The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-01-19

recently ratified BY q opnlsr vote Of, TWO
| to one, contains some noteWorthy spFopI1ipns
of reform. The terna sef State 6fiicers aSSu
extended by It. The Governor sIs TO fsesVe
four years senators, -four years frepiessa-
fattves, two years Secretary OF STATE, four
years; Auditor. General, three years; Trea-
surer, two years /; Supreme Court Judges
thereafter to he seven in number Instead
of fire), twenty-one years instead OF
fifteen, and no. to be again eligible.
The Governor, Treasurer, and AUDI
tor are prohibited FROM serving Two
consecutive terms. The Legislatures pro.
hibited from passing g any local or speciat
law for regulating the affairs Of counties,
cities, and the ike; authorizing laying-out,
opening, or maintaining roads, highways, or
streets; altering or locating county seats; in
cooperating cities, towns, or villages, or
changing their charters; creating or extend
ing corporations or for doing number Of
bility of any corporation to the State shall
be in any way changed or lightened or af-
fectcd by the Legislature. Unless changed
by law receiving two-thirds vote, the
State election shall be on the Tuesday next
after the first Monday in November. Each
ballot rs cast shall be numbered in the
order of its receipts aud the number
entered on the list of voters opposite the
name Of the voter; any voter may also write
| his own name on his ballot; all laws in re-
spcct TO the manner of voting shall be uni
form throughout the State, but no voter shall
| he deprived of his vote by not being regis
tered.
Article niue. in respect to taxation and
| finance, provides that the power to tax cor
| poratious and their property shali not be
| Surrendered or suspended by any contract
Ito which the State shall be party; that no
State dc':t shall be created, except to repel
| Invasion, repress instruction, defend the
! State in war, pay existing debt, or supply
casual deficiencies of revenue, and the limit
of debt for the last-named purpose shall be
| 81 900 900; that all laws authorizing bor-
rowing on behalf of the State shal: specify
the purpose for which it is wanted, aud
| it shall be used for that purpose solely
that the State shall not assume all Oh
any part Of the debt OF any municipality
"uuless such debt shall have been con
| tracted to enable the State to rcpel invasion.
suppress domestic insurrection, defend ltsel
! in time Of war, or 10 assist the Stale IN the
discharge Of any portion ofits present IndeDt.
edncss that the State sinking fund shall
be maintained sufficient to pay interest or
cipal annually that all the money over the
necessary reserve shall be used in paying the
debt. and the sinking fund shall not be in
vested in or loaned upon anything but bonds
of the State or of the United States thai
monthly statements about the reserve shal
be published; and that making any profit
out of State funds, or using them in an un
authorized way, shall be punishable as
misdemeanor The following important sec
tons of this article we give entire:
"SEcTION 6. The credit of the Common
wealth shall not be pledged or loaned to any
individual, company, corporation, or asSo.
catiou; nor shall the Commonwealth be-
come joint owner or stockholIcr in any
company, association, or corporation.
"SscTIoN I. The General Assembly shall
not authorize any county, city, borough
township. or incorporated district to become
a stakeholder in any company, association, o.
corporation, or to obtain or appropriate mo-
new for or to loan its credit to any corpora
ton, association, institution, or individual.
"SEcrloN S. The debt of any county, city
borough, township, school district, or otbel
municipality or incorporated district, eXccp
as herein provided, shall never exceed sever
per centum upon assessed value Of the taxa
bic properly therein, nor Shall any munich
paity or district incur any new debt or in
crease its Indebtedness to an amount exceed
ing two ner centum upon such assessed val
uation of property without the assent Of The
electors thereof, at public election, in sucl
manner rs shall be provided by law; bu
any city, the debt Of which now exceeds
seven per ccntum Of such assessed valuation
may be authorized by law to increase tht
same three per centum lin the aggregate al
in,a y3!ll1finn
"SECrIoN 10. Any county, township, schoo
district, or other municipality mourning any
indebtedness shall, at or before the time oil
50 doing. provide for the collection Of an an
nual tax sufficient TO pay the interest and
also the principal thereof within thirty
years."
No debt shal lie contracted and no liza.
bility incurred by any municipal commission
except according to an appropriation pre-
vivrsly made, and every city shall create a
sinking fund for the payment of its debt. All
corporate charters now existing, and not
already used in organization, are made void.
All existing corporations can have their
charters altered, or any law passed for their
benefit, only on condition of becoming sub.
ject 10 the new Constil ution. No corpora
ton shall do any business not expressly
authorized in It's charter, or take or hold
any real estate except what is necessary for
its legitimate business. Ono corpora
ton shall issue stocks or bonds eX-
cept for money, labor done, or money for
property actually received; and all fictitious
increase of stock or indebtedness shall be
void the stock and Indebtedness Of corpo-
rations shall not be increased except in pur-
suance of general law, nor without the con-
sent Of the persons holding the larger
amount in value of the stock first obtained ut
4 a meeting to be held after sixty days notice
given in pursuance of law" f-'.-''
I Article seventeen relates to railroads. It
provides that all railroads and canals shall
be public highways, and all companies COM
mon.carriers that any company organized
for the purpose may construct and operate q
road between any two points in the State
! and connect at the State line with other
| roads; that every company may intersect
/ with any other, and receive and transfer
business without discrimination. Every
company shall maintain q transfer office,
| with its books open to inspection by stock
holders or creditors; the right to transport
tation is declared uniform and equal to
all; transportation charges shall not
exceed the charges for carrying the
same class of persons or property ~
the same direction to more dis
tant station, but excursion and COM
mutation tickets are allowed. No company
| owning, or leasing, or managing railroad
or canal shall consolidate with, or lease or
buy the property Of, or in any way control
any competing OF parallel line, nor SHALL any
officer act as officer in such line; the ques-
| ton of the paralelsm or competition shall
| be decided by jury. No officer oremploye
| shall be interested in furnishing material or