GEORGIA. 



341 



SECTION II. 1. The power and authority of regu- 

 lating railroad, freight, and passenger tariffs, prevent- 

 ing unjust discriminations, and requiring reasonable 

 and just rates of freight and passenger tariffs, are 

 hereby conferred upon the General Assembly, whose 

 duty it shall be to pass laws, from time to time, to 

 regulate freight and passenger tariffs, to prohibit un- 

 just discriminations on the various railroads of this 

 State, and to prohibit said railroads from charging 

 other than just and reasonable rates, and enforce the 

 same by adequate penalties. 



4. The General Assembly of this State shall have 

 no power to authorize any corporation to buy shares, 

 or stock, in any other corporation in this State, or 

 elsewhere, or to make any contract, or agreement 

 whatever, with any such corporation, which may have 

 the effect, or be intended to have the effect, to defeat 

 or lessen competition, or to encourage monopoly : 

 and all such contracts and agreements shall be illegal 

 and void. 



5. No railroad company shall give, or pay, any 

 rebate, or bonus in the nature thereof, directly or 

 indirectly, or do any act to mislead or deceive the 

 public, as to the real rates charged or received for 

 freights or passage ; and any such payment shall be 

 illegal and void : and these prohibitions shall be en- 

 forced by suitable penalties. 



6. No provision of this article shall be deemed, 

 held, or taken to impair the obligation of any con- 

 tract heretofore made by the State of Georgia. 



7. The General Assembly shall enforce the pro- 

 visions of this article by appropriate legislation. 



Article V. deals with the executive depart- 

 ment. The Governor is to be elected for a 

 term of two years, and after a second term 

 cannot be reflected within a period of four 

 years. His salary is fixed at $3,000 per annum. 

 The first election of Governor under the Con- 

 stitution occurs in 1880. The returns of the elec- 

 tion for Governor are to be made to the Presi- 

 dent of the Senate, and Speaker of the House 

 of Representatives, without being opened. 

 The candidate having a majority of the whole 

 number of votes is to be declared elected, and 

 if no candidate receives such majority, the 

 General Assembly must elect one of the two 

 having the highest number of votes. No per- 

 son is eligible for Governor unless he is thirty 

 years of age, and has been a citizen of the 

 United States 16 years, and of the State of 

 Georgia six years. In case of vacancy, the 

 President of the Senate is to exercise the exec- 

 utive power until the vacancy is filled, and in 

 case of his death, resignation, or inability, the 

 Speaker of the House will act as Governor. 

 Provision may be made for filling unexpired 

 terms by special election. The Governor's 

 oath of office is as follows: "I do solemnly 

 swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will 

 faithfully execute the office of Governor of the 

 State of Georgia, and will, to the best of my 

 ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Con- 

 stitution thereof, and the Constitution of the 

 United States of America." 



The customary powers and duties are im- 

 posed upon the executive. If a person ap- 

 pointed to office by him is rejected by the 

 Senate, he cannot be reappointed during the 

 same session or the recess following. It is 

 made the duty of the Governor, quarterly, and 

 oftener, if he deems it expedient, " to examine 



under oath the Treasurer and Controller-Gen- 

 eral of the State on all matters pertaining to 

 their respective offices, and to inspect and re- 

 view their books and accounts." The Secre- 

 tary of State, Controller-General, and Treas- 

 urer are to be elected at the same time, and in 

 the same manner, as the Governor. The salary 

 of each is $2,000 a year, and he must have 

 been a resident of the State at least six years. 



Article VI. relates to the judiciary. The 

 Supreme Court consists of a chief- justice and 

 two associate justices, whose term of office is 

 six years. After 1880, these are to be elected 

 by the Legislature. It is altogether a court of 

 appellate jurisdiction. There is a Judge of 

 Superior Courts in each circuit, holding office 

 for four years. These are also to be elected 

 by the Legislature. Superior Courts are re- 

 quired to sit in each county at least twice a 

 year. Provision is made for minor courts and 

 judicial officers. 



Article VII. is entitled "Finance, Taxation, 

 and the Public Debt." Exemption from taxa- 

 tion is provided as follows: 



SECTION II. 2. The General Assembly may, by 

 law, exempt from taxation all public property, 

 places of religious worship or burial, all institu- 

 tions of purely public charity, all buildings erected 

 for and used as a college, incorporated academy, or 

 other seminary of learning, the real and personal 

 estate of any public library, and that of any other 

 literary association, used by or connected with such 

 library, all books and philosophical apparatus, and 

 all paintings and statuary of any company or asso- 

 ciation kept in a public hall and not held as mer- 

 chandise, or for purposes of sale or gain : Provided, 

 the property so exempted be not used for purposes 

 of private or corporate profit or income. 



Restrictions upon the contraction of debt are 

 provided in the following sections : 



SECTION III. 1. No debt shall be contracted by or 

 on behalf of the State except to supply casual defi- 

 ciencies of revenue, to repel invasion, suppress in- 

 surrection and defend the State in time of war, or to 

 pay the existing public debt ; but the debt created to 

 supply deficiencies in revenue shall not exceed, in 

 the aggregate, two hundred thousand dollars. 



SEO. IV. 1. All laws authorizing the borrowing 

 of money by or on behalf of the State shall specify 

 the purposes for which the money is to be used, and 

 the money so obtained shall be used for the purpose 

 specified and for no other. 



SEC. V. 1. The credit of the State shall not be 

 pledged or loaned to any individual, company, cor- 

 poration, or association, and the State shall not be- 

 come a joint owner or stockholder in any company, 

 association, or corporation. 



SEO. VII. 1. The debt hereafter incurred by any 

 county, municipal corporation, or political division 

 of this State, except as in this Constitution provided 

 for, shall never exceed seven per centum of the as- 

 sessed value of all the taxable property therein, and 

 no such county, municipality or division shall incur 

 any new debt, except for a temporary loan or loans 

 to supply casual deficiencies of revenue, not to ex- 

 ceed one-fifth of one per centum of the assessed 

 value of taxable property therein, without the assent 

 of two-thirds of the qualified voters thereof, at an 

 election for that purpose, to bo held as may be pre- 

 scribed by law but any city, the debt of which 

 does not exceed seven per centum of the assessed 

 value of the taxable property at the time of the adop- 

 tion of this Constitution, may bo authorized by law 



