selves, only taking the lights and experience of the older states for our guide. It was not until the gentleman from Iowa mentioned the subject of penalties that he thought of looking into the constitutions of other states for authority, but he had since glanced over them and found such authority in every one of them. He wished this constitution in a great measure to be the law, without reference to the legislature; he hoped and believed this convention is a "hard" one, and they should not limit the power of the convention in such a manner as to enable any future "soft" legislature to put down penalties without violating the constitution. He intimated the probability of future "soft" legislatures being influenced by interested lobby monopolists and bank men who will haunt this place session after session to reduce the penalty to a mere nominal sum, but, as he was one of the "hards," would be willing to raise it to $100,000 instead of $10,000. Mr. Ryan was violently opposed to any banks and profuse in his favorite phrases of "hards," "softs," and "lobby beggars"; and after reiterating his fears of the corruption of all future legislatures, and his willingness to affix the penalty for "making, signing, or issuing within this state any paper money, bank note, promissory note, bill, order, check, certificate of deposit, or any other evidence of debt whatever, intended to circulate as money," $100,000 or imprisonment for twenty years, sat down, evidently much pleased with himself. Moses M. Strong withdrew his motion to go into committee of the whole, but gave notice that he should renew it on Monday, which he said was allowing the minority sufficient time to prepare their report, as five minutes had been found long enough to prepare the majority report. He disagreed with his colleague in regard to submitting this report to a select committee. The committee of the whole were as competent to decide upon it as any select committee. He did not favor the idea of endeavoring to smother it in the secret chamber of a select committee. Moses M. Strong moved that the convention go into committee of the whole on elections and suffrage, which he afterwards withdrew for the same reason as above. Moses M. Strong moved that the convention go into committee of the whole on the eminent domain and property of the state. Marshall M. Strong remarked that sufficient time had not been allowed to compare the report with the provisions made on the subjects by other states, and he therefore hoped the matter would be further postponed.-Express, Oct. 12, 1846. MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1846 Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Miner. The journal of yesterday was read. Mr. Bevans presented the certificate of election of J. Allen Barber, a member from the county of Grant, who upon his motion was admitted to his seat. Also the certificate of election of James Gilmore, a member from the county of Grant, who upon his motion was admitted to his seat. Mr. Burchard presented the certificate of election of Benjamin Hunkins, a member from the county of Waukesha, also the certificate of election of Alexander W. Randall, a member from [the county of] Waukesha, who upon his motion were admitted to their seats. Mr. Whiteside presented the certificate of election of Franklin Z. Hicks, a member from the county of Grant, who upon his motion was admitted to his seat. Rufus Parks, a member from the county of Waukesha, presented his certificate of election, which was ordered to be filed. Mr. Graham presented the certificate of election of James Magone, a member from Milwaukee County, who upon his motion was admitted to his seat. Moses M. Strong: I wish to call the attention of the convention to a report of some of my remarks contained in the Democrat newspaper of the tenth instant. I am reported in that paper as having said while speaking of my constituents: "They were all interested in the proceedings of this convention, and every man fit to have a paper took one." Now, sir, I never said any such thing. If I had, it would have been tantamount to saying that every man who did not take a paper was not fit to have one. What I did say in substance was that all who felt interested in the proceedings of this convention would find some means of finding them out, and that every man who saw fit to have a paper took one. I should not have troubled the convention with this explanation, were it not that I have heretofore, while a member of the legislature, been misrepresented several times, without of course any intention of doing me injustice on the part of the reporters. While up, wish to suggest that mistakes of the kind I have alluded to might be in a great degree avoided if the reporters would give I gentlemen an opportunity of examining their remarks after they are written out and before they are in type.-Argus, Oct. 20, 1846. Mr. Judd, from the committee on taxation, finance, and public debt, reported No. 6, "Article relative to taxation, finance, and the public debt." "The committee on finance, taxation, and public debt respectfully report for the adoption of the convention the following propositions: TAXATION "1. All taxes to be levied in this state, at any time, shall be as nearly equal as may be. "2. All public lands or other property situated and being within this state, belonging to the United States, shall be free from taxation. "3. All lands or other property belonging to this state shall be forever free from taxation. "4. All school lands, university lands, and all other property belonging to any school, university, college, or seminary of learning, situated and being within this state shall be forever free from taxation. "5. All houses erected for and dedicated to the public worship of God, and the lots which they necessarily occupy for such purpose, and all public burying grounds, and all parsonage houses and the lands connected therewith, to the value of $2,500, shall be forever free from taxation. FINANCE "1. No money shall ever be paid out of the treasury of this state, except in pursuance of an appropriation by law. "2. The credit of this state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned in aid of any individual, association, or corporation. "3. There shall be published under the direction of the treasurer in at least one newspaper printed at the seat of government in this state, during the first week in January in each and every year, a detailed statement of all the money drawn from the treasury during the preceding year, for what purpose, and to whom paid. "4. There shall not at any time be issued, in any form or manner, under the authority of this state, any state scrip, certificate, or evidence of state debt, except for such debts as are authorized by the second and third sections of article in this constitution. PUBLIC DEBT "1. No public debt shall at any time be created in this state, except such as is authorized in the following sections of this article. "2. This state may, to meet accidental deficits and failures in revenue, or for expenses not provided for, contract debts; but such debts, singly or in the aggregate, shall not at any time exceed $50,000, unless in time of war, to repel invasion, or to suppress insurrection and rebellion. "3. Except the debts specified in the second section of this article, no debt or liability shall be contracted by or on behalf of this state, unless such debt shall be authorized by law for some single work or object to be distinctly specified therein. Nor shall such law take effect until it shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the qualified electors of this state for their approval or disapproval and shall have received in its favor a majority of all the votes cast at such election upon that subject. "No such law shall be submitted to be voted upon within less than three months from its passage; nor when any other law or any amendment to the constitution shall be submitted to be voted for or against. "All which is respectfully submitted. STODDARD JUDD The report of the committee was accepted and the committee discharged from the further consideration of the subject. The said article was then read the first and second times, referred to the committee of the whole, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Judd, as chairman of the committee on finance, taxation, and the public debt, would submit the report of that committee, and would premise the report by saying that the committee were of opinion that the subjects submitted for their consideration should have been named in the following order, viz., taxation, finance, and the public debt, and in that order would offer their report.-Express, Oct. 20, 1846. Mr. Gibson, from the committee on banks and banking, made a minority report, No. 1, "Article relative to banks and banking. REPORT OF THE MINORITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON BANKS AND BANKING "Mr. Gibson, one of the committee, dissents from the report of the majority of said committee and begs leave to offer the following reasons for dissenting therefrom: First. Because the said report was prepared by the chairman of said committee without consulting with the other members of the committee and without having called them together or ascertained their opinions upon the subject committed to them. Second. Because the said report recommends the adoption of a provision in the constitution forever prohibiting either the legislature or |