vided, That one hundred thousand dollars of the fund allotted to middle Tennessee shall be appropriated to the rivers of middle Tennessee. Sec. 26. Be it enacted, That the profit arising upon the stock owned by the state in the several works of internal improvement, shall constitute a fund to be applied to the redemption of the bonds of the state executed and to be executed for raising the bank capital herein provided for, and the internal improvement bonds of the state. JOHN COCKE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. TERRY H. CAHAL, Passed January 19, 1838. Speaker of the Senate. (No. 9.) Report of the select committee relative to a change in the location of the Wayne county poor house. The committee to whom was referred the memorial and petition of the commissioners of the county of Wayne, relative to a change of location of their county poor-house, have had the subject under consideration, and now beg leave respectfully to report: That the facts set forth in their memorial, are in themselves of sufficient force, in the opinion of your committee, to justify the legislature in granting the prayer of the petitioners. Among the facts stated in said memorial, are the following: That the present site of the poor house, contains but about twenty acres of land, which was purchased, and is now owned by the people of Wayne county, and that the buildings and improvements upon it, were made at their expense; that the lecation, in their opinion is a bad one, for at least two prominent reasons, and 1st. That the land is low, wet and marshy, and as they believe, unhealthy. 2d. That its proximity to this city, being but about two miles distant, induces many worthless vagrants, under feigned illness or poverty, to resort to it as a place of refuge. That the quantity of land, were it good, is insufficient to give profitable employment to the multitude of paupers now assembled at that depot, who are able to perform some labor; were they placed in a situation where their keepers could employ them advantageously, it would probably result in their own advantage and to that of the public. That the present expenses for the maintenance of the poor of the county of Wayne is enormous, and far beyond all precedent in the state of Michigan, it being about fourteen thousand dollars for the present year, and in all probability would increase under existing circumstances, were they to be continued at their present location any or much longer. Your petitioners have also expressed an opinion, in which your committee fully coincide-that were a farm purchased at some central point in the county, of a good quality, and of sufficient dimensions to give employment to those among the paupers who were able to labor, that the expenses to the county would be greatly reduced, if not in a great measure done away with. For the reasons and facts herein stated, your committee have reported a bill for the sale of the present poor-house, and for the construction or purchase of a better one, in a better place. All of which is respectfully submitted by the committee. ANDREW MACK, Chairman of Committee. (No. 10.) Reports of the minority and majority of the committee on elections, on the claim of Elisha Ely to a seat in the House of Representatives, as a member from the county of Allegan. The committee on elections, to whom were referred a communication from Elisha Ely, Esq., claiming a seat in the House of Representatives from the county of Allegan, under the provisions of the constitution of the state, report: It appeared in evidence before the committee, that the claim of Mr. Ely was founded upon the fact, that in the county of Allegan, at the recent election for representative, (under the law of last sesssion apportioning representatives, which apportionment annexed the counties of Barry and Eaton to the county of Allegan, entitling the said counties, as a district, to one representative,) he, Mr. Ely, received a majority of the votes, whilst David B. Stout, Esq. the representative now occupying the seat from that district, received a majority of the votes in said district. Having under consideration the law applicable to the question, and the opinions of the Attorney General and the Hon. Ross Wilkins, which are herewith transmitted, respecting as to the constitutionality of that law, together with the fact that the county of Allegan was organize subsequent to the signing but previous to the ratification of the constitution, your committee were divided in sentiment--the undersigned being of opinion, under their construction of the law and constitution, that Mr. Ely could not be admitted to a seat as a representative from the county of Allegan. TRUE P. TUCKER, Ch'n Com. J. H. PATTERSON. A majority of the committee on elections, to whom was referred the credentials of Elisha Ely, of the county of Allegan, respectfully report: That they have carefully and deliberately investigated the subject before them, and have come to this conclusion-that Allegan county was duly organized previous to the adoption of the constitution, and is therefore, by the provisions therein contained, entitled to a separate representative. The 4th section of 4th article of the constitution provides that each organized county shall be entitled to at least one representative; but no county hereafter organized shall be entitled to a separate representative, unless its population shall equal the ratio of representation hereafter established by the legislature. We are then led to inquire whether the constitution takes effect and becomes binding from the time it received the sanction of the convention which formed it, or at the time it was ratified by the people. Your committee are of opinion, that the convention had no authority to ratify the constitution; the law authorizing the formation of the constitution and state government, gave no such authority to the convention. The law and the constitution expressly say, it shall be submitted to the people for their ratification. Thus we are to infer that the constitution had no binding effect until ratified by the people, and that the people could not confer authority nor jurisdiction on that instrument, which was in itself a dead letter until it received their approbation. We are again led to inquire whether the acts of the legislative council, passed at its extra session in August, 1835, were legal and binding. It has been objected, that the council had no authority to sit more than sixty days in any one year. This authority was conferred by congress, and congress approving the acts passed by that body, would necessarily imply an assent; therefore, we are to conclude the county of Allegan was duly organi zed previous to the adoption of the constitution, and by such organization is entitled to a separate representative. Your commit. tee, therefore, are of opinion that the act providing for the apportionment of the members of the House of Representatives of this state, and for the arrangement of senate districts, approved April 3d, 1838, so far as it relates to the formation of the district composed of the counties of Allegan, Barry and Eaton, was unconstitutional, and requires the immediate action of this legislature; but the unconstitutional annexation of the counties of Barry and Eaton to the organized county of Allegan, in the opinion of your committee, does not render the law unconstitutional any further than the rights of the respective counties are concerned. The ratio of representation would not have been changed, had the county of Allegan received her constitutional right, which she claimed, therefore no injustice has been done to any organized county, and in the opinion of your committee, the act in relation to the formation of other representative districts is constitutional and valid. The unconstitutional acts of the legislature cannot deprive the county of Allegan of her vested rights, granted by the constitution. From the returns of the board of county canvassers of the county of Allegan, certified by the proper officers, it appears that Elisha Ely received a majority of the votes of the county of Al |