The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-07

cOLStable6 ,Whlcn teeS small DC unlIorm throughout the State. The right of ap- peal from any judgment of justice of the peace, or from any inferior court authorized by this section, with out the prepayment of costs ,and also in the term of office of. such justices, and of the judges of such inferior courts and of notaries public, shall be provided for by law. The Governor may appoint notaries public without the powers of a justice of the peace, and may, except where otherwise pro- vided by an act of the General Assem- bly,. appoint not more. than one notary public with all of the powers and jur- isdiction of a justice of the peace for each precinct in which the election of Justices of the peace shall be author ized.
 The minority report was read as fol- lows:
 strike out the word except and strike out the word otherwise in the last paragraph of Section 29."
 Mir. Pettus here took the chair.
 The President pro tem.-The minority rerort will be treated as as anmend- ment to the section. The question is upon the adoption of the amendment.
 MT. Jones (Hale)-I think the minor ity report should meet the Judgment of every delegate of the Convention. You just take the majority report and cut out the two words. The reason of the former law was that certain coun- ties in the State were under negro domination, and as Coke says, The reason of the law is the life of the law. and he that knoweth the law without knowing the reason thereof, has very insufficient knowledge" The State now is under Democratic rule, and there Is nc necessity of having these officers.
 We have a justice of the peace who does all this work. and the idea of having a notary public was that in some counties where the negroes had control. the Governor might ap. point the officer, but this is Judicial officer and it is against the spirit or the times to have a Governor appoint Judicial officer. It is also such small office that he is sometimes appointed without due consideration. some man, probably a Justice of the Peace, gets up a petition to have himself appoint ed and sends it up and there being no opposition. because 1t Is a small Qf1ce. he is appointed.
 Another thing. this officer IS not llke a Justice of the Peace. He Is not re- snonsible to any one. The Justice Of the Peace has to be reelected. This officer. being appointed by the Cover nor has nothing behind and just acts according to his own good will. ana hone the Convention will not mako perhaps forty or fifty that do not want this office, to be excepted. but Will re- uuire the counties that want thls omce created. to come in and ask for 1t. DO not make the counties that want to be axcsnted come here and ask for 1t, but make the counties that want IL come to tho raorialatIre for II,
 MT. Smith (Mobile)-So far as the Section is concerned, 1t was moideo largely to suit, as the Committee un- derstood it, the varying conditions of the several counties and municipalities in the State. As the gentleman Will mo- tice, 1t makes the Justice or the reace a constitutional officer in the counties, but not if10cities and towns navlns I,oov Inhabitants or more. In cities ana towns of that size the Legislature mas the right, though 1t is not made com nulsorv. 10 create an inferior court to exercise the jurisdiction that Justices or the Peace would otherwise exercise ln such cities or towns as the Legislature may create these inferior courts. ana abolish the office of Justice or tne Peace. In the provisions. so far as the Notary Public is concerned, IL IS ie1t iust as it was in the old Constitution,
 
 the Notary Public with powers or Jus tice of the Peace in each precinct, ex- cept as otherwise authorized by law. So far as we could learn in the Conn mittee. there was but one county tneiS represented that did not want the No- tary Public with the powers Of Juselce of the Peace. That was the county of Hale. The gentleman from Hale now desires that all the other counties PftC authorize the Governor to appoint Q Notary Public with the powers of Jus tice of the Peace, so as to save Nhe county of Hale the necessity or pass ing that act. So far as we could learn. there are sixty-five counties that want if. and one that does not want 1t, which is the county of Hale, and the Cohl- mIttee therefore said that the county of Hale could get exempted rom H. But the gentleman from Hale says, no, that burden ought not to be put upon Hale; the other sixty-fve counties ought to get an act passed for tnelr benefit. He thought there were more of them, and they could pass more acts, and he thought it was talr that they should pass these acts and that is the only controversy between the ma iority and the minority. l therefore move to lay the report of the minority upon the table.
 Nr. Macdonald-Is it the purpose or the majorky to allow the Legislature to provide for inferior courts in each pre- cinct of a town such as described in the Section?
 MT. Smith-No sir.
 Mir Macdonald-That is the phrase ology; just read it. , MT. Srnith-I have read 1t and dls- cussed it a great deal.
 MT. Macdonald-Permit me to reao it to the gentlemen.
 MT. Smith-You are welcome to read 1t. o, L
 MT. Macdonald Geading)-"ln each prec1nct, not lying within, or partly within. any city or incorporated town of more than 2,5O0 inhabitants, there shall be elected by the qualified electors of such precinct not exceeding two Jus | tices of the Peace and one Constable Where enc or more precincts lie Wlthlii, or partly within. a city or incorporate town having more than 2,50O inhaolt- ants. the General Assembly may pro- vide by law for the election or TWO | Justices of the Peace and one %oh- stable for such precincts. or an ln1e- rior court for such preclnt or pre- cinCts.'' That is the phraseology of 1t. l merely want to know if it is the pur- pose of the majority to put upon the | county or State. an inferior court Wlth all its machinery, in each precinct MT. Smith (Motile)-lt IS not the | en exOreSSe0 in my