GEORGIA. 



341 



or upon presentation of any such certificate of deposit, 

 the Treasurer of this State is hereby directed and re- 

 quired to deliver to such person a certificate, specifying 

 the sura so deposited, which I hereby declare the faith 

 and credit of this State will be pledged to repay to 

 such depositor, in funds bankable in Augusta and Sa- 

 vannah, with seven per cent, interest from the date of 

 the deposit, so soon as hostilities shall have ceased, 

 and it shall again be lawful for debtors to pay the 

 same to creditors in the hostile States above men- 

 tioned. This will not only afford to such of our citi- 

 zens as owe money to Northern creditors, which inter- 

 national law and public policv forbid them at present 

 to pay, a safe investment, and the highest security for 

 its return to them at the end of the war, but it will 

 enable them in the mean time to perform a patriotic 

 duty and to assist the State, and through her the Con- 

 federate States, in raising the funds necessary to the 

 successful defence of our homes, our firesides, and our 

 altars. 



And I do further command and strictly enjoin upon 

 all and every chartered bank in this State, which may 

 be in posses'sion of any note, bill, draft, or other paper 

 binding any citizen of this State to pay money to any 

 one of the s'aid hostile States, or any inhabitant or cor- 

 poration thereof, or belonging to any such State _or 

 person, to abstain from protesting any such draft, bill, 

 note, or other paper, provided the person liable on 

 such bill, draft, note, or other paper, will exhibit to 

 such bank or any of its agencies, having such paper in 

 possession, a certificate showing that he has deposited 

 the amount due en such paper, in the Treasury of this 

 State, or in any one of the banks above mentioned, to 

 the credit of the Treasurer, or will at the time such 

 paper becomes due, make such deposit. I further com- 

 mand and require all Notaries Public in this State, to 

 abstain absolutely from the performance of any official 

 act for the protest of any paper of the character above 

 mentioned, under such circumstances as are hereinbe- 

 fore specified. 



Given under my hand and the great seal of the State, 

 at the Capitol, iri Milledgeville, this twenty-sixth day 

 of April, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and 

 sixtv-one, and of the independence of the Confederate 

 Stat'es of America, the first. JOSEPH E. BROWN. 



E. P. WATKLN-S, Secretary of State. 



The agents for the cotton loan were active 

 in their endeavors to obtain subscriptions. In 

 other parts of the State, besides Savannah, very 

 liberal subscriptions were made. The demand 

 for arms, however, was, even at this early 

 period, becoming urgent, and most extensive 

 schemes were set on foot to undertake their 

 manufacture. The reasons offered to induce 

 capitalists to embark in these enterprises were : 

 that their country was almost destitute of 

 means to construct arms, their supplies from 

 foreign countries had been cut off, their present 

 stores must soon be exhausted ; their enemies 

 had all the means at hand for constructing the 

 most destructive weapons. 



The people were urged by the Governor to 

 ship no more cotton while the blockade contin- 

 ued. This scarcity of cotton, it was believed, 

 would operate upon the manufacturing industry 

 of the world with such severity as to excite 

 movements in behalf of the Confederate States. 

 The view of the Governor was thus expressed : 

 "It is said our enemies exempt cotton from 

 blockade. "Why? Because they cannot do 

 without it. I appeal to our planters, therefore, 

 to refuse to ship a bag while the blockade lasts. 

 This will soon remove the blockade from our 

 ports, and the increase in price will amply re- 



ward you for the loss you may sustain while 

 keeping your cotton on hand. I trust our peo- 

 ple wiU hold public meetings, and petition the 

 Government at Montgomery to lay an absolute 

 embargo upon cotton, permitting not one bag 

 to pass out of the Confederate States while the 

 blockade ia maintained. I appeal to our capi- 

 talists to go to work vigorously and prepare to 

 manufacture such articles as we most need. I 

 also appeal to our planters to redouble their 

 energies for the production of all supplies of 

 provision necessary to support our people at 

 home and our armies in the field. The pros- 

 pect is most flattering for an abundant wheat 

 harvest. Let each planter, as soon as his wheat 

 is cut, break and plant a few more acres of his 

 best wheat land in early kind of corn. Finally, 

 I appeal to all, ladies and gentlemen, to prac- 

 tise strict economy, dispense with every unne- 

 cessary luxury, and devote all to our country till 

 the battle is won, and our independence acknowl- 

 edged by the civilized nations of the earth." 



The exhaustion of the supply of arms was 

 becoming so certain that the Governor again 

 addressed the people on the subject. He stated 

 that all the arms in the arsenal at Augusta, at 

 the date of the act for its transfer to the Con- 

 federate States, were turned over to the Secre- 

 tary of "War, and ordered by him out of the 

 State to arm troops of other States on the bor- 

 der of the Confederacy. All those arms which 

 were taken from the arsenal previous to its 

 transfer, were placed in the hands of the State 

 troops at that time in service. Over seventeen 

 thousand troops had been fully armed, accoutred 

 and equipped by the State at the end of July, 

 including full supplies of tents, knapsacks, hav- 

 ersacks, blankets, cartridge boxes, cap pouches, 

 camp kettles, canteens, &c., at a cost of nearly 

 $300,000, over and above the cost of the guns 

 and the expense of feeding and rendezvousing 

 twenty regiments. About five thousand inde- 

 pendent troops also had gone from the State, a 

 part of whom had taken State arms. The sup- 

 ply that remained was only sufficient for two 

 or three new regiments, and was then required. 

 It was estimated that there were 40,000 good 

 country rifles and 25,000 good double-barrelled 

 shot-guns. From this source a temporary sup- 

 ply was expected. 



The change in the financial condition of the 

 State, arising from the stagnation of commerce 

 and the disappearance of specie, caused great 

 embarrassment among the people. This was 

 accompanied with an advance on many neces- 

 sary articles. So oppressive was this change 

 upon the citizens, that the attention of the Le- 

 gislature was called to it by the Governor, who 

 recommended that such measures should be 

 adopted as would put an end to the unjust and 

 unpatriotic speculations in these prime neces- 

 saries of life. He said : " There should be 

 enacted a law, authorizing the Governor, or 

 any military officer under his command, by his 

 direction, to seize and appropriate any provi- 

 sions or other supplies necessary for our army 



