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FLOKIDA. 



coming to him. This act was passed over the 

 veto of the Governor. 



The Legislature of 1868 proposed five amend- 

 ments to the constitution, which were to be 

 approved by the Legislature elected in 1870, 

 and ratified by the people before becoming 

 part of the organic law. These were taken up 

 by the last Legislature, and approved and sub- 

 mitted to a vote of the people at an election 

 held on the 4th day of April. The first amend- 

 ment reduces the salary of the Governor from 

 $5,000 to $3,500 ; those of the Chief-Justice 

 and his associates from $4,500, $4,000, and 

 $3,500, respectively to $3,000 ; those of the cir- 

 cuit judges from '$3,500 to $2,500 ; those of 

 cabinet officers from $3,000 to $2,000, and 

 provides for the payment of members of the 

 Legislature by a certain sum per diem, and 

 mileage, for travel, instead of an annual salary 

 as heretofore ; the second amendment consoli- 

 dates the offices of Surveyor-General and Com- 

 missioner of Immigration under the name of 

 Commissioners of Lands and Immigration; 

 the third abrogates the requirement that testi- 

 mony in civil and criminal cases shall be re- 

 duced to writing; the fourth and fifth pro- 

 vide for regulating the time of holding the 

 terms of the Supreme Court, and for calling 

 in a circuit judge to fill the place of a Supreme- 

 Court judge disqualified or disabled for the 

 time from performing his duties. The election 

 resulted in the ratification of the amendments, 

 the vote being very light, and about ten to 

 one in favor of ratification. 



The subject of finance and taxation occupied 

 considerable attention outside of the Legisla- 

 ture as well as within that body. The con- 

 stitutionality of two acts passed in 1870 was 

 brought in question. One of these, an act 

 "to decrease the expenditures of the State, 

 and to regulate the fees of officers," was pro- 

 nounced to be unconstitutional by several of 

 the circuit courts, on the ground that it was 

 passed at an extra session, and was not in- 

 cluded among the subjects to which attention 

 was called by the Governor. Its passage under 

 such circumstances would be in violation of the 

 constitution; but the Attorney-General pub- 

 lished an opinion, in which he declared that 

 the Governor had himself submitted the bill 

 in a message, and that it was, therefore, con- 

 stitutional. An act, entitled simply "In rela- 

 tion to State warrants," was declared to be 

 unconstitutional by the Circuit Court of the 

 Seventh Circuit at its fall session. This law 

 provided that no warrants of the Comptroller, 

 except those issued in payment of the mem- 

 bers of the Legislature for 1870, and for other 

 expenses of that body, should be receivable 

 for taxes or other State dues. Suit had been 

 brought to compel the collector to receive cer- 

 tificates issued by the clerk of a Circuit Court 

 in payment of jurors and State witnesses, and 

 a mandamus was granted on the ground that 

 the " act in relation to State warrants " was 

 null and void. This decision was based on the 



fact that the title did not conform to the 

 constitutional requirement that the subject 

 of each law should be "briefly stated" there- 

 in ; and, furthermore, that the warrants which 

 it authorizes were of the nature of bills of 

 credit, and therefore the State had no right 

 to issue them. On the first point the judge 

 said : " Why such an ambiguous and unmean- 

 ing title was annexed to a law to be made 

 is too transparent to bear close scrutiny, ex- 

 amination, or investigation. The reason is 

 obvious and apparent ; the title could not be 

 more deceptive, uncertain, or unmeaning. 

 There could have been but one object in intro- 

 ducing a bill or act with such a title that 

 was to commit a fraud upon the credulous 

 legislator, and accomplish indirectly what 

 could not be accomplished directly ; thereby 

 evading a section of the constitution intended 

 by the people to secure and protect them from 

 injury and wrong, disregarding the landmarks 

 of the people's great safeguard, by which the 

 people's rights and privileges, liberty and 

 property, are or may be frittered away by fraud 

 and deception practised upon their represent- 

 atives." 



lie decides 'that the warrants are bills of 

 credit, on the ground that they were issued to 

 be used as money, and to be redeemable at a 

 future day. 



He sums up his conclusions as follows : " The 

 act of 18th February, 1870, not being consti- 

 tutionally passed, being without a title, and at- 

 tempting repudiation in a small way, is thereby 

 rendered unconstitutional, repugnant to, and 

 prohibited by the Constitution of the United 

 States, the supreme law of the land. The act 

 of the 18th of February, 1870, being without 

 a title, attempts repudiation, was passed and 

 approved for the express purpose and with 

 the intention of providing for the issuing 

 of a currency prohibited by and repugnant 

 to the Constitution of the United States, 

 is void db initio, and without force or effect. 

 The paper authorized to be issued by said 

 act being illegal and void, a currency issued 

 without the authority of law cannot be le- 

 gally received in payment for the State taxes, 

 which is a substantial demand against the 

 citizen, and should be paid in a legal cur- 

 rency. The 42d section of the act entitled 

 * An act for the assessment and collection of 

 revenue,' approved June 24, 1869, as well as 

 the previous acts of the Legislature requiring 

 the collectors of revenue to receive and accept 

 juror and State witness certificates in pay- 

 ment for taxes assessed for the State, is still 

 in force, not being repealed by any law. The 

 collectors of revenue are required by the law 

 to receive and accept jury and State wit- 

 nesses' certificates, Comptroller's warrants and 

 Treasurer's certificates, at their face value, for 

 the taxes assessed for the State." 



There was considerable discussion in the 

 State as to whether there was any law in force 

 providing for the collection of taxes, it being 



