332 



GEORGIA. 



from taking the oath, in violation of section five 

 of the act of Congress." He was peremptorily 

 ordered to take his seat, whereupon he declared, 

 with some warmth, that he was a duly-elected 

 member of the House, that he had been a loyal 

 Union soldier, who had perilled his life for 

 his country, and that he had a right to speak, 

 and, furthermore, that Mr. Harris had no right 

 to preside over or organize the House. Where- 

 upon, Mr. Harris ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms 

 to arrest Mr. Bryant. That officer attempted 

 to execute the order, but met with resistance, 

 and a scuffle ensued, in which pistols appear to 

 have been drawn on both sides. As soon as 

 the commotion had subsided, Mr. Bryant made 

 a motion, and put it himself, that Mr. Caldwell 

 take the chair as Speaker pro tern. This mo- 

 tion was pronounced to be carried amid great 

 confusion, and an attempt was made to in- 

 stall Mr. Caldwell in the chair, but, meeting 

 with resistance, that gentleman withdrew, and 

 Mr. Bryant himself was chosen Chairman pro 

 tern. Mounting a desk, he put a motion to ad- 

 journ, which was carried, and then, requesting 

 all the members to remain in their places, ap- 

 pointed a committee of three to wait on Gen- 

 eral Terry, to inquire whether the proceedings 

 in the House were meeting with his approval. 

 The military commander requested the mem- 

 bers to allow Mr. Harris to proceed with the 

 organization. This request was taken as equiv- 

 alent to a command, and all opposition to the 

 course of the Governor's Clerk pro tern, ceased. 



General Terry appears to have been some- 

 what doubtful of his authority, and several 

 times telegraphed to Washington for instruc- 

 tions. On the 12th of January, General Sher- 

 man sent him the following : " Your dis- 

 patches- have been shown to the President and 

 Secretary of War, and the result is in these 

 words: 'Exercise your own discretion if a 

 flagrant case arises. When a disqualified per- 

 son proposes to take the oath, investigate the 

 question of eligibility, and determine, for the 

 time being, his right.' I will maintain you in 

 all exercise of any authority that will main- 

 tain substantially good order until the State 

 of Georgia is recognized by the Executive and 

 Congress under the congressional act. Some 

 lawful means will be found probably. We 

 can defend our friends against the Ku-klux or 

 bands of assassins." 



As Mr. Harris and the President of the Sen- 

 ate proceeded to the organization of the Legis- 

 lature, the question of the disability of certain 

 members to take the required oath naturally 

 attracted attention. Several presented them- 

 selves who, it was claimed, were excluded by 

 the provisions of the law. General Terry, at 

 the solicitation of Governor Bullock,determined 

 to appoint a commission, composed of military 

 officers, to determine the qualifications of those 

 whose right to sit in the Legislature was ques- 

 tioned. For this purpose, he appointed a 

 Board consisting of Brevet Major-General T. 

 H. Ruger, colonel of the 18th. United States 



Infantry, Brevet Brigadier-General Haines, 

 Commissary of Subsistence, and Major Henry 

 Goodfellow, Judge Advocate of the United 

 States Army, and directed them to hear the 

 evidence and determine upon the qualifications 

 of such members-elect of the Legislature as 

 should be brought before them for the purpose. 

 The questions of fact to be examined into were, 

 whether the persons brought before them had 

 held an office prior to the secession of the 

 Southern States, such as was designated in 

 the act of Congress of December 22, 1869, 

 and taken an oath to support the Constitution 

 of the United States, and had afterward sup- 

 ported the Confederate cause, or given aid and 

 comfort to the enemies of the country. The 

 commission sat for about ten days, and the 

 case against the members brought before it 

 was conducted by the Attorney-General of the 

 State, Mr. Farrow, while several prominent 

 lawyers appeared as counsel for their defence. 

 Notices were served upon fifteen persons who 

 had been elected to the House of Represent- 

 atives, and five who had been elected to the 

 Senate, to appear before the commission and 

 answer to the charge of ineligibility. The speci- 

 fications consisted mainly of allegations that the 

 accused persons had held some inferior official 

 positions, such as had been brought within the 

 scope of the act of Congress, by the opinion of 

 Attorney-General Farrow, and had afterward 

 taken part on the Southern side in the civil war. 

 The defence was generally a denial of these 

 declarations, and in one or two cases it was 

 shown that the accused had been stanch 

 Unionists throughout, to the great detriment 

 of their persons and property. 



While these investigations were going on, 

 the Legislature was adjourned from time to 

 time, by order of Governor Bullock, to await 

 the result. The first order, dated January 13th, 

 and endorsed with the approval of General 

 Terry, directed the Clerk pro tern., as soon as 

 the calling of the roll was completed, to ad- 

 journ the House until the 17th, as an investi- 

 gation into the "right of certain persons to 

 seats under the reconstruction act's was then 

 in progress." On the IVth the Clerk pro tern. 

 was ordered, " after making announcement and 

 giving ample time, for such persons as desire 

 to do so, to take the oaths prescribed in the 

 act to promote the reconstruction of the State 

 of Georgia," to declare a recess until the 19th. 

 At the same time the Treasurer was ordered 

 to pay to each member, "against whose eligi- 

 bility no objection has been made," the sum 

 of $50 on account of per diem and mileage. 

 On the 19th a further recess was ordered till 

 the 24th, and on that day it was again extend- 

 ed to the 25th. 



Meantime the members of the Legislature 

 opposed to the course of Governor Bullock 

 and his adherents were not idle, but, under 

 the lead of J. E. Bryant, J. H. Caldwell, and 

 other conservative Republicans, determined to 

 do all in their power to restore the affairs of 



