Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-01-22
THE CONVENTION.
ELEVENTH DAX.

PRAYER was offered by Rev. Mr.. Sam
pie, delegate from the county OF Jetter-
son.
The journal of yesterday was read.
Mr.. Cvpert rose to the correction of an
error in the report by a transposition of
words in his remarks on the amendment
he offered to the 10Th section of the Bill
| of Rights in relation to prosecutions for
libel. His position was that prosecutions
for the publication of libel affecting the
official conduct of officers, and publica-
tons affecting the conduct of citizens,
shall be placed upon the same, and that
the truth might be plead as defense for
either
The President announced the order for
the presentation of petitions, memorials
and resolutions, and directed the roll call.
RECONSIDERATION.
On motion of Mr.. Jones of Lincoln,
the rule in regard to Ieconsiderations was
amended so that motion to reconsider
any proposition must be made within two
days after its adoption and by member
of the majority.
PAY OF MEMBERS.
Mr. Jones of Lincoln, offered the
following, which was passed, under sus-
pension of the rules:
Resolved, That the Treasurer of the
State of Tennessee is hereby authorized
and required to pay the members of this
Convention their per diem and mileage;
and the officers of this Convention their
per diem the same as members and Off
GERS of the Legislature, due up to the
| time of calling for the same
OFFICIAL RAsCALTTY.
Mr. Wright offered the following:
| Resolved, That it be engrafted ia the
| Constitution of Tennessee that any officer
or officers having in charge public moneys |
| for the benefit of the common schools,
| shall, for any violation of public trust, be |
dismissed from office, and become ineli- |
| gible to any office of trust or honor in the |
State, and shall be subjected to severe
penalties, pecuniary and cOrpOreal
| SECTION %, BILL OF RIGHTS.
On motion of Mr. Key, the vote of yes |
terday adopting the 25th section of the
Bill of Rights, was reconsidered; and then,
on motion of Mr.. Heiskell, the vote of |
yesterday adopting Mr.. Campbell's amend |
| ment inserting the words ''either' and |
''under, in the latter clause of the sec
ton, was reconsidered, and the said |
words were stricken out of the section. |
The said section %, thus amended, was
then adopted.
SMALL OFFENSES.
The President now announced the |
special order to wit: The consideration of |
Mr. Houses amendment to the 4th section |
of the article III, in the Executive Depart
ment of the Constitution. The amend |
ment was read as follows:
Strike out section II and insert:
No person shall be held to answer any |
criminal charge except by presentment, |
indictment or impeachment, but the Leg |
islature in cases of petit larceny, assault, |
| assault. and battery, affray, and vagranCy, |
may dispense with an inquest of grand |
jury, an Indictment or presentment, and |
may authorize prosecutions for said Of
fenses before such inferior court or courts
as may be established by law, and the |
proceedings in such cases shall be regu-
lated by law, and all defendants so ar
raigned shall have the right of trial by |
jury, unless the same shall be expressly |
waived in such manner as may be pre-
scribed by the Legislature.
Mr.. House said he should detain the
Convention but few minutes upon this
amendment. He regarded this as a mat
ter of so much importance that he felt he
should not be discharging his duty here as
a member without making another effort
| for its adoption. He replied at length to
| the objections urged against his PROPOSE
ton by Mr.. Jones, of Lincoln, and Mr..
Brown, of Davidson, showing at some |
| length that actions are infamous in illegal |
| sense, because they are declared to be so
| by legislative enactment. He urged also |
the economy of the working of his amend
| ment in the criminal practice, especially |
| in the larger counties, wherein perhaps |
| three fOurths of the criminal cases
are of that class of small of |
lenses for the trial of which |
be had provided in his amendment. He |
| urged the adoption of his amendment, |
| especially from the consideration that I'M
| der late act of the General Assembly |
these counties have to pay the expenses |
| of their criminal prosecutions and by the |
consideration that those hundreds of thou |
| sands of dollars of expenses might bring |
| the counties to bankruptcy.
Mr.. Warner proposed to amend the |
said section by inserting appropriately |
words to this effect: Except in cases of |
misdemeanor not meriting imprisonment, |
which shall be fixed by the Legislature.
l offer this amendment for the purpose |
of making plain and eConOmising our
| present system of law. Now, does this |
| section, when it speaks of crime, en- |
| brace treason, felOnies and misdemean- |
| oTs, or does it only embrace treason and |
| felOnies and not misdemeanorsl If so, |
then Magistrates may try persons for mis- |
demeanOrs. If it applies to misdemeanOrs, |
| then, in no case can a Magistrate try for !
| any crime or misdemeanOT The COM |
mon law divides crime into three parts or |
| classes, to-wit: Treason, felOnies and |
| misdemeanOrs. Now the best common |
| tatOrs and legal lights of the past world |
| for crimes, as defined by them, only en- |
braced treason and fclonies, and INSIDE
meanors were regarded as lower grade |
| than crimes. If the trainers of the |
| Constitution Of 1884 intended the |
word crime to have its common law |
meaning, then this section does not |
| embrace misdemeanors, and the modes of |
trial as they think proper in this kind of |
| cases. 1t is said by some that under the |
| sllldll OllGuSt law IllC CldlG uOtS uOJ Cdll j
| upon the accused to answer; but he vol |
unfairly answers. Can this be so? l |
think not, for if the case is submitted |
| without warrant it is a nullity, and no |
| trial. There must be States warrant |
and prosecutor, or there can be no trial |
at all But in cases of misdemeanOrs
where the crime does not merit imprisOn-
meHt as a penalty, but a mere penalty,
why may not persons be tried and fined
without being confined in Jail till the CON-
ing of a future court, for grand jury to
pass upon it? Adopt my amendment
or something of the same nature,
and the accused will be relieved and bet
tered; so, also, will society be benefited,
in lessening the expenses of jails and
grand jUries, to some extent.
Now, where the sacred rights of indi-
viduals are not invaded, and the individual
is benefited, and sOcietyis benefited also,
why may we not adopt such measures as
will accomplish this object? My pro-
position merely leaves the Legislature with
the power, in cases of such misdemeanors
as are merely Unable and imprisonment
is no part of the penalty, TO say in what
courts and in what mode persons may be
tried in these small Offenscs.
1t is wrong to imprison persons who
are innocent; yet, under the small Of
tense law as it now exists (Which is un-
| constitutional I think \ if the accused