Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-04
THE CONVENTION.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. DAY.


THURSDAY, Feb. 8, 1S70.-The Con
yention met at $50 o'clock A. M, Presi
dent Brown in the chair. Prayer b,
Rev. Mr.. Mooney, after which thu
journal was read and approved.
| COMMON SCHOOLS.
The Committee on Common School,
have had under consideration sundry res
olutions in reference to the application Of
| the proceeds of the poll tax, from year tC
| year, to the use of free schools in THU
State, and have unanimously agreed to
recommend to the Convention the follow.
ing report:
Resolved, That knowledge, learning
and virtue being essential to the preserva-
ton of republican institutions, and the
| diffusion of the opportunities and adj
yantages of education throughout the
different portions of the State being high
ly conducive to this end, it shall be the
duty of the General Assembly to provide
for the establishment and maintenance of
free schools for the gratuitous instruction
of al! the children of this State between
the ages of - and - years, and the
ordinary tax assessed on polls under the
provisions of this Constitution, with such
other of the revenue of the State as the
General Assembly may, fromtime to time,
set apart therefor, shall never be applied
to other than educational purposes.
TIE JUDICIARY.
The Convention proceeded to the com
sideration of the majority report of the
Judiciary Committee, taking up section
four, as follows:
Sec. 4. The Judges of the Circuit and
Chancery Courts, and of other inferior
courts, shall be elected by the qualified
voters of the district or circuit to IUhich
they are to be assigned. Every Judge
of such court shall be thirty years of age,
and shall, before his election, have been
a resident of the State fUe years. His
term Of service shall be ten gears.
The amendment of Mr.. Taylor. offered
yesterday, proposing to strike out ''ten"
and insert ''eight" was adopted
A motion to reconsider, melted by Mr..
Gibson, who proposed to insert ''six" in
stead of "eight" years, was laid on the
y.
Mr.. Mabry proposed to amend by in
sorting after the words d" five years" cor
native born citizen" Withdrawn.
Mr. Martin proposed to amend by re-
quiring one years residence in the county
or district Adopted.
Mr. Burkett offered an amendment re-
quiring a person, to be eligible to judg-
ship under the above section, to have
practiccd law in the courts of the State for
ten years. Laid on the table.
Mr.. Baxter proposed to amend by
making the period of residence in the
State three years. Hid said that he
thought they could amply protect them
selves by making the residence three
years.
Mr.. Hciskell stated that he desired to
vote for the shortest period, and asked
leave to say that on yesterday he voted
against striking out the same word in the
previous section, because there was a
proposition to fill the blank with ten years,
as well as one to fill with three. He voted
under the impression that such vote did
not preclude a motion to strike out five
and insert three.
Mr.. Baxter's amendment was laid on
the table by vote of 53 to 10.
The section, as amended, was then
adopted.
Section five was then adopted as fol-
lows:
Sec. 3. an attorney General and Re
porter for tie State shall be appointed By
tie Judges Of tie Supreme Court, and
Sb0U hold his office for term Of t'1elre
years.
An Attorney for the State for any cir
cult or district, for which Jugde han
ing criminal Jurisdiction, shall be
proUided by TAR, shall be elected by the
qualified voters Of such circuit or district,
and shall hold his Office for term of six
years.
In all cases where the Attorney for any
district fails or refuses TO attend and
prosecute, according to law, the court
shall have power to appoint an Attorney
pro tculPOre.
Mr.. Jones moved to amend by striking
out "twclvc,' in the first paragraph of
the section, and inserting "eight."
Adopted.
Mr.. Turner offered the following amend
mcnt: can Attorney General and Report
or for the State shall be elected by the
qualified voters of the State, and shall
hold office for eight years." 10 be inserted
in place of the first paragraph.
Mr. Stephens opposed this. He didn't
think the people could judge properly of
the qualifications requisite for good Re
porter.
Mr. Brown, of Davidson, spoke strong
ly in favor of giving the appointing power
to the Supreme Judges.
Mr. Thompson was also strongly in
favor of allowing the Supreme Judges to
select their own Reporter. He considered
nothing more important than the law re-
ports of a State.
Mr.. Turner's amendment was laid on
the table by vote of 50 TO IA.
The first paragraph of the section was
then adopted.
The second paragraph was next taken
up.
Nj. Porter, of Haywood, moved to
make the term of office eight years in
stead of six. Adopted
Mr.. Martin moved to amend by insert
ing ''shall have been a resident Of the
State five years, and of the district or
county one year" Adopted.
The second paragraph was then adopted,
after which the third paragraph was
adopted without an amendment.
Section 6 was then read as follows:
Sec. 6. Judges andi Attorneys for the
State may be removed from office by
concurrent vote of both Houses Of the
General Assembly, each House voting
separately; but two-thirds of all the mem
bers elected to each house must concur in
such vote; the vote shall be determined by
ayes and noes, and the names IF the men,
bers voting for or against the Judge or
Attorney for the State, together with the
cause or causes of removal, shall be en-
tered on the Journals of each house re-
spcctively. The Judge or Attorney for
the State, against whom the Legislature
may be about to proceed, shall receive no
tice thereof, accompanied with copy of
the causes alleged for his removal, at least
ten days before the day on which either
House of the General Assembly shall act
thereupon.
Mr.. Heiskell moved to amend by strik-
ing out the words ''all the members
elected to each house." and insert "Of
the members to which each house is en-
titled" Adopted.
Mr.. Gibson proposed to amend by in
serting between the words 'ofF1ce" and
'Ebyn in the first of the section the words
''crime, corruption, incompetency, ha-
bitual drunkenness and neglect of duty"
Mr.. Fentress desired to amend by in
sorting simply the words "for corruption
in office and incOmpetency.
Mr.. Brown, of Davidson, was in favor
Il Il &C NJ G.I.n...