346 



GEOEGIA. 



road, under the State authorities, rendered two 

 reports. The majority declared that during 

 the sixteen months from August, 1868, to De- 

 cember, 1869, while Mr. Hulbert was super- 

 intendent, the receipts of the road amounted 

 to $1,716,206.47, of which $346,000 was paid 

 over to the State Treasury ; and that during 

 the twelve months from January to December, 

 1870, when Foster Blodgett was superintend- 

 ent, the receipts were $1,464,737.01, of which 

 only $45,000 was paid over, while debts were 

 contracted to the amount of $600,000, in ad- 

 dition to various unascertained claims. It 

 was said that in many cases money was drawn 

 to pay the same claim more than once, and 

 that, in many more instances, claims were 

 paid which were exorbitant or fraudulent. 

 Many unnecessary persons were employed in 

 the service of the road, and wholly uncalled- 

 for expenditures incurred. It is declared that 

 the loss by mismanagement and fraud, under 

 Mr. Blodgett, was not less than $1,000,000. 

 The committee appointed to investigate the 

 lease of the road also made its report, which 

 provoked considerable discussion. The sub- 

 ject was finally disposed of by the adoption 

 of the following resolutions : 



Resolved, That the investigation of the special 

 committee, raised for the purpose of investigating 

 and passing upon the fairness or unfairness of the 

 lease of the Western & Atlantic Kailroad, have failed 

 to disclose evidence sufficient to support the charge 

 of fraud in procuring the lease. 



Resolved, That, in the opinion of the General As- 

 sembly, the lease of the Western & Atlantic Railroad 

 secures to the State a certain sum for rental much 

 larger than can be hoped for under political control. 



Resolved, That the Governor be required^ to have 

 the entire stock and outfit of the road appraised, and 

 the appraisement made under order of the Governor 

 shall stand in the place and stead of the present as- 

 sessment. 



Resolved, That, within ninety days from the date 

 of the passage of this resolution, the present lessees 

 shall each sign their present bond, that the question 

 of their liability may be set at rest. 



Resolutions were also adopted providing for 

 the taking of an inventory of the property of 

 the road, and for ascertaining its condition. 



The committee appointed to investigate the 

 alleged official mismanagement of Governor 

 Bullock, made a long report, the principal 

 points of which were to the following effect : 

 That the Governor allowed Mr. Kimball, as 

 financial agent of the State, to borrow money 

 on the State's credit for his private use ; that 

 he transferred money belonging to the State 

 in the Georgia National Bank, to his own 

 private account, and permitted State money, 

 in the same bank, to be used on Kirnball's 

 account; that he was guilty of fraud and 

 corruption in the purchase of the Opera- 

 House at Atlanta for the Capitol ; that he sub- 

 sidized the press by enormous and unnecessary 

 contracts for printing, and purchased a news- 

 paper for which he secured State patronage ; 

 that he granted pardons to criminals for 

 money and political support ; that he per- 

 mitted the penitentiary to carry on a system 



of plundering from the State, and shared in 

 the proceeds ; and was guilty of extravagance 

 and corruption in nearly all his transactions. 

 His part in the management of the Atlantic & 

 Western Railroad, and in indorsing bonds ille- 

 gally, being covered by the reports of other 

 committees, is barely alluded to. No direct 

 action was taken by the Legislature on this 

 report. 



This session of the Legislature continued till 

 near the end of August, and passed 435 acts 

 and 59 joint resolutions, but the bulk of them 

 related to matters of purely local interest. 

 Among the resolutions adopted was one re- 

 questing the members of Congress from Geor- 

 gia to use their efforts to obtain an appropria- 

 tion for the surveying and locating of a canal 

 to connect the Atlantic Southern States with 

 the Western States. A division of the State 

 into nine congressional districts was made in 

 accordance with the new apportionment act 

 of Congress. A bill to regulate the time of 

 holding elections, providing that State officers 

 and members of the Legislature should be 

 chosen on the first Wednesday of October, 

 Congressmen on the Tuesday following the first 

 Monday of November, and county officers on 

 the first Wednesday of January, passed the 

 Senate, but was lost in the House. 



The Democrats of the State held a conven- 

 tion at Atlanta, June 26th, to appoint dele- 

 gates to the National Convention at Baltimore, 

 and adopted the following resolutions : 



Resolved, That the Democratic party of Georgia 

 stands upon the principles of the Democratic party of 

 the Union, bringing into special prominence, as ap- 

 plicable to the present extraordinary condition of 

 the country, the unchangeable doctrine that this is a 

 Union of States, and that the indestructibility of 

 equality with each other is an indispensable part of 

 our political system. 



Resolved, That, in the approaching election, the 

 Democratic party invites everybody to cooperate with 

 it in a zealous determination to change the present 

 usurping and corrupt Administration, by placing in 

 power men who are true to the principles of consti-. 

 tutional government and a faithful and economical 

 administration of public affairs. 



Resolved, That, in our opinion, the delegates to 

 the Baltimore Convention should go unmolested by 

 instructions, and should act with all the lights be- 

 fore them as they deem best for the good of the 



Another convention was held on the 24th 

 of July, for the purpose of making nomina- 

 tions for Governor and presidential electors. 

 James M. Smith was nominated for Governor, 

 and it was declared that the election of Gree- 

 ley and Brown for President and Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the United States would be " condu- 

 cive to the preservation of the rights of the 

 States, to local self-government, and the pro- 

 tection of the individual liberty of the citizen." 

 An invitation was also extended to "every- 

 body" to cooperate with the Democratic 

 party " in a zealous determination to change 

 the present usurping and corrupt Federal Ad- 

 ministration, by placing in power men who 

 are true to the principles of constitutional 



