institu
tion (excepting the Superintendent
and Resident Physician) other than
quarters and fuel to the officers re
siding in the Asylum building, and
forage for one horse to the Chief
Steward. Commissary stores to the
extent of $1,500 per annum, or so
much thereof as may be necessary
for the maintenance of his table,, are
allowed to the Superintendent. This
allowance is made to that officer in
view of the necessity which is im
posed upon him of entertaining vis
itors to the Asylum, and for provid
ing from his own table such special
diet as is found proper for certain
female patients.
The salary of the Chaplain of the
Asylum was fixed,, by the Trusteesin
December, 1872, at $500 per annum..
The regulations require that officer
to hold religious service at the Asy
lum once every Sabbath and once
during the week, and also the usual
service attending the burial of the
dead. The General Assembly, at
its last session, appropriated the
sum of $250 to pay the salary of the
Chaplain, and the Trustees have not
felt authorized to exceed the sum
appropriated. They recommend that
the additional sum of $250 be paid
to the Chaplain for his last year’s
service, and that his salary be fixed
at $500 per annum, or be left to the
discretion of the Board of Trustees,
as in the case of other subordinate
officers.
I respectfully call the attention of
the General Assembly to the fact,that
the practice of furnishing intoxica
ting liquors, Avithout proper authori
ty, to patients and employes at the
Asylum, is springing up and threat
ening to become detrimental to the
interests of the institution. For the
suppression of this evil, I recom
mend that the sale of spirituous and
malt liquors within one mile of the
Asylum be prohibited by law, and
that it be made penal to furnish such
liquors to- any patient at the institu
tion, unless prescribed by the prop
er medical officer.
The report of the Trustees disclos
es the fact, that in many instances
there has not been a strict compli
ance Avith the law regulating the ad
mission of pauper patients into the
Asylum. The law does not provide
for the admission of paupers whaiire
not residents of this State. "When a
person has been convicted of a mal
ady requiring him to be committed
to the Asylum, it is the duty of the
court presiding at the trial, to certify
if such a person is a pauper; but he
shall not be certified a pauper unless
in whole, or in part, supported by the
county, or unless the county is bound
. for his support. It is farther pro-
vided, that if there be persons who
by law are bound and able to support
the luuatic, the name of such persons
must be given. If the lunatic has
means enough to support himself, in
part, the amount of such means must
be stated and must be paid towards
his support. The object of* these
provisions of the law is, to protect
the public from the burden of sup
porting lunatics who have the means
of supporting themselves, or who
ought to be supported by private in
dividuals. I suggest that the law
be so amended as to secure the oh
servance by officials of these salu
tary provisions.
Attention is called to the sugges
tion of the Board that no distinct pro
vision of law exists for the dis
charge of patients, who, Avhile not in
a condition to be certified of sound
mind, are, nevertheless, harmless,
and might, with benefit to themselves
and relief to the State, be remitted
to the" care of their friends and rela
tives. In consequence of this defect
in the law, the institution is becom
ing crowded with this class of patients
Some of the present inmates, who are
healthy in body and harmless in mind
have been in the Asylum for periods
varying from ten to twenty-eight
years. I suggest that the law be so
amended as to give to the Trustees
the power to discharge,tfor reason
by them deemed sufficient, any pa
tient in the Asylum.
The reports of the Treasurer and
Steward show the receipts and dis
bursements during the year, ending
November 30,1873. Duplicate vouch
ers of disbursements have been made
out and placed on file in the Execu
tive office, as the laAv requires.
According to estimates submitted
by the Board of Trustees, $105,000
Avill be required for the support of
the Asylum during the present year.
The expense of each patient, on the
basis of this amount, is fifty cents per
day to the State. This estimate is
not excessive, and I recommend that
the amount asked for by the Board
be appropriated.
PENITENTIARY.
The Annual Report of the Princi
pal Keeper shows that the total num
ber of convicts now in the Georgia
Penitentiary is six hundred and six
ty-four. Of these, ninety-three are
white and five hundred and seventy-
one are colored persons. There are
one white and nineteen colored fe
males arqong the convicts.
The present lease of the convicts
will expire on the first day of April
next, and it will be necessary that
some action be taken at the present
session of the General Assembly,
directing the future disposition to be
made of them. The State prison-
has been unoccupied for several
years past, and is not of sufficient
capacity or in proper condition to,
accommodate and. keep securely the
present large and constantly increas
ing number o£ eonvicts.. If it should'
be determined not to lease the convict
force in the future, but "to-confine
them within the walls of the State
prison, steps should at once be taken
to enlarge the buildings, and make
the repairs necesarry ter the sate
keeping of the prisoners.
From the year 1817, when the Pen
itentiary went into operation, down
to 1867, a period of fifty years, the
average number of convicts within,
its walls was forty-two. The aveirage
annual appropriation, for the support
and safe-keeping of the prisoners,
during the same period, was $9,210,
or $219 for each one per annum.
From this statement, it would seem
impossible, if the convicts are kept
and employed within prison wall by
the State, to make the Penitentiary
system self-sustaining. To appreci
ate fully the justness of this conclu
sion, it should be remembered, in
this connection, that during the pe
riod just mentioned all fhe convicts
were white persons; and for that
reason probably more capable of
learning the arts m which it has been
found practicable to employ convict
labor. Of the convicts now in the
Penitentiary, more than five to one
are colored persons, most, if not all,
of whom, by reason of their igno
rance and former habits of life, can
never be profitably employed in any
of the mechanical arts. And when
it is borne in mind, that for some
years to come the number of con
victs will probably be increased, rath
er than diminished, the disposition
best to be made of the Penitentiary
becomes a question of the gravest
importance..
If the General Assembly, in its
wisdom, should determine, that it
would be for the public interest, to
again farm out the convicts, I would
suggest, that authority be given to
lease for a longer term than two years
The profitable employment of so
largo aforce would necessarily involve
a heavy outlay on the part of con-"
tractors, and it might be found diffi
cult, if not impossible, to lease the
convicts for a period less than five
years, upon terms which would save
the State from expense.
I respectfully invite thq attention
of the General Assembly to the re
port of the Principal Keeper here
with submitted. It contains a suc
cinct history of the Penitentiary fr om
its establishment down to the pres
ent time, and furnishes facts which
may materially aid you in determin
ing the proper disposition to be made
of the institution.
MACON AND BRUNSWICK RAILROAD COM
PANY.
I was informed on the second day
of July last, by certain holders of the
bonds of the Macon and Brunswick
Railroad Company, which* had been
endorsed by the State, under the act
approved December 3,1866, that they
had presented the interest coupons
of their bonds to the company for
payment, and that payment thereof
had been refused. Accompanying
this information were notices, show
ing that the coupons had been pro
tested for non-payment on the first
day of July, 1S73.
By the second section of the act
under whife-h the bonds were indors
ed, it is made the duty of the Gover
nor, in the event that any interest
upon the bonds so indorsed shall
not be paid when clue, to seize and
take possession of all the property
of the company, and apply the earn
ings of the road to the extinguishment
of the bond or bonds or coupons, and
to sell the road and other property-
belonging to the company, in such
manner and at such time as in his
judgement may best subserve the in
terest of all concerned. Under the
authority thus given, I issued an or
der, July 2,1873, seizing all the prop
erty of the company, and placed the
same in the possession of a Receiver,
to the end that the road, its earnings
and the other property of the com
pany might be held and disposed of
in accordance with the provisions of
the aforesaid act. Acting under this
order, George H. Hazlehurst, the
Receiver, took possession of the road
and other property of the company
in behalf of the State. This prompt
action was deemed necessary for the
protection of the public interest. Iwas
apprehensive that any delay on my
part would be taken advantage of by
creditors to place the company in
bankruptcy—in which event the pub
lic interest would unquestionably
have suffered serious injury.
At the time the road was seized
the company had outstanding about
$70,000 of pass bills, Avhich had been
issued from time to time, for conve
nience in its business transaction.
These bills had gone into general
circulation, but were mostly held by
the patrons- and employes of the
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