The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-19

EnOulQ nOI use tuG LSAAkiAAiftC PkOAoah in this respect. but it seems to me that the Legislature should not only ascer- tain that the laws are proper ones be- fore they are passed. but they should see that they are passed in a proper manner. It seems to me that this ssc- tion should be adopted as reported by the committe because 1t carefully safe- guards this whole matter
 MT. Pettus-I have an amendment to the delegate who proposed the SUD- stitute and l would aSS unanimous consent to have 1t added to that amendment.
 There being no objection made. the amendment was read as follows:
 Amend by adding at the end of the
 substitute offered by MT. Sanford of
 Pike the words provided that on the
 request of any member the bill shall
 be read publicly at length before sign
 ing"
 Mir. Pettus-I move the previous question upon the adoption of the sub stitute of the gentleman from Pike. Mir. Harrison-I appeal to the gentle man to withdraw that for one moment. Mr. Pettus-If the gentleman from Lee will renew it.
 MT. Harrison-I will. There are sev- eral propositions here and as the choice of the pro, Jsitions presented, will support this substitute. but l desire to l call the attention of the Convention to what I conceive to be bad provision l in either of the alternatives. which are offered. Prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1875. the presiding offi- cers of each House were called upon as now to sign these bills. They took | them to their offices, read them, or | had them read to them, and they took the responsibility for their contents. It was encumbent upon the officers 10 see that these bills were the bills that had passed the Houses. They had an oppor- tunity to do so, and when these bills were presented to the Governor. he
 knew that the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House had both ex- amined them and passed upon them and that they were correct. After the | adoption of this Constitution. and ap- ] peal to gentlemen here who have had | legislative experience if it is not fact that it was utterly impossible for the presiding officer to know what was m | the bills. There comes along a pile of
 bills, perhaps six or eight inches deep.
 or have seen them foot or two deep. | and the presiding officer says, "The l President of the Senate will now sign 1 these bills as read by their caption l MT. White-I want to ask if with the l article we have passed against local l legislation there will be so much time taken up in the signing of bills?
 | MT. Harrison-I hope not. Perhaps | there will not be so many bills, but | will answer that do not believe under | the change in. our Constitution, that | any Legislature can assemble here and | comply with the mandates and provt-
 sions contained in this Constitution, at !! its first session in sixty days, and If | you hamper them in this way. and pro- | vide in effect that every bill shall be
 read four times instead of three they
 cannot possibly get through. and I in- l sist, MT. President, that there Is no sense in it. You might as we'll say | that they shall be read five times. or
 six times, and fix 1t so that the Legis- | lature can never have any time to do | anything. 1 think three times is
 enough, and I believe, MT. President.
 that you will have sufficient safeguards
 to see that bills are what they purport l to be, If you will require the presid- | ing officers to sign these bills after | having carefully read and examined the
 same. I would rather risk the presid- 1 ing officer of either House, and would rather put the duty upon him. when | the House is not in session, to take | these bills and examine them. and see
 that they are correct. and then there
 would be a responsibility upon this of-
 ficer which would guarantee their cor
 ectness, then. at least one man will
 have examined them. I appeal to ev-
 cry man who has witnessed legislation
 under the old Constitution. that there
 is not a member who pays any atten- | +a hn thara ic n nn-
 portunity given to the presiding off, cer to examine them. but the bills are
 brought down from the enrolling and | expressing rooms, handed to him
 when the house is in session, and sim 1 ply read by the caption, and he places I his signature there without any op- portunity to examine the bill. or to see
 whether 1t is properly engrossed or en- | rolled or not. simply want him t1 have this opportunity. I believe that
 this is one of the false steps which
 were made in 1875. The intention was
 good but in it's practical operations il
 has accomplished no good whatever
 would much rather that we go back
 to the old plan. and I cannot conceive
 any delegate will insist. as my friend
 from Jefferson does. to not only handi- | cap the Legislature. and to curb them
 hand and foot. but also undertake to
 puck and gag them. and say that they | shall not do anything. I think we | would have better system and that il | would be guarantee to us to have Il | placed in the Constitution that the pre-
 siding officer shall be required to care
 fully read and examine the bills be-
 fore he attaches his signature thereto | than to provide for this matter either
 under the old Constitution or the sec-
 tion now proposed. If I am forced tc
 make a selection between the two. | will support the substitute. It will take
 less time they will be rapidly read, fl
 read at all. or as has been suggested | here. ninety nine times out of hun
 dred it will be only that much time | consumed. We know how many of the | members of this Convention pay any l attention to the second and third read ing of ordinances. Many of you have
 been in the Legislature. and you pay nc
 attention to it on earth. The Legisla- l ture will not do 1t, and it is useless to
 put this sort of a provision in the Constitution. which practice for years l has demonstrated serves no good pur- l pose. It means a mere consumption oi 1 time. and prevents the legislature de
 voting itself to the business for which
 it is assembled. Therefore I am op. posed to the whole proposition, but as l the lesser of the two evils I will vote for the substitute. I am requested. an6
 promised to move the previous ques
 tion.
 MT. Pettus-T wanted to ask the gen.
 tleman from Lee if under the presen | Ia