The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-13
OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF
 THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF ALABAMA

Convention to allow them to temporize and experiment with this august body, ' say Is ridiculous in the extreme. and | 1 do not believe the delegates upon the | flor of this Convention will ever vote l for any such action. I say gentlemen in this matter. that I made the motion | to lay the matter on the table, the | whole matter, to be brought up with | this report for a new county up there, | and let this Convention consider the | whole matter and do what they think l in justice ought to be done to those | people. Give them one or the other or nothing.
 The President-The time of the gem tleman has expired.
 l MT. Browne-Mr. President and gen. | tlemen of the Convention, the gentle | man is mistaken in regard to the con- versation that he has quoted between I MT. W. B. Browne and him, as I am | informed. The gentleman from shelby l introduced an ordinance creating a new l county out of a part of St. Clair and | a part of Shelby Counties. That ordi- nance did not include Beats 8, 3, IS and l nne-haif of Beat II. fIe did not in- troduce an ordinance on this measure about giving them c new court house | in certain beats
 MT, Beavers-wili the gentleman | permit me to interrupt him.
 | The President-wiil the gentleman yield.
 MT. Browne-I did not interrupt the gentleman. On Saturday morning, without the knowledge of any man In Shelby County that we know of, cer- tainly without the knowledge of the two men here. that he was going to do 1t, he introduced an ordinance giv- ing a new court house to part of Shelby County, which embraced two and one-half of the biggest beats, and one of the smaller beats not included in his new county scheme. MT. w. B. Browne of Shelby and Judge Long shore were here; they came Saturday morning. The amndment for an addi- ticral court house came like a clap Of thunder out of a clear sky; they had no knowledge or information on the subject. They were out wonder in the hall. MT. Beavers stated that he had seen the people in the section affected and that they wanted new county or if they could not get that. another court house, snd those gentlemen naturally inferred that he was speak 1 ing of the same area. Afterwards, they ascertained that it took two and one half large beats and another small beat, making three and one-halt beats more than were in his proposed new county. Now with reference to this new court house area. I will ask the members of the Convention to look at this map, which have and will show to the Convention. This is the county of Shelby describing on map held facing the members of the Convention.) From this point to this, is the pro rosed county court house and jail area. Here is the upper edge of Shelby Coun- ty right here, all the coiored portion is Shelby County. Here is Columbiana six miles south of the center of the county Here is the line of railroad that the gentleman from Shelby pre- | sents a measure that there shall be court house and jail upon--away of up here. While he only embraced this | (describing) in the territory for the l new county in the court house area, he came down and took in Beat which goes dowr a little further south than Columbiana. these people living two and one-half miles from Columbtana must go twenty miles. to court when the court house is situated at Vincent away over here is Beat 8. where my umbrella is pointing. these people must go by Columbiana and on to Vincent | Up here is Beat IS; no way to get from Beat 13 to Vincent on account of irsur- nountable hills; they have to take a train this way (pointing) and then another train this way. On account of a gal. in the mountain they can go down to Columbiana this way. He proposed to give exclusive jurisdiction in this territory. l ask the attention of the convention for a moment. He pro poses to create a court house up here (describing) ard giving exclusive juris- diction, of all cases arising in this ter rltcry (pointIng it ouD and he makes that territory come within two and one-half miles of Columbtana, and these people behind Columbiana, must go by 1t about twenty miles to get up there. Now he speaks about the peti- tions. Mr. Beavers stated in his speech Saturday morning that he agita- ted the question Of a new court house and that these gentlemen agreed not to oppose hilm. That was on the gen. eral proI cstion U cut down the area limit of counties generally, but not for any particular county. After they found out on Saturday what the measure really was, they went home getting there about I o'clock Saturday night and on yesterday. in this area affected they have gotten 800 signatures | against th4s measure. There are 1,300 voters in that district and against his proposition they secured 800 .n one day
 Here are petitions signed by more than half of the people who live with in the area. and they protest against | MT. Beavers amendment.
 | MT. deGraffenreid-I withdraw my motion to postpone the consideration of this matter, so we can get through | with it,
 MT. Browne-Will the gentleman from Mobile withdraw his motion?
 MT. Pillans-I most certainly will not. l think 1t entirely out of order, and ought 70 be postponed until we get through framing this Constitution.
 Mr. Browne-If the motion, as made by the gentleman from Mobile, is car ried. it means to tie these people hand and foot to this measure, because it is 1 well known that if you delay this mat ter until the whole Constitution is made, members will go home, and that will be the last of it. Now, 1 have snown you that map, and 1t is an ans wer to any argument that can be made by any man. Not only that. the gen tleman stated on Saturday those peo- pie wanted the new court house. Now those two men did not know whether the people in the upper part of the county wanted 1t or not, but they be- leVed and you believed that this amendment for court house embraced | the same area as was incorporated in his new county plan. But it is entirely different and would carve the county up in such a shape that the State of | A Al,lN not Nha