ALABAMA. 



cients were located by tradition in the distant 

 parts of Upper Ethiopia. The Dokkos, another 

 tribe of people of low stature, living in the 

 southern part of Abyssinia, may be related to 

 the Akkas. These are described by iSchwein- 

 furth as a race which never attain a greater 

 height than five feet. Their lower face pro- 

 trudes to a remarkable degree. Their hands 

 and feet are small. They are very active in 

 their habits, and use the bow and the lance 

 with great skill in hunting the elephant. 

 The country of the Akkas lies south of the 

 Welle River, beyond Monbuttu-land and the 

 country of the Niam-Niams (see " Geographi- 

 cal Progress and Discovery"). From recent 

 accounts it appears that the stature of the Ak- 

 kas has been somewhat understated, and that 

 their average height is greater than that of 

 the Hottentots. They are not warlike, and 

 are in danger of extinction from the aggres- 

 sions of their neighbors. Two Akka children 

 who were brought to Europe by Miani have 

 displayed a fair degree of intelligence. 



ALABAMA. Some important measures 

 were passed at the session of the Legislature 

 held at the beginning of the year. A colored 

 normal school was established at Tuskeegee. 

 An act was passed providing for the incorpora- 

 tion of banks of discount and deposit. They 

 are authorized to carry on the business of 

 banking, by discounting bills and notes, re- 

 ceiving and paying out deposits, buying and 

 selling gold and silver bullion, foreign coins 

 and foreign and domestic bills of exchange and 

 commercial securities, bonds and stocks, by 

 lending money upon bonds, stocks, and person- 

 al security, and upon unincumbered real prop- 

 erty, and by exercising such incidental powers, 

 not in conflict with the laws of the State or of 

 the United States, as are necessary to carry on 

 its business. The capital stock may be any 

 sum not less than fifty thousand or more than 

 five hundred thousand dollars. 



Any one who carries about his person a 

 bowie-knife, or any other knife or instrument 

 of like kind or description, or a pistol, or fire- 

 arms of any other kind or description, or any 

 air-gun, must be fined on conviction not less 

 than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, 

 and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, 

 or sentenced to hard labor for the county for 

 not more than six months: provided, that 

 evidence that the defendant has good reason to 

 apprehend an attack may be admitted in the 

 mitigation of the punishment or in justification 

 of the offense. 



The sum of one hundred thousand dollars 

 was appropriated for the construction of an 

 additional building for the accommodation of 

 the insane at Tuscaloosa. 



The rate of the State tax was fixed at six and 

 one half tenths of one per centum. 



It was declared by the Legislature that " the 

 main track of every railroad in this State is a 

 public highway, over which all persons have 

 equal rights of transportation for passengers 



and freights, on the payment of just compen- 

 sation to the owner of the railroad for such 

 transportation ; and any person or corporation 

 engaged in the business of transporting passen- 

 gers or freights over any railroad in this State, 

 who shall exact and receive for any such trans- 

 portation more than just compensation for the 

 services rendered, or demands more than the 

 rates specified in any bill of lading issued by 

 such person or corporation, or who for his or its 

 advantage or for the advantage of any connect- 

 ing line, or of any person or locality, shall 

 make any unjust discrimination in transporta- 

 tion against any individual, locality, or corpora- 

 tion, shall be guilty of extortion ; and in every 

 case it shall be for the jury to determine, from 

 all the evidence, whether more than just com- 

 pensation was exacted and received, or whether 

 any such discrimination in transportation which 

 may be established by the evidence against the 

 individual, locality, or corporation, as the case 

 may be, was made for the benefit or advantage 

 of the person or corporation operating such 

 railroad, or of any person or locality : provided, 

 that nothing in this act shall be construed to 

 prevent contracts for special rates for the pur- 

 pose of developing any industrial enterprise, or 

 to prevent the execution of any such contract 

 now existing." 



In all suits for extortion, the plaintiff" may 

 recover twice the amount of damages sustained, 

 and also a reasonable fee for his counsel. The 

 party proved guilty of the extortion may be 

 fined not less than ten or more than five hun- 

 dred dollars. It was also provided that a 

 board of railroad commissioners should be es- 

 tablished, whose duty it should be to consider 

 and carefully revise all tariff's of charges for 

 transportation submitted to the commission by 

 any person or corporation owning or operating 

 a railroad in this State ; and if, in the judg- 

 ment of the commission, any such charge is 

 more than just compensation for the service 

 for which it is proposed to be made, or if any 

 such charges amount to unjust discrimination 

 against any person, locality, or corporation, the 

 commission shall notify the party submitting 

 the same of the changes necessary to reduce 

 the rate of charges to just compensation, and 

 to avoid unjust discrimination; when such 

 changes are made by the party submitting the 

 tariff", or when none are deemed proper and 

 expedient, the members of the commission 

 shall append a certificate of its approval to 

 such tariff of charges. 



It was further made the duty of the commis- 

 sioners to hear all complaints made by any 

 person against any such tariff of rates so ap- 

 proved, on the ground that the same, in any 

 respect, is for more than just compensation, or 

 that such charges, or any of them, amount to, 

 or operate so as to effect unjust discrimination ; 

 such complaint must be in writing, and specify 

 the items in the tariff against which complaint 

 is made ; and if it appears to the commission 

 that there may be justice in the complaint, or 



