Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-10
NEW CONSTITUTION.

Some of the ablest arguments yet ad- duced favoring new state constitution were incorporated in the address of Hon. s. D. Weakley, delivered before the meet ing of the Alabama Industrial and Com
 mercial association, held in this city on
 the 7th of last October. ...
 After giving brief history of the con- stitution, changes and amendments from
 the formation of the state to 1875, when our present constitution was adopted, the
 speaker suggested some important and greatly needed changes, necessary to the general progress of the state.
 While there may be features in the ad- dress that will not meet the approbation
 of the people and the lawmakers, yet they are worthy of consideration and may prove instrumental in furnishing food for thought in arriving at what changes are needed and should be incorporated in our constitution. Among the suggestions made by MT. Weakley are the following: TOO MANY ELECTIONS.
 First of all, we have too many elections
 and too much politics in Alabama. If
 this country can safely elect President
 for four years (and it has been thought
 by many the presidential term should be
 increased to six years, with ine1igibility
 to second term) no good reason is ap-
 parent why our Governor, state officers and members of the legislature should not be elected for a like period. As mat ters now are every two years our people are torn up with successive elections all most during the whole time from Feb ruary to December. This being coun- try of opposing political parties, they first have their primaries and prelim- mary skirmishing for the gubernatorial
 and other nominations; then comes the
 regular campaign preceding the August
 election; almost immediately the ma chnery is set in motion for nominations
 to congress, and before that election is over. candidates for mayor and town officials begin to present their claims to
 the citizens. It sometimes happens Cat least in Birmingham), after the nomina-
 tions are made, the warmest contest for the year is presented in the struggle for municipal offices. The deleterious effect of this constant and repeated political agitation upon business is known to all and it is unjust to the vast majority of
 the people. who do not desire office for
 themselves, but who are simply concern ed in securing competent and honest per- sons to fill these public trusts. If deemed
 necessary the legislature might hold biennial sessions, but my own belief is,
 that session every four years, with a longer time than fifty days allowed. and
 that time devoted to matters of general concern instead of being largely consum- ed in local legislation, would be cheaper and better for the state, since an emer- gency calling for legislation in the in- terim could be met by an exercise of the power vested in the Governor of conven- ing the general assembly in extraordinary session. The charters of our cities could
 be amended so as to provide for elections of city officials every four years, which, with all our state elections. thrown into presidential years, (proverbially bad for business). would leave only congressman to be elected the second year. Let us have more of business and less of politics. LOCAL AND SPECIAL LEGISLATION. It Is thought by many that the framers of the constitution of 1875 did not intend that local and special legislation should
 be carried to the extent 1t has reached in this state. They declared that no special or local law should be enacted for the benefit of individuals or corporations in cases which are and can be provided for by a gegfr"' INV. or where the relief sought can Se by any court of this state, exemptire awever, certain char acters of corpora tons and interests from this inhibition. The supreme court held that whether the case could be provided for by a general law was, in general for the legislature and not the courts to de- |Stermine, so that little restraint upon this class of of1egislation has resulted. So much and such varied local legislation has been enacted that we have a separate set of laws for each county in the state, and lawyFrsJ find t difficult to safely advise their clients upon many matters arising out of the counties of their residence. A act TfsssS Sss}z Disclosed fhat 127 of fts pages are devoted to general and 944 to local and special Legislation. In this character of Iaw-making, the general as-