Mr. NICHOLSON's amendment, heretofore offered, to-wit: "But no such alteration or repeal shall interfere with or divest rights which have become vested" was adopted by the Convention.

Mr. GIBSON'S amendment was then adopted.

Mr. THOMPSON, of Maury, offered the following amendment: In 1st line, between the word "corporation" and "shall" insert the words "except Banking Companies, Railroad Companies, Navigation Companies and Insurance Companies;" add to said section the words, and all companies incorporated by the General Assembly shall each pay into the Treasury of the State one hundred dollars before the Act of Incorporation shall take effect or be in force."

Mr. BURTON demanded a division of the question, which was ordered, and the first clause of the amendment was rejected.

Mr. THOMPSON demanded the yeas and nays upon the adoption of the second clause of his amendment.

The Chair declared the rejection of the first clause disposed of the amendment.

Mr. JONES, of Giles, offered the following amendment :

Provided, That no charter incorporating a railroad, a bank, or town or city, where the number of inhabitants shall exceed two hundred and fifty, shall go into operation until the same shall be approved by a vote of the majority of each House of the Legis

lature.

Mr. TURNER demanded the previous question, which was sustained, and Mr. Jones', of Giles, amendment rejected, and Section 7, Article XI, as amended was adopted.

• Mr. TURNER moved to reconsider the vote adopting the Section, and further moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the table.

Mr. BAXTER demanded the yeas and nays on the the motion to lay the motion to reconsider on the table, which were ordered, and the motion to lay on the table sustained.

Yeas..
Nays...

Those voting in the affirmative are:

.49 ...15

Messrs. Brandon, Branson, Britton, Brown of Henry, etc., Burton, Byrne, Coffin, Cummings, Cypert, Deaderick, Deavenport, Dibbrell, Doherty, Fielder, Gardner, Garner, Gaut, Gibson, Heiskell, Henderson, Hill of Waren, Hill of Gibson, House of Wil

321

liamson, Ivie, Jones of Lincoln, Kennedy, Key, Kirkpatrick, Mabry, McDougal, McNabb, Morris, Meeks, Netherland, Nicholson, Parker, Porter of Haywood, Sample, Seay, Shepard, Shelton, Staley, Stephens, Thompson of Davidson, Turner, Walters, Warner, Williamson and Wright-49.

Those voting in the negative are:

Messrs. Allen, Bate, Baxter, Blizard, Brooks, Brown of Davidson, Campbell, Carter, Chowning, Fentress, Finley, Gibbs, Gordon, Jones of Giles and Thompson of Maury-15:

On motion, the Convention adjourned until to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 16, 1870.

The Convention met pursuant to adjournment, Mr. President BROWN in the Chair.

The Journal of yesterday was read and approved.

AMENDMENTS PROPOSED.

Mr. JONES, of Lincoln, offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary Department be and are hereby instructed to report a provision to be inserted in Section 13, Article 6, providing that Clerks of the Chancery Courts shall be elected for the term of four years by the qualified voters of the counties, or districts, for which the several courts may be held and also providing that Clerks of the Circuit Courts shall be elected by the qualified voters of the several counties for the term of four years.

Which lies over under the rules.

FRAUDULENT BONDS.

Mr. CAMPBELL submitted the following preamble and resolution:

WHEREAS, It having been stated upon the floor of this Convention, that extensive frauds and irregularities have been committed in obtaining the bonds of the State, for internal improvements and other purposes; that a large number of the bonds of the State have been illegally issued and appropriated; that other securities of the State are now in circulation without legal authority; and that irregularities have been committed in disposing of the Agricultural School Scrip. It is therefore,

Resolved, That the Legislature, now in session, be requested to pass a law creating a commission of three discreet citizens of the State, to be called "The Board of Commissioners on Bond and Public Securities," whose duty it shall be to examine into and adjudicate upon the validity of all bonds, and other securities issued by, and now outstanding against the State, and to report upon any irregularities that may have been committed in the disposition of the Agricultural School Scrip. That said Board of Commissioners have conferred upon them all the power, authority and machinery necessary to carry ont the object and purposes of this resolution. Which lies over under the rule.

PRINTING THE NEW CONSTITUTION.

Mr. TURNER offered the following resolution :

Resolved, That the Committee on Revision and Enrollment be instructed to have printed ten thousand copies of the amended Constitution, at as an early day as practicable. The same to be so printed as to show the additions and amendments to the present Constitution.

The undersigned having voted against all the propositions that tended to deprive the children of Tennessee of the benefits of fre schools, and having especially voted against the 10th Section, už Article XI of the Constitution, desire to present, by way of prótes the reasons for their vote:

1. Said Section while declaring that "knowledge, learning and virtue are essential to the preservation of Republican institutions,' at the same time provides no means to make operative that great truth, and is therefore an acknowledgment that the Convention is either unable or unwilling to devise a method of general public instruction.

2. The consecration of the "Common School Fund" to the "support and encouragement of Common Schools" is a horrid mockery

inasmuch as there is not one cent of said "fund" in existence; and the very language sounds like Scripture in the mouth of an infidel.

2. Said section, though one of the longest in the Constitution, has the least in it. It literally means nothing. It is a monstrous conglomeration of uncommonly long sentences, and sounds like an antique epitaph upon Plato's Academy. Its true signification is "hic jacet."

4. Said section says in substance that the children of Tennessee are entitled to common schools, and yet, practically denies them schools. And this said section is an inimitable illustration of “how not to do it.”

The undersigned believe that the education of her children is the highest duty of the State-a duty not to be postponed in order to pay debts of doubtful obligation, but a duty to be preferred to all others. Free schools and free States are inseparable, for education is the foundation of freedom.

The section, as adopted, is but the dead corpse of the section in the old Constitution. The same body is there, but the life, the money is gone-gone past resurrection, and all that remains is to bury the ghastly carcass of what was once a glory and a blessing to Tennessee, forever out of sight. Why keep the section like an Egyptian mummy, preserved for exhibition in the Constitution, a perpetual offence to the sight, an unpleasant reminder of past good, now vanished forever.

The undersigned, therefore, protest against the adoption of said section as a promise without a fulfillment, a right without enjoyment, a preamble without a resolution, a "glittering generality," a repudiation of a great moral duty, and a deadly blow at education given in the name of friendship, and asked to have this their protest entered on the Journal.

HENRY R. GIBSON,
JAMES C. PARKER,
J. W. BRANSON.

REPORT ON THE JUDICIARY.

Mr. HEISKELL, from the Committee on the Judiciary, made the following report :

The Committee on the Judicial Department have directed me to report: That they have considered the matter of the memorial of Robert H. Jameison, and that they recommend the adoption of the following clauses to be incorporated in the Constitution.

HEISKELL, Chairman.

ARTICLE XI.

Section 1, as heretofore. Add to it the following:

But ordinances contained in any former Constitution or Schedule thereto are hereby abrogated.

The time which has elapsed from the 6th day of May, 1861, until the 1st day of January, 1867, shall not be computed, in any case affected by the statutes of limitation, nor shall any writ of error be affected by such lapse of time.

On motion of Mr. HEISKELL, it was ordered that the report be laid on the table, and 100 copies be printed for the use of the Convention.

RATE OF INTEREST.

The Convention proceeded to the consideration of the Report of the Committee on Finance, Internal Improvements and Corporations—the question immediately pending being that of interest.

Mr. JONES, of Lincoln, offered the following as an amendment to the amendment of Mr. Baxter :

Add, "for loaned money not exceeding ten per centum per annum."

Mr. PORTER, of Haywood, offered the following in lieu of Mr. Baxter's and the Report of the Committee:

Strike out Article XI, Section 6, and insert the following:

"The legal rate of interest in this State shall be six per centum per annum, but the Legislature shall have power to provide by law for a conventional rate of interest."

Mr. HILL, of Gibson, demanded the previous question, which was sustained.

Mr. JONES, of Lincoln, demanded the yeas and nays upon the adoption of his amendment, which were ordered and the amendment rejected.

Yeas.. Nays..

Those voting in the affirmative are:

29

40

Messrs. Arledge, Branson, Britton, Brooks, Brown of Davidson, Deavenport, Dromgoole, Fielder, Garner, Gaut, Gibson, Hill of Warren, House of Montgomery, etc., Ivie, Jones of Lincoln, Jones of Giles, Key, McDougal, McNabb, Martin, Meeks, Netherland, Nicholson, Parker, Seay, Shepard, Thompson of Maury, Turner and Warner-29.

Those voting in the negative are:

Messrs. Allen, Baxter, Blackburn, Blizard, Brandon, Brown of Henry, etc., Burkett, Burton, Byrne, Campbell, Carter, Chowning, Coffin, Cummings, Cypert, Deaderick, Dibbrell, Fentress, Finley,