The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-21

etitution and move its adoption.
 1r. Burns--I desire to ofter tnis amendment at the request of my col league. Mir. Reese.
 The amendment was read as follows:
 Amend Section 41 Article on the Leg tSlative Department. by inserting after the word Legislature" in the secohd line the words ''of who Is an of1cer, agent or attorney of any corporation pr association. or person having such interest and by inserting after the word committed in the third line the words ''or house.
 Mr. Oates--l see the operation of the amendment. This section is decla- ration that any member of either House having any personal or private interest in any measure or Dill pro posed or pending before the legislature shall disclose the fact to .he House cf which he is a member and shall not vote thereon. This amendment is to ex- elude any member who is also the at torney of any corporation from voting. It seems to me as it now stands IL IS broad enough. If members are inter ested. personally or privately. he would have to disclose his interest under 1t, as it now stands. Therefore, 1 move to lay the amendment on the table.
 Upon a vote being taken. division
 
 and A noes the motion to table pre- vailed.
 MT. Burns-I regret to do so, but l give notice to the Chair there Is not . quorum voting.
 The President-The Chair will pro- ceed to ascertain and count quorum.
 The Chair declared that quorthn was present, and the question recurred upon the adoption of the Section.
 thnt "A Clerk be instructed to read the section as it would be with the amendment.
 The President-The amendment has been lost. The question is on the sec tion.
 MT. Dent-The Secretary read 1t house in the second line and the printed copy is committee would like to know which is correct
 The Secretary-To the House of which he is a member"
 MT. Cunningham-This is a very seri- ous question. will briefly call to the attention of the Convention that in 1896. I had the honor to be member of the Senate of this State and pre- pared and introduced a bill in the Senate which had for its purpose a revolution of the convict system of the State of Alabama. do not know what delegates here may think of my sim cerity or what my constituents at home or anybody else may think. but more so. and yet had I known this section was in the Constitution I could not have voted upon my own measure. I. therefore. move to amend, MT. President, after the words
 Mir. Dent-I think if the gentleman will examine, he will find this section in the old Constitution.
 MT. Cunningham I say. if I had known it was there 1 could not have voted upon my own measure. l. there- more, move to amend after the word thereon unless permission Is author ized by the house." That is. that he may submit the question as to wheth- CT or not he has an interest to the house and let the house determine the matter.
 The President--"Unlees authorized by a vote of the house" Is the amendment.
 Mir. Rogers (Sumter)-What would be the good of that provision? If you were on tie winning side you would vote, and if you were on the losing side you would not he allowed to.
 MT. Cunniugham-Add that al the end of theSection unless permissl 1n is authorized by the vote of the house" 1 will answer the question of .he gen.
 
 1t again.
 MT. Rogers (Sumter)-I ask what would be the good of this amendment? If man were with the majority of the house, they would give him peralls- sion to vote, and If he were with the minority, he would not be given per mission to vote on the question. SO what would be the good of the proVi- sion in the Constitution?
 Mir. Cunningham-In answering the question, I will say that under this provision of the Constitution as 1t LCw stands the Representatives in the House or Senate might have an inter est as had on that occasion. It killed for me the goose that laid the golden egg, straight out without doubt. and. therefore. I had an interest in 1t. but I was more interested in the passage of the bill and in it's becoming lay than l was in any personal interest that l may have had in the matter and there fore I would have been compelled un- der this provision to have announced that fact and not voted upon the ques- tion. Under this amendment l could have submitted the problem to the Senate and If they had said that my personal interest was not controlling me, then I could have voted.
 MT. Pillans-Would not the desirai object be reached by using some such Expression as this. "No member wEo has a personal or private beneficial in- terest." As I understand the difficulty presented in the case of the gentle. tieman from Jefferson. he wanted to have a measure passed which injuri- Dusly affected his interests, and yet he Ieels that this section would have af. fected his voting on 1t. Can't you frame a clause, which will provide that where you are interested beneficially in 2 measure that you cannot vote? If 70, I shall offer the amendment
 MT. Cunningham--I am not quite as- lute enough to catch whether that meets the objection I have to the 1.c- ton or not. I would like to be in a position should I ever have the honor again to sit in either house of the General Assembly of the State, to be permitted to vote upon question that [ honestly and conscientiously believe 10 be right although if it should be- come a law it would be to my detri- ment. That Is all I ask.
 MT. Cobb-Will the gentleman allow ! question?
 MT. Cunningham-Yes.
 MT. Cobb-Does the gentleman think he has a personal or private interest," In such a measure when he proposes 10 vote for 1t. and 1t injures hinl. Tn the contemplation of this law, he has no personal or private interest.