USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume II > Part 43
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Desiring to convoke a legislative assembly, and yet appre- hending, in the distracted state of the country, that only a partial representation could be secured from the parishes constituting the province as recognized by the royal government, the governor and council referred the matter to Chief Justice Anthony Stokes and Attorney-General James Robertson for advice.
Those gentlemen, on the 15th of November, 1779, reported that in their judgment " writs of election ought to be issued in the usual form for all the parishes and districts that sent mem- bers to the last Assembly." They expressed the further opinion
1 See communication to Lord Goorgo Gormain, dated Savanunh in Georgia, the 6th of November, 1779.
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MEMBERS OF TIIE COMMONS HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. 419
that "if there should be any parish or district without freehold- ers qualified to elect, or if through the invasion or vicinity of the rebels the provost-marshal cannot venture to proceed to an elec- tion, then he must return such special matter along with the writs of election, and verify it by affidavits. Such a Commons House of Assembly, convened with the precautions above mentioned, we conceive would be a lawful representation of the whole Prov- ince."
Acting upon this advice, the governor and council caused writs of election to be issued returnable on the 5th of May, 1780.
In due course the following persons were reported to council as having been elected members of the Commons House of Assembly :
For the town and district of Savannah : Samuel Farley, James Mossman, John Simpson, and James Robertson.
For Little Ogeechee in Christ Church Parish : William Jones.
For Great Ogeechee and St. Philip's Parish : James Butler, Thomas Goldsmith, and Simon Munro.
For Midway and St. John's Parish : John Irvine and Joseph Fox.
For Goshen and Abercorn in St. Matthew's Parish : Samuel Douglass.
For Ebenezer and St. Matthew's Parish : Alexander Wright, Basil Cowper, and Nathaniel Hall.
For Acton in Christ Church Parish : David Zubly.
For Vernonburg, in Christ Church Parish : Basil Cowper.
For Wilmington, Tybee, etc .: Philip Yonge.
For St. Andrew's Parish : Robert Baillie and James Spald- ing.
For Frederica and St. James' Parish : William Panton.
For St. David's Parish : Samuel Douglass.
For St. Patrick's Parish : Robert Porteous.
For St. Thomas' Parish : Simon Paterson.
For St. Mary's Parish : William Ross.
For Halifax and St. George's Parish : Alexander Wylly and John Henderson.
Although twenty-six members had thus been returned, only fifteen appeared at Savannah and qualified. Prior assemblies having fixed the constitutional quorum at eighteen, including the speaker, Governor Wright was undecided as to the propriety of permitting the Commons House of Assembly to perfect its organization and proceed to business. Having conferred with his council it was resolved, in view of the necessities of the case
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
and the division of sentiment existing in the province, that the members assembled should be recognized as sufficient in number and that they should be empowered to organize.
Thereupon the members present elected a speaker and pro- ceeded to the transaction of business.
The republican legislature had, on the 1st of March, 1778, passed an act attainting of high treason various parties in Geor- gia who clave to the fortunes of the Crown, confiscating to the State their property, both real and personal, and appointing boards of commissioners for the purpose of selling such confis- cated estates.1 The following are the names of the parties af- fected by the provisions of that act : Sir James Wright, John Graham, Henry Yonge, Junior, William Morse, Robert Smith, James Hume, William John Yonge, Charles William McKennin, George Barry, Alexander Wylly, William Johnston, John Light- enstone, Jolin Mulryne, Josiah Tattnall, William McGillivray, John Joachim Zubly, George Kincaid, John Hume, Joseph Far- ley, Robert Reid, Thomas Reid, John Bond Randell, Henry Yonge, Senior, Philip Yonge, James Robertson, James Brown (schoolmaster), David Johnson, Alexander McGoun, William Simes, Jolın Inglis, Peter Dean, Thomas Johnson, George Bos- land, James Jolinston, James Downey, William Trintfield, George McCaully, John Jameison, Andrew Hewitt, George Baillaie, George Webb, John Love, of Effingham County, Joseph Jolin- ston, John Johnston, George Wilds, William Love, Charles Hall, James Moore, Samuel Moore, Jolin Hubbard, Matthew Marshal, Joseph Marshal, Thomas Brown (late of the ceded lands), Thomas Scott (late of the ponds on Ogeechee, in Wilkes County), William Fraser, Timothy Hollingsworth, Valentine Hollingsworth, William McDonald, John McDonald, John Mc- Donald (tailor), William Ross (late of St. Andrew's Parish), Daniel McLeod, Alexander Baillie, Alexander McDonald, David Ross, Daniel McDonald, Roderick McIntosh, Angus Bacon, Thomas Young, Simon Munro, Simon Patterson, William Ly- ford, Robert Baillie, James Kitching, Roger Kelsall, James Spalding, Robert Porteous, Alexander Creighton, Robert Moodie, William Clark (late of St. Andrew's Parish), James Chapman, Charles Watts, William Bosomworth, Sampson Williams, Garret Vinsant, George Vinsant, Daniel McGurth, James McGurth,
1 See Watkins' Digest, p. 208. Phila- delphia. 1800. This act was amended by another passed on the 4th of May,
1782, confiscating the estates of additional parties declared guilty of treason. Wat- kins' Digest, p. 242.
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LOYALISTS ADJUDGED GUILTY OF TREASON.
George Proctor, James Shivers, John Speier, John Martin (of Jekyll Island), John Frost, William Frost, Cornelius Dunn, John Dunn, John Pettinger, Robert Abrams (hatter), Joseph Rains (late of the parish of St. David), Basil Cowper, Junior, Thomas Stringer, Jolın Hopkins (pilot), William Oldes, William Colville (pilot), John Murray, Anthony Stokes, John Wood (late of Savannah, merchant), James Edward Powell, Jermyn Wright, Charles Wright, Thomas Eatton, James Tayler (merchant), George Finch, Philip Moore, William Panton, John Simpson (Sabine Fields), and Charles McCulloch (late of Savannah)."
These were, one and all, adjudged guilty of high treason against Georgia, and their lands and personal property were de- clared confiscate to the State. Among them were the king's servants included, many of whom had fled. The provisions of this act had been but partially executed when the capture of Savannah, in December, 1778, by the royal forces, and the sub- jugation of the larger part of Georgia completely changed the aspect of affairs, and, to a very great extent, rendered nugatory this severe legislation.
It was now within the power of the Royalists to return like for like, and so they did without hesitation or show of mercy. By the General Assembly which convened in Savannah in May, 1780, two retaliatory acts were passed: one attainting of high treason various republicans, therein named, who were either absent from Georgia or in that portion of the province which was still in a state of rebellion against his majesty, and vesting their real and personal estate in the Crown ; the other disquali- fying the parties indicated, and rendering them ever afterwards incapable of holding or exercising any office of trust, honor, or profit within the limits of Georgia.
The following is a list of those mentioned in this last act. It will be noted that it was designed to embrace every prominent Georgian in sympathy with the rebellion : -
1. John Houstoun, rebel governor.
2. John Adam Treutlen, rebel gov- ernor.
3. Lachlan McIntosh, rebel general.
4. George Walton, member of rebel congress.
5. William Stephens, rebel attorney- general.
6. John MeClure, rebel major.
7. Joseph Clay, rebel paymaster- general.
8. N. Wymberley Jones, speaker rebel assembly.
9. Mordecai Sheftall, chairman, rebel provincial commissary department.
10. William ('Bryan, rebel treas- urer.
11. John Wereat, rebel counselor.
12. Edward Telfair, member of rebel congress.
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
13. Edward Davies, member of rebel assembly.
14. Samuel Elbert, rebel general.
15. Seth John Cuthbert, rebel ma- jor
16. William Holsendorf, rebel coun- selor.
17. Richard Howley, rebel governor.
18. George Galphin, rebel superin- tendent Indian affairs.
19. Andrew Williamson, rebel gen- eral.
20. John White, rebel eolonel.
21. Nehemiah Wade, rebel treasurer.
22. John Twiggs, rebel eolonel.
23. William Few, rebel counselor.
24. Edward Langworthy, rebel dele- gate.
25. William Glasseoek, rebel coun- selor.
26. Robert Walton, rebel commis- sioner of forfeited estates.
27. Joseph Wood, Jr., elerk to the rebel assembly.
28. - - Piggin, rebel eolonel.
29. William Hornby, distiller.
30. Peiree Butler, rebel officer.
31. Joseph Wood, member of the rebel congress.
32. Rev. William Peirey, elerk.
33. Thomas Savage, planter.
34. Thomas Stone, rebel counselor.
35. Benjamin Andrew, president of the rebel eouneil.
36. John Baker, Senr., rebel colonel.
37. William Baker, rebel officer.
38. Francis Brown, planter.
39. Nathan Brownson, member of rebel eongress.
40. John Hardy, captain of a rebel galley.
41. Thomas Morris, rebel offieer.
42. Samuel Miller, rebel assembly.
43. Thomas Maxwell, planter.
44. Joseph Woodruff.
45. Joseph Oswald, planter.
46. Josiah Powell, planter.
47. Samuel Saltus, committeeman.
48. John Sandiford, planter.
49. Peter Tarling, rebel officer.
50. Oliver Bowen, rebel commodore. 51. Lyman Hall, member of the rebel congress.
52. Andrew Moore, planter.
53. Joshua Inman, planter.
54. John Dooly, rebel colonel.
55. John Glen, rebel chief justice.
56. Richard Wyley, president of the rebel eouneil.
57. Adam Fowler Brisbane, rebel counselor.
58. Shem Butler, rebel assemblyman. 59. Joseph Habersham, rebel colonel. 60. John Stirk, rebel eolonel.
61. Raymond Demere.
62. Charles Odingsell, rebel eaptain. 63. William Peacock, rebel eoun- selor.
64. John Bradley, captain rebel gal- ley.
65. Joseph Reynolds, bricklayer.
66. Rudolph Strohaker, buteller.
67. Charles Cope, buteller.
68. Lewis Cope, rebel buteher. .
69. Hepworth Carter, rebel captain.
70. Stephen Johnston, butcher.
71. Jolin MeIntosh, Jr., rebel colonel. 72. James Houstoun, surgeon.
73. James Habersham, merchant.
74. John Habersham, rebel major.
75. Jolın Milledge, Jr., rebel assem- blyman.
76. Levi Slieftall, butcher.
77. Philip Jacob Cohen, shopkeeper.
78. John Sutcliffe, shopkeeper.
79. Jonathan Bryan, rebel counselor.
80. Jolin Spencer, rebel officer.
81. Jolın Holmes, clerk.
82. William Gibbons, the elder, rebel counselor.
83. Sheftall Sheftall, rebel officer.
84. Philip Minis, shopkeeper.
85. Coshuman Polock, shopkeeper.
86. Robert IIamilton, attorney-at- law.
87. Benjamin Lloyd, rebel officer.
88. James Alexander, rebel officer.
89. John Jenkins, rebel assembly- man.
90. Samuel Stirk, rebel secretary.
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REBELS ATTAINTED OF HIGH TREASON.
91. Philip Densler, yeoman.
92. Henry Cuyler, rebel officer.
93. Joseph Gibbons, rebel assembly- man.
94. Ebenezer Smith Platt, shop- keeper.
95. Matthew Griffin, planter.
96. Peter Deveaux, gentleman.
97. Benjamin Odingsell, rebel offi- eer.
98. Jolın Gibbons, vendue master.
99. John Smith, planter.
100. William Le Conte, rebel coun- selor.
101. Charles Francis Chevalier, rebel counselor.
102. Peter Chambers, shopkeeper.
103. Thomas Washington, rebel offi- cer.
104. Elisha Maxwell, planter.
105. Thomas Maxwell, Jr., rebel major.
106. William Gibbons, the younger, planter.
107. William Davis, rebel officer.
108. Jolın Graves, yeoman.
109. Charles Kent, rebel counselor.
110. John Bacon, mariner.
111. Nathaniel Saxton, tavernkeeper.
112. Philip Lowe, rebel officer.
113. Samuel Spencer, mariner.
114. John Winn, Senr., planter.
115. Deveaux Jarrat, rebel assembly- man.
116. Samuel West, gentleman.
117. Josiah Dupont, planter.
118. James Pugh, planter. 119. Frederic Pugh, planter. 120. James Rac, planter.
121. James Martin, planter.
122. John Martin, rebel sheriff.
123. Thomas Pace, rebel officer.
124. Benjamin Fell, rebel officer.
125. Dionysius Wright, planter.
126. Chesley Bostick, shopkeeper.
127. Littleberry Bostick, planter.
128. Leonard Marbury, rebel officer.
129. John Sharp, planter.
130. James Harris, planter.
131. Henry Jones, rebel colonel.
132. Hugh McGee, rebel captain.
133. John Wilson, gentleman.
134. George Wyche, rebel officer.
135. William Candler, rebel officer.
136. Zechariah Tenn, planter.
137. William MeIntosh, rebel colonel. 138. David Bradie, surgeon.
139. Andrew McLcan, merchant.
140. Sir Patrick Houstoun, baronet.
141. MeCartin Campbell, merchant.
142. James Gordon, planter.
143. John Kell, gentleman.
144. John McLean, planter. 145. Jolın Snider, planter. 146. Jolin Elliott, rebel officer.
147. Thomas Elliott, rebel officer.
148. Richard Swinney, yeoman.
149. Ingh Middleton, rebel officer. 150. Job Pray, mariner.
151. Josiah MeLean, planter.
In forwarding a copy of this disqualifying act for the approval of the home government Sir James Wright remarks to Lord George Germain:1 "This Bill, my Lord, I judged very neces- sary for his Majesty's service, as some kind of punishment to Delinquents & check to Rebellion, and indeed for the support of Government & the peace & quiet of the Inhabitants ; for by it they were not only disabled as in the Title, but they are disqualified from serving on Jurys, from sitting as Members of the Assembly, & are disarm'd & oblig'd to take the State Oaths & a new Test, also to find security for their good beha- viour &c."
1 Letter of July 17, 1780. P. R. O., Am. & W. Ind., vol. cexxxvii.
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THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Behold the fearful condition of affairs in Georgia ! Royalists and Republicans contending for the mastery not only with arms, but each, by solemn legislation, denouncing the other as traitors and declaring private property a spoil to that government which could first lay hands upon it. Surely no darker picture was ever painted in the history of civil wars, the most bloody and unre- lenting of all strifes. The devastating tread of contending armies, pushed backwards and forwards over the face of a smit- ten country, crushing the life out of habitations and filling the land with marks of desolation and the scars of battle, is terrible ; but far more severe is that fratricidal conflict which disrupts the ties of blood, unseats mercy, dethrones humanity, abolishes the right to private property, and gives the region to general confis- cation, plunder, and murder. Other States there were within whose borders were heard, during the progress of the Revolution, the sounds of broader battles, but truly none can be named in which the calamities of a divided government and the horrors of internecine dissensions were more pronounced.
Aside from the two bills which have been mentioned, the acts of this General Assembly possess no special significance.1 It was on the 10th of July prorogued to the 1st of November, 1780.
Prior, however, to the time announced for the reassembling of its members Augusta was besieged by the Revolutionists, and Colonel Brown and his command found themselves in a situation of great distress and peril. Yielding to the exigency of the pe- riod and the solicitations of his council, Governor Wright con- vened the General Assembly on the 25th of September. Allud- ing to the effort made to capture Augusta, commenting upon the fact that the spirit of rebellion was not crushed, and insisting that rigorous measures were still required to subdue certain por- tions of the province, he urged upon the General Assembly the propriety and the necessity of passing the following acts : -
I. To compel persons dwelling in and near Savannah and Au- gusta fortliwith to render an account of all male slaves owned by them, between the ages of sixteen and sixty, and to send such of them as might be deemed necessary, with suitable tools, to work upon and complete the fortifications of those towns.
II. Rendering it obligatory upon the male inhabitants of those towns, who were not the owners of slaves, to labor themselves, or
1 Seo an enumeration of the acts dated Savannah, 17th July, 1780. P. R. passed, in a communication from Gover- O., Am. & W. Ind., vol. cexxxvii. nor Wright to Lord George Germain,
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ROYAL LEGISLATION.
to act as overseers in the construction of the contemplated de- fensive works.
III. To invest proper parties with the authority to impress horses, carts, and teams for service upon the public defenses. .. And
IV. To revise the militia laws, -rendering them more strin- gent in their provisions and more certain in their operation, - and also to inquire into the propriety of organizing a negro corps and incorporating it into the militia of the province.
But little was accomplished by this assembly. Its delibera- tions were characterized by a lack of harmony between the two branches. Careless of their duties as legislators, the members frequently absented themselves. The journal is filled with in- stances of arrests, fines, and reprimands. Long adjournments seriously interfered with the transaction of business ; and the governor, in despair, on the 15th of November, 1780, adjourned the Commons House of Assembly to the 17th of January, 1781.
Annoyed at the presence of rebel cruisers which subjected the commerce and the planting operations of the Royalists to frequent and severe losses, the merchants of Savannah and Sunbury and the planters on the Georgia coast importuned Sir James to con- vene the assembly that provision might be made for the construc- tion of a galley seventy or eighty feet long, to be propelled by fifteen or twenty oars on each side, to be armed with one six- pounder gun in the bow, four two-pounders, twelve swivels, and twenty muskets, to carry a crew of fifty whites and ten "refugee negroes," and to be employed in defending the harbors and inlets from the naval incursions of the republicans. Yielding to the solicitation, the governor did call the members of the legisla- ture together on the 11th of December, 1780.
After due consideration it was determined that the cost of such a galley and its equipment and support would exceed the present financial ability of the province ; and so the assembly adjourned without making any provision for the public de- fense.
All subsequent attempts at royal legislation in Georgia were spasmodic, partial, feeble, and futile. Upon the withdrawal of the king's forces for the investment and capture of Charlestown, and upon their employment at a later period in distant fields of service, the hold of his majesty's servants upon the province was sensibly relaxed. More circumscribed grew the limits of royal dominion until they were finally obliterated upon the evacuation
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TIIE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
of Savannah in 1782. The hope of returning Georgia to her allegiance to the Crown, inspired by the capture of Savannah in December, 1778 and revived by the defeat of the allied armies in October, 1779, was always fluctuating. Although the gover- nor retained his seat and exercised some of the functions of his office, his letters show that he was always oppressed by a sense of · insecurity. Time and again did the republican forces, under par- . tisan leaders, approach so closely that it was deemed dangerous · for the king's servants to venture beyond the lines which envi- roned Savannah. Now and then came a loyal address from the province assuring his majesty that his sorely tried yet faithful office holders would " use their utmost endeavors to promote an attachment to his person and government and the welfare of the British Empire ; " that they " would not fail to put up their prayers to Almighty God that He would pour down His Bless- ings upon his Majesty, his Royal Consort, and his numerous off- spring, and that He would give him a long and happy reign and that his posterity might sway the sceptre of the British Empire till time should be no more." 1
And this would be quickly followed by a pitiable representa- tion of the defenseless condition of the province, and by an ap- plication for a force of five hundred mounted men with which to scour the country and repel the rebel cavalry who were plunder- ing the governor's plantations on the Ogeechee and thundering at the very gates of Savannah.
As early as August, 1780, we find Chief Justice John Glen, Dr. James Houstoun, and John Sutcliffe, " noted rebels," boldly appearing in Savannah and defying the royal authorities.
On the 20th of that month Governor Wright reports 2 that there were then not more than five hundred soldiers in Savan- nah, and that the garrison at Augusta did not exceed two hun- dred and forty. "I find," he adds, " we have only 15 nine pounders, 4 six pounders, and 1 four pounder, - all mounted on ship carriages, late the guns of his Majesty's ship Rose, -2 pieces of brass six pound ordnance, 5 four pounders, and 2 three pounders, - two of which are only fit to take the field, - and 3 twenty-four pounders not mounted."
Nevertheless, we see the royal governor, with a pertinacity
1 See Address of the Judges and In- 20, 1780. P. R. O., Am. & W. Ind., vol. habitants of Georgia, inclosed in Sir cexxxvii.
James Wright's communication of May
2 Letter to Lord George Germain. P. R. O., Am. & W. Ind., vol. ccxxxvii.
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FORTIFICATIONS OF SAVANNAH.
worthy of all praise, laboring to fortify Savannah and to confirm it as the capital of the province. Acting under the provisions of the bill which received his assent on the 30th of October, 1780, he ordered out over four hundred negro slaves and put them to work upon the public defenses of the town. "We are making," so he writes,1 " five Redoubts & Batterys, & there is to be a Parapet made of Fascines & Earth from the River at each end & on the back of the Town. This Parapet is 10 foot wide & 7 foot high, with a Ditch on the outside 15 foot wide at top, 10 foot deep, & sloping to the bottom 3 foot. I think the Redoubts will be fin- ished & each Parapet about half done, or say the whole 4 foot high by Christmas, & I expect the works will be entirely finish'd in all January. This, my Lord, is a most inconvenient thing & a heavy Tax on the People, being one fourth part of all their Male Slaves for near or quite 3 months. . . .
" The late Law also enables me to call out & arm Negroes in defence of the Province & to exercise further power over the Militia, but this only in time of alarms actually fired, and there are several things provided for which we thought necessary in these yet very perilous times."
When it is asked why the republicans, under the circum- stances, hesitated to undertake the recaption of the State, it may be fairly answered that they, too, were weak in numbers and en- feebled by the fortunes of war; that not a few were pining in captivity ; that many, contending with hunger, were striving to replenish their barns and acquire food for their families, while others, instant day and night in the saddle, were defending the frontiers against the torch and the scalping knife of the savage and the no less inhuman depredations and outrages of the loyal- ists. Others still were following the flag of the Confederation in the continental armies, doing battle within the confines of sister States. But a justification of their apparent apathy will suffi- ciently appear when we recur to the narrative of the military operations of this trying period. Before entering upon this survey, let us turn for a moment to the political affairs of Geor- gia as administered by the Supreme Council of Safety.
So divided was the State, that the difficulty experienced by Sir James Wright in securing the attendance of members suffi- cient to form a Commons House of Assembly under the royal government was also encountered by the members of the re-
1 Letter to Lord George Germain, dated Savannah, December 1, 1780. P. R. O., Am. & W. Ind., vol. ccxcviii.
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THIE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
publican executive council in their efforts to convene a legisla- ture and elect a governor. Since his elevation to the office of president on the 6th of August, 1779, John Wereat,1 in associa- tion with the council, had been discharging the executive func- tions of government. On the 4th of November in that year he issued a proclamation in the following terms : -
" AUGUSTA, IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA, November 4, 1779.
" Whereas, from the invasion of the State by the enemy, in December last, the absence of many of the members elected to represent the different counties in the House of Representatives for the present year, with unavoidable causes, several ineffectual attempts have been made to convene a Legal House of Represen- tatives ; and whereas, it is essential to the welfare and happiness of the State that a Legal and Constitutional House of Assembly should be convened: We, therefore, earnestly recommend to such of the citizens of this State as have preserved their fidelity to the cause of America, and were inhabitants of the counties of Chat- ham, Liberty, Glynn, Camden, and Effingham prior to the re- duction of these counties by the British forces, to repair to such place within this State as to them shall appear most safe and convenient, on the first Tuesday in December next, that being the day appointed by the Constitution for a general election throughout the State, in order to elect persons to represent those counties in the General Assembly for the ensuing year, that a full, free, and equal representation may be had to proceed on business of the utmost importance to the community ; and it is the opinion of this Board, that this town would be the most eligi- ble, in the present situation of affairs, for the meeting of the As- sembly, which will be the first Tuesday in January next, agree- ably to the Constitution of the State.
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