191. Injustice and Cruelty to Prisoners.--Sec. 17. Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines shall not be imposed, and cruel and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted.

This section prevents unprincipled judges from using extortion and cruelty toward helpless prisoners, a very common practice in olden times. Read the articles on "Prisons and Prison Discipline," in the International Cyclopædia.

Private prop

192. Eminent Domain.-Sec. 18. erty shall not be taken for public use without just compensation first being made, or secured to be made to the owner thereof, as soon as the damages shall be assessed by a jury, who shall r.ot take into consideration any advantages that may result to said owner on account of the improvement for which it is taken.

This is a funda

The right is fre

The right of eminent domain allows the government to require the sale of private property, if it is needed for the public good, not otherwise. mental principle in government. quently exercised in what is called condemning private property to secure a location for a school-house, or to extend a street through a private lot. An appeal may be taken from the decision of the appraising jury to the district court. Explain the last clause of section 18.

No per

193. Imprisonment for Debt.-Sec. 19. son shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action, on mesne or final process, unless in case of fraud; and no person shall be imprisoned for a military fine in time of peace.

Until the passage of the later bankrupt laws in England, the prisons of that country were crowded with debtors. A vivid picture of this condition of affairs may be found in the description of the Marshalsea and

other debtors' prisons in Dickens' "Little Dorrit." The colony of Georgia was planned by Oglethorpe as an asylum for insolvent debtors. With regard to the arrest of debtors, most of the States of the Union have followed the example of New York, where imprisonment for debt, except in certain cases, was abolished in 1831. In case of fraud, the party would be imprisoned for a misdemeanor, and not for debt. Mesne process is the process intervening between the beginning and the end of a suit. Final process is a writ of execution in action at law. (International Dictionary.)

194. Right of Assembly and Petition.-Sec. 20. The people have the right freely to assemble together to counsel for the common good; to make known their opinions to their representatives and to petition for a redress of grievances.

The industrial armies under Coxey and Kelly in 1894 were cases of assembly and petition combined, but the men composing some of these armies were guilty of many abuses of their privileges while on the march.

195. Attainder, Ex Post Facto, Etc.--Sec. 21. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed.

A bill of attainder is a judicial act passed by a legislative body, condemning a man to death or outlawry without a fair trial "for offenses against the state or public peace," ie., political offenses. In England, bills of attainder were formerly a favorite means of disposing of obnoxious noblemen, and of securing large fortunes to the crown. Such acts were accompanied by (1) the confiscation of property, and (2) the forfeit

ure of all claims to legal rights and protection. By this "attaint" or "corruption of blood," the children of the condemned were debarred from inheritance of any property through him.

196. Ex Post Facto Laws.—Ex post facto laws are laws making criminal an act which was not criminal when committed, or laying upon an act previously committed a penalty heavier than was required by law when the act was committed. Ex post facto laws are retro-active, but all retro-active laws are not ex post facto, for the ex post facto principle does not apply to civil cases.

197. Impairing Obligation of Contracts.-No law may be passed which releases a party from a contract made before the law was passed. Even the Federal Constititution forbids states to pass such laws; and when the State of Tennessee annulled the charter of the city of Memphis, and gave it a new charter, which declared that the city was not liable for any debts contracted under the old charter, the case was taken into the Federal courts, and the charter declared unconstitutional in so far as it impaired the previous contracts of the city.

198. Rights of Foreigners.-Sec. 22. Foreigners who are or may hereafter become residents of this State shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, enjoyment, and descent of property as nativeborn citizens.

Does this give foreigners the right of elective franchise (voting)?

199. Slavery.--Sec. 23. There shall be no slavery in this State; nor shall there be involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime.

The citizens of Iowa have never had any sympathy with slavery, though in the early days, previous to the Missouri Compromise, some slaves were owned here

(73).

200. Lease of Lands.-Sec. 24.

No lease or grant of agricultural lands, reserving any rent, or service of any kind, shall be valid for a longer period than twenty years.

It is a very interesting fact, but one not very generally known, that farm lands may not be leased for a longer period than twenty years. At the end of that time, if desired, the lease may be renewed.

The enu

201. Reservation of Rights.-Sec. 25. meration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others, retained by the people.

What is the object of this section?

202. Prohibitory Amendment.--(Sec. 26. No person shall manufacture for sale, or sell, or keep for sale, as a beverage, any intoxicating liquors whatever, including ale, wine and beer. The General Assembly shall by law prescribe regulations for the enforcement of the prohibition herein contained, and shall thereby provide suitable penalties for the violation of the provision hereof.)

(The foregoing amendment was adopted at a special election held on June 27, 1882. The Supreme court, April 21, 1883, in the case of Koehler & Lange vs. Hill, reported in 60th Iowa, page 543, held that, owing to certain irregularities, the amendment was not legally submitted to the electors, and did not become a part of the constitution.)

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. How was prohibition of the liquor traffic secured, when the prohibitory amendment proved a failure?

2. What is the Mulct Law? The Manufacturer's Bill?

CHAPTER XVI

203.

ARTICLE II.—RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE

Qualification.-Section 1. Every (white) male citizen of the United States, of the age of twentyone years, who shall have been a resident of this state six months next preceding the election, and of the county in which he claims his vote sixty days, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are now or hereafter may be authorized by law.

(Amended by striking out the word "white" at the general election in 1868.)

Show by outline the qualifications required in a voter in Iowa.

Qualifications for voting in Iowa:

1. Sex.

2. Citizenship.

3. Age.

4. Residence.

(a) In State.

(b) In District.

When it was proposed to pass a law giving women the right to vote, the opponents of the law said it was unconstitutional. Is there anything in this section forbidding the legislature to give women the elective franchise? The General Assembly finally passed a law giving women the privilege of voting on financial questions in city and school elections. Is this law any more in accordance with the terms of the Constitution than the law first proposed?

The statutes of the United States require a residence of five years before a foreigner can, by naturalization,