GEOEGIA. 



347 



GEORGIA. The State of Georgia has been 

 undergoing a political revolution during the 

 year. At the election of 1870, the conserva- 

 tive element, including the more substantial 

 portion of the native citizens, gained the ascen- 

 dency, for the first time, since the reconstruc- 

 tion of the State, and immediately began to 

 examine into the previous administration of 

 public affairs, with a view to inaugurating a 

 new policy. A Legislature was chosen which 

 was strongly Democratic in both branches, 

 and four of the seven members sent to Con- 

 gress were Democrats. Some attempt was 

 made at the beginning of the year to prove 

 that the elections had not been legally con- 

 ducted, or had been accompanied by violence 

 or intimidation, and it was at one time appre- 

 hended that Congress might be induced to in- 

 terfere again ; but no action was taken by that 

 body on the affairs of the State. The senti- 

 ment of hostility to the then existing State ad- 

 ministration grew stronger and stronger, and 

 before the close of the year succeeded in over- 

 throwing it and setting on foot investigations 

 and inaugurating new measures which are 

 likely to work a complete change. There are 

 no definite statistics regarding the material 

 condition and progress of the State during the 

 year, and we shall content ourselves with 

 giving the facts connected with its political 

 history as clearly and concisely as the con- 

 fused state of all the public records and re- 

 ports will admit. 



There were some vague reports of Ku-klux 

 outrages in different parts of the State, but 

 these were never substantiated sufficiently to 

 give evidence of the existence of any disor- 

 derly element seriously affecting the peace of 

 the Commonwealth, or the welfare of any por- 

 tion of the people. The Congressional Inves- 

 tigating Committee spent some time in the 

 State during the autumn, and the following 

 resolutions adopted in the Senate, the General 

 Assembly being in session at the time, show 

 how the matter was regarded by a majority 

 of the dominant party : 



Whereas. It has been alleged by certain politicians, 

 .North and ^South, who esteem the success of the 

 party to which they belong, and the accomplishment 

 of their politieal purposes, more highly than the 

 peace, happiness, and prosperity of the country, that 

 there exist in this and other Southern States cer- 

 tain lawless bands of persons commonly called Ku- 

 klux, who are banded together for political purposes, 

 and are in the habit of committino- great outrages 

 upon the peaceable and law-abiding inhabitants^ 

 the country, and that the State courts fail and refuse 

 to afford sufficient redress ; and 



Whereas, The Congress of the United States, at 

 the last session, appointed a committee to investigate 

 said alleged outrages and violations of law ; and 



Whereas, This Senate is satisfied that no such po- 

 litical organization exists in this State, and desires 

 to afford said committee all the aid and facilities in 

 its power, for the purpose of enabling the said com- 

 mittee to arrive at the truth in regard to all the mat- 

 ters which it is their duty to investigate ; and 



Whereas, The Superior Court Judges of this State 

 (a large majority of whom belong to the Kepublican 

 party) preside over the courts of every county in this 



State, and have ample opportunity of knowing how 

 the law is administered and enforced in the various 

 parts of the State ; and 



Whereas, This Senate is satisfied that a large 

 number of witnesses have been called upon to testify 

 before said committee who are not worthy of credit 

 before any court or honest community, for the pur- 

 pose of making a record, to be used for the accom- 

 plishment of certain political ends, which greatly de- 

 fames the people of this State ; and 



Whereas, This Senate is satisfied that the people 

 of this State never were, at any time, in the history 

 of this country, more peaceable, quiet, and law-abid- 

 ing than they are now : therefore 



Itesolved, By this Senate, that we respectfully invito 

 the portion of said committee which is now assem- 

 bled in this city to summon as witnesses before them 

 all of the Judges of the Superior Courts of this State. 



Resolved, That we pledge ourselves to give to said 

 committee and the courts of the country all the aid 

 in our power to enable them to investigate any out- 

 rage or violations of law which may have been com- 

 mitted against the laws of this State or the United 

 States, and to bring the guilty parties to speedy jus- 

 tice. 



This invitation was not accepted. 



The most important feature in the history 

 of Georgia, for the year 1871, is that which 

 relates to its public finances. They have been 

 considerably embarrassed on account of the 

 somewhat hasty legislation of the last three or 

 four years, which pledged the credit of the 

 State for a large amount to aid in the construc- 

 tion of railroads, and for other purposes, and the 

 obscurity which exists in the accounts of the 

 public bonds, arising from conflicting state- 

 ments of the Governor and the State Treas- 

 urer, and producing a lack of full confidence 

 in the good faith of some of the public officers. 

 Prior to the reconstruction of the State, and the 

 accession of Rufus B. Bullock to the Execu- 

 tive office, bonds of the State had been issued 

 as indicated in the following table : 



During the administration of Bullock, large 

 additions were made to the indebtedness of 

 the State. The following statement was made 

 by the Treasurer on the 7th of November, 

 1871: 



Total State bonded debt created before 1868. . . $5,912,500 

 Currency State bonds issued in 1868. $600,000 

 Currency State bonds issued in 1870. 2,000,000 



$2,600.000 



Currency bonds of 18C8 re- 

 turned cancelled $332,000 



Currency bonds of 1870 re- 

 turned cancelled 500,000 832.000 



Leaves of new currency bonds still out 1,768,000 



Carried forward $7,680,500 



