The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-23
JAMES wILs0N.
aWhs fhe Just Reburied "sTGurrs nm.
 Associate Justice q Bribere

JAMES WILSON.
 Was the Just Reburied "sIEner. and Associate Justice a HrIh~rs
 The Independent
 The Tndependeht state of Georgia as recoEnized by Great Britain in i7ss. extended over its present limits, and also over all Alabama and MississIppi, 'ieorSia held on te her vast ''Western Reserve" while other States ceded theirs to the Federal Government. Ted ny Patrick Henry certain avaricious Slrginians formed the Virginia Yazoo company" in 1Tss. and secured by va- rious underhand means a saIe If ail ths lands we now know as Alabama and Mississippi to themselves for about sso.- QUO President Washington observed tnefr enort to create q vast landed ali- Rarchy and crushed their ambitious plans with message to Congress, sav- ingi Unless this is checked 1t win en- danger the very Republic ftseIf." Feder- al opposition, together with their ina oility to raise enough money which the treasurer of Georgia would accent. ruIn- cd the Virginians.
 Hut the vast wealth in 62,0Oo, ,Ooo acres of rich land attracted other specus Iators.. Ins1794 five new comrauies were formed, and the control was plac- cd in the hands of James Wilson. James Gum. UniteS States Senator from Geor- gia; Wade Hampton. of South Carolina, and zacharish Cox, of Tennessee Boldly entering the State of Georgia this pl- ratical crew. threatened. intimidated, caJoled and bribed the members of the Legislature Into passing, on January !, 1795, an Act selling to the five com panies this vast domain for the sum of s500.00o. The Governor, brave. ignorant old George Mathews, "the hero of Ka- nawha," was persuaded by its lying captain to sign what he believed to be an Act to pay old soldiers their arrears and to strengthen the frontiers. No stigma ever attached to his name.
 In this vile conRrAFacyi James Wilson played the nest important part He came from the Supreme Bench, and arrived in Georgia with s25,000 In his saddle bags, with which he proceeded to bribe the members of tho Georgia Legislature. The Act was now a law. the purchase money paid over. and suc- cess seemed assured HurryinE north ward. Wilson and Cox proceeded to sell to innocent purchasers s5,000.O0O worth of rich lands. As I.ouleiana cost Amer leans only s15.o0o,o0e some years later, the relative magnitude of this sum will be readily perceived.
 Then. the storm broke Gen. James Jackson, Senator from Georgia, became | ! party in terror offered him ''any mum Der of acres up to 100000 if he ceased to oppose the sale" which he indig- nantly refused. Resigning his seat in the Senate. this patriot hurried home and was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives where he bravely charged the. crime of,,rnbptng his peo- pie of their battle iwor lands toe wilgon Ia..A -n,,.-h r4au.fv- ss,to . an-~gaa,. .g
 the Capitol JacIkEon was attacked by a hired assassin. of whom he wrote: T had no weapon, but trapped him flne- lily with my little cane until it broke; thrice threw him and Ia friend gave me Q pistol. s,% I cried: No meeting tomorrow; stand back: will settle with, an assassin only on the spotr" The people of deor- gia were enraged. Miles Jennings, an old leather stocking, waved a rope amid a meeting of protesting Geol gians and
 yelled: 'tNJeighbors, let's hang Mus grove Ca Legislator,) for he snld our Hands for a bribe!' Only a fleet horse saved the knave. Two Legislators were actually shot by their furious eonsti- tuents Under Governor Jared Irwin a purified Legislature. early in I7ss, not only repealed the odious "Yazoo Act" as 1t was called, but decreed that every vestige of it's existence be expunRed from the State records. Accordingly, in the presence Of the Governor, the Legislature. and vast concourse of people the. books were brought out and many pages burned amid the shouts of the happy people. To this day the scared volumes attest the truth of l this story.
 The thieves were not inactive. They soon secured a favorable legal opinion from Alexander Hamilton. They raised storm in Congress, where John Ram dolph, of Roanoke, stood against them. Federalist and Whig ,elashed in debate, while armed Georgians drove Nhonest purchasers away from the disputed ter- ritory. Georgia defied everybody. and the "Yazooists" were equally firm. i Civil war seemed imminent, as Georgia was the very hotbed of states rights" Finally 1t was agreed In 1909, that Georgia should cede the "Yazoo lands" 1 to the Federal Government which, in ! turn, agreed to remove all the Indians l from within the limits of modern Geor- gias and that Congress should, after | indemnifyinE the honest purchasers. ! lay out two new States. The cession was duly accomplished To old John | Randolph, of Roanoke. came then an | opportunity for making one of his shortest speeches. Hordes of claimants | clamored in Congress. but carefully concealed their names; for among the innnccent sufferers were also many of the Yazooists who stin held hopes Of gain. Old John cried out: MT. Presi- dent, give us their names"
 l. So came and went the great 'Yazoo | fraud" and from 1t the young nation suffered and learned much. Two great States were raised out of the wilderness. Mems regulations were ruined--like wilson's, and men were acclaimed and l honored-like Jackson.
 | wilson, conspirator and briber, sank into an obscure grave, and now hls dust is given great honor! Jackson, patriot and statesman, sleeps in an un- marked grave in Arlington, across the Potomac, but his name Is honored and his fame is safe.
 Thus we find the good and sufhcient reasons for the oblivion into which the name of James Wilson was allowed to sink |