The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-14
OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF
 THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF ALABAMA

tOV VI n6nUnNtn W
 S$- :-s.. s--.@>- ;>-ss= M' and that they are already up to the full limit of taxation in their counties. ] The President-The gentleman's time 1 has expired.
 Mir. Gobb--I move thatit be extended ten minutes.
 Mir. Rogers (Sumter)--I am willing l for the gentleman to have his time eA- 1 tended if he answers my question. Objection was made to any extension of time.
 1 MT. Thompson (Bibb)-I desire, very briefly. to attempt to answer the argu- ment made by the gentleman, and also to show the defect in the amendment, ! and the advantages of the committees | report over the amendment as offered. 1 Tn the first place the amendments that have been offered by the various gen. tlemen place no limitation whatever upon the action of the Legislature in l this matter except to require two thirds vote of both Houses. The com mittee. after careful investigation, has l discovered that in many instances le- gislation has been passed that was not l wanted by the people of the respective counties affected. and has sought to safeguard that interest, and we have provided that before any new county l can be created or any county line changed. that the Legislature must pass an enabling act providing for the 1 calling of an election for that purpose, and that bill must have a vote of a majority of the members elected to l each House, and in addition to that | must receive a two-thirds vote of the people of the county to be affected, or two-thirds vote of the people in the l separate districts that are to be placed | in a new county.
 Mr. Cobb-If the gentleman will par don me. one of the min ority reports re- 1 commends that very thing. One of the reports you are now ulscussing.
 Mir. Thompson-I don't think that the one before the House at present does.
 MT. Cobb-They are both before the House.
 MT. Thompson-What is the substi- l tute? Roth are minority reports.
 The President-The gentleman from Macon is not in order.
 MT. Cobb-A parliamentary inquiry, 1 that is all.
 The President-The gentleman from Bibb has the floor. and has not been asked nor has he yielded, and the chair cannot entertain questions of inquiry. l Mir. Cobb-Will the gentleman yield? Mir. Thompson (Bibb)-No, sir; not at | present. Under the plan as proposed by the minority and substitute, 1t merely requires two-thirds of those | voting upon that measure. which might be two-thirds of a bare quorum of the House. while we provide that it must be. under the plan reported by the Committee on Representation, 6S mem- bers, when otherwise only 46 might pass 1t. On the face, it seems that their report would place safeguards, | but when you come to consider it, it | does not. The gentleman from Fillmore, | q member of the minority. has come before you with some witnesses. The l gentleman did not state, I believe. that each of his witnesses were interested parties. We all know how much inter- est affects a man. They were the | County Commissioners, and subini: while county officials are usually fair and honest men. that their own inter- l ests. their own pockets, affect their eyi- | dence. as much as the interest of par ties may affect their evidence in civil cases. or in any other matters. Do | you expect that a county officer would be in favor of cutting off a part of his county. and reduce his salary? It is ] not human nature for a man to touch his own pocket. Therefore, his wit nesses are not the best that might have
 
 thermore. that the gentleman had other | evidence. either in his possissiOn or within his reach, that he might have submitted He brings here 163 letters, but, gentlemen of the Con Jention, he forgets to mention petition signed by 300 citizens of his own county, present. ed to your committee. of which he Is a member. If he comes to us as an unbiased speaker on this question, why did not he present all of the evidence within his reach? |? It seems that his own party is divided. He says that the people are divided l upon this question. Yes, MT. Presi- dent, the people of Alabama were divided upon the question of calling d Constitutional Convention. The fact that the people are divided is no reason for his argument or for mine. We are here to formulate a fundamental law for the State of Alabama, to exist for years. Then why should we limit the legislature. and place upon 1t the same limitations that have existed for twen- ty-six years?
 MT. Howell-Thirty-s six.
 MT. Thompson-Thirty-six the gem tleman says. 1t strikes me 1t is only twenty-Six since 1875.
 MT. Parker (Cullman)-Sixty-fiV is what he refers to.
 MT. Thompson-Now then, if the his tory of our State had shown that the Legislature was anxious to legislate upon this subject. there might be some reason for this legislation, but our past history shows that the legislature has been extremely careful in enacting laws for the formation of new counties, only one having been created since our last Constitutional Convention. Now then. as 1 say, if the history of this State. showed that the Legislature needed Limitations upon this subject, then there would be reason for this, but 1t has not been true. and I sub init to this Convention that 1t would be absolutely safe to leave the Legis- lature of Alabama without any limita- tion upon this subject, because the members of the General Assembly would be placed in exactly the same attitude as the witnesses that are brought forward by my friend from Fillmore. They would be interested parties. Self interest would demand that they should not enact any law creating a new county that would af- feet their own, and no new county would ever be created except upon good cause. and where 1t was absolute ly needed by the people.
 Now then as to the reduction from 500 to 800, I submit, gentlemen of the Convention. that if this report is l allowed tO stand al 500 souar TO ,ooitos