GEORGIA. 



337 



tin- privileges or rights now enjoyed equally bv all 

 MB ot the State under the Constitution ot the 

 I'nii.il States: therefore 



Jbeitruolved, as the sense of this General Assem- 

 bly, That the equal political rights of all citizens of 

 tliis Stair, it .Miilless of previous condition, are per- 

 nmiit -ntlv tlxi-il anil secured by the Constitution of 

 the United States, which is recognized by this body 

 as the supreme law of this land, and that no abridg- 

 ment or interference with these rights is proposed, 

 or contemplated, or desired, in any action of the 

 (ieiu-ral Assembly, or by the people whom we rep- 

 resent; and that any and all legislation in contra- 

 vention thereof, either by the Legislature or hy a 

 convention of the people, would be null and void. 



Resolved further, That the political relations of 

 all classes in this State have been harmoniously ad- 

 justed upon the basis of the present provisions of 

 the Constitution of the United States ; that peace 

 and good-feeling between the races prevail through- 

 out the State ; and that it is neither the desire nor 

 to the interest of the people of this State to reopen 

 these questions which have been thus permanently 

 settled beyond the power of agitation to disturb. 



The Supreme Court having decided that, 

 under the homestead act of the State, the 

 exemption from sale of $2,000 of realty, for 

 the benefit of a family, could be waived by ex- 

 press agreement of the head of the family, a 

 new act was passed providing for the recovery 

 of property sold, which had been set apart un- 

 der the homestead and exemption laws. This 

 authorized courts of equity to confirm the sale 

 on proof that the proceeds were invested anew 

 for the benefit of the family, or in so far as 

 they were so invested ; but enacted 



That, in cases where any portion of the proceeds 

 of property sold as aforesaid has neither been in- 

 vested in other property, nor applied to the benefit 

 of said family, the court shall ascertain the amount 

 thereof and the interest of said family therein, and 

 shall frame a decree to protect the rights and inter- 

 ests of said family in the property so sold, and, at 

 the same time, to protect the rights and interests of 

 the purchasers in the reversion of such property af- 

 ter the particular estate aforesaid shall have been 

 determined, and shall require parties complainant 

 to do complete equity in the premises before ob- 

 tainine equity. 



SECTION 7. Be it further enacted, That in cases 

 where a portion or all of the purchase-money of 

 property so sold has not been paid, the court may 

 confirm the sale and order the reinvestment of the 

 proceeds, or may cancel and set aside the sale, and 

 compel the restoration of any part of the purchase- 

 money which may have been paid, and may grant 

 relief to the parties according to the principles of 

 quity. 



The investigation into the alleged indebted- 

 ness of the State to Henry Clews & Co., of 

 New York, in the sum of $170,043.05, on ac- 

 count of services and transactions during the 

 administration of Governor Bullock, led to a 

 report, submitted to the Legislature, that a 

 careful examination of the books and corre- 

 spondence of Clews & Co. showed that, in point 

 of fact, the firm owed the State $170,228.42, 

 witli interest from November 16, 1871. 



In response to a resolution of the House of 

 Representatives, asking for information re- 

 garding the proceeds of the sale of lands do- 

 nated by Congress for the establishment of a 

 College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, the 

 VOL. xvi. 22 A 



Governor submitted a detailed statement on 

 the 14th of February. The amount n-ali/.i) 

 from the sale, under an agreement ent<-r< <1 

 into by acting-Governor Conley, was $243,000, 

 of which sum $50,400 was paid in cash, invest- 

 ed in seven per cent, bonds of the State, and 

 turned over to the State University. The re- 

 mainder was payable in eighteen months ; and, 

 under the resolution of 1872, authorizing the 

 discount of the purchaser's notes at seven per 

 cent., about one-half of the remaining scrip 

 was surrendered, and $90,202.17 realized and 

 paid into the Treasury. Under a resolution of 

 1873 this was kept as a separate fund, but 

 not invested, and it still remains in the Treas- 

 ury. The last payment of $96,192 was made 

 in July, 1873, and $96,000 invested in eight 

 per cent, bonds of the State, and turned over 

 to the trustees of the university. 



The political canvass of the year opened ear- 

 ly in the spring. The Democratic Executive 

 Committee decided to have no State Conven- 

 tion for the appointment of delegates to the 

 National Convention, but directed the calling 

 of conventions in the congressional districts 

 for this purpose. These were held on the 26th 

 of April, and in each district two delegates to 

 the nominating body at St. Louis were chosen, 

 and four delegates at large were voted for. 

 The State Committee consolidated the votes of 

 the district conventions, and determined who 

 had been chosen as delegates at large. This 

 method of proceeding gave rise to a good deal of 

 dissatisfaction in the party, but there was a gen- 

 eral acquiescence in the result. Governor Smith 

 headed the delegation to St. Louis. The Re- 

 publicans held a State Convention at Atlanta, 

 occupying two days, the 4th and 5th of May. 

 Of the twenty-two delegates chosen to the 

 National Convention, thirteen were white and 

 nine colored. A resolution was adopted ex- 

 pressing approval of the Administration of 

 President Grant. A Democratic Convention 

 for the nomination of candidates for State of- 

 ficers and for presidential electors was held at 

 Atlanta on the 2d of August. Governor Smith 

 and Judge Herschel V. Johnson had both de- 

 clined to have their names used as candidates 

 for Governor. Alfred H. Colquitt was nomi- 

 nated. The Republican Nominating Conven- 

 tion was held at Macon on the 16th of August, 

 and Jonathan Norcross, of Atlanta, was made 

 the candidate for Governor. Resolutions were 

 adopted approving of the national ticket and 

 platform of the party, favoring free, non-secta- 

 rian schools, expressing abhorrence for lawless- 

 ness and disorder, and opposing a convention 

 for the revision of the constitution of the State. 

 The State election occurred on the 4th of Oc- 

 tober, and resulted in the choice of Colquitt for 

 Governor. The total vote was 144,889, of which 

 the Democratic candidate received 111,297, 

 and the Republican 88,444, making the ma- 

 jority of the former 77,853. At the presiden- 

 tial election, November 7tb, there were 180,- 

 534 votes cast, of which the Tilden and Hen- 



