GEORGIA. 



GERMANY. 



exceed $1,000,000, until an amount of capital 

 .should bo sulmcrihcd and paid in t<nml to the 

 iiiiiouiit of tin- indorsements. The Governor 

 says that there is no evidence that Hiioh cnpital 

 WAS ever subscribed and paid in, although fur- 

 ther indorsements of the State were given. 

 lie c.-ills for an investigation of the inMt.-r. 

 The road is now held on behalf of the Stat<- l.y 

 oiver, and it was advertised for sale in 

 iiihiT, Imt afterward withdrawn on ac- 

 count of the discoveries made regarding the 

 bonds. The North & Sooth Railroad Compa- 

 ny having failed to pay interest on bonds in- 

 dorsed by the State, the property was taken 

 usion of by the State in April, and is still 

 iii-ld and managed by its agent. Tho Memphis 

 llnuich UaUroad Company, having completed 

 and equipped five miles of its road in May, re- 

 ceived the State's guarantee on its bonds to the 

 amount of $84,000. 



Tho Governor, in his message to the Legis- 

 lature of 1875, has the following to say about 

 a revision of the State constitution : 



The Secretary of State has been directed to send, 

 properly authenticated, to the Senate, where it ori- 

 ginated, the act of the last Legislature, approved 

 March 2, 1874, entitled " An act to amend the Con- 

 stitution of the State." An examination of this act 

 shows that it is applicable only to such indorse- 

 ments of railway bonds made by the late Governor 

 as the Legislature had " declared illegal, fraudulent, 

 or void." A large amount of the fraudulent indorse- 

 ments and bonds, issued during the late administra- 

 tion, are not covered by the language of the act. It 

 U doubtful, therefore, whether the public interest 

 would bo subserved by the final adoption of the act 

 as an amendment to the constitution. It is also 

 questionable whether it would be competent for the 

 Legislature BO to amend the act as to include the 

 other bonds and indorsements to which attention has 

 just been directed. The question is thus brought 

 before us whether, for this and other reasons, it is 

 advisable at this time, and under existing circum- 

 stances, to call a convention for the purpose of re- 

 vising and amending the constitution 01 the State. 

 It is generally conceded that such a convention ought 

 to assemble m the course of a few years. Indeed, 

 there seems to be but little, if any, difference of 

 opinion at to the propriety and necessity of revising 

 the constitution ; the only doubt in the public mind 

 being as to the time when this can best be done. 

 There are certainly many reasons why a convention 

 should be called without unnecessary delay, and yet 

 it must be confessed that there are other reasons, 

 equally cogent, why, in a matter of such grave con- 

 cern, the State should move with extreme caution. 

 The peculiar condition of the State, its relations with 

 the Federal Government, and the necessity of act- 

 ing, as far as practicable, with due regard to other 

 Southern States similarly situated with ourselves, 

 impose upon us a grave responsibility. The people, 

 however, have the right to decide this question for 

 themselves, and to them the Legislature can safely 

 remit it. When this has been done, the entire ques- 

 tion can be discussed and determined upon its mer- 

 its. I can see no reason, therefore, why the Legis- 

 lature, if it see proper, may not take action during 

 the present session, for the purpose of referring the 

 question of assembling a convention to a vote of the 

 people. 



The subject of " direct trade" from Southern 

 ports to those of Europe has been a good deal 

 agitated during the year. A "Direct-Trade 



tvot. xiv. 23 A 



. " has been formed, and other steps taken 



to iimvjird the olnect. A convention wu~ 

 at Atlanta, in May, to which president* of 

 railroads and other transportation companies, 

 mayors of cities, and presidents of boards of 

 trade and chambers of commerce in the South- 

 ern ;uid Western States, were invited to consid- 

 er the subject of establishing a transportation 

 line from Savannah to Liverpool to cooperate 

 with a transportation line from the former port 

 westward to various points on the Mississippi 

 River and beyond. There were various re- 

 ports, speeches, and resolutions, on the subject, 

 and practical steps were taken to secure the 

 cooperation of railroads and ship-owners in the 

 proposed enterprise. The subject of construct- 

 ing an "Atlantic & Great Western Canal," to 

 cross the State of Georgia and reach the Mis- 

 sissippi River, is also agitated. There was an 

 Agricultural Congress at Atlanta on the 4th 

 of Juno, which adopted resolutions looking to 

 the union of the cotton States in the direct- 

 trade movement, without expressing prefer- 

 ences for any port. A committee of five from 

 each State was appointed to memorialize the 

 Legislatures on the subject of procuring statis- 

 tics. The congress adjourned, to meet at Ra- 

 leigh, N. C., July, 1876. 



There was no election for State officers this 

 year, and consequently no general conventions 

 of the parties. There was an election for mem- 

 bers of the Legislature on the 7th of October. 

 That body now consists of 40 Democrats and 

 4 Republicans in the Senate, and 160 Demo- 

 crats and 15 Republicans in the House of Rep- 

 resentatives. An election for members of Con- 

 gress was held on the 8d of November. In the 

 first district Julian Herbridge, Democrat, was 

 elected by 4,538 majority; second district, Wil- 

 liam E. Smith, Democrat, by 2,809 majority ; 

 third district, Philip Cook, Democrat, by 4,478 

 majority; fourth district, Henry R. Harris, 

 Democrat, by 9,286 majority; fifth district, 

 Milton A. Candler, Democrat, by 6,177 major- 

 ity ; sixth district, James II. Blount, Democrat, 

 by 725 majority; seventh district, William II. 

 Felton, Independent, by 82 majority; eighth 

 district, Alexander H. Stephens, Democrat, by 

 6,810 majority; and ninth district, Garrett 

 McMillen, Democrat, by 5,507 majority. 



GERMANY, an empire in Europe, reestab- 

 lished January 18, 1871. The Emperor, Wil- 

 liam I., was born March 22, 1797. He is a son 

 of King Frederick William III. of Prussia, 

 and Queen Louisa, and was married June 11, 

 1829, to Augusta, daughter of the Grand-duke 

 Charles Frederick of Saxe-Weimar. The heir- 

 apparent, Frederick William, born October 18, 

 1881, has the official title of Crown-prince of 

 the German Empire, and Crown-prince of 

 Prussia. He was married January 25, 1868, 

 to Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain 

 and Ireland, born November 21, 1840. Off- 

 spring of the union are, three sons, Frederick 

 William, born 1859 ; Henry, born 1862 ; Wal- 

 demar, born 1868; and four daughters, Char- 



