12 



ALABAMA. 



people that the recent amendments to the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States, guaranteeing equal rights 

 to all men, shall be neither repealed nor nullified, and 

 that the whole power of the General Government 

 shall be used, if necessary, to prevent and punish 

 all unlawful proscription and persecution of citizens, 

 whether by individuals, or organizations, for the sake 

 of political opinion or action. 



Ouofad) That unless this wicked and cruel per- 

 secution, still persisted in in some portions of this 

 State on account of political opinion, shall imme- 

 diately cense, we shall unhesitatingly ask of the 

 President of the United States that he shall promptly 

 exercise the whole power given him by the Consti- 

 tution und laws for its suppression, and for the swift 

 punishment of the criminals. 



Resolved, That the Republican party is the party 

 of equal rights, of obedience to the Constitution and 

 to law, of peace and good-will to all men, and finds 

 its truest platform in the words of the Master "Do 

 unto others as ye would that others should do unto 

 you." 



Resolved, That we pledge ourselves anew to the^ 

 success of our great principles, and to the work of 

 educating, at the public expense, all classes of the 

 children of our State ; of restoring fraternal feeling 

 among all the citizens of our great country. 



Resolved, That, condemning the violent and intol- 

 erant tone of the regular Democratic party of the 

 South, and its useless and mischievous warfare 

 against fixed facts, and seeking as we do the ends 

 of justice, peace, education, and prosperity for all, 

 we cordially invite the cooperation of all good men 

 seeking the general welfare. 



Resolved, That the people have the right to demand 

 from their chosen officers good and honest govern- 

 ment, and that we sternly rebuke and denounce all 

 corruption and unfaithfulness in public officers, and 

 pledge our best efforts to secure the selection for all 

 offices of men whoso well-known character shall 

 afford safe guarantees for honesty and competency. 



Resolved, That the late elections in this State, in 

 the evidence of Republican unity aud growth where 

 the voters were free to act independently, and of 

 general Democratic discord and disintegration, give 

 us the sure promise of complete triumph in the State 

 next year, and enable us to give to our friends through- 

 out the country the assurance that the electoral vote 

 of Alabama, though not needed, may be relied upon 

 for the nominees of the Republican party for Presi- 

 dent and Vice-President in 1872. 



Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be for- 

 warded by the chairman to the President of the 

 United States, and to the Republican papers in this 

 and other States. 



The Legislature of 1871 -'72 met at the capi- 

 tal on the 20th of November, and remained in 

 session until the 19th of December, when it 

 adjourned to the 10th of January, a resolution 

 having been previously adopted, extending the 

 session beyond the period of thirty days, to 

 which it is regularly limited. Several meas- 

 ures were set on foot to secure an amendment 

 of the Constitution, but none of these were 

 carried through before the recess. One reso- 

 lution proposed seven amendments to be sub- 

 mitted to a vote of the people. The most im- 

 portant of these affected the right of suffrage, 

 and the maintenance of a system of public 

 education. The former consisted of the fol- 

 lowing to take the place of sections 3 and 4 

 of article 7 in the present, instrument : 



The following persons shall not be entitled to vote, 

 nor to hold office in this State : 



1. Those who, during the late war between the 

 States, inflicted, or caused to be inflicted, any cruel 



or unusual punishment not justifiable under the lawa 

 of civilized warfare, upon any soldier, sailor, or citi- 

 zen. 



2. Those who have been convicted of treason, em- 

 bezzlement of public funds, malfeasance in office, or 

 felonies. 



3. Those who are idiots, or insane. And no per- 

 son shall be eligible to any office in the State, who 

 is disqualified under the fourteenth amendment of 

 the Federal Constitution, until said disabilities are 

 removed. 



On the subject of education, a substitute for 

 article 11 was proposed. This places the con- 

 trol of the schools in the hands of a Super- 

 intendent of Public Instruction, district su- 

 perintendents, and township trustees, all to 

 be elected by the people. It proposes to take 

 the school legislation away from the Board of 

 Education, and intrust it to the Legislature, 

 which " shall designate, in advance, such days 

 as they may deem best (during the session of 

 the General Assembly) for the consideration 

 of measures relating to the educational inter- 

 ests of the State ; on which days the State 

 Superintendent shall be entitled to a seat in 

 the House, then considering educational meas- 

 ures, and shall have and may exercise all of 

 the rights and privileges of a member of such 

 House, but shall have no vote. The Senate 

 and House of Representatives shall not, upon 

 the same day, consider matters connected with 

 the educational interests of the State." 



Funds for education are to be raised in ac- 

 cordance with the following sections : 



SECTION 6. The proceeds of all lands that have been 

 or may be granted by the United States to the State 

 for educational purposes ; of the swamp-lands and 

 of all lands, or other property given by individuals, 

 or appropriated by the State for like purposes.; and 

 of all estates of deceased persons who have died 

 without leaving a will or heir ; and all moneys which 

 may be paid as an equivalent for exemption from 

 military duty, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, 

 which may be increased, but not diminished, and 

 the interest and income of which, together with the 

 rents of all such lands as may remain unsold, and 

 such other means as the General Assembly may 

 provide, shall be inviolably appropriated to educa- 

 tional purposes, and to no other purpose whatever. 



SEC. 7. In addition to the amount accruing from 

 the above sources, there shall be collected, for edu- 

 cational purposes alone, from everv male inhabitant 

 of the State, between the ages of twenty-one and 

 sixty years, a poll-tax of one dollar and fifty cents: 

 Provided, That the poll-taxes, collected within a town- 

 ship, shall be appropriated exclusively to the sup- 

 port of the public schools within the township paying 

 the same. 



SEC. 8. The General Assembly shall have power, 

 when deemed best for the interests of the State, to 

 levy a special tax upon the people of the State, to be 

 devoted exclusively to the support of the public 

 schools : Provided, That authority mav be conferred 

 by law upon a county to levy and collect a special 

 tax, for educational purposes, within its limits. 



SEC. 9. The General Assembly shall levy a spe- 

 cific annual tax upon all railroads, navigation, bank- 

 ing and insurance corporations, and upon all insur- 

 ance, and foreign bank, and exchange agencies, and 

 upon the profits of foreign bank bills issued in this 

 State by any corporation, partnership or persons, 

 which shall be exclusively devoted to the maintenance 

 of the common schools. 



No final vote was taken on these proposi- 



