The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-12-15
From the Baltimore Gazette.I
Reconstruction of Georgia
Shall She be Condemned with
q eut a Hearing. =
The 8eauty Of ofReconssruction
wAsH1NGroN, December I2, 1868


Is WASHINGTON, December 12, 1863
Georgia, one of the original thirteen
States which established the indepen-
dence of this Governments, stands in
dicted to day, before Congress and the
civilized world, as community OF
rebels, as o combustion of murderers,
midnight assassins, outlaws and scape
graces. And by whom, and for what ]
By Rufus b. Bullock, stupid sdyen-
tnrer from Albion, New York, who, by
force and fraud, was proclaimed the
Governor of the State, .2I10t5
In June, 1868, the State of Georgia
(then District No. 81 held her State cleo
lion for Governor, members of Congress
and the Legislature, in accordance with
the reconstruction acts of Congress.
Major General George Meade, who was
Military Governor of the State, reported
to Congress that the Reconstruction acts
had been fully complied with, in ac-
cordance with the acts aforesaid, and
his instructions from U. S. Grant, then
General-in. Chief of the army of the
United States.
The Governor elected was duly inau-
gurated (the said Bullock) the Legis-
lature met and proceeded to enact laws,
the State was admitted into tho Union,
the members of Congress admitted to
their seats in the House of Representa-
tives. After all this was done the elee-
ton Of United States Senator'S took
place. Elk Governor Joseph E. Brown
and Foster Blodgett were the caucus
nominees of the Republican party, and
Joshua Hill and II. v. NJ. Miller the
caucus nominees of the Conservative
party. Hill and Miller were elected by
decided majorities aud received GER
tificates of election from the Governor,
Rufus b. Bullock. --.,
Previous to this election, EX-Gover-
nor Brown, the Republican candidate
for the United States Senate, and the
recognized leader of the party in the
State, made speech, which was fully
reported and published in the nswspa-
pers of the day, in which he declared
that there was nothing in the Recon.
struction acts of Congress-, or the new
Constitution of Georgia, just adopted
which made negro eligible to office.
Said Ex. Governor Brown: "The Recon
struction acts may have intended that
tho negro should be eligible to Office,
but there was nothing in the Language
of those acts that warranted any such
conclusion. Therefore he proposed to
deal with those acts Of Congress as he
read and understood them. The new
Constitution ofGeorgia, adopted in ODE.
dience to the Reconstruction acts, clear
ly allowed the negro to rOte but not ia
hold Office"
Governor Brown having been the
chief Executive of Georgia for eight
years, and being recognized as pro.
found jurist, his opinion upon matters
of constitu ional and statute law, were
almost unanimously received, without
distinction of party. ...'at
A large majority of both parties in
the Legislature sincerely believed that
Governor Browns views upon the con-
stitutional right of the negro to hold
office, were correct. This opinion was
never controverted by any Republican
in the State. The negro members oi
the Legislature did not believe they
were entitled to hold office as the law
then stood. And, as proof of this, the
negroes in the Legislature with one
single exception voted unanimously fol
the United States Senate. If they had
be eved they were entitled 10 hold o6C,
is it probable they would have cast
their votes for candidate who had de
clared that they were ineligible?
After the defeat of Brown and Blod-
gett for the United States Senate, the
Democrats and white Republicans OF
the Legislature, acting upon the opinion
as enuncidted by Governor Brown, uniteG
in eXpelllng the negro members. Such
are the facts which led to the expulsion
of the negro members of the Georgia
Legislature. If the Legislature acted
illegally, it was upOn the advice of the
recognized leader of the Republican
party of Georgia.
THE SECOND ACT OF THE DRAMA.
After the defeat of Brown and Blod.
gett for the United States Senate, Gov.
eruor Bullock made Brown Chief Jus.
tice Of the Supreme Court of the State
and BlodgetU having been expelled from
the office of Postmas or at Augusta
Georgia, by President Grant, was ap.
pointed Treasure Of the State Railroad:
by the Governor.
The Fourteenth Amendment was
adopted and then came the proposition
TO adopt the Fifteenth Amendment
which would have been done, bad not
Governor Bullock and his Ridica
friends of the Legislature opposed it,
Governor Bullock feared that the adop.
-. r h. E,fran-th !
prevent further Congressional inter.
ference, and thereby settle the vexed
quest on of reconstruction in the State
of Georgia.
Governor Bullock and the Kimball
Brothers, of ConRectcut, purchased q
building for $4,000 in the city of At.
lanta, and, after making an arrange
mept with the municipal authorities OF
the said city for the conversion of said
building into a Capitol for the State
said municipal authorities binding
themselves to pay to the said Kimball
Brothers and the said Bullock $4,000
per aHuum for five years, and also Ia
furnish at the expense of the city q
suitable mansion for the Governor.
The building, per contract, was pre-
pared for the meeting Of the Legisls.
ture. Soon, thereafter, scheme was
concoeted by Governor Bullock and the
Kimball Brothers, to pass bill through
the Legislature authorizing tue pur-
chase Of said building by the State as q
permanent Capitol, for the sum of tire,
hundred thousand dollars The Legis.
lature refused to become party to the
fraud upon the State; which action
greatly offended Governor Bullock and
the klmball Brothers.
Governor Bullock then, for the pur'
pose of reveugiDg himself upon peo'
pie who would dare to elect Leglsla
tare that should presume to thwart hi:
speculatiens, with numerous other
schemes Of like character, repaired
post haste to Washington City, where
hs proceeded TO indict the State Of
Georgia before the American Congress
for suudry grievances, misdemeanOra
and rebellfoHs proclivities.
Congress was asked TO interfere in be.
half OF tue poor negro, who had been &C
ruthlessly elected from the Legis lature,
where M would have been so useful to
Bullock in the passage of bill for the
sale of the Capitol building
Congress, not knowing the secret OF
Governor Bul!ock's sympathy for the
fr1nap leo slatnrs ;pitiatad lauiula 4 n ',