FLORIDA. 



295 



for an appropriation of $25,000 for the con- 

 struction of a navigable canal connecting the 

 waters of the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon, 

 a distance of 900 yards, on the ground that it 

 would "secure to the State of Florida an in- 

 land navigation of about 300 miles, through a 

 section of country admirably adapted to semi- 

 tropical and varied productions, now almost 

 unknown and useless for want of proper trans- 

 portation;" and praying for the extension of 

 liberal aid in the construction of the Texas 

 Pacific Railroad. 



The general legislation of the session was 

 unimportant. " An act to enlarge and extend 

 the corporate powers and privileges of the 

 Atlantic & Gulf Railroad Company in the 

 State of Florida" was vetoed by the Governor. 

 This is a corporation organized under the laws 

 of Georgia, to which the Pensacola & Geor- 

 gia Railroad Company had been authorized in 

 1866 to sell its franchises and privileges on 

 certain conditions which had never been ful- 

 filled. The object of this act was to give the 

 corporation control of this latter road, not- 

 withstanding the breach of the conditions of 

 the former grant, and to extend its powers and 

 privileges so that they would be equal to those 

 of any company organized under the general 

 railroad act of 1874. The Governor's main ob- 

 jection to this was that it would interfere with 

 the development of Florida's own system of 

 internal improvements, and make her tributary 

 to Georgia. The scheme of internal improve- 

 ments devised in 1855 contemplated two main 

 lines of railroad, one running from east to 

 west and connecting Fernandina and Jackson- 

 ville on the Atlantic coast with Mobile and 

 other western Gulf ports, and one running from 

 north to south and connecting Fernandina and 

 Jacksonville with Cedar Keys and Tampa. The 

 carrying out of this plan had been interrupted 

 by the war and never resumed, but the Gov- 

 ernor thought it should not be abandoned, and 

 the transportation system of the State made 

 merely tributary to the port of Savannah. 



Among the acts of the session was one pro- 

 viding for taking a census of the inhabitants 

 of the State by the ex-assessors of the several 

 counties, returns to be made to the Secretary 

 of State before the 1st of December; one 

 amending the act establishing a uniform sys- 

 tem of municipal government, so as to limit 

 the rate of taxation to one and a half per cent, 

 on the value of real and personal property ; one 

 providing for the collection of damages from 

 railroads for the destruction of cattle and other 

 stock ; one authorizing married women to con- 

 vey their separate estate and release dower by 

 attorney ; and one prohibiting the attachment 

 of money due as wages to any laboring-man 

 who is the head of a family. 



The amendments to the State constitution 

 proposed by the Legislature of 1874 came up 

 for consideration, as it was necessary for them 

 to be approved by a two-thirds vote at this 

 session before they could be submitted to the 



peo 

 VII 



>eople for ratification. Articles VI., VII., 

 7IIL, IX., X., XL, XII., XIII., and XIV. 



of these amendments were approved by the 

 necessary vote. The first of these changes 

 section 2 of Article IV. of the constitution 

 making the sessions of the Legislature bien- 

 nial, beginning on the Tuesday after the first 

 Monday of January, 1877. The second modi- 

 fies section 29 of Article IV., providing for the 

 impeachment of certain executive and judicial 

 officers and their trial before the Senate as a 

 court of impeachment. The third amends 

 section 7 of Article XIL, prohibiting the State 

 from loaning its credit to any individual, com- 

 pany, corporation, or association, or becoming a 

 stockholder therein ; also forbidding the Legis- 

 lature to authorize any county, city, or town, 

 to become a stockholder in or appropriate 

 money for or loan its credit to any such corpo- 

 ration or association. The next amends Arti- 

 cle VI., and defines the jurisdiction and powers 

 of the Supreme Court, Circuit Court, county 

 courts, and justices of the peace. The next 

 changes section 12 of Article VI., and declares 

 that grand and petit jurors shall be taken from 

 the registered voters of the respective coun- 

 ties. The next changes section 24 of Article 

 XVL, declares that the property of all corpo- 

 rations shall be subject to taxation unless held 

 and used for religious, educational, or charitable 

 purposes. The next modifies section 22 of 

 Article V., so as to give the Governor power to 

 veto certain items of appropriation bills while 

 approving of other items. The next changes 

 section 14 of article V., providing for the elec- 

 tion of Lieutenant-Governor and defining his 

 duties. It also declares that the Governor 

 shall not be out of the State in time of war 

 without the consent of the Legislature, and 

 abrogates altogether the 15th section of Arti- 

 cle V. The next and last amends section 16 

 of Article. V., authorizing the Governor to re- 

 quire the opinion of the justices of the Su- 

 preme Court at any time on the interpretation 

 of any portion of the constitution affecting his 

 powers and duties. 



An act was passed providing for the submis- 

 sion of these amendments to a vote of the 

 people at a special election to be held on the 

 4th of May. The vote at this election was a 

 very light one, but all the amendments were 

 ratified by large majorities ; the sixth by a vote 

 of 4,746 to 418 ; the seventh. 5,007 to 177 ; 

 the eighth, 5,017 to 174; the' ninth, 4,306 to 

 873; the tenth 4,697 to 331; the eleventh, 

 5,001 to 185 ; the twelfth, 4,799 to 270 ; the 

 thirteenth, 4,985 to 174; and the fourteenth, 

 4,937 to 257. The Governor issued his proc- 

 lamation on the 8th of June, declaring that 

 the amendments had been duly ratified and 

 approved and that "the same are, each and 

 every of them, a part of the constitution of 

 the State of Florida." 



Among the bills left over from the last ses- 

 sion of the Legislature, which will regularly 

 come up for action at the next, is one provid' 



