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"I appear in this presence today, in obedience to the Constitution and Laws, to take the oath of office and assume the duties of Governor of Georgia. I come in response to the call of the people of my native State, a people who, having been scourged by fire and sword, have had their patience still more severely tried by want of integrity in office and by corruption in high places. But, after a long and cheerless night of misrule, let us unite in indulging the hope that a brighter day bringing with it peace, happiness and prosperity to our stricken people, is already dawning upon our beloved State."

With reference to the unceremonious departure.of Governor Bullock from the state, he continued:

"The late Governor, whose unexpired term of office I have been chosen to fill, is a voluntary fugitive from the State of his adoption. During his brief incumbency, there has been an addition of untold millions to the public debt. He has left the finances of the State in the utmost disorder and confusion; so that as yet it cannot be said what bonds are legal and what illegal. To correct these and other abuses much time and labor will be required. * ** * But it may here be proclaimed that the people of Georgia have no thought of repudiating any part of the indebtedness of the state. It is their purpose to respect vested rights, to require a faithful discharge of public duty on the part of officials, to protect and elevate the public faith and credit. We desire to live in peace, to restore our waste places, and to bring back the government of our State to the ancient landmarks of the fathers."

At the conclusion of his address, the governor-elect took the oath of office prescribed by the constitution, Judge Hiram Warner administering the oath, after which he was duly declared by the president of the Senate to be "duly elected and qualified governor of the State of Georgia, for the unexpired term of Rufus B. Bullock, late governor, resigned.'

With the incoming of the new administration, Chief Justice O. A. Lochrane relinquished the judicial ermine, desiring to return to his lucrative law practice; and one of the first official acts of Governor Smith was to appoint Judge Hiram Warner to this august seat. His commission was dated January 19, 1872. Judge Warner had already worn the mantle of chief-justice, but under the Bullock administration had been reduced to the rank of an associate. As Judge Warner's successor, Governor Smith appointed to the bench, Judge W. W. Montgomery, of Augusta. The personnel of the bench at this time was as follows: Chief Justice, Hiram Warner; associates, W. W. Montgomery and H. K. McCay.

Judge Lochrane's career on the bench did not add materially to his fame, though he possessed rare powers of analysis and rendered a number of important decisions, the effect of which was far-reaching. It was in the role of an advocate that he achieved his most brilliant triumphs; and whether on the platform or before a jury in the courtroom, he was well-nigh pre-eminent. Wit, humor, satire, eloquence, invective, repartee, anecdote-these were weapons instantly at his command; while a vast fund of general information and a wide range of acquaintance with the world's best poetry, made him one of the most charming of public speakers. Despite the fact that he was identified with the reconstructionists, his genial Irish temperament kept him from sharing to any

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extent in the popular odium. His eloquence, perennially refreshing, was like the Tugalo River at Tallulah Falls-it rolled in music over granite rocks and lifted rainbows while it molded cataracts.

It was not long after Governor Smith's induction into office as Georgia's chief-magistrate that former Gov. Charles J. Jenkins emerged from his retirement, bringing with him the executive seal which, for months of expatriation, had been the constant companion of his exile, both in Nova Scotia and in Europe. The time had now come for him to surrender into lawful hands this untarnished emblem of Georgia's statehood-this sacred heirloom-which, at the peril of his own life, he had kept from falling into the hands of military usurpers. On March 15, 1872, ex-Governor Jenkins, having lately returned to his home in Summerville, near Augusta, Georgia, addressed an extended letter to Governor Smith, in which he gave a full account of his stewardship; and this letter, in the summer following, was transmitted to the general assembly, for appropriate action. Governor Smith, in transmitting this letter said:

"The fact that this is the only authentic account of the action of the Executive at this time, when the government of the State was wrested from her people by the strong hand of military power, invests this paper with peculiar interest and importance. The manly struggle made by my distinguished predecessor to avert this dire calamity will never fade from the memory of a grateful people. Unaided, save by the prayers and sympathies of the good and true, he nobly strove to maintain our right of local self-government and only ceased the struggle when the cause became hopeless. The books, papers, and seal referred to are now in the Executive office."

To reproduce in full the letter of ex-Governor Jenkins will exceed. the limits of space allowed for a discussion of this dramatic episode in our state's history; but its careful perusal will well repay the student of our political annals.* It is a somewhat lengthy document but replete with interest and couched in language such as the pen of its gifted author alone could command. Most of the facts recited in this letter have already been reviewed in a former chapter, but some of its salient paragraphs will impart a spice of interest to the topic now under consideration. The letter begins:

"Sir: Since my removal from the office which you now hold, in January, 1868, by Major-General Meade, of the United States Army, commanding the Department of Georgia, I have refrained from communicating with the de facto government of the State. Had there been no interference of the Federal government, my term of office would have expired in November, 1867, and there would then have been assembled a Legislature to whom I would have rendered an account of my stewardship. There having been neither a Governor nor Legislature elected in 1867 I, under a provision of the Constitution, held over; but there was no Legislative assembly. From the time of my removal until the installation of the present Governor and Legislature, these departments have not in my judgment been filled by persons rightfully representing the people of Georgia or faithfully guarding their interests.”

* House Journal, 1872, pp. 405-419.

The writer then goes on to say that such a communication to a state executive from a predecessor was unusual if not unprecedented; but he felt that the circumstances of the case fully justified him in taking this course and he wished this letter, containing a formal account of certain transactions, to be preserved in the state's official archives. Next he proceeded to review the matter of Georgia's bonded indebtedness prior to 1868. With respect to certain bonds which Governor Bullock demanded and received from certain banks, under a resolution passed by the Legislature of 1868, he expresses himself thus:

"The precise amount so delivered I know not but suppose it could have varied little from $600,000. I am, of course, ignorant of what disposition has been made of them. If they have been faithfully applied to the objects intended, they have not increased the indebtedness of the State, but have only postponed to a more convenient time its payment, pro tanto, and the relief has accrued or will accrue to administrations succeeding mine. If otherwise, the misapplication is chargeable to the Executive who, rather than come to an account with the fairly elected and honest representatives of the people he was charged with having plundered, ingloriously fled the State. In no event can those bonds be set down as an original indebtedness incurred by the State during my official term and by my advice."

Concerning the fraudulent bond issues and endorsements of the Bullock administration, Governor Jenkins is silent, for the reason that he possessed no positive or direct information upon this subject. Nor was it germane to the matter under discussion. But he discussed at some length the circumstances leading to his expulsion from office by General Meade, the prolonged but futile effort made by him, without cost to the state, to obtain redress before the Supreme Court of the United States, the debt of obligation due to generous friends who had given him legal assistance in his effort to establish the unconstitutionality of the reconstruction measures-these and other topics he discusses at some length. In conclusion, he told of his departure from the state. Said he:

"When I left the Executive office, I took with me the record of warrants drawn upon the treasury, the book of receipts for them, and other papers therewith connected, and the seal of the Executive Department. It was my purpose to retain these things in my own custody until I should see in the Executive office a rightful incumbent and then to restore them. The removal of the books and papers was merely a precautionary measure for my own protection. Not so with the seal. That was a symbol of the Executive authority, and though void of intrinsic material value was hallowed by a sentiment which forbade its surrender to unauthorized hands. Afterwards whilst I was in Washington, vainly seeking the interposition of the Supreme Court, a formal written demand was made upon me by Gen. Ruger for a return of these articles, with which I declined to comply. The books and papers I herewith transmit to your Excellency that they may resume their place in the archives of the State. With them I also deliver to you the seal of the Executive Department. I derive high satisfaction from the reflection that it has never been desecrated by the grasp of a military usurper's hand, never been prostituted to authenticate official misdeeds of an upstart pretender. Unpolluted as it came to me, I gladly place it in the hands of a worthy

son of Georgia-her freely chosen Executive-my first legitimate successor."

This letter was transmitted to the Legislature on August 15, 1872. It is one of the most precious documents in the archives of Georgia and one to be sacredly preserved while the commonwealth endures. Coincident with its reception by the law-making body, a resolution was introduced in the House by Hon. Joseph B. Cumming, then holding the office of speaker, in which the patriotic services of Governor Jenkins to the state were fittingly eulogized. It was also ordered that a fac simile reproduction in gold of the seal of the executive department be struck, at the expense of the state, and to bear this additional inscription: "Presented to CHARLES J. JENKINS by the State of Georgia. In arduis fidelis."

It was furthermore ordered that said seal be presented to Governor Jenkins as a token of esteem from a grateful state. This resolution passed both houses by an overwhelming vote and, on August 22, 1872, was approved by the governor. The full text of the resolution is as follows: *

"Whereas, The Honorable Charles J. Jenkins, when expelled by usurpers from the office of Governor of this State, had the firmness and the courage to save the public treasure from the plunderers, and applied it to the obligations of the State, and also removed the archives of the State Treasury, and saved from desecration the Seal of the Executive Department; and whereas, his efforts to save the people of Georgia from oppression relaxed not with his hold upon the Executive office, but in the midst of discouragement were continued before the Supreme Court of the United States so long as there was any hope of success; and whereas, preserving the archives and the seal until, in better times, he might restore them to his first rightful successor, he has delivered them to his Excellency the Governor; and whereas, gratitude to a great and good man, deference to the feelings of the people of Georgia, and the encouragement of patriotism and virtue in the generation to come, alike. render it good that we should make and put in imperishable form a recognition of his fidelity to his trust; therefore be it

"Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, That his Excellency the Governor be authorized and instructed to have prepared, and, in the name of the people of Georgia, to present to the Honorable Charles J. Jenkins, a seal, to be the fac simile of the one preserved and restored by him, except that in addition to the other devices, it shall have this inscription: 'Presented to Charles J. Jenkins by the State of Georgia'; and this legend: 'In arduis fidelis.'"'

But this is anticipating. On December 19, 1871, the Legislature appointed a special committee to investigate the fraudulent bond scandals of the Bullock administration. This committee consisted of three members, to wit: Thomas J. Simmons, from the Senate, and John I. Hall and Garnett McMillan, from the House. Its distinguished personnel deserves to be carefully noted, as it will give an emphasis to the course. which they subsequently recommended with respect to these bonds. Thomas J. Simmons became in after years chief justice of the Supreme

*Acts 1872, 520-521.

Court of Georgia. John I. Hall, during President Cleveland's second administration, became an assistant attorney-general of the United States. Garnett McMillan was perhaps the most brilliant young member of the House. His zeal to extinguish what he considered a blot upon Georgia's honor and his eloquence in debate when the fraudulent bonds. were under discussion, caused him to be placed on this committee of investigation. The reputation which he achieved at this time made him a national figure; and such was the prestige which he gained at home that even the plume of the great Benjamin H. Hill went down before him in a contest for the democratic nomination to Congress in 1874. He defeated Mr. Hill by a pronounced vote, but died a few months later, and his vacant seat fell to the lot of his illustrious competitor.

The act authorizing the appointment of this committee was entitled: "An act to protect the people of the State of Georgia against the illegal and fraudulent issue of bonds and securities, and for other purposes connected with the same." Its duty was to ascertain and report the number of bonds and endorsements issued and put into circulation by Rufus B. Bullock the aggregate amount thereof, by whom the same were sold, the amount of money paid therefor, the time when and the persons to whom such payments were made, and all other facts connected with the history of said bonds.*

This committee, having given due notice, on December 12, 1871, began its deliberations in Atlanta on March 1, 1872, and remained in session almost continuously until May 1, 1872, a period of two months. No stone was left unturned in an effort to ascertain the exact truth. Incidentally the committee visited New York, where an extended session was held, at the nation's financial center. Hundreds of witnesses were orally examined, while voluminous depositions were taken in England, France, Germany and other European countries; but all efforts to bring Governor Bullock himself before the committee signally failed.

However, the committee's work was exhaustive, thorough, and complete in every detail, and when the Legislature, reassembled in the summer of 1872 a report was submitted whose findings fully satisfied the General Assembly as to the fraudulent character of certain bonds aggregating in value $7,957,000. These bonds were particularized as follows: Gold bonds in the hands of Henry Clews & Co..... .$ 102,000

Gold bonds, second issue to Brunswick and Albany Railroad.. 1,880,000 Currency bonds

1,500,000

Endorsement Brunswick and Albany Railroad Bonds...

3,300,000

Endorsement Bainbridge, Cuthbert and Columbus R. R. Bonds
Endorsement Cartersville and Van Wert R. R. Bonds...
Endorsement Cherokee R. R. Bonds..

600,000

275,000

300,000

$7,957,000

Adopting the recommendations of this report, the Legislature in a series of acts approved respectively August 15th, 16th and 23d, declared null and void the state's endorsement upon the bonds of the Bainbridge, Cuthbert and Columbus Railroad; also null, void and unconstitutional

*Acts 1871, pp. 14-15.

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