312 



GEORGIA. 



preliminary work, all subscriptions to be taken 

 with the understanding that not a dollar should 

 be paid until the full $200,000 should be sub- 

 scribed, with the privilege of increasing the capi- 

 tal stock of the exposition company to $5,000,- 

 000. The 189 acres belonging to the Piedmont 

 Exposition Company, about 75 of which have 

 already been used for exposition purposes, were 

 selected as the site. The city government made 

 an appropriation of $75,000 in cash, conditioned 

 only on individual subscriptions being secured to 

 the amount of $125,000, which was soon done. 



A bill was passed in Congress appropriating 

 $200,000 for a Government exhibit, and direct- 

 ing the removal of the Government building 

 from the World's Fair grounds at Chicago. 

 Later it was found that the cost of removal 

 would be too great, and a new Government 

 building was decided upon. There will be a 

 building for an exhibit by the colored race and 

 a woman's building. The date has been fixed 

 for Sept. 18 to Dec. 30. 



Immigration. The Southern Interstate Im- 

 migration Congress met in Augusta, May 30- 

 June 1. The resolutions favored the formation 

 of State and county boards of immigration, and 

 recommended to Congress the establishment of 

 a permanent exposition at the national capital, 

 in which the products and resources of the sev- 

 eral States of the Union may be fitly and prop- 

 erly displayed ; called for a committee to devise 

 some practical plan to lay before the better class 

 of immigrants from Europe the manifold ad- 

 vantages of the South, and to induce and direct 

 this immigration to the Southern States ; re- 

 quested Southern editors, landed corporations, 

 immigration associations, boards of trade, railway 

 lines, and progressive business men of the South 

 to co-operate with the executive committee in 

 enlarging this mode of advertising by establish- 

 ing a train of cars in which will be exhibited 

 the products of the South, said train of cars to 

 be carried to every section of the said Northern, 

 New England and Northwestern States, and to 

 the Dominion of Canada, and that similar ad- 

 vertising shall be done in foreign countries as 

 soon as practicable ; recommended improve- 

 ment of roads and geological surveys; favored 

 the movement toward direct trade both in the 

 matter of export and imports between the ports 

 on the south Atlantic and Europe, which has al- 

 ready been successfuly inaugurated by loading 

 large steamers with grain and Western products 

 from the south Atlantic and Gulf ports; and 

 recommended that the convention do its utmost 

 to encourage desirable immigration through 

 steamers coming directly to Southern ports, and 

 that all the States in the South unite to en- 

 courage and assist in settling up their waste 

 lands, and setting forth the great advantages of 

 climate and soil in various localities ; as the only 

 hope for the future of our railroads, and the 

 permanent building up of the Southern section 

 of our country, is by the bringing in of new peo- 

 ple to stimulate industry, -md by putting new 

 life into enterprises and doing 'for the South 

 what immigration has done for the waste lands 

 of the great West. 



Ex-Gov. Northen is at the head of a move- 

 ment to advertise the advantages of the State 

 and promote immigration into it of desirable 



citizens. The railroads entering the State con- 

 tributed $12,000 toward beginning the enter- 

 prise, and promise to co-operate with the bureau 

 in other ways. 



The Waycross War. A ripple of excitement 

 was caused in January by the report that the 

 scene of a prize fight, which had been intended 

 to take place in Florida and was meeting with 

 some opposition there, would be transferred to 

 Georgia soil ; and still more when the Governor 

 went to the southern part of the State, called 

 the sheriffs along the border line to meet in coun- 

 cil at Waycross, and ordered out the militia to 

 enforce the law in Georgia in case of any at- 

 tempt of the law-breakers to cross the line. The 

 troops were stationed along the railroads enter- 

 ing the State from Florida. As the opposition 

 in Florida was withdrawn, the precautions \\cre 

 proved to have been unnecessary. When the 

 first bill for expenses came in, the Governor drew 

 a warrant on the treasury, but the Comptroller- 

 General declined to pay without the advice of 

 the Attorney-General. Pending the decision of 

 the question, the Governor promised to pay the 

 expenses himself, should the State refuse. The 

 question of the Governor's right to proceed as 

 he did in calling out the militia was warmly dis- 

 cussed in all its bearings, especially its influence 

 on his political fortunes. The Attorney-Gen- 

 eral's opinion sustained his right to use his dis- 

 cretion in enforcing the laws and call in the as- 

 sistance of the militia when he deems it neces- 

 sary, and the expenses, amounting to $1,797.11, 

 were ordered paid. 



Historic Relics. The original document of 

 the ratification by Georgia of the Declaration of 

 Independence, which has been lost sight of for 

 more than thirty years, was found in the office 

 of the Secretary of State in January, together 

 with other documents of an early period primi- 

 tive constitutions in manuscript, treaties with 

 Indians, cessions of land by them, and State- 

 boundary agreements. Among them are the 

 speech of Gov. Elbert asking the Indians for the 

 land that was given to Count d'Estaing (20,000 

 acres) for services rendered in the Revolutionary 

 war, and the reply of the Indians. 



Legislative Session. The General Assembly 

 convened Oct. 24. There was some prospect of a 

 law being passed for restraining the liquor trade, 

 similar to that of South Carolina. A dispensary 

 bill was introduced, but it was indefinitely post- 

 poned Dec. 10. 



Another subject that came before the Legisla- 

 ture was that of ballot reform, and a bill to pro- 

 vide for registration of all voters was introduced. 



United States Senator Alfred H. Colquitt died 

 March 26. To serve in his place till the meeting 

 of the General Assembly, the Governor appointed 

 Charles F. Crisp, Speaker of the House of Repre- 

 sentatives, who declined, and afterward Patrick 

 Walsh, who accepted, and was again chosen by 

 the Legislature in November to fill out Senator 

 Colquitt's unexpired term. There were 4 can- 

 didates before the Democratic caucus for the 

 nomination for Senator for the following term : 

 Patrick Walsh. Augustus 0. Bacon, H. G. Turn- 

 er, and Louis F. Garrard. Of these, Mr. Turner, 

 who is an avowed gold monometallism was cham- 

 pioned by Secretary Hoke Smith, and was re- 

 garded as the favorite and representative of the 



