GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
EXECUTIVE DEP.ARTMENT'
ATL.ANT.A, July 17, 1872.
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
It is made my duty by the Constitution to give to the General Assembly information of the state of th~ Commonwealth, and to recommend to their consideration such measures as may be deemed necessary and expedient for the public good. I approach the discharge of this duty with a feeling of diffidence, produced by a consciousness that the subjects before me will require a more extended notice than I shall be able to bestow upon them.
When I entered upon the duties of the Executive office, in January last, great confusion existed in almost every department of our public affairs. Our finances were in the utmost disorder, and the stock boards of this country and of Europe had been flooded with bonds, purporting to have been issued b:y this State, but yet regarded as of doubtful validity. The administration of justice had been rendered ineffective by the abuse of the pardoning -power; the confidence of the people in their public servants had been impaired by the faithless conduct of leading officials, and a feeling of general distrust and insecurity prevailed. The civil authorities had so long been subordinated to military power, that many true men had reached the melancholy conclusion that civil liberty had already ceased to exist.

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The earnest efforts of every department of the government have been directed to the correction of these abuses, and if these efforts have not yet proved entirely successful, it has been because the evils sought to be remedied were manifold and deeply rooted. Evils, the result of years of misrule, cannot be extirpated in a day. :Much patient labor yet remains to be done, and in its performance I earnestly invoke the assistance of . the representatives of the people.
PURLIC DEBT .AND FINANCES.
By a legislative act, entitled "an act to protect the people of the State of Georgia against the illegal and franc1nlent issue of bonds and securities, and for other purposes connected with the same," passed December 9, 1871, it was provided that a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives should be appointed, whose duty it should be to ascertain and report the number of bonds and indorsements which had been issued and put into circulation by Rufus B. Bullock, late Governor; the aggregate amount thereof, by whom the same were sold, the amount of money paid therefor, the times when, and the persons to whom such payments were made, and all otherJacts connected with the history of said bonds.
The committee appointed by virtue of this act will submit their report, I learn, during the present session of the Legislature. while it is proper that I postpone any extended remarks upon the classes of claims and securities metJ.tioned in the act, until after the informa,tion collected by the committee shall have been laid before yon, yet I feel constrained to say that, in my opinion, the State is bound for the redemption of only such obligations as have bee:1 issued in conformity with law. If money raised upon unauthorized securities has come into the treasmy, the State is bound. to account for the same. But considerations of public policy forbid that the State should recognize as valid and binding, any contract entered into by any person not au-

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thorized to malrn the same. The Governor has no authority, by virtue of his office alone, to issue bonds of the State. To do this, he must be specially authorized by a legislative act, passed for that purpose. lVhen so empmvered, he becomes a spedal agent, and cannot transcend thc> limits of the grant conferring his powers. It is a well established principle, that persons having dealings with puhlic agents, in matten; like this, are strictly bound to look to tlle authority of such agents.
The follO"lving is a consolidated statement of the existing debt of the State, created before the fourth day of ,July, 1868, showing the amounts and dates of the issue and maturity of the bonds:

iVhen Issued.

"WhC'n due.

Amount.

1842 and 1852................................ / 1872

1842 and 1843............................... 1 18,8

1844 and 1848............................... 1874

!i~Z:::::::::::::::: :

:::: :::::: :

:::: :: :

:: :i

1878 1879 1880

I 1861 ......................................... ! 1881
1866 ....................................... 1886

$ 6ti0,il00 00 1:37,000 00 2:31,G00 00 100,000 00 200,000 00 200,000 00 100,000 00
3,600,000 00

_ _ _ _ _ _G_ra_n_d~Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... $!i,2B8,500 00

From the foregoing tabular statement, it will appear that the total amount of our bonded debt, contracted prior to July 4, 1868, is $5,238,500.00.
To meet the bonds falling due the present summer, the Governor was authorized to issue bonds to the amount of $700,000.00, due in twenty years and bearing interest at a rate not exceeding seven per cent. per annum, payable semi-annwLlly. As required by the provisions of this act, I have causecl bonds to be prepared, and the same are now being usecl in exchange and redemption of the olcl boncls falling due the present year. By the third section of the act, a temporary loan was authorized in a sum not exceeding $300,000,

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for the purpose of paying the semi-annual interest1 due the present summer, upon the bonds of the State issued before the first day of J nnP, 1808, which loan, it is provided, shall be paid back out of the moneys received from the taxes paid into the treasury during the year 1872.
Acting unc1er the authority thus conferred, I bormwed from the National Bank of Commerce in New York, the sum of $200,000 at seven per cent. per anmun, to be re-paid on the first day of December next.
This sum was placed to the credit of the State on the
29th day of June last, and is sufficient to pay tlw interest falling due upon our old debt in the monthsof June, July and August
An arrangement has also been effected with the Natiomtl Bank of Commerce to ad as t11e agent of the State in exchanging the old for the new bonds falling due this year. This arrangement is as follows: An offer is made to the holders of the old bonds to exchange therefor the new seven per cent. bonds authorized to be issued by said act. In the event this offer shall not be accepted, it is proposed that the semi-annual interest shall continue to be paid upon the old bonds until the State shall be able to redeem the same. This arrangement is the best that could be effected in the present condition of the 1rnblic credit, and it is believed that it will give satisfaction to our creditors. There exists no lav, authorizing the payment of interest upon the old bonds after their maturity, but being
satisfied that the proposition to that effect, embraced
in the arrangement above referred to, if carried out, will be promotive of the public welfare, I respectfully Tecommend that the same be approved by the Legislature.
In effecting these arrangements, I have to aclrnowledge the obligations under which I rest to the Hon. Charles J. Jenkins, who, while refusing all pecuniary compensation therefor as the agent of the State, brought to my aid the benefit of his well-known wisdom and experience.

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By the wasteful expenditures of the late administration, the State was deprived of the means of paying the semi-annual installment of interest upon the public debt, and to supply such means, it became necessary to resort to the doubtful expedient of a short loan. The necessary effect of this will be to place three semi-annual installments of interest on the public debt upon the revenues of the present year. In December next, we shall have to pay the temporary
ioan contracted to meet the interest falling due this
summer. Then, following closely in January and February thereafter, another semi-annual installment
will fall due. This we shall probably be able to meet
without serious difficulty. In June, July ancl Augm;t of next year, however; another like installment will become due, and will be upon us before the taxes of next year can be collected. The temporary loan just negotiated should be promptly paid at matnrity, m1d
provision be made to 'meet future installments of in-
terest ,vithout recourse to temporary expedients. It is of the highest importance that the credit of the
State be fully re-established, to the end that the heavy burdens now resting upon the people may be removed as speedily as 110ssible. The present impoverished <:ondition of the country, produced by the late civil war, the disorganization of our labor system, and the wasteful extravagance which characterized the acts oJ' those lately in authority, render the practice of the most rigid economy ind.ispensal,ly necessary. Om resources should. be husbanded, our expenditures confined v,ithin the strictest limits of necessity, and public officials held to rigid. accountability. By a wise, honest and frtithful administration of the govemment, the :public credit will soon be restored, and the people bt> relieved of the weight of tax11tion which now oppresses them.
FLOATI~n DEBT ffF WESTERN & ATLA~TIC RAILRO"\.D.
Your attention is also respectfully called to the pro-
priety of making provision for the payment of the float-

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ing debt of the "\Vestern & Atlantic Railroad. The annual report of the Comptroller General, herewith transmitted, shows that there ,vas paid out of the public treasury during the year 1871, to claims belonging to the class just named, the sum of S453,0S9.92. 'rhere is still a large number of such claims outstanding, a })Ortion of which luffe been audited by the commissioners appointed by the Legislature, in the act approved October 24, 1870.
At the late session of the General Assembly, a committee was appointed with power to investigate the conduct of the said commissioners, and to inquire whether any claims had been allowed by them after being rejected by the Legislature or by the courts, or whether any claims had been allowed which had been barred by the statute of limitations, and whether any fraudulent and illegal claims had been allowed, and upon what evidence. No warrants have been issued for the payment of these claims since my accession to office. It is a matter of doubt whether any appropriation exists for their -payment, and I deemed it proper and respectful to await action on the part of the Legislature, before directing further payments to be made.
I would also call your attention to the fact, that there is outstanding a large amount of claims against the State, in the form of change bills, and notes issued by the "\Vestern & Atlantic Railroad. Most of these purport to have been issued during the late war, and others bear date as far back as the time when the road was being constructed. I have been foformed that it has been held by the courts of Tennessee, that the full amount specified on the face of the change bills issued during the war, is recoverable. In view of the fact that much litigation may arise, and great expense be incurred in suits brought in the courts of Tennessee for the collection of these bills, I respectfully recommend that some provision be made whereby these evils may be avoided.

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Ll~ASE OF THE WESTER~ & ATLANTIC RAILROAD.
The attention of the Legishture has never been for-
,v mally called to the lease of the estern & Atlantic
Railroad, and I therefore transmit herewith copies of all the papers of record and on file in this Department, refening to the same.
From these papers it will appear that on tho 27th day of December, 1870, my predecessor leased the road, its rolling stock and other property, for the term of twenty yeal'S: for the sum of $23,000 per month, or $300,000 per annum. This rental has been rPgularly and punctually paid. The terms and conditions of the lease are fully set forth in tho accompanying documents, and need not to be recapitulated here.
The circumstances attending this transaction, from its
inception to its consummation, have excited great in-
terest in the public mind, and have been the subject of much diverse criticism. In consequence of this fact, the Legislature at its late session, by a, joint resolution, provided for the appointment of a committee, whose duty it was made to investigate and report upon the lease. 'l'his committee, I am informed, will submit their report during your present session. Any discussion of the lease therefore, at this time, and in advance of the official evidence, might justly be deemed premature.
The magnitude of the interests involved, and the concern which the transaction has excited in the public mind, render it proper that I sliould invoke at your hands, whenever you shall feel it to be your duty to take up this important matter for consideration, the exercise of your highest ,visc1om and justice. In the discussion which will doubtless mise, I feel assured that you will lose sight of neither the true interests of the people, the honor and dignity of the State, or the rights of the lessees.
POPULAR 1mucA'l'ION.
I transmit herewith the report of the State School Commissioner upon the present condition and wants

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of our common school system, to which I respectfully invite your attention.
The attempt to establish the common school system in this State has not been crowned with the success which was anticipated. It is not difficult to understand the causes which have led to this result. In the impoverished condition of the people, it has been foui1d impracticable to raise the means at once to carry into successful operation a system so expensive, without too great an increase of taxation. Even the scant means which have come into the treasury, and which by the Constitution were set apart and devoted to common school purposes, have been misapplied.
By order of the General Assembly, in the year 1870, the sum ofS242,027.62 belonging to the school fund, was taken from the treasury. Soon after this was done the Legislature passed an act establishing a common school system. The grave wrong was committed of first misa,ppropriating the school fund, and next of establishing a cumbrous and expensive system, requiring for its successful operation a heavy outlay of money. No sufficient appropriation was made for defraying the expenses of the system. The necessary consequence of this unwise procedure, was that heavy debts were contracted in the employment of teachers, and for other purposes. The present General Assembly at its late session sought to correct existing evils by remodeling the ,vhole system. The law as it now stands, although an improvement upon previous legislation, is still very defective. These defects are pointed out in the report of the Commissioner, and the necessary remedial legislation suggested. I cannot too urgently recommend that provision be at once made for paying the just claims of teachers.
,Yhen the school fund was taken from the Treasury, certain bonds of the State were deposited in lieu of the sa,rne. The Governor was authorized to sell these bonds to raise money to pay the teachers, but tlw
power to sell vrns expressly made dependent upon the

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condition that such sale could be made without injury to the public credit. Upon inquiry made of the Treasurer, I found that the bonds bore lithographed coupons, and in his judgment were so defectively executed as to be of little or no value. As an evidence of this, it was stated that they had been offered by the late Governor, in the New York market, but a sale of them had been found impraeticable, except at a ruinous sacrifice.
Being satisfied that the mere fact of these bonds, thus executed, being placed upon the market woulL1 greatly impair the credit of the State, I deemed it to be my duty to defer any attempt to sell them, and to submit the matter to the General Assembly.
AGRICULTURAL LAND SCRIP.
By an act of Congress, passed in the year 186:2, donations of land ,vere offered to the States for tho purpose of establishing agricultural and mechanical colleges. The States accepting the donations were alloweL1 until the second day of July instant, to establish the colleges. The scrip issueLl to the State of Georgia, under the provisions of said act of Congress, was sold by my immediate predecessor. at ninety t:Pnts per acre, making the sum of $243,000. Of this, the sum of $50,400 has been received. The remaining portion will not become due until the third day of July, 1873.
Finding that the time in which the college in this State must be established, if at all, would expire before the meeting of the General Assembly, and feeling unwilling to apply to Congress to extend the time, for the reason that such application in all probability
,vould have been used as a pretext for attaching to the
donation conditions which would have rendered the same odiqus to the people, I determined that it was my duty to exercise the power conferred upon the Executive by the Legislature, and to save this important fuml for our people. 'l'lle question arose, how could this best be done l

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In looking over the State, it was found that we had several excellent institutions of learning, and that th8 })eople in seYeral localities desired to have tho college established in their midst. This was natural and praiseworthy. But my duty was plainly pointed out by law, and beyond this, I could not go. The act of the Legislature, approved December 12, 1866, conferred upon the Governor all the power necessary to save the fond to the State. The act of Congress however, making the donation, required tlrnt the college should be actually established by the second day of July, 1872. There was no such college in existence in this State, and I, as the chief executive officer under the government, had no authority to create such an institution. The Legislature had failed to organize a college for this purpose, or to dispose of the fund, and would not reassemble in time to take the necessary action. "\Vhat then could be done i
By the terms of its charter, the trustees of the University of the State located at Athens, and already in successful operation, possessed ample powers to establish such a college as that described in the act of Congress making the donation, and it was only by the prompt exercise of these powers by the trustees that the fund did not become forfeit. The trustees held a meeting in this city on tlil, thirtieth day of March last, when tlH'Y organized a college in conformity to the law granting the donation, made formal application for the use of the fund, and received an Executive order bestowing the same upon tho University.
I herewith transmit copies of tho proceedings had at said meeting of the trustees, and of tho Ex:or1utive order referred to.
It rnay be remarked that the act of Congress prescribed the conditions upon which the donation was made. One of these conditions required that the State, upon accepting the donation, should become bound to preserve the fund, and to see that no part of tho same was lost or misapplied. The acceptance of the fund

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made the State a trustee for the uses dtoclared in the act creating the trust. To enable the State to perform its duty, and to protect the fund, it was manifestly necessary that the same should be kept vdthin the control of the Legislature. The Uifr,ersity is a State institution, and the action of the trustees may be reviewed by the General Assembly. This is true of no other institution of learning in the State. In granting the use of the fund to the University, thernfore, I was careful to place it where the Legislature would still retain the power to interpos(~ for its proper application and preservation. No part of the principal fund, or of the interest, could be appropriated to the purchase or erection of buildings for the college, but no delay was occasioned on this account, since there were already suitable buildings belonging to the UniYersity, v,hich could be used for that purpose.
For these and other reasons which might be given, I deemed it to be my duty to save the donation in the only practicable way left open to me, and to grant the fund to the University of the State.
It may be added that the coll('ge went into opetation on the first day of May under the most promising auspices, and that there are :1lready about one hundred students receiving instruction in the same free of charge. 'l'he prospect is that this number will he largely increased, and that the State, so far at least as her agricultural :1nd mechanical interests are involved, will soon enter upon a new and more prosperous career. ""\Vh:1t we most need is thorough and 1wactic:1l education, :1nd this tho new college promises to secure to all classes of the people-to the poor as well as to the rich and more fortunate.
PENITENTIARY.
By authority of the act approved December 14, 1871, authorizing the Governor to farm out the convicts in the PenHentiary, I })l'Oceeded, after due notice given, to lease the same for the term of two years, to Messrs.

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Grant, Alexander & Co., at the sum of fifty dollars per capita per annum. The number of convicts in the Penitentiary on the day the lease was executed was 432. The number on the first of this month had increased to 475. Thirty-two have been discharged in the meantime, their terms having expired.
This marked increase in the number of convicts is
not clue to any augmentation of crime in the State, but
is believed to be the result entfrely of a more rigid and proper enforcement of tho la,vs. 'fhis institution heretofore has been a source of expense to the State. lJm1e1 the present arrangement, however, it is not probable that any appropriations will become necessary for its support and maintenance. On the contrary, it will proktbly be productive of considerable revenue.
P AIWOXIXG P01VER.
It may be here remarked that in the present state of society, I have felt it to be my duty to confine the exercise of the pardoning power within very strict'limits. Courts and juries constitute the proper tribunal for the trial of criminal offenses, and it is no part of the duty of the Executive to inter\Tene to screen the guilty from punishment. The theory of the law upon this snbject is, that when guilt has been ascertained in the manner prescribed by the supreme authority, the interest of society demands that the offender be punished. The most painful duty which devolves upon the Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth is the refusal of appeals made to Executive clemency. Impressed as I have been, however, with the conviction that the good orcler, peace and welfare of society depend in a large measure upon tlw due enforcement of the l:nvs, I have felt constrained to refuse to interfere with the duo execution of judgments pronounced by the jndieial authorities. It is believed that a strict adherence to this line of duty will result, at no distant day, in restoring to the people that feeling of security, V.-"ithout which society can be neither prosperous or happy. I am glad to have it in

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my power to add, that there has been a marked diminution of crime throughout the State, and that there is reason to believe that this diminution will become more marked in the future.
LUNATIC CONVICTS.
Your attention is respectfully called to the defects in the law as it now stands in regard to the proper disposition to be made oflunatic convicts. Under our present system, there is no provision of law specially adapted to such cases. vVhen the convicts were confined in the State prison, under the direct control of the Principal Keeper, a provision existed for the removal of lunatic convicts from the Penitentiary to the Lunatic Asylum, upon proper certificates of lunacy being made by the Physician of tho Penitentiary and the Principal Keepr)r. At this time however, there is no such officer as Physician of the Penitentiary, and the Principal Keeper has ceased to have the peculiar custody and control of the convicts. The only evidence therefore, upon which the Superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum is authorized to receive a convict into the Asylum, cannot be supplied. The lessees are bound by their contract and by the law to treat the convicts with humanity, and to confine them securely; but there is no provision prescribing the proceedings to be had in case any of them becomes lunatic. I therefore recommepd the passage of such act as will cure the evil here pointed out.
LUNATIC ASYLU~L
I herewith transmit the report of the special committee appointed to investigate the condition of the Lunatic Asylum. The investigations of the committee have been thorough, and the information which they have collected in regard to this great charity cannot fail to attract the earnest attention of the General Assembly. The number of patients now being treated in the Asylum is large, and the expenses attending the same are heavy. These unfortunates must be cared for however,

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and to that end all needed l'eforms in the administration of the institution should be introduced, and all existing abuses corrected. The committee, whose report is now submitted, is composed of gentlemen of high character and marked abilities, and any suggestions that they may make are entitled to the most respectful consideration.
:\IADIED SOLDIETIS.
I respectfully ask that your attention be directed to the subject of supplying means to furnish artificial
limbs to such indigent solcfa,rs of this State as we1e
maimed in the late war, -whether in the service of the State of Georgia or of the Confederate States. The General Assembly, in lSGG, made an appropriation for this purpose, but I am advised that there are still many indigi:mt soldiers remaining, who have never been supplied with artificial limbs. The report of the Comptroller General, made in the year 1869, shows that a portion of the appropriation made in 18Go is still unexpended. As this fund cannot now be drawn from the treasury without further ac'tion by the Legislature, I respectfully recommell(l than an appropriation be made sufficient to meet the -wants of this meritorious and unfortunate class of our follow-citizens. These patriotic men gave their natural limbs to the service of the State, ai~d it is but little to ask that the State should replace them with artificial limbs.
OUR DEAD SOLDIERS.
Your attention is also earnestly called to the fact
that the bOllies of over two thousand soldiers, who fell fighting upon our ovm soil, still remain uncared for on the hillsiues and in tho valleys, where they smrendered their lives in our defense. By appropriation heretofore made, and by private contributions of means and time, expended .under the patriotic direction of the ladies composing the board of trustees of the Georgia :Memorial At!sociation, twenty-two hundred and eighty

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boclies have been gatherecl up and decently interred in the SolcliL,rs' cemetery laid out for that purpose at J\Iarietta. _},..11 the means on hand lrnYe long since been exha nst(;cl. Nothing further has been clone within the last three years, a,nd now eyen the cemetery, pn;pared with snch pious care, has fallen into decay from lack of funds to keep it up. I respectfully inquire-how long shall this neglect be permitted to continue? }faying put our hands to this good work, shall ,ve turn back and le~we it unfinished? These men died for us. Shall ,ve not, then, at least save their bones from the plowshare, and put them tenderly away? Duty calls us, ancl our noble vrnmen stand ready, with tearful eyes, to perform the holy task. Our people are poor, and the State is cramped in her finances-for the stranger and the spoiler have been among us-bnt we are not so poor but that we can yet bury our dead.
)fILITARY I:XTERFERENCE.
It may be that it is unnecessary to call your attention to the correspondence which was recently had by this department with the commandant of the military forces of the United States stationed at this place, in in reference to the interference in our local affairs by armr,1d FeclPral soldiery. The copies of letters, herewith transmitted, will put you in possession of all the facts connected with this una,uthorized attempt to set aside ancl supersede the authority of the State. It is the earnest desire of the i)eople of Georgia to preserve goocl orcler, to put down crime in their rniclst, to discharge all their duties, public and private, in a peaceable manner, and to maintain between the anthoi-ities of this State and of the United States kind ancl pleasant relations. Such is my own fixed purpose as the Governor of the State. It is hoped, however, that we have seen the last of this kind of interference with our domestic affairs. There is neither reason for it, or warrant of law. It is my sworn duty, as Chief ~.fogistrato
of the Commonwealth, to uphold the law;;, to maintain

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good order within our borders, and to protect the people in their rights of person and property. To discharge this high duty, the Legislature has clothed the Executive with ample powers. There is not likely to arise an emergency when the aid of the Federal authorities will be reqnired, and there can never occur a case in which the voluntary and unauthorized interference of the military forces of the government can be necessary or justifiable. And so long as I hold the office with which the people have so freely honored me, I shall protest against such interference with all the earnestness of outraged justice. The people have no thought of offering any kind of resistance to the enforcement of the laws of the United States, but they do protest, and will continue to protest, against all illegal and unauthorized attempts to trample under foot the great right of local self government, whether such attempts be made by the military forces or by the Judioiary of the Federal Government.
JAMES M. SMITH.