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BRYANT Letter to Hon, Charles Sumner •
F
291
B91
A LETTER
TO
Hon. CHARLES SUMNER,
OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE,
EXPOSING THE
BULLOCK-BLODGETT RING
IN THEIR ATTEMPT TO
Defeat the Bingham Amendment.
Washinbton, D. C,
GIBSON BROTHERS, PRINTERS.
1870.
Hon. Charles Sumner, U. S. S.:
Dear Sir. — Permit me to address you upon a subject of great importance to the colored people of Georgia to the Re- publican party of that State, and, in my judgment, to the Republican party of the nation.
As I address you upon a subject of such vast importance, you will permit me to allude to my anti-slavery and Repub- lican record, to show that I have a right to speak upon that subject.
I am a native of the State of Maine ; my father was an anti-slavery man ; and from my earliest boyhood I sympa- thized with his views. At school I was known as an earnest advocate of the anti-slavery cause, and an outspoken friend of the negro. At a time when it was very unpopular to do so, I demanded that young Burns, a negro boy from Liberia, a schoolmate of mine, who was being educated at Kent's Hill, Maine, should have the same rights that white students had, and, through my instrumentality, he was elected a member of the literary society of that school. I threw my first vote for John C. Fremont, for President, in 1856. I entered the army at the commencement of the war as captain in the 8th Maine infantry, and served three years. I went with the expedition that captured the Port Royal islands in South Carolina. I was, I believe, the first officer of a white regiment who tendered his services to General Rufus Saxton to assist in organizing the colored regiments raised by him in South Carolina, and I served seventeen months on his staff.
The following letter, given to me by that distinguished officer and well-known friend of the colored race, will show his opinion of me :
Headquarters Department of the South, Chief Quartermaster's Office, Atlanta, Ga., 1869. General U. S. Grant,
President of the United States : Sir — I would respectfully recommend to your favorable consideration Colonel J. E. Bryant, of Augusta, Georgia, for the position of postmaster of that city. To a brilliant war record in the Union army Colonel Bryant has added, since its close, a no less important service in the cause of reconstruction, as one of the elec- tors for the State of Georgia, chairman of the State Republican Committee, and an influential member of the State legislature. As a man of excellent business capacity, active and intelligent, upright and honest, the Government funds will be safe in his keeping. In my judgment, no better selection could be made for the position desired.
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,
RUFUS SAXTON, Brevet Br iff. Gen' I and Quartermaster, U. S. A.
I assisted to organize the first colored regiment raised by him, and I assisted Jim Montgomery to raise the second colored regiment. In the spring of 1865 I was appointed colonel, and ordered to raise a colored regiment, which I should have done but for the order of the Secretary of War stopping the enlistment of colored troops. In May, 1865, I was sent by General Saxton to Augusta, Ga., and reached that city immediately after it was occupied by our troops. I was instructed to exercise jurisdiction over the freedmen of that city and vicinity, and I attended to my duties in such a manner that I succeeded in gaining the love of the colored people and the hatred of the white people. In January, 1866, 1 established a paper in Augusta — the Loyal Georgian — to advocate the cause of the colored people, and commenced to organize them into an association — the Georgia Equal Rights Association, of which I was elected president. I suf- fered more than I can tell during that year in my efforts to continue the publication of that paper, and advocate the cause so dear to me. I spent my own money freely, and appealed to Northern friends to assist me. Perhaps you will remember having signed the following letter :
Washington, D. C, July 27, 18G6.
Few men at the North can appreciate the importance of maintaining in the in- surrectionary districts of our country papers in which the freedmen have confi- dence, because they find them faithful in their report of facts and opinions. It is of the utmost importance.
Such a paper is the Loyal Georgian. I have read every number of it, and know its value. In one or two years the freedmen and white Unionists of Georgia will
be able to support it, but it must have aid meanwhile, and I beg the friends of peace and union to sustain it by generous contributions.
WILLIAM D. KELLEY. I concur in the above.
JUSTIN S. MORRILL. I wish the paper great success.
CHARLES SUMNER.
In the fall of 1866 I was a member of the Southern Loy- alists' Convention, held in Philadelphia, and, as a member of the committee on resolutions, was one of the minority that urged the adoption of a resolution favoring the reconstruc- tion of the rebel States by Congress, and the granting of po- litical rights to the negro. Hon. Thomas J. Durant_, of Louisiana, now of this city, was a member of the committee, and will, I have no doubt, bear witness to what I have said. In the winter and spring of 1866 and 1867, I was in this city, urging upon Congressmen the importance of giving po- litical rights to the negro. I was a member of the Southern Loyalists' Association, and united with them in urging Con- gressional action in favor of the negro. After the passage of the reconstruction acts, I assisted in organizing the Repub- lican party of Georgia. In regard to my services in the cause of reconstruction, I respectfully refer you to a letter recently addressed by me to Hon. H. Hamlin, a copy of which I hand you herewith. The Loyal Georgian was sus- pended in January, 1869, for reasons over which I had no control, but the Georgia Republican, the Loyal Georgian with a new name, was issued by me in July last. The pa- per advocates equal rights, free schools, temperance.
The equal political and legal rights of citizens of the United States, except those who have been convicted of crime, or are otherwise rightfully disqualified.
The enactment of State laws for the inauguration and sup- port of a system of common schools.
The elevation of labor, and the passage of such laws as will protect the toiling masses of society in their just and legal rights.
State aid to important works of internal improvement.
It is charged that I am a Democrat ; in fact, that I have
'' gone back" on my past record. The charge is false. It is true that as a member of the General Assembly of Georgia I have sometimes voted with Democrats. '' Old Thad. Ste- vens" sometimes voted with Democrats when he was a mem- ber of Congress. So did Generals Logan, Banks, Schenck and Garfield, John A. Bingham and Mr. Farnsworth, and other distinguished Kepublicans, vote with members of that party on an important proposition only a few days since. Are they Democrats, and was Mr. Stevens a Democrat ?
VILLAINY EXPOSED.
I did much to make Mr. Bullock Governor of Georgia. He was a Northern man by birth, and professed to be a Union man. I fully trusted him. Soon after his election I had reason to doubt his Kepublicanism^ on account of the appointments made by him. I believed that he intended to betray the Union men of the State, because he appointed many ex-rebels and Democrats to office. Subsequent events have convinced me that my fears were correct. Ex-rebels and Democrats have been appointed to important offices, when old Union men and Eepublicans, natives of the State, were applicants for the same positions. But you may ask why he has been so radical in Washington. I answer, to get control of the General Assembly for selfish purposes. It was for that reason that he urged Congress to require the ^'iron-clad" oath in the reorganization of the legislature, and for the same reason he urged Congress to require a harsher oath than was required in the organization of the legislature of Virginia, of Mississippi, or of Texas. I do not believe that he wanted to control the legislature for the good of the Eepublican party, or to assist colored men ; but that he might cover up financial operations, and elect Foster Blodgett to the United States Senate.
I call your attention, respectfully, to the following state- ment of Hon. N. L. Angier, the treasurer of Georgia. Dr. Angier is a native of New Hampshire, but has lived in Georgia thirty years. He earnestly opposed secession, and
when the war commenced left Georgia with his family, although his wife was a Southern woman, and although he was obliged to leave a large property in Georgia. He did not return until the close of the war. Since our party was organized, he has been an earnest Republican. He was a member of the constitutional convention ; was the regular Republican candidate for treasurer, and received the vote of every Republican member of the legislature. He is a man of large wealth, and no man in Georgia has a better reputa- tion for truths honor and integrity.
STATEMENT OF MR. ANQIER.
Governor BullocJc's Financial Operations. — The following drafts were drawn by Governor Bullock on the Fourth Na- tional Bank, New York, the amounts not reported by him or paid into the State treasury, but used by him without any appropriation, and in direct violation of law :
No. New York, October 29, 1868.
Fourth National Bank of the city of New York, pay to the order of C. Burk seventeen thousand dollars.
RUFUS B. BULLOCK,
Governor of Georgia.
No. New York, December 3, 1868.
Fourth National Bank of the city of New York, pay to the order of R. B. Bul- lock eight thousand dollars. Charge account of State.
RUFUS BULLOCK,
Governor of Georgia.
December 12, 1868. Pay to the order of H. F. Kimball ten thousand dollars, and charge the same to the account of the State of Georgia.
RUFUS B. BULLOCK, Governor.
To ike Fourth National Bank, Neio York.
The house adopted a report — 86 to 37 — in reference to the above illegal proceedings, in which it states : " No emer- gency existed which demanded of Governor Bullock this extraordinary departure from the law. His Excellency acted in direct violation of the known will of the legislature."
Besides the above $35,000 illegally drawn and used by him without warrant or appropriation, in open defiance of law, after being fully put upon his notice by the General
Assembly by a vote of over two to one, the Governor went directly to New York and drew the following draft :
$20,000. New York, March 27, 1869.
At sight, pay to the order of H. F, Kimball twenty thousand dollars, value received, and charge the same to the account of the State of Georgia.
RUFUS B. BULLOCK, GovernoT. To the Fourth National Bank, New York.
None of which has ever found its way into the State treas- ury, thus assuming arbitrary powers, wilfully overriding both the constitution and the laws.
He has paid attorneys over fifteen thousand dollars, nine thousand of which was paid in less than thirty days, as retainers, hoping to buy influence.
On the 21st of November, 1868, the cashier of the Georgia National Bank presented the Governor's draft on the Fourth National Bank of New York for $25,000, and voluntarily states that it was to cover Governor Bullock's individual indebtedness to this bank.
The General Assembly appropriated as the salary of the attorney general $2,000 ; the Governor has paid him over $6,000.
He has paid out of the State treasury nearly two thousand dollars to light Kimball's Opera House, when the building had not been used for State purposes over six times at night, none of the State ofHces being kept open nights.
He has paid under a pretence as guard of Executive Man- sion, at Milledgeville, $1,400 a year, when responsible parties in that city propose to take special care of the buildings and grounds solely for the use of the grounds.
In 1868, he paid eight executive clerks, besides his two secretaries, when the law allowed only the two secretaries.
Last year the legislature restricted him to one clerk, besides his two secretaries ; he has drawn his warrants for five, besides his secretaries.
The appropriations for 1868 were only for the latter half of the year 1868. Still, for the public printing of 1869, he, in violation of the law, drew ten thousand back on 1868, notwithstanding the house, by a vote of over three to one,
directed him to charge it as an advance on the printing fund of 1869. This he did that he might save his $25,000 print- ing fund to silence the mouths of the press.
By a false construction of the 23d section of the appropri- ation bill, he has drawn warrants for over one hundred thou- sand dollars, mostly of the class that have heretofore been drawn on the contingent fund. This is independent of the contingent fund of $20,000, which, all but a few dollars, he exhausted in less than six months, mostly for incidental expenses of executive department. He drew warrants for $6,000 for arresting three fugitives, and they all absconded shortly after the warrants were drawn. From $50 to $200 has heretofore been the rewards for fugitives.
As an evidence of his interest in the Kimball Opera House, a portion of which is temporarily used as a State house, he labored to secure the influence of the State treasurer in favor of paying said Kimball $25,000 yearly rent for only a por- tion of the least valuable part of a building that could not have cost Kimball over $100,000, reserving to himself all the first-story front on the main street, most the entire base- ment, and a large number of rooms in the upper two stories. The acknowledged purpose of the Bullock ring is to sell this house to the State for $400,000, that could not have cost Kimball over $150,000, with all its fixtures.
The law requires the net earnings of the Western and Atlantic railroad (which road belongs to the State) to be paid into the State treasury monthly. The payment for the month of September is the last that has been received. Gov- ernor Bullock is the chief officer of the road. Former ad- ministrations paid into the State treasury, of net earnings, from $30,000 to $50,000 monthly. The road is a main trunk road, and said, by the best of judges, to be doing more busi- ness now than it ever did before. Captain Jones, who had been State treasurer eight years, in his report of July 1, 1867, puts the net earnings at $50,000 per month through the year. The Macon and Western railroad, which is one of three roads fed from this State trunk, and but little over
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half as long as the State trunk, pays of net earnings about $30,000 a month. The other two in about the same propor- tion. Certain amounts are known to have been paid and loaned to individuals^ not for any service in behalf of the road, but as is believed to purchase influence and adherents. The recipients are mostly Democrats^ or so claim, who sus- tain Bullock, but abuse President Grant and the Republican members of Congress and their policy.
There are many other illegal transactions which we have
not space to mention.
N. L. ANGIER.
Treasurer of State. WAsmNGTON, D. C, February 9, 1870.
ATTEMPT TO ELECT FOSTER BLODGETT TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE
IN 1867.
Foster Blodgett was a candidate for the United States Senate when Messrs. Hill and Miller were elected in 1868, but he was defeated because he was under indictment for perjury in the United States district court at Savannah. The facts are these : Mr. Blodgett was an officer in the rebel army, and in 1865 was appointed postmaster at Augusta, Ga., and took the " iron-clad " oath. The grand jury that in- dicted him was composed entirely of Union men, all of whom took the "iron-clad" oath, and all, or nearly all, of whom were Northern men, some of whom I know to be Eepubli- cans. Mr. Blodgett has thus far prevented a trial. Col. John Milledge, late the United States district attorney for Geor- gia, told me that Blodgett and his friends made every effort to induce him to enter a nol. pros, in his case, but that the proof was so strong against him that he could not do so, and that because he did not^ Blodgett and his friends were now bitterly opposed to him. I call your attention, respectfully, to the following affidavits :
THE BLODGETT CASE.
The following affidavits were made to be read before Hon. M. J. Saffold, late supervisor of internal revenue, in a case before him, wherein Mr. Blodgett was a witness. The origi-
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nals are on file in the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The affidavits are made by men of good character, well known to the people of Augusta. Some of them gave testimony before the grand jury that found the bill of indict- ment :
State of Georgia, Richmond county:
Personally appeared Alexander Phillip, -who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saitb that on or about the seventeenth (17) day of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, (1861,) he, as a justice of the peace, was requested by Foster Blodgett to preside at an election to be held for officers of a company styled the "Blodgett Volunteers," about entering the service of the Confederate States; that at said election he, Foster Blodgett, was elected captain; that said company left Augusta, in said county, on or about the twenty-eighth (28th) day of April in said year, with orders to organize with the Third (3d) Georgia regi- ment in Virginia. At the election for officers of the said regiment said Foster Blodgett was a candidate for major, and used great energy to be elected, but was, however, defeated. He, the said Foster Blodgett, with his company, remained with said regiment at Portsmouth, Va., until the latter part of August or begin- ning of September of said year, when liis company was transferred and ordered to report at Richmond. 1 asked him the reason for desiring the transfer. lie in- formed me that he "thought the colonel (A. R. Wright) was a coward, and would not be willing to go into a fight ; that, for his part, he wished the war carried on vigorously, and the damned Yankees driven out of the South." I saw but little of Captain Blodgett after he left the regiment until his return to Au- gusta, Georgia, in eighteen hundred and sixty-five, (1865,) he then being ap- pointed postmaster. I entered the Confederate service as second (2d) lieutenant in company G of said 3d regiment, but was, upon the organization of the regi- ment, appointed quartermaster, and held that position in said regiment until about the first of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, (1864.) We all entered the service voluntarily; there was no coercion used to get any one into the service at that time, for there were more volunteers offering than could be accepted. ALEXANDER PHILLIP.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 24th day of April, 1869.
W. MILO OLIN, J. P.
State of Georgia, Richmond County :
Personally appeared J. L. Ells, who, after being duly sworn, deposeth and saj's, that in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-one, he volunteered to serve in the Third Regiment of Georgia volunteers ; that he was first sergeant of company G of the aforesaid regiment ; that the regiment was thoroughly- organized in Portsmouth, Virginia, early in the month of May, in the year afore- said, by the election of field officers. At that election Foster Blodgett, then captain of company 1, otherwise called the "Blodgett Volunteers," was a candi- date for major, but was defeated by A. H. Lee, captain of company H. The said Foster Blodgett, with his company, continued to perform military duty in the said Third Regiment of Georgia volunteers until some time early in the month of August of the year aforesaid, at which time he and his command were transferred to another arm of the service. Deponent further says that the Third Georgia regiment aforesaid was composed entirely of volunteers until subsequent to the sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-two. Deponent further testifies that he has made oath to, substantially, the same fact herein contained before a grand jury, in the United States court, in the city of Savannah, in the State of Georgia, in the latter part of the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, which grand jury returned a true bill of indict- ment against the said Foster Blodgett for perjury. JOHN L. ELLS.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 23d day of April, 1869.
W. MILO OLIN, J. P.
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State of Geoiigia, Richmond County :
Personally appeared James A. Bennett, who, after being duly sworn, deposeth and says that in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, (1861,) iu the month of April, Foster Blodgett, John Harper, himself and one or two others organized a volunteer company in the city of Augusta, county aforesaid ; that said Foster Blodgett was very energetic in getting up the same — electioneered and was elected captain of the same, ("the Blodgett Volunteers ;") that said company was mus- tered into the service of the Confederate States on the twenty-seventh (27th) of said month, and left for Virginia on the following day with orders to organize with the Third (3d) Georgia regiment at Portsmouth; said regiment was ordered to elect field officers, and that said Foster Blodgett opposed and ran against one A. H. Lee for the office of major of said regiment, and used his best endeavors to obtain his election, but was defeated ; that at the expiration of the year for which said company Avent into service they reorganized, when said Foster Blodgett tried very bard to be re-elected captain, but on failing, returned home. Deponent says that said Foster Blodgett, in getting up said company, in running for major as aforesaid, and in running for captain again, did so freely and voluntarily, as there was no compulsion, coercion or influence to bear on him ; that he persuaded mosi of the members to join said company, and that after arriving in Virginia he re- turned home, in Augusta, and obtained about thirty more recruits. Deponent further says that about the middle of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, (1861,) said Foster Blodgett had just been defeated by a very small majority for the office of mayor of said city ; that he told deponent that he had desired the office that he might be the first Southern maj'or to take a company into the service, or words to that eflfect.
JAMES A. BENNETT.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this twenty-third day of April, 1869.
W. MILO OLIN, J. P.
State of Georgia, Richmond County :
Personally appeared William W. King, who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that shortly after Foster Blodgett's defeat by a small majority for a re- election to the office of mayor of the city of Augusta, in said county, in the month of April, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, (1861,) said Foster Blodgett stated to him that he was very sorry deponent had not supported him ; that he had desired to be the first Southern mayor to take a company into service, or words to that efifect.
WILLIAM W. KING.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this twenty-third day of April, 1869.
W. MILO OLIN, J. P.
State of Georgia, Richmond County :
Personally appeared James P. Fleming and Daniel B. Thompson, who after be- ing duly sworn deposeth and say : That in the year eighteen hundred and sixty- one, just before the commencement of hostilities between the Government of the United States and some of the Southern States, there was organized in the city of Augusta, in said county, a vigilance committee, for the declared and avowed pur- pose among themselves of ridding the community of all who were considered spies, or in any manner opposed to the action of the State of Georgia, then claim- ing to have been a separate government, and particularly those suspected of re- siding in said city whose sympathies were with the United States, and that Foster Blodgett, then mayor of the city, was among those (if not the very first man) who organized the same, presiding at and advising with their committees, and on resigning, gave as his reason that he had been advised, as he was mayor of the city, not to remain with said vigilance committee, but assured them that he thought the committee right, and heartily approved of its object ; that said Fos- ter Blodgett shortly afterward organized a large company and went into the ser- vice of the confederate States.
JAMES P. FLEMING, D. B. THOMPSON.
Subscribed and Bworn to before me, this 22d day of April, 1869.
ALEX. PHILLIP, J. P., 398<A J)iit. Q. M.
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State op GEsaeu, Riehnond County :
Personally appeared John D. Butt, who being duly sworn deposeth and saith : That in or about the month of March, eighteen hundred and sixtj-'Six, (1866,) Foster Blodgett, of this city, told him, voluntarily,'that he, the said Foster Blodg- ett, who was then postmaster in this city, had never taken the test oath, but that his son, E. F. Blodgett, had taken it in his stead ; and from the similarity of names, they (meaning the authorities at Washington) did not know the differ- ence ; and that he would come out and deny ever having taken the test oath, but that his enemies would make use of it to turn him out of office.
JOHN D. BUTT.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 23d day of April, 1869.
ALEX. PHILLIP, J. P., — - 398/A List. G. M.
State of Georgia, Richmond county:
Personally appeared before me, a notary public of said State and county, Ker Boyce, who, being duly sworn, deposeth and says on or about the 1st day of April, 1866, a short time before the election for mayor of the city of Augusta, Mr. Jas. T. Gardiner and Mr. Foster Blodgett were candidates for that office ; that deponent was frequently asked how he could support said Blodgett for said office, knowing, as he did, that Blodgett was a captain of a company in the Third Georgia regiment, and, subsequent to the termination of the war, had taken the test oath, in order that he might be appointed postmaster of this place ; deponent replied to these constant inquiries, that if it was proved that Blodgett had taken said oath, he would not support him. Deponent then called on said Blodgett, asking if such was the case, and stated it was a public rumor that he (Blodgett) had taken said oath, and if it was true, deponent would not support him. Mr. Blodgett assured deponent that he had not taken said oath. Deponent then told Blodgett to come out in the daily papers and deny it — that such reports would injure him. Blodgett then said if I deny it I will lose my position as postmaster, which is worth more to me than the mayoralty. What Blodgett said satisfied me that he had not taken the test oath. Deponent then said he would support him. Deponent was not aware he had taken the test oath until his appearance before the grand jury of the United States district court at Savannah, Ga.
KER BOYCE.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 24th day of April, 1869. [sEAir-N. p., B. C.J ALEX. PHILLIP, N. P., R. C.
State of Georgia, Richmond County :
Personally appeared George W. Summers, who, being duly sworn, deposeth and says : that in the year eighteen hundred and sixtj'-five, (1865,) shortly after Foster Blodgett was appointed postmaster in and for the city of Augusta, he called on said Foster Blodgett and tried to obtain, or rather to get him to sign a petition to obtain an appointment for a young man by the name of "Moore," when said Blodgett remarked, he could not do so if said Moore had ever been in t he Confederate service ; I asked him how he came to occupy the position of post- master. He replied, that he had not taken the test oath.
GEO. W. SUMMERS. Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 23d day of April, 1869.
ALEX. PHILLIP, J. P.,
398th District, G. M.
State or Georgia, Richmond County :
I, Ellery M. Brayton, Clerk of the Superior Court of said county, do certify that W. Milo Olin and Alexander Phillip, whose signatures are attached hereto, were, at the time of the signing of the same, justices of the peace, and that Alex- ander Phillip is now a notary public, duly authorized by law to administer oaths.
Given under my hand and the seal of the Superior Court, this 27th day of April, 1869. E. M. BRAYTON,
[Seal Sup. Court of R. C] Per F. L. Cooper,
Deputy aerk, S. C, R. C.
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I, Frederick L. Cooper, Deputy Clerk of said court, in and for said county, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the above affida- vits, as taken from the originals.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set ray hand and affixed the seal of said court, this 27th day of April, 1869.
[Seal Sup. Court of R. C] F. L. COOPER, Deputy Clerlt.
THE ATTEMPT TO DEFEAT THE BINGHAM AMENDMENT TO THE GEORGIA BILL, NOW BEFORE THE SENATE — THE REASONS THEREFOR.
As you are aware, the Georgia "bill as reported in the House of Kepresentatives by the chairman of the Reconstruc- tion Committee, General Butler, was amended, upon motion of Hon. John A. Bingham. Most desperate efforts were made to defeat the amendment by Bullock, Blodgett, and a crowd of their friends, who, contrary to the rules, were on the floor of the House, trying to defeat the amendment, while the bill was being discussed. They are now making the same desperate efforts to defeat that amendment in the Senate. I received a dispatch last night from gentlemen in Atlanta, of which the following is a copy :
A report was current on the streets to-night that Bullock and Blodgett's pet scheme before Congress was about to fail. It is said they telegraphed here to-day for as many colored members of the legislature as possible to come on to Wash- ington immediately. You will readily perceive for what.
The following telegram appeared in The Morning Chronicle this morning :
Atlanta, Ga., March 10.
An influential delegation, composed of colored members of the legislature, left here for "Washington to-night to protest against the adoption of the amendment by the Senate, its effect being to place them entirely in the power of the men who expelled the negroes from the legislature, and reduce the colored citizens to a con- dition worse than slavery.
The dispatch refers to the Bingham amendment. It is, therefore, evident that these colored members of the legisla- ture are now on their way to this city to assist Bullock and Blodgett, and the lobby now here, to defeat the Bingham amendment. The amendment is as follows :
Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to vacate any of the offices now filled in the State of Georgia, either by the election of the people or by the appointment of the Governor thereof by and with the advice and
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consent of the senate of said State; neither shall this act be construed to extend the official term of any officer of said State beyond the term limited by the con- stitution thereof, dating from the election or appointment of such officer, nor to deprive the people of Georgia of the right under their constitution to elect Sena- ators and Representatives of the State of Georgia in the j-ear 1870 ; but said elec- tion shall be held in the year 1870, either on the day named in the constitution of faid State or such other day as the present legislature may designate by law.
If that amendment is adopted, the schemes of Bullock and Blodgett will be defeated, and hence their desperation. If Bullock is unable to reappoint the State officers, he Avill be unable to control the legislature and remove Dr. Angier, the treasurer. Thus his financial schemes will be defeated, and Blodgett will not get a seat in the United States Senate. .
Mr. Caldwell and myself, in our arguments before the Ju- diciary Committee, copies of which I hand you herewith, fully explained the outrageous proceedings of Bullock, Blodg- ett, and their ring, in organizing the legislature in Jan- uary last, and the wilful manner in which they violated your law. I also respectfully refer you to the report of the Ju- diciary Committee upon that subject. The legislature, thus manipulated, elected Mr. Blodgett a United States Senator for six years from the 4th day of March, 1871. The law of Congress in regard to the election of Senators is as follows :
The legislature of each State which shall be chosen next preceding the expira- tion of the time fo? which any Senator was elected to represent said State in Con- gress shall, on the second Tuesday after the meeting and organization thereof, proceed to elect a Senator in Congress in the place of such Senator so going out of office.
[Brightly's Digest Laws of United States, page 130.]
The law of Georgia in regard to the election of Senators is as follows :
The elections for Senators in the United States Congress from this State shall be held by the General Assembly during the sitting, or session, which immediately precedes the beginning of the term which they are to fill. [Code of Georgia, sec. 1,363, page 265.]
In order, therefore, that the election of Mr. Blodgett may be considered legal, it is necessary to hold that the present legislature is the legislature chosen next preceding the com- mencement of the term for which he was elected, and to change the time for the " sitting or session " of the legisla-
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tare. If the Bingham amendment pass, a legislature will be elected next fall, and the legislature will meet as now pro- vided by law. That will be the legislature chosen next preceding the commencement of the term for which Blogdett has been elected, and the first session of that legislature will be the "sitting or session which immediately precedes the beginning of the term" for which he has been elected. In short, if the Bingham amendment shall pass the Senate, Blodgett is not a Senator ; if it is defeated, he hopes to be admitted to a seat in your honorable body. In view of these facts, the request made by him for Gov. Bullock to withhold his certificate of election does not appear to have been a great sacrifice on his part ; in fact, that was what is called in Georgia a "Blodgett trick," intended to deceive Con- gress. It is also claimed that if the Bingham amendment is defeated the Representatives from Georgia who were admitted to the 40th Congress would be entitled to seats in the pres- ent Congress, and that the new Senators would be seated. The colored members of the Georgia legislature are, of course, deeply interested in the defeat of the amendment_, for they hope to hold their seats two years longer. Thus a ring is formed of men who ask Congress to legislate them into offices which they fear they will loose if they appeal to the people. The master-spirits of this ring are Bullock and Blodgett, who direct the whole contest, and by holding the office-holders and office-seekers together, make a large lobby to importune Congressmen. I deny that there is a Repub- lican of recognized ability in Georgia, (not directly or indi- rectly interested in some office which he would lose if the Bingham amendment pass,) who will consider its passage detrimental to the interests of the Republican party of that State ; on the contrary its defeat will greatly injure the party. I know that the ablest Republicans in the State are opposed to extending the terms of officers beyond the time for which they were elected.
Sir, you cannot force Republican ideas upon the Southern people at the point of the bayonet. If you desire the
17
party to grow strong in the South, you must appeal to the brains and the wealth of the South. You must gain the affections of the people. I tell you to-day that if you force Bullock and Blodgett on to the people of Georgia against their will, you will cause the Republican party to be detested forever by a large majority of the people of that State, and then I pity the poor colored people. If you, by Congressional action, allow Bullock to plunder the people, and allow Blodgett to get a seat in the United States Senate, which he has gained through fraud, it will be useless to attempt to build up a Republican party in Georgia. The people, under such circumstances, will defeat the party next fall by eighty thousand majority. We must appeal to the people at that time, for, in November, Representatives to the 42d Congress must be elected. If you attempt to prolong the term of officers in the State beyond the time for which they were elected^ the people will send a unanimous Demo- cratic delegation to the 42d Congress. What good will be accomplished by prolonging the terms of the members of the legislature ? We must elect Representatives some time, and if the people feel that they have been outraged, they will, when they get a chance, be more certain to wijie out obnoxious laws. Let us appeal to the people, convince and convert them, and thus make our reforms permanent. This can never be done if Congress force upon the people obnoxious men. If Blodgett wants a seat in the Senate, let him appeal to the people and get it, and not attempt to secure such a position by a mere trick.
If Congress shall sustain these men, and allow them to ex- tend their terms of office as they desire, I have reason to be- lieve that in less than two months a convention of the people will be held, composed of Republicans and Democrats, who will unite to save the State from bankruptcy and ruin. An address will be issued, and they will appeal to the people of the country to save them from this corrupt ring that is plun- dering their State, and that, against their will, is fastened upon them for two years longer. Will not the people of the
18
country listen to the appeal of an impoverished people, thus begging for protection? Can the Eepuhlican party carry such a load ?
A protest was presented in the Senate, to-day, by Mr. Revels, of Mississippi, signed by nineteen colored members of the Georgia legislature. They ask that you amend the Georgia bill by striking out the Bingham amendment. This is another " Blodgett trick,' ' and, if the truth could be known, it would appear that Bullock and himself drew up this pe- tition, and caused it to be signed and sent to Mr. Revels.
The assertion made by these colored members of the legis- lature, that they represent 90,000 voters, is absurd. They do not represent one-fourth of that number. I deny that the colored men of Georgia desire these men to hold office two years longer. It is natural that they should ask you to defeat the Biogham amendment_, for they hope thus to con- tinue in office ; and they are selfish, like other men, and being ignorant, they do not realize that by tricking the people out of an election they injure the Republican party. I have as good a right to speak for the colored people of Georgia as these men. The paper of which I am editor, TTie Georgia Bepublican, circulates in every county in Geor- gia, and is read by the leading colored men in most of the counties. Although I have opposed the corrupt schemes of Bullock and Blodgett for months, and although a Republi- can convention, packed by these men, using their immense patronage, seemed to sustain them, and although I was de- nounced by their pimps as an enemy of the colored race, yet the following resolution was unanimously adopted by the largest and most influential convention of colored men ever assembled in Georgia — a convention representing nearly every county in the State :
Office Seceetaby Mechanics and Laborers' Association,
Augusta, Ga., November 22, 1869. Sir — The following resolutions were unanimously adopted by the Mechanics and Laborers' Association of Georgia, recently in session at Macon :
"Whereas, The Georgia Republican, of Augusta, has published the call for this convention without expense to the convention, and has advocated the assembling, while others have opposed it, therefore
19
" Be it resolved, That the thanks of this conrention be tendered to Colonel J. E. Bryant, the editor of said ^aper, for the said courtesy thus extended to us, and for his defence of our race against the assault of our enemies.
"Resolved, That until a paper is established by our race as the organ of the labor movement, that the editor of the Georgia Republican be requested to publish our proceedings and act as the organ of the labor movement." I am, sir, very respectfully, &c.,
WM. J. WHITE, Secretary M. and L. Association. Col. J. E. Bryant,
Editor Georgia Republican.
I also call your attention to the following communication. It was given me for another purpose, but is proof of what I have said. The original is in my possession, if you desire to see it :
Augusta, Georgia, Jamiary 6, 1870. Hon. Alexander Ramsey,
Chairman Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads : Sir — The name of Colonel J. E. Bryant, sent by his Excellency, the President, to the Senate for confirmation as postmaster at this place, now awaits, we are informed, the action of the committee of which you are chairman. Under these circumstances, and with a view to secure a favorable report from your committee, the undersigned, citizens of Augusta, desire to urge upon you the following good reasons for his confirmation :
1. He served three years in the United States army during the war for the Union.
2. In 1865 he came to this place as agent of the Freedmen's Bureau, and was at that time the only man in this whole country to openly advocate giving to the colored people the rights consequent upon their freedom, and who openly worked for their advantage, and accorded to them their just rights as men, and for this he obtained the hatred of the mass of the people of this community.
3. He has, from the first to the present time, been a consistent friend to the colored people, and has given his time and means to their welfare, advocating their cause, to the satisfaction of the loyal citizens and only well-wishers of the Government in this section, barring a very few whites.
4. He has been and is now a staunch member of, and has ably supported, the Republican party, stumping the Ku-Klux region of the State, and being the only one to do so who preached good, sound Republican doctrine, organizing the colored people into leagues and clubs, and endeavoring by all means in his power, and hesitating at no sacrifice or personal danger, to secure the triumph of our party, and his labor was crowned with great success, though much of it is now barren through the action of the enemies of ihe United States.
5. Mr. Bryant is now editing ^' The Georgia Republican," and is doing good with it: if he has the means to continue, he will do the party and country much more good, in our opinion, but if not confirmed, the paper will probably die.
6. He has given four years' faithful service and thousands of dollars to the cause without reward. Shall he have nothing for this?
7. Mr. Bryant has differed from other leaders of the party in this State, but if wrong, all men are liable to err, and he is now and has always been ready to sup- port any measure declared by Congress to be right, claiming that body to be the proper judge of what was best for the party.
8. Those opposed to Mr. Bryant's confirmation control the whole of the State patronage. Mr. Bryant asks for the post office at this place alone. Can you ask him to forego his claims after the service he has rendered ?
9. Colonel Bryant occupies the position of leader to a majority of the colored people, beside a number of whites. Is the party so strong in this State that you can afford to crush one faction to satisfy a personal feeling of another?
20
We most earnestly request you, sir, to examine the foregoing, believing that sufiBcient will be found there, however roughly put together, to authorize Colonel Bryant's confirmation, and we urge that confirmation by every consideration of the good of our party and the future of our State. Yours respectfully,
J.S. FANNIN, Collector Internal Revenue 3d District of Georgia. HENRY WATTS, Pastor Springfield Baptist Churchy {Colored.) J. E H. CONTURIN, U.S. Ganger. DAVID PORTER, Assistant Assessor Revenue, late 1st Lieut. U. S. A. HERMAN THUM, Asst. Assessor. WILLIAM M. MOORE, Chief Clerk, Collectors office, 3d Georgia. ELLIS LYONS,
Not. Pub., ex-officio J, P. ROBERT T. KENT, Pastor Green Street M. E. Church, [Colored.) HENRY JACKSON, Pastor 3d Baptist Church, ( Colored. ) E. M. BRAYTON,
Clerk Superior Court. JOHN REYNOLDS,
Not. Rep., ex-officio J. P.
This is not a contest for oragainst colored men's rights. The proposition is simply this : Shall office-holders give up their offices at the time the people intended they should when they were elected, or shall they, by Congressional action,, hold them two years against the will of the people ? Is it a Re- publican form of government when the people are thus ruled ?
I believe, sir, that my record shows that I have been a friend of the colored race, and I assure you, with all the earnestness of my nature, that, in my opinion, the attempt to force these men upon the people of Georgia for two years longer than the time for which they were elected would prove to be most disastrous to the colored people of that State. As their friend, and God knows I am their friend, I beg that you will not advocate so monstrous a proposition. These colored office-seekers do not realize the injury they do to their race by thus attempting to hold office against the will of the people.
Neither Gov. Bullock nor Foster Blodgett assisted us to secure political rights for colored men until the reconstruc- tion acts were passed. Mr. Blodgett was a delegate to the Johnson convention held in Philadelphia in the fall of 1866.
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At that time he was assisting our enemies as he was during the war. A week later, I was in the same city attending the Southern Loyalists' Convention, assisting our friends as I did during the war. I now come to Washington represent- ing the National Republican Club of Georgia, composed of the ablest and wealthiest Republicans in Georgia. We have banded together to save the Republican party of Georgia, and I know that I represent every member of that club when I urge the adoption of the Bingham amendment. The men who did most to build up the Republican party in Georgia are members of our club.
Will you, sir, now listen to the men who have been bat- tling for years to secure political rights to colored men, or will you listen to those who fought that cause until the vic- tory was won ? It is true that colored men also ask for the defeat of the Bingham amendment. You must remember, sir, that they were slaves but yesterday ; that they have been kept in ignorance, and that cunning men like Blodgett, by appealing to their passions, can easily lead them. It is one thing to give these bondmen political rights ; it is quite another thing for the Congress of the United States to be instructed by them.
Ex-Governor Brown, Hon. Joshua Hill, and Hon. A. T, Akerman, the ablest Republican leaders of Georgia, are oj)- posed to the policy of Bullock and Blodgett. So are Colonel T. P. Saifold, Hon. William Markham, Hon. N. L. Angier, General Austell, and other wealthy Republicans. But Bul- lock and Blodgett, by appealing to the cupidity and passions of the colored members of the General Assembly, have been able to control them, and with their immense patronage they are able to control a majority of the Republican members of the legislature.
I regret that I am obliged to differ from some of my Re- publican friends, and particularly from yourself. In my boyhood I watched and admired yoiir course. In your struggle for the downtrodden people of America I have sympathized wath you. Years ago I read your speeches
22
with delight, and my own views were moulded to some extent by you ; but I have labored too long and too hard to assist in building up a Republican party in Georgia to see it destroyed without entering my protest, If you so legis- late that the Republican party of Georgia is destroyed for- ever, you cannot say that I have not warned you. I have sacrificed much in taking my present position. The Presi- dent gave me an office worth four thousand dollars a year. It was a position that I very much desired, but to take my seat in the General Assembly I was obliged to resign the office given me by the President. There are times when we owe a duty to our country beyond that which we owe to ourselves or to our families. In my opinion that time came when an attempt was made to destroy the Republic, and I gave my services and risked my life to assist in saving the Government. Now I believe the time has come again, when I see a ring of wicked men plundering my State. I regret that a larger number of Georgia Republicans who privately tell me that I am right will not openly assist me in convincing Republican Congressmen of that fact. But, sir, I must do my duty ; and actuated by the same feelings which prompted me to risk my life on the battle-field, I am now willing to sacrifice everything in this attempt to save my adopted State from these desperate and reckless men.
I am, very respectfully,
J. E. BRYANT. National Hotel,
Washington, D. C, March 11, 1870.
Washington, I), C,
March 12, 1870.
I hereby certify to and fully endorse what Col. Bryant has written in relation to aff'airs in Georgia.
J. BOWLES,
Late Lieut. Col. U. S. Vols.
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