GEORGIA. 



333 





jito to what they believed to be their logit- 



ainl (-"iiMittitional channel. They hold 



. ting, and appointed :i r.iiiiiiiittco to pro- 



:i protest, and appeal to General Terry. 



:i- unanimously adopted, and was in the 



following words. : 



Whereat, Wo. members-elect to the General A- 

 M'uiblv of tlii-* Stiiti-, u-:<ciiil)led in this city on Mon- 

 ily, tlu- loth inst., in answer to a proclamation by 

 ollcney K. 1J. Bullock, Governor of Georgia. 

 i~--ir,l iu accordance with tho provisions of a bill 

 reecntly passed by Congress, "to promote the recpn- 

 *:ru<'tion of Georgia; " and 



not, The said bill provides, section 1, that 

 the Governor is authorized to summon all persons 

 i-leeted to the General Assembly, as appears by tho 

 proclamation of General George G. Meade, dated 

 .him- ^5. 1868 ; to appear, on some day certain to be 

 named in said proclamation, at Atlanta, and that 

 thereupon the said General Assembly is authorized 

 to proceed to perfect its organization in conformity 

 with tho Constitution and laws of the United States, 

 according to the provisions of said act ; and, 



Whereas, The Governor, as we believe in violation 

 of the provisions of said act, directed one A. L. 

 Harris, not a member of said General Assembly, but 

 an appointee of tho Governor on the Western and 

 Atlantic Kailroad, property of tho State, to organize 

 the House of Representatives ; and, 



Whereat, Said Harris has acted arbitrarily, and 

 has assumed, in violation of law, to dictate to mem- 

 bers, duly elected as aforesaid, what they shall 

 and shall not say and do, and has rcftised to allow 

 them to proceed to perfect the organization of said 

 House of Representatives in accordance with the 

 provisions of said act, and has wilfully hindered 

 and interrupted the organization of said House, by 

 adjourning it from day to day, against the will of a 

 majority of the members thereof, and in violation of 

 said law of Congress ; and, 



Whereas, The said law provides, section 2, that said 

 members, when convened, shall take certain oaths, 

 which most of the members of said House dulv 

 qualified under said act have already done, and all 

 who were present, who think themselves qualified, 

 have presented themselves, and demanded to be 

 sworn in accordance with said act : and, 



Whereas, The said Harris, in direct violation of 

 the said act of Congress, has dismissed the said mem- 

 bers, who were ready and willing to organize in 

 accordance with the provisions of said law of Con- 

 gress, and has wilfully hindered and interrupted the 

 said members from participating in the proceedings 

 of said House of Representatives, after having taken 

 tho oaths prescribed, and otherwise complied with 

 said act : 



We therefore present the following protest, and 

 appeal to the general commanding the Third Mili- 

 tary District. 



The law of Congress, under which wo are convened, 

 being thus overridden, the constitution and laws 

 of the State thus disregarded, and desiring, at this 

 hour, to advance no political purposes, but earnestly 

 wishing an organization of this General Assembly in 

 accordance with law, that tho quiet of our homes 

 may be secure, and pur little property saved from 

 depredation ; we, divided politically as Republicans 

 and .Democrats, but united in this effort, protest 

 against the proceedings already had, rfnd the action 

 now being had in the organization of the General 

 Assembly, because it is in direct violation of the 

 law of Congress itself, which now affords the warrant 

 for our assembling as a Legislature; because it is 

 designed, as we believe, for the purpose of defeating 

 :i fair organization of the two Houses, until corrupt 

 and dangerous men shall so shape affairs that the 

 State may fall helpless into their hands, for plunder 

 and oppression ; because it takes the power of deter- 

 mining qualifications of Senators and Representatives 



from the forum which the law of Congress does not 

 interfere with, and which tho constitution provide*. 

 Thus truthfully and cunieatly expressing our de- 

 sirei, and making thin our protect, we appeal to 

 the general commanding, a* a soldier of unaullicd 

 honor, a servant of the Republic, to exercise tho 

 power to him by the Federal Government in: 

 to rescue the people of Georgia from the violence 

 and outrage with which they ar threatened by boldly 

 wicked in. -n. 



The colored members also, anxious lest meas- 

 ures should not be taken to secure them in 

 tho possession of their newly-gained honors 

 as legislators, held a meeting and addressed 

 the following to the commanding general : 



In behalf of ourselves, and of the 93,000 colored 

 voters and the 500,000 colored citizens in Georgia 

 whom wo represent, wo, tho colored members of tho 

 General Assembly, feeling from our past experience 

 a deep interest in the proper or^anizut on of the Le- 

 gislature under the reconstruction acts of Congress, 

 have met together to consider the present emergency, 

 with tho facts which are apparent, alleging that dis- 

 qualified persons are not to DO excluded, and loyal men 

 who were legally elected to be awarded their seats, do 

 hereby adopt the following preamble and resolutions ; 



Whereas, No city shall make or enforce any law 

 which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of 

 citizens of the United States, and by admitting ille- 

 gal persons to the power or legislation our rights 

 will bo abridged ; and whereas our expulsion from 

 the Legislature on account of our color, in violation 

 of the civil rights bill and the fourteenth article of 

 amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 

 was accepted by disloyal persons as evidence that 

 colored men and women in Georgia had no rights 

 that white men were bound to respect, and was fol- 

 lowed by the whipping, robbing, and murdering of 

 our people for no reason but our helpless condition ; 

 and whereas it is reported that the Government is 

 disposed to regard the protestations of disloyal per- 

 sons as being worthy of consideration, when we know 

 that they are not to be trusted and should not be 

 believed : Therefore, be it 



Resolved, That as loyal citizens we request tho 

 Government to look at the past, and be controlled 

 by it for the future, and therefore demand a rigid 

 execution of the law by the exclusion of disqualified 

 persons, and the giving their seats to eligible per- 

 sons who were legally elected, which will aid us in 

 maintaining our rights, protect our wives and daugh- 

 ters from insult and infamy, and our property from 

 the despoiler. 



Resolved, That a committee be appointed to present 

 these resolutions to General Terry, and request him 

 to send them to the President or tho United States 

 as the prayer of the poor, oppressed colored men of 

 Georgia. 



The conservative members followed their 

 appeal with a request that, after the investiga- 

 tions of the military commission had been 

 completed, and a record of the facts in the 

 several cases made up, u the same be submit- 

 ted to the judges of the Supreme Court of 

 Georgia (the highest judicial tribunal .in tho 

 State), for their opinion as to tho eligibility 

 of members whose seats are questioned/' Ac- 

 companying this was a statement, signed by 

 Mr. Bryant, chairman of the committee of 

 Conservative members, containing tho follow- 

 ing declarations, with regard to the -wishes 

 and intentions of those whom ho repn 

 ed: 



I believe that I can safely say, in behalf of all who 

 are known as Democrats ana anti-Bullock Repub- 



