302 



GEORGIA. 



wholly unable or unwilling to protect the lives, 

 liberties, and property of unoffending citizens 

 from lawless violence, and had refrained, pur- 

 posely or for want of power, from bringing 

 offenders to justice, whereby it fully appeared 

 that the people of the State had not complied 

 with the terms, or conformed to the principles 

 upon which its restoration was provided for, 

 and that the government thereof was not, 'in 

 fact, republican or regular. The body of the 

 bill contained much the same provisions as 

 those contained in the bill passed at the next 

 session of Congress, and given in full below. 

 The present bill, after some debate, was post- 

 poned until December. The principal speech, 

 in opposition to the bill, was made by Mr. 

 Beck, of Kentucky, who recapitulated the his- 

 tory of reconstruction in Georgia, and en- 

 deavored to show that the law had been fully 

 complied with, and the State once admitted to 

 the exercise of all her functions as a member 

 of the Federal Union. After her restoration 

 had been thus consummated, the course which 

 she had pursued was a matter wholly within 

 her discretion, and formed no stronger ground 

 for " destroying or annulling her State Legisla- 

 ture by congressional action" than a similar 

 course in any other State would give Congress 

 a right to disperse the Legislature and put a 

 military Governor over her. He then attacked 

 the specific provisions of the bill itself, and re- 

 flected severely on the motives which prompted 

 Governor Bullock and others to urge a measure 

 of this character. Other speeches were made 

 by Mr. Voorhees and Mr. Bingham, and it was 

 on motion of the latter gentleman that the 

 postponement of the matter was effected. 



Soon after the question of completing the 

 reconstruction of Georgia had been brought 

 fully to the attention of Congress, the Legisla- 

 ture of the State assembled at Atlanta in the 

 new building furnished by the city for the 

 purpose. On the first day of the session (Jan- 

 uary 13th), the Governor submitted a message 

 in which he gave an account of his proceedings 

 at "Washington, and his reasons therefor, and 

 reiterated his views on the subject of the re- 

 construction of the State. His own examina- 

 tion of the reconstruction acts, he said, led 

 him to the following conclusions : 



1. Until the full recognition by Congress of Georgia 

 as a State in the Union, there can be no authority for 

 government within her territorial limits except'that 

 derived from the laws of the United States. 



2. This authority for government is found in the 

 laws known as the reconstruction acts of Congress. 



3. The terms and conditions upon which Georgia 

 was to have been admitted as a State are prescribed 

 in the law of June 25. 1868, entitled " An Act to ad- 

 mit," etc. 



4. There being nothing in that act which repealed 

 >r annulled the requirements previously enacted as to 



eligibility, those terms and conditions could be legally 

 adopted only by a legislative assembly organized un- 



er and by virtue of the laws of the United States 

 then in force, and by a body whose members were 

 eligible under the acts of March 2 and July 19, 1867. 

 1 said terms and conditions should be 



idopted by such a legislative body as that referred to 



the new constitution could have no vitality as funda- 

 mental law. 



6. In the act of March 7, 1867, the following condi- 

 tion was prescribed for persons holding office under 

 the provisional government : 



it * * * n o person shall be eligible to any office 

 under any such provisional governments who would 

 be disqualified from holding office under the third 

 article of said fourteenth amendment." 



7. That this restriction was not by Congress con- 

 sidered sufficiently comprehensive to insure the 

 establishment of State governments in harmony with 

 its policy, is made manifest by the fact that the fol- 

 lowing still more restrictive provision was embodied 

 in the supplemental reconstruction act, which became 

 a law on the 19th of July, 1867 : 



" And be it further enacted, * * * That all persons 

 hereafter elected or appointed to office in said mili- 

 tary districts, under any so-called State or municipal 

 authority, or by detail or appointment of the district 

 commander, shall be required to take and subscribe 

 the oath of office prescribed by law for officers of the 

 United States." 



8. Congress is the sole final interpreter of the true 

 intents and meaning of the reconstruction acts, and 

 the arbiter upon questions of execution. General 

 Grant to General Ord, June 26, 1867 : * * * " The 

 law, however, makes the district commanders their 

 own interpreters of their power and duty under it ; 

 and in my opinion the Attorney-General and myself 

 can do no more than give our opinion as to the mean- 

 ing of the laws ; neither can entorce his views against 

 the judgment of those made responsible for the faith- 

 ful execution of the law the district commanders." 

 Also General Meade to General Grant, July 18, 1868: 

 " My judgment, therefore, is to acquiesce in the de- 

 cision of 'the Senate, and leave to Congress such ac- 

 tion as may hereafter be deemed proper in case the 

 Senate failed to comply with the law." 



His plan for finishing the work of recon- 

 struction was then duly set forth in substan- 

 tially the same terms which he had used in 

 recommending it to the Reconstruction Com- 

 mittee. He concluded with an urgent recom- 

 mendation that the Legislature itself take the 

 initiative in the matter, and aid in the consum- 

 mation of the congressional policy. ' ; Eestore 

 the colored members to their seats," he urged ; 

 " and exclude every person from participation 

 in your legislation who took an official oath to 

 support the Government of the United States, 

 and afterward gave aid or comfort to the ene- 

 mies thereof, until such person shall have been 

 relieved by Congress of the disability thus in- 

 curred bearing in mind that the only relief 

 from such disability is found in the action of 

 two-thirds of each House of Congress, and 

 cannot be accomplished by the individual 

 opinion of the person affected that the aid or 

 comfort was not voluntarily afforded." He 

 furthermore suggested that, if these recommen- 

 dations did not find favor with the members, t 

 they should take such action as they might 

 deem proper on the same, and then adjourn 

 until some convenient time in midsummer, 

 leaving the whole matter with Congress, where, 

 if not satisfactorily adjusted by ourselves, the 

 question must be finally disposed of." Neither 

 of these recommendations was heeded by the 

 Legislature, which proceeded to the regular 

 work of the session as if nothing had happened, 

 and passed no less than one hundred and 



