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ANNUAL MESSAGE
GOV. JOSE I'll E. intOV.V •
To the Georgia Legislature,
ASSEMBLED NOV. ISM.
Executive Department, >
Milledt'eville, Nov. LI, lSol. >
'Senator* and }lr,,r cantata' :
The period
■ end
threat pleasure to-welcome you to thert. fff'-l,
wnl to aseure you of my earnest iL--ire to unite
Willi vou harmoniously ami cordially in all prac
tiettl measures which may promote tin- •■m i-1
welfare, and redound to the glory and honor of
our beloved Slate.
We are pas-in th h a trying ordeal, hav
ing taked Upon th ales ot war all that r..n
be valuablem; a- . a people. If we are sub
jugated, we lose home, property, liberty, repu
tation, and all, so far as this world ii concerned,
that makes life desirable or it., burden tolel -
able.
Our enemies have repudiated and trampled
under foot the great principles of • institutional
liberty, and have attempted to rear, upon th
.ruins of our Republican institutions, a ennsidi
dated empire, under the ixipular name ol a
union of the States. \VT have lak uup arm •
o resist this, and to maintain Republicanism in
■its purity, with the sovereignty ol the ."-taley
aid the personal rights and liberie ol the peo
ple. No people ever accepted the . diet native
Hi war in a nobler cause, or exhibited lo the
•World a more sublime spectacle oi tm»i;d :',tan
steur and heroii valor. Our gallant annic lm\
•won for these States a name which will aland
mpoua bright page in history, when pyramids
'have decayed and marble monument have
crumbled into dust. It honld be the plea lire
the patriot, and pride of the hero to emit rib
etc bi- property, hi eni i <*- and, il need be.
. . t . . n r. ...
his life,lor the suec. sol a. noble ac.m a-, t poll
*,ur flUi’Ce'sfnlel Is (lie last hope ol Republican
in -titati<.l)9 gml civil liberty, witlieon-litutioiral
■guarantees. It. who would prove recreant to
ui-.o sacred a cause, hi Jr-oio a de ire of per onal
tfi-vgrarulizeinent. or the gratification o! pci onn!
Cinibilioii, Would trample nndei hi. led and sir
•litiee tfieie great principles which underlie the
va-ry foundations ot mil- lederalive y rtom, ;m,l
ainon the Hiicee. of which the liapplne sol lili-
Liun millioici depends, desert vs an eternity ol
infamy with the ever-fasting execrations ol mati-
N. nil I upon his head
Ah a baud of patriot . lei, in unite all our en
<»roand e\rl I all our inlliieiic ■ for the ueeess
ot oui ‘dorious cause, and for (lie m.iiiltennjiee in
their original purity of the great principle of
civil and reliev'd bberty, which form the ven
pillars upon which tfniplo ol -m Republi
< aiiinm rest s.
i ON FEDERATE lit:TION'S.
The war i , still waged ne.iiin the people of
•t he Confederal e Stales, by the Itnvi'i'.mnenl ol
the United Stales, with a \ indict i velusss pud
a ruelty which has few parallels in history, Pm’
nearly four years we have met (lie mighty as
saults of the federal armies, and have repulsed
.attid driven them liaek on many a hard-fought
-field. We have lost imporlant points, but none
which wo can not temporarily surrender-to tire
*uiemy, and, with good management, tinally suc
ceed. Atlanta was probably (lie most vital
point to our success that lias been won by the
isvupei'ior numbers of the enemy. Its fall was a
severe blow, and for a time caused great des
jmndcniy among our people. I am happy to
nee, however, that they are fast reeoverm ; from
and contidonce i being re dmvd.
At the time of General Sherman's march from
Dalton to Atlanta, w-e Jiad a large force we t of
the Mississippi of as gallant troops a; ever
Jared an enemy, which had been alniosl in a
■jstilte ol inactivity, sinee our plendid vietories
except a few garrisons, from that departmf-nt.
JWajor Ueueral Early is said to have bad a force
of 20 000 men, of the very best of tlie'ArWx in
'Virginia, with w hich lie drove the federal Gen
aural out of the valley of that State, and pro a-d
tforward into Maryland and Pennsylvania, and
.remained there till his presence provoked the. e
Sind the adjoining States t.. organise a force us
jiicient. to drift' hint back and to threaten llicli
iinond in the rear, {.pneral Imio-.t, with a large
•wavalry force, was operatin'"' in North nix is-.i|>-
•j.i, repelling raids from a country (bat had been
iMjverrutl till there was but little public property
•for the enemy to destroy; mid General Morgan
tvas raiding in Kentucky. \\ bile our fori were
-thus scattered from I‘eimsy lvani* to Texa . < ien.
.'Gherman, strengthened by a eoncentratioii of the
enemy’s forces from different, depart iftcjils, was
■steadily pressing forward to Atlanta,,the very
.heart and railroad centre of the Confederacy,
•with a forcemitlieient, by reason of ii superior
.Lumbers, to coiitioually flank and drive back the
.gallant Army of Tennessee. During this whole
vcuinpaigu, General Shermans base of supplies
jut Nashville and Louisville was hundred: of
■auiles in his rear, and be was dependent for
transportation upon a railroad constructed
-Through ail exceedingly rough country, with
"bridges,culverts and curves along its entire line,
'fin this condition, more than three hundred miles
. from the border of Kentucky, in the midst of an
enemy’s country, lie was permitted to go for
• ward, without serious interruption in his rear,
•jmd to accomplish his grand design.
Georgians, whose homes have been overrun,
property destroyed, and fields laid waste, Ii we
imturaiiy inquired, as doubtless the future his
torians will, why part ot the large h.ree unem
ployed west of the Mississippi were not brought
io aid the Army ot Tennessee during the sum
mer months! And w hy, when the enemy were
driven from the Valiev of j .ir min. the key
points were not garrisoned and lieii, 1 by part of
' Early's force, and tin balance sent to Gi.nv.i 4 ',
(Instead of the whole being sent upon the cam
•jrnign into Maryland and Pennsylvania, which
».idy served to stir up and unite Northern semi
i meat against us, and to enable the Federal Gn V
to raise an additional force sulli. ient to
,<lnve Lack the expedition with >!i a .t»-i to our
xjirnis. If this whole h.i.v could he pared lYnni
Juiihusoiut to invade lVnuaylvaiiiu, mi"lit not
-part of it have held the \ alley of Yii ini i, ui.l
-the balance been sent to (loot gin ; And eotil t
■not Forrest, even nt the expen e of 1em,.,.,-
loss fn Mississippi, nave t ern rot to ,1, Mr.,
the railroiui? in the rear, and stop the su|mli,.
of the Federal army If we had adopt, " the
rule by which most great General in ,u. h
<*«nergeneies have sneeeeilt'd. ot the evacuation
Abr the time of all point nrti absolutely vital,
and the rapid and vigorous eonefnirat;, nos
•wvery soldier in the Confederacy not ne,v ,rv
So hold Richmond and probably ~ne or two
-other key point' - , and had hastened the whole
to Atlanta and to Sherman - rear, and hurled
'them upon hint in his exjrosed and critical Con
dition, the repulse and rout, if not the tin,
-tion or capture, of his army, could scarcely hate
licoit doubtful. , And as his army was the only
tlefenee provided by the Federal Government
for the Western States, each a eon-ummation
- would not only have relieved Georgia, Team -
■ North Alabama and North Mis-is-ippi frotii
the n.-esette, of the enemy, but it would have
thrown . o P*‘“ 1,10 “green tields" of Kentneky,
~ liivli bar.’ b® l '!! more than <>nce twomisid to
.Tur troops, «->•>•'' probahly have opened
the wav for an t-J rl . v 1 1,, 1 . 1«>" V s '. ll:U
tie, determined upon , :1 ditlerent lun ~t peli. v.
Tlie world knows the res,.' I,S-;UI 1 ae
•ptiesce. Hut the mUturtuih.' ( 1 K *
misguided judgment ot our rulers in, Ni l ,’” ! !i :vo
the effort of relaxing our zeal , r elan. " '' T
l,oe for the cau^e.
We may, as we have a right to do. i l; ;l
.-am >ngourselves as to the wisdom of a eei: , ,
Uine of jsiliey, and of certain acts ot the Con
Moderate administration; and some of n- mav
•deplore its errors and mismanagement’, while
•oilier: may attempt to justify all it mistake,
and defend all its errors, aud may be read, in
advance to approve everything ii may do. illtvi
infill we may all, as one man, r. main true t,. , , s
IMVWiI cause, and !<• pre|vued. if nee. to
expend our last dollar and shed our last ,i, ■ ~f
Mov'd ill its defence.
Wliiic 1 am satisfied a large m ■.v of th
jiCople of tins State disapprove many of the
sn.ts and much <*f the policy of the Conte,! rate |
AdKKiiietratuNi I :>.m of opiui.-ii there are but
a .vets small nunHs i oi the people ~f Geo
who are disloyal to the e.iu-o, or who w. old j
»*uu*ent tocU.se the w.,1 w-iilioiit ih, i, 1
Qiret of tii. xu:e»t ml.- for which w< fe.-ik up 1
arra —the independence of the Confederate
States and the vindication and establishment
of the sovereignty of the several States.
Confederate independence,. with centralized
power, without State sovereignty and constitu
tional and religious liberty, would Ire very little
better than subjugation, as it matter- little who
our master is, if we are to have one. We should,
therefore, keep constantly in view the great
principles upon which w-e entered into this un
euual contest, and should rebuke every encroach
ment made upon them by our own Government,
while we resist, with arms in our hands, like
a -aults -made upon them by our enemies.
While our gallant troops in the field are sacri
ficing the comforts of bomb, property, health
and even life itself, and are enduring ail the
privations, hardships, perils and dangers of the
-ervice, they should never once lose sight of the
great principles of equality, liberty, and consti
tutional republicanism, for which they- unfurled
freedom’s banners in the face of the enemy.
Nor should they ever consent to lay down their
arms till these principles are recognized by- our
foe, and faithfully carried out in practice by
our own Government. In other word-, wo
should never be content till we Rave estab
li-hed ii|H.n a firm basis the good old republi
can iu-titutions of our fathers in all their purity,
and should never, under any' circumstances, con
sent to accept in their place strong centralized
Government with military despotism. 1 do'not
co how it can’ l.e denied by any candid man,
that we have, in practice, made fearful strides,
since the war began, towards a centralized Gov
ernment with unlimited powers.
The constant tendencies of the war seem to
have been to the subordination of the civil au
thorities and laws to the military, and the con
centration of the supreme power in the bands
of the Commander in Chief of the armies. The
longer the war lasts, the greater the tendency
to Ibis tesult, and the less probability-at ita tei'-
niiiritidb of a return to the constitutional forms
and republican simplicity which existed at its
commencement.
IJut it may be a fieri, when is this bloody
struggle to terminate 1 No human forecastc can
: o far penetrate the future as to give a satisfac-.
tory reply to this questiou. The Northern
States have resources and men enough to en
able them to continue the war for years to came
and wo have ntliciont'power of resistance and
endurance to enable us to continue to baffle all
tl.cir : cliemi- of subjugation. The swqr.l can
never make peace between the two contei Ming
pari ir W lion tins is done, it will Ik* by nego■
/iitfion. The prospect seems to indicate that the
war in.iv probably last till both seetions are ox
ha acted', before the passions of the people will
uhsidc, and reason' so far resumes her sway as to
prepare the people of both countries for negoti
ation, a : the only means of adjustment, which
can terminate the bloody* strife. This may not
take place till we have accumulated a debt on
both sides, greater than w e or our posterity can
ever pay—till hundreds of thousands more men
have been Gain,and millionsofwomen andrhild
mi have been reduced to widowhood, orphan
am- and poverty —till our taxes have become so
burdensome, that endurance is no longer possi
-1 ,i,._—till the civil laws cease Io be respected,
and highway robbery mid murder are (be daily
l, r _mec o| predatory bands, and till (lie Fedc
,Vl •i„d<.'"; , l --derate governments have usurped
and' e.xcni edali (lie powers chimed by the most
absolute despots, each pleading in extCrttUUiOn
of its usurpations t be 'necessity growing out ot
the like usurpations by the other.
There is reason to fear that President Lincoln,
If re elected,and President Davis, whose passions
arc inflamed against each other, may never bo
able to agree upon terms for the commencement
of negotiations, and that the war must continue
tofrage in all its fury, till (hero is a change,
of administration, uute.-q the people of both
countries, in their aggregate capacity as sover
eign States, bring their powerful influence to
bear, requiring both governments to stop the
war, and leave the question to be settled upon
(he principles of 17’iU, as. laid down in the Ueo-
These re chit ions, in substance, propose that
the treaty making powers in both government
agree to stop the war, and leave c.-uh or any
one of the sovereign Stales, by- a convention ol
its own people, fairly chosen by the legal, and
duly qualified voters, to determine lor itself
whether it will unite its destinies with tb3 one
or the other Confederacy. 'There may be daub!a
whether Missouri, Kentucky-, or Mary land, wish
to remain component parts of the govern'nont
of the United States, or to unite with tha Con
federate Stales. If either one of those States
shall refuse to unite with us, w-e have no just
, Did lo demand such union, as we have neither
(lie ri .'ht to coerce a sovereign State, nor tor ov
um hi- without her consent. And, if wc had
(lie right, we certainly hare not the pofff r,
wo'can only govern a State without lure sent,
by subjugation, and we have bo p.oiyer t sub
jiigaj* any one of those States, with the rig.!.'
power of the If nil nil Stales at her back, -ejiar
ed to defend her against out- aUai’l, i.
We should stand ready therefore at njl tipiea
to cltle the difflenlty by'a reference of the ques
tion of future allianee, to lire Stakes, whose po
sitions may be doubtful for determination by
them in their sovereign capacity.
Our Congress in it-; manifesto, has virtually
indorsed the. great principles of the Georgia
Resolution.:, and the President lias said in his
me ages, that he desires peace upon the prin
ciples to defend which wo entered into the
struggle, lam not aware however, of any di
n-el. tender of adjustment, upon tjiese princi
ples having been recently made by the treaty
making power of our Government, to the same
power in the Federal Government. 1 regret
that the wish of Georgia, as expressed through
her legislature, has not been respected in (.his
particular. Such a direct tender made through
commi-stoners l.v President Davis to President
Lincoln, would place the question fairly and
properly before the Slates, and people of the
North, tor discussion and action. Had it been
(lone months since, it could not have failed to
have .had a powerful influence upon the Presj'
denied chvugn ill the North, which may have,
iiuidi to do with tin' future course and conduct
of the war,
It may bo said, however, that the wrap a;:!
tiou.to oltle our .litficultk s upon tb.esetelfipi,
made by President Davis in President Pen ohi.
would l,e a letting flown of the dignity . t our
Government,and might be construed as an evi
of . ..n vinos weakness on our part. 1
e ole my inability to see hew the direct tend
er nt settlement upon these great and correct
principles by the treaty- making power in our,
< ioveinmenl. to the like power in the United
St it, ..Government, could compromit the dig
nity of our Government., any morn than an in,li
re t tender of the same proposition, through the
*rr, mlar channel of an Executive message, or a
Com r, isional manifesto.
There is certainly more true dignity in a Mi
r,vi. oj a. tnaiily tender through the constituted
'ham:. !, Hat nice questions of official etiquette
and fa lye notions of personal dignity, should he
laid aside, whm they intervene to prevent ac
tion upon which the blood of thousands,and the
happiness of millions may dept ml.
The democratic party of the North, whicit is
the only party there, claiming to maintain
jStatc ’ ght principles and which has great
strength and ]mwer, whatever may be its" for
tunes in the coming elec lion, has declared in fa
vor a siispeii: ion of hostilities, and a onnven
tioti of all the States, as the t-ost means of ad
nistmenf. And l see no good reason whv the
treaty making power in our should
not tender this propo-itioii to the Government
oi'-the Pniled States. Thcie can certainly bo
nothin like humiliation or degradation in a
proposition to leave llie settlement oi a f|iies
tiou which the Gen, id Governments. which are
the cn atm, > of the States, can not agree upon,
( 'heir , iva:.. ■ i- the sovereign States them
.elves.
~ h the idea mav be ridiculed to
, r-iudice the til:,.' m,, “ l !, J lh ?
Slate . the Convcnt.on if cal:.
would no doubt l>e one of nK ’ st a “ 0 a *
Ugi • ias i,that aver mi ( °PP° y 1
continent. Inc.i trying an emergency, mvolv
ei: : ..-u, sos such immense magnitude, ibe
Slat,-- v.... 11 doubtless select their wisc-si.
ai lest and best men to represent 41iem, men
who ~ pa'-ions have 1 -vu sutuTued ,le. age and
let's. and who are alike distil.guislnd fiir
! I- . : , tic, . hale,nee of rnind and dignity of
; , har.ie!,-r. Such a conventi,ai, coni|Hrsed oi the
; treat,-I and best tn, nos the country, c,f ma
i i re a e and In. , experience, with the scenes
••I Id I. ~.-i ,a.l desolation through which
v. inch in th> ir rv- lleetion, and
the present and prospective condition of ilu
country well known to them, could hardly be 1
expected to decide in favor of a continuation ol
thh war, with all its blighting effects upon boll:
the North and the South, or to adjourn without \
submitting a plan of settlement honorable and
just to the people of both Confederacies, and
all the States.
All questions of boundary and inland naviga
tion, and all treaties *>f amity, commerce and
alliance, and all agreements necessary to pre
serve in future the just balance of power upon
the continent, could be properly shaped in such
a convention and proposed to the treaty-making,
powers as the result of its deliberations. Or it
might be agreed in advance by the treaty-ma
king powers that the convention settle the
whole question, and that its action he final and
conclusive w hen submitted back to the people
of the several States and ratified by them re
spectively.
In that event it must of course bo understood
that each State would enter the convention as
a separate, independent sovereign—the equal ol
every other State —and that the action of the
body as in ease of the conventions which formed
the Constitution of the United States and of
the Confederate States Would only be binding
upon each State, when submitted back to and
freely ratified by the people thereof in their
sovereign capacity.
The propriety of submitting the question by
thu treaty making (lowers to a ciHivention of
the sovereign-States is the more obvious, in
view of the want of power in ihe Presidents and
Senates of the two Governments to make a
treaty of peace without tin- consent of the sov
ereign States to be affected by it. No (lorma
uent treaty of peace van be made which does
not contain an article fixing the boundaries of
the two Governments, when the ’w hole country
is inhabited as ours is, and one or the other
Government must exercise immediate jurisdic
tion over the inhabitants of each State and
each county. In other words, we can have no
treaty of peace that does not define the States
or parts of States that are to be embraced in
each Government. And tlii: can only be done
by the consent of the States themselves. The
action of se/iaea}e State* is therefore an indis
pensable preliminary to the validity of any
treaty of peace that e.yi be,made. This action
may by agreement of the treaty-making power:,
take place prior or subsequent to the dale ot
the treaty, but in either ease the effect is the
same, as tho validity of the treaty is dependent
Ujion the action of sfpara't S/itfis.
Suppose, for instance, it is agreed by the
treaty-making’ powers, that the State of Ohio
shall become part of the Confederate States,
when an overwhelming majority of her peojile
in convention, called by (he proper Stale au
thority, decide by' solemn ordinance to remain
with t he United Stales ; or suppose ij is agreed
by the treaty-making powers that Kentucky
shall remain part of the United States, when
two thirds of her people decide to go with the
Confederate States. Will any one contend that
the Dealv making power has the right thus to
dispo«e ites, and assign them their future
. o-it -ns without their consent? And will
anybidy say that a treaty of peace can be
n.a.*! without defining the government with
wifi, h (‘loo or Kentucky shall be associated in
fit? re? Suppose, again, that the treaty ma
king |towers, in fixing the boundaries ot the
t.w~ Confederacies, should .spec, to a division ol
Virginia, and that the territory embraced in the
pretended new Stale formed of part of Vir
ainia, shall become part of the United Slates,
und that the balance ■Lull go with the Confed
erate Stales. Will any Southern man contend
that she can be thus dismembered and part of
licrle.rr (cry ceded by the I'rc.-kleni and Senate
to the Government ot the United States with
rat ier consent I He who so contends denies
da: very fundamental principles upon which
lie Govt eminent, of the Conlederat-’ Slates was
oiganizt'd. What would the old Virginian.: of
iho Jell; rsoiiiiff! school say (o this sort, of State
sovereignly ! Wlat would \Vas.liiiigti«i,.lifik'r
ioij. Madison, JlloHee, Hem;, . Lee, Mason, I,‘an
.- fid, it they bail ,een told that- the Coui-tilut ion
of t he United Si a tel ei>nj'e,i reij upon the treat y
maki ig power llm right io cede oi;,- halt f)m
ten'it-.-'y of Virginia to a foreign Slate without
colls.;!! log tier or obtaining her consent
If President Davis and the Senate have the
Aver to cede part <<f Virginia to the Unit ed
j tales in fixing the boundaries of the two
Confederacies without, hoi* consent, they have
!]8 much power to cede the whole State to
Great llriiaiti or France for commercial advan
tages, or lo eivle Georgia to the Untied Stale..,
iii'eoiisiileralion that the other plates shall be
rceci'o. a J aijd the war cease. Such a propo
sition is too preposterous for -c,,.ar. er: ament.
He who claims such powers for tint Presi
dent and Scnais, would ijof. only degrade the
States to the Position of provinces, iaif vyotjld
clothe the (Hviil.y making power oi the fioti
Irijcrury with imperial dignity ;-.w atcr than the
most eiiiigliti-ii.a! inomrrehs ol the present, day
assume lo themed ye ••. It lias pern elaigied as
one of the prerogatives of sovereigns that they
could e?;je to each other their provinces at
will. r.ut, in the late treaty jxtwcon the
Emperors of Franco and Amiimi, the former
refused to accept a province ceded by the
latter, and incorporate it into his Empire and
govern it. till the question was submitted to
lho people of the Province and they gave their
COIISOIjI
It. is certainly too clear to be successfully
questioned that, the Governments ot the two
Confederacies have no power to make a treaty
of jieijoe and fix the boundaries of the two
•enquiries, which, situated as \ye arc, is a neces
sary part of the treaty, without the concur
rence and consent of the individual Stales to
be uit’cetad by it. II this cannot be done with
out the consent of the States, where is, the ob
jection to a convention i;f l|ie States to settle
in advance the necessary preliminaries; to
W(.jrh their eon cut Is indispensable before the
treaty can be valid and binding? In the con
vention it could lie agreed which States would
g,> with ttie Ngrlh and which w iih the South,
and the ralitioiition of the notion of the oon
v. ntien by the treaty making powers, and liy
the people of the several States jo be affected
by it, when, of a olmraeU-r to rytjuire tlieir
t,, paratc l acUmi, would lix the future .-ti’dns ot
the clijlVrcnl Slates, «»d the proper boiirelaii,:.;
of the two Cn-piederaci, ,
While 1 am e.iti k.d that separate Mate
action may and most, j.iobatdy »i!j be a neces
sary preliminary to a treaty of peace, 1 do not
wish to be mi.unde: - :teed upon tin point.
The sovereign State. - of the Confederacy each
leecded from the old Union, Thi they hud
perfect right to do. And each is a- sover
igjr ill the present Confederacy lie wa m
ie old. and has the same right under the like
u'renni lances which she then exercised, tint
when these States Hccedeil and lornnd the
present Confederacy, and enl.-i. and into the
precentdefeusive unr tog,.|,lu r, tiny, at 1. ,-t
t,v strong implication, pledged tin m .1,, jo
stand hy and ai.l each other a vain I Ihe r,cu
rium enetoy till the eiul of the Ii n■!.•. 'i'ims
situated 1 ileiiy that any one of the States can
honorably withdraw from the contest, without
the consent of her sister Stales, and make a
separate treaty of peace with the enemy.
The people of the States can,meet in con
vention and abolish the Confederate Govern
ment whenever its usurpations and abuses of
power have reached a point where .the people
are no longer secure under it. The people of the
Northern Government have a right t„ do the
same by a like convention, and to establish a
new Government in place of the ['resent j
tyranny by which they are controlled.
If the people of the two Confederacies have
the ]>owec which will not I pre-tune be denied
ly any one professing the State rights doc
trines of I77f>, why may they not meet to
gether in eonveift ion, and agree upon the
boundaries and treaties necessarily growing
out of a serration which is already an ac
complished fact?
I arn n>ll aware that the advocates of-dr,.ug
central power bt th in the United States’and
the Confederate Stiit's, including many of the
oiiiee holders of both Governments, ami the
place hunters and I.t'xrc Gov-cun •nt con
tractors who have made millions C? doiiais oat
i»i th,. Government, without, fence exjwttmt
tiulr persons to danger in battle, and the j
secret epics in the employment of the Govern- !
meats who ate supported out of the large
v . /v 7 vri 'ce funds at the command •! th, 1., o j
Presidents, to do their hid,ling, and such oifi
eials as wear gold hice in < iti< - an,l drive line
horses and carriage:: supported oat of the pub- |
Lie erib, while all around them j; misery and j
waul ; and the large provost and passport
corps, scattered among our country villages
and upon our railroads, jealous of tho preroga
tives of the central power, and anxious to
moiutain end extend them, are ready by their
m.'tiou to deny that the States have anything
left but the name, or that they can have any
regency in aiegotiating a treaty of peace, or
that they can meet iu convention to consider
of this subject without being guilty as “traitor
ous Stale;.’ Those minions of power protected
frorn the dangers of the battle-field, never faL
to impugn the motives and question the loy
ally of every one who denies the legality oi
any act of the Government, or questions thi
wisdom of any part of its policy.
They very cordially adopt the maxim, “ .
King can Jo no wrong.” Os course all sucl
are loud and clamorous in their denunciations
of those who advocate a convention of States
lo agree upon the terms of separation and
stop the effusion of blood. If the war should
cease they must sink lo the ir natural level, for
then, “Othello's occupation’s gone.”
but the advocates of free government nTUv
safely appeal from all such to the sober sound
judgment of the great mass of the American
people, North and South, who bear the heavy
burdens of the war, without the offices or pat
ronage of either government, whose sons have
b< en couseribed imd torn from them ami slaugh
tered. many of wluuA homes have been destroy
ed, and their farms Iml cities laid waste, who
are daily by impresa
aqenis officials,
out paving- for it, who bear tho
burdens of the enormous taxation necessary to
cany on the war, and support all the large
classes above mentioned in extravagant indul
gencies, and whose posterity and property must
pay the immense public pent which is constant
ly augmented. And the appeal may be made
with still greater force to the gallant soldier in
the storms of winter aid in the weary march,
while amid the perils that surround him Ids
thoughts recur to the enterings of loved ones at
home, as well as to all true Christians iu both
countries. Shall this bloodshed, carnage and
desolation continue, to Ratify the ambition and
obstinacy of those in power? Or shall the peo
ple of both countries demand of their rulers
that the war shall eease, and as it is impossible
that the people of the two sections ran again
live together in haimoiiy, that a convention of
all the States ho held to agree upon terms of
separation, and upon the treaties necessary to
the happiness anil prosperity of neighboring
governments at peace with each other.
Me may be told that tho Northern Govern
ment will not agree to such a convention. 1 very
readily admit that, neither the Lincoln Govern
ment nor our own will probably agree to it, till
a stronger pressure of the people is brought to
bear upon both, mid that the advocates of this
policy in the North cannot control it so long as I
our presses and officials, State and Confederate,
denounce the movement and thereby put weaii
oils iu the hands of the Government, at Wash
ington with which to crush out this growing
sentiment in the North,and more especially in
the North-western Slates. fiq( I think recent,
developments have shown that this doctrine will
soon bear down everything before It in the
North, if met by demonstrations of approval
in the South. Stop the war and call a conven
tion of the Slates to negotiate, and the people
of the North who are as tired of it as we are,
will agree to a proper adjustment upon the
terms above indicated sooner than resume hos
tilities.
In the mean time till proper arrangements
can be made to adjust our difficulties and slop
the effusion of blood by negotiation, it is the
duty of every man in ihe Confederacy to do
everything possibly in his power to strengthen
and sustain the gallant and glorious armies of the
Stales and the Confederacy. Every man able
to bear arms wh< i can be spared from home,
: hoiti>l be sent to tho Front either iu the armies
of the Confederacy, or as part of the Militia of
ilu. States, and evyrything’po.-»itle be done to
provide for the wants and comfort of our troops
•;.u'l;temVo conduct negotiations successfully we
must renew our efforts to strengthen cmr armies
and maintain our cause with ability and
energy m the field, cost what it may in blood
or treasure. We must not, however, expect
the troops to do all by hard fi'-htin",
bloodshed, and the sacrifice of life. ° J '
The f.tatesnifin-Spd the people at home have
an important part to act, as well as the general
and tho troops in the field, in terminating the
struggle. It the troops falter and fail to do
t lieii' part in the hour of bat tip, the statesman
is ready to' east censure upoh them. If the
staie.unan neglects liia pnpt in conducting wise
negotiations to slop the war, the troops have
greater cause to eousme mid eoqdenm’ luip, as
he lias no right, to trifle with tlmir lives, and
'■mflifWt' ! ‘> expose them jn l.attje, if the object
can be attained by negotiation without the
shedding of blood. In a crisis like the present,
statesmanship is more important than-general
ship, Generals can never stop a war, though
it may last twenty years, tj!i one |,aa been able
to conquer the other. Statesmen terminate
wars by negotiation.
lU.OOKADE RUNNING.
After Dm appropriation made by the General
Assembly for the exportation of cotton and the
importation of such supplies of clothing for
troops, cotton Cards, etc., as the State might
need, 1 sent Col. Win. Schley, of Augusta, to
England to purchase an interest jn'a steamyr.
Finding tbat he was not successful, by reason of
the non compliance of the other party in getting
the vessel for half interest, in which I had con
tract o<l at 1185,000 in Conl'eiUyafp States 8 per
u til, bunds, ! mode a contract ypith the Export
ill"- and Importing Company, of which Col. C.
A. L Lamar was agent, for the charter of three
vessels, with tin- privileged adding two others
which the company expected to have ready in a
tew months.
Tin icontra;. ll considered advantageous to
the State, and if left free to carry 'it out I
could have exported -cotton enough to have
pui-olia-wd all ihe supplies the State might
nee l, and could liqve imported them upon
reasonable terms.
At this point f was interrupted by the interpo
sition of the Secretary of the Treasury, who under
the mu. . ~f t-j.e Hreeiilent refilled to permit any
ve: set to dear unle-s she r.iiiu and nut oue halt the
cargo for the Confederate (Jovernnient upon
to mi which wore below what the State was to
|oy i- i' -l.c ~f the This restriction
wc, pto.v.l upon the vessels of the States as it
wa :.i,h by authority vested in the President by
act of Congress of nth February, 1864, which
prohibits ibe exportation of Cotton, etc., except
under such uniform regulations as shall be made
h> tie: President of the Confederate States. This
e.uistrueiion could pot te sustained, however,
upon any known rule, as the ith section of the
.a r ih ,-lares explicitly “that nothing in this act
t ill h: ..Mittal to prohibit the Confederate
. or r.j the.n »ny of the
on i, !.. iieiein cniiinei'ate.l ~n their own account. 1 *
this | i • ; i tion in the net therefore leaves the
M ii, - a fire to export on their own account
t-nli. r upon vessel-' owned or chartered hy them,
ii they were hel'ore the act was passed, lint a*
the proviso in the net ha t been virtually repealed
by an Executive order, I in common with the
Governors of Mississippi, Alabama and North
Carolina, (the Governor of ,So%th Carolina con
curring as shown by his letter) appealed to Cop
gre-s to tako up the qaestion and ipake such
provisions ns would enable the Stales to exercise
their just rights. After mature consideration
Centres-rpawetla bill for that purpose which the
Trc-iJent vetoed. Congress then os I am in
formed by one of the Representatives of this State,
pa --, and a resolution unanimously in the House
| and with almost unanimity in the Senate, de
: . hiring in suH&tanee that the States should be
I p. rmilted to export) and import without inter-
i ntpti.'U upon vessels chartered by them prior to
tlie date of the resolution, which would have left
the ve'.-.-Is chartered by this State free. This
resolution wa [iii-sed near the close of the ses
sion, and the President refused, as the member
informs me either to sign it or to return it, that
Conjjre might be permitted to vote to overrule
hi- v-:.'. Thus by the order of the Executive
alone, n»twitbstamling the action of Congress
■ nd- the provision in the sth Section of the act
above referred to, the States were prohibited
fr,.m exporting cotton and importing blankets
and clothing h r their troops, and other necessary
-iipplies, unless they would conform to such rules
the President thought proper to prescribe.
These rulii- 0 i could n-d conform to under the
pro, I. I..Ps of the cm,tract piade with the Export
ing ~d,l fuq rting Ci'inl-iny without heavy loss
to the .-late.
A: I vva* thns prohibited by act of the Confe.le
i.de Government from earning out tbe eontraet,
I • iinbi not m i l upon (he exclusive use and eon
ti.il of \,-. .* !-■. Finding the exportations of tbe
St,»:c f.abidden by the blgctade, and
placed under a pa.Ti.d blockade by ot r own Ext-'-
entire, I encountered great can -arm- .uihtH in
carrying out the instructiiyis of the Legisla
ture in this particular. If six- C0;.:.-any vv> re
compelled to submit to the* tones priuciibedj
by the Myesident, and give up one bad' ihe
storage "am of she su>a:nor» • -kart.-d by
tho State to the Coid'ederu y. tiny .wcie tm
willing to divide the remaining haif allowed
them by the Pie.-idciu -with the Dtate. Kv.
allowing lire company to use the name of the
State iu their business, which, under the cir
cumstances, 1 felt justified in doing, and by
undertaking to aid tfiein when necessary in
the transportation of cotton to the coast, l was
enable-1 to get them, after submitting to the
terms imposed by the Confederate Government,
to carry out occasional lots for the finite, upon
the vessels owned by them. 1 have also,
through the agency of Col. A. Wilbur, ex
ported some upon small vessels from the com l
of this State. 1 have given one half to the
vessels for carrying out the other. Owing to
the difficulties in getting letters from the other
side, I have not yet received statements of the
sales with ihe nett amount of gold on deposit,
to the credit of the State in England. Should
the sale bills and accounts current be received
prior to your adjournment, 1 will immediately
lay them before the General Assembly.
About three hundred bales of cotton were
shipped upon the Little Ada (a steamer char
tered by the State), upon the coast of South
Carolina. This vessel, after she ha 1
been.loaded with State cotton, was detained
in port, between two and three months
by order of the Secretary of the
Treasury, supported, an 1 am iafimuo-l by a
military order from the .office of the Adjutant
General in Richmond, to the Commandant of ■he
Post, not to permit her to clear. Thin- this State
vessel was douhlv blockaded ami threatenc-.-i by
Confederate guns hi ilie haihor and by Federal
guns outside, if she attempted to gu to sea with
State cotton to pay for blankets to be imported for
Georgia troops in service,-who have great need
of them.
A complete statement of the'amount expended
by the Stale for the pureha e of cotton, with the
quantity purchased under the appfopriations,
and the average cost per pound, together with
the number of bales exported on /leecunt of the
State, and the number now in store, with account
of expenditures l'or storage, freight, insurance,
lighterage, bagging, rope, compressing, &.<■., Ac.,
will be laid before t-he finance committee during
the session. They are not transmitted herewith
because reports of (lie agents with accounts cur
rent have not alt Ween received.
I have purchased and had stored on one of the
.Islands HO,OOO pairs of cotton cards, and 30,000
soldiers’ blankets. 1 have also made contracts
for soldiers’ clothing, eudhgli, 1 trust, with what
are on hand, to carry the troops through the
Winter without suffering. Part of oiwgonds were
lost a few days since near Charlesmn, with the
Florin, hut I hope soon to be able to import the
balance.
I have lately been informed by Mr. Treuholm,
the present liberal-minded practical Secretary ol
the Treasury, that, vessels owned by the State,
will he permitted to clear without interruption
by the. 0 (Ml federate Government, Were Ihe
question an original one, 1 can not doubt that
Mr. Trenhohu, with tip; act of Congress before
him, would .decide, that a vessel chartered by a,
State has the same right to a clearance, as no
substantial distinclion can be drawn between the
; right of a State to export upon a vessel owned,
and one chartered by her, which is a temporary
ownership. Nor can 1 suppose that this financial
officer would willingly throw obstacles in the way
of the States in making all the importations in
their power. Take the case of Georgia as an
instance. Her sous are in the field. They need
blankets, shoes, clothing, and oilier necessaries.
The Confederate Government is often unable to
furnish these, and they sutler for them. The
State by her legislature says her sons shall not
suffer, and if the Confederate Government can
not supply these necessary articles, She will.
She appropriates money for that purpose, and
directs part of her surplus productions exported
to pay for these articles, which ;;ho directs to be
imported. She charters her vessels, purchases
Cotton with her own money, and places it on
board, to be carried abroad at her own risk-and
expense, to purchase that she may import, at her
comfort of her own gallant sons who are ui.ultr
arms her 'defence, fitw asks not a dollar
from tks Conb'd.Graie Go enimdnt, and even
otters t.i pay export and import duties, (which
(he Confederacy ban no right to demand) on all
she sends opt and brings in. At Ibis point Die is
met with a refusal to permit her vessels to clear,
unless shn will submit to such onerous terms as
the Confederate Executive may choose to dictate.
Can this action he sustained undej- anv law of
Congtjess, or upon any principle of enlightened
or sound -policy t Is it nut a palpable as.-aimp
t|on of potver, and an utter disregard of every
principle of State Eights and Stale Rorcreigutv'!’
I trust Congress when if again assembles, aid
ing upon principles of enlightened statesmanship,
will not only remove these obstacles by enact
ments too plain and stringent to be disregarded,
but that they will invite ami encourage Hie sev ■
or a 1 rilates, tree pi hiinli-ance or duty, to import
all the army supplies'and supplies and articles of
absolute necessity, which the means at their
command may enable them to do.
this expectation be disappointed, X am
satisfied it. would l,e topnd policy on the part oi'
tbia SU|te to purchase several vessels, and to im
port upon theip such supplies as way he needed
by our troops, and for State use.’ The fitate
should also export a sufficient quantity of cotton,
to place gold enough upon tho other side, to
enable her to again equip the State Load at
the end of the .war. in common with other
Southern Roads-, its iron will he much worn, and
its rolling stuck nearly nut down! and if some
forecast. i!*not exercised, tho State will not have
the means at her command to pot it in running
order. This may he provided lor iu the manner
above indicated with hi:!, little c-.- t.
if H# legislature will appropriate s2,thill,ooo in
currency, and authorize me to puvehstxu vessels
anil cotton, and to drjvw upon the c-utlnn' on the
other .tide when necessary to pay fur tin m or to
purchase more cotton for shipment, if the block
ade does not become more stringent, with the
State’s usual good luck when her affair- are well
managed, I sin lirmly iinpre.' :e,l with the belief
that I can put gold' enough to her credit in
Europe in one year to repair tho Road within
six months after a treaty of peace, or to pay a
large proportion *f the appropriations of tho
current year. To accompli ii this the State mu. t
!>fd ba interrupted by Confederate interference.
The exchange which tho cotton exported this
year under all the enilThrmssments of a double
blockade places, to the credit of the State, with
tpe cotton now in store, is worth nearly double
tho whole sum esTpended by the i state in the pur
chase of the cotton.
ot i: nxAsr.ui coNfet i lov.
As will be seen by the Reports of the Ti, smnrcr
and Comptroller General, the public debt of
Georgia, independent of the appropriations of the
past year, for the payment of winch a smtkient
utx bus been asseeeeck and of the change i,j|U is
sued, which are payable in (.'onfederate Suted
Treasury notes, amounts to it I.RL It. (it thin
the bonded debt id f.ij,t)Sr;. ! -'SO, of \\ hj, h Siif.,o4l(l,
being part dr,s, ja drawing nf< intere .t. Tbe re
maining debt cuiirista oT Sd.Wk.ObO in l'ica nn
Rtltes, and $1,395,1101) in Tr.-a-nry Gi i tiiieote.: <i|
Deposit. 'These liotea and eei I ili, ;it,- 1.. nr no in
iercst, qnd the State will not 1,., called on to ie
deem them in specie bonds, nil u,..ntli: alter
a treatyjof pc-ace.
Os (he above, S'2,fi7o,7 50 i : tffe old bonded and. bt,
Which existed at the conuneneeinrait of the war,
incurred cbicily ou account of ih„ const coition oi’
the Western and Atlantic railroad, wliieli is tbe
property of the Kd.ate, and for -rock in this Atlantic
and Gulf road.
'To meet her liabilii lea, the State has public pro
perty, consisting of the Western and Atlantic Kail
toad, Bank stock, and Railroad stock, valued, be
fore the depieeiation of the currency, at £3,840,-
12*1.68 ; and her whole taxable property worth
over $700,000,000 upon a specie basis. (
The debt to be paid in Confederate Treasury
notes is $1,411,419 of change bills, and $3.095,000,
payable in new issue of Confederate Treasury
notes x’Otli December next, which, by the terms of j
the contract, are to be presented for payment bv
25th March next, or the State is nut bound to re
deem them, but they are to be receivable in pay.
meat of public dues at any future time.
To redeem these notes and the undrawn appro
priations of the past, year, there is now in the
Treasury $9,146,087 arid a balance si ill due on the
tax digest about sntßcieut to cover the whole
amount. But as some of the counties whose di
gests have bee-u returned have since been thrown
within the enemy's lines, it mav not be possible if
the enemy is not driven back, to collect a sutii
eient sum within the time to pay all these notes
when presented.
In that event I respectfully recommend that
provision be made for the issue and sale ~f set (-n
percent, bonds running twenty rears, with semi
annual coupons, to raise tbe^-Confederate currency
necessary to pay the debt, which it is believed
would command a liigli pretuium, or that new
State notes be issued upon llie same terin.-: as tbo
notes to be redeemed, Irt \able in new 1 Ur of Con
tinlerote tiotes one year after date, which could be
exchanged, it is Deljeved, for Confederate notes
with which to make the payment. This would
enable the State to pay the’del,t in Confederate
notes as coon as tbe taxes can be collected.
I alto recommend that the appropriations of tbe
present, fiscal \car be provided for bv the issue of
similar notes payable in ConfedeAite uctvs, . o as
to enable the State to pay the appropriations out
of the taxes of each year v.'heu co'leefed. and that
sufficient tax be assessed to meet ail the uppropiiu
tious made. As the money must be used during
the year, and tile taxes of each qrcar arc paid
during the latter part of the year, it bec- ates
necessary to issue these notes, to meet the den -noi
of the Treasury ti : ! the taxes cuu he colic- tod.
As I stated in a foimer message, no prudent man
will now give his note for property tit piv.-cnt
rates, payable in specie utter the war; nor will he
borrow the present currency if he is obliged to
use it, and give his note for if :-.t par, payable :n
lawful money after the War lui be v. 'dt eel! j :
petty even if if exposes h'mi to much imo-ivo
liieiice and raise the vw. ietu v w hich i ;- is obfieed
louse If no member of Hie General As on.hU.
and no prudent c oust it went of any incada-; wi:l
raise currency for Ids own uses and give for it his .
ouligation for specie after the war, ini'legislator
should do it f-ir tho State, which is composed ot
the members and their constituents. If il laconics
necessary to sell sonic portion of on.' property to
raise the currency necessary to meet the demands
upon the Treasury, wc should -io it w ithout lie.- Ita
iion rather than incur an enormous debt in ear
reiicv,to lie paid out of oar property and that, id'
our posterity in tilt lire at spc. ic rates. In imp s mg
the ncces..ary takes, the law should make prori.c
ion for the exemption of the property of the poor
who cannot sell pioperty to pay a heavy tax and
live ; and should place the liar-lea mainly upon the
wealth of the State where it can lv borne without
causing suffering or want. As the poor have gen
erally paid tht-ir part oi the cost ot tins war iu
inilitaiv service, expnsme, fatigue and blood, the
rich, who have l»oen in a nnuii i10j.,:.v
iVom those, should meet the moiiev de
niandd oi the ilovciimivat.
W I’.STKMN AM* ATI. A XTIP IIA11.1!»* A t*.
As an iil be seen by the Ivejmrt of tin*
tendent \>t the YnV.'lciii and Alluntie Kailroml.
the net earnings of tho road have been !i».
foi-Tlio liru al year.
in addition to thii, abMit half a million of dol
laj> have been made to thi?i date, by the use oi »I>»‘
rolling ‘»ek, since the vl>ad was .^iven nj> to t);.
em;my, bv the j»urcha--'e of eotton mosil) in loeali
fcie.s thretitened by thu enemy, whir'h was canu and
to points of greater salety and sold lava prolit.
The ?• ales had not been made, npr had that sum
been realized at the date of the ttupeunteialenf
lieport. Tart of the cotton now stond will soon
he S(»ld, ami the money paid into the Treasury and
accounted for in the next lleport of the Supeim
t endent.
When we had rolling .dock wlii.h could bo
sjftied iVom Government transport at ion, 1 thought
tld a iegitgnato business. When the read an as
taken of by the enemy, and oiir tin:ine.i
and cars sent to the Interior ol the State,' 1 foilmf
it necessary to keep most of the employees of the
road Avith the stock, that aa t c might- have them at
command in case aa'o recovered tin* ’road. As they
NVere generally dependent upon their for
the support ol''their families, it aah.m mvcv.ary n* J
keep them upon such pav as AVonld nccompii.-li
1 his object.
The'l ns;: of our engines and ears lias been heavy.
The raid under General Stenemau dcstr -ved at
Gordon and near Griswohlville sevenfet n (rass.'-u
--gci' emu and thirty freight curs, and seriously in
lured four engines. At the evacuation of Atlanta,
three of oar engines and eighteen cars, which
were in. (he employment of tile Government Inins
porting ordnance and commissary stores, were de
stroyed by order of General flood, to prevent
tLeir falling imo the hands of the enemy. The
families of part of the employees who have boon
driven out without shelter, have been permitted.
Cos occupy a portion of the freight cars, The bal
ance of ilo rolling stock, when not engaged carry
ing cotton, hits boon used on other curry
Government freights for the supply of the tinny.
The Confederate Government owes the mad, as
will lie ceil In tlie Superintendent’« lit port., the
sum of fib'op i -l.tit). I have made every effort in
my power to collect this, but have not been sue
cesst'ul. 1 trust the Government will not. numb
longer delay payment, which has been held from
time to time under various pretexts.
TAX ON BANKS.
Ah the act of the last regular session uqpo.-s ff a.
tax upon both tho assets and capital stock ot the
different batiks of this S(ate, which amounts to ft
double tax, pud as corporations have not. llm
:;dyitytagcfl (Ivor llu* other pursuits in the State
which they hud before the war on account of the
suspension of their regular lot mem which ha
been absorbed by the GoniVaterate Treasury, and
as they exchanged hy.-ge amounts of their own
hills with the Government at the- coiniecuccmen!
in'tiu-i;-.haqilTi
fioietl w hether it war tin* iutentiop of the. Lt-gi;
lature to make this diserjutination against them. 1
therefore-d-ioctcd the Comptrollei'Gencral to sns
pend the collection id’tlto tax upon thcic ciq-ital
stock, and to licet only upon their assets tilt vour
pleasure shall lie-known.
TAX ON COTTON.
As t lie law now stands, c-olton in the. hands of
all persons other than producers is tax-aide, toss (lie
cotton held by the producer in his gin house from
year to year as investment pays no tax. I can see
no just reason for this discrimination. If tho plant
or sells his cotton and invests the proceeds in bonds
or other property they are taxable as arc almost
every other species of properly, toil if he considers
ihe cotton a better investment than currency bonds
or other property, and hohhvit IV,wn year io year,
it is exempt in Via h.-mdu from taxation, while all
other things of like value are taxed. If A pur
chases cotton which he holds as investment, and E
raises cotton which he holds from vc-ar to year for
the same pul pose, 1 routes:, mv iuai.il.lv t-> Meno r
just reason why the one should pay tax an 1. 1 In
other ho exempt.
4, rNEOEALIIV IX TAX RETURNS.
I call your special attention-to that part of the
report of the Gomptroller Genoin!, w hich (-.lints
out the inequality* of I lit' tax returns iroin the dif
ferent counties under the present law, and respect
fully rccoiuunanl the passage of tho hill suggested
by him, or one of like character, to iciue-jy this
t'Vil and prevent future inequality and injustice he
tweci: the people of (he different comities. Eucii
shoulff liear ils just part of tin* jaff.lic tmrdcn :,
which is not amt will Hot he the case under ihe
present law. js
JfitiTarV .vt-t-r: orriaTtox.'
As cun Slate ii invaded by a powerful ei;. r.iv
and it is impossible to foresee the exigencies which
may arise within the ensuing year to require the
Use of oar military force, or the extremities to
v. hu h we may be driven, 1 recommend the appro
print ion often millions of dollars as a military
fund for the political yenj.
EEI.IEC OF SOl.nrKTts’ FAMILIES,
j I recommend the appropriation of six million? of
dollars mi a fund for the relief of indigent soldi, i -'
families aud sick and \voiituk-d soldiers, and indi
gent exiles.
While hundreds and thousands of mir pat riotie
fellow citizens who are poor and without means to
support their Families in their absence, are standing
as a bulwark between the enemy and the safety
and property of the whole people whose homes
li.ive not been overrun, it is tlie iniperatil>. duly of
Tlie people at home to see that their families do
not anifer for the necessaries of life. I have con
stantly advocated this policy, and feel the impor
tance of inlie more as tlie sufferings consequent
upon the scarcity of provision.. are increased in
the Slate. The wealt.i and prosperity of the Slate
must lie taxed to any extent necessary to peer, nr
imiicring among the.families of our brave defend
er. 'i'h, v have freely r.lied tlieir blood in their
country's service, and those who have money
must he compelled to part \viih an much of it. a
.mav be required lo cheer flic bean,! of the w blow*
anti orphans of the slain, and tlie distressed farm
lies of those still upon the fit-1,1 t.,-1 our soldiei .
know that tlieir loved ones at borne are providr and
for, and you stimulate them to greater exertion .
and nerve them to nobler deeds.
The law should be so amended a- to make it the
duty of the Inferior Court,! of tlie r, rpeetive c.um
ties to make quarterly reports to the Comptroller
General of the disbursement of the fund i receive I
by them, with a statement of tin; names of the in
digent persons to whom the fund is distributed and
Ibe amount received by each. It is tndiev. and that
the courts ftre not held by the present law to snili
clent accountability.
Tlie law should provide for the prompt di-missal
of t|n; courts from the trust, and the appointment
of other agents to disburse the fund, when they
fail to make legal mid satisfactory returns, or to
discharge any olijer of the duties imposed upon
them by t lie statute.
Provision should also be made to enable tbe
courts of comities containing refugees to draw
enough of the funds of comities behind the ene
my s lines to afford relief to such refugees when
entitled, without the eertilieato of the court of
the county of their former residence, upon other
satisfactory evidence when the certificate of the
court .cannot be obtained.
■jf. CLOTHING Ftrsn.
1 recommend tbe appropriation of two millions
of dollars as a clothing fund, to be used for tbe sup
ply of clothing to Georgia troop* in service when
they cannot get what is necessary to their comfort
from tlie Confederate Government. While it is
the duty of that Government to supply all its
troops with comfortable clothing, K it tails to dis
charge Unit dulv from inability or otherwise,
Georgia should see that tier sons do not .“litter by
such neglect. This fund sbouh! bo used for the
purchase of the necessary supplies either in the
Confederacy or in foreign maiketa, as circum
stances may shew the oue or the other to be the
must practical with the least cost.
FL'RtHA.SB OF PBOVISIONS.
'The conscript law having been extended to fifty
years of age, embraces much the greater portion
~f i[,c planters of ttiis State. Most-ot these men,
xvbo make surplus supplies of provisions, have
received detail, from miliiaiv service, on condition
that they sell to the Confederate Government all
their- cui plus at schedule prices, which ate now so
tar below markyt value as to afford not ex en the
:;; p.-a::iucc and;: c, « at:.-i in thi* wnv tl a
Goiife.;c:-a>i imc m j t.-hi! '.-..t!-.c ciiixeits of
*'> (■:> : ifoia - fin: ■; t!.. :i Mirph:; piodu -tions to
their mot I--:;!.-, a- ten I’:.- tc.ffe n,, ds tin »e pro
duction. . an.! : - u-a-’y pav fir i coo [.uisatiou for
them. Toi. mafic- -r - Nu,„ai::,iv diui, u lt for tho
(Jm-.-toi: an I C-:-m , tic; State to
the -implies ab-olutelv necessary for tho
Sts- ~ tiooi*, imlt jent exit- s aiid oth< ml
hv th-.- sta (■• !■ |: Us- otih r of IV. nil :dcrat'o --lU
i-cra, :- ..; -iatl.-d yoco old sell -udv to l onlVd
eiatc agent.-, t,s- , ■, the State during tho
pa-: >:■' 1 ;i i. lwi re .v. it out ot her own markets
and wet - olise. and (o go to -m.-sistcrfitateAhl
!.:,-t:a :o. 1 pm. .1 import it nt a very
•avy ex]--. .to t la-,: - ,;:y to the ruffe rib g
poor from cEj \ ."t. •
For :'■ ■•. i> ’ gs*s of the difficul
ties gg-. :. i- p hituM, uni are ie
spectfnily tvfcnvd to th, (fificigt Reports of tho
ti.uiu'teruiasiei' G-Tteral and the Commissary
General.
fi-'iue of Ihe otlicr States have enacted laws
winch antiioii.-.e the VMate oilieers to iliip.itrss,
"hen in the hands of producers, such siqipltea
as ntv neoilml tor State use Tins, in my opin-
is the only mono oi obviating tin;-1 iffic.u!ty.
Such a law -Itonhl itiai,':; ample provision to se
cure just compensation to tit,- owners
propiuiy may be taken. A Confederate regu
lation cannot i.a defended upon any principle of
reason or justice, which drives a State out of
her own markets for the purchase of her necos
sarv supplies.
TUB I VH/5 DRIVEN' OCJ TV TOE ENEMY.
A'onr attention is invited to the deplorable
rendition of tiie unfortunate exiles, who have
la-on driven fium their homes in Atlanta, nipl
other jrlc ot the filnte, try the .%\as,e cruelty
of tho enemy. The inhumanity of the treat
ment to which those unfortunate suilcrers have
been subjected, his probably no parallel in
modern warfare, and but few in the history of
the world. .Thousands of helpless women and
children, many of them widows and orphans
of brave men, who have Fnc-iificcJ their lives
in the .defence of the liberties of their country,
have been driven from their hotnea, with but
little of their clot hire' and fuiHiijturo, and
thrown out exposed upon the. ground to all
sorts of weather, without food, house or
shell •■■■■.
I have had the be.,t tneati3 in my pc*wer *]>ro
vided-for their protection, anti have ordered
provision.; i net to those who were entirely
destitute. As 1 had no speei il appropriation
for this, purpose, I have used the military fund,
or so nm.ii of iy as yotild be spt.red, not doubt
in;; that my course would meet your approval.
I ciits haw been tuiTusiied to such as could not
got shelter, and 1 have directed that log- cabins
bo constructed, fit-a suitable locality, by the
( juartermasti r General, who has taken great
interest in their behalf, for their comfort during
the winter. The (jnarterniaster and Commis
sary General have done all in t heir power, with
fin- moans at their command, to tuif ‘gate th«
suUermgs ot the: most unlortunato class of our
follow-ciiizens. I iecoimaetul that proper pro
vision he made by law to tuipply thoso who aro
destitute with si.sli;r and ihe necessaries of
life tilt they can provide for themselves.
GEOr.OIA HOSPITAL AND I; fit.TPF A.-SOFI ATICN.
Your attention is invited to the Annual Jin
port pt tits Hoard of Snneiip.tc.ndonts of the
Georgia llospital and belief Assoria!ion.. Thin
association is conif.-osid of gentlemen of- tho
highe.it character who hqvo labored faithfully
and taicc.ea.-f>.tl!y to alleviato the sufteringß of
our rick and wounded soldiers. 'Their efforts,
merit the thanks of our whole people. It is
doubted whether r.uy other aesselution with
the same amount of means at command nas
ttoeomplbhed on much good.
I respect fully /<■ omnWd an appropriation
01 *soo,urn) to ba expended by the association
us herclolbro, duviug the ensuing year.
SCHOOL FUND..
As our rc-lmols i-annot be conducted with
smce.M, till we have a change in the condition
of tho country, I .-recommend that the school
fund, for the future, be applied to tho support
of ilio widows and orphans of onr soldiers, till
cq- con again revive onr rdtv.dtonal intefPH.tß,
with reasonable prenpeets of the accomplish
ment of good, by the .distribution of the fund
afiiong the coiititP-a, for educational purposes.
BBSKU-rcrci AwnsrfiAm i.aas from vis« army.
it is a fact that requires no effort at conceal
ment, i,nice Ihe late announcement of tho Presi
dent, in his speech at Macon, that our armies
havo been weak curd to an iila ruling extent
by dcuovtion mid struggling. The success of
our cause, and tin . .dei.y of our people, re
quire prompt action to remedy this evil. Mnny
ot than; men have lotud-t gallantly, and liuvo
left their cemmand:;, under (.ircumstanecs the
most laying to which Iranian nature can bo
exposed-. An our tinnies have retreated and
iett large set tiiins cl eoimtiy iu pr.sscsßion of
the enemy, they have found their homes anti
their fsiiniiu - - I*:r.■", w behind tho etu lily's lines
where the latter are RuV.jci, not only to in
sult and ir.jury, but to great suffering, for
the nece: rat ii sos life. Under these eircum
stnneos their sympathy and c ue, for their
families, triumphed over their patriotism and
sense of duty, and in an unfortunate hour
tliej' yielded to their f. lie ;.t, IniiTdown their
arms and abandoned t heir colors.
A fitioti; - ; appeal shof.lil be njade to these
men to return to their companies, and n free
pardon should l»o (xtondtil to each onoVho
vviilalo so. 'ilis is already offered to them by
Gen. Beauregard, ami Gen. Hood, and 1 have
reason to believe would It- granted by the
General in command of each of tho Military
Departments. Ail who refttss to accept tho
pardon, and r( !iqn, Mould be arrested, anil
sent forward witii the least possiblo delay.
The civil officers of the State, i% their res
pective conn I v. ith the aid of the Military
officers, when at home, and tbp patrol of cacti
county, iu believed lo ■he the most affective,
(or the arrest and return of deserters and strag
glers, if placed by the laws of the respective
.States, under proporji gul obligations, to act
iuthis capacity, 'th eftieern, by the Gon
slitutionof tbecoußfry and lav.irol the States
aild ol the Conieii, r.t,o States, are exempt
from Confi di late cji: .' liptiori, anil should I 3
required in nir.sidinaf.ion of tho exemption ex
tended to thorn, to keep all deserters and strag
glers out of their counties. when not overrun
by the enemy.
To compel the eUil officers to act, as many
of them ate not inclim ,1 so do so, i recom
mend tho j .: ol a iuw, authorizing the
Governor to turn over the civil c-fticers of any
ooilnfy, or any fcrtion of flicra, to consctiptioa
when ti.ey rclu'.-o to : ior lo obey orders, for
the apprehension of sliagglors aud deserters,
f.-om htnto nr Conlcdeiat,; Ecrvice, and if they
cannot be ftnnod over lo conxciiption from
ago (,r otln i v. i-- •_ that they l,a subj, ct to Milila
duly, and to f,i:d by court martini, for neglect
of duty or rc-fu-,nl to obey orders. AtiTl that
all necessary penal sanctions be added, to
compel Iho disUiargo ot ‘lbis duty. Proper
provision thould be ma le, by the Confederate *
anthuiilk«, to receive the deserters at conven*
ient points , not too remote from any [ art of
the Slate, aud lo pay j lil feon and other neccs
siiry e>:pi n.-cH ['R-mpfly. The.want of t.oiper
regnlaftoi.n, in fh;s j .rrficiihir, deters many
civil ofj.ee;;!. v.1:o w old be willing to act,
from making erre '-,n ' • have notVtuoncy
tospavo to i'.y the t.'.;i;nse3, and do not
know to whom or where they should deliver
the persona arrested.
W liilc it is the duty of the States to make
provision to compel deserters anil persons ab-
Bmit without leave, _ lo return to their com
mands, an imperative obligation rests upon
them to make such provision for the families
of the needy as will sec ure tbern from want of
tbo necessaries of life, in (he absence ol their
husbands and falhers. Whatever tax upon
the wealth ol each State, may lie necessary for
this purpose, thouid be assessed by legislators
without hesitation, and paid by property hold
ers without complaint.
uoeetii hands or nusEitTcns and stbauglikg gav
ai.uv.
It is a lamentable fact that bands of desert
ers from our armies, and small bodies of cav
alry belonging to the Confederate service are
constantly robbing and plundering onr people
of their stock, provisions and other property.
This is generally done by these robber bands
under pretext of exercising tbe power of im
pressment. in the name of the Government or
of homo (h iieial, who not only knows noth
ing at their conduct but disapproves and con
demns it. They go armed and take what they
please by intimidation and force, having re
gard to neither age, sex or condition. They
are not amenable to any civil process as there
>Ls not generally sufficient foice at home to ar
rest them, and they pass on and cannot in fu -
turete identified. If arrested and committed
to prison they will aid each other to escape