of this article, by the circuit, city, or criminal court of the county in which such officers hold their office, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law: Provided, That the right of trial by jury and appeal in such cases be secured.

SEC. 4. The penalties in cases arising under the three preceding sections shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification from holding office under the authority of this State, for the term for which he was elected or appointed; but the accused shall be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment as prescribed by law.

ARTICLE VIII.

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS.

SECTION 1. Every male citizen of the United States, and every male person of foreign birth who may have legally declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States before he offers to vote, who is 21 years old or upwards, possessing the following qualifications, shall be an elector, and shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people, except as hereinafter provided:

1st. He shall have resided in the State at least one year immediately preceding the election at which he offers to vote.

2d. He shall have resided in the county for three months, and in the precinct, district, or ward for thirty days immediately preceding the election at which he offers to vote: Frovided, That the general assembly may prescribe a longer or shorter residence in any precinct in any county, or in any ward in any incorporated city or town having a population of more than 5,000 inhabitants, but in no case to exceed three months: And provided, That no soldier, sailor, or marine in the military or naval service of the United States shall acquire a residence by being stationed in this State. SEC. 2. All elections by the people shall be by ballot, and all elections by persons in a representative capacity shall be viva voce.

SEC. 3. The following classes shall not be permitted to register, vote, or hold office :

1st. Those who shall have been convicted of treason, embezzlement of public funds, malfeasance in office, larceny, bribery, or other crime punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary.

2d. Those who are idiots or insane.

SEC. 4. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, or while going to or returning therefrom.

SEC. 5. The general assembly shall pass all laws, not inconsistent with this constitution, to regulate and govern elections in this State; and all such laws shall be uniform throughout the State. The general assembly may, when necessary, provide by law for the registration of electors throughout the State, or in any incorporated city or town thereof; and when it is so provided, no person shall vote at any election unless he shall have registered as required by law.

SEC. 6. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass adequate laws giving protection against the evils arising from the use of intoxicating liquors at all elections. SEC. 7. Returns of elections for all civil officers who are to be commissioned by the governor, except secretary of state, State auditor, State treasurer, and attorneygeneral, and for members of the general assembly, shall be made to the secretary of

state.

ARTICLE IX.

REPRESENTATION.

SECTION 1. The whole number of senators shall be not less than one-fourth or more than one-third of the whole number of representatives.

SEC. 2. The house of representatives shall consist of not more than one hundred members, who shall be apportioned by the general assembly among the several coun

ties of the State according to the number of inhabitants in them, respectively, as ascertained by the decennial census of the United States for the year 1880; which apportionment, when made, shall not be subject to alteration until the first session of the general assembly after the next decennial census of the United States shall have been taken.

SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of the general assembly, at its first session after the taking of the decennial census of the United States in 1880, and after each subsequent decennial census, to fix by law the number of representatives, and apportion them among the several counties of the State: Provided, That each county shall be entitled to at least one representative.

SEC. 4. It shall be the duty of the general assembly, at its first session after the taking of the decennial census of the United States in 1880, and after each subsequent decennial census, to fix by law the number of senators, and to divide the State into as many senatorial districts as there are senators, which districts shall be as nearly equal to each other in the number of inhabitants as may be, and each shall be entitled to one senator and no more; and which districts, when formed, shall not be changed until the next apportioning session of the general assembly after the next decennial census of the United States shall have been taken. No county shall be divided between two districts, and no district shall be made of two or more counties not contiguous to each other.

SEC. 5. Should the decennial census of the United States from any cause not be taken, or if when taken the same as to this State is not full or satisfactory, the general assembly shall have power, at its first session after the time shall have elapsed for the taking of said census, to provide for an enumeration of all the inhabitants of this State, and once in each ten years thereafter, upon which it shall be the duty of the general assembly to make the apportionment of representatives and senators as provided for in this article.

SEC. 6. Until the general assembly shall make an apportionment of representatives among the several counties, after the first decennial census of the United States as herein provided, the counties of Autauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chilton, Cherokee, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, De Kalb, Elmore, Etowah, Escambia, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Henry, Lauderdale, Marion, Morgan, Monroe, Marshall, Randolph, Sanford, Shelby, Saint Clair, Walker, Washington, and Winston shall each have one representative; the counties of Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Greene, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Limestone, Lawrence, Lowndes, Lee, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox shall have each two representatives; the county of Madison shall have three representatives; the counties of Dallas and Montgomery shall have each four representatives, and the county of Mobile shall have five representatives.

SEC. 7. Until the general assembly shall divide the State into senatorial districts, as herein provided, the senatorial districts shall be as follows:

First district, Lauderdale and Limestone; second district, Colbert and Lawrence; third district, Morgan, Winston, and Blount; fourth district, Madison; fifth district, Marshall, Jackson, and De Kalb; sixth district, Cherokee, Etowah, and Saint Clair; seventh district, Calhoun and Cleburne; eighth district, Talladega and Clay; ninth district, Randolph and Chambers; tenth district, Macon and Tallapoosa; eleventh district, Bibb and Tuscaloosa; twelfth district, Franklin, Marion, Fayette, and Sanford; thirteenth district, Walker, Jefferson, and Shelby; fourteenth district, Greene and Pickens; fifteenth district, Coosa, Elmore, and Chilton; sixteenth district, Lowndes and Autauga; seventeenth district, Butler and Conecuh; eighteenth district, Perry; nineteenth district, Choctaw, Clarke, and Washington; twentieth district, Marengo; twenty-first district, Monroe, Escambia, and Baldwin; twenty-second district, Wilcox; twenty-third district, Henry, Coffee, Dale, and Geneva; twenty-fourth district, Barbour; twenty-fifth district, Pike, Crenshaw, and Covington; twenty-sixth district, Bullock: twenty-seventh district, Lee; twenty eighth district, Montgomery; twenty-ninth district, Russell; thirtieth district, Dallas; thirty-first district, Sumter; thirty-second district, Hale; thirty-third district, Mobile.

ARTICLE X.

TAXATION.

SECTION 1. All taxes levied on property in this State shall be assessed in exact proportion to the value of such property: Provided, however, The general assembly may levy a poll-tax, not to exceed one dollar and fifty cents on each poll, which shall be applied exclusively in aid of the public-school fund in the county so paying the same.

SEC. 2. No power to levy taxes shall be delegated to individuals or private corporations.

SEC. 3. After the ratification of this constitution no new debt shall be created against or incurred by this State or its authorrty, except to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, and then only by a concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each house of the general assembly, and the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays and entered on the journals; and any act creating or incurring any new debt against this State, except as herein provided for, shall be absolutely void: Provided, The governor may be authorized to negotiate temporary loans, never to exceed $100,000, to meet deficiencies in the treasury, and until the same is paid no new loan shall be negotiated: Provided further, That this section shall not be so construed as to prevent the issuance of bonds in adjustment of existing State indebtedness.

SEC. 4. The general assembly shall not have the power to levy, in any one year, a greater rate of taxation than three-fourths of one per centum on the value of the taxable property within this State.

SEC. 5. No county in this State shall be authorized to levy a larger rate of taxation, in any one year, on the value of the taxable property therein, than one-half of one per centum Provided, That to pay debts existing at the ratification of this constitution an additional rate of one-fourth of one per cent. may be levied and collected, which shall be exclusively appropriated to the payment of such debts, or the interest thereon Provided further, That to pay any debt or liability now existing against any county, incurred for the erection of the necessary public buildings, or other ordinary county purposes, or that may hereafter be created for the erection of necessary public buildings or bridges, any county may levy and collect such special taxes as may have been, or may hereafter be, authorized by law; which taxes so levied and collected shall be applied exclusively to the purposes for which the same shall have been levied and collected.

SEC. 6. The property of private corporations, associations, and individuals of this State shall forever be taxed at the same rate: Provided, This section shall not apply to institutions or enterprises devoted exclusively to religious, educational, or charitable purposes.

SEC. 7. No city, town, or other municipal corporation other than provided for in this article, shall levy or collect a larger rate of taxation, in any one year on the property thereof, than one-half of one per centum of the value of such property, as assessed for State taxation during the preceding year: Provided, That for the payment of debts existing at the date of the ratification of this constitution, and the interest thereon, an additional rate of one per centum may be collected, to be applied exclusively to such indebtedness: And provided, This section shall not apply to the city of Mobile, which city may, until the 1st day or January, 1879, levy a tax not to exceed the rate of one per centum, and from and after that time a tax not to exceed the rate of three-fourths of one per centum to pay the expenses of the city government, and may also, until the 1st day of January, 1879, levy a tax not to exceed the rate of one per centum, and from and after that time a tax not to exceed three-fourths of one per centum to pay the existing indebtedness of said city and the interest thereon.

SEC. 8. At the first session of the general assembly after the ratification of this constitution, the salaries of the following officers shall be reduced at least twenty-five per centum, viz: governor, secretary of state, State auditor, State treasurer, attorneygeneral, superintendent of education, judges of the supreme and circuit courts, and chancellors; and after said reduction the general assembly shall not have the power

to increase the same, except by a vote of a majority of all the members elected to each house, taken by yeas and nays and entered on the journals: Provided, This section shall not apply to any of said officers now in office.

SEC. 9. The general assembly shall not have the power to require the counties or other municipal corporations to pay any charges which are now payable out of the State treasury.

ARTICLE XI.

MILITIA.

SECTION 1. All able-bodied male inhabitants of this State, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, who are citizens of the United States, or have declared their intention to become such citizens, shall be liable to military duty in the militia of the State.

SEC. 2. The general assembly in providing for the organization, equipment, and discipline of the militia, shall conform as nearly as practicable to the regulations for the government of the armies of the United States.

SEC. 3. Each company and regiment shall elect its own company and regimental officers; but if any company or regiment shall neglect to elect such officers within the time prescribed by law, they may be appointed by the governor.

SEC. 4. Volunteer organizations of infantry, cavalry, and artillery may be formed in such manner and under such restrictions and with such privileges as may be provided by law.

SEC. 5. The militia and volunteer forces shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at muster, parades, and elections, and in going to and returning from the same.

SEC. 6. The governor shall, except as otherwise provided herein, be commander-inchief of the militia and volunteer forces of the State, except when in the service of the United States, and shall, with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint all general officers, whose term of office shall be for four years. The governor, the generals, and regimental and battalion commanders shall appoint their own staffs, as may be provided by law.

SEC. 7. The general assembly shall provide for the safe-keeping of the arms, ammunition, and accoutrements, military records, banners, and relics of the State.

SEC. 8. The officers and men of the militia and volunteer forces shall not be entitled to or receive any pay, rations, or emoluments when not in active service.

ARTICLE XII.

EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. The general assembly shall establish, organize, and maintain a system of public schools throughout the State, for the equal benefit of the children thereof between the ages of seven and twenty-one years; but separate schools shall be provided for the children of citizens of African descent.

SEC. 2. The principal of all funds arising from the sale or other disposition of lands or other property which has been or may hereafter be granted or entrusted to this State, or given by the United States for educational purposes, shall be preserved inviolate and undiminished; and the income arising therefrom shall be faithfully. applied to the specific objects of the original grants or appropriations.

SEC. 3. All lands or other property given by individuals or appropriated by the State for educational purposes, and all estates of deceased persons who die without leaving a will or heir, shall be faithfully applied to the maintenance of the public schools.

SEC. 4. The general assembly shall also provide for the levying and collection of an annual poll-tax, not to exceed one dollar and fifty cents on each poll, which shall be applied to the support of the public schools in the counties in which it is levied and collected.

SEC. 5. The income arising from the sixteenth-section trust-fund, the surplus-revenue fund, until it is called for by the United States Government, and the funds enumerated in sections three and four of this article, with such other moneys, to be not less than one hundred thousand dollars per annum, as the general assembly shall provide by taxation or otherwise, shall be applied to the support and maintenance of the public schools, and it shall be the duty of the general assembly to increase, from time to time, the public-school fund, as the condition of the treasury and the resources of the State will admit.

SEC. 6. Not more than four per cent. of all moneys raised, or which may hereafter be appropriated for the support of public schools, shall be used or expended otherwise than for the payment of teachers employed in such schools: Provided, That the general assembly may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, suspend the opera

tion of this section.

SEC. 7. The supervision of the public schools shall be vested in a superintendent of education, whose powers, duties, term of office, and compensation shall be fixed by law. The superintendent of education shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State, in such manner and at such time as shall be provided by law.

SEC. 8. No money raised for the support of the public schools of the State shall be appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian or denominational school. SEC. 9. The State University and the Agricultural and Mechanical College shall each be under the management and control of a board of trustees. The board for the University shall consist of two members from the congressional district in which the University is located, and one from each of the other congressional districts in the State. The board for the Agricultural and Mechanical College shall consist of two members from the congressional district in which the college is located, and one from each of the other congressional districts in the State. Said trustees shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold office for a term of six years, and until their successors shall be appointed and qualified. After the first appointment each board shall be divided into three classes, as nearly equal as may be. The seats of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of two years, and those of the second class in four years, and those of the third class at the end of six years from the date of appointment, so that one-third may be chosen biennially. No trustee shall receive any pay or emolument other than his actual expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties as such. The governor shall be ex officio president, and the superintendent of education ex officio a member of each of said boards of trustees.

SEC. 10. The general assembly shall have no power to change the location of the State University or the Agricultural and Mechanical College as now established by law, except upon a vote of two-thirds of the members of the general assembly, taken by yeas and nays, and entered upon the journals.

SEC. 11. The provisions of this article, and of any act of the general assembly, passed in pursuance thereof, to establish, organize, and maintain a system of public schools throughout the State, shall apply to Mobile County only so far as to authorize and require the authorities designated by law to draw the portion of the funds to which said county will be entitled for school purposes, and to make reports to the superintendent of education as may be prescribed by law. And all special incomes and powers of taxation as now authorized by law for the benefit of public schools in said county, shall remain undisturbed until otherwise provided by the general assembly: Provided, That separate schools for each race shall always be maintained by said school authorities.

ARTICLE XIII.

CORPORATIONS-PRIVATE CORPORATIONS.

SECTION 1. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by special act, except for municipal, manufacturing, mining, immigration, industrial, and educational purposes, or for constructing canals, or improving navigable