GEORGIA. 



345 



To declare the indorsement of the bonds of 

 the Brunswick & Albany Railroad null and 

 void, and to prohibit the Governor, Treasurer, 

 or any officer of the State, from paying the 

 interest or principal, or in any way recognize 

 the validity of said indorsement ; to declare 

 null and void, and unconstitutional, the issue 

 of the State gold bonds in aid of the Bruns- 

 wick & Albany Railroad Company under act 

 of October 17, 1870, and to prohibit the Gov- 

 ernor of Georgia, the Treasurer, or any other 

 officer of the State, from paying principal 

 or interest on the same; to declare the in- 

 dorsement of the bonds of the Cartersville & 

 Van Wert Railroad Company and the Chero- 

 kee Railroad Company null and void, and to 

 prohibit the Governor, Treasurer, or any other 

 officer of the State, from paying the interest 

 or principal, or in any way recognizing the va- 

 lidity of said indorsement; to declare the in- 

 dorsement of the bonds of the Bainbridge, 

 Cuthbert & Columbus Railroad Company null 

 and void, and to prohibit the Governor, Treas- 

 urer, or any other officer of the State, from 

 paying the interest or principal, or in any 

 wise recognizing the validity of said indorse- 

 ment ; to declare null and void certain quar- 

 terly gold bonds, issued in 1870, and to pro- 

 hibit the Governor, Treasurer, or any other 

 officer, from payitig the interest or principal 

 of the same. (These were 100 held by Henry 

 Clews.) 



Resolutions were also submitted as follows : 



Recognizing the quarterly gold bonds issued 

 under act of September 15, 1870, to be good 

 and valid; that the bonds hypothecated be re- 

 deemed by the payment of the money bor- 

 rowed, with lawful interest; that the indorse- 

 ment of the bonds of the South Georgia & 

 Florida Railroad was made in compliance with 

 law, and therefore valid ; that the indorsement 

 of the bonds of the Alabama & Chattanooga 

 Railroad is valid and binding; that the cur- 

 rency bonds issued in August, 1870, having 

 been cancelled by the gold bonds, are not 

 binding, and prohibiting the Governor, Treas- 

 urer, or any other officer of the State, from 

 paying interest or principal, or in any way 

 recognizing their validity. 



The bills invalidating the indorsement of the 

 State on the bonds of the Brunswick & Albany, 

 the Cartersville & Van Wert & Cherokee, and 

 the Bainbridge, Cuthbert & Columbus Rail- 

 road Companies, were passed with very little 

 opposition. Resolutions were adopted recog- 

 nizing the validity of the State indorsement on 

 the bonds of the Macon & New Brunswick, 

 and the South Georgia & Florida roads. The 

 act declaring certain gold bonds null and void 

 was passed in the following terms : 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 

 tives, That the quarterly gold bonds, issued by the 

 State, under act of September 15, 1870, and now held 

 by Henry Clews & Co., of New York, and numbered 

 as follows, to wit : 1825, 1826, 2591 to 2600, both in- 

 clusive, 1771 to 1774, both inclusive, 1741, 1633, 1629, 

 1630, 1010, 797, 798, 2501 to 2575, both inclusive, 



1791, 1792, 1811, and 1840, are hereby declared void 

 and of no binding force against the State of Georgia. 



The resolution recognizing the validity of 

 the other gold bonds issued under the act of 

 September 15, 1870, and ordering their prompt 

 redemption, passed. The resolution relating 

 to currency bonds was addled, as follows : 



Resolved, That the currency bonds issued under 

 act of August, 1870, for temporary purposes, have 

 been cancelled by the issue of gold bonds for the 

 purposes of the 'original issue, and it is hereby de- 

 clared that said currency bonds are not binding upon 

 the State, and the Governor, Treasurer, or any other 

 officer of the State are hereby prohibited from paying 

 the principal or interest, or any part thereof, or in 

 any manner recognizing the validity of said bonds. 



The following was also adopted by way of 

 amendment to the resolution : 



Whereas, J. Boorman, Johnson & Co., of New 

 York, and A. G. Johns, of Brooklyn, hold certain 

 currency bonds of the State, which they allege were 

 hypothecated with them by H. I. Kirnball, as the 

 State's agent; and 



Whereas, It is claimed by said stockholders that, if 

 allowed to make further proof, they will be able to 

 show that the funds, loaned upon such hypotheca- 

 tion, were received and used by the State ; and 



Whereas, It is the purpose ot this General Assem- 

 bly to meet and discharge all demands against the 

 State for sums of which she has received the benefit, 

 and to give to parties holding such demands the 

 largest opportunity to establish the character of their 

 claims : therefore, be it 



Resolved, That said holders of currency bonds 

 may have reduced to writing, and sworn to before 

 Thomas L. Snead, of New York, such statements as 

 they may see proper to submit, touching the hy- 

 pothecation of said bonds, and the fact that the State 

 received the benefit of the money borrowed on said 

 hypothecation. The testimony shall be in the form 

 of question and answer. The said Thomas L. Snead, 

 as commissioner to take such testimony as aforesaid, 

 shall transmit the same taken to the Governor, 

 whose duty it shall be to lay the same, together with 

 the report* of the Bond Committee for the currency 

 bonds, before the next General Assembly. 



The proposition to declare the indorsement of 

 the bonds of the Alabama & Chattanooga Rail- 

 road Company valid met with much opposition, 

 and a substitute declaring them null and void, 

 and prohibiting the payment of principal or in- 

 terest, was adopted in the House. This failed, 

 however, in the Senate, and no final action was 

 taken on the subject. A resolution was also 

 adopted by the House, providing for an amend- 

 ment of the constitution in the following terms : 



The General Assembly shall have no power to rec- 

 ognize as legal, or make provision by law for the 

 payment of the illegal and fraudulent indorsement 

 of the bonds of various railroad companies, and other 

 bonds mentioned in the several acts of the Legisla- 

 ture passed at the July and August session of 1872, 

 declaring the State's non-liability upon the same. 



After this act shall have been passed by two-thirds, 

 by successive Legislatures, as by the constitution 

 provided, it shall be the duty of the Governor, by 

 his official proclamation, to make provision for sub- 

 mitting the amendment to the qualified voters of this 

 State, for final ratification or rejection, at the next 

 general election occurring more than sixty days after 

 passing by two-thirds the second time as aforesaid. 



This, too, failed to pass the Senate. 

 The committee appointed to investigate the 

 management of the Atlantic & Western Rail- 



