GEORGIA. 



tho Treasurer largo sum* of money, aggregating $4,- 

 , whieh had IH-CII <".lli-eted by mm o*t taxes ii|i.in 

 wiM land-, ktv|.'m_', holding, and retaining in his pos- 

 session Raid money. 



AHT. ;i. Tlmt ^iid Goldsmith, between March, 1874, 

 aiul February , 1871), did make and present to John 

 .loin-. Treasurer, fraudulent retUM eonoenihiff mon- 

 eys collected by him on account of wild-land taxes. 



ART. 10. That aaid Goldsmith collected as insur- 



M milfoil IH 'H 111U PULll V/l ^*i7, I ' '.TV, UUV lt JI-1|U111I1^ I111II 



iiumi-iliau-ly into the Treasury all sums thus 

 ooDeeted. 



ART. 11. That said Goldsmith did, in the month of 

 l>ormit to bo fraudulently changed and 

 alteii'd certain records used in tho Comptroller-Gen- 

 eral's office. 



ART. 12. That said Goldsmith does keep and cm- 

 ploy in his olliee one James M. Goldsmith, otter 

 Knowing of his unlawful acts in changing records in 

 the Wild-Land Office. 



ART. 13. That said Goldsmith did, on the 1st of 

 October, 1878, make and prepare false and incorrect 

 statements and exhibits ot money collected by him to 

 the Governor and Legislature. 



ART. 14. That said Goldsmith has appropriated to 

 his o\vn use money belonging to the State. 



ART. 15. That said Goldsmith did, on tho dates of 

 the 10th, 12th, and 15th of July ? 1879, collude, com- 

 bine, and conspire with one Hinton P. Wright to 

 control and influence P. D. Davis, a member of this 

 body. 



ART. 16. That said Goldsmith did, on tho of 



July, 1879, employ one Hinton P. Wright to bribe tho 

 Hon. Lewis Strickland, a member of this body. 



ART. 17. That said Goldsmith, by tho proceedings 

 and conduct as set forth in preceding sections, for the 

 sake of lucre and self-aggrandizcinent, has set a mis- 

 erable precedent to those in high office. 



Charges of impeachment against the Comp- 

 troller were made by the House to the Senate, 

 and that body organized into a court for the 

 trial of tho same, with the Chief Justice of the 

 State in the chair, on August 21st. The trial 

 was, however, postponed to the first Monday in 

 September. Its result is stated in the follow- 

 ing sentence read by the Chief Justice : 

 Tho House of Representatives and all the people of 

 Georgia vs. Washington L. Goldsmith, Comptroller- 

 General. Impeachment. 



Whereas, it appears from the record of tho trial hod 

 in the above-stated case, now before tho Court, that 

 the defendant was guilty of the charges contained in 

 the first, third, fourth, fifth, tenth, thirteenth, four- 

 teenth, and seventeenth articles of impeachment pre- 

 ferred against him by tho House of Representatives, 

 and was found not guilty of tho charges contained in 

 all the other articles : whereupon it is considered, or- 

 dered, and adjudged by the High Court of Impeach- 

 ment of the State of Georgia, now here, that the de- 

 fendant, the said W. L. Goldsmith, Comptroller-Gen- 

 eral of the said State of Georgia, be and he is hereby 

 removed from the said office of Comptroller-General, 

 and that the same be and is hereby declared to be va- 

 cant ; and that tho said W. L. Goldsmith be and is 

 hereby declared to be disqualified to hold and enjoy 

 any office of honor, trust, or profit within tho State of 

 Georgia during his natural lire. 



HIRAM WARNER, 

 Chief Justice Supreme Court of Georgia. 

 Septwnber 19, 1879. 



On August llth, in the House, four com- 

 mittees of nine members each were appointed 

 to investigate the Treasury Department, the 

 Agricultural Department, the office of tho prin- 



cipal keeper of the penitentiary, and tho office 

 of tho State School Commissioner. 



The committee on the investigation of the 

 Treasury Department made majority and mi- 

 nority reports on September 15th. The ma- 

 jority say that they " have found at the very 

 threshold of their investigations such conclu- 

 sive evidence of malfeasance in office by J. W. 

 Renfroe, Treasurer of the State, that they 

 feel it their imperative duty to lay tho same 

 before the House without delay." They then 

 proceed to state instances in which he depos- 

 ited money in certain banks, under an agree- 

 ment with his sureties, and received some in- 

 terest on such deposits for his own use. Then 

 they say : 



The testimony shows this to have been the under- 

 standing and agreement, but the committee are of the 

 opinion that in this matter the Treasurer has been 

 guilty of a plain, direct, and palpable violation of the 

 law and breach of hifl official duty. Prior to the 

 adoption of the present Constitution the law control- 

 ling this question is contained in the eleventh para- 

 graph of section 12 of the act of the General Assem- 

 bly approved February 25, 1875, which is in these 

 words : " The Treasurer shall not under any circum- 

 stances use himself, or allow others to use, the funds 

 of the State in his hands ; and for every violation of 

 this section he is liable to the State for the sum of five 

 hundred dollars as a penalty, or a forfeiture of his sal- 

 ary, if such forfeiture will pay the penalty incurred." 

 While, therefore, it is true that the stipulations al- 

 ready recited were made between the Treasurer, the 

 sureties, and the banks, and were intended to meet 

 the letter of this law, yet the contract between the 

 sureties and the banks for the payment to the sureties 

 of interest on the State deposits, and the receiving by 

 the Treasurer of his portion of those payments, is 

 clearly and unquestionably a violation of the law in 

 its spirit and substance. 



Again, more than one half the entire amount re- 

 ceived by tho Treasurer from this source was paid to 

 him subsequently to the 5th day of December, 1877. 

 on which day the present Constitution was ratified ana 

 adopted by the people and became the organic law of 

 this State ; and whatever justification or excuse may 

 be set up by the Treasurer under the language of the 

 statute just cited, he certainly could not mistake or 

 misconstrue the plain, positive, and comprehensive 

 provision of the Constitution upon this subject. Par- 

 agraph five of section two of article five of that instru- 

 ment provides that " the Treasurer shall not be al- 

 lowed, directly or indirectly, to receive any fee, inter- 

 est, or reward from any person, bank, or corporation 

 for deposit or use in anv manner of the public funds ; 

 and tne General Assembly shall enforce this provision 

 by suitable penalties." 



They further reported that the Treasurer, 

 for signing officially the coupons on the bonds 

 of the Northeastern Railroad Company, en- 

 dorsed by the State, charged said railroad com- 

 pany therefor H cent per coupon, and did 

 on the 2d of January, 1878, receive from the 

 officers of the company $247 in payment of 

 that claim, which sum of money he converted 

 to his own use and benefit. And they con- 

 cluded by recommending that he be impeached 

 for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, 

 and that a committee of seven be appointed to 

 announce the matter to the Senate. 



The minority of one took an entirely differ- 

 ent view of the case, saying that he felt com- 

 pelled to submit his report " in deference to 



