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About Weekly constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 185?-1877 | View Entire Issue (July 29, 1868)
THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTIONALIST. [From the Atlanta Constitution. GEORGIA LEGISLATURE. Saturday, Jaly 18, 1868. SENATE. The Senate met at 10 o’clock, a. m., accord ing to adjournment, and was called to order by the President. Prayer was offered by the Senator from the 31st district, Mr. Wra. F. Bowers. Leave ot absence was granted to Messrs. An derson, Stringer and Welch a few days, on ac count of sickness. Mr. Speer offered a resolution to the effect that the Messenger be authorized to procure locks tor the desks of each member. Adopted. Mr. Higbee offered a resolution that the hour of meeting hereafter shall be 10 o’clock, a. m., and adjournment at 1 o’clock, p. m. The reso lution was laid upon the table. Mr. Burns then moved that the Senate ad journ to 10 o’clock Monday morning, which was agreed to. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. House met. Speaker McWhorter in the Chair. Prayer by Rev. Mr. Spilman. Roll called, and proceedings of last meeting read and adopted. Mr. Shumate, of Whitfield, having the floor, resumed his arguments in defense of the mi nority report of the Committee on Eligibility. When he concluded, Mr. Price, of Lumpkin, called for the pre vious question (the adoption of the minority report). A reading of the resolutions embraced in the ' minority report was then called for, as follows: I Resolved, That John Long, of the county of i Carroll, be declared eligible to a seat on this [ floor. Resolved, That William F. McCullough, of Jones, be declared eligible to a seat on this , floor. Resolved, That J. M. Nunn, of the county of Glasscock, be declared eligible to a seat on this . floor. The yeas and nays being called, the vote stood : as follows: Yeas, 95; nays, 53. Mr. Caldwell, of Troup, offered a resolution , that the reports of the committee, and all the j evidence, be sent to the Governor. Ruled out • of order. The resolutions were then taken up seriatim, ! the vote being largely in the majority on the I adoption of the first, which declares Mr. Long i eligible to a seat in the House. On the vote on the second resolution, Mr. Bryant, of Richmond, demanded the yeas and nays, and the reading of the affidavit in the case of Mr. McCullough. This was done, and the resolution adopted by yeas, ICO: nays, 48. . The third resolution, declaring Mr. Nunn eli- ; gible. was also adopted by a large majority. The question thus being finally disposed of — i Mr. Harper, of Terrell, offered the following I resolution : Whereas, Under the instructions of the , General commanding the Third Military Dis trict, communicated to the House by his Excel lency the Provisional Governor, the House pro ceeded to examine into and investigate the eli- • gibility of its members under the reconstruc tion acts of Congress, and after a full and thorough investigation thereof, have found all persons occupying seats eligible thereto; there- ; lore. Resolved, That a committee of three be ap pointed by the Speaker to wait upon his Ex cellency and notify him of the result of said in- i vestigation. Tee Speaker appointed as that committee, i Messrs. Harper, of Terrell, Caldwell, of Troupe, and Rainey, of Schley. Mr. Caldwell, of Troupe, offered a resolution ‘ that the action ot the House in the matter of eligibility, together with the documentary evi dence, be transmitted to the Provisional Gover- \ nor. and through him to the Commanding ' ral: and supported his resolution in a lengthy-; speech. At its conclusion, considerable discus sion ensued ; points of order were raised as to I what disposition should be made of it. A motion to lay it on the table was discuss- ‘ ed, p-n ling which and other motions. The Hon--e adjourned to 10 o’clock on Mon day next. Monday, July 20,1868. SENATE. The Senate met at 10 o’clock, a. m., pursuant to adjournment, and was called to order by the President. , Prayer by Rev. Mr. Smith, Senator from the ' 7th District. The roll was called, and the Journal of Sat- , urday read and approved. Mr. Winn offered the following resolution : . Resolved, By the General Assembly of the ' Provisional Government of Georgia, That a joint committee of three from the Senate, and ; five from the House of Representatives, be appointed (the House coi earring) with instruc tions to report such preamble and resolutions I as may be proper to be adopted by the General Assembly, in order to cany this State into the Union, under the legislation of Congress on that ' subject, and that ail propositions relating i to that matter be referred to said committee. ; Mr. Merrell thought that action on the reso- i lution was premature, and made a motion to > lay it on the table, which was adopted. Mr. Speer moved that the Senate take a recess j for thirty minutes, which was adopted. The time having expired for recess, the Presi- ! dent called the Senate to order. A message accompanying document were presented to the Senate from His Excellency Governor Bullock, which are as follows: Office of Provisional Governor, > Atlanta, Ga., July 20,1868. ) To the Senate : The reports of your committee, raised to in vestigate the eligibility of Senators, under the act of Congress of June 25, 1868, to admit the States of * * *, Georgia, * * *, etc., to gether with the evidence taken before said committee, and the resolution of the Senate, were transmitted to the Commanding General, with my endorsement thereon, and I herewith transmit, for the information of the Senate, a communication from the Commanding General. Rufus B. Bullock, Provisional Governor. Headquarters Third Military District, 1 • (Department of Georgia, Florida & Ala.,) > Atlanta, Ga., July 20, 1868. } Hon. R- B. Bullock, Provisional Governor of Georgia.: Governor: I have the honor to acknowl-! edge the receipt of your letter of the 19th inst., ' transmitting the action and resolution of the ' Senate on the eligibility of its members under ‘ the 14tb article, constitutional amendment, and \ objection to the same on the ground of the ad mission of certain members, who, in the judg ment of the minority of the Committee of Inves- j tigati on and yourself, are ineligible. In reply, I beg leave to state that the subject I matter ot your communication will be held by I me for consideration, and that action thereon i will be deferred until I shall be officially ad-1 vised of the course pursued by the House of Representatives upon the same subject. Verv respectfully, your obedient servant, Geo. G. Meade, Major General U. S. A. Mr. Hungerford moved that the message and document be received and laid upon the table. Adopted. Mr. Speer moved an adjournment to 10 o’clock to-morrow morning. Adopted. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. P ursnan f to adjournment. Speaker McWhorter in the Chair. Prayer by Rev. W T. BranUy. Roll called. Proceedings of Saturday read and adopted Mr. Harper, of Terrel], chairman of thecom mittee appointed on Saturday to wait upon His Excellency the ProvisionafGovernor, made the following report: Mr. Speaker : Your committee, appointed to report to His Excellency the Provisional Governor, the action of this House on the eli gibility of its officers and members, beg leave to report that they have performed that duty. His Excellency received cur report courteous ly and kindly, and responded by assuring your ■ committee that he will communicate the same Ito the General commanding this the Third Military District. F. M. Harper, Chairman. Mr. Caldwell, of Troupe, claimed the floor in the discussion of his resolution of Saturday, j which, upon being called for, was again read, i as follows: Resolved, That the reports of the committee | on the eligibility ot members, with all docu ments and evidence, be presented by said com ! mittec to the Governor. Mr. Caldwell occupied the floor at some length in support Os this resolution, and in ■ conclusion called the previous question. The yeas and nays were called for, and stood as fol- I lows : Y"as, 81 ; nays, 12. The resolution was, I therefore, lost, Mr. Rice, of Columbia, moved that, in the absence of any communication from the Pro visional Governor, in answer to the committee appointed on Saturday, there was no business before the House, and he would, therefore, move to adjourn. House adjourned. Tuesday, July 21,1868. SENATE. The Senate was called to order at 10 o’clock, pursuant to adjournment, by the President. Prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Hinton, Senator from the 24th District. The roll was called, and the journal of yester day read and approved. A message from the Provisional Governor, and accompanying document, were received and read as follows: [See documents as re ported in the House proceedings. I Mr. Winn moved that the resolution which : was laid upon the table yesterday be taken up. : Mr. Candler offered a substitute, in substance ■ that the message and all matters pertaining to j the 14tb article, be referred to the Committee lon the Judiciary. Lost On the adoption of the resolution of Mr. j Winn the yeas and nays were called, which ' stood as follows: Yeas—Messrs. Adkins, Bowers, Bradley, Brock, Bruton, Campbell, Coleman, Corbitt, Dickey, Griffin, (6th District,) Griffin, (21st District,) Harris, Higbee, Hungerford, Jones, Jordan, Merrill, McWhorter, Richardson, Sher man, Smith, (6th District,) Smith. (36th Dis ' trict,) Speer, Stringer, Wallace, Welch, Winn —27. Nays—Messrs. Anderson, Burns, Candler, Collier, Fain, Hicks, Hinton, Holcombe, Mc- Arthur, McCutchen, Nisbet, Nunnally. Wel borne, Wooten—l 4. Those not voting—Messrs. Conley, Graham and Moore. The President announced that the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, on the part of the Senate, was adopted, which announcement was received with cheers from the Radical side of the House. Mr. Hinton offered a resolution in effect that the Senate proceed to the investigation of the ease of A. A. Bradley. Mr. Adkins moved that the original commit tee to investigate the case of Bradley be re lieved. Mr. Candler hoped that the motion of Mr. Adkins would not pass. From facts already cleaned, the Senators were now sitting in the i Senate with a felon. His ca=e should be inves- ; tigated immediately, and if the charges pre-1 ferred were sustained, the accused should be | expelled from the Senate. After considerable discussion the resolution • offered by Mr. Hinton was tabled. Mr. Higbee offered the following: Resolved, That gentlemen who are present > as contestants of the right of certain Senators ! to hold their seats here be invited to seats on the floor of the Senate during their stay. Adopted. Mr. Higbee also offered the following reso lutions, which were agreed to : Resolved by the Senate and House of Repre sentatives, That a committee of two from the Senate, and such committee from the House ot Representatives as may be appointed, to make suitable arrangements for the inauguration of the Governor elect. Resolved by the Senate and House of Repre sentatives, That a committee be appointed of three from the Senate and five from the House, j to notify the Governor elect, Hon. R. B. Bul lock, that the General Assembly will be pleased i to inaugurate him Governor ot Georgia at such ( time fl’s rosy think proper, in the TTal! of th.- of ll.present a t ivc \ A resolution was adopted fixing the hour of; meeting to 9 o'clock and adjournment to 1 o’clock. Mr. Higbee moved that the Senate go into thi> 1 election of a President pro tern. Mr. Wooten, i from the 11th district, and Mr. Harris, from ■ the 27th district, were nominated. On calling i the roll Mr. Wooten was declared duly elected, j On motion, the Senate adjourned to 9 o’clock to-morrow. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. House met. Speaker McWhorter in the Chair. Prayer by Mr. Cloud. Roll called.— ; Minutes of yesterday read and adopted. Mr. Bell, of Banks, offered a resolution that i each member of the House be furnished with a ■ copy of the Code of Georgia, and the laws of , 1866, which had just been brought up from j Milledgeville. Adopted. Mr. Lane, of Brooks, moved that immediate I action be had on the fourteenth amendment, ; when a discussion ensued as to the motion be- i ing out of order, pending which the Secretary i of tbe Governor entered the hall and announc- : ed a message from that official. It was moved | and carried that tbe message be at once taken i up, when the Clerk read as follows : Office- of Provisional Governor, ) Atlanta, Ga., July 21,1868. j To the Senate and House of Representatives : The following communication from the Com manding General of this District is respectfully transmitted for the information of the General Assembly : Headquarters Third Military District, Georgia, Ala. and Florida,) > Atlanta, Ga., July 20, 1868. ) Hon. R. B. Bullock, Provisional Governor of . of Georgia : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th inst, advising me that a committee of the House of Representa tives had waited on you, and verbally informed you that the House, having made a careful in vestigation into the eligibility of its members, I have decided by a vote of the House that all ; persons in their seats are eligible. I have already acknowledged the receipt of j your letter of the 17th, reporting the action of the Senate on the same subject. ■ I have now to advise and instruct you that j each House, having complied with the requisi ; lions of my communication of the Sth inst., by I examining into and deciding on the eligibility ; of their members, under the acts of Congress, and tbe fourteenth article, constitutional amend ments, I have no further opposition to make to i their proceeding to the business for which thej were called together, as I consider them legal ly organized from the 18th inst., the date of the I action of the House. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, George G. Meade, Major Genera], U. 8. A. By the provision of the act bi Congress en titled “An act to admit the States of North j Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, ' Alabama and Florida to representation in Con gress,” passed June 25th, 1868, you are re quired to duly ratify the amendment to the Constitution proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and known as article fourteen, and by solemn public act declare the assent ol the State to that portion of the act of Congress which makes null and void tbe first and third sub divisions of section seventeen ot the fifth ! article of the State constitution ; except the ■ proviso to the first sub-division, before the ■ State shall be entitled and admitted to repre i sentation in Congress as a State of the Union, i Copies Os the said act of Congress, and of | the said proposed amendment to the Constitu i tion, are herewith transmitted. Rufus B. Bullock, Provisional Governor. Mr. Lane, of Brooks, offered the following j joint resolution to ratify the amendment to the ! Constitution of the United States, known as ; article fourteen, proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States: Resolved by the Senate and House ot Repre ' Senta’ives of the State ot Georgia, That the 1 amendment to the Constitution of the United e States, known as article fourteen, proposed by 1 the Thirth-ninth Congress of the United States, and which is as follows: ARTICLE 14. r Sec. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the ’ United States, and subject to the jurisdiction ’ thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State ‘ shall make or enforce any law which shall • abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens -of the United States ; nor shall any State de prive any person of life, liberty or property, > without due process of law, nor deny to any j person witbin its jurisdiction the equal protec , tion of the law. Sec 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole nuin » ber of persons in each State, cxeladlng Indians [ not taxed. But when the right to vote at any , election for the choice of electors for President ' and Vice President of the United States, Rep resentatives in Congress, the executive and ’ judicial offices of a State, or the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabit ants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or any way abridged, except for participation in rebel lion or other crime, the basis of representation , therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to tbe whole number of male citizens twenty-one years as age in such State— Be and is hereby ratiOed by the State of Georgia. Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Rep [ resentative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial offi cer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insur rection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for'services in suppressing insurrec tion or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection, or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to en force, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. A suspension of the rules was necessary to take up this joint resolution, when a motion to that effect prevailed. The Speaker then put the question of adop tion, when Mr. Crawford, of Bartow, obtained the floor, and in a speech ot some length, opposed it. Mr. O’Neal of Lowndes, replied in support of the measure. Mr. Tunilin, of Randolph, called the previ- I ous question, when the yeas and nays stood as I follows : Yeas—Messrs. James Allen, of Hart , T. M. ; Allety of Jasper, Benjamin Ayer, E. Barnes, T. i P. Beaitd, Edwin Belcher, W. R. Bell, A. T. ; Bennett, Marion Bethune, J. A. Brinson, J. E. ; j Bryant, J. M. Buchan, J. M. Burtz, J. H. Cald i well, T. G. Campbell, R. W. Carpenter, W. C. Carson, P. H. Chambers, Malcomb Calaiborne, ; G. H. Clower, Abraham Colby, J. T. Costin, ! James Cunningham, S. A. Darnell, Madison Davis, J. M. Ellis, of Gilmer, J. R. Evans, 1 : James Fitzpatrick, Mond iy Floyd, J. E. G. I ; Franks, F. 11. Fyall, S. Gardner, W. A. Golden, ! R. B. Hall, of Glynn ; W. H. Hall, of Meri- I wether' W. D. Hamilton, A. Haren, W. H. Har- ■ rison, of Hancock, .J. F. Harden, J. Higdon, V. | Hillyer, W. F. Holden, C. H. Hooks, F. M. D. Hopkins, U. L. Houston, H. Hughes, P. Joiner, i G. W, Johnson, of Towns, W. A. Lane, G. f Laslinger, A. H. Lee, G. Linder, S. Lindsay, J. I Long, R. Lumpkin, J. T. McCormick, J. A. ! Madden, P. Madison, J. A. Maxwell, J. G. j Mau), Romulus Moore, John Neal, J. W. ■ i O'Neal, of Lowndes,. Peter O’N'iel, of Baldwin, ; C. K. Osgood, G. F. Page, N. J. Perkins, of ; Cherokee, Jos. L. Perkins, of Dawson, James j i Porter, 8 C. Prudden, A. R. Read, Mason J. I Kice, A. Riclmrclsoi), Stiller, K. 51 Scrojjgil Pierce Sc ”’<?!!. J. M. »Sinis, F. 51. Smith, nt J Charlion, Abram Smith, of Muscogee. Alex- | . andcr Stone, S. S. Strickland, H. M. Turner, ! . Ephriam Tweedy, John Warren, of Burke, W. ! ' W. Watkins, Samuel Williams, of Harris, V . I N. Williams, of Harralson, A. J. Williams, of ■ ' .Morgan, W. 8. Zellars. Nays—W. D. Anderson, J. W. Atkins, J. K. j Barnum, Richard Bradford, P. H. Brassel), W. I G. Brown, Wm. M. Butt, W. H. Clarke, C. C. i Cleghorn, A. E. Cloud, J. A. Cobb, M. J. Craw- i j lord, John C. Drake, C. C. Duncan, J. T. Ellis, | 1 of Spalding, W. S. Erwin, H. R. Felder, McK. ! 1 Fincanuon, R. W. Flournoy, F. M. Ford, A. S. Fowler, H. C. Frver, A. M. George, M. N. Go t ber, D. Goff, W.’B. Gray, J. E. Gullati, W. N. ; Hall, of Bulloch, T. M. Harkness, J. A. Harri i son, of Franklin, J. N. Harris, G. R. Harris, of i Sumter. F. M. Harper, of Terrell, G. M. Hook, ■ W. I. Hudson, C. C. Humber, D. Johnson, of I Wilcox, H. C. Kellogg, C. H. Kytle, W. T. Mc- ; Cullough, W. A. McDougald, J. W. Matthews, ■ J. W. Meadows, L. Nash, J. C. Nisbet, J. M. j Nunn, R. M. Parke, F. L Pepper, R. W. Phil- i 1 lips, B. F. Powell, W. P. Price, Thomas F. ; | Rainey, Morgan Rawls, Isham Reddish, G. 8. • I Rosser, Jas. M. Rouse, G. W. Rumph, S. F. i Salter, Dunlap Scott, R. B. Seales, M. Sbackle ! ford, J. E. Shumate, V. P. Sisson, J. R. Smith, | of Coffee, J. D. Smith, of Ware, J. R. Sorrells, B. C. Surrency, E. M. Taliaferro, U. O. Tate, ; W. M. Tumlin, R. A. Turnipseed, W. G. Vin- j son, L. M. Walthal, L. C. A. Warren, of Quitt- i man, David Welchel, Frank Wilcher, Hiram i Williams, of Dooly, Ballanger, of Floyd. Those not voting—Messrs. Ballard, McAr- i thur, Moon, Paulk, Penland, Reddish, Rouse, j Smith, ot Coffee, Smith, of Ware, Surrency, I Mr. Speaker, on the ground that he had no ; constitutional right to vote. Mr. Bryant, of Richmond, then offered the ■ following: Whereas, the Congress of the United States by the act admitting the State of Georgia to representation in Congress as a State of the United States, imposes as one of the conditions upon which the same shall take effect, that the first and third sub divisions of section seven teen of the filth article of the constitution of j the State of Georgia, except the proviso to tbe | first sub-division shall be null and void, and ; that the General Assembly of the State shall by i solemn public act declare the assent of the ; State to the said condition. Jt is therefore Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives the General Assem- j bly of Georgia does hereby declare the assent of the State of Georgia to the said condition. The rules were suspended to take up this resolution, which was adopted by a large ma jority, the Democrats all voting in the negative. [Tbe yeas and nays were not taken.] A resolution was adopted appointing a com mittee of five to wail upon bis Excellency the Provisional Governor, and apprise him of tbe action of the House to-day. The Speaker named as that committee, Messrs. Bethune, of Talbot, Williams, of Dooly, Johnson, of Towns, Mathews, of Houston, Neal, of Warren. Mr. Tumlin, of Randolph, offered the fol lowing : Resolved, That we respectfully and earnestly petition the Congress of the United States to remove from every citizen of. Georgia, irre spective of party association, the disabilities imposed by third section of the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, known as article fourteen. Mr. Harper, of Terrell, favored the resolu tion. Mr. Lane, of Brooks, opposed it. Mr. Phillips, of Echols, sustained it in re marks. Mr. Bryant, of Richmond, would accept it with a proviso, that only such be relieved as were in favor of the reconstruction measures, and sanctioned the action of this House to-day. Mr. Tumlin, of Randolph, said that if the gentleman from Richmond offered his proviso as an amendment he could not accept it. Mr. Anderson, of Cobb, said the resolution, in his opinion, was premature, but would give it his support. Gentlemen on tbe other side of the House had said that tbe Government was magnanimous. If they were candid in such expressions they would vote for the resolution. The previous question was here called, but the House refused to suspend the rules lor the purpose of taking it up. The resolution there fore goes over. The Clerk of the Scrihte was announced with a message from that body, which, upon being read, proved to be the Senate’s action upon the matter of the fourteenth amendment, which action, upon the motion being put, the House concurred hi. Mr. Bryant offered a resolution that when the House adjourn it do so to rc-assemble at 4 o’clock this afternoon, in order to arrange for tbe Governor’s inauguration. Adopted. Mr. O’Neal, of Lowndes, offered tbe follow ing : Resolved, That a committee of three be ap pointed by the Speaker, whose duty it shall be to notify Major General Meade of the action of this House on the constitutional amendment, and other fundamental conditions this day acted npon, and invite him and bis staff to a seat upon this floor, to witness the inaugura tion of his Excellency the Governor. Adopted. Mr. Turner (colored), of Bibb, offered a reso lution that the committee to be appointed to arrange for tbe inauguration of tbe Governor be instructed to inquire into the plausibility of having it take place outside of the Hall, in order that everybody may witness the cere mony. Adopted. Leave of absence was granted Mr. Hudson, of Harris. The House adjourned to 4, p. m. AFTERNOON SESSION. House met pursuant to adjournment.— Speaker McWhorter in the Chair. Mr. O’Neal, of Lowndes, chairman of the committee appointed in the morning to wait upon the General Commanding, made a report as follows: Mr. Speaker.- Your committee to whom was assigned the duty of informing Maj. Gen. Meade of the action of this House upon the constitutional amendment, and other funda mental conditions, and of inviting him and his staff to a seat upon this floor during the inauguration of the Governor, beg leave to re port that they have performed said duty, and received from General Meade bis thanks for the kindness and courtesy of this body, as well as an expression of his desire and intention to accept the invitation. Mr. Bethune, chairman of the committee ap pointed in the morning to wait upon his Ex cellency, the Provisional Governor, made the following report: Mr. Speaker: As chairman of the commit tee appointed by the House to join such com mittee as the Senate might create to wait upon his Excellency, R. B. Bullock, Provisional Gov ernor of this State, and inform him or the adop tion of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed by the 39th Con gress, and known as Article XIV ; and that the General Assembly of this State had declared its assent to the fundamental conditions annexed thereto by an act of Congress ; and to inform him that both Houses of the General Assembly are ready to inaugurate the Governor elect of the State, at such time as he may designate, I have the honor to report that you commit tee, having joined a similar committee appoint ed by the Senate, have performed the duty as signed them bj’ communicating the action of the General Assembly as stated la the resolu tion under which they were appointed, to His Excellency R. B. Bullock, Provisional Gover nor, who expressed great satisfaction, and staled that he would immediately inform the Commanding General of this the Third Military District, of the information received by him; and that if it met the approbation of both Houses of the General Assembly, it was the pleasure of the Governor cleet to meet them in this hall on Wednesday, the 22J instant, at 12 o’clock, m., then and there to be inaugurated as Governor of the State of Georgta, all of which is respectfully submitted. Mr. H ill, of Glynn, offered a resolution that tickets be printed and one given to each mem ber of tbe General Assembly, or to such of them as may have a friend who desires to be present at. thf inauguration. Adopted. A resolution was adopted instructing the Messenger to furnish ice for the House during its sessions, and charge the same to the contin gent expenses. A resolution asking for a committee to in quire into the ri"ht of F. H. Hail (nesrro) to a in the Mouse was ofTered. Mr. Bryant, of Richmond, moved that it He on. Vhc table r.hJ.i the ComLaiitce on and Elections was appointed. Carried. Mr. Bryant, of Richmond, offered a resolu tion that the Messenger be instructed to pre pare the hall so that the books and station ery of members may be secure at all times.— Adopted. Several unimportant resolutions were offer ed, and motions made, when the House ad journed. Wednesday, July 22,1568. SENATE. Tbe Senate met pursuant to adjournment, and was called to order by the President. Prayer was offered by Rev. M. C. Smith, Senator from the 7th district. Tbe roll was called, and the journal of yes terday read. Mr. Smith made a motion to reconsider so much of the proceedings of yesterday as re lates to the hour of meeting at 9 o’clock and adjourning at 1 o’clock, and that hereafter the hour shall be 10 o’clock and 1 o’clock. The motion was agreed to. Mr. Higbee, from the committee on inaugu ration, made a report that said committee had discharged the duties imposed upon them, and that His Excellency Gov. R. B. Bullock desig nated 12 o’clock to-day as a suitable time to enter into the inaugural ceremonies. Leave of absence was granted to Messrs. Holcombe, Moore and Adkins for a few days. Mr. Harris then mov. d that the Senate take a recess until o’clock, which motion pre-; vailed. fDuring recess we noticed the Honoraljle Senator from the Second District, (cullud,) and Foster Blodgett in close conversation. Look out! the time approaches for the election of United States Senators. “ Sharp and quick” work ahead, no doubt. Stand to your colors, Democrats. Joe was also on hand. “Who bids the most ?”] The Senate re-assembled, and several motions were made, among which was one to take a second recess until five minutes before 12 o’clock, the proper preparations for inaugura tion not being completed in the House. The motion was agreed to. On re assembling again, Mr. Hardin, Clerk of the House, presented a message from the same, declaring the House ready to proceed to the inauguration of ihe Governor, which was re ceived, and accordingly the Senate repaired to the House for the purpose of particip iting in thejeeremonies. The Senators left the cham ber arm in arm, Aaron Alperoria Bradley and James Adkins bringing up the rear. The inaugural ceremcnies being completed in about two minutes and a half, the Senate re assembled, and, on motion of Mr. Speer, ad journed to Friday morning, at 10 o’clock, amid the booming of cannon. But the “cullud troops fout nobly.” HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. House was called to order by the Speaker, and, after prayer by Mr. , the roll was called and the proceedings of last session were being read, when Mr. McDougal, of Chattahoochee, gave notice that he should move to reconsider so much of the action of yesterday as related to the expunging of certain clauses of the consti tution of Georgia, known as the “relief” measure. Several unimportant motions were made and resolutions offered, some of which were adopt ed and some lost. Mr. McDougal made his motion for recon sideration, when the Speaker declared the mo tion out of order, as the action of yesterday had gone forward to the Provisional Governor and Commanding General. Mr. O’Neal, of Lowndes, offered a resolution that when the House adjourn to-day it shall not meet again until Friday next, at 10 o’clock. Adopted. Mr. Bryant, of Richmond, moved that the House take a recess until half-past 11 o’clock. Adopted. the inauguration. The House re-assembled atllj< o’clock, pre paratory to the inaugural ceremonies. At I™., m., General Meade, accompanied by ■ his staff, and the officers of the garrison, en tered the hall, followed by the Provisional Governor, who was under the escort of ex- Governor Brown, the President of the Senate and members of the same, and His Honor John Erskine, of the United States District Court for Georgia. The Provisional Governor was welcomed to the rostrum of tbe House by Speaker McWhorter, General Meade and ex- Goveruor Brown being seated to the left of him, and the President of the Senate, Mr. Con ley, to the right. The General Assembly was then called to order by the President of the Senate, when the I rovisiona] Governor arose and said : Fellow citizens, Senators and Representatives: We are assembled here to-day under the fos tering care and protection of our General Gov ernment. Through its clemency we are per mitted to inaugurate a civil government for our State that will supercede the military pow er, which has been supreme in our midst since the failure of an attempt to establish the sover eignty of separate States, in opposition to the Constitution and Union framed by the people of the United States. Tbe misfortunes that have followed a misapprehension of the alle giance due by the individual citizen have be come a part of our history, and need only be referred to when there may be danger of its repetition. We have good reason to congratulate our selves that we have so rapidly abandoned our erroneous opinions, and that, under the benign influence of the liberal laws of Congress, we have progressed successfully toward a restora tion to our proper place in the Union. And especially should we rejoice that this has been accomplished, notwithstanding that, in the pursuit of a proper policy, we have dis tracted and divided among ourselves by the failure of the National Executive to act in har mony with the will of the people constitution ally expressed. Only twelve months ago, a number of citizens assembled in this city and framed a political organization in sympathy with the principles and the policy of a majority of the people of the whole country, and to-day we witness what has been accomplished through tbe agency of that patriotic body--the Union Republican party. A constitution has been adopted that guarantees to all free and uni versal education, equal political and civil rights, and restores to us self government. It should not be forgotten that this constitution has been framed by delegates who were elected under the law which gave the bondman the ir resistible weapon of the ballot. The wisdom and moderation with which this privilege has been exercised, should overcome all prejudice, quiet all fears, and lead us to ap preciate the justice of enfranchising the freed men. With a territory of magnificent proportions, unsurpassed in richness of natural resources, we have but to apply ourselves to its develop ment to reap a bounteous reward. By united efforts in the enforcement of civil law, securing to every one the lawful expres sion of their political opinions, and the enjoy ment of the results of their labor, we will in vite within our borders an increased popula tion to share with us the comforts of our cli mate and the wealth of our agricultural and mineral productions. Humbly trusting in the sustaining grace of I the Great Ruler of all, I shall endeavor to per- j form the duties of the high position to which i you have, elected me, by a strict adherence to | the provisions of the constitution, and in such i a manner as to bring upon us His ble.-sing in a I peaceful, progressive prosperity. . j At the conclusion of this address His Excel- I lency announced his readiness to subscribe to the oath of office as Governor of Georgia, when His Honor John Erskine, clothed in his robe as the judicial representative of the Gene ral Government, administered the oath. The President of the Senate then proclaimed Rufus B. Bullock duly inaugurated Governor of Georgia. The General Assembly was then dissolved by members of the Senate retiring to their cham ber, end a subsequent adjournment of the House. Friday, July 21. ' ’ SENATE. | j Senate met pursuant to adjournment, and j 1 was_c.-dled to order by the President. B. i;.ei by Rev. Mr. Smith, from the Seventh ' : District. The roll was caller!, and the journal of Wert- I nesday read and approved. A message, with aceompandiug documents, ■ from His Excellency the Governor, was re- i ceivcd through Mr. B. B. DeGraflfenreid, his' Secretary. After the reading of the message, Mr. Winn moved to suspend the reading of the docu ments. Carried. < Mr. Smith, of the Thirty-sixth, moved that I 200 copies of the Message and accompanying i documents be printed for the use of the Sen- i ate. Adopted. ■ Mr. Merrill moved Uiat the several articles just received be refeiTed to the appropriate I committees. Adopted. i Mr. Wootten introduced a bill consolidating i tbe offices of Secretary of State and Surveyor ' General. . | The following bills were introduced, and sev- 1 erally read the first time: By Mr. Smith, of tbe seventh—A bill to incor porate a fire company in the city of Thomasville. By Mr. Brutton—A bill to authorize E. C. < Bower, a minor, to practice law in this State. By Mr. Spear—A bill to incorporate the Ma con Street Railroad Company; also, A bill to incorporate a fire company in the city of Macon. By Mr. Winn —A bill to fix the salaries of certain officers ; also,’ A bill to repeal so much of tbe Code which requires the Judges of the Superior Court to reside in the county twelve mouths where they may reside when elected, and to require judges to alternate. By Mr. Merrell—A bill to carry into effect the Ist article, Ist section of the constitution o this State. Mr. Wooten reported . a resolution looking to the election of Sfiite House officers on Thursday. Mr. Harris offered, as a substitute, a resolu tion bringing on the election of United States Senators, and also Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Comptroller General, on Tuesday next. Mr. Merrill moved the same be laid on the table. The President announced the standing com mittees. Mr. Spear offered a resolution, that the Secre tary be authorized to have printed 150 addi tional copies of the Rules, together with the standing committees of the Senate, which was agreed to. On motion, the Senate adjourned until to morrow, at 10 o’clock. HOUSE. House met. Prayer by Dr. Brantlv. The roll was called. Mr. Williams, of Morgan, introduced a reso lution to elect State House officers to-morrow. Mr. Crawford, of Bartow—A resolution to appoint a committee to investigate the affairs of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. Mr. Phillips—A bill to consolidate the offices of Surveyor General and Secretary of State. Mr. Hall, of Meriwether, introduced a bill for the relief of the people of Georgia—a stay law—no property can be levied on till Februa ry, 1873; also, A bill to prevent the sale of spirituous li quors on election days. Mr. Price was, on motion of Mr. Holden, elected, by acclamation, Speaker pro tern, of the House of Representatives. Mr. Ellis, ot Spalding, introduced a resolu tion to furnish each member with a copy of the constitution. Adopted. Mr. Hall offered a resolution to bring on the election of United States Senators next Tues day. . • The annual message of the Governor, with accompanying documents, was received and read. Mr. McCulloch, of Jones, moved to refer the several subjects of the message to appropriate committees, and ordering 200 copies printed. A motion to strike out 200 and insert 500. Lost. The resolution was amended by inserting, printing “ the accompanying documents.” Mr. Bryant proposed to amend by saying they should be printed at the Nesc Era office. He, however, withdrew his amendment. The resolution was adopted. The House took up the following resolu- tas": WhlCh had been intr °dueed on Thursday remove from ev”ery citizem of Georgia spcctive of party association, the dis’abilitie imposed by the third section of the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, known as article fourteen Mr. Holden offered the following substitute ■ ’ lbat this Honse d °es hereby neti- Stata utrtii e th y tbe rc ? onstr “Ction laws of said State, until the same shall have been chanced in a legal and constitutional manner, and who are unwilling to produce such change by a second revolution. a The previous question was called, and the Tumlin ken On 110 Onglnal reß °lution of Mn The votes resulted yeas 117, nays 20 Before taking the vote, Mr. Bryant'sDOke in opposition to the resolution, as did Mr. O’Nea] a f H L M WD T e8 he afterwa rds voted for it-) and Mr. l urner (negro) read a written speech' V Mr D / I t ? ead T io - n of the resolution. ’ f e i d £ r B - poke )n favor of resolution h? ™V abOnner . ' ni l <le . r Bevere indisposition, a ™ oßtl admirable speech—a speech which though breathing the strongest and purest Democratic principles was kina concilltatory. He spokeTs ’ a Southern man-making some home-thTusts deahng in facts which none can gainsay. He voted, as he said, for secession ; be proved his faith by his works. When he was for war he. was for war. .He joined tbe First Georgia Re raent and deserted not, nor laid down his arms till the surrender of Joe*Johnston, when he was promised peace. He was quite as much in earnest for peace as he bad been for war. He would have much preferred this resolution to have come from the other side of the House dec., dec. ’ We would be pleased to report Mr. F. more fully, but time and space forbid. The matter of his speech was admirably conceived, and un der all the circumstances, handsomely deliv ered. House adjourned to 10 o’clock, to-morrow. Tha State Democratic Convention. Atlanta, July 23—5, P. M. The convention met pursuant to adjourn ment, and was called to order by tbe Hon. Augustus Reese, the President. The committee to nominate electors and al ternates made their report. [The names were published in our special telegram yesterday.—Ed..Const.J Accompanied by the following report: Mr. President: I am instructed by the dele gations representing the several counties com posing the “ Seventh Congressional District” of this State to present the name of Col. J. D. Waddell, of the county of Cobb, for the posi tion of Elector from said district, and to ask the ratification of this nomination, unanimous ly, by this State convention. The Seventh Congressional -District has also instructed me as its chairman, to ask 4 the con vention to ratify the nomination it has made, of Col. V. A. Gaskill as sub-elector of the dis trict. In District Convention assembled, I have re ceived instructions to communicate to the State Convention, now assembled, that it is the will, unanimously, of the Seventh Con gressional District that John B. Gordon is nominated one of the electors for tbe State at large, on the electoral ticket to be placed be fore the people of Georgia for their support at the forthcoming Presidential election. I dis charge all these duties imposed upon me, not only with pleasure, but with an abiding con fidence that if the convention will respond fa vorably to them all, the Seventh Congression al District will roll up such a majoritj’ as will largely aid in carrying our noble old Common wealth for Seymour and Blair. J. H. Steele, Cbm’n. Dr. Blackburn moved that the convention adopt the names as a whole as agreed upon by the committees, which was agreed to. The Hou. E. G. Cabaniss submitted the fol lowing report from the Business Committee as their chairman : “ Tbe committee appointed to prepare arid report business for the convention submit the following resolutions, and recommend their adoption : Ist. Resolved, That as the convention of the Democratic party of Georgia, we unanimously ratify the nomination of Horatio Seymour for President, and Francis P. Biair, Jr., for Vice- President of the United States, and we pledge them our hearty and cordial support. 2d. Resolved, That we approve the platform of principles adopted bj' the late convention of the National Democratic party at New York, and receive and adopt it, not only for its sound ness, but because it recognizes the equality of all the States of the Union. 3d. Resolved, That an electoral ticket for the State of Georgia be nominated by the conven tion, pledged to the support of Horatio Sey mour tor President and Francis P. Blair for Vice-President; that the ticket be composed of two candidates and alternates for the State at large, and one for each Congressional District, with an alternate. 4th. Resolved, That a Central Executive Com mittee of fifteen be appointed by the President of this convention at his convenience, whose headquarters shall be in the city of Atlanta, and that said committee be authorized to call con ventions of the Democratic party whenever the same may be necessary, and to take such, other steps as may be proper to carry out the principles and policy of the party. sth. Resolved, That, for the purpose of affect ing a thorough and complete organization of the party, the Democratic clubs in the several counties are earnestly exhorted to redouble their exhertations for the ascendency of De mocratic principles, and in counties in which clubs are not yet organized. The del gates in this convention from such counties are re quested thAt each club have its Central Exe cutive Committee with sub-committees of not less than five in each military district, whose duty it shall be to canvass for votes, an J to become the attendance at the polls of all the Democratic voters in their respective districts. A motion was made and carried that a com mittee of two be appointed from each Con gressional District, whose duty it should be to report the names of two electors and two alter nates for the State at large. Whilst the com mittee retired, the convention was agreeably entertained by Hon. J. M. Ramsey in a soul stirring address. The committee returned and reported as elec tors for the State at large the names of Hon. John B. Gordon, of Fulton; John D. Clark, of Randolph. , Alternates—W. T. Wofford, of Bartow, and Tbos. M. Norwood, of Chatham. On motion of Dr. Blackburn, the same com mittee were requested to notify the electors and alternates, and request their acceptance, which was agreed to. . On motion of Judge Cabaniss, the Atlanta Intelligencer and Constitution were requested to publish ffie proceedings, and papers friendly to Democratic principles are requested to copy. On motion of Major J. H. Steele, the conven tion adjourned sine die. . After the adjournment, Hon. John T. Clark, of Randolph, delivered a chaste and truly elo quent address. He was interrupted by frequent applause. [COMMUNICATED.] A Rally in Columbia County. Editors of the Constitutionalist: Gentlemen : Permit me, as Corresponding Secretary of the Democratic Ratification Club of the county of Columbia, to inform the citi zens of Augusta that Generals Cobb, Toombs, Wright, Hon. Ben Hill and others are to be present and speak at the 24 mile post, August Bth, in Columbia county. All true white men are desired to be present, and though we may not have enough for all to eat, yet these leaders of Southern liberty will feast - the intellectual man fully and profitably. Very respectfully, , E. 8. Florence, Cor. Sec y. Oxford, G a.,July 24. The Baton Rouge Advocate says, up to the 4th inst, only a few partial showers had fallen throughout Claiborne, and consequently crops were suffering. Very much the same report comes from Bossier parish.
