The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-10

MT. deGraffenreid-You were net in | the Chair this morning when the House suspended the rules under a motion, by which it was agreed that each sub division should be read, and unless there was objection or amendment of- fered to the subdivision. 1t should be taken as passed by the House without a vote.
 The President-The Chair will con- tinue the same method that the House agreed upon this morning. Subdivision Il was read as follows: Eleventh-Changing or locating
 county seat. Mr. PiiIans-I move to strike out Subdivision Il. MT. Pillans amendment was read as follows:
 Amend Section 1 of Article on Local Legislation by striking out Subdivision Il.
 MT. PiIlans-This amendment con- tains no criticism of the Committee.
 The object they seek to obtain, how
 ever, will probably be better secured
 by the adoption of some such Section
 as the Committee on State and Coupty
 Boundaries has reported. which will
 provide that a change of county seats
 shall only be made after an election Dy Une DcOple. II JUdI pldh 10 duoPL-
 ed of changing county seats only after
 an election, with either majority or
 a two-thirds majority of the people as-
 senting thereto. there will be no oc-
 casion for putting this clause in the
 Constitution, making this restriction on
 local legislation, for the reason that the
 clauses which has heretofore existed
 would no longer exist. Moreover. if
 you undertake to provide by genera
 law for changing of county boundar.ss
 by the Court of County Commission
 CTS it will invite a struggle in every
 county in the State of Alabama.
 take 1t if you pass a general law in-
 viting the counties to pass on the question of changing the court houses.
 you would cause a great deal of dis
 sention, whereas, if you leave 1t out
 of this part of the Constitution and
 leave it in the other as my friend says
 it will be productive of good results.
 Then whenever a court is desired to
 have county seat changed. or sup
 pose that such a thing was desired in
 the county, the Legislature will act
 upon the bill which the local member
 offers, pass it, and then leave the mat
 ter to the people of the county, and
 those people will either defeat it or
 ratify t as they please. That is my
 TedSOA IOT IL Out ACiC.
 MT. deGraffenreid-I move to lay the
 amendment offered by the gentleman
 from Mobile on the table. Upon vote being taken a di-
 vision was called for and by vote of 54 ayes and g noes the amendSlent was tabled.
 Mir. Barefield-I offer an amendment. The amendment was read as follows: By striking out the word seat" and adding the word 'site." Mir. Watts-I move to lay the amendment on the table. MT. Cobb-I desire 10 call the at.en- ton of the Convention to the fact that the Committe on County Bound aries las dealt with this whole ques-
 tion and this section is not at all nec- essary.
 Mr. deGraffenreid-poes it conflict | with their report?
 Mir. Cobb-I do not know that it does, but 1t may.
 MT. Waddell-I ask the gentleman from Macon does not this really give it
 more force and effect?
 MT. Cobb do not know that it does, without having the report of the Committee on County Boundaries before me, but if 1t is in order, move | to defer the further consideration of | this subdivision until the Committee on l County Boundaries reports. MT. O'Neal--I want to say that 1t Is | impossible for any member of this Convention to forecast what a commit | tee is going to report or what action | the Convention Is going to take in ref erence thereto. There can be abso- | lutely no objection to this provision. It l is simply prohibiting the Legislature I from G0tnnr a To 0hQ n ofnc ho | ty site of any particular county. They can do it by general law, because we require here that on all these subjects | as to which we prohibit the Legisla- | ture from passing local laws. that it Is their duty to pass general laws. We | want to prevent another Shelby County
 case.
 MT. Weatherly-I rise to a point of
 order. There is nothing before the Convention.
 Mir. O'Neal-There is & motion before
 the Convention 10 indefinitely postpone
 the consideration of this subdivision. The President-The Chair will oyer-
 rule the point of order.
 MT. Cobb-Will the gentleman from Lauderdale allow me just a moment? |?
 There is a conflict here between these Mir. O'Neal-We have a committee
 here for the purpose of reconcuing those conflicts.
 MT Cobb-That committee cannot strike out where this House has adopt | ed. Where they conflict. they will have to come back to this Convention to | have reconciliation. They are invest ed with no such power as I understand | 1t, and what I want to suggest 10 my | friends
 The President-The gentleman from | Lauderdale has the floor. Mir. Cobb-By his consent I simply
 desire to say in this report from the | Committee on County Boundaries 1t is provided 1t may be submitted to a vote
 of the people in the county. the uues- | tion of changing a county site. MT. O'Neal-That is absolutely not
 in conflict. We say to the Legislature you must not pass any local law. You | can pass a general law by which you
 submit to the people of any county in the State the question of whether they desire to move their local court house. That is no conflict at all. | Mir. Oates-The gentleman from Lau- derdale has made the point that was
 about to suggest. The two are got in
 conflict. This simply provides against | the Legislature changing county seat
 The other provision from the County | Boundaries Committee provides the | method by which it may be changed
 by vote of the people. | MT. Jenkins-I would like to maKe l suggestion. My recollection of the re- | mort tof tha Committee on County