The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-15

Of the United States, riding at anchor
near wharf, receiving on board hogs
heads Of tobacco and bales of cotton, en-
0lematic of the exports of this state; at a
small distance a boat landing from the in
terror of the state with hogsheads etc,
on board, representing her internal
traffic in the back part of the same side,
man in the act of ploughing; and at a
small distance flock of sheep in different
pastures, shaded by a fourishing tree.
| The motto on this side was Agriculture
and Commerce, 1893" The other side
contained three pillars supporting an
arch, with the word Constitution en-
graved within the same. emblematics, OF
the constitution supported by the three
departments Of the government, viz.
the legislative, judicial and executive;
the first had engraved in wreath upon
| 1t Wisdom :" the second, Justice" and
the third. Moderation" On the right of
the last pillar was man standing with
| drawn sword, representing the aid of the
military in defense of the constitution,
and around the margin the motto State
OF Georgia, 1889"
The words wisdom, justice and mod
GRAFTON were originally ordered to be
| placed upon the base of the pillars, but
the artist, finding this impractlcable,
| subsequent act of the legislature author
| lied them to be placed in a wreath, The
| yer, and the size of two and one-quarter
| inches in diameter, and that the old seal
| should be broken in the presence of the
| governor. This was used as the great
seal OF the state for sixty-two consecu-
| tive years, until the secession convention
Of 1861 ordered that the next legislature,
| which should assemble Immediately after
| the rising of that body, should change
the great seal of the state.
THE CONFEDERATE SEAL.
Pursuant to this order the legislature,
! by an act approved Dec. IA, 1861, APP
| pointed a commission consisting of S. S.
| Stafford, @. n. Lester, b H Bigham and
the Secretary of State ito prepare a new
! great seal for the state of Georgia, and to
make all necessary preparations and ar
engagements to bring the same, as agreed
| on by the said commissioners, into usen
! Strangely enough the records concerning
! the further use of this seal are almost
completely silent. There is not recorded
| in the acts of the subsequent legislatures
| any report of that commission, though on
Dec. A. 1868, the sum of g, 600 or so much
| of it as might be necessary was appropri-
ated TO pay the commissioners for prepar-
ing the new seal.
| There is no record, however, that the
| appropriation was ever used. I'm
| fortunately every member of that commits
| sion is now dead, and the details of their
action cannot be ascertained. 1t appears,
| however, from impressions of this seal in
the Office of the Secretary of State that it
differed but little from the seal of 1899.
! The only changes were: first, the date
1861 was placed amid the brilliant rays
of new rising sun under the arch Of the
constitution, evidently symbolizing the
| birth OF new independence; second, the
man with the drawn sword, representing
the military in defense of the old consti-
tuition, was removed; third, the date 1899
at the bottom was replaced by the date
1875, representing the birth of our first in
| dependence.
Several of our state histories give this
last date as 1779 which is certainly
! wrong. / have before me a recent i'm
preston of this seal furnished by the
present Secretary of State, and the date
is clearly 1916. The proportions of the
devices upon this seal were slightly diff
ferent from those on the old one.
In 1865 the confederate cause went
i down with the surrender of Lee on April
9, and Georgia once more occupied new
attitude to its constitution and to the
new order of its political affairs. And
now comes the strangest part of the his
tory of the great seal of the state. The
legislature of 1S65-'66. passed an act APP
proved Feb. 5, 1866 which reads as fol-
lows: THAT the seal prepared by the
committee under the act assented to on
the 14th day of December, 1861, be and
the same is hereby adopted as the seal of
the Office of the secretary of state"
So far as have been able to ascertain,
this is the only act concerning the great
seal of the state passed since the war.
Neither the acts of the legislatures since
that time nor the journals of the consti-