The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-12

cnor VIII recoBhze '"S again The President-The chair will take his chances on that and see how ne comes out
 MT. o,Neai-Mr. President, and Gen tlemen of the Convention. l desire 10 say that there was no disposition on the part of this committee to lntertere with the right of the great city or MO. bile, to continue the appropriation ot the liquor licenses to her public scnoois. We did not propose in our report to raise any question in reference 10 that subject, but we do say to the people ot Mobile. if in order to perpetua.e lnas system you want to shape ana mold the Constitution of the State of Ala bama. so as to incorporate in the fun danental law. provisions which in our opinion are vicious. we will resist you to the bitter end. Now that seems 10 be the purpose, so far as can JuoSe from what has been done.
 Now. in reference to this particular section. and want to call the atten- tion of the Convention to the fact that the motion to reconsider embraces the latter part of Section l. What change have we made from the old Constitu- tion? We have absolutely made put one change. The old Constitution says  shall be enacted in any case which can be provided for by the general law. Mark you the difference-which can De provided for by. general law-so that the advocate of dispensary when he comes to Montgomery to secure the To- cation of dispensary in his city could not be met with the response that that subject can be provided for by gen eral law. but he could only be met with the objection 1t Is provided for by gen. eral law. and if 1t is provided for by general law how could you enact any local law upon the subject? Now we make another provision. The Supreme Court in the case cited in 60 Ala, de- cided that under this provision which said no special law shall be enacted which can be provided for by gen. eral law. 1t was a matter purely with In the legislative discretion to deter mine whether 1t might be provided for by a general law, hence the effort of the framers of the Constitution to strike down the evils of local legisla- ton were rendered fruitless and abor- tive by that decision. and yet today after quarter of a century under which the evils of local legislation have grown to an alarming and dangerous extent in this commonwealth, we are asked practically to re-enact the same old provision in the Constitution Of 1875. which every man on this floor ad- mits to be absolutely nugatory. MT. Pitts (DaIlas)-Does the old Con- stitution contain a single one of the thirty-five provisions that you are now putting in the Constitution? Mir. O'Neal-That question has been asked twenty-five times. In reply I would say of course it does not. We are here to remedy evils and not to perpetuate them.
 Mir. Pitts--I desire to ask if you can enumerate a single thing out of the 35 put down there?
 Mir. O'Nea1-Yes: will name you from the Constitution of other States hundreds of subjects if it did not con- | sur,e too much of the time of the Con- vention--regulating courts of justice, | for the assessment of paving, for SUD- 1 porting common schools, for vacating l streets and alleys, laying out, opening and working roads. game regulations, fish regulations. and hundreds of sub 1ects that are not in our report. l MT. Boone-I desire to ask the gentle man d question.
 The President-Does the gentleman yield?
 Mr. oNeal-Yes. yield to one ques- ton.
 | Mir. Boone-The gentleman stated some minutes ago with some veine- mence that corporations could come here now to the Legislature and get an exclusive privilege from the Legisla- ture?
 MT. ONeal-Yes.
 Mir. Boone-Did the gentleman over- look Section 23 in the Declaration oi Rights adopted by this body?
 Mir. O'Neal-No sir,- did not.
 Mir. Boone--Declaring that no es post facto law, or any law, imparing the obligations of contracts. or making any irrevocable or exclusive grants of special privileges of immunities, skall be passed by the General Ass embly; and every grant of a franchise. privi- lege or immunity, shall foreevr ren,sir subject to revocation. alteration ol amendment" Now in the 9th section on Local Legislation 1t provides: "Ex- smptinK any person corporation, cCGn. ty, township, municipality or associa. ton from the operation of any genera law"
 MT. O'Neal--I called the attention ci the Convention to the difference be. tween these two section on yesteriay and it will occur to any lawyer wht gives attention to the language cf tht section, to readily see the difference and l call my friends attention to fl frow Mobile. The preamble says vol shall not grant any exclusive privilege but the preamble does not say tha you shall not grant a special privilege
 Mir. Boone--We argued that pn yes terday.
 MT. ONeal-I say under the rrea ble you can grant 8 special privilege provided 1t Is not exclusive. The pre- amble does not use the word fra ch'De there Is absolutely no such word al franchise in the preamble. If iran chise and immunity mean the Fam' thing 1t would not be necessary. bu we do not think it does.
 Mr. Boone-I would ask the gentle man
 The President-Does the. gentleman from Lauderdale yield to the gentleman from Mobile?
 Mir. ONeal declined to submit to an!
 further Interruption.
 Mr. OrNeal-The twoy provisions arr entirely different, and an examination by any attorney will show that ther
 Is a difference. One prohibits tn granting of an exclusive or irrevoca
 ble privilege, but It don't prohibit tn granting of a special privilege. "Iov MT. President, We strike this put am
 what position are we in? The Legls lature can grant a special privilege t any corporation in Alabama, and tha
 Is what we have done in obedience to sentiment which should not domtnlt
 the Convention. We are laying cow l Ia hoI A nd yUa