GENERAL MINUTES.

FIRST DAY'S PROCEEDINGS.

WARM SPRINGS, GA., July 4, 1900.

The Seventeenth Annual Session of the Georgia Bar Association convened in the Auditorium at Warm Springs at 10 o'clock A.M., and was called to order by the President, Joseph R. Lamar of Augusta, the following members being present:

Washington Dessau, Macon; Hamilton McWhorter, Lexington; J. M. Terrell, Greenville; A. J. Cobb, Supreme Court; Burton Smith, Atlanta; L E. Bleckley, Clarksville; A. O. Bacon, Macon; William A. Little, Supreme Court; Orville A. Park, Macon; J. L. Willis, Columbus; W. M. Hammond, Thomasville; Matt. J. Pearsall, Moultrie; W. E. Kay, Brunswick; Alex. S. Erwin, Athens; Chas. R. Gwyn, Zebulon; Clem P. Steed, Macon; Marvin L. Case, Atlanta; A. R. Lawton, Savannah; C. E. Battle, Columbus; John D. Little, Columbus; Frank U. Garrard, Columbus; B. S. Miller, Columbus, R. C. Jordan, Macon; M. P. Callaway, Macon; T. B. West, Macon; Z. D. Harrison, Atlanta; T. J. Simmons, Supreme Court; H. T. Lewis, Supreme Court; John C. Hart, Union Point; J. A. Cotten, Thomaston; J. R. Lamar, Augusta; Howard Van Epps, Atlanta; A. F. Daley, Wrightsville; M. W. Beck, Griffin; T. W. Mattox, Moultrie; J. R. Terrell, Greenville; J. E. Hall, Macon; N. M. Reynolds, Moultrie; Porter King, Atlanta; J. M. McNeil, Columbus; Samuel Lumpkin, Sapreme Court; H. H. Revill, Greenville; B. F. McLaughlin, Greenville; Roland Ellis, Macon; T. W. Hardwick, Sandersville; Alex. W. Smith, Atlanta; Benj. H. Hill, Atlanta; Clifford L. Anderson, Atlanta; T. A. Hammond, Jr., Atlanta; Sylvanus Morris, Athens; H. W. Hill, Greenville; J. B. Burnside, Hamilton; P. W. Meldrim, Savannah; R. L. Berner, Forsyth; F. E. Callaway, Atlanta;

T. M. Cunningham, Jr., Savannah; Paul E. Seabrook, Savannah; John W. Park, Greenville; Thos. G. Lawson, Eatonton; Lloyd Cleveland, Griffin; William F. Blue, Macon; Walter C. Beeks, Griffin; A. P. Persons, Talbotton; E. L. Brinson, Augusta; E. T. Moon, LaGrange; Walter B. Hill, Athens; Z. A. Littlejohn, Cordele; F. A. Hooper, Americus; R. T. Dorsey, Atlanta; P. H. Brewster, Atlanta; C. P. Harris, Elberton; John M. Graham, Atlanta; E. A. Hawkins, Americus; Henry R. Goetchius, Columbus; W. S. Howell, Greenville; Thos. J. Chappell, Columbus; L. C. Levy, Columbus; A. H. Thompson, LaGrange; J. L. Sweat, Waycross; George Hillyer, Atlanta; F. M. Longley, LaGrange; Geo. M. Napier, Monroe; R. B. Russell, Winder; O. H. B. Bloodworth, Forsyth; A. W. Evans, Sandersville; T. A. Atkinson, LaGrange; W. M. Henry, Rome; Olin J. Wimberly, Macon; F. D. Peabody, Columbus.

The President: The first business in order is the report of the Executive Committee by its Chairman, Mr. Burton Smith.

Mr. Burton Smith: Mr. President, in the nature of things it is impossible for the Executive Committee to prepare a formal written report. Our work not only continues to the present time, but continues hereafter until our successors are elected during this present meeting. Among other duties, we are called upon to prepare a program for each meeting and discharge such other work as may be assigned to us by the President, or may come to us while the Association is not in session. Your committee has had a number of meetings, all the members attending, some of them travelling nearly four hundred miles. We have discussed finances, we have discussed programs, and we have discussed other matters pertaining to this Association. As to finances, at every other meeting up to the present one, the Association has been not only without money in the treasury, but actually indebted to its Treasurer who had advanced money from his own pocket to us. At the last meeting the Executive Committee suggested a different plan for collecting the dues of the Association, and it has been carried out so

satisfactorily that at this meeting we not only owe nothing, but have nearly five hundred dollars in the treasury. Whether this is due to the fact that Colonel Harrison is a zealous collector, or whether he became weary of lending money to the Association, I do not know, but certainly the dues have been collected.

We have done one other thing which we believe should be reported to this Association, because the rules require us to report our action. Some years ago the chairman of the then Executive Committee, Chancellor Hill, made a collection of the reports of the Bar Associations of this country, state and national. This collection two years ago he presented to the Association, and our efficient and helpful Secretary, Mr. Park, has completed it and brought it down to date. That collection is one of the very few of the sort in the world. It is a practically complete collection of the reports of the several state and national bar associations of this country. Mr. Park prepared an index to that set of books, which, so far as we know, is the only one of the sort extant. This index has received commendation from bar associations and others all over the country. In the aggregate works thus collected there is a great amount of legal literature made easily available by Mr. Park's Index. In his introduction Mr. Park says: The great value of the legal literature being produced by the various Bar Associations of America has often been alluded to by competent critics; yet it is undoubtedly true that few, if any, even of the most enthusiastic Bar Assocation advocates, are prepared to appreciate the extent, variety, literary and legal merit of this splendid literature this result of the associated effort of the legal fraternity. It has been, unfortunately for the profession, hidden away in the depths of inaccessibility." Having acquired this fine collection, and having a most admirable index for it, we desired to put it where it would be accessible to the bar of the State, and also, in a small way, to show our appreciation of the great consideration which

the Supreme Court of this State has invariably extended to our Association; we therefore presented this collection, in a suitable case, to the Supreme Court, and it has been placed in the State library for their use, and they extend that use also to the bar.

I believe I may safely say that the bar of the State considers our Association, so far as the interest of the bar at large is aroused in the affairs of the Association, in asgood condition, if not better, than ever before.

We have elected during the recess of the Association, and in accordance with the rules, the following members:

T. M. Cunningham, Jr., Savannah; W. F. Blue, Macon; Irvin Alexander, Augusta; P. L. Wade, Dublin; E. B. Baxter, Augusta; J. B. Burnside, Hamilton; F. E. Callaway, Atlanta; Sylvanus Morris, Athens; J. E. Hall, Macon; Joe Abbott, Acworth; Chas. R. Gwyn, Zebulon; Victor Smith, Atlanta; Matt. J. Pearsall, Moultrie; W. H. Hammond, Thomasville; T. W. Mattox, Moultrie; A. W. Evans, Sandersville; N. M. Reynolds, Moultrie; A. H. Thompson, LaGrange; A. L. Miller, Macon; C. P. Harris, Elberton.

We have prepared a program for this morning's session, which I will now read. The morning session is expected. to last until one o'clock. The committee will later on announce the program for the other sessions of this meeting of the Association.

Mr. Smith then read the program for the morning's session.

The President: Do I hear a motion to adopt the report of the committee?

Mr. T. A. Hammond: I move that the report of the committee be adopted.

Motion seconded and report adopted.

The President, Mr. Joseph R. Lamar, then delivered his annual address. (See Appendix A.)

Mr. Terrell

Mr. President, the General Assembly at its last session passed a resolution in which the bar of this State as a whole have very much interest-a resolu