and ten square miles, nor to reduce any county, now established, to a less area or less population than required for a ratio of representation existing at the time; but when a new county is formed, having a population less than a ratio of representation, it shall be attached for representative purposes to the county from which the greatest amount of territory is taken until such ratio shall be obtained. No county shall be divided or have any portion stricken therefrom, without submitting the question to a vote of the people of the county, nor unless a majority of all the qualified voters of the county or counties thus affected, voting on the question, shall vote therefor; nor shall any new county be established, any line of which shall run within ten miles of the then existing county seat of any county. In all cases of the establishment of any new county, the new county shall be held for and obliged to pay its ratable proportion of all the liabilities then existing of the county or counties from which said new county shall be formed.

Sec. 4. No part of the territory of any county shall be stricken off and added to an adjoining county, without submitting the question to the qualified voters of the counties immediately interested, nor unless a majority of all the qualified voters of the counties thus affected, voting on the question, shall vote therefor. When any part of a county is stricken off and attached to another county, the part stricken off shall be holden for and obliged to pay its proportion of all the liabilities then existing of the county from which it is taken.

Sec. 5. When any new county, formed from contiguous territory taken from older counties, or when any county to which territory shall be added taken from an adjoining county, shall fail to pay the proportion of indebtedness of such territory to the county or counties from which it is taken, then it may be lawful for any county from which such territory has been taken, to levy and collect, by taxation, the due proportion of indebtedness of such territory, in the same manner as if the territory had not been stricken off.

Sec. 6. No county, township, city or other municipality shall hereafter become a subscriber to the capital stock of any railroad or other corporation or association, or make appropriation or donation or loan its credit to or in aid of any such corporation or association, or to or in aid of any college or institution of learning, or other institution, whether created for or to be

controlled by the State or others. All authority heretofore conferred for any of the purposes aforesaid by the General Assembly, or by the charter of any corporation, is hereby repealed: Provided, however, that nothing in this Constitution contained shall affect the right of any such municipality to make such subscription, where the same has been authorized under existing laws by a vote of the people of such municipality prior to its adoption, or to prevent the issue of renewal bonds or the use of such other means as are or may be prescribed by law, for the liquidation or payment of such subscription, or of any existing indebtedness.

Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall provide, by general laws, for the organization and classification of cities and towns. The number of such classes shall not exceed four; and the power of each class shall be defined by general laws, so that all such municipal corporations of the same class shall possess the same powers and be subject to the same restrictions. The General Assembly shall also make provisions, by general law, whereby any city, town or village, existing by virtue of any special or local law, may elect to becò ne subject to and be governed by the general laws relating to such corporations.

Sec. 8. The General Assembly may provide, by general law, for township organization, under which any county may organize whenever a majority of the legal voters of such county, voting at any general election, shall so determine; and whenever any county shall adopt township organization, so much of this Constitution as provides for the management of county affairs, and the assessment and collection of the revenue by county officers, in conflict with such general law for township organization, may be dispensed with, and the business of said county, and the local concerns of the several townships therein, may be transacted in such manner as may be prescribed by law: Frovided, that the justices of the county court in such case shall not exceed three in number.

Sec. 9. In any county which shall have adopted township organization, the question of continuing the same may be submitted to a vote of the electors of such county at a general election, in the manner that shall be provided by law; and if a majority of all the votes cast upon that question shall be against township organization, it shall cease in said county, and

all laws in force in relation to counties not having township organization shall immediately take effect and be in force in such county.

Sec. 10. There shall be elected by the qualified voters in each county, at the time and places of electing Representatives, a sheriff and coroner. They shall serve for two years, and until their successors be duly elected and qualified, unless sooner removed for malfeasance in office, and shall be eligible only four years in any period of six. Before entering on the duties of their office, they shall give security in the amount and in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Whenever a county shall be hereafter established, the Governor shall appoint a sheriff and a coroner therein, who shall continue in office until the next succeeding general election, and until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified..

Sec. 11. Whenever a vacancy shall happen in the office of sheriff or coroner, the same shall be filled by the county court. If such vacancy happen in the office of sheriff more than nine months prior to the time of holding a general election, such county court shall immediately order a special election to fill the same, and the person by it appointed shall hold office until the person chosen at such election shall be duly qualified; otherwise, the person appointed by such county court shall hold office until the person chosen at such general election shall be duly qualified. If any vacancy happen in the office of coroner, the same shall be filled for the remainder of the term by such county court. No person elected or appointed to fill a vacancy in either of said offices shall thereby be rendered ineligible for the next succeeding term.

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall, by a law uniform in its operation, provide for and regulate the fees of all county officers, and for this purpose may classify the counties by population.

Sec. 13. The fees of no executive or ministerial officer of any county or municipality, exclusive of the salaries actually paid to his necessary deputies, shall exceed the sum of ten thou sand dollars for any one year. Every such officer shall make return, quarterly, to the county court, of all fees by him received, and of the salaries by him actually paid to his deputies or assistants, stating the same in detail and verifying the same by his affidavit; and for any statement or omission in such return,

contrary to truth, such officer shall be liable to the penalties of willful and corrupt perjury.

Sec. 14. Except as otherwise directed by this Constitution, the General Assembly shall provide for the election or appointment of such other county, township and municipal officers as public convenience may require; and their terms of office and duties shall be prescribed by law; but no term of office shall exceed four years.

Sec. 15. In all counties having a city therein containing over one hundred thousand inhabitants, the city and county government thereof may be consolidated in such manner as may be provided by law.

Sec. 16. Any city having a population of more than one hundred thousand inhabitants may frame a charter for its own government, consistent with and subject to the Constitution and laws of this State, by causing a board of thirteen freeholders, who shall have been for at least five years qualified voters thereof, to be elected by the qualified voters of such city at any general or special election; which board shall, within ninety days after such election, return to the chief magistrate of such city a draft of such charter, signed by the members of such board, or a majority of them. Within thirty days thereafter, such proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters of such city at a general or special election, and if four-sevenths of such qualified voters voting thereat shall ratify the same, it shall, at the end of thirty days thereafter, become the charter of such city, and supersede any existing charter and amendments thereof. A duplicate certificate shall be made, setting forth the charter proposed and its ratification, which shall be signed by the chief magistrate of such city and authenticated by its corporate seal. One of such certificates shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, and the other, after being recorded in the office of the recorder of deeds for the county in which such city lies, shall be deposited among the archives of such city, and all courts shall take judicial notice thereof. Such charter, so adopted, may be amended by a proposal therefor, made by the law-making authorities of such city, published for at least thirty days in three newspapers of largest circulation in such city, one of which shall be a newspaper printed in the German language, and accepted by three-fifths of the qualified

voters of such city, voting at a general or special election, and not otherwise; but such charter shall always be in harmony with and subject to the Constitution and laws of the State.

Sec. 17. It shall be a feature of all such charters that they shall provide, among other things, for a mayor or chief magistrate and two houses of legislation, one of which at least sball be elected by general ticket; and in submitting any such charter or amendment thereto to the qualified voters of such city, any alternative section or article may be presented for the choice. of the voters, and may be voted on separately, and accepted or rejected separately, without prejudice to other articles or sections of the charter or any amendment thereto.

Sec. 18. In cities or counties having more than two hundred thousand inhabitants, no person shall, at the same time, be a State officer and an officer of any county, city or other municipality; and no person shall, at the same time, fill two municipal offices, either in the same or different municipalities; but this section shall not apply to notaries public, justices of the peace or officers of the militia.

Sec. 19. The corporate authorities of any county, city or other municipal subdivision of this State having more than two hundred thousand inhabitants, which has already exceeded the limit of indebtedness prescribed in section twelve of article X of this Constitution, may, in anticipation of the customary annual revenue thereof, appropriate during any fiscal year, toward the general governmental expenses thereof, a sum not exceeding seven-eighths of the entire revenue applicable to general governmental purposes (exclusive of the payment of the bonded debt of such county, city or municipality) that was actually raised by taxation alone during the preceding fiscal year; but until such excess of indebtedness cease, no further bonded debt shall be incurred, except for the renewal of other bonds.

St. Louis.

Sec. 20. The city of St. Louis may extend its limits so as to embrace the parks now without its boundaries, and other convenient and contiguous territory, and frame a charter for the government of the city thus enlarged, upon the following conditions, that is to say: The council of the city and county court of the county of St. Louis shall, at the request of the mayor of