ALABAMA. 



1. Those who shall have been convicted of trea- 

 son, embezzlement of public funds, malfeasance in 

 office, larceny, bribery, or other crime punishable 

 by imprisonment in the penitentiary. 

 *2. Those who are idiots or insane. 



Article IX. is entitled "Representation," 

 and makes specific provision for the appor- 

 tionment of Senators and Representatives. 



Article X. provides for the exemption of a 

 homestead and one thousand dollars of per- 

 sonal property from sale on execution or other 

 legal process. Article XI. relates to taxation. 

 A poll-tax not exceeding one dollar and fifty 

 cents is authorized, to be applied to the school 

 fund; the State tax for any one year is re- 

 stricted to three-fourths of one per cent. ; coun- 

 ty taxes to one-half of one per cent., except that 

 one-fourth of one per cent, additional may be 

 levied for the payment of debts already exist- 

 ing; town and city taxes to one-half of one 

 per cent, except that one per cent, additional 

 may be levied to pay existing debts, the city 

 of Mobile being allowed to levy one per cent, 

 for general purposes and one per cent, for pay- 

 ing of existing debts until January, 1879, and 

 three-fourths of one per cent, for each of these 

 objects thereafter. The following restrictions 

 on incurring debt in the future are made : 



SEO. 3. After the ratification of this constitution, 

 no new debt shall be created against, or incurred by, 

 this State or its authority, except to repel invasion 

 or suppress insurrection, and then only by a concur- 

 rence 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 one hundred thousand dollars, to 

 meet deficiencies in the Treasury, and until the 

 same is paid no new loan shall be .negotiated : Pro- 

 vided further, That this section shall not be so con- 

 strued as to prevent the issuance of bonds in adjust- 

 ment of existing State indebtedness. 



Article XII. provides for a State militia, and 

 Article XIII. deals with the subject of educa- 

 tion. It requires the General Assembly to 

 " 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 chil- 

 dren of citizens of African descent." The 

 school-fund consists of the proceeds of the 

 sale of land or other property granted or in- 

 trusted to the State, or given by the United 

 States for educational purposes, all lands or 

 other property given by individuals or appro- 

 priated by the State for the same purposes, the 

 principal of which must be preserved inviolate 

 and undiminished, and the income ''faithfully 

 applied to the specific objects of the original 

 grants or appropriations." The poll-tax must 

 be applied to the support of public schools in 

 the counties in which it is levied and collected. 



The supervision of the public schools is vest- 

 ed in "a Superintendent of Education whose 

 powers, duties, term of office, and compensa- 

 tion shall be fixed by law. The Superintendent 

 VOL. xv. 2 A 



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 denomi- 

 national school. 



The State University and the Agricultural 

 and Mechanical College are placed in the charge 

 of boards of trustees appointed by the Gov- 

 ernor for terms of six years, one-third to va- 

 cate their seats at the end of every two years, 

 two members being selected from the congres- 

 sional district in which the institution is lo- 

 cated, and one from each of the other congres- 

 sional districts. 



Article XIV. relates to corporations, and 

 consists of twenty-five sections. Corporations, 

 except for municipal, manufacturing, mining, 

 immigration, industrial, and educational pur- 

 poses, or improving navigable rivers and har- 

 bors, must be formed under general laws, un- 

 less in the judgment of the General Assembly 

 their objects cannot be attained without spe- 

 cial acts. The powers and privileges of pri- 

 vate corporations are duly defined and placed 

 under various restrictions. The General As- 

 sembly is prohibited from incorporating banks 

 or moneyed institutions with power to issue 

 bills of credit except as prescribed. No bank 

 can be established except under general laws, 

 and on a specie basis. All bills and notes is- 

 sued by banks must be redeemable in gold or 

 silver, and no suspension of specie payment 

 can be authorized. Every bank or banking 

 company must cease operations within twenty 

 years from its organization, unless the time is 

 extended by the Legislature, and promptly there- 

 after close its business. No bank is allowed to 

 receive more than the legal rate of interest. 

 The State is forbidden to be a stockholder in 

 any bank, or to loan its credit to any banking 

 concern. Among the provisions relating to 

 railroads are the following; 



SEO. 22. The General Assembly shall pass laws 

 to correct abuses and prevent unjust discrimination 

 and extortion in the rates of freights and passenger 

 tariffs on railroads, canals, and rivers in this State. 



SEO. 23. No railroad or other transportation com- 

 pany shall grant free passes, or sell tickets or passes 

 at a discount, other than as sold to the public gener- 

 ally, to any member of the General Assembly, or to 

 any person holding office under this State or the 

 United States. 



To the constitution a schedule was appended 

 by the convention declaring that all laws in 

 force at the time of the ratification of the con- 

 stitution, if not inconsistent therewith, shall 

 remain valid until duly altered or repealed; 

 that all claims and contracts shall remain un- 

 affected ; that all bonds and obligations shall 

 remain unaffected ; that all persons in office 

 shall remain undisturbed till the end of their 

 terms ; that the constitution shall be submitted 

 to the people for their ratification as provided 

 in the law authorizing the convention ; that if 

 ratified it shall go into effect within the time 

 stated in the proclamation of the Governor ; 



