GEORGIA. 



339 



corporations, and other associations, from de- 

 claring dividends when they have not realized 

 an income on investment," and one "To pre- 

 vent the maintaining or carrying on of any 

 lottery in this State." 



The question of holding the constitutional 

 convention excited a good deal of interest, and 

 occasioned considerable discussion prior to the 

 election, which was held on the 12th of June. 

 The result was 87,238 votes cast: for the 

 convention, 48,181 ; against the convention, 

 39,057; majority for the convention, 9,124. 

 The Governor issued a proclamation, calling 

 upon the delegates chosen to meet at the Ca- 

 pitol, in Atlanta, on the llth day of July. The 

 convention assembled at the time appointed, 

 and promptly organized, with ex-Governor 

 Jenkins as President. Robert Toombs was 

 Chairman of the Committee on Revision, and 

 among the delegates were many of the most 

 conspicuous public men in the State. The 

 convention continued its session until the 25th 

 of August, when the Constitution as completed 

 was adopted as a whole by a unanimous vote, 

 and an ordinance passed requiring the Gov- 

 ernor to " issue his proclamation ordering an 

 election for members of the General Assembly, 

 and a vote upon the ratification or rejection 

 of the Constitution as therein provided, and a 

 vote upon the capital and homestead questions 

 as provided by ordinances of this convention." 

 The naatters which had occupied the largest 

 share of attention, and occasioned most discus- 

 sion, were the Bill of Rights, the provisions re- 

 garding the elective franchise, the location of 

 the capital, the mode of selecting judges of 

 the Supreme and Superior Courts, and the ad- 

 justment of the financial obligations of the 

 State. The preamble of the Constitution is as 

 follows : 



To perpetuate the principles of free government, 

 insure justice to all, preserve peace, promote the in- 

 terest and happiness of the citizen, and to transmit 

 to posterity the enjoyment of liberty, we, the people 

 of Georgia, relying upon the protection and guid- 

 ance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this 

 Constitution. 



Among the declarations of the Bill of Rights, 

 comprising Article I. are the following : 



SECTION I. 1. All government, of right, originates 

 with the people, is founded upon their will only, and 

 is instituted solely for the good of the whole. Pub- 

 lic officers are the trustees and the servants of the 

 people, and at all times amenable to them. 



2. Protection to person and property is the para- 

 mount duty of government, and shall be impartial 

 and complete. 



3. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or 

 property, except by due process of law. 



4. No person shall be deprived of the right to prose- 

 cute or defend his own cause in any of the courts of 

 this State, in person, by attorney, or both. 



7. Neither banishment beyond the limits of the 

 State, nor whipping, as a punishment for crime, shall 

 e allowed. 



1-3. No inhabitant of this State nhall be molested 

 in person or property, or prohibited from holding any 

 public office, or trust, on account of his religious 

 opinions ; but the right of liberty of conscience shall 

 not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, 



or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and 

 safety of the State. 



14. No money shall ever be taken from the public 

 treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, 

 eecl, or denomination of religionists, or of any sec- 

 tarian institution. 



15. No law shall ever be passed to curtail or re- 

 strain the liberty of speech of the press ; any person 

 may speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all 

 subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that lib- 

 erty. 



17. There shall be within the State of Georgia 

 neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, save as a 

 punishment for crime, after legal conviction thereof. 



18. The social status of the citizen shall never be 

 the subject of legislation. 



21. There shall be no imprisonment for debt. 



25. All citizens of the United States, resident in 

 this State, are hereby declared citizens of this State, 

 and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 

 enact such laws as will protect them in the full enjoy- 

 ment of the rights, privileges, and immunities due to 

 such citizenship. 



SEC. II. 4. All lotteries and the sale of lottery 

 tickets are hereby prohibited ; and this prohibition 

 shall be enforced oy penal laws. 



5. Lobbying is to be declared a crime, and the Gen- 

 eral Assembly shall enforce this provision by Buit- 



6. The General Assembly shall have the power to 

 provide for the punishment of fraud ; and shall pro- 

 vide, by law, for reaching the property of the debtor 

 concealed from the creditor. 



SEC. IV. 1. Laws of a general nature shall have 

 uniform operation throughout the State, and no spe- 

 cial law shall be enacted in any case for which pro- 

 vision has been made by any existing general law. 

 No general law affecting private rights shall be varied 

 in any particular case by special legislation, except 

 with the free consent, in writing, of all persons to be 

 affected thereby ; and no person under legal disability 

 to contract is capable of such consent. 



2. Legislative acts in violence of this Constitution, 

 or the Constitution of the United States, are void, 

 and the judiciary shall so declare them. 



SEC. V. 1. The people of this State have the in- 

 herent, sole, and exclusive right of regulating their 

 internal government, and the police thereof, and of 

 altering and abolishing their Constitution whenever 

 it may oe necessary for their safety and happiness. 



Article II. relates to the elective franchise. It 

 provides that the vote at all elections shall be 

 by ballot, and defines the qualifications of voters 

 as follows : 



2. Every male citizen of the United States (except 

 as hereinafter provided), twenty-one years of age, 

 who shall have resided in this State one year next 

 preceding the election, and shall have resided six 

 months in the county in which he offers to vote, and 

 shall have paid all taxes which may hereafter be re- 

 quired of him, and which he may have had an op- 

 portunity of paying, agreeably to law. except for 

 the year of the election, shall be deemed an elector: 

 Provided, that no soldier, sailor, or marine in the 

 military or naval service of the United States shall 

 acquire the rights of an elector by reason of being 

 stationed on duty in this State ; and no persons shall 

 vote who, if challenged, shall refuse to take the fol- 

 lowing oath or affirmation: "I do swear (or affirm) 

 that I am twenty-one years of age, have resided in 

 this State one year, and in this county six months, 

 next preceding this election. I have paid all taxes 

 which, since the adoption of the present Constitu- 

 tion of this State, have been required of me previous 

 to this year, and which I have had opportunity to 

 pay, and that I have not voted at this election." 



The General Assembly is authorized to pro- 

 vide for the registration of voters ; but the fol- 



