344 



GEORGIA. 



the Legislature, in which he claimed that great 

 injustice had been done him. He showed that 

 the discrepancy in the debt statement should 

 have appeared in the committee's calculations 

 as $300,000, and that it was caused by includ- 

 ing that amount twice in stating the bonds 

 issued to the Western & Atlantic and Atlantic 

 & Gulf Railroads. He also showed that pay- 

 ments which the committee failed to justify 

 were made on the approval of Governor Smith. 

 He also complained that such weight should be 

 given to a statement of Governor Bullock as 

 to the payment of bonds due before 1872 

 against his solemn asseveration that he had no 

 knowledge that the bonds which he paid had 

 been already paid once. He excused the lack 

 of systematic book-keeping on the ground of 

 the multiplicity of his duties and the insuffi- 

 ciency of his salary, which was only $2,000 a 

 year. 



Mr. Jones continued in the office of Treasurer 

 until November 25th, when the Governor de- 

 clared the office vacant, and requested Mr. 

 Jones to turn his accounts over to his successor 

 within ten days, because he had failed to file 

 his official bond. From that time to the 4th 

 of December the duties of the office were per- 

 formed by the Controller-General. On the 

 4th of December, John W. Renfroe was ap- 

 pointed and commissioned State Treasurer to 

 act until the next meeting of the General As- 

 sembly. 



In accordance with a joint resolution of the 

 Legislature, authorizing the Governor to ap- 

 point a " skillful and competent person to as- 

 sist the Treasurer in systematizing the manner 

 of book-keeping in his office, to make out a 

 full and complete registration of all the bonded 

 obligations in the Treasury, to ascertain, if pos- 

 sible, all the outstanding obligations recognized 

 as legal or illegal by the State, to report to the 

 General Assembly a tabulated statement of the 

 same," and to do whatever else was necessary 

 " to protect the interest of the State in the 

 conduct of the business of the office," James 

 F. Bozeman was selected for that service, and 

 entered upon his duties March 22d. He made 

 a report of the results of his investigation at 

 the end of the year. He stated the valid bond- 

 ed debt of the State at $8,005,500 ; the amount 

 of outstanding bonds declared null and void 

 by legislative enactments, $2,872,000; other 

 bonds classed as " invalid " by Mr. Bozeman 

 amounted to $473,250 ; outstanding bonds past 

 due and payable, $35,500. Books of record 

 were opened in which all the recognized and 

 valid current bonds of the State as well as all 

 over-due and paid bonds wherever discovered 

 were carefully registered. It was ascertained 

 by Mr. Bozeman that of $272,250 bonds re- 

 deemed by Henry Clews & Co., of New York, 

 in 1870 and 1871, only $98,250 had been can- 

 celed, and that the remaining $174,000, to- 

 gether with $800,000 of void currency bonds, 

 and 15,000 of sterling bonds which had been 

 redeemed, were sold at public auction in New 



York with only one day's notice by the said 

 Clews & Co., then financial agents of the State. 

 These bonds came back into the control of the 

 firm, and $149,250 of them were redeemed a 

 second time at the State Treasury in 1874. 'It 

 appeared also that other redeemed but uncan- 

 celed bonds had been paid a second time by 

 the Treasurer, increasing the amount to $196,- 

 612.15. 



On the 1st of January the balance in the 

 State Treasury, as officially reported, was 

 $1,003,128.88. From that time to the removal 

 of Treasurer Jones, November 25th, the re- 

 ceipts amounted to $1,287,277.37, making the 

 amount charged against the Treasury $2,290,- 

 .406.25. From this disbursements were made, 

 under Executive warrants, amounting to $810,- 

 401.79, and reducing it to $1,480,004.46. The 

 Treasurer also claimed credits for the payment 

 of a variety of interest coupons, amounting in 

 the aggregate to $632,527.50. As there was 

 reason to believe that some of this interest had 

 been paid before, and no satisfactory vouchers 

 were presented in many cases, these credits 

 were disallowed and the whole subject reserved 

 for further investigation. At the time of 

 Treasurer Jones's removal he stood charged 

 with a balance of $1,480,004.46, and claimed 

 credits amounting to $1,544,930.95, making 

 the State indebted to him in $64,926.49. A 

 careful audit of the accounts afterward made 

 showed a balance against him of $110,274.84, 

 exclusive of illegal and improper payments, 

 which would swell the amount to $291,969.95. 

 Suits have been instituted against the late 

 Treasurer and his sureties for the recovery of 

 the amount due the State. During the vacan- 

 cy in the Treasurer's office, from November 25th 

 to December 4th, the Controller-General re- 

 ceived $204,287.79, and disbursed $21,730.16. 

 The whole amount received by the new Treas- 

 urer to the end of the year was $782,240.07, 

 disbursements $270,454.86, leaving a balance 

 of $511,785.21. 



In accordance with a resolution of the last 

 Legislature, the State authorities took posses- 

 sion of the Macon & Brunswick Railroad, 

 and caused the same to be publicly sold on the 

 first Tuesday of June. It was purchased for 

 the State for $1,000,000, and directors ap- 

 pointed to manage it. The directors at the 

 beginning of 1876 had advertised the property 

 to be sold again on the 25th of January. The 

 North & South Railroad has been in the hands 

 of a receiver during the year, and operated 

 for the State. It is proposed also to offer this 

 property for sale in the spring of 1876. 



Great excitement was caused in Washington 

 and adjoining counties, about the 20th of Au- 

 gust, by reports of an intended negro rising, 

 the object of which was believed to be an in- 

 discriminate slaughter of white citizens. It 

 was known that the negroes had been forming 

 secret military organizations, and a letter was 

 discovered, signed Corday Harris, and ad- 

 dressed to Jerry Walters, captain of a military 



