312 



GEORGIA. 



of the Assembly, was announced by a General 

 Order dated June 25th. 



By a military order, dated June 28th, the 

 Governor-elect was appointed Provisional Gov- 

 ernor of the State in place of General Ruger, 

 to enter upon the duties of his office on the 4th 

 of July, on which day the persons chosen for 

 members of the Assembly had been already di- 

 rected to convene at Atlanta by proclamation 

 of the Governor-elect, under authority of the 

 act of Congress " to admit the States of North 

 Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 

 and Florida, to representation in Congress," 

 which went into effect on the 25th of June. 

 On the 3d of July, General Meade issued an 

 order, directing the Provisional Governor to 

 " proceed at 12 M., on the 4th instant, to effect 

 such preliminary organization of both Houses 

 of the Legislature as will enable the same to 

 enter upon the discharge of the duties assigned 

 them by law." Accordingly, on the next day, 

 the members-elect of the Legislature assembled 

 in the capitol furnished for the purpose by the 

 city of Atlanta, in presence of General Meade, 

 Governor Bullock, and Judge Erskine. The 

 act of Congress admitting the State into the 

 Union conditionally was read, as were the or- 

 ders of the commanding general, announcing 

 the result of the late election, and directing the 

 Governor to organize the two Houses of As- 

 sembly. These preliminaries being over, the 

 oath was administered to the Senators by Judge 

 Erskine, and the officers of the Senate were 

 chosen by ballot. The organization of the 

 House of Representatives occupied two or 

 three days, in consequence of the nearly equal 

 division of the members between the two po- 

 litical parties. The whole number of Senators 

 was 44, of whom 22 were Republicans and 22 

 Democrats. In the House of Representatives 

 were V3 Republican and 102 Democratic mem- 

 bers, 1T5 in all 3 Senators and 25 Represent- 

 atives were negroes. 



The question of the eligibility of several 

 members who had been sent to the Assembly 

 was considerably agitated both in and out of 

 that body, and several seats were formally con- 

 tested. On the 8th of July, in reply to the 

 official announcement that the organization 

 of the two Houses had been completed, Gen- 

 eral Meade wrote to the Governor, stating 

 that, in his judgment, neither House could be 

 legally organized "until they have complied 

 with the requisitions of the reconstruction 

 acts, and the act which became a law June 

 25, 1868, all of which prohibit any one from 

 holding an office under the State, who is ex- 

 cluded by Section 3 of the amendment of the 

 Constitution, known as Article 14," and de- 

 claring that he could not " recognize any act 

 of the Legislature as valid, nor allow the same 

 to be executed, until satisfactory evidence is 

 produced, that all persons excluded by the 14th 

 Article are deprived of their seats and offices 

 in both Houses." The provision of the 14th 

 Article referred to renders ineligible to office 



all persons who had taken an official oath to 

 support the Constitution, and afterward gave 

 aid and comfort to the enemies of the United 

 States. The Governor transmitted General 

 Meade's letter to the two Houses of the Legis- 

 lature, and recommended the appointment of 

 committees to investigate the eligibility of each 

 member. This course was accordingly taken, 

 and each member was examined on oath with 

 regard to the application in his case of the pro- 

 hibition of the 14th Article. A majority of 

 the committee in the House reported in favor 

 of the exclusion of three members, but a mi- 

 nority report was submitted, in which it was 

 argued that no act of any member had amount- 

 ed to giving aid and comfort to the enemy ac- 

 cording to the best interpretation of the law. 

 The case of each of these members was debated 

 in the House, and they were finally pronounced 

 to have been legally eligible. In the Senate, 

 likewise, the investigation resulted in favor 

 of the eligibility of every member, though a 

 minority of the committee reported in favor 

 of excluding about one-fourth of the Senators 

 from their seats. When the result of these 

 investigations was communicated to General 

 Meade, he declared that he had "no further 

 opposition to make to their proceeding to the 

 business for which they were called together," 

 and that he considered them "legally organ- 

 ized for the 18th instant, the date of the action 

 of the^House." 



One effect of the act of Congress of June 

 25th was, to abrogate the provision in the con- 

 stitution of the State of Georgia which denied 

 the jurisdiction of the courts in actions for debts 

 contracted prior to the 1st of June, 1865, and 

 the assent of the State to this abrogation by 

 solemn public act, as well as the ratification 

 of the 14th Article, was required as a condition 

 precedent to her restoration to her full rela- 

 tions in the union of States. These conditions 

 were both complied with by a joint resolution 

 passed on the 21st of July, by a vote of 24 to 

 14 in the Senate, and 89 to TO in the House of 

 Representatives. On the following day Rufus 

 B. Bullock was inaugurated Governor of the 

 reconstructed State of Georgia for the term 

 of four years, and on the 24th sent his first 

 regular message to the Assembly. 



On the 28th of July an order issued from the 

 headquarters of the Army at Washington, in 

 which it was declared that the Second and 

 Third Military Districts had ceased to exist, 

 and the States of North Carolina, South Caro- 

 lina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, would 

 constitute the Department of the South, Major- 

 General George G. Meade to command, with 

 his headquarters at Atlanta. Thereupon the 

 following order was published : 



General Orders, No. 108. 



HEADQUARTERS THIRD MILITARY DISTRICT, } 



DEPARTMENT OF GEORGIA, ALABAMA AND FLORIDA, > 



ATLANTA. GA., Jufy 30, 1868. } 



The several States comprising this military district 



having, by solemn acts of their Assemblies, conformed 



to the requisitions of the act of Congress which became 



