Birmingham age-herald., 1895-05-26

 did, which I regarded as an indorsement of him as honorable and honest. He was my friend and I had no reason at that time to doubt him. I believed his state ment and those of honorable men, who knew him more intimately than I did and after exacting another pledge from him never to drink any more liquor which he gave as to Montgomery l agreed to grant him the indulgence if Governor Jones saw proper to turn the matter over to me, but told him if he failed to pay what he owed the state on that day I would perform the disa gree able duty of ordering his impeachment. He said 1 would not have 1t to do, and that he would go home happier and better man. Governor Jones turned the matter over to me and l assumed the responsibility of granting Randolph the indulgence and I do not regret it. did exactly what was right and just. what I would have done for any other man similarly circumstanced on the facts then known to me.
 The people, by electing me governor, did not intend to deprive me of all sym pathy and kind, manly feeling towards my fellow man. None of his bondsmen, nor any other citizen of Montgomery, made any complaint or objected to the extension to Randolph of this indul- gence To have denied it to him under the circumstances would have been most heartless act, bordering upon bru- tality. l did not believe there was any danger of the states losing anything by it, and it did not. How many good hon est men have fallen behind and been un- able to make prompt payments, even of trust funds, but notwithstanding were perfectly honest, and with a little indul- gence have made it good? The penalty, Impeachment is a very severe one, which Judge Randolph said he would commit suicide rather than submit to; and who that knew his high courage and his sense of honor, as it was then un- derStoOd, would have doubted his state ment? And yet these newspapers, long after the default and Randolph's s ab- sence from the state, blame me for not being so heartess as to have refused in- diligence, and thus to have caused Gov ernor Jones to order the impeachment of man who had always been regarded as highly honorable. Not one of them would at that time have doubted his honor, or charged him with the inten- tion of embedding public funds but now he is a dead lon," and they prate loudly about it.
 The amount he lacked of having paid his quarterly return was about $6000. On the 10th day of January Judge Randolph paid it. including interest for the delay, and nearly as much more. aggregating $11, ,557.3 36 Immediately after Auditor Pu- rifoy notified me of the payment, saying that Randolph had paid that day every dollar he owed the state. which was a fact. so far as the books and papers in the auditors office disclosed. Randolph called in my office the same evening and told me he had paid every dollar he owed the state and thanked me for the indulgence I had granted him. I sup posed that then everything was all right, and it was, so far as my admins- tration was concerned. I never saw Randolph any more.
 In the latter part of February a com mittee of the grand jury called upon me and informed me that their body had unanimously passed a resolution re- questing me to order the state examiner of accounts to examine the books of Judge Randolph's office at once made the order. The examiner entered upon his duty, and when, after several days it was found that he was prying into and discovering some defaults of long standing, as well as recent Irregularities, Randolph drew from the bank where it was deposited to his credit as probate judge $9100 of the states money and about $2300 of trust funds and fled from the state.
 The State newspaper says: No sufTi- cient cause was shown and no impeach- ment ordered; and Governor Oates knew all these facts, and did not enforce the law. He allowed Randolph to remain in office and increase the default from an alleged $6000 to what is now admitted 10 pc more than $20,UUU.
 This statement l pronounce as utterly false. It is false in charging that l ai- lowed him to continue in office, because l had no power to remove him until did 1t after the 10th of April. It is also false In alleging that "l knew all these facts, and did not enforce the law" knew no facts except those have above stated, and every dollar of Randolph's indebtedness to the state which accrued during my administration, and the $60o0 which accrued during Governor Jones' administration, of which he was cogni- zant, was paid on January 15, with $39C interest on the delayed payments.
 The statement is also false in citing section 633 of the code to show that 1t was my duty to have ordered the i'm peachment of Randolph. That section reads: "On the last secular day in March, and every three months thereaf- ter, the judge of probate shall forward to the auditor a certified list of all H. censes issued by him, stating therein for what business issued, the amount col etc. It then provides that he shall pay over to the treasurer. all the money received, less his commissions.
 Then it further provides that: .Tf any probate judge fails to comply with the provisions of this section within ten days after date. at which he is required to make report of licenses issued and money received by him, the auditor shall forthwith report the facts to the gov ernor, who shall cite such judge to show why he has not made returns of such certified list of licenses, as required by law; and if said judge fails to show sufficient cause for such failure. the gov ernor shall direct the attorney-generaI to institute impeaohment proceedings agaist such deliquent probate judge be- fore the supreme court of the state.
 The auditor never made to me any report of Randolph's failure to make re- turns as required by this statute but one time, and that was on the 10th day of April, long after his supposed default and flight were known. The auditor could not, under the law, have made the