GEORGIA. 



A tentative excursion into high latitudes in 

 the European Polar Sea by the route of the 

 Austrian Expedition, which was strongly fa- 

 vored by Dr. Petermann, was made by Leigh 

 Smith in a little steamer specially built for Arc- 

 tic cruising. He sailed in his small cutter, the 

 Eire, from Peterhead, Scotland, on June 19th, 

 and after spending several days on Jan Mayen, 

 seal - hunting, ran over to the east coast of 

 Greenland, which he sighted for one hundred 

 miles north of Cape Bismarck, the farthest 

 point of the German Expedition, and then 

 steered eastward, and finding King Karl Land, 

 like Greenland, inaccessible on account of ice, 

 turned to Franz Joseph Land, which came in 

 sight August 14th. He reached the coast in lati- 

 tude 80 5', longitude 45 50' east, found a safe 

 harbor between two islands in latitude 805 / 25", 

 longitude 48 50' east, and explored the islands 

 and the fiords of the coast, which run up into the 

 land in northerly and northwesterly directions. 

 Many large and small islands were encountered, 

 all covered with glaciers and snow-fields ex- 

 cept on their southern exposures, which were 

 bluff headlands covered with vegetation. Sev- 

 eral Arctic flowers were collected. He fol- 

 lowed the coast in these excursions eighty or 

 one hundred miles farther westward than the 

 Austrian expedition had gone. His farthest 

 point was 80 20' north latitude, 40 east lon- 

 gitude. He saw the coast stretching to the 

 northwest for about forty miles farther, but was 

 barred from following it by the ice. He vis- 

 ited on the east Cape Tegethoff and Wilkzek 

 Island, but his advance to the east and north- 

 east was blocked by solid ice-masses stretching 

 across between Hall, Salm, and Lament Isl- 

 ands. He sighted King Karl Land, which was 

 closed with ice in this direction also, on his 

 return by way of Hammerfest, reaching this 

 port September 27th. Both in his outward and 

 return voyage he found Barents Sea free of ice. 



The Dutch schooner William Barents, com- 

 manded by Captain Van Broekhuysen, in cruis- 

 ing around the coast of Nova Zeinbla ran 

 upon a reef and was disabled. Thermometric 

 and magnetic observations were made, sound- 

 ings taken, zoological specimens collected, and 

 the location and condition of the ice profitably 

 studied; a barrier of ice stretched from Ice 

 Cape across Kara Sea, which seemed to be 

 filled with ice by the east wind, while to the 

 north of Nova Zembla there was none to be 

 seen. 



GEORGIA. T^he enterprising and commer- 

 cial spirit which has sprung up in Georgia since 

 the war has enabled its thrifty citizens to de- 

 velop the great natural advantages of their 

 State so rapidly and extensively as to give it a 

 more decided preeminence than it asserted in 

 the days of slavery, and to earn it the name ot 

 the Empire State of the South. Governor Col- 

 quitt, in his biennial message, gives the following 

 cheerful description of its present material and 

 social condition : " There is everywhere, in the 

 broad limits of the Commonwealth, progress, 



order, thrift, and contentment. All industries 

 have thrived. All classes rejoice in an im- 

 proved condition, and in the hopefulness of a 

 bright future. Our resources have been multi- 

 plied and developed. The different sections of 

 the State have grown in wealth and population. 

 Our credit maintains its exalted standard ; our 

 public debt is diminishing ; crime is steadily on 

 the decrease. It is a matter of congratulation 

 to all true patriots to observe the rapid prog- 

 ress of the State in moral and material devel- 

 opment." 



The first session of the General Assembly 

 opened November 3d, and closed December 2d. 

 James S. Boynton was elected President of the 

 Senate, and A. 0. Bacon Speaker of the House. 

 The election of a United States Senator, and of 

 Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts, 

 and Solicitors-General, was the first business 

 which occupied their attention. There was 

 not time to mature many general laws ; but 

 much laborious committee-work was accom- 

 plished, and a mass of legislation was got under 

 way to be attended to in the next session. The 

 Legislature expected to receive the census re- 

 turns in time to redistrict the State, but were 

 disappointed. For this and other reasons it 

 was thought necessary to hold an extra session 

 to commence on the second Wednesday in 

 July, 1881. A penal act was passed regarding 

 the buying or selling of votes. An amendment 

 was passed making an order of foreclosure not 

 necessary for the postponement of a sale of 

 mortgaged personal property. An act con- 

 ferring additional powers on tax-collectors, 

 making them ex-officio sheriffs in certain cases, 

 etc., was repealed. An act was passed author- 

 izing the Governor to furnish arms and accou- 

 trements to colleges organized as branches 

 of the State University. The question of ap- 

 pointing a joint committee to inquire into the 

 constitutionality of repealing the convict-lease 

 system was postponed to the July session. 

 Some important railroad bills were passed. 

 One of these was to charter the Atlanta and 

 Alabama Railroad, the incorporators being A. 

 Austell, S. M. Inman, and other prominent 

 Georgian capitalists. The road is to be built 

 from Atlanta to some point on the Alabama 

 line, in the direction of the coal-fields. The 

 capital stock is to be $2,000,000, with the 

 privilege of raising it to $5,000,000. The Rome 

 and Chattanooga Railroad was incorporated, 

 with the privilege of raising a capital of not 

 more than $1,500,000. This road, if completed, 

 will be an important connecting link in the 

 Southern network. The only other charter 

 granted was for the Buena Vista Railroad, with 

 a capital stock of $500,000. This road will de- 

 velop a tract of country which stands in much 

 need of means of transportation. 



Only one bill passed by the Legislature was 

 vetoed by the Governor. This was the charter 

 for a bank in Savannah, in which the stock- 

 holders were made liable only for the amount of 

 the unpaid stock, which the Governor deemed 



