MESSAGE 
OF Till<~ 
Governor of Georgia 
GENERAL AssEMBLv. 
OCTOBER 25, !899. 
A D. CANDLER, Governor. 
ATLANTA, GA.; (;.E(I. \Y. HARRISON, 8'.l'ATE PRI~TliR. 
1899. 
 
 MESSAGE 
OF THE 
Governor of Georgia 
TO THE 
GENERAL AssEMBLv. 
OCTOBER 25, J:899. 
A. D. CANDLER, Governor. 
ATLANTA, GA.: 
GEO. W, HARRISON, STATE PRINTER. THE FRANKLIN PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY.. 
1899, 
 
  MESSAGE. 
STATE OF GEORGIA, EXECUTIVE OFFICE, 
ATLANTA, GA., Oct. 2b, 1899. 
"Po the Senate and House of Representatives: The year that is now approaching its close has been to 
the people of Georgia more than ordinarily eventful. To ,our farmers, who constitute a large majority of our population and upon whom the burdens of government fall most heavily, that prosperity which has blesl;led other ibranches of business in our own and othflr Stat.es has not returned. ~'hile in most sections of the State Providence has blessed the people with the early and the late rains, and crops have been fairly good, in some of the counties, especia1ly in Middle Georgia, drought has prevailed to such an extent as to greatly damage the cotton cr()p and almost entirely destroy the crop of corn, while tp.e price of our great staple continues so low that even where the yield is g9od, there is no profit in its production. Hence while those engag.ed in its cultivation have worked hard and in many cases lived hard, they have saved nothing and are as poor to-day as they were in 1893 when the disastrous panic par11lyzed every industry and prostrated every .business enterprise 
throughout the country. The recent rise h1 price puts no 
s~rplps money in the pocket of tpe average farmer. It only makes up to him his .loss 9n aycount of a.short c~op 
 
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and saves him from ruin. Two-thirds of a crop at seven and a half cents means no more to him than a full crop at five cents. Whether the continued low price of our chief staple has been due, as many contend, to overproduction, or to the closing of the mints of the world against one of the money metals which has been recognized from the earliest period of recorded history on terms of equality with the other, the experience of the last seven years has demonstrated the difficulty with which we compete in the production of cotton with the newer States of the Southwest. It is, however, a healthy sign that our farmers and planters, realizing this, are diversifying their crops more and more every year, and are growing every year more and more independent, and have to rely less and less upon borrowed money with which to make their crops. If this course_ continues t" be pursued for a few years, as I have no doubt it will be, and if our farmers can be even partially relieved of the burthen of taxation which has oppressed them during the long period of business depress-ion and shrinking values, they will soon be out of debt, and become what they ought to be, their own masters paying tribute to nobody. 
While the agriculture of the State has not been profitable, it is gratifying to know that our manufactures are both prosperous and profitable. Seeing this, our people who have surplus money are investing it in the erection and equipment of factories, most of which are :for the manufacture of cotton goods. These factories that are springing up all over the State, even in some of the small towns, are owned and operated by our own people and give em- 
 
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ployment to our home labor. No longer do we go North for capital to inaugurate these enterprises nor for labor to -operate them. 
SMALLPOX. 
Early last winter this loathsome disease made its appear:ance in many of the counties of the State, and while it has been stamped out in some of them in which its spr~d was at one time alarming, it has appeared and still exists in -quite a number of others in almost every part of the State. 
It has existed in an unusually mild form, and because of its 
mildness it has been the more difficult to control. It has prevailed mainly among the colored population, who, owing to their careless habits and roving disposition and their inclination to conceal the existence of the disease when it appears, have made it extremely difficult to treat and especially to arrest the spread of the contagion. To aid local authorities in their efforts to successfully treat and prevent its spread, there being no State Board of Health in Georgia, I, early in the year, secured from the Surgeon-General of the :Marine Hm,pital Service of the United States for a few weeks, the services of Dr. C. P. W ertenbaker, an expert in the treatment of smallpox, and by his skill and energy he was of great service to county and city authorities upon whom, under our law, the duty of handling epidemic diseases of this sort devolves. I have in every. instance, when called on to do so, supplied the county authorities at the expense of the State with vaccine matter to meet the first outbreak of the disease, after which they have been required to supply themselves at the expense of 
 
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the county. In this course I have followed the constructi'on placed upon the law by the Attorney-General. 
The extraordinary expense thus incurred, for which no specific appropriation had been made, has amounted to about $500.00, which I have paid out of the contingent :fund, which is burdened with every charge against the State rol' whi'ch no specific appropriation has been made. 
CRIME AND MOB VIOLENCE. 
Crime has prevailed to an alarming extent in some portions of the State and destroyed the peace and quietude of many communities. Lawless negroes have assaulted white women and infuriated mobs have inflicted summary, and in one case barbarous punishment upon the offenders, sometimes even taking them out of the hands of the officers of the law to do it. In consequence of the frequency of these assaults. we have been made to tremble for the safety of our wives and daughters, especially in the rural a.istrictsr and law-abiding negroes in the communities in which lynchings have occurred have lived in a state of constant appre. hension arid rua'rm. Robberies and burglaries and arson i\:nd even murders have been of frequent occurrence, and emboldenl:ld iy the impunity of those who have taken the law inio thl:lir own hands in the punishment of ravishers, .the mob hirs sat in judgment on the perpetrators of other crimes and: f Mesta:lled the officers of the law in inflicting ptm.ishmeni; As usual, too, when the mob usurps the preto"i,itives o'f the courts of la:w, I regret to have to say the 
hin()ceiit have so'iiietimes, I ear, been made to suffer with 
 
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the guilty. The unusual amount of crime committed by negroes, and in consequence thereof the unprecedented amount of mob violence, is mainly due to the inter-meddling of irresponsible fanatics and fools who do not know anything of the situation at the South, nor of the real relations of the people of the two races. These miserable intermeddlers, hating the Southern white man more than they do the crimes of the most abandoned of the Southern negroes, have, through their newspapers and by means of incendiary and inflammatory letters, many of which havebeen sent to negroes in Georgia, ignoring or justifying the crimes which have provoked the mob, advised and urged the negroes to retaliation. Full of malice and hatred, they forget the cordial relations which always prevailed between the whites and blacks at the South before they began to sow th!"l seeds of discord. They forget that their mean and despicable inter-meddling only aggravates a situation they profe~s to deplore, and that the only solution of what they call the "race problem" is to be found, not by the people in New or Old England, who know nothing ahout tho South and its problems, but by the honest, order-loving and law-abiding elements of the two races between which there was no friction until they brought it about by their unholy interference. 
It is a hopeful sign, however, that notwithstanding the diabolical advice of these fanatics to precipitate race conflicts, the better and more intelligent negroes throughout the State realize that the relations of the races must be regulated by the Southern white man and the Southern negro, and not by the over-zealous and unwise South-haters 
 
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and bigots of other sections. A few months ago, just after the perpetration by a negro of one of the most diabolical crimes in the annals of crime, and the infliction by the mob upon its perpetrator of the most barbarous punishment ever inflicted upon a criminal in Georgia, an effort was made, through the press an_sl in personal interviews with leading negroes of intelligence, to impress them with the act that the good of both races demanded that there should be no race prejudices, no color line in matters of law and order and morality, but that all good men of both races should align themselves togitther agll;inst the vicious. and criminal, and that they should be as diligent in discouraging the crimes that provoke lynching and in aiding in bringing criminal negroes to justice, as they are in denouncing the mob that punishes the crime. I am glad to be able to say that the advice has been largely followed, and that many of the best negroes in th~ State have arrayed themselves on the side of law and order, and have been instrumental in bringing to tri~l in the tribunals provided by law, many members of their own race who have offended against the law.' A notable instance is to be found in the recent riot or insurrection in McIntosh county, the most formidable in the history of the State, in which an infuriated mob of hundreds of negroes defied the civil officers and insulted the majesty of the law, and forced me with the utmost reluctance to send a large body of armed soldiers into the county, at heavy expense, to protect life and property. When,a reign of terror prevailed, and after one deputy' .sheriff had been killed and another wounded by negroes, ten leading colored men of the county sought an interview 
 
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with the gallant officer in command of the troops I had sent into the county, assured him of their sympathy and undivided s11,pport in his effort to protect life and property and restore the supremacy of the law. As further assuranc.e they issued. and had printed a circular addressed to their race in ,vhich they took bold ground in favor of the supremacy of the law, and were largely instrumental in restoring order and in inducing members of their own race implicated in the riots to surrender themselves into the hands of the officers of the law. These are healthy signs and go to show that if there is any solution of the race problem it must and can be found by the intelligent Southe;rn white man and the intelligent Southern negro, and not by nonresident agitators who are in truth the enemies of  both races. 
To prevent mob violence and bring offenders to trial before the lawfully constituted tribunals, I have brought to bear all of the powers of the Executive Department. In my efforts to re-enthrone the law and restore the supremacy of the civil tribunals I have been ably and faithfully seconded by the prosecnting officers and judges throughout the State, and in a number of cases men threatened by the mob have been rescued by the military and brought to trial in the tribunals established by law. Some of these men have been found guilty and punished according to law, but others have, after fair trials, been found not guilty of the crimes charged and released, thus demonstrating the danger of lynch law a:i;id the fairness and impartiality of our courts and juries. 
 
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While I have felt it my duty to call into requisition portions of the military of the State to aid the civil authorities in protecting life and property, and in enforcing the law i'nore frequently than has been necessary in the past, I have resorted to this extreme measure only when circumstances imperatively demanded it, and I have often refused when called upon by sheriffs and other officers for military aid, to comply with their urgent requests, because the sheriffs are the conservators of the peace in their respective counties, clothed with ample power by the law to summon every able-bodied man in their counties to aid them in preserving the peace and upholding the law. It is gratifying to be able to say the sheriffs in most of the counties in which disturbances have occurred have performed their duties faithfully, but there are a few exceptions to this rule, and a few instances in which these officers have made no sufficient effort to do their duty through the posse provided by law, and there is one instance in which the military when they reached the scene of disturbance found the jail with the prisoners in it, in the actual possession of the negro mob, the sheriff having surrendered it to them.  
OFFICIAL REPORTS. 
The reports of the heads of the several departments of the State government herewith submitted are so full, so clear and so complete, that it is unnecessary for me to do more than to call attention to them. 
Those of the Comptroller-General, the Treasurer, the State School Commissioner and the Commissioner of Agri- 
 
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culture are all thoroughly exhaustive and bear evidence of the painstaking care of these excellent officers as weil in their preparation as in the administration of their offices. 
The reports of all the other officers of the executive department, while not so voluminous, are equ.ally interesting and will amply repay careful perusal. 
That of the Commissioner of Pensions is, while brief, of special interest as well to the taxpayers as to the pensioners. It is the most complete report of this department ever published, giving a correct and clear insight into the operations of this important and rapidly growing branch of the executive office. The amount of the public money disbursed through it has increased from year to year until from $185,000 in 1890 it has grown to $678,000 in 1899. The number of pensioners has grown in seven years from 7,290 in 1893 to 11,125 in 1899. There is on the roll one pensioner to every 165 inhabitants of the entire State. In Fulton county there is one pensioner to every 137 inhabitants, in Bibb one to every 199, in Banks one to every 54, in Cobb one to every 97, in Gwinnett one to every 93, in Walton one to every 83, in Forsyth one to every 95, in Chatham one to every 836, in Effingham one to every 700, in Richmond one to every 239. Banks has the largest pension roll of any county in the State, according to population, and !foIntosh the smallest. I divided equally between all of the taxpayers in the State, each would pay $1.78 annually for pensions. The six counties receiving the largest amounts in pensions are Fulton, Carroll, Cobb, Gwinnett, Bibb, and Walton; the six receiving the smallest, Camden, Charlton, McIntosh, Effingham and Echols. 
 
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The number 0 widows on the roll is growing gradually smaller year by year, but the number 0 invalids (soldiers woimded in battle) is slightly on the increase, while that 0. the indigent increases annually at the rate 0 25 per cent. H this rate 0 increase continues for the next five years, as. is entirely probable, more than a hal million dollars per annum will be required to pay this class 0 pensioners alone. This is a burthen, however, which the State can not and the people do not desire to evade. The gallant men 0 '61 to '65, who by reason 0 poverty and decrepitude are unable to support themselves, are entitled to the State's bounty and will continue to receive it. 
The Prison Commission being required by law to report, not to the Governor, but directly to the Legislature, I have not seen a copy 0 their annual report. It will doubtless be laid on your desks at an early date, and should receive your care11l consideration, because it will be the first annual report published since the inauguration 0 the new prison system. That it is an improvement on any former system I have no doubt, but it may be that its actual workings have developed defects in the law, which will call for amendment-indeed it would he remarkable i this were not the case, for it rarely ever occurs that a new law is a perfect. law. Almost all laws have to be perfected by amendment. 
0 one provision 0 this law, however, I am prepared to speak, that one which makes the prison commission a Board 0 Pardons. It has folly met the expectations 0 the friends 0 the measure, and it has afforded great relief to the executive office. Without advisory power lodged some- 
 
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where, it would be no longer possible for the Governor, with our large number 0 convicts and the constantly increasing number 0 applications for executive clemency, to give that careful and prompt consideration to them that justice to the applicants and the importance 0 the subject demands; but ater the Board 0 Pardons has gone carefolly over a case and made a brie 0 what is in it, and sent it with their recommendation to the Governor, his labor is greatly lightened and he can quickly reach a conclusion and .take such action as the facts warrant. 
RAILROAD COMMISSION. 
The report 0 the Railroad Commission is 0 sperial irrterest. Georgia was a pioneer in enacting a Railroal Commission law, and her law is one 0 the best in the Union, and has served as a model to other states which have created Railroad Commissions. Its powers are broad enough to protect the people against extortion and unjust discrimination and yet sufficiently restricted to prevent injustice to the railroads in the State. The relations between the Commission and the railroads al'e amicable and harmonious, the roads ~onforming cheerfully to the rules prescribed by the Commission and the Commission showing proper regard to the rights and interests 0 those who have invested their money in the roads. 
The Commission have in their report recommended some amendments to the law to which I desire to call your special attention. Their suggestions seem to me to be wise and timely. 
 
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STATE INSTITUTIONS. 
All the institutions fostered by the State are in good condition. The University of Georgia, at Athens, is more prosperous than at any other time in the hundred years of its existence. 
The North Georgia College, at Dahlonega, is prosperous and is doing a work unsurpassed perhaps in importance and value, by any other institution of learning in the South. 
The School of Technology enjoys a high degree of prosperity and fills a want for thorough technical education long elt in our State 
The Georgia Normal and Industrial College for Girls, in Milledgeville, continues to prosper and do good, while the Normal School at Athens is doing a work invaluable to the teachers of the State. 
The School for the Blind and that for the Deaf and Dumb are pursuing the even tenor of their ways, and without ostentation or undue pretensions are providing well for the unfortunate classes of our people for whose benefit they were intended, and both are well attended. 
The State's greatest charity, the Sa~itarium at Milledgeville, while it costs the taxpayers more than a quarter of a million of dollars a year, is an honor to the commonwealth and a monument to the philanthropy of your predecessors who founded it. Hitherto the representatives of the people have been liberal in providing for its wants, and the State and the unfortunates for whose benefit it was founded have always been, and still are fortunate in having in charge of it men of superior ability and peculiar fitness. While 
 
 those now in immediate charge of the institution have bee11 faithful to their trust, and have, I think, merited the hearty endorsement given then by your special committee whose report lies on your desks, the present board of trustees are entitled to much credit for the reforms they have inaugurated in the fiscal management of the institution, and I heartily commend these reforms to the careful.consideration of those who are to succeed them in office. 
While the interest of the taxpayers of the State demands the most rigid economy in the administration of the finances of all of these institutions, and the closest scrutiny by the General Assembly into their management, we should not in providing for their support pursue any niggardly policy which would cripple them or impair their usefulness and efficiency. 
FINANOES AND TAXATION. 
The report of the State Treasurer shows the total receipts at the Treasury from all sources for the year ending September 30th, to have been $3,671,932.00 and the total disbursements $3,353,160.00 The receipts include $100,000 borrowed in New York to enable the Treasurer to pay teachers for work done during the first half of the year, and tomeet the State's other liabilities maturing on the first of ,July. This loan has been paid since the close of the report year, the 30th September, and hence, while it appears in the item of receipts it does not appear in the item of disbursements, having been borrowed before the end of the report year and paid back after that date. 
 
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All appropriations have been made to meet the demands upon them except those for free schools, pensions, printing and the contingent fund. The latter would have been ample but for the extraordinary demand upon it to aid local authorities in preventing the spread of smallpox and the unusual necessity for the employment of troops in several counties to aid the civil authorities in enforcing the law, all the expense of which had to be paid out of this fund. 
Owing to heavy drafts upon the printing fund to reprint volumes of the Reports of the Supreme Court which had gone out of print, this fund has been exhausted. But for this extraordinary demand, which required $3,500.00 of the last appropriation of $13,500.00, the appropriation would have been ample. 
Up to and including the year 1895, whenever these reprints were necessary, the General Assembly made a special appropriation to cover the cost, but no provision having been made at your last session for payment for this work, and the law requiring that they be reprinted being imperative, there was no alternative but to pay for it out of the printing fund, an expedient which seemed to be warranted by section 161 of the Code, notwithstanding it has been the custom to make special appropriations for this purpose. In this connection I desire to call the attention of the General Assembly to a matter that seems to me to be a fit subject for legislation. As the law now stands, the Governor is required to have rer.rinted at the expense of the State, any volume of the reports of the Supreme Court, the copy- 
 
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right of which is the property of the State, that may be out of print. These reprints, when not provided for by special appropriation, must be paid for out of the printing fund for the current year, as in this instance, and are sold by the Librarian to the general public. The money thus arising goes, not back into the printing fond which has to bear the expense of the publication of the volume, but into the library fond, to be expended under the direction of the Supreme Court. Thus one fund is robbed for the benefit of another. I suggest that the law be so amended as to require the repayment back into the treasury, to the credit of the printing fund, of an amount out of the proceeds of the sale of reports thus reprinted, equal to the actual cost of reprinting these volumes, and that only the balance left after thus paying the cost of re-publication go into the library fund. 
The Librarian in his report for the year 1898 made s9me admirable suggestions on this subject, and bills are now, I believe, pending in your bodies which in my judgment would greatly improve the present law. To these bills I invite your special attention. 
The appropriation for pensions was sufficient to pay all pensioners on the roll at the time the appropriation was made, but since that time, out of 2,863 new applications filed with the commissioner, 841 have been allowed, for the payment of which no funds are available. 
The greatest trouble encountered in administering the finances of the State for some years past has been in the free school fund. As is weH known to your honorable bodies, the subject having been fully discussed at your last 
 
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session, it has been impossible to meet, when due, the demands of the teachers of the State without resorting to temporary loans from the banks and without advancing temporarily for school purposes large amounts collected and appropriated to other purpose, to be paid back ont of the school fund for the next year. This condition has been due to the fact that your predecessors increased appropriations for school purposes from year to yea1: ,Yitho11t providing funds adequate to meet them. Thus it happened that a large portion of the fund collected for the support of the pu0lic schools for any given year, had to be applied to the payment of arrearages due teachers for work done the year l1efore. To illustrate more fully-my predecessor in office, Governor Atkinson, borrowed in New York and applied to the payment of teachers for work done in 18!)8, two hun- 
dred thousand dollars, all he could borrow to meet such de- 
ficiencies without violating the limitations prescribed in the Constitution. After he had done this, there was stil.!_du~ them at the end of the year $811,000.00, which I had to 
pay out of the fund collected in 1898 for the support 0 
schools in 18flfl. Add to this $811,000.00 the $200,000 
borrowed in New York, which I had to pay back to the 
bank from which it was borrowed, in December, and we haYe $1,011,000.00 of the fund co1lected to support schools in 1899, which had to be applied to the payment of teachers for work done in 1898, leaving for the support of schools in 1899 only $387,000.00, an amount not sufficient to rnn the schools two months. Early in the present year, in a conference between the State School Commissioner, the State Treasurer and the Governor, it was agreed that schools 
 
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,should be taught and the teachers paid :for two months during the first hal:f o:f the year, the deficiency a:fter exhaust:ing the :fund on hand to be supplied by a temporary loan. This agreement was carried out. I borrowed $100,000 at 2 per cent. interest per annum, and the teachers _have been paid for these two months' work. In the same con:ference with the State School Commissioner and the State Treasurer, it was agreed that the schools should be taught and the teachers paid. :for three months during the last hal:f o:f the year, thus providing five months o:f free schools during the year :for the children o:f the State. This agreement has also bee;1 carried out by the State School Commissioner, and all the schools in all the counties have been opened :for a three months term since the first o:f July, the county school authorities being le:ft free to decide, as the convenience and interest o:f the people in each county might seem to dictate, in which three o:f the last six months o:f the year schools should be taught. Thus at the end o:f the present year, 1899, there will be due the teachers o:f the State all their -earnings :for three months, $838,800.00, to be paid, as heretofore, out o:f the :fund provided for the support of the schools next year, 1900, unless the General Assembly can provide some other mode o:f payment. I:f the old plan o:f paying the arrearages due the teachers :for work done in one year out o:f the :fund provided to pay them for the next year is pursued, there will be le:ft o:f the school :fund..provided for 1900 only $459,000.00, about what is required to run the schools two months, thus leaving us in practically the same condition at the end o:f this year that we were in :at the end o:f the last. 
 
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If the General .Assembly could devise some means by which the revenues raised for the support of schools for each year can be applied to the support of the schools for that year, and for that year only, or if the matter could be so evened up as to have on hand at the beginning of each year half of the money to run the schools for that year, leaving the other half to be paid as now, by advances made from the general fund, it would be much more satisfactory to the people, and relieve the State School Commissioner and the Governor from much embarrassment and unfriendly criticism by those who do not know the real difficulties with which they have to contend. 
URGE:NT NECESSITY :FOR MORE RIGID ECONOMY. 
In response to the suggestions made in a special message I had the honor to send your honorable bodies at your last session, the General .Assembly made some commendable advances in the direction of retrenchment and a more rigid economy, and in this way you were enabled to reduce the tax rate slightly. But there still exists a necessity and a popular demand for further retrenchment, because the masses of our people in this day of shrinking values and low prices of the products of their labor, are less able than ever before to pay high taxes. I realize that it is difficult to know where to attempt further retrenchment. .At your last session you cut the school fnd 12 per cent., and the three funds administered directly by the Governor, to wit: the military fund, the public building fund and the contingent fond, in the aggregate 50 per cent., and you 
 
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cut off expenses in every other place where it seemed po~sible. The pension fund was not reduced, indeed was somewhat increased, and i it is to be the policy 0 the State to provide for the gallant men who in their vigorous manhood stood a wall 0 fire between her people and an invading enemy, and see to it that none 0 them in their old age and decrepitude, nor their surviving widows who made equal sacrifices for the common good, suffer from want or be driven to the poorhouse, then there is no room for retrenchment here. On the contrary, i we are to provide or these two classes, the indigent ex-Confederate soldiers and their surviving widows, and every dictate 0 gratitude and humanity demands that we do this, there will be for a ew years a necessity for larger appropriations for this purpose, and the only retrenchment possible in the pension department would be to withdraw pensions from those 0 the invalid class-those who were wounded in battle--and :from the widows who are independent financiall~ and do not stand in need 0 the State's bounty to protect them from want. The amount that could be saved in this way would be small at best, and would cut but little figure in reducing the State's expenditures. 
The only place, therefore, for further retrenchment is in reducing to a minimum the appropriations to the vanous institutions supported wholly or partly by the State, and in withdrawing the remaining $200,000 0 the extra $400,000 voted to the free schools by your predecessors. Should you do this you will still have a school fond 0 $1,236,000, exclusive 0 the hire 0 convicts which is still unappropriated, and which may be added to the school fond. I 
 
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this is done, the fund will reach nearly thirteen hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which will be sufficient to run free schools for at least five or six months in the year, in which every child in the State, white and black, may be taught what the framers of the Constitution intended should be taught, "the elementary branches of an English education only." This term of five or six months in the year is as long or longer than most of the white children in the country can be spared from work to go to school, and these studies, "the elementary branches of an English education," are all that can be lawfully taught at the expense of the State, and all that is necessary to prepare our youths for the ordinary business of life. Every dollar of the public school fund applied to the teaching of anything else is a palpable violation of the Constitution. The policy of the framers of the Constitution was to afford to all the children of the State facilities for acquiring, at the expense of the taxpayers, an English education, which is all that is neces- sary to good citizenship. To meet the demand for schooL, of a higher grade they provided for the imposition by communities upon themselves of local taxation for their support. This, too, is right, because it puts the burthen where it belongs, on those who get the benefit of it. 
Besides these provisions, there are in the State many high schools and colleges maintained by individuals and organizations, which cost the State nothing-institutions for the whites sustained by the churches and philanthropic persons among our own people, and institutions for the negroes, sustained for the most part by their friends at the North. Thus we have ample facilities for the education 
 
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of all who Je,,ire it in the higher branches without burthening the State, and without discrimination against anybody;, It is true tlrnt the State appropriates annually to the Uni' versity at Athens eight thousand dollars, but she at the same time appropriates to the school at Savannah for her ('.Olored people the same amount. The appropriation t.1  the University is a deht-that to the Savannah school a dc,nation. Thus both races are provided for equally from the State treasury; but the schools for the higher educatir:m of the negroes supported by churches and other organizations are richer than those for the higher education of the Nhites. The rnlue of the property of the negro school.:; it. the city of Atlanta alone, it is said, is greater than all. 
e~c Widowmcnts of all the schools and colleges in _the State 
for 1lJ1! education of the whites. 
It may not he amiss in this connection to call attention t( the fact that no State in the Union, perhaps, has imposed upon its taxpayers heavier lmrthens for the support of free ,,er..ot<t:, than has Georgia. Some of them pay more p1!1' {:apitfl of school population, but they are rich, densely popldat(d States, which were not impoverished by the civH \1a1. '\Ve have a school revenue derived from other source;; th,m direct taxation, of about six hundred and forty thonS:tllel duJlars, exclusive of about one hundred thousand dollar;; l1ire of convicts, which will probably be thus applie,L In addition to this v,;e levy for the support of free schools a direct tax on all the property of the State, the home of the poorest mechanic and wido,v and the little farm of the poorest farmer, of two and one-tenth mills, whereas only 
 
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five other States in the Union levy for this purpo1;1e more than one mill, and 0 this five only two levy as much as Georgia does. 
I l;>y education in the text-books taught in the schools crime was diminished, as many 0 us at one time hoped would be the case, there might be some reason for imposing even heavier taxes upon our people for the support 0 schools. But this is not true, for it is a startling act, established by the experiences 0 thirty years, that while under our system 0 free schools illiteracy has rapidly decreased, especially among our colored population, crime has much more rapidly increased among them, and with the increase 0 crime the expenses 0 administering the criminal law have increased in the same ratio. All 0 these expenses have to come out 0 the tax:-payers, not out 0 the men who commit the crimes. It is estimated that the expense 0 administering the criminal law in Georgia is six hundred thousand dollars per annum; the records 0 the courts show that eighty-five per cent 0 this expense is chargeable to negro criminals. Thus we have a burthen on the shoulders 0 the taxpayers 0 five hundred thousand dollars incurred in protecting innocent negroes and in punishing guilty ones. Add to this the money expended in the education, 0 the children 0 the race, and that necessarily expended when the militia have to be called into service to protect them from the mob, inforia,ted by crimes committed by them, and we have a sum expended on account 0 the negro alone equal to the total expenditures 0 the State for all purposes in 1860, And yet the total taxable values in the 
 
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State in 1860 were nearly twice what they are now. In other words the negro costs the taxpayers now as much as both races cost them in 1860. 
Still, notwithstanding all this, it i~ our duty to provide for the children of the race that education contemplated in the Constitution, to protect the law-abiding in all his rights of person and property, and to punish those guilty of crime, not by the mob, but through the instrumentalities provided by law, however heavy the burthen thus imposed upon us. The best interests of both races, as well as ~he dictates of justice and humanity, demand this much but no more. 
In view of all these facts and the additional facts, equally well established, that ninety per cent. of the crimes committed by negroes are committed by those who have had the opportunities of free schools, and only ten per cent. by the ex-slaves who are illiterate; while ninety per cent. of the property acquired by the race since emancipation 1s in the hands of the illiterate ex-slaves and not in the handi of those educated in the free schools, it seems to me that justice to the tax-payers of the State demands that we adhere more closely to the limitations prescribed in the Constitution and confine our public schools to "the elementary branches of an English education only," leaving to the -churches and to private enterprise and to local taxation, the :support of schools for higher education. 
TAX REFORM. There has been' complaint for many years that under our system of taxation much property has escaped the hand of 
 
 26 
the tax-gatherer, and that great inequalities have existed in the valuation qf property returned for taxation. 
To meet the demand for reform and the equalization of the burthens of taxation a joint commission was appointed at your last session to sit during the recess and prepare and report some measure for consideration at the beginning of your present session. 
This commission has been laboriously at work_mnch of the time during the summer and fall, in the discharge of the duty assigned them, and will doubtless report for your early consideration a measure intended to meet the popular demand. I cannot too earnestly impress upon yon the importance of this subject. There are great inequalities which should be corrected. Property in one connty equally valuable as similar property in anoth~r is often returned in one at half the value put upon it in the other. This is especially true of farming lands. Even in the sam'..J county one farmer returns his lands at their real value while his neighbor broadside of him, in order to avoid the tribute he owes his State and county, returns his at only half or even less than half what they would bring under the hammer. The same disparity exists in the valuation of otherproperty, while some species of taxable wealth entirely escape taxation because of the facility with which it can be hidden. Bonds, stocks, notes and other evidences of debt often escape in this way while merchandise is frequently greatly undervalued. From these causes, real estate, which is visible and cannot be hidden, is made to bear more than its share of the burthens of government. 
While I have no great faith in the ability of any General 
 
 27 
Assembly to frame a law which can be made to reach alI the invisible property of the unscrupulous tax-payer, who hides his money and his evidences of indebtedness, I do believe a law can be framed that will compel him to pa,v taxes on his visible, tangible property at a fair valuation, and thus equalize the burthens between him and his more conscientious neighbor who now bears more than his share. Eor many years we have endeavored to keep down the taxrate by finding new objects of taxation, and by reaching invisible property which has escaped, but we have met with but indifferent success. "\Ve have succeeded in taxing the plow of the farmer and the sewing-machine of the widow., but the bonds of the miser have escaped, and the higher the rate of taxation the greater has been the incentive to him to hide his property from the tax-gatherer. 
But we should not be diwouraged. "\Vhile we may not be able to reach all the property in the State for purposes of taxation, we can equalize the burthen on that which we can reach and thus greatly improve existing conditions. 
I refrain from making an:y specific recommendations on this subject because I have no doubt the commission into whose hands you gave the matter will do so, and that you will, with their report as a basis, be able to enact a law that will measurably at least remedy the defects in the present system. 
BALLOT REFORM. 
The experiences of more than thirty years have demonstrated the dangers of an unrestricted ballot. The only safety for a republic is in the virtue and intelligence of 
 
 28 
those endowed with the elective franchise. In a State in which there is a large, ignorant, unpatriotic or purchasable vote, often the rich and unscrupulous candidate triumphs over his poor and honest competitor. Good and capable men too often shrink from politics because they cannot without loss of self-respect resort to the means necessary to secure success. Thus the standard of political morals and of official ability and integrity is lowered and the people lose respect for and confidence in their public servants; the word politician becomes a term of reproach, and politics is regarded as a synonym for trickery and dishonesty. When they have lost respect for those who make the laws the people lose respect for the laws. Lawlessness and crime abound, respect for the courts and juries is lost, a turbulent and irresponsible rabble sits in judgment on criminals, often involving the innocent with the guilty; the judges are defied, the majesty of the law is insulted and the mob usurps the prerogative of the executioner. To these causes I believe much of the constantly increasing lawlessness and crime and mob violence that has disgraced our State in the recent past may be traced. For thirty years we, impoverished by one of the most devastating wars that has blighted the earth in two thousand years, have taxed ourselves heavily to support free schools in which to educate all of our people, and thus bring up to the standard of intelligence and good citizenship the irresponsible class of voters in om midst, but costly as the experiment has been it has failed. The irresponsible, venal vote has increased more rapidly than illiteracy has decreased. We must therefore try another remedy. This dangerous element must be eliminated 
 
 29 
from our elections; the safety of the State demands it; and the quickest and surest and safest way is to amend the Constitution, as some of our sister States have done, so as to restrict the ballot. None but the honest and virtuous and intelligent should be entrusted with this dangerous weapon. Let- virtue and intelligence and integrity be the sole test. The man who will directly or indirectly sell his vote is unworthy of a vote, and it should be taken away from him. The man who is virtuous and intelligent, however poor or humble, or of whatever race or color, may be safely entrusted with it. 
I therefore recommend that an amendment of the Constitution be submitted to the people for ratification or. rejection, restricting the elective franchise to those who recognize the sanctity of the ballot, and realize the responsibilities of citizenship. 
THE MILITARY. 
Our experience during the year has verified the wisdom of the framers of the Constitution who said "a well regulated militia is essential to the peace and security of the State." Situated as we are with two races nearly equal in number, differing so widely not only in color but in tastes, habits, attainments, capabilities and aspirations, the one the strongest race in the world, schooled for seven hundred years in the science and art of self-government; the other, the weakest of the five races, removed only a few generations from ancestors who for ages had been steeped in the lowest depths of barbarism and only one generation re- 
 
 30 
moved from a condition 0 slavery in which they learned nothing 0 the duties and responsibilities 0 citizenship, and Knew no law but the law 0 force, there will necessarily be more or less lawlessness. vVhen thu inferior race is incited and encouraged to deeds 0 lawlessness and crime by the enemies 0 the superior race, as has been the case during the last year, there will be, in spite 0 the united efforts 0 the best element 0 both races, occasions in which the civil power cannot cope with the rioters or the mob, and must necessarily have the support 0 the military in maintaining -the supremacy 0 the law, and in protecting life, liberty and property. Unfortunately in the organization 0 the Georgia regiments for the Spanish-American war our State military organizations were almost destroyed by the withdrawal from the companies and regiments 0 many 0 the best officers and men in them. Hence it was that at the beginning 0 the present administration there was scarcely an efficient company or regiment in the State, and this, too, at a time when a reliable military was more needed or local protection than ever before in our history. Realizing this situation I at once went to work as best I could with the ,scanty means anilable, through the Inspector-General, Col. "\Vm. G. Obear, to reorganize and perfect the various companies in the State, most 0 them mere skeletons, only half armed, and I am glad to be able to report that while it was necessary to disband some companies for inefficiency, most 0 them ha,e been recruited up to an efficient standard, new officers have been commissioned to fill vacancies, and while some 0 them are not, for want 0 means, equipped ,as they should be, the esprit de corps is much improved. 
 
 31 
:Kcw companies are being tendered to take the place of 
thorn muEtered out, and I believe with reasonable encouragement from the General Assembly all of them will soon be a bulwark and an ornament to the State. 
Too much praise cannot be awarded to the gallant men who have responded to my call in the several emergencies which have arisen requiring their services to sustain the ci,il oflfoers in protecting life and property and maintaining the supremacy of the law. While, as stated above, I have in many instances declined to respond to the call of civil officers for military aid because I did not see the necessity for it, there have been disturbances in eight counties, to wit: Campbell, Coweta, Butts, Lee, Richmond, Spalding, Decatur and McIntosh, which, for the protection o-f life or property, or both, required the aid of the mititary. In all them cases I sent troops, usually small detachments, to the support of the civil authorities, in every instance re.quiring the commanding officer to report to the .sheriff, and to act strictly in subordination to him. The most serious uprisings were in Decatur and McIntosh counties. That in Decatnr was put down by Captains Myddleton and Smith of Col. "\Vooten's regiment, the Fourth Infantry, with but little trouble and without bloodshed. The insurrection in McIntosh county (for it really assumed the proportions of an in~urrection) was much more formidable. "\Vhen the mob of several hundred armed negroes first took possession of the town of Darien the sheriff, the mayor and other prominent citizens reported the facts to me and urgently asked that I send at once :five hundred armed men to their relief. This I did not do, because I deemed so 
 
 32 
many men unnecessary, and the expense would be great. But I did send by special train from Savannah, one hundred and seventy-four officers and men of the First Infantry, commanded by Capt. Gleason, and twenty-five officers and men of Troop ".A. ," First Cavalry (dismounted), under command of Lieut. Cunningham, Capt. Gleason commanding the whole. This command was on the train and in motion for Darien in less than an hour from the time their commander received my telegraphic order, and while a part o-!: them remained in Darien under command of Capt. Grayson to preserve order, the remainder, under command of Capt. Gleason, returned immediately to Savannah as an escort to the sheriff of McIntosh county, who had in charge Henry Delegal, the negro whose crime gave rise to the trouble. The promptness and fidelity with which Capt. Gleason and his command executed my order in this emergency merits the highest commendation. On the next day, the negroes having armed themselves to the ?Umber 0f about a thousand to resist the arrest of the leaders of the mob of the day before, and one deputy sheriff having been killed and another wounded in the discharge of official duty, Col. A. R. Lawton was ordered to take command at Darien with plenary power to do whatever in his judgment was necessary to restore order and sustain the civil authorities in upholding the law. To this end most of his own regiment, the First Infantry, returned to Darien, where also reported to him Troop "G" of the First Cavalry, Capt. Sinclair, whose station is Darien. Later on the men of the 
First Infantry and Troop "A" of the First Cavalry, worn 
out by constant duty day and night for several days, were 
 
 33 
relieved by detachments of one officer and twenty men each, from Troops "B," "E," and "I" of the First Cavalry, and one officer and forty men from Troop "G" of same regiment. This force of a hundred men was d,eemed necessary to guard against the possibility of another riot at thetrial of the fifty or more men who had been arrested, and were to be tried at once, a special term of the Superior Court having been called for that purpose. No further disturbance occurred, however, and as soon as the court completed its work and adjourned, the last of the troops were sent away, perfect order having been restored throughout McIntosh county. 
Much credit is due Col. Lawton and his gallant officers and men for the wise and conservative, but determined course pursued by them throughout this whole unfortunate, yet fortunate affair-unfortunate that it occurred at all, yet fortunate that quiet was restored, and all the chief offenders arrested and brought to trial without the sheddiug of a drop of blood by the military. In addition to Col. Lawton, whose wisdom, prudence and firmness in restoring the supremacy of the law merits my thanks and the thanks of all the people of the State, I would not feel that I had done my duty were I to fail to make special mention of Lieut. Ed,vard Leonard, of the First Infantry, whose valuable services in arresting John Delegal and others of the most desperate of the rioters, is so highly commended by Colonel Lawton in his clear, lucid and admirable report, hereto attached as an appendix, to which I invite the special attention of the members of the General Assembly, in order that they may realize the serious and dangerous character 
 
 of this uprising of negroes and the invaluable services of the military as an aid to the civil authorities in protecting life and property and restoring order in such emergencies. 
AMENDMENTS OF MILITARY LAWS. 
My experience and observation at a time when so much <depends on the efficiency of our soldiery have suggested a necessity for several amendments of our military laws, which were framed, as I am informed, by an officer of the United States army and modeled after the United States laws governing the organization and control of the regular army. While a life tenure of office is best in the regular .army, 'it is repugnant to the spirit of a volunteer organization. Some of the military organizations of the State have been found by the Inspector-General to be inefficient and incapable of being brought up to a standard of efficiency because they are commanded by officers who were elected by men not one of whom is now a member of the organization. Thus there is a want of sympathy between the officers and the men, interest is lost in the company, and it becomes practically useless. 
I therefore recommend that the law be so changed !!S to limit ihe tenure of office in all companies and regiments to three or five years, at the expiration of which time the office shall become vacant and be filled in the manner now prescribed by law. 
Another matter to which I desire to call your special attention is the great discrimination between officers and men in the matter of pay when in actual service. It is now pro- 
 
 35 
 
vided that the pay of each shall be that prescribed by law 
 
for officers and soldiers of the regular army of the United 
 
States. Under this law a Colonel of Infantry receives 
 
$9. 72 per day. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 
$8 34 per day 
 
Major . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 94 per day 
 
Captain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 0,0 per day 
 
First Lieutenant .................... . 4 17 per day 
 
Second Lieutenant .................. . 3 8!) per day 
 
First Sergeant ............ , ......... . 83 per day 
 
Other sergeants ..................... . 60 per day 
 
Corporal .......................... . 50 per day 
 
Private .................. , .......   43 per _day 
 
While this is not too much for officers, it is 'more than the State in a period of hard times and high taxes can afford to pay, and more indeed than the gallant officers of the State troops who serye the State from motives of patriotism and not for money, demand. At the same time the paltry forty-three cents paid to the private soldier who is most frequently a young man of slender means, working for a salary, or for daily wages, which stop the moment he responds to the call of the State to put down a mob or quell an insurrection, to say nothing of the danger he incurs of losing his place and the inconvenience it gives his employer, is compensation so niggardly that the State should not, 
however hard the times, ask her defenders to accept it. 'This 
scale of wages was adopted when the State seldom or never had to call on her military to aid the civil authorities in enforcing the law. Now, however, it is different, and there 
 
 36 
is scarcely a month in which it is not necessary for some part of the military to be called out for this purpose. 
I therefore recommend, and in this I only voice the recommendation of. the Military Advisory Board, that the law be so changed and amended as to pay all field officers of all arms of the service four dollars a day. All captains of all arms of the service $3.00 a day. All lieutenants of every arm of the service $2.00 a day. All regimental non-commissioned officers $1. 50 a day. All other non-commissioned officers $1.25 a day, and all privates $1.00 a day, besides quarters and subsistence when in actual service in resisting mobs or quelling riots. In computing the time twenty-four hours should be counted a day, and every fractional part of twenty-four hours should be counted as a whole day. 
The experience of the recent past has demonstrated that as aids to the civil authorities in enforcing the law, companies and not regiments are needed. Of all the several occasions in which it has been necessary to call on the military for assistance during the last year, there has been but one in which mo-re than two companies were necessary, usually a mere detachment of one company is sufficient. That one was in quelling the recent insurrection in McIntosh county, of which I have already spoken, for which the entire First Regiment of Infantry and several detachments of Cavalry were necessary. This experience seems to warrant the conclusion that the military fund should be applied to the cultivation of companies, by paying their armory rent and supplying them with uniforms, iather than 
 
 37 
in paying the expenses of regimental encampments, as now provided by law. 
I therefore recommend this change in the law, and the further change that the expenses of the State troops including subsistence, transportation, compensation, ,etc., when called ont to pnt down riots, and to aid the civil authorities, be paid out of the military fund instead of the contingent fund, upon which so many other drafts must necessarily be made. Already the extraordinary drafts upon this fund, only $10,000.00 per annum, for the purpose of arresting the spread of smallpox and to pay the expenses of the military when necessarily called into service to quell riots or prevent lynchings, have exhausted about half of the appropriation. 
DEFICIENCY APPROPRIATION. 
To supply the deficiency in the contingent fund occasioned by drafts upon it to prevent the spread of smallpox and to defray the expenses of the military when employed in the suppression of mobs and in aiding the civil authorities in the enforcement of the law, an appropriati~n of $5,000.00 will be necessary, while to supply the deficiency in the printing fund occasioned by reprinting Supreme Court Reports, will require $3,500.00 more. 
I respectfully suggest that appropriations be made to supply these deficiencies. 
THE OFFICE OF ADJUTANT-GENERAL. 
The Adjutant-General's office is the headquarters of the military of the State. From it issue all orders affecting the 
 
 38 
State troops, and as well their comfort as their efficiency in serving the State when needed, depends on the efficient working of that office. 
Under our law the Adjutant-General receives no salary for his military services, but he is by virtue of~ office Keeper of Public Buildings and Grounds, and for his service as such he receives a salary of two thousand dollars. He has no clerk or other assistant. 
The present incumbent, Brigadier-General .Tohn M. Kell, was appointed in 1886, not only on account of his ability but in recognition of his splendid services to the South in the civil war, and in recognition of these services he has been retained in the office through each succeeding administration up to this time, notwithstanding his advanced age, his failing health and his consequent inability to discharge the duties of the office. Up to the beginning of the Spanish-American war no serious inconvenience resulted to the public service from his constantly inereasing infirmity, because there was up to that ti.me detailed from the regular army of the United States an officer paid by the general government as an assistant to the Adjutant-General of each State. This assistant performed all the duties of the office during the absence or disability of the Adjutant-General. But at the beginning of the war with Spain the United States needed all her military officers for service in the field and the gallant Captain Brown was withdrawn from this special service in Georgia. General Kell, being from his increasing infirmity unable to discharge the duties of his office, my predecessor in office, Governor Atkinson, employed Col. Wm. G. Obear of the State troops as a clerk 
 
 39 
in the office, who performed them. Col. Obear was paid out of the military fund. In the appropriation act passed by your honorable body at your last session, such restrictions were thrown around the disbursement of the public money, and I think wisely, that not only no part of the military fund, but no part of any other fund could be applied to the payment of a clerk for the office. General Kell's health being still so bad that he could do no part of the work of the office, and I being unwilling to supplant him by appointing another to the office he had filled so long and so well, and mindful of his splendid services to his country in the days of his manly vigor, the only course left to me was to place Assistant Adjutant-General Byrd on the roll of the Capitol Guard as Captain, and require him to do the work of the Adjutant-General, paying him forty-five dollars a month out of the Public Buildings and Grounds fund as Captain of the Guard, and General Kell paying him fiftyfive dollars a month out of his salary of two thousand dollars per annum. Thus we patched up a salary of one hundred dollars a month for Col. Byrd who had performed the triple duty of Captain of the Guard, Keeper of Public Buildings and Grounds, and Adjutant-General. This course was pursued after agreement with Gen. Kell and consultation with the Attorney-General, who advised me that in no other wny could I pay an officer to keep the AdjutantGeneral's office open without a violation of law. 
This course, while the only one open to us, has been unsatisfactory, because the triple duties of Acting AdjutantGeneral, Keeper of Public Buildings and Grounds and 
 
 40 
Captain of the Guard have been too much for one man, and have worked a hardship on the other four members of the Guard whose duties have been thus increased. 
I therefore recommend that General Kell, in consideration of his extreme age and growing infirmities and in recognition of his splendid services to the South and his State, 
be retired on the first day of January, moo, with his rank, 
on a pension sufficient to support him comfortably during his life, or that provision b.e made for paying the Assistant Adjutant-General who performs the duties of the office, an adequate salary when thus actually employed. 
NORTHEASTERN RAILROAD. 
The Northeastern Railroad Company, whose bonds were endorsed by Governor Colquitt, under authority of the Act of the 27th October, 1870, having defaulted in the payment of its interest due on the first day of November, 1893, was seized by Governor N orthen on the 15th day of November, 1893, in accordance with the provisions of the Act authorizing the endorsement, and put in the hands of 
R. K. Reaves of Athens, to be operated by him as the agent 
. of the State, in accordance with the provisions of said Act. Mr. Reaves continued to so operate the road until the 16th day of April, 1895, when Governor Atkinson, after advertising as required by law, offered the road for sale at auction to the highest and best bidder, in Athens, its southern terminus. 
No satisfactory bid being received, the Governor bid it in for the State, and Mr. Reaves continued, by order of the Governor, to operate it as agent for the State. 
 
 41 
On the 28th day of May, 1896, under authority of the sai_d Act of October 27, 1870, authorizing the State's endorsement, Governor Atkinson leased the road and' its appurtenances to E. A. Richards & Co., for a term of twenty years at an annual rental of $18,600.00. On the first day of June, two days after the signing of the contract of lease, the lessoos took charge of the property and operated it until the 6th day of May, 1897, when Governor Atkinson, the lessees having defaulted in the payment of the stipulated rental for more than eight months, again seized the road, :and re-appointed Mr. Reaves State Agent to operate it, which he continued to do until the 21st of June, 1897, when the Governor again offered it for sale to the highest :and best bidder, bidders submitting sealed bids which were opened on that day, but no satisfactory bid being received, the Governor continued to operate it through Mr. Reaves to the close of his administration. 
At the beginning of the present administration, Mr. Reaves having operated the road to the entire satisfaction of both Governors N orthen and Atkinson, and seeing no good that could result to the State from a change of agents, I continued him as agent, and he is still the agent of the :State in charge of the property. 
The net earnings of the road have boon _sufficient to pay the interest on the $287,000 of State bonds issued to pay off the bonds of the railroad company endorsed by the 'State, which upon the default of the company in the payment of its interest became an immediate liability of the State, and some months have shown a small profit; but not sufficient to warrant the State in holding and operating the 
 
 42 
road permanently. It has always, too, been the sense of the General Assembly, as is evident from all the legislation on the subject since it fell into the hands of the State, that the road should be offered for sale whenever in the judgment of the Governor there might be a probability of selling it without loss to the State. 
Thus believing, and this belief being concurred in by the special committee appointed by your honorable bodies at your last session to look into the affairs of the road, I have advertised according to the provisions of the Act of December 21st, 1897, for sealed bids for its purchase, to be opened on the 31st day of October, when I have reason to believe there will be more than one bidder and that the road will be sold at a price sufficient, not only to save the State from loss, but to yield a little profit. 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
At your last session you provided by resolution for the appointment of a joint committee "to investigate the Crtlological Department and report their findings to the Governor." 
The general appropriation bill appropriated "for the Geological Survey $8,000.00 provided the Governor shall have power to discontinue the operations of the said department, ii, after an investigation by a joint committee of the Senate and Home, he should deem it best to suspend the operations of the Department," etc. Under the provisions of the said resolution a joint committee of the two houses was appointed which investigated the operations of the de- 
 
 43 
partment and reported that "the committee after inspection of- the State Museum and careful consideration of the testimony, are of the opinion that a Geological Department, if properly conducted, is of inestimable value to Georgia, and we beg so to report to your Excell.ency, recommending at the' same time that the department for Georgia be continmid, and that the conditional appropriation for its maintenance be made available," etc. "We are of the opinion from the testimony both written and oral, that the State 
,v. Geologist, Prof. S. Yeates, is competent as a mineralo- 
gist and geologist to discharge the duties of his office," etc. Upon receipt of this report the State Geological Board 
was called together, and its contents made known to them. Alter careful consideration of the report and the recommendations of the committee it was deemed advisable and t~ the best interest of the State to continue the survey, and it has been continued uninterruptedly. No changes have been made in the corps, but Prof. Yeates has been retained as State Geologist, and he has retained as assistants Profes- 
,v sors McCalla and atson, and in my opinion good and 
faithful work has been done by ,all of them. 
During the year two bulletins have been prepared and printed, the one on "The Artesian Well System" and the other on "The Clay Deposits of Georgia." 
Another bulletin has been prepared and is about ready for the press on "Roads and Road Building Material," and two others on "The Granites and Gneisses of the State" and the "Aluminum Ores" are well advanced and will with a little more work be ready for the printer. 
 
 44 
No provision was made at your last session or printing the bulletins 0 the department for either the present year or the next. Th~ two printed are still unpaid for, and there are no fonds with which to pay for those in preparation. As these bulletins will prove 0 great benefit to the State in presenting our resources in the lines covered by them, and their mechanical execution reflect great credit on the State Printer, I respectfully recommend that an appropriation be made to pay for the same, as well as for those now in preparation. 
BURE..A.U OF LABOR STATISTICS. 
As factories and foundries and machine shops and railroads have increased in the State, the number 0 our people employed by them has increased, and there is a growing demand among our wage earners for a Department 0 Labor, or, at least a Bureau 0 Labor, attached to the Department 0 Agriculture, jor the purpose 0 gathering and publishing such statistical information as will be 0 interest to them. This class 0 our people is growing constantly larger and they are among our most useful and reliable citizens, and their demands should receive your most careful consideration. 
I realize that the State cannot at this time establish any new and expensive departments. Indeed I do not understand that our mechanics and artizans and wage e a ~ demand this, but they do desire that there be somewhere in the State government, either as a Bureau in the Department 0 Agriculture or elsewhere, an officer whose duty it 
 
 45 
shall be to look after and promote their interest, arid gather and disseminate such statistics and other information as shall be useful and profitable to them, and who shall occupy the same relation to them that the Commissioner of Agriculture occupies to the farmers of the State. I have deemed it my duty to call your attention to this matter and to suggest that you give it careful consideration. 
CHILD LABOR. 
There is also an earnest desire among the same class of our citizens that there be some legislation on the subject of child labor, and I am advised that a bill on this subject will be presented for your consideration. While I fully appreciate the difficulty you will encounter in legislating on this subject, I invite your careful attention to it, feeling that while the strong are usually able to take care of themselves, it is your duty and mine to protect the weak. 
COXCLUSION. 
In conclusion it may be said in truth that there has seldom been a time when the field for wise statesmanship was broader than that which now opens up before us. I have mentioned some things which are of vital importance to the people of Georgia, but there are others of equal importance which will claim your attention. While I have felt constrained by a sense of duty to speak plainly and unequivocally and to present a picture somewhat gloomy of conditions which have prevailed in the State, I would not he understood as taking a gloomy view of the future. On the con- 
 
 46 
trary, many signs point to better times-to cleaner political methods, the return of at least a fair degree of prosperity among our farmers and business men in the country, the restoration of peace and order all over the State, tlie reenthronement of the courts of law in their pristine vigor, the suppression of the mob and ample security for all our people however poor or humble. It is your duty to promote by wise and patriotic legislation all of these ends. That you will come up to the full measure of your duty I have no sort of doubt, and that I will at any time be found reluctant to co-operate with you in your efforts I trust you will never have reasons to fear. My highest and only ambition is to add to the glory of my State ~nd to promote in every legitimate way the prosperity and happiness of all of her people. 
A. D. CANDLER. 
 
 APPENDIX "A." 
In accordance with the requirements of Section 5815 of the !Jode, I herewith submit report of all reprieves, commutation of sentence, and pardons granted by me during the year. 
A. D. CANDLER. 
 
PARDONS GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR. 
 
FELONIES. 
 
Charlie J ohns.an.-Attempt to wreck a railroad train. Cobb County Superior Court, November term, 1896. Sentenced to five years in the Penitentiary. Pardon recommended by Prison Commission for the following reasons'. 
"Defendant was only twelve years old when the crime was committed and the evidence adduced was entirely circumstantial and very weak. He has already served two years in the penitentiary. The judge who tried and sentenced him, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him and many of the best citizens of Cobb county recommend this clemency." Granted December 10th, 1898. 
 
Mallette Dukes.-Burglary. Butts County Superior 
 
Court, Spring term, 1805. Sentenced to ten years in the 
 
penitentiary. Commutation of sentence to five years in 
 
the penitentiary recommended by the Pardon Board for 
 
the following reasons: 
 
 
 
"The defendant plead guilty of burglary at the trial and 
 
was given ten years sentence. The prosecutor, the jury 
 
who tried him, the judge who sentenced him, and the solici- 
 
tor-general who prosecuted him, the county officers and 
 
many law abiding citizens of Butts county urge clemency." 
 
-Commutation granted December 10th, 1808. 
 
 48 
Jim Tillrnan.-Murder. Superior Court of Baker County, Spring term, 1876. Sentenced to life imprisonment. The Prison Commission recommended pardon for the following reasons: 
"The defendant was convicted on circumstantial evidence and was received into the penitentiary on the 13th day of May, 18176; and during this service of twenty-two years and seven months his conduct has been exemplary. He was forty-eight years old when received, and is now seventy and totally blind and helpless." Granted December 10th, 1898. 
Hen H arden.-Voluntary manslaughter. Troup Superior Court, November term, 1894. Sentenced to eight years. Prison Commission recommended pardon for the following reasons: 
"The evidence in this case, while authorizing the verdict rendered, discloses many acts going to show that defendant might have been acting in self-defence. This view is strengthened by affidavits of witnesses not sworn at the trial establishing facts which if then presented would have justified a verdict of acquittal. The judge who tried and sentenced him, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him and many of the best citizens of Troup county urge his pardon." Granted December 23d, 1898. 
Robert nratkins.-Voluntary manslaughter. Houston 
Superior Court, October term, 1896. Sentence five years. The Prison Commission recommended pardon for the following reasons: 
"Defendant's character previous to this difficulty had been excellent, as is testified to by many of the best citizens of his county. The evidence makes out a case which would have justified a verdict of justifiable homicide as thoroughly 
 
 49 
as that of voluntary manslaughter. The judge who presided and sentenced him, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, the jury that convicted him, many county officers and a number of the best citizens of the county recommend his pardon." Granted December 23d, 1898. 
Francis Bartow Keller.-Seduction, Superior Court of Chatham County, January term, 1894. Sentenced to five years in the penitentiary. The Prison Commission recommended a pardon for the following reasons: 
"Defendant's term of imprisonment already served is a sufficient punishment to him and an ample vindication of the law. The jury which convicted him, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, and many of the best citizens of Chatham and other counties urge his pardon. The judge who sentenced him interposes no objection; the woman whom he was convicted of having seduced has since married, and the ends of justice will be best subserved by this clemency." Granted December 23d, 1898. 
James Daniel.-Burglary. Worth Superior Court, October term, 1898. Sentenced to five years. Prison Commission recommended pardon for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted on circumstantial evidence, the unexplained possession of a small part of the goods stolen, which goods were identified by the prosecutor. The prosecutor now says he has traced the other goods into the possession of another person whom he believes to be the guilty party and he is now convinced that the defendant, if guilty at all, is guilty only as accessory after the fact and recommends this pardon. :For the same reason the judge who sentenced him, the solicitor who prosecuted him, the grand jury that indicted him, the jury that convicted him, some of the county officers and many of the best cit1zens of the county recommend clemency." Granted January 3d, 189D. 
 
 50 
John Watson. -Horse stealing. Dougherty Superior Court, April term, 1893. Sentenced to twelve years. Prison Commission recommended pardon for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted on circumstantial evidence .and has always protested his innocence. His prosecutor begs clemency in his behalf, stating that in his belief he iti innocent. The judge who sentenced him strongly urges his pardon. He has served six years and his conduct has been good." Granted :March 3d, 1899. 
C. C. Pittman.-Cattle stealing. }'ulton Superior Court, Fall term, 1896. Sentenced to three years. The Prison Commission recommended pardon for the follow~ng  reasons: 
"vVhen the defendant was arrested he was only si.xteen years of age and without having an opportunity to consult with his parents, who are law abiding citizens, and without the benefit of counsel he plead guilty. The facts of the case, as shown to the Commission, show that he was used as the tool of men much older than himself; that his previous character had been good; that during his imprisonment his conduct has been exemplary. His pardon is requested by many good citizens of Fulton and Cobb counties, which pardon is also urged by the solicitor who prosecuted him. He has already served all but three months of his sentence which is considered sufficient." Granted March 4th, 1899. 
\!-L A. Brown.-Larceny after trust. Fulton Superior 
Court, Spring term, 1898. Sentenced to twelve months in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
 
 51 
'"The physician in charge of the camp at which the defendant is incarcerated, says defendant is affiicted with .scrofu~ous tuberculosis and before conviction was a coniirmed opium habitue, and while now cured of the opium. habit, which appears to have been the cause of the crime, is a confirmed invalid. The solicitor who prosecuted him, the jury which convicted him and many good citizens of Fulton county recommend this clemency. His term will expire on the 28th of April, 1899, and it is thought that 11is punishment has been a sufficient vindication of the law." Granted March 4, 1899. 
Joel Terrell Huff.-Murder. Harris County Superior Court, Fall term, 1897. Sentenced to life imprisonment. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"1st. The evidence submitted to the Court and jury while strong enough to support the verdict is in several particulars unsatisfactory, in that it does not clearly fix the ,crime upon Huff. 2d. The newly discovered evidence to the effect that the evidence upon which the .conviction was had was untrue and that Huff was at his home at the time the crime was coinmitted, and could not therefore have  shot the deceased or been present with the party who did shoot him. 3d. The grand jury which indicted Huff, and the jury which convicted him have requested his .pardon and state that in view of the newly discovered evidence that they do not believe he had any connection with the killing of the deceased, Carnett. 4th. The solicitor-general trying the case recommends the pardon in view of the ;evidence and the newly discovered evidence. 5th. A.large number of the citizens of Harris county, not only by petition recommend his pardon but state that they are absolutely satisfied, from all the 'facts and circumstances of the 
 
 52 
case, that Huff is innocent of any connection with the crime for which he was convicted. 6th. After his conviction and pending his motion or a new trial before the Supreme Court there was a jail delivery in Harris county, Georgia, where Huff was confined, in which Stripling, his co-defendant and confessedly guilty party, escaped with other criminals, but notwithstanding that Huff had equally as good an opportunity to escape, he refrained from doing so." Granted March 6th, 1899. 
Andrew Nolan.-Burglary. Fulton Superior Court, January term, 1899. Sentenced to nine months in the chaingang. The Pardon Board recommends a commutation of sentence to present service and a fine of seventy-five dollars for the following reasons: 
"Defendant is but seventeen years of age and up to this conviction had always borne a good reputation and character. The amount of property stolen was one pair of shoes of the value of several dollars. For the crime he has already served about three months, which with the fine suggested is thought to be sufficient punishment. 1 released from custody the defendant can now secure work with respon~ible people, which will tend to make of him a good citizen and enable him to help support his dependent mother. The jury which convicted him recommends 'the most lenient penalty' and the solicitor-general who prosecuted him recommends his pardon." Granted March 8th, 1899. 
William Ficken.-Burglary. Ful~on Superior- Court, Spring term,. 1895. Sentence ten years in the penitentiary. The Prison Commission recommended his pardon or the following reasons: 
"Defendant was twenty-two years of age when convicted and had prior thereto borne a good reputation, having been raised by parents of good standing in the community. 
 
 53 
Since his conviction his mother has died and his fatl,ier, now old and infirm, needs his assistance i~ supporting his family. Ficken seems to have been led into this crime by older and more vicious companions and having already served four years, during which time his conduct has been excellent, it is thought that the law has been sufficiently vindicated. This pardon is recommended by the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, some 0 the jurors who convicted him and many 0 the most prominent law-abiding citizens 0 Fulton county." Granted March 8, 1899. 
Hayes Fears.-Burglary. Troup Superior Court, Ma,y term, 1898. Sentenced to one year in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted on circumstantial evidence, which at best made but a slim case for conviction. The judge who tried him, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, his prosecutor and many 0 thebest law-abiding _eitizens 0 Troup county strongly urge clemency in his behal. His character before conviction is shown to have been good and since his incarceration has been meritorious as to conduct." Granted March 9th, 1899. 
Walter Gartrell.-Oow stealing. Fulton Superior Court, Fall term, 1896. Sentenced to nine years. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"That his reputation was good before the crime was committed and this is his first offense. He plead guilty and has served .with good conduct since his imprisonment. His application is recommended by a large number 0 reputable citizens 0 Cobb and Fulton counties, who state that he is simple-minded, easily persuaded and that he was led into the crime by certain men whom they name. Executive clemency is also recommended by the solicitor-general. 
 
 54 
The ends of the law in the judgment of the Commission have been met in this case." Granted March 27th, 1899. 
M. R. Monroe.-Murder. Dawson Superior Court 1 
March term, 1893. Sentenced to life imprisonment.. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for th> following reasons: 
"At best the evidence made out but a slight case for conviction, and would have fully justified a verdict for voluntary manslaughter. Defendant without any preparation and acting under considerable provocation, picked up a jack-plane and threw it at deceased, inflicting a mortal wound. While in jail he was stricken with paralysis and is now and has been since his incarceration completely helpless and in the opinion of the physician in charge is liable to die at any time. The joint committee on pardons from the General Assembly in 1896 recommended this _pardon. Eight members of the jury which convicted him and a larg~J number of the best citizens of Dawson county, including officials, earnestly pray for this clemency." Granted March 28th, 1899. 
Smart Jones et al.- 
Whereas, The Prison Commission has recently investigated personally the condition of the convicts now in the Georgia Penitentiary and from such investigation reco1nmends pardons for the following convicts: 
Smart J ones.-Murder. Coffee Superior Court; received October 24th, 1895, under life sentence, who is completely paralyzed and has been bed-ridden for two years. 
William Butler.-Murder. From Sumter county; received March 11th, 1893, under life sentence; paralyzed; bed-ridden for two years and completely helpless. 
 
 55 
Milligan Hill.-Burglary. Hancock Superior Court; received December 16th, 1897, under sentence for five years; paralyzed and in declining health. 
Richard White.-Attempt to murder and voluntary manslaughter. Decatur County Superior Court; received May 28th, 1897, under two sentences, aggregating twenty-severi years, who is badly diseased and cannot live much longer. 
Isaac Dixon.-Murder. From Liberty county. Under life sentence; affiicted with heart disease and likely to die at any moment, and who has been confined to the hospital for six months. 
Alex Billups.-Murder. From Mitchell county; received February 4th, 1896, under life sentence. Badly affiicted with rheumatism and has been helpless for two years. 
,Jim Crockett.-Burglary. From Lowndes county. Received December 6th, 1896, under three years sentence, who has a bad case of consumption. 
Richard Smith.-Assault with intent to rob. From Dooly county. Received April 7th, 1898, under two years sentence; badly diseased and unable to work. 
Tom Holson.-Burglary. From Dodge county; received March 10th, 1890, under fifteen years sentence. Badly diseased and highly recommended by the prison offi-cials. 
W. F. Hopkins.-Forgery. From Effingham county; received July, 1897, under two years sentence. Term expires in April and he is in very bad health. 
 
 56 
John May.-From Washington county; received September 1st, 1896, term expires in April; afilicted with consumption. 
Chas. Glenn.-Simple larceny. From Fulton county, received September 19th, 1896, under three years sentence. Term expires in April. Afilicted with consumption. 
Riley Josey.-Burglary. From Schley county; received October 27, 1892, under ten years sentence.. Badly diseased; terin expires in August. 
Frank Meadow._.:._Assault. From Dade county; received September 29, 1897, under two years sentence. Appears to be idiotic and in declining health. Term expires in July. 
Tom Kinneman.-Car breaking. From Whitfield county; received November, 1897, under three years sentence, badly diseased and almost helpless. Recommended for pardon by the solicitor-general who prosecuted him. 
Jack Jones.-Arson. From Thomas county; received January 18th, 1891, under life sentence. Bed-ridden with dropsy. 
Jim Tillrnan.-Murder. From Baker county; received May, 1876, under life sentence; totally blind and almo;;t helpless. 
Allen Blackwell.-Murder. From Elbert county; received May 3d, 1882, under life sentence; seventy-two years old; has lost one leg and is nearly blind. 
 
 57 
Jesse Johnson.-:Murder. From Brooks county; re ceived November 21, 1891, under life sentence; badly diseased, bed-ridden and has been helpless for three years. 
The above pardons granted :March 29, 1899. 
Perry Will-iams.-:Murder. Superior Court of Ola:; county, March term, 1890. Sentenced to life imprisonment. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"After a careful investigation it looks as if defendant might have been wrongfully convicted and there is now grave doubt of his guilt in the mind of the solicitor-general who pro3ecuted him, the jury who tried him and the county Qfficers and best people of Clay county who earnestly recommend his pardon, including the grand jury serving at the March term, 1897, who by formal presentments request his pardon." Granted :May 8th, 1899. 
Chas. R. Rei.d.--Voluntary manslaughter. Bibb SupeTior Court, September term, 1897. Sentenced to thre3 years in the penitentiary. Pard<,m recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"The killing in this case was under strong provocation. Deceased having grossly insulted defendant's wife and made to her improper and indecent proposals, which she immediately reported to her husband. The insult was gross, wanl'On and unprovoked and was sufficient to have excited in Reid an extreme heat of passion under which he appears to have acted in taking the life of deceased. In his conviction for manslaughter the law has been thoroughly vin- 
dicated in the punishment undergone by him. In view 
of his physical condition the punishment has been ampk  His health, never robust, during his confinement has-be-come more delicate, and further confinement will probably 
 
 58 
endanger his life. His pardon is strongly urged by the judge who tried him, by the entire jury who tried and convicted him, the county officers o:f Bibb county, where the crime was committed, and by many other good citizens of that and other counties." Granted May 8th, 1899. 
James H arris.-Attempt to commit arson. Superior Court of Glascock county, August term, 1894. Life imprisonment. Pardon recommended by Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted entirely on circumstantial evidence which was very vague and highly unsatisfactory. The judge who tried and sentenced him, the solicitor who prosecuted him, the jury which convicted him, strongly urge his pardon upon this ground, which is also requested by the county officers of Glascock county and a large num- ber of the best citizens thereof. The grand jury for the February term, 1899, of the Superior Court o:f Glascock county, in their formal presentments urge his pardon.'' Granted May 8, 1899. 
W. T. J enkins.-Voluntary manslaughter. Habersham Superior Court, Fall term, 1897. Sentence two years in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
''The sentence o:f two years, the minimum under the law> shows that the judge who presided at the trial did not consider this an aggravated case. Jenkins le:ft a wife and threesmall children, one of whom is physically helpless and all o:f whom are absolutely dependent. His wife, upon whom these children rely for support and maintenance, is desperately and dangerously ill, and it is thought under the cir~ cumstances that he should b_e released and allowed to go to their assistance. This pardon will only shorten his sen tence about six months." Granted May 30th, 1899. 
 
 59 
Will Thornton.-J\Iurder. Sumter Superior Court,November term, 1898. Sentenced to death. Sentence recommended to commutation for life in the penitentiary, by the Prison Commission, for the following reasons: 
"Evidence of certain facts and circumstances attending the killing which were inadmissible under strict rules and were therefore excluded from the jury, have been presented. to the Prison Commission and clearly show that the penalty of death should not be inflicted on this applicant for the crime committed. This evidence showed that the killing occurred after aggravated and continued provocations. Doubt aleo appeared of a purpose to kill in striking theblow and also whether the blow was the direct cause of death. The slayer was a peaceable and reputable manr while the party killed was of violent disposition. Recommendations for executive clemency have been signed by a. majority of the trial jury, the foreman of the grand jury, the prosecutor, several county officials and a large number 
of the intelligent, law-abiding and representative citizens of 
Sumter and Terrell counties." Commutation to life imprisonment granted June 1st, 1899. 
Parham H . .Mabry.-Larceny after trust. Glynn Superior Court, January term, 1898. Sentence two years in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"First-The defendant upon being arrested restored to the company in whose employment he had been all the money taken by him. Second-Before his conviction h!:' bore an excellent character, which is vouched for by manr of the best citizens in the community in which he lived, and since his incarceration his conduct has been exemplary and repentant. Third-The judge who presided at the trial and the solicitor-general who prosecuted him strongly urge his pardon, stating the law had been vindicated, society 
 
 60 
protected and the defendant sufficiently punished. This request is joined in by sixteen members of the grand jury which indicted him, ten members of _the traverse jury which convicted him, and many of the officials of the city of Brunswick and the county of Glynn, and a large number of the best citizens. of the community, who, being familiar with all the facts surrounding this case, believe he deserves clemency. Fourth-On :May 5th last an adverse report was made in this case, but since the judge and solicitor hav,:i urged the pardon and the prosecutor has withdrawn all objections thereto, and also since said adverse report defendant's mother, with whom defendant's wife and two small children lived, has died, leaving his wife and children completely alone, destitute and dependent and with no one to support and protect them. This pardon, if_ granted, will $horten defendant's term only about four months." Granted July 6, 1899. 
Solomon J oseph.-Arson. Berrien Superior Court, :March term, 1889. Sentenced to life imprisonment. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant ,vas convicted of burning the planing mill~ of H .. H. Tift, upon the testimony of a detective, who swore that the defendant had confessed the crime to him. The prosecutor, :1fr. Tift, now urges his pardon, stating 'that after the conviction of the defendant there occurred several other fires of apparent incendiary origin and finally one of my watchmen, a white man, was detected starting one of these fires, who, upon detection, confessed that he had been making a practice of starting fires and then discovering them in order to increase the apparent necessity for hi,; employment. Since the discharge of this watchman ther:: have been no more fires of this character. In view of this 
 
 61 
fact together with the character of the testimony against J osephLI have grave doubts of his guilt.' The judge who tried and sentenced him urges the pardon, stating at tho trial he had grave doubts of defendant's guilt and had a motion been made he -would have set aside the verdict. The solicitor who prosecuted him also urges his pardon upon the same ground." Granted July 7th, 18!)!). 
Harry Sweat.--3.Inrder. Chatham Superior Court, December term, 1898. Sentenced to death. Pardon Board recommended commutation to life imprisonment for th,J following reasons: 
"At the time of the difficulty between deceased and defendant both were in a state of intoxication and appeared to be on friendly and even intimate terms, with no present cause of quarrel. Defendant in a friendly manner had endeavored to prevail on deceased to leave the porch of one Angus Smith, ,vho had ordered them to leave, and when defendant endeavored to pull deceased away, Smith pushed them both and they fell off the stoop to the ground. Thereupon they began fighting and defendant, much the smaller and weaker of the two, cut deceased, inflicting wounds from which he died. On the trial of defendant he offered to prove that deceased when dying and conscious of his con dition, upon being interrogated about the difficulty said: 'Harry is all right. I made Harry cut me. Angus Smith is the cause of it all.' -Which evidence under the strict rules of law was properly rejected by the court. Had the evidence been admissible it would have doubtless influenced the jury to recommend life imprisonment, one of the punishments for murder. while this evidence was properly rejected by the court, it is thought to be worthy of consideration bv the Executive in passing upon the application for clem;ncy. :Many of the best and most conservative 
 
 62 
citizens 0 Chatham county, and adjoiningcounties, strongly urge this commutation, including members 0 Congress and Senators 0 Georgia, county and city officials, members 0 the grand jury which indicted him and 0 the traverse jurx which convicted him." Granted commutation to life imprisonment July 19, 1899. 
Henry Edwards.-Burglary. In Effingham Superior Court, Spring terri1, 1899. Sentenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted when but sixteen years 0 age, and has now served over ten years. During his imprisonment he has developed a case 0 chronic asthma, which grows worse, and to keep him further confined might endanger his life. He has been a model prisoner during his confinement." Pardon granted August 22d, 1899. 
A. N. Carpenter.-Burglary. In Elbert County Superior Court, Spring term, 1897. Sentenced to three year in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Deendant was only seventeen years old when the crime was committed, and was not supposed to be mentally well balanced, and having served all his term but two month.,;, the prosecutor, the judge who tried and sentenced him, thJ solicitor-general who prosecuted him and many 0 the be,;t law-abiding citizens 0 Elbert recommend and strongly urge his pardon." Pardon granted August 22d, 1899. 
George Poster.-Burglary. In Baldwin Superior Court, Fall term, 1892. Sentenced to fifteen ~'ears in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
 
 63 
"The judge who tried him and the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, the prosecutor, many county officers of Baldwin county and other good law-abiding citizens thereof earnestly recommend his pardon. He has been a model prisoner during his confinement, and it is thought his punishment has been sufficient." Sentence commuted to eight years actual service, August 22d, 1899. 
Jesse Dickens.-Voluntary manslaughter. In Richmond Superior Court, May term, 1894. Sentenced to twelve years in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons, to wit: 
"The defendant was but seventeen years of age when convicted, and has now served over five years. His conduct during his imprisonment has been exemplary and it is thought that his punishment has already been sufficient. His pardon is urged by eight members of the jury which tried him, the judge ,vho presided at his trial, the solicitor general who prosecuted him and many of the best lawabiding people of Richmond county, and in formal report, after investigation, by the former legislative committee on pa!'dons." Pardon granted August 25th, 1899. 
J. T. Triblle.-Simple larceny. In Pulaski Superior Court., Spring term, 1883. Sentenced to four years in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"The applicant when he committed the crime was only twenty years of age, and restored to the owner of the stolen property the money for which he had sold the same before his arrest. When indicted he plead guilty. After serving eight months and eleven days he escaped from the penitentiary and fled into a distant State, where he has since continuously resided. From most trustworthy sources the 
 
 6'4 
Commission ascertains that he has lived an exemplary life and commands the respect and confidence of all who know him. A number of years since he connected himself with the church and is now a minister of the gospel. To-day he has delivered himself up to the proper authorities in Georgia and is now in custody of the law. In view of the fact it is thought that his further humiliation and disgrace should not be required especially as the law has been completely vindicated and the criminal completely reformed." Pardon granted August 29th, 1899. 
Alex Towns.-Robbery. Floyd Superior Court, Spring term, 189G. Sentenced to five years in the penitentiary. 
Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the 
following reasons: "Defendant was convicted upon the uncorroborated testi- 
mony of a witness who since the trial was shown to be a thief being then engaged in systematically robbing his ernployera. These facts being brought to the attention of tha judge who tried him, and the solicitor who prosecuted him, they recommend his pardon upon the ground that had they been known at the trial a conviction could not have bee~1 had." Pardon granted September 1st, 1899. 
Fate J ones.-Voluntary manslaughter. In Butts Superior Court, January term, 1897. _Sentenced to six years in the penitentiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons, to wit: 
"The judge who tried and sentenced him and the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, voluntarily write recommending his pardon. The latter stating that in his opinion justice would be done by extending this clemency and there was doubt of his guilt. The physician in charge where Jones is confined certifies that his health is completely broken down and further confinement will shorten his life." Granted September 1st, 1899. 
 
 6b 
John Maroney.-Robbery. In Floyd Superior Court, Spring term, 1896. Sentenced to five years in the peniten~ tiary. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted upon the uncorroborated testimony of a witness who had since the trial been shown t.} be a thief, being then engaged in systematically robbing his employers. These facts being brought to the attention of the judge who tried him, and the solicitor who prosecuted him, they recommend his pardon upon the grounds that had they been known at the trial the conviction could not have been had." Granted September 1st, 1899. 
MISDEMEANORS. 
Pred .Etheredge.-Burglary. Spalding Superior Co-u.rt, January term, 1898. Sentence twelve months in the chaingang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Since defendant's conviction and imprisonment in the chaingang his mother has died and Oscar Macmahan, who was jointly indicted and convicted, has been pardoned. Defendant has served eight months in the chaingang. Eleven of the jurors who convicted him, the prosecutor, the judge who presided and sentenced him, the solicitor who prosecuted him and many of the good law-abiding citizens of the county of Spalding urge his pardon." Granted November 7th, 1898. 
Willis Peterson.-Assault. Muscogee Superior Court, November term, 1898. Sentence twelve months or $50. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"The defendant has served one-half of his term in- the chaingang and is now willing and able to pay one-half 0 
 
 66 
his fine. During his confinement his health has become enfeebled and a pardon is recommended by the judge who presided at the trial, and by the solicitor who prosecuted him." Granted November 7th, 1898. 
Rally Scott.-Simple larceny. Worth Superior Court, October term, 1898. Sentence twelve months. Com mutation to $75.00 recommended by the Prison Commission or the follo-wing reasons: 
"It is represented that the defendant is suffering from a gunshot wound in his arm, which renders him unable to do physical labor, which act is certified to by the ordinary of Worth c_ounty, who asks or this commutation. An effort was made to have the judge of the Superior Court pass an order allowing defendant to pay a fine, but as said order was presented after court had adjourned for the term, the judge had not the legal authority to pass same, but iu writing he recommends this commutation." Commutation granted November 29th, 1898. 
Lee Bond.-Misdemeanor. Murray Superior Court, 
fine February term, 1897. Sentenced to and six months. 
Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for th3 following reasons: 
"Defendant was sentenced to pay a fine and work upon the public works six months. The order providing that upon the payment of the fine the chaingang sentence should be suspended. The fine was promptly paid and now the judge who tried him and imposed the sentence of his own motion requests this commutation." Granted December 3d, 1898. 
J.ame.<; JJf. Keith.-Simple larceny. Superior Court o-f Whitfield County, Spring term, 1898. Sentenced to fine or twelve months. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
 
 67 
"Defendant is shown by competent evidence to be a boy of very weak mind, whose previous character was excellent. These facts having been shown to the satisfaction of the judge who tried and sentenced him, he now recommends a pardon. The boy has already served eight months in the chaingang, and this is considered a sufficient punishment.'' Granted December 19th, 1898. 
Pat Banks.-Assault and battery. Bartow Superior Court, July term, lb98. Sentence twelve months. Par,l('ll recommended by the Prison Commission for the folkn:, 1ng reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted of assault and battery growing out of a heat of passion, in a baseball game, in which there was no apparent malice. He has already served five months, which it seems is a sufficient punishment for the offence and a complete vindication of the law. He has a wife and children who are entirely dependent upon him for maintenance. His pardon is recommended by the judge who tried and sentenced him, the solicitor who prosecuted him and other good citizens of the county of Bartow." Granted December 23d, 1898. 
Aden Grice.-:M:isdemeanor in two cases. Gilmer Superior Court, October term, 1898. Sentenced to chaingang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was in jail for about six months previous to his trial, and during that time and since his incarceration in the chaingang his health l)_as become seriously impaired, and he now seems to be suffering with consumption. The physician in charge of the chaingang hospital informs tha Prison Commission that longer incarceration may prove fatal to the prisoner. His pardon is asked for by thejudg'.3 
 
 ,68 
who tried and sentenced him, the solicitor who prosecuted him and many of the best citizens of his county." Granted J"anuary 16th, 1899. 
Bowman Trollinger.-Assault and battery. Newton County Court, December term, 1898. Sentenced to fine of $30.00 or twelve months in the chaingang. Prison Commission recommends pardon for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was a mere boy, not over sixteen years of age, and the boy assaulted was about the same age, and it is represented that the fight was really under considerabk provocation. Defendant's parents are very poor and being unable to pay the fine and costs, he had to go to the chaingang. Many of the best people of Newton county, and among them the judge who sentenced him and the solicitor who prosecuted him, strongly urge his pardon. In om opinion the law has been fully vindicated by the punishment already inflicted." Granted J"anuary 19th, 189g. 
Frank Olay.-Gaming. Houston County Col).rt, October term, 1898. Sentence, $30.00 or twelve months. Prison Commission recommended pardon for the following reasons: 
"When the defendant was convicted he was unable to pay his said fine and has been serving out the alternativesentence in the chaingang, where he has been imprisoned for four months. He now wishes to pay his fine and bedischarged." Granted March 3, 1899. 
J. W. Oliver.-Carrying pistol concealed and pointing pistol at another. City Court of Macon, September term. 1898. Sentenced $75.00 and cost in each case or four months in jail. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
 
 69 
"Defendant and- prosecutor in the case had been at enmity forquite a while previous to the occurrence out of which the prosecution and conviction grew, 'and was convicted on the evidence of the prosecutor and his wife and {')ne other witness, who asks his pardon now on the ground that her evidence may have been incorrect. Defendant stoutly justified himself and his theory was substantiated by one witness.  The prosecutor now asks his pardon, which request is joined by eight of the jurors who convicted hiin 
1 
and the solicitor-general who prosecuted him and many of the best citizens of Bibb county, including county and city officials. He has a wife and six young children who are dependent upon him for a support and are now in destitute c'ircumstances. He has already served two months in jail, which is thought to be a sufficient vindication of the law.'' Granted :March 4th, 1899. 
John IIal J ones.-Larceny from the house.. City Court of Atlanta, October term, 1898. Sentenced to fine of $50.00 or six months in the chaingang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was convicted of stealing a pai~ of snoes from a storehouse on the testimony of two witnesses, that just previous to his arrest had been in the store. He had been in the store and the shoes were found in hispossessiori. At the time of his arrest he claimed to have purchased the shoes from one Simon Stevens and on his trial proved 'by three or four \vitnesses that h:e had so purchased them. Since his conviction Simon Stevens has been arrested~ and identified by those witnesses as the man who sold the shoes to _the defendant, and has been committed_ and is now ii;i. jail for the offence, and the said Simon Stevens now admits. that he sold the defendant the shoes.". Granted March _4th,. 1899. 
 
 70 
John Findlay.-Larceny. Fulton Superior Court, November term, 1898. Sentence $50.00 or six months. Prison Commission recommended pardon for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was jointly charged with one John Hal Jones and both were convicted. On the 4th inst. Jones was pardoned on the recommendation of the Commission, on the ground that when arrested in possession of the stole11 goods he claimed to have bought them from one Simon Stevens who has been recently arrested charged with the same crime, and upon his committal trial admitted that he sold the shoes to John Hal Jones. Stevens has been put upon trial and convicted of the larceny for which Jones and Findlay were convicted. The solicitor of the City Court who prosecuted Jones and Findlay, who this week prosecuted Stevens to conviction, now urges this pardon, stating that he believes Jones and defendant to both be innocent." Granted March 14th, 1899. 
Joseph B. Brown.-Selling liquor. Superior Court of Banks County, November term, 1898. Sentence twelve months. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"He has consumption as shown by the certificates of two physicians, and the petition of a large number of reputable citizens, which may be developed into permanent disability by longer confinement. His pardon is recommended by petitioners, the trial jury and the solicitor. His offence ~ a misdemeanor .and his time will expire in November, 1899." Granted April 8th, 1899. 
Zeke Word.:_Selling liquor and gaming. Walton Superior Court, April term, 1898. Sentence twelve months for each offence. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
 
 71 
"He is stricken with paralysis and subsequently afil1cted with other diseases, rendering him totally unable to work, causing him confinement in the jail hospital and threaten,; his life unless he is released. He is a poor man and unable to pay the fine imposed. His pardon is recommended by the officials of Walton county, and a reputable practicing physician, who has examined him, and certifies under oath to his extreme disability." Granted April 8, 1899. 
Lott Miller.-Gaming. City Court of Griffin, September term, 1898. Sentence nine months or $50.00. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the followmg reasons: 
"He has already served out seven and one-half months, leaving but a few more days, counting the time earned for good behavior, which is thought to be sufficient punishment fol'. his crime. His pardon is recommended by the judge who tried him and the solicitor who tried him." Granted April 29, 1899. 
Willis Dillingham.-Larceny from the house. Superior Court of Spalding County, and sentenced to the chaingang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission fo1 the following reasons: 
"Defendant is only eighteen years of age; very delicate; diseased and unable to undergo the punishment inflicted upon him, which is certified to by the county physician of Spalding county. His pardon is urged by the judge who presided at the trial, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him and many of the county officers of Spalding county." Granted April 29, 1899. 
Anna Hunley.-Larceny from the house. City Court of Columbus; January term, 1899. Sentence, ten months. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
 
 72 
"Since her conviction she has been in jail, unable to by placed upon the chaingang on account of her physical con dition, which is certified to by two reputable physicians, one of them being the county physician, to be deplorable, being confined for the most of the time to her bed with consumption, suffering with frequent hemorrhages. In the opinion of these physicians she will never recover, and further imprisonment will hasten her death. Her pardon is recommended by the judge who presided at the trial, the solicitor of the city court, two of the commissioners of roads and revenues and other officers and citizens." Granted April 29th, 1899. 
Horace P; Owens.-Gaming and retailing liquor without license. Superior Court of Fulton County, January term, 1899. Commutation recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant plead guilty and asked the court not to impose an alternative fine, but to give him terms on the chaingang, hoping that confinement and hard labm- would enable him to give up certain bad habits to which he was addicted, and which brought about his criminal acts. Since his confinement his health has broken down and the county physician in charge of the chaingang hospital certifies that further confinement will probably injure him fo~ life." Granted May 8th, 1899_. 
Joe Tye.-Stealing a ride on railroad train. Walton County Court, February term, 1899. Sentence, twelvo months. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant is a negro boy about fifteen years of age and rode upon the train at th~ advice of an Atlanta policeman, who told him it was no crime. He has already served ibout three months of his sentence, which is deemed sufficient punishment." Granted May 8th, 1899. 
 
 73 
T. James Buchanan.-Larceny from the person. Fulton Superior Court, Spring term, 1899. Sentence, nine months. The 'Prison Commission recommended commutation to present service upon the payment of a fine of fifty doilars and costs, for the followi~g reasons: 
"Defendant was indicted for robbery, but upon the trial after the evidence was introduced for the State, the solicitorgeneral accepted a plea of larceny from the person. It seems that defendant and one Richard Gilbert were both drunk, and that defendant took Gilbert's watch in an open manner, in the presence of witnesses in a saloon, which fact being reported to the police he was arrested and charged with robbery. Defendant claimed then and has always claimed that he was only taking the watch to prevent Gilbert from losing it, and the facts seem to bear out his con:. tention with some degree of probability. Gilbert himself recommends an unconditional pardon, and the solicitor:. general who prosecut~d him also urges clemency, as do many other good citizens of Fulton county." Granted commutation as recommended May 8, 1899. 
S. P. Farnbrough.-Selling whiskey illegally. Morgan County Court, April term, 1899. Sentence, $300 and costs or twelve months. Pardon recommended by the 
a Prison Commission, upon the payment of fine of $100 
and costs, or twelve months in the chaingang, for the .following reasons: 
"Since his conviction defendant has been shot twice with a shotgu~, and is now confined to his bed :from the wounds receive. d. His fi.nancial condition is such that he cannot pay the fine, and his physical ~ondition is such that he cannot undergo the labor_ and confinement. The county ju9-ge and solicitor therefore recommend 'the commutation named." Commutation granted May 24th, 1899. 
 
 74 
Louisa P.almer.--Arson. In Chatham Superior Court, March term, 1895. Sentenced for life imprisonment. Commutation recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Defendant was only sixteen years of age when the crime was committed and is reported to have been very ignorant and extremely simple. Her crime consisted of three attempts to set fire to the house of her employer, in Savannah, with no apparent motive, she being taken almost in the act the third time, after the other two had been extinguished, all during one day and in daylight. No harm or damage occ-urred by any of these attempts and the jury recommended her to the extreme mercy of the court. The judge had no discretion in sentencing her, the penalty being life imprisonment on recommendation. The judge now urges her pardon, stating that had it been in his power he would have given her a term of years, which recommendation iti strongly urged by the solicitor-general who prosecuted hei-, and other good citizens and the jur;rs who convicted her." Commutation to ten years in the penitentiary, granted August 23d, 1899. 
Joseph C. Rickerson.-Seduction. In Putnam County: Fall term, 1898. Sentenced to two years in the penitentiary. Commutation recommended by the Prison Com~ mission for the following reasons: 
"The evidence at best makes out a very weak case of seduction. The solicitor-general who prosecuted t_!ie casJ recommends a pardon on the ground that a conviction for fornication would have been proper and an ample vindication of the law. This recommendation is joined in by the entire grand jury which indicted him, except one, by the entire traverse jury which convicted him, by many county officers of the county, including the Representative and 
 
 75 
Senator of the 28th district, and many of the best lawabiding citizens of Putnam county. It is thought that the extreme penalty as for a misdemeanor will be a suitable punishment in this case." Commutation to one year in the penitentiary, granted August 24th, 1899. 
R. Kerr.-S.imple larceny. In the City Court of Atlanta, November term, 1898. Sentenced to twelvemonths on the chaingang and six months in jail. Commutation recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"The defendant was a boy who drifted from his home in Texas seeking a living, but fell in while here with bad company, an older man, who persuaded him in assisting in the crime for which he was convicted. His former character is shown by some of the most respectable people of Texas to have been good, and his family connections are of the best. His pardon or commutation is recommended by these people and aleo by the solicitor who prosecuted him an<l other court officials as well as by some of the best people of Atlanta. The imprisonment already suffered in the chaingang is considered sufficient punishment and the fiftydollar fine to take the place of the additional term in jail/1 Commutation to twelve months in tlie chaingang and a fine of fifty doJlars, to include the cost, granted August 31st, 1899. 
Bud Haclcett.-Murder. In Bartow Superior Court, :March term, 1809 (special session). Sentenced to death. Commutation to life imprisonment in the penitentiary recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"The circumstances of the killing more particularly developed by proof since the trial, show that the defendant 
 
 76 
committed the homicide in an .encounter without having made previous preparation or the difficulty, and without 
time for delib~ratio:h: ,; 'He is an ignorant man of very weak 
mind,and thecrimewas committed while he was intoxicated. A strong appeal'i&inff& in his behalf by many of tne most respectable citizens of Bartow county, where he was reared, 
also by inany menibe~s cl the bar and officers of the court 
and county. Recommendations for commutation also made by the judge of the 1city court, by the judge of the Superior Court before whom he was tried, by a number of the jurors who tried him and by the solicitor-general." Sentence commuted to life in the penitentiary September 20th, 1899. 
Eb W right.-Selling mortgaged property. County Court of Baldwin county,. November term, 1898. Sentence, $250 or twelve. months. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"A careful reading of the record in this case generates :i strong doubt o:f defendant's guilt of any crime. He was sentenced under a section of the Code of 1882, making the 
or penalty for this crime a fine in double the amount the 
mortgage, which statute by amendment in 1895 now makes the penalty the same as in other misdemeanors. He has already served four months; which is considered ample punishment for the crime of which he was convicted." Granted }\fay 24, 1899. 
Lee Clement.-Riot, assault and carrying c,:mcealed weapons. Fannin Superior Court, January term, 1898. Sentenced to twelve months each on two of the cases and six months on the oth~i:- Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
."The offenc~s occurred at the same time and place as one event and_ n'o one was hurt.. The applicant has undergone the penalties seventeen months in the chaingang, and his 
 
 77 
pardon is recommended by the officials of Union and Fannin counties, by a very large number of intelligent and good citizens of Union county, by t4e judge before whom he wa& tried and the solicitor who prosecuted him/' Granted June 2d, 1899. 
Ben Sam Lforper.-Selling whiskey illegally in two cases. City Court of Elberton, October te~m, 1897. Sentenced to twelve months in each case. Pardon recom mended by the Prison Commission for the :following reasons: 
"Defendant was first convicted in the ]Y,(ayor's Court for 
a violation of a city ordinance, involving the same transaction, and given terms of three months in each case and served out these terms. He was then tried and convicted for violating the State law and received the sentences set out above, making the time already served over two years. He is represented to be afflicted with an incurable disease and his pardon is requested by the judge who tried him, the solicitor who prosecuted him and many of the best citizens 
of the county of Elbert. If pardoned the last term will 
only be shortened by about two months." Granted July 6th, 1899. 
Lula Seals.-Larceny from the house. City Criminal Court of Atlanta, March term, 1899. Sentence, twelve months. Commutation recommended by the Prison Commission from twe.Jve months on the chaingang to twelve months in jail, to include the time she has already served in jail, for the following reasons: 
"The County Commissioners of Fulton county make thi.,; request for commutation, desiring that she should be employed in work at the. jail, rather than on the gan& and it is thought that her punishment there will be equally as 
 
 78 
great and perhaps more humane. This request is also joined by the solicitor 0 the City Court who prosecuted her and the judge who tried and sentenced her says this disposition will be perfectly satisfactory to him." Commutation granted July 8th, 1899. 
J. T. Collier.-Assault and battery. Cobb County Superior Court, November term, 1898. Sentenced to $1,000 or twelve months in the chain-gang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission or the following reasons: 
"This clemency is recommended by the judge who pre sided and sentenced him, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him and a large number 0 the best law-abiding citizens of Cobb county." Granted August 21st, 1899. 
Pos~ell Loden.-Selling whiskey illegally. City Court 0 Clarkesville, :February term, 1899. Sentenced $100 or twelve months in the chaingang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission or the following reasons: 
"The judge who tried him, the solicitor who prosecuted him and many 0 the best and law-abiding citizens 0 Habersham county recommend his pardon. Defendant was only nineteen years 0 age when convicted and has already served more than six months on the chaingang, besides about three we"eks in jail prior to his trial~ which is 
0 
considered sufficient punishment for his crime." Granted August 22d, 1899. 
George White.--Simple larceny. City Court 0 Bartt>w County, June term, 1899. Sentenced to six months in tho chaingang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission far tho following reasons: 
"Defendant was only twelve years of age when convicted and upon newly discovered evidence presented to tbe judge 
 
 79 
of said court who tried him without a jury, he expresses great doubt as to his guilt and asks his pardon, which is also urged by the solicitor who tried him." Granted September 1st, 1899. 
Charlie Gordon.-Gambling. Bibb Superior Court, AJ>ril term, 1899. Sentenced to six months in the chaingang. Pardon recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"After confinement in jail he was confined. thirty day:i in the pest-house on account of smallpox in the jail, then worked in the chaingang until September and becoming sick he was sent to the hospital where he is yet confined. He is unfit for work on account of dropsy. The pardon is recommended by the judges of the Superior and City Courts, by the solicitor-general and by a number of officials and citizens 0f Bibb county." Granted September 30th, 1899. 
Richard Moreland.-Carrying concealed weapons. City Criminal Court of Atlanta, July term, 1899. Sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and costs or twelve months in the chaingang. Commutation recommended by the Prison Commission to a fine of $30, including costs, or six months in the chaingang, for the following reasons: 
"He has established by means of letters from prominent citizens of his home, LaGrange, Georgia, that his character is of the best and that he has never been in any trouble before, or transgressed any of the laws of the State to their knowledge. The judge who presided at his trial, and the solicitor who prosecuted him, both request that the sentence be reduced." Granted July 13, 1899. 
 
 RESPITES. 
To the Sheriff of Chatham County: 
Whereas, At the March term, 1898, of the Superior Court of Chatham county, Abram Smalls was convicted of the offense of murder and was sentenced therefor to be executed on Friday, the 9th day of December, 1898, and 
Whereas, A_ petition numerously signed by respectable and law-abiding citizens of said county has been presented to me asking the commutation of said sentence to life im0 prisonment in the penitentiary, and 
-Whereas, On account of the many important public duties upon the Executive requiring immediate consideration, it is impracticable at this time to give proper consideration to said petition or commutation, it is deemed proper to grant a respite of said sentence as hereinafter named. You are therefore hereby commanded to delay and postpone the execution of said sentence until Friday, January 13th, 1899, on which day, in the absence of any legal order directing the contrary, you will do execution upon the body of the said A_bram Smalls in accordance with the judgment of the court rendered in said case. Herein ail not. 
Granted December 8th, 1898. 
Jeff Hicks.- 
To the Sheriff of Macon County: 
Whereas, At the May term, 1898, of the Superior ,Court of Macon county, Jeff Hicks was convicted of the offense of murder, and was sentenced therefor to be hanged on Tuesday, the 20th day of December, 1898, and 
"Whereas, A petition numerously signed by the law-abiding citizens of Macon county, has been presented to me asking a commutation of said sentence to life imprisonment in the penitentiary, and 
 
 81 
WherBas, On account of the many public dutie.s upon ihe Executive; requiring immediate ,eonsideration, it is impossible and impracticable at this time to give proper con-sideration to said petition and to the record in said case, it is deemed proper to grant a respite of said sentence as hereinaner named. 
You, the sheriff of said Macon county, are therefore hereby commanded to delay and postpone the execvtion of said sentence until Tuesday, January 3d, 1899, on which .Jay, in the absence of any legal order directing the contrary, you will do execution upop. the body of the said Jeff Hicks in accordance with the judgment of the court ren<lered in said .case. Herein fail not. 
Granted December 19, 1898. 
Second respite granted Jeff Hicks on the 31st day of December, 1898, for the reason that he was stricken with pneumonia and was dangerously ill when said second respite was granted, which fact was certified to by t~e county physician, l\L F. Crumley, who stated that should he live until the day mt for the execution, to wit: January 3d, 1899, he would be unable to move or stand alone, and that "to execute him in that condition would be inhuman and almost barbarous." Second respite granted December 31st, 1898. 
Will Taylor and Fred Perry.- 
To the Sheriff of Wilkes County: 
whereas, at a special term of the Superior Court of Wilkes county, begun on the 30th day of Jan., 1899, Will Taylor and Fred Perry were convicted of murder and were sentenced therefor to be hanged on Friday, the 21st day of February, 1899, and, 
 
 82 
Whereas, a petition for mandamus nisi has been filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court, to require the judge of the Superior C~mrt of Wilkes county, to certify to the bill of exceptions presented to him in said cases, and, 
Whereas, since the Supreme Court is not in session, and will not be until the fourth day of March pr.oximo, eight days after the day set for the execution of the said Taylor and Perry, and it being therefore impossible for the said petition for mandamus nisi to be heard before the day set for the execution of said Taylor and Perry, unless a stay of sentence is granted, and, 
Whereas, in view of the above recited facts, it is deemed. proper to grant respites of said sentences as hereinafter named. 
You, the said Sheriff are hereby commanded to delay and postpone the execution of said sentences until Friday the 24th day of March, 1899, on which day in the absence of any legal order directing the contrary, you will do execution upon the ho.dies of the said Will Taylor and Fred Perry in accordil.ince with the judgment of said court rendered in said case.. Herein fail not. Granted February 21, 1899. 
Second respite granted will Taylor and Fred Perry on the 14th day of March, 1899, for the reason that said cases. are still p~tlding before the Supreme Court, and at the request of the judges of the Supreme Court said second respite was granted, so as to allow them the time needed to consider and pass upon said applications. Second respite. granted_ u.ntil the 28th day of April, 1899. 
Cassius Law.- 
To the Sheriff of Hall County: 
Whereas, At the January term, 1899, of the Superior Court of Hall County, Cassius Law was convicted of the 
 
 83 
crime of murder, and was sentenced to be hanged on Wednesday, the 15th day of March, 1899, and 
Whereas, A numerously signed petition from the citizensof the said county of Hall, praying a commutation of the sentence of the Court, in which the said Law was convicted, tb imprisonment for life in the penitentiary, has been re- ceived, and 
Whereas, The Board of Pardons, whose duty it is to pass upon said petitions and send it up to this department with their recommendation, is not in session and cannot, owing to the absence of its members on official business, be convened before the day set for the execution of the said Law, and 
Whereas, It is deemed proper and right to afford every criminal every opportunity authorized by law to secure a mitigation of his sentence. Therefore, in order that the petition for a ~ommutation of the sentl;)nce of the sa.id Law may be considered and acted upon by the said Board of Pardons, before said sentence is carried into effect, it is deemed proper to grant respite of said sentence as hereinafter named. You, the sheriff, are hereby commanded to del~y and postpone the execution of said sentence until Wednesday, the 29th day of March, 1899, on which day, in the absence of any legal order directing the contrary, you will do execution upon the body of the said Cassius Law in accordance with the judgment of the court rendered in said case. Herein fail not. Respite granted March 14th, 1899. 
Second respite granted Cassius Law on March 28th, 
1899, until Wednesday, the 12th day of April, tlf99, for 
the reason that the Pardon Board haq not had sufficient time in which to pass upon said application for commutation. 
 
 84 
J irn Rernbert.- 
To the Sheriff of Mitchell County: 
" 
. "\:Vhereas, At the April term, 1899, of the Superior Court of Mitchell county, Jim Rembert w:as convicted .of the, 
offense of murder, and sentenced therefor to be hanged on 
the 16th day of May, 1899, and . Whereas, A petition signed by the foreman of the jury 
who tried said Jim Rembert, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, .and many of the best and most law-abiding peoJ)le of Mitchell county aslung-that said execution be f'ltayed until the mental condition of the condemned .man can be inquired into and ascertained, has been presented to the Execut~ve1 and 
Whereas, On account of the many public duties upon the Executive requiring consideration, it is impracticable at this time to give proper consideration to said petition, and the record in said case. It is deemed proper therefore to grant a respite of .said sentence as hereinafter ~amed. You, the sheriff of said county of Mitchell, are hereby ordered to delay and postpone the execution of the said Jim Rembert as ordered by the said court, until Friday, the 16th day of June, 1899, on which day, in the absence of any legal order directing the contrary, you will proceed to do execution upon the body of the said Jim Rembert in accordance with the judgment of the court rendered in said case. Herein fail.not. Respite granted May 15th, 1899. 
Will Wilson.- 
To the Sheriff of Dodge Count;y: 
Whereas, At the March term, 1899, -0f Dodge Superior Court, Will Wilson was convicted of the offenseof murder, and sentenced therefor to be hanged on the 23d day of June, 1899, and 
 
 Whereas, New evidence has been discovered that creates a :9-oubt as 'to the guilt of the said Will wilson, therefore:, to the end that the question of the guilt of the said Will Wilson ;may be more fully inquired into by the Board of Pardons, it is deemed proper to grant a respite of__:_saiJ sentence as hereinafter named. 
:You, the sheriff of said county of Dodge, are hereby ordered to delay and postpone the execution of the said Will Wilson as ordered by said court until Friday, the 14th day of July, 1899, on which day, in the absence of any legal order directing the contrary, you will proceed to do execution upon the body of the said Will Wilson in accordanc~ with the judgment of the Court rendered in said case. Herein fail not. Granted June 2\3d, 1899. 
 
REMOVAL OF DISABILITIES. 
Judd Murray.-Larceny. Morgan County Court, June 
term, 1883.  Sentence, fine of $15. Removal of disabilities recommended by the Prison Commission for the follo\ving reasons: 
"The defendant, for fifteen years since his conviction, has iived. an upright, honest life and has made a useful citizen. 
These facts are testified to by some of the best- citizens of 
:Nt:organ county, including county officials, who ask that thi.~ removal of disabilities be granted him." Granted December l'<Yth, 18'98. 
 
_: Geo. F._ Mi1ler.~Larceny, from the house. Oconee 
 
P<?'4!ttr;p~t,;,rJi1ffilH1iI.}f:,te~311;y~~-~f:!:: Sm~J~nG~~ 1-~9, P,R~\!' fine. .~v~l 9f. ,difji,t~ili~ie~ 1;eco~rnep4_ed; bf t~f/ f,fison 
 
(;;pm~issjqljl t;>r:tne :fo~lo;wiug,reii,soxvi; , , , . ~ ..,,..._ <,. '"".,(-'.'~ 
 
,, ,1 
 
. . . . ., , , 
 
..! J,, ,i.,.,  
 
. 
 
~, 1 ,-~ ,_I,,.,. . 
 
s:; -~:'.};!~~~~}}Ya~.,in,s~JME.Ci+l}P) #n~ ~rim~ :a.t, ~il,:JlY.P. #,.~ 
 
~~~ ill~ itn:w~4,)W:~~ ,j,:m!l~q.iaw~]>~Wt ~,$4i(le.,,heil;l~ ~ 
 
 86 
'fendant has lived an honest,,law-abiding life, whieh fact is certified to by the original prosecutor .in the case, the solicitor who prosecuted him; the judge who tried him and 'other good citizens of Oconee county, all of whom urge this clemency." Granted December 12, 1898. 
Joseph .Hallinan.-Larceny after trust. C.hatham Superior Court, - - term. Removal of disabilities recommended by the Prison ,Commission, for the following rnasons: 
"The judge of the court who presided at the trial and sentenced him, the solicitor-general who prosecuted him, and one . of the present Representatives from -Chatham county, who are familiar with the previous character of tho defendant, as also the evidence upon which he was convicted, strongly urge this clemency." Granted December 23d, 1898. 
a . John T. Howell, J1'.--,-Lar~eny. C9unty Court of Spald- 
ing County, - - term. Sentenced therefor to pay fine. Removal of disabilities recommended by the _Priso:r;i Com,mission for the :following .reasons: 
''De:fendanfs conviction occurred about twelve years .ngo, since which time his conduct has been good and he has .led an honest, exemplary life, all which facts are testifi~ to _by.some of the best citizens of the county in which he lived,, who ask for this clemency." Granted June 6th, 1899., 
J. W. Lavar.-Extortion. City Court o~ Macon, June 
term, 1897. Sentenced to pay a fine and confinement in 
13ihb county jaiL Removal of di.sirbilities recomnie:ttdeB. by the Priso~ Commission for the following reasoiis:  
"Said Lavar was constable of the 481st district G> M'.. 'tml as such collected on a fieri facias, issued.Chy th~ justice 
of the peace of said district, the sum of five dollars for a 
 
 87 
peace warrant, to which in law the officers were not ,entitled. Very 'many of the best citizens of Macon and Bibb county believe that he intended to commit no crime, arnl was honestly mistaken as to the law in the.. case, and they .1irge that his ,<lisabilities be removed." Granted May 8th, 1899. 
Thomas H. Roach.-Simple larceny. Superior Court 'Of Cherokee County, December term, 1882. Sentence to 'payment of fine and costs: Removal of disabilities recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"Since his conviction, seventeen years ago, defendant has led an honest, law-abiding life and has made a good citizen." Granted :May 8th, 1899. 
Allen Robinson.-Burglary. Superior Court ,of Pier.Ce County, September term, 1876. Sentence five years in the penitentiary. Removal of disabilities recommended by the Prison Commission for the following reasons: 
"His sentence for which he was convicted having been fully served. Since his release he ha.s established a character as an honest, upright citizen,. which is vouchea for bihis present employer, with whom he has lived for eighteen years." Granted July 20th, 1899. 
J. H.J. Brown.-Extortion:. Superior Court of Bibb County, April term, 1893. Sentenced to pay a fine of $200, and removal from office. Removal of disabilities recommended by the ,Prison Commission for the followi1i1g reasons: 
"Petitioner paid his fo:1e and has sip_qe li,v~d .an h.onest1 
up11ght ,life, whi~h .is certified.to. by. ;many gOf>d ?itizgr,1.s. 0 
Bibb.c9unty;, .inclm;ling theju,dge..wh9:pr~si<led ,1\-t, 11-is,tl'.iM 
th.e Pl'.~sentjuq.ge a,nd ~Oficitor of tAat, ~irc11:~f11 a:p;d: 9tlJ,'fr 
<)ffi.cials, city and ~ounty, who rerpi.ei,t tlia,t; hjs, <~piii~~~, 
be,.,re~ovecl." :l,rantecl July l~th,;.189,~. 
 
 88 
 
W. H. Thompson..-Embezzlemen\. Morgan Superior 
 
Court, S'eptember term, 1897. Sentence two years in the penitentiary. Removal of disabilities recomme11ded by the Prison Oomniis8ion :or the following reasons:  "It appears to be his first and only violation of law. His 
 
conduct during the term of punishment has been invariably 
 
good, and the petition of a number of intelligent and re- 
 
spectable citizens, including county officers, urged this 
 
application for ]:xecutive clemency, Since the expiration 
O'.f his term he has deported himself as a good citizen.'t 
 
Disabilities removed August 12th, 1899. 
 
Lee Sloan.~Simple larceny. In Forsyth Superior 
 
Court, Spring term, 1897. Removal of disabilitttls recom~ 
 
mended by the Prison Commission for the following rea~ 
 
sons: 
 
"The ordinary of Forsyth strongly urges this clemency 
 
arid vouches for his good character." Disabilities.removed 
 
August 23d, 1899. 
 
. 
 
. 
 
0. H. Parrot.-Simple larceny. In City Court of Bar- 
 
to,v County. Sentenced to pay a fine. Removal of dis~ 
 
abilities reconimended by the Prison Commission tor the 
 
followi~g reasons: 
 
"A number of the best citizens of Bartow county request 
 
tihis clemency because of the good character of the defend- 
 
ant." Disabilities removed August 23d, 1899. 
 
W. I. Geer.-Larceny from the 1:J.ouse. . In Clay Superior 
 
Court, March term, 1888. Se:ritep.ced to pay a fine of 
 
thirty-five dollars. Removal of disabilities recommended 
W~s; py the )>tison Commissiop. :for the foilowi~g reas~ns: 
lo'~i; ':Hui \i1 ''Bbf \vb.en.;'lie (corti.rhrtt~a th~ bftin'c~ c~1\f~ic'fatia.:_sih'ci 'his\io'nv1<itb:ri h~ lia:s IM' 'an htihest;. upl fl~flffJ_Gan~;;{r1f~pf~~n~ea'-jto bf it gdbdJi#-~B~dihg;'u~Ril18hit~Jl{fin~iiS' ,if;hiti,''ri~ig~b~rs~ who t~iju~t alid tifge' 
this clemency." i}tlabiH\llis remdved'11iigust ~a;t~tib: . 
 
 .APPENDIX B. 
SAVANNAH, GA., September Stb, 1899. 
Governor of Georgia, Atlanta, Ga. 
Sir :-.As all my communications.in the matters covered by this report have been re.ceived from qr sent to the Commander-in-Chief direct, and not through the -4.djutant-General, this report is addressed to the Commander-in-Chief, and not to the .Adjutant-General, but is tran.smitted through 
the last. named officer. 
I have the honor to submit herewith my report as commanding officer of the State troops on o.uty at Darien, Ga., from .August 23d to Septemb~r 5th inclusive. 
On August 23d, 1899, I was temporarily absent from my station ip. Eatonton, Ga., on business not connected wit~ the_ Georgia Volunteers. On that day, the Commander-in 
Chief :first ordered troops to Darien, and I had no con- 
nection with the execution of the said order. On the mo,rn~ 
ing of the 24th I returned to Sav_annah, and promptly, re- 
ported by telegraph to the Commander-in-Chief that I was 
presen~ for _duty. I. ;was 9rdered, in response thereto, to 
proceed ~at_ day, to Darien, G;a., look into the ~ituation, .ad7 y~s~, t~~ Cl-oyywor, the~eqf, ~R-s1:eithEir,,retain o;r.: 1isVt~~l;l. th,e ti:;9op_s,t~e~ at_ p~rielj. ilfl I,in ;rp,y-jqglUE:1nt E\~0~14; d,ee:r,u nee': 
f~i:l~,y.anp.,~,81"-tr,, I ~t onct,~ N<?flfeded ~o.Dl;J:rie:r;i.1 an9- (;mnfl on. 4l-!-t,.Y:P).,yf~,fl;;~~t~c~e~~ o:f,thfl ;E'\r~t,~<yg'.t,;J~i.:t-,:,Gc.-,,YiH 
4 officers and 66 enli~1i3~ ;rr/-~P- ~D;i~r ili,.~, cori:qna,I\q.;p~ . Qap~ 
Wm. L. Grayson; also Troop G, McIntosh L1ght Dragoons, 
 
 90 
 
1st. Reg't. Cav., G. V., whose station is at Darien, 3 officers 
 
and 27 enlisted men under the command of Capt. B. T. 
 
Sinclair. 
 
I was met at the station by a committee of citizens of 
 
Darien and McIntosh county, which committee included 
 
the Mayor of the city, the Chairman of the Board of County 
 
Commissioners, and several prominent citizens. I was also 
 
met by T. J3. Blount,..the. sheriff of the. county, and Capt. 
 
Grayson in command of the detachment of the 1st. Reg't 
 
Inf. I conferred freely with all of these and found this 
 
state of facts: Henry Delegal, a prominent negro of the 
on county, residing near Harris N eek the coast, had been 
a accused of rape on white woman, Matilda Ann Hope: 
 
The accusation had b~en recently made; the cri~e was al- 
 
have leged 'to 
 
been committed on the 2d of December, 
 
'1898.. On Monday, August 21st, Delegal had surrendered 
 
himself to the sheriff, and was confined in jail. ' Without 
 
any causetheretor so far as I could discover, the negroes of 
 
the town' imdcounty conceive.d 'the idea that he was to be 
 
lynched; that is to say, I know no cause for this conception 
 
except 'the frequent lynchings of riegroes' charged with this 
 
crime wh'ich have occurred within the past few months in 
the State of Georgia. For the purpose of protecting Henry 
 
Delegal against 1ynchiii:g, the negroes began to arm them- 
 
selves a~d to gather in and about the town: and in the vicin- 
ity of the jail. ., This went on during Monday and Tuesday. 
S~me of,theril, I 'ain co:nviriced, were actuated.solely by the 
 
ihteiition: of pro'.tecting Henry Delegal; others undoubtedly 
took a:dv~~tage of the s1tliation to make themselves very 
b:ffensi~e;' and t6 condtict themselves in a most dangerous and ihsolent manner. ~alculated to bring about ii breach ~f 
th~ peace a':rid ~ riot.. :'Under these circumsfuibei it .was 
 
thcn1ght: advisable that Henry Del~gal should b~. r~moved 
for safEi0k'e~pirtg to Chathain counts,jail. 
 
 '91 
On Wednesday morning, August 23; Sheriff T. B. .Blount undertook to take him from the jail for this purpose; he was stopped by armBd negroes and informed that this could not be done, and a large number of them made a show. of force in front of and around the jail. They  were not commanded to disperse. Indeed, so far as I could discover, the sheriff did nothing exGept to comply with their demands, and to permit them to place _an armed guard of .some twenty negroes around the jail for the purpose of protecting it. This seemed to merely add fuel to the flames. Armed negroes seemed to have complete possession of the town, and the white citizens naturally viewed the situation .with much alarm. The result was communication with the Governo~ and the request that troops be sent to conduct 
Henry Delegal to Chatham county jail. I attach hereto, 
marked "Enclosure No. 1," the report of Capt. P. F. Gleason, commanding 1st. Reg't. Inf., Gi. V., dated August 24th, and covering this service, which shows that he reached Darien about 7 :30 p. m. with 14 officers and 184 men, took the prisoner from th!c) jail, delivered him to the sheriff of Chatham county on that same night, leaving 4 officers and ,66 men, under command. of. Capt. W. L. Grayson, 1st. .Reg't. Inf., G. V., on duty at Darien. Meantime Troop G, )st. Reg't. Cav., G. V., whose station is at Darien, had been .ordered out by the Governor, and had assembled with a ,strength of _3 officers and 22 JP.en, and was then in its arm_ory. The services of this troop do not .seem to have been used at: all on this day. - 
I found Capt. G:rayson's detachment of the 1st. Reg't. 
In., an,d Troop G oi thg 1st. Reg't. Gav., still .on duty, but 
.not united, into .one command. , For sufficient reaS1Jns I did .not undertake to remedy this want of, unity, b_ut left them .as separate .commands, both reporting to the. sheriff. ..Capt. .Sinclair did. not ~eport to me, .but I sought him out and 
 
 gave him orders. I was informed by-him, and by the citizens, that he had only 14 serviceable carbines; As soon as daylight appeared, I caused an inspection of his command to be made by 2d Lieut. Walter E. Coney, of the 1st. Reg't. Inf.,' and who reported to: me that 37 carbines were in sufficiently good condition for any duty which they might be called upon to perform. Lieut. Coney is V'ery capable of judging, and I have no doubt that his report is correct. 
Although Henry Delegal's presence in the jail was the original cause of the riot, and he had been removea, it did not seem to have bettered the situation. Both negroes and whites were in a state of high excitement; large numbers of warrants had been immediately sued out by the Solicitor-General for the arrest of the negroes who had intimidated the sheriff. Many of the arrests had been made, and they kept the community in a state of inflammation. Had no effort been made to arrest -these men, matters would probably have quieted themselves, but it was absolutely necessary to the preservation of law and order that they should be arrested. I spent the night of August 24th at Darien. At about daybreak of that morning, two special deputy sheriffs, Jos. Townsend and Octavus Hopkins, undertook to arrest John Delegal, the son of Henry Delegal, at his house about 15  miles from Darien. John Delegal shot and killed Jos. Townsend and wounded Octavus Hopkins in the shoulder. His mother and his brother are both charged with complicity in the crime of murder. He claims that he shot in self-defense. The nierits of this claim.willbe decided by the courts. 
me to lt did not take- long -ctmie to thi 'doiielusMii thai 
the presertce of tr66ps at.'Datien \vall'necessary. t thereforfi otaered Capt.' :siriclaii-:and apt: Grayson to"ke~p their conirliands o:t:t duty, and' on:Uie riiornitlg bf tM 25lh' T re: turned' to s~va:nrtalt, havihg accoinp1ish:ed the in:issiun: ort 
 
 93 
which I was sent. During the entire period of my service I made frequent telegraphic reports to the Commander-inChief. On the morning of the 25th the Commander-inOhief telegraphed me to take entire charge of the situation at Darien, and keep such troops there as I saw proper. 
while I was in Darien, the sheriff requested me to ask the Commander-in-Chief to order ou:t the Liberty Indepen- 
dent Troop, H, 1st. Cav., mounted, to scour the county 
and to disperse or arrest large armed bands of negroes supposed to be gathered in sundry places. The sheriff was firmly convinced that rumors of the gathering of such bands were true. I could not satisfy myself that they were, and I refused to comply with his request. He made it' direct by wire. In response thereto the Liberty Independent Troop was ordered to obey my commands, and to hold itself in readiness to move at a moment's notice. During the night of the 25th I was awakened by a telephone call :from the sheriff, who informed me that he had most reliable and trustworthy information, which was undoubtedly true, that a large band of armed negroes were gathering in the vicinity of South Newport, McIntosh county; that it'-\vas necessary to disperse them, and he again insisted that I should send the Liberty Independent Troop there. With many doubts I felt that I could not disregard such positive information from the sheriff, who was the civil officer to whom I was ordered to report, and under whose direction I was ordered to act; and I therefore, with much reluctance, ordered the Liberty Troop to actually assemble at its station, and await further instructions. Later telephonic advice from the sheriff strengthened the info;mation which he had given me, and I then ordered the command to proceed as indicated. The report of Capt. W. P. Waite of this command is attached hereto, marked "Enclosure No. 2," and gives the details of his service. I would respectfully direct 
 
 94 
attention to the fact that he incurred an expense of $9.00 in his two days' service. 
On the morning of the 27th, the information from the sheriff having proved to be totally unfounded, the Liberty Troop, being then at Crescent station on the Darien & Western railroad in McIntosh county, was ordered to ri:iturn to its station and be dismissed, and these orders were carried out. 
During the night of the 25th, I also received information by wire and telephone from Capt. Grayson, command;-, ing the detachment of the. 1st. Reg't. Inf., at Darien, that he had sent a detachment of 30 men under 1st. Lieut. Edward A. Leonard, 1st. Reg't Inf., and 1st. Lieut. David C. Barrow, 1st. Reg't. Inf., to Eulonia station on the Darien & Western railroad, for the purpose of assisting an. armed posse of the sheriff in capturing John Delegal, charged with riot, and also with the murder of Jos. Townsend, and assault with intent to murder Octavus Hopkins, special deputy sheriffs hereinhefore referred to. They left for this station on a special train at about daylight of August 26th. This service was most excellently and skillfully performed under the command of Lieut. -Leonard, and with the assistance of Lieut. Barrow and the 30 enlisted men. The sheriff's .armed posse undoubtedly contained men whoi?e desire was rather to kill than capture John Delegal. I have no hesitation in saying that they would not nave captured him alive had it not been for Lieut. Leonard and his troops.. He displayed the greatest skill and judg-, ment; he got into communication with the women of the Delegal family, and through them arranged for the peaceable surrender of John Delegal to the troops; but he was unwilling to surrender to the sheriff's posse, and would, probably have resisted arrest with his life. Had it not been for the presence of the troops, it is not at all improba- 
 
 95 
ble that some of the posse would have been killed, and.' also John Delegal. . Lieut. Leonard finally secured possession of John Delegal, and then had to negotiate with certain members of the sheriff's posse before he would bring him into their sight or presence, in order to be sure that he would be safe. This he had difficulty in doing. He announced to them that John Delegal would be protected with the lives of himself and his men, and after convincing them any other course on their part would result in the useless sacrifice of valuable lives, he succeeded in peaceably putting him upon the train, on which he met me at Darien Junction on the afternoon of August 26th, as will hereafter appear. 
I continued during the night of the 25th to obtain from the sheriff most alarming reports of the assembly of large bodies of armed negroes throughout the county. As I stated before, he was my commanding officer, and the information which he gave me was officiai. It turned out to be wrong, but I was compelled to act upon it. In addition to this I had previously received permission from the Commander-in-Chief to relieve the detachment of the 1st'. Inf. then on duty at Darien by other troops, thus preventing any man or set of men from making too great a sacrifice of his private interests for the small and grossly inadequate pay which is provided by law for men of the Georgia Volunteers. I therefore at 10 a0m., on the morning of August 26th, ordered all of that portion of the 1st. Reg't. Inf. stationed ih Savannah not then at Darien to assemble at its armory at 3 p. m., for the purpose of going to Darlen. These orders were transmitted through the usual channels1 and were obeyed most promptly; In pursuance thereof, the commantl did assemble at 3 o'clock, and at 4 o'clock it left for Darien on the regular train of the Florida Central & Peninsular railroad, When it joined at Darien the de- 
 
 9{:i 
t~chment of.the regiment then oh duty there, the five com- 
panies and the Field and Staff of the 1st. Reg't. In. had 
act,ually present for duty 15 officers and 225 enlisted men. At Darien Junction we found on the train of the Darien 
&. Western railroad, Lieuts. Leonard and Barrow, ,with their detachment of 30 men, in charge of the prisoner John Delegal,. arrested as hereinbefore stated. This .detachment joined the balance of the regiment, who all proceeded together to Darien. 
During all .this period, Troop. G, 1st. Oav., had been quartered in its armory. Capt. Grayson's detachmE;Jnt had heen qu:;i.rtered in the courthouse, and.were very uncomfortably situated; they had left in such a hurry that they were not properly equipped; indeed, so far as the State pr,operty is concerned, .they could not leave properly equipped, for the State has furnished them with neither blankets nor overcpats~ nor cooking utensils, nor equipage of any kind. I had therefore on the morning , of the 26th wirl;ld the Comll).ander-incChief of my intention to carry the balance of the regiment stationed in Savannah, and asked for tents. Th,ey were promptly furnished by express, and arrived on Sunday the 27th, on which date camp was pitched immediately in front of the courthouse, and all the troops, including Troop G, 1st. Cav., were put in camp. 
On arrival at Darien on the evening of the 26th, and as the result of the investigation made during that evening and night and the next morning, I concluded that the repo!ts of the gathering of armed bodies were still grossly exa~gerated, and that there were more troops at Darien than were necessary to preserve order. Arrests, however, still continued, and excitement was unabated. I therefore ordered back to Savannah all of Capt. Grayson's detachment, with the exception of 1st. Lieut. E. A. Leonard, whom I.kept for mm:e work of t!ie kind he had previously so skill- 
 
 97 
ully done.  There were many men in the command who had left with it under orders at great sacrifice of their personal interests. Many of them were clerks, whose employers had refused to allow them to go, and who had been threatened with discharge. In some cases, on the other hand, there were as many as five men out of one office, whose employers had acted in a more liberal spirit, but whose business was undoubtedly suffering from the sacrifice. I therefore selected some 25 or 30 other men ior returning to Savannah, and these, on the morning of August 27th, with Capt. Grayson's detachment, and under the command of that officer, returned to Savannah and were dismissed. The details of these numbers appear from tho Morning Report. 
On the morning of Tuesday, August 29th, for the same reason as above stated, I sent homo another detachment under the com.mand of 1st. Lieut. J. C. Tyson, 1st. Rog't. Inf. 
Ori Monday morning, August 28th, Lieut. Leonard, under my orders, accompanied two special deputy sheriffs in a vehicle to the neighborhood of Eulonia Station, where the Delegal family lived, for the purpose of arresting Edward Delegal, the brother of John Delegal, likewise charged with murder, and Miranda Delegal, the mother of tho two, under the same charge. At the same time I sent by train a detail of twelve men under the command of Serg't Doyle, Co. B., 1st. Inf., to Eulonia Station. This detachment knew not for what it was sent, and had orders to remain there until it received command from some commissioned officer of the regiment. Their duty was well performed, although in the end their prescence turned out to be unnecessary. Lieut. Leonard and the two special deputietreturned during the night of the 28th with the prisoners. Lieut. Leonard had again shown the same skill and judgment which he had exhibited in the arrest of John Delegal. 
 
 98 
For the same reasons which actuated me in the relief 0 
Capt. Grayson's detachment, I now desired to relieve the 
,,thers 0 the officers and men of the 1st. Inf. from further duty, and to substitute other troops therefor. Col. "\Vm. G. Obear, Inspector-General of the State, had been in Darien on the 26th and 27th, which place he left for Atlanta on the last named evening. I had conferred freely with him; he conferred with the Commander-in-Chief. The result thereof was orders communicated to me by telegraph to substitute detachments of one officer and 20 men each frbm Troops B, E and I, 1st. Cav., and one officer and 40 men from Troop G, same regiment, and to relieve the 1st. Reg't. Inf. from further duty. The de~achments above named reported accordingly during "\Vednesday, August 30th, and on that evening all of the 1st. Reg't. Inf. (except the Colonel, who was ordered to remain) return~d to Savannah and was dismissed, arriving at 2 a. m., 31st of August. 
Troops B and I had more than 20 men. It was di~cult to get the exact number and no more on account 0 the scattered condition at their home station of the officers and men of these commands, it not being known ill' advance exactly who could be obtained and who could not, and some men having joined the troops en route; There was, however, very slight discrepancy from the number provided, the largest number at any time in all the troops of the 1st. Cav. being only six in excess of the 100 ordered. These troops of the 1st. Cav. occupied the same camp 0rmerly occupied by the 1st. Reg't; Inf. 
On Wednesday the 30th, a special term of the Sup&ior Court of McIntosh county was convened by Judge Paul E. Seabrook, Judge of the Atlantic Circuit, for the purpose of trying the cases of Henry Delegal, charged with rape, -Miranda, John and Edward Delegal, charged with murder and riot, and Jonas Green and some fifty others, charged 
 
 99 
with riot. That court is still in session. The Grand Jury 
brought in indictme,nts for r~ot in about 37 cases, and also 
indicted the three Delegals for murder, and Henry Delegal for .rape. Twenty-two of the rioters have been convicted. At the time of the convening of the court there was in my .opinion but one reason for the retention of troops at Darien, and that was the presence in the jail of the three Delegals, and particularly of John Delegal who fired the shots which had killed Townsend and wou:n,ded Hopkins. The feeling against him in the county was very high, and I do not think his life would have been safe had it not been for the presence of the troops. In addition to the effect by their presence, the only duty performed by the troops after the convening of the court was guard duty, a guard being maintained around the jail, around the city lock-up, in which some prisoners were confined, and for disciplinary purposes a guard being maintained around the camp. This required the daily mounting of a guard consisting of one commissioned officer, two sergeants, three corporals, and 27 privates. As the result of this, many of the men performed guard duty on every alternate day, and the detachment was therefore not too large for the work which it performed. 
I should have mentioned above that on the morning of Sunday, August 27th, I had a meeting with about one dozen leading colored men of McIntosh county, their names being as follows: F. M. Mann, Rector Episcopal Church; E. M. Brawley, Pastor of Grace Bap. Church; Chas. R. Jackson, Postmaster; R. W. Collins, no occupation; Hercules Wilson, brickmason; S. W. Mclver, Chairman of the Republican Committee of the county; Jas. L. Grant, editor of the local negro paper; John C. Lawton, Deputy Collecter of the 
port; J'. D. Dorsey, Pastor Presbyterian Church, and Edwin 
J. Kimball, ~eeper of a restaurant in Darien. There was no one present at the conference but those above named 
 
 100 
and myself. It was held in the courthouse. I had a general talk with them about the situation. I called their attention to the fact that the troops were there for the purpose of preserving order, and for this purpose were friendly to all friends of law and order, and inimical to any one opposed to law and order, and that this was without regard to color; that the immediate cause of the disturbed condition at that time was the warrants which were out for those charged with riot, and necessity of arresting them; that they knew as well as I that they would be arrested some day unless they permanently left the county; that if they were in jail they were perfectly safe with the troops there, and that the only way to bring peace into the county a~ soon as possible was to have these men surrender themselves. I offered, in case any of them were afraid to surrendm themselves to the sheriff's posse, to receive their surrender myself personally, or through other officers. I urged upon them that it was impossible for me to communicate directly or indirectly with these fugitives, but that they could do so, and I wished them to advise their surrender. I also suggested to them that they should give advice of a peaceable nature to the negroes of the county, and that I thought their advice would be followed. 
I was very much gratified at the receptio~ which was given to my suggestions. I believe that practically all of those whom I met were decidedly in favor of law and order. 
I certainly saw no evidence of anything else in any of them. 
Nearly all of them, I learned, were men of excellent reputation in the county; they were intelligent, and they were uf great assistance to me. They informed me at the co~ference that, it had been their intention to have a meeting on Monday the 28th, for the purpose of doing something in the line of my suggestion. At my instance they had their meeting immediately. They invited rne to be present at it. 
 
 101 
This I declined, because I knew they would talk more freely if I was not there. I left them iri the courthouse, keeping any one from interrupting them. The result of it was twofold: 
(1.) A printed circular, signed by most of these men who were at the conference, and by other leading negroes, which was freely distributed through the county, a copy of which is enclosed herewith, marked. "Enclosure No. 3." 
(2.) The voluntary surrender, some of them to me, some of them directly to the sheriff, of a large number of negroes against whom warrants for riot were then out. Indeed, the only arrest made after this date during my service which was not the result of a voluntary surrender, was the arrest of Edward and Miranda Delegal by Lieut. Leonard above referred to, and this was practically voluntary. I think that the action of these negroes had much to do with the calming of the situation at Darien, and they deserve great credit therefor. 
The situation had so far calmed down that during the session of the court those persons charged with riot were conducted between the jail and the courthouse, a distance of about 250 yards, in the center of the town, without other guard than the bailiffs. When, however, the case of the ,three Delegals charged with murder was called, I had them conducted back and forth under an extra guard detail, because I was informed and believed that there were men present i_n town whose greatest ~esire was to kill John Delegal, and perhaps one or both of the others, and I was determined that this should not happen. 
A motion in_ these cases was made by the counsel for the Delega1s for a change of venue on the ground that they .could not get a fair trial in the county. Counsel for the defendants sought me and asked my opinion. I declined to give it. They issued a civil subpmna for me as a witnes1i, 
 
 102 
and finally, when the motion came J\P for heacip.g, placed me on the stand. It was the only occasion of my ~ntering the courtroom during niy service, because I heliev(;ld it was best that there should be no military display there. While 
I did not absolutely prohibit all of my men fraw goiog into 
the courtroom, I did dirnourage it, and but few .were. present there. Some exceptions were made.in .the .case of men who were members of the bar in their private capacity, ~n.d who were not then engaged o.n active military duty. 
On the stand I was asked my opportunities or qbservation, and whether in my opinion these men could get a fair trial. I said that I was unwilling to aQswer this question, and, with the permission of the court, I stated my ,re.aE\ons. They were that I had been sent by the Commander-in-Chief in command of troops there for the purpose of preservin,g peace and order in .the county; that if I gave an opinion on that subject either way, I would thereby ant~gonize fri.ends or the enemies of the Delegals, and that this woul.d make me less able to perform the duty which had been entrusted to me, in a quiet and peaceable manner, and that I considered that duty paramount to the duty which in my Qpinion every citizen owes, of giving in court any information which he may have bearing upon a disputed i.ssue. Counsel for defendants did not thereafter insist upon my answering. The motion for change of venue was successful, and the cases have been moved to the Superior Court of ,Effipg}iam county. 
When thitl case was ended in McIntosh Superior Court, I advised the Commander-in-Chief that the three Delegals charged with murder should be moved to Chatham county jail, and that there was no further necessity for the presence of troops in Darien, except for the purpose of guarding Henry Delegal, charged with rape, whose case was assigned 
for hearing on vVednesda,r, September 6th, The res-qlt 
 
 103 
was that on,the night of September 4th, I received orders to dismiss all the troops under my command, bringing th1, three Delegals to Chatham county jail with a sufficient guard, and that other troops would be furnished to take Henry De'legal from Chatham county jail to Darien, and remain there as long as was necessary. Accordingly, on the morning of Tuesday, September 6th, camp was broken. Troop G, 1st. Cav;, McIntosh Light Dragoo11s, being at its home station, was dismissed with orders to hold itself .in readiness to reassemble on short notice when so ordered by lawful authority. 
The detachment of Troop 1, 1st. Cav., was ordered to leave Darien by boat for Brunswick at .3 :30 p. m. on the 5th, proceeding thence via the Southern Railway to Jesup, its home station,. and be dismissed. The detachments of Troops B and E, 1st. Cav., and Col. A. R. Lawton commanding the troops, proceeded by train at 10 :30 a. m, to Savannah in charge of the three prisoners, who were on that afternoon safely delivered at the Chatham county jail. The detachment of Troops B and E then returned to their respective home stations and were dismissed, and Col. Lawton, being at his home station, relinquished command, and his service was ended. 
COMMISSARY AND QUARTERMASTER. 
When the five companies of the 1st. Reg't. Inf., and Tro0p A, 1st. Cav., proceeded to Darien on August 23d, 
they carried with them field rations provided by Capt. H. J. 
Sritcliffe, Commissary 1st. Reg't. Inf. These were only consumed in part. Capt. Grayson's detachment, while on detached duty, took their meals at a restaurant. These meals were furnished by the city of Darien or the county of :McIntosh-I am not certain which. The McIntosh Light Dragoons obtained subsistence in the same manner. 
 
 104 
Whe11 the balance 0 the 1st. Reg't In. went to Darien on the afternoon of the 26th, Capt. Sutcliffe, the Commissary, was ordered to provide himself with five days' field rations and this was done. vVhen the entire command was p:ut into camp, as above stated, rations were regularly issued as near as practicable in conformity to Army Regulations; the cooking was done by enlisted men of the command; no complaints were heard, and there was evidence of first-class ability to take care of themselves _in the field. The cooking ,,;as good, and all the men seemed satisfied. 
Capt. Sutcliffe was relieved from duty. and allowed to return to Savannah on the morning of August 29. At my request, Capt. F. A. Dunn, Commissary 4th. Reg't In., 
G. V., stationed at Brunswick, by order of the Commander- 
in-Chie, reported to me on vVednesday, .August 30th. He was detailed as Adjutant, Commissary and Quartermastm. He performed most efficient and valuable service, and remained at Darien after camp waq broken, and has continued to act as Commissary and Quartermaster or the detachment of the Savannah Volunteer Guards, who went to Darien in charge of Henry Delegal on September 6th. He continued the work being performed by Capt. Sutcliffe. Fresh meat and bread were purchased daily for the troops, there being no facilities for baking bread. I am unable at the present time to submit the bills, or an account 0-,thes,i purchases, because some 0 the rations supplied are still on hand, but will be returned to those from whom they were purchased, and due credit will be allowed or them. The net amount of the bills cannot, therefore be submitted until the service of the troops at Darien is entirely ended. All Commissary and Quartermaster's supplies on hand when I relinquished command were leftc with Capt. Dunn, for the use of the troops coming to Darien. 
 
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The detachment of Troops B, E and I, 1st. Cav. arrived at Darien with no cooking utensils, and no individual mess 
kits. 'This, of course, should not have been the case, but I 
could not allow the men to suffer for the errors of their offi cers, and I therefore purchased tin plates, knivEJs, forks, spoons, cups and cooking utensils for these detachments at a total cost of $26.90. These supplies were left in the hands of Capt. Dunn, and are possibly being used by the troops now at Darien. 
A supplemental report will be submitted as to Quarter master and Commissary's supplies, the cost and disposition thereof. 
Enclosure No. 4 herewith is the report of Capt. W~ L 
Graysoh in command of the detachment of the 1st. In., on duty in Darien from August 23d to 27th. 
Enclosure No. 5 is a package containing the originals of all telegrams received by me, except two from the Com mander-in-Chief on the night o.f the 4th, which were tele phoned to me from Savannah, and therefore were not l'<:l ceived i.n 'writing, the telegraph office at Darien having cfosed early in the evening. 
Enclosure No. 6 is a package containing copies of all telegrams sent during the service. 
Enclosure No. 7 is a package, containing copies of all orders issued by me during the period of my service. 
Not until Tuesday, August 29, was I in possession of any blanks or books. On that day I received from the Adju tant~General a Consolidated Morning Report, for company morning reports, guard book and sick books. They are all enclosed herewith, and give detailed information of the conduct of the guard, and the number of men present for duty. The information on the Morning Report is Si'lffi cient on which to base the pay account :for the enlisted meh. 
I have added to it a memorandum showing the number 0 
 
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:day's duty performed by each commissioned officer, giving his name and rank, as. this inform{ltion could not be obtained otherwise from the Morning Report. . The statements on -the ,Consolidated Morning Report under the head of Remarks are referred to as a part of this report, and give certain detailed information, The reports from Augu.st 23d -to 29th; inclusive, are made upfrom memoranda kept up to that time for want of official books, and this accounts for the absence of signatures in the proper place, and. the irregular~ .ity of the remijrks, Details for guard duty. will. also be -,found in t.he Consolidated :Morning Repol'.t on ..a separate sheet. 
pi conplusion, I. deem it unnecessary to m~ke any remarks further than those that have .been frequ(:mtly made by myself, by var:iou_s Governors. and Adjutant:Generals of the: State, by officers of the United States Arwy on duty with the State troops, aJ).d by other. officers of. the Georgia Volunteers, with reference to.the necessity of appropriations by .the State for .the equipment and maintenance .of the :Georgia.Volunteers. The gross injustice of so great.a State as Georgia, claiming service of the nature which has been performed without complaint, freely, willingly and atgrea-;; sacrifices by the officers ap.d men who. have. been. u-der my powmand during the period of this service, expecting them to give their time andJheir energies.not only without suffi-0ient. compensation, but at great pecuniary. sacrifice, often jeopardizing and sometime losing. their employment on.account thereof; is manifest to any one. :\Vp.y should these men perform this s,ervice? Must it be placed on the grou:d of patriotism? . I so, why is it that those :Vho refuse them assist,mce do.not themselves perform it? The troops. which were; under_ my ~ommand hllve done splendid service_; they 
have continued to be enlisted or commissioned in the Georgi~ Yoluntee.rs- iri spite of the practical invitation from the 
 
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State, acting through its General Assembly, that they should quit. It is nothing but their pride in their State and the organizations to which they belong which makes them do this. On the doctrine of quid pro quo, they owe no duty, but they are too patriotic to act on this idea. 
The pay of the enlisted men is practically inadequate, the private soldier receiving 43 cents a day, and in many cases losing from two to three dollars a day, besides increasing the arduous character of his work. I have understood that the Commander-in-Chief advocates an increase of pay to enlisted men on duty, at the same time reducing the pay of the officers. I strongly re<;ommend such an increase of pay for the enlisted men, even if, in order to get an increase, it is necessary to reduce the pay of the officers. While I do not think their pay should be reduced, I am sure that none of them will object to it, if they thereby increase the pay of the men. 
I have the honor to extend my thanks to the Commanderin-Chief for the confidence he has reposed in me, and for his kindness and consideration in adopting my every suggestion, and giving to me the widest latitude and discretion. While I have had on duty at Darien at times more troops than was necessary, taking into consideration the facts which have since been definitely learned, I did not have on hand any which seemed to be unnecessary giving due consideration to the official reports which were made to me by the sheriff. This has been a matter of great expense to the State, but in my opinion will have a very beneficial effect on the Georgia Volunteers, and a deterring effect on all who are inclined to violate the rules of law and order. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
ALEXANDER RUDOLF LAWTON, Colonel 1st. Reg't Inf., G. V., 
Commanding State Troops at Darien.