INDIANA. 



ballots of bine paper, on each of which shall bo 

 printed tho proposed amendments, and below 

 o ich amendment shall be printed the word 

 in >no line, and in another line the word 

 'No'; that any qualified elector may vote for 

 or aga'm -4, any amendment by depositing one 

 of said ballots in the ballot-box. If he intends 

 to vote for any amendment, he shall leave 

 thereunder tho word ' Yes ' and erase the word 

 * No ' by drawing a lino across it, or otherwise. 

 If ho intends to vote against any amendment, 

 the word ' Yes ' shall in like manner be strick- 

 en out and tho word ' No ' left ; and if both 

 words are allowed to remain without either 

 of them being so erased, the vote shall not be 

 counted either way." These amendments are 

 designated by numbers, and are numbered 1, 

 2, 8, 4, 5, 6, and 9, numbers 7 and 8 having 

 failed to receive a majority of the votes of both 

 branches at this session. 



These amendments relate chiefly to the mat- 

 ters of economy and honest elections. The 

 first proposes to amend section 2 of Article II. 

 so as to read as follows : 



SECTION 2. In all elections not otherwise provided 

 for by this Constitution, every male citizen of tho 

 United States of the age of twenty-one years and up- 

 ward, who shall have resided in the State during trie 

 six months, and in the township sixty days, and in tho 

 ward or precinct thirty days immediately preceding 

 such election, and every male of foreign birth, of the 

 age of twenty-one years and upward, who shall have 

 resided in the United States one year, and shall have 

 resided in tho State during the six months, and in the 

 township sixty days, and in the ward or precinct 

 thirty days immediately preceding said election, and 

 shall have declared his intention to become a citizen 

 of tho United States, conformably to the laws of the 

 United States on the subject of naturalization, shall bo 

 entitled to vote in the township or precinct where he 

 may reside, if ho shall have been duly registered ac- 

 cording to law. 



As the Constitution now stands, no fixed pe- 

 riod of residence is required in a township or 

 ward before voting, and no barriers against 

 fraudulent voting can be maintained. When 

 this amendment is adopted, one whose vote is 

 challenged will have to swear that he has been 

 a resident of the township sixty days, and of 

 the ward or precinct thirty days, and thus the 

 importation of votes and frauds upon the bal- 

 lot-box may be measurably prevented. 



The second amendment simply provides for 

 striking out the words, "No negro or mulatto 

 shall have tho right of suffrage," contained in 

 section 5 of tho second article of the Constitu- 

 tion. The State Constitution is thereby made 

 to conform to tho Constitution of tho United 

 States. The prohibition in tho former has be- 

 come a dead letter. 



The third proposes to amend section 14 of 

 Article II. so as to read as follows: 



SECTION 14. All general elections shall be held on 

 Uio first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 

 but township elections may be held at such time aa 

 may bo provided by law ; provided, that the General 

 Assembly may provide by law for the election of all 

 judges or courts of general and appellate jurisdiction 

 by an election to bo held for such officers only, at 

 which time no other officers shall bo voted for ; and 

 VOL. xix. 82 A 



shall also provide for tho registration of all pcnon* e&- 

 titled to vote. 



The reaaoni for this amendment are, that the 

 cost of holding a general election in Indiana it 

 about $1,000 to the county, or nearly $100,000 

 to t In; State. By this amendment the State is 

 saved the expense of doable elections in Presi- 

 dential-election years. But this is not all. 

 The other States of the Union having nearly. 

 all changed tho time of their elections to No- 

 vember, as long as Indiana continues to vote in 

 October she assumes the burden of the Presi- 

 dential day. In 1876, counting money expend- 

 ed and time devoted to it, the October election 

 cost the people of Indiana over $1,000,000, 

 which expense was avoided by the States 

 which did not vote until November. 



The fourth amendment provides for striking 

 out the word " white " from sections 4 and 5 

 of Article IV. of the Constitution, and thereby 

 making it conform to the Constitution of the 

 United States. 



The fifth proposes to amend the fourteenth 

 clause of section 22 of Article IV. so as to read 

 as follows : 



In relation to fees or salaries, except tho law* may 

 be so made as to grade the compensation of officers in 

 proportion to tho population and the necessary service* 

 required. 



This provision will enable the Legislature to 

 grade the compensation of county officers, and 

 pay them in proportion to the population of 

 the county and the services actually required. 

 It will take away from that body the excuse 

 urged for paying exorbitant fees and salaries 

 to these officers, such as are out of all propor-- 

 tion to the compensation given for similar ser- 

 vices in other avocations. 



The sixth proposes to amend section 1 of 

 Article VII. so as to read as follows: 



SECTION 1. Tho judicial power of the State shall bs 

 vested in a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and uch 

 other courts as the General Assembly may establish. 



The words "such other courts" are substi- 

 tuted for the words "such inferior courts," 

 enabling the Legislature to establish other 

 courts not inferior in jurisdiction to the Circuit 

 Court, and to establish a perfect system of ju- 

 risprudence, which will greatly reduce expenses 

 and at the same time facilitate business. 



The next and last amendment proposed is as 

 follows : 



No political or municipal corporation in this Stata 

 shall ever becooie indebted, in any manner or for any 

 purpose, to an amount in the aggregate exceeding two 

 per centum on tho value of the taxable propertv with- 

 in said corporation, to be ascertained by the Ia*t as- 

 sessment for State and county taxes previous to the 

 incurring of such indebtedness, and all bonds or obli- 

 gations in excess of such amount given by Mich corpo- 

 rations shall be void ; orondtd, that in time of war, 

 foreign invasion, or other great public calamity, on 

 petition f a majority of the property-owner*, in num- 

 ber and value, within the limits of such corporation, 

 the public authorities, in their discretion, may incur 

 cl)!L'ations necessary for the public protection and de- 

 fense, to such amount aa may be requested in such 

 petition. 



