THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1847

Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Penman.

The journal of yesterday was read.

Mr. Wheeler presented two petitions of the inhabitants of Dane County praying that a homestead exemption be secured to every family by the comstitution, which were laid upon the table.

Mr. Kilbourn, from the committee on general provisions, reported the following articles, to wit: No. 10, article on finance, as follows:

"Section 1. may be.

FINANCE

All taxes levied in this state shall be as nearly equal as

"Section 2. The property of the state and counties, both real and personal, and such property as the legislature shall deem proper, belonging to educational, charitable, or religious institutions, or set apart for such purposes, shall be exempted from taxation.

"Section 3. No money shall be paid out of the treasury of this state, except in pursuance of an appropriation by law.

"Section 4. The credit of the state shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individual, association, or corporation.

"Section 5. This state shall never contract any public debt, unless in time of war, to repel invasion, or suppress insurrection, except in the cases and manner herein provided.

"Section 6. The legislature shall provide for an annual tax sufficient to defray the estimated expenses for each year, and whenever it shall happen that the expenses of the state for any year shall exceed the income of the state for such year, the legislature shall provide for levying a tax for the ensuing year, sufficient, with other sources of income, to pay the deficiency of the preceding year together with the estimated expenses of such ensuing year.

"Section 7. For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenditures the state may contract public debts, but such debts shall never singly nor in the aggregate exceed $200,000. Every such debt shall be authorized by law for some purpose or purposes, to be distinctly specified therein; and the vote of a majority of all the members elected to each house, to be taken by yeas and nays, shall be necessary to the passage of such law; and every such law shall provide for levying an annual tax sufficient to pay the annual interest of such debt and also a tax sufficient to pay the principal of such debt within ten years from the passage of such law and shall specially appropriate the proceeds of such taxes to the payment of such principal and interest; and such appropriation shall not be repealed; and such taxes shall not be postponed or diminished until the principal and interest of such debt shall have been wholly paid.

"Section 8. On the passage in either house of the legislature of any law which imposes, continues, or renews a tax, or creates a debt or charge, or makes, continues, or renews an appropriation of public or trust money, or releases, discharges, or commutes a claim or demand of the state, the question

shall be taken by yeas and nays, which shall be duly entered on the journals; and three-fifths of all the members elected to each house shall in all cases be required to constitute a quorum therein."

No. 11, article on eminent domain and property of the state, as follows:

EMINENT DOMAIN AND PROPERTY OF THE STATE

"Section 1. This state shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the river Mississippi and on every other river and lake bordering on this state, so far as the said river or lake shall form a common boundary to this state and any other state or territory now or hereafter to be formed and bounded by the same; and the said river Mississippi, and the navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same shall be common highways and forever free as well to the inhabitants of this state as to the citizens of the United States, without any tax, impost, or duty therefor.

"Section 2. All lands and other property which have accrued to the territory of Wisconsin by grant, gift, purchase, forfeiture, escheat, or otherwise shall vest in the state of Wisconsin.

"Section 3. The people of this state, in the right of sovereignty, are declared to possess the ultimate property in and to all lands within the jurisdiction of this state; and all lands, the title to which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall revert or escheat to the people.

"Section 4. All lands which shall come to the state by forfeiture or escheat, or by grant, where the grant does not specially dedicate the same to any other object, shall be held by the state as a part of the state school fund, under the same trusts, reservations, and restrictions as are provided in this constitution in regard to school lands proper.

BYRON KILBOURN, Chairman”

No. 12, article on internal improvements, as follows:

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS

"Section 1. This state shall encourage internal improvements by individuals, associations, and corporations, but shall not carry on or be a party in carrying on any work of internal improvement except in cases authorized by the second section of this article.

"Section 2. When grants of land or other property shall have been made to the state, especially dedicated by the grant to particular works of internal improvement, the state may carry on such particular works and shall devote thereto the avails of such grants so dedicated thereto, but shall in no case pledge the faith or credit of the state or incur any debt or liability for such work of internal improvement."

No. 13, article on acceptance of act of Congress, as follows:

ACCEPTANCE OF ACT OF CONGRESS

"Section 1. The propositions of the Congress of the United States, made and contained in the act of the sixth day of August, 1846, entitled 'An Act to enable the people of Wisconsin Territory to form a constitution and state government and for the admission of such state into the Union,' are hereby accepted, ratified, and confirmed: Provided, nevertheless, That nothing in this constitution or in the act of Congress aforesaid shall in any manner prejudice or affect the rights of the state of Wisconsin to five hundred thousand acres of land granted to said state and to be hereafter selected and located by and under the act of Congress entitled 'An Act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and grant preëmption rights,' approved September 4, 1841.

"Section 2. The state shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil within the same by the United States nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to bona fide purchasers thereof; and in no case shall nonresident proprietors be taxed higher than residents."

Said articles were severally read the first and second times and ordered printed.

Mr. Fox, from the same committee, made the following minority report on internal improvements, which was read and ordered printed, to wit:

"The undersigned, a minority of the committee on general provisions, to whom was referred the subject of internal improvements, respectfully submit the following report dissenting from [the conclusions at which] the majority of said committee have arrived in the first section of the article on internal improvements as reported by them to the convention, and give the following reasons for such dissent: Believing that the people have the right to govern in all cases, and should they at any time deem it expedient to vote for a law authorizing any particular work of internal improvement and providing for levying a tax sufficient to complete said work, we consider it their sovereign right to do so."

Mr. Lovell, from the committee on executive, legislative, and administra. tive provisions, made the following report, which was read, to wit:

"The committee on executive, administrative, and legislative provisions, having been instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing in the constitution, first, that every law shall in its details be in accordance with its title; second, that no member of the legislature shall receive any reward for forwarding any business of the legislature; and third, that the fuel and stationery for the use of the state and the preparing, printing, etc. of the laws and journals and all public printing shall be let by contract to the lowest responsible bidder, have had the several matters under consideration and respectfully submit the following report:

"The committee have thought it expedient to place in the constitution a provision in accordance with the first proposition and have accordingly sub

mitted a section to that effect in the article legislative, accompanying this report. As to the other propositions referred, the committee have deemed it inexpedient to incorporate them in the constitution for the reason that they are legislative in their character and must be so in their details. The legislature has full power under the ordinary parliamentary law to expel or impeach a member for corrupt practices and equally to guard the purity of legislation without, as with, the proposed constitutional provision.

"The committee are also of opinion that the matters referred to in the third proposition would be equally safe in the control of the legislature. A constitutional provision, inflexible in its nature, and which should take from the legislature and state officers all power over the subject, might and probably would create great inconvenience, while to place it above the necessary and proper exceptions, so as still to give the legislature control over the subject, would take from the provision the inflexibility which alone should give it a place in the constitution. For these reasons the committee ask to be discharged from the further consideration of these subjects.

F. S. LOVELL
RUFUS KING

D. G. FENTON

O. COLE

H. LATHAM

H. G. TURNER"

And also reported No. 14, article on legislative, which was read the first and second times and ordered printed, as follows:

LEGISLATIVE

"Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a senate and assembly.

"Section 2. The number of the members of the assembly shall never be less than forty-five nor more than eighty. The senate shall consist of a number of members not more than one-third nor less than one-fourth of the number of the members of the assembly.

"Section 3. The legislature shall provide by law for an enumeration of the inhabitants of the state in the year 1855 and at the end of every ten years thereafter; and at their first session after such enumeration and also after each enumeration made by the authority of the United States the legislature shall apportion anew the members of the senate and assembly according to the number of inhabitants, excluding Indians not taxed and soldiers and officers of the United States Army and Navy.

"Section 4. The members of the assembly shall be chosen by single districts, annually, on the day of the general election, by the qualified electors of the several districts.

"Section 5. The senators shall be chosen for two years, and at the same time, in the same manner as members of the assembly are required to be chosen. Two senators shall be chosen in each senate district, and at the first 'session of the legislature they shall be divided by lot from their respective districts into two equal classes; the seats of the senators of the first class shall

be vacated at the expiration of the first year and of the second class at the expiration of the second year, so that one-half thereof shall be chosen annually thereafter.

"Section 6. Members of the legislature shall be qualified electors in the respective districts which they represent and shall have resided at least one year in the state.

"Section 7. Each house shall be the judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members; and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.

"Section 8. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish for contempts and disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause.

"Section 9. Each house shall choose its own officers; and the senate shall choose a temporary president when the lieutenant governor shall not attend as president or shall act as governor.

"Section 10. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and publish the same, except such parts as require secrecy. The doors of each house shall be kept open, except when the public welfare shall require secrecy. Neither house shall without consent of the other adjourn for more than three days.

"Section 11. The legislature shall meet at the seat of government, at such time as shall be provided by law, once in each year and not oftener, unless convened by the governor.

"Section 12. No member of the legislature shall during the term for which he was elected be appointed or elected to any civil office in the state, which shall have been created or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during the term for which he was elected.

"Section 13. No person being a member of Congress or holding any civil or military office under the United States shall be eligible to a seat in the legislature. And if any person shall after his election as a member of the legislature be elected to Congress or be appointed to any office, civil or military, under the government of the United States, his acceptance thereof shall vacate his seat.

"Section 14. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies as may occur in either house of the legislature.

"Section 15. Members of the legislature shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest; nor shall they be subject to any civil process during the session of the legislature nor for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of each session. "Section 16. No words spoken in debate in either house of the legislature shall be the foundation of any action, complaint, or prosecution whatever.

"Section 17. The style of the laws of the state shall be, 'The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows'; and no law shall be enacted except by bill.