The age-herald., 1901-07-18
The States System to Remain Practically as Now Con-
 Stituted II IS MADE MORE ELASTIC
Authority Granted to Consolidate Law and Equity Courts, the Number 0f Circuit Courts To Be Unlim-
 Ited-Few Other Changes.
eY FRANK HARVEY MILLER.

eY FRANK HARVEY MILLER.
 Montgomery, July H.-(SpeciaL )-In the convention this morning an effort was made to reconsider section of the ticle on legislative department adopted yesterday. This section provided for ses- sions of the Legislature once every four years. Speeches in favor of reconsider ation were made by Governor Jones and Nr. O'Neal of Lauderdale, but the con- wention, according to it's recent practice, refused to reconsider the section by vote of CT to 55.
 The committee on Judiciary made it's report today. No radical change in the present judicial system is recommended, but the system is made more elastic to meet the needs of a growing state The Legislature, if it sees fit, is authorized to create an intermediate Appellate Court. and it is also authorized to consolidate Jaw and equity jurisdiction in the same court. The limitation on the number of Judicial circuits Is removed and the juris- diction of justices of the peace is un- changed. The Governor is authorized to fill temporarily vacancies in the judge
 
 judges is left at six years. Solicitors are to be elected by the people, and the Gen eral Assembly Is authorized to abolish the courts of chancery.
 The convention, after this report, took up the consideration of section of the article on legislative department which related to the pay and mileage of legis- lators and amendment to prohibit free passes The convention spent large part of the morning in debate. At the after noon session the convention adopted the section as reported and defeated all amendments to prohibit free passes. The anti-free pass idea is not dead, however, and will come up again.
 Several sections of the article on legis- lative department were adopted. An amendment to section 7 which was adopt ed fixes the number of Senators at 35 and Representatives at 105. This Is an in crease of two Senators and five Represen- tatives. and was the only change of much importance in the sections adopted
 Convention Opens.
 The forty-seventh days session of the constitutional convention was called to order at 93O o'clock by President Knox A prayer was offered by Rev. MT. Mo- Daniel. Roll call showed 11S members present. Several leaves of absence were asked for and granted
 MT. Chapman of Sumter arose to cor rect an error in the stenographic report Governor Jones of Montgomery moved to reconsid ,r the vote by which section 5 of the legislative article, which provided for quadrlennial sessions of the Legisla- ture, was adopted.
 Governor Jones said that in the eighty one years of the existence of Alabama this was the first time 1t had been thought that the people of Alabama could not be trusted to legislate for themselves oftener than once in four years: that there was not civilized government in the English speaking world whose legislative depart ment did not meet oftener. Tn England 1t was the law that Parliament could not be prorogued longer than three years What reason can we give our people for adopting this section especially after pro- viding that the Legislature should not act on local laws? great deal has been said about the last Legislature, but the per sonnel of that body was good. Some of it's members are delegates here. Even a good Legislature can make mistakes. It is said the Governor can call special ses- sions but he will not be apt to do so. It usually means political disaster for him.
 
 have been forbidden to legislate but once in four years? You practically go to the people and tell them they are not fit to govern themselves. We have clung to an- cient landmarks in not changing the jury system, and why should we throw away this ancient custom of having biennial sessions7 If we can't trust a Legislature elected every two years. there Is nobody we can look to to protect our liberties and republican government is failure.
 Mir. o'Neal Speaks.
 MT. O'Neal of Lauderdale favored re- consideration of the vote. He said that changing the terms of the legislature had never been made @ question before the people when the convention was being agitated. He did not believe the people of the State wanted this change and there was not single precedent in the United States for its adoption. It had been argued in its favor that 1t would save expenses. Are we to estimate the liberties of the people by paltry dollars and cents. It costs money to have a Governor and courts. Why, then, not abolish them? A legislature is a check upon dishonest officials We have prac- tioally but one party in this State There is no active opposition to keep a check on the party in power This section if adopted, will prevent the people getting relief from an evil for four years. If
  ute books there would nave been no con- stitutional convention today, the pre- vious act calling one hving been repealed two years ago. What a pitiful specta- cie for us to propose to strike down the legislature simply because 1t is prone to do evil Why not strike at the root of the evil instead of its symptoms by re- forming the legislature and inducing good men to enter 1t. If you go before the people with this provision in your constitution you will arouse a storm of "A opposition.
 tA MT Rogers of Sumter, who was leading snae movement in favor of four year terms, said he seldom appeared in favor of the barefoot boy or the horny handed son of toll, that he held 1t was the man who gave dignity to the vocation and not the voca- \ tion to the man. He said that Governor NJones who opposed this movement because N was an innovation had favored the NSee-fourths jury verdict, which was the