| Executive Department |
| Tallahassee, June 14, 1864 |
| |
| Hon. James B. Dawkins |
| Judge of the Suwannee Circuit,
Gainesville |
| |
| Dear Sir, |
| Your communication of the
9th instant has been handed to me by Charles Cooper, esq. I regret
extremely the conflict of authority which has occurred, and while I
concur in opinion with the Confederate authorities as to the existing
military necessity for a removal of the iron from parts of the Florida
road and its appropriation in connecting the Pensacola & Georgia
Railroad with the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad in Georgia,
yet my judgment does not approve of the utter disregard of the
judicial authority of the State. Believing yourself to have had
jurisdiction in the premises, upon the application of the parties in
interest you could not properly have refused the injunction. It
seems to me that there is no good reason why the agents of the
Confederate Government did not move upon sufficient causes, if any
existed, to have the injunction dissolved. I shall submit a copy of
your communication to the President of the Confederate States and to
Major-General Anderson, and as the Executive of the State demand the
proper respect due to your authority. It is possible that counsel
could not be employed to move for the dissolution of the injunction,
and an urgent necessity existed in the judgment of the military
authorities which would admit of no delay; but whatever the causes
may be, I will demand that they shall be respectfully submitted to
your consideration, and will extend the support due from the
Executive to the judiciary of the State, and to the utmost of my
ability consistent with the safety of the State. In the present
unhappy condition of the country nothing can justify a conflict
between the State and the Confederate Government but an absolute
necessity for the protection of civil liberty as intended to be
secured by the constitution of the State and of the Confederate
States. |
| I have the honor to be, very
respectfully, |
| John Milton |
| Governor of Florida |
|