GEOKGIA. 



303 



eighty-eight laws and twenty-nine joint reso- 

 lutions before adjourning in the early part of 

 April. A large proportion of these acts were 

 for the incorporation of railroads and manu- 

 facturing companies, and for the promotion of 

 the material interests of the State. 



Among the more important measures of the 

 session was a general jury law, an act to en- 

 courage immigration, the tax levy of the year, 

 and an act in relation to the statute of limita- 

 tion. An act was also passed changing the fiscal 

 year so as to make it correspond precisely with 

 the calendar year; and another, prohibiting 

 the sale of intoxicating liquors on election 

 days within one mile of the city, town, or pre- 

 cinct where elections may be held, under a 

 penalty of fifty dollars' fine or ten days' impris- 

 onment for each offence. 



The law for the encouragement of immi- 

 gration provides for the election by the Gen- 

 eral Assembly of a domestic and a foreign 

 commissioner, who shall hold office for two 

 years, and "devote themselves to the encourage- 

 ment of the immigration of good citizens, 

 laborers, artisans, mechanics, etc., and to the 

 investment of capital in lands." They are also 

 required to prepare and circulate such publica- 

 tions as they may deem advisable, tending to 

 promote the object contemplated, and to keep 

 records of lands for sale, and of such other in- 

 formation as may be important for their pur- 

 poses. The foreign commissioner is required 

 to spend from one to two years in Europe for 

 the purpose of encouraging and facilitating im- 

 migration into the State from that quarter. 

 A report is to be made to the Governor, con- 

 cerning the results of the plan at the end of 

 one year, and ten thousand dollars were appro- 

 priated for carrying it into operation. This 

 act did not receive the approval of the Gov- 

 ernor, but became a law by lapse of time, and 

 Colonel George N". Lester was elected domestic 

 commissioner and Samuel Weil, Esq., foreign 

 commissioner. 



The act in relation to the statute of limita- 

 tions had reference to the law of 1868, in which 

 it was provided that in all cases arising out of 

 transactions which took place prior to June 1, 

 1865, the destruction or loss of the property 

 upon which credit was given may be put in 

 evidence, and the debt reduced by the jury ac- 

 cording to the equities of the case. (See CY- 

 CLOPAEDIA, 1868.) The constitutionality of that 

 law had been brought in question on the 

 ground that it impaired the obligation of con- 

 tracts, and in a case before the Supreme Court, 

 in January, each of the three judges on the 

 bench gave an opinion on the question, two 

 of which were in favor of the constitutionality 

 of the law, and one against it. On account of 

 the doubt which continued to exist with re- 

 gard to the constitutionality of the law of 1868, 

 the Legislature at this session passed an act 

 which required that all suits arising out of 

 transactions prior to June 1, 1865, should be 

 brought before January 1, 1870, or be forever 



barred. All cases arising out of transactions 

 since the 1st of June, 1865, are governed by 

 the old statute of limitations of the Code of 

 Georgia. 



Several acts of the session were vetoed by 

 the Governor. One of these, " An Act to in- 

 corporate the town of Parkerville," was re- 

 turned without his approval, on the ground 

 that it would "enforce what was commonly 

 known many years since in Georgia as the 

 4 Algerine Law,' or establish a universality of 

 election without regard to age or sex, and 

 based simply on the ownership of property." 

 The provision referred to limited the right to 

 vote for the officers of the proposed town to 

 the owners of lots therein. "It is to be sin- 

 cerely regretted," said the Governor, "that a 

 measure of this extraordinary character, and so 

 flagrantly violative of the letter and spirit of 

 our constitution, and antagonistic to the prin- 

 ciples of republican government, should have 

 received the approval of the respective com- 

 mittees and a majority of the members of each 

 House of the General Assembly." 



An act to amend the act of incorporation of 

 the town of Jonesboro was also vetoed. This 

 provided that "all persons who, under the 

 laws of this State, are entitled to vote for mem- 

 bers of the General Assembly, and who have 

 resided for three consecutive months immedi- 

 ately preceding the election in the corporate 

 limits of the town, shall vote, and none other ;" 

 and also that " no one shall be deemed eligible 

 to hold office in said town who is not eligible 

 to a seat in the State Legislature." On these 

 points the Governor said : 



The constitution of the State guarantees the elec- 

 tive franchise to all citizens who nave resided within 

 this State six months, and within the county in which 

 they propose to vote thirty days preceding the elec- 

 tion. This section is therefore in conflict with the 

 constitution. As there is no distinction made by 

 the constitution on account of race or color, as to the 

 eligibility of citizens to hold office, and as the Legis- 

 lature has assumed to decide the question of eligibil- 

 ity as to its own membership in an opposite direction, 

 the enactment of a law prescribing eligibility to office 

 in a municipal government, based upon the decision 

 of the Legislature as to membership, would seem 

 to he inconsistent with the guarantees of the consti- 

 tution." * % '*-L 



The fifteenth amendment of the Constitution 

 of the United States, which was submitted to 

 the Legislatures of the several States by a vote 

 of both Houses of Congress on the 26th of 

 March, was presented to the Legislature of 

 Georgia for its action by Governor Bullock 

 near the close of the session. In his message 

 on this occasion the Governor began by saying : 



It is especially gratifying to learn, as I tlo from the 

 published proceedings of your honorable body, that 

 senators and representatives, who have heretofore 

 acted with a political organization which adopted as 

 ono of its principles a denunciation of the acts of a 

 Republican Congress as unconstitutional, revolution- 

 ary, and void, should, now give expression to _ their 

 anxious desire to lose no time in embracing this op- 

 portunity of ratifying one of the fundamental prin- 

 ciples of the Republican party, as herein proposed, 



