USA > Mississippi > Official and statistical register of the state of Mississippi, 1908 v. 3 > Part 31
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(1869, Art. XII, Sec 20.)
Local and special assessments not prohibited by the section. Alcorn v. Hamer, 38 Miss., 652; Daily v. Swope, 47 Miss., 367; Vassar v. George, 47 Miss., 713.
This section does not prohibit exemptions. Miss. Mills v. Cook, 56 Miss., 40.
The Legislature cannot prescribe the payment of a docket tax in a particular judicial district for the payment of the judge. Murray v. Lehman, 61 Miss., 283.
An assessment is a prerequisite to taxation on property. State v Adler, 68 Miss., 487 (9 So., 645).
Whenever a tax is according to value an assessment is a prerequisite to its validity. Thibodeaux v. State, 69 Miss., 683 (13 So., 352).
The Legislature cannot dispense with an assessment. State v. Vicksburg Bank, 69 Miss., 99 (10 So., 102).
Local taxation to pay bonds issued for the establishment of schools, outside of the established free school system, does not violate the equality and uniformity rule. Chrisman v. Brook- haven, 70 Miss., 477 (12 So., 458).
The provision that no county shall be denied the right to levy county or special taxes, etc., applies only to assessments of railroads or other like property not situated wholly in one
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county. Brennan v. Mississippi, etc., Co., 70 Miss., 531 (13 So., 228).
The section is the only constitutional limitation on the power of the Legislature to exempt property from county and municipal taxation. Ib.
The section contemplates that the assessment shall be made by the assessor, provided for in Sec. 138. State Revenue Agent v. Tonella, 70 Miss., 701 (14 So., 17).
The uniform and equality rule prescribed by the section is not required to be observed in the imposition of special assess- ments, as for making sidewalks, etc. Nugent v. Jackson, 72 Miss., 1040 (18 So., 493). -
A statute providing for the assessment of railroads for back taxes by the State Railroad Commission, without appeal, does not violate the uniformity and equality rule under the section, and does not deprive of property without due process of law, although other taxpayers may, under general laws, appeal from the tribunal fixing their taxes. Yazoo, etc., R. R. Co. v. Adams, 77 Miss., 764 (25 So., 355).
A statute (Laws 1888, p. 24) dividing the counties into classes and the lands therein into sub-classes, fixing, according to quality, a maximum and minimum value for taxation on the lands in the several classes and confining the assessor to the limits so fixed, violated Art. 5, Sec. 21, Constitution 1869, pro- viding for an assessor in each county, and Art. 12, Sec. 20, . same, requiring property to be taxed according to value. Haw- kins v. Mangum, 78 Miss., 97 (28 So., 872).
Municipal taxation is within the operation of the section. Adams v. Capital, etc., Bank, 75 Miss., 701 (23 So., 395) ; Adams v. Bank of Oxford, 78 Miss., 532 (29 So., 402).
Under Sec. 20, Art. 12, Constitution 1869, the subjects of taxation could be classified at the discretion of the Legislature, and if all of the same class were taxed alike there was no viola- tion of the equality and uniformity therein required. The rule is different under the section supra. Adams v. Bank, 78 Miss., 532 (29 So., 402).
And so the constitutionality of a statute exempting a property owner from liability to taxes is a question which a tax collector, being merely a ministerial officer, cannot determine, but the question is a judicial one for the courts to determine. Yazoo R. Co. v. West, 78 Miss., 789 (29 So., 475).
The railroad commission as assessor of railroad property is without power to determine questions of exemptions from taxation so as to render them res judicata Yazoo R. Co. v. Adams, 8r Miss., 90 (32 So., 937).
This section does not authorize the railroad commission to conclusively determine the judicial question of exemption. Ib.
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Section 13 of Art. 12 of the Constitution of 1869 was self- executing, and the Legislature had no power not to tax corporate ยท property of the kind taxed to individuals. Ib.
The Legislature may authorize a tax collector to assess such persons and personal property as he may find unassessed, as was done by section 3804 of the Code of 1892 (Code 1906, Sec. 4320). Powell v. McKee, 81 Miss., 229 (32 So., 919).
The Legislature is without power to classify property for taxa- tion except as provided in this section, which is self-executing. and hence a provision in a municipal charter granted by the Legislature of 1884, exempting from taxation bills and notes given in whole or in part payment for property within the city subject to taxation is void, either under this provision or under Sec. 20, Art. 12, constitution of 1869. Adams v. Kuykendall, 83 Miss., 571 (35 So., 830).
Municipal taxation is within the operation of this section. Adams v. Bank, 75 Miss., 701 (23 So., 395).
The act of March 9, 1900, p. 43, imposing a privilege tax "on each land timber mill company," but excepting therefrom saw- mill operators who do not ship timber or lumber out of the State, violates this section and also Art. I, Sec. 8, par. 3, Con- stitution United States. Rev. Agt. v. Lumber Co., 84 Miss., 23 (36 So., 68).
This section applied to the act of February 22, 1900, p. 16, which was held constitutional. Marble v. Fife, 69 Miss., 596 (13 So., 842).
SEC. 113. The Auditor shall, within sixty days after the adjournment of the Legislature, prepare and publish a full statement of all money expended at such session, specifying the items and amount of each item, and to whom, and for what paid; and he shall also publish the amounts of all appropriations.
SEC. 114. Returns of all elections by the people shall be made to the Secretary of State in such manner as shall be provided by law ..
(1817, Art. VI, Sec. 18; 1832, Art. VII, Sec. 16; 1869, Art. XII, Sec. 19.)
SEC. 115. The fiscal year of the State of Missis ippi shall commence on the first day of October, and end on the thirtieth day of September of each year; and the Auditor of Public Accounts and the Treasurer of the State shall compile and have published a full and complete report, showing the transactions of their respective offices on or before the thirty-first day of December of each year for the preceding fiscal year.
(1817, Art. VI, Sec. 8.)
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ARTICLE V.
EXECUTIVE.
SEC. 116. The chief executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor, who shall hold his office for four years, and who shall be ineligible as his immediate successor in office.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 1; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 1; 1869, Art. V, Sec. I.)
This section and Secs. 63, 64, 68, 69, 73 and 123 referred to, commented upon and applied. Colbert v. State, 86 Miss., 769 (39 So., 65).
SEC. 117. The Governor shall be at least thirty years of age, and shall have been a citizen of the United States twenty years, and shall have resided in this State five years next preceding the day of his election.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 3; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 3; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 3.) .
SEC. 118. The Governor shall receive for his services such compen- sation as may be fixed by law, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during his term of office.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 4; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 4; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 4:)
SEC. 119. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the State, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 5; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 5; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 5.)
SEC. 120. The Governor may require information in writing from the officers in the executive departments of the State on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 6; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 6; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 6.)
SEC. 121. The Governor shall have power to convene the Legislature in extraordinary session whenever, in his judgment, the public interest requires it. Should the Governor deem it necessary to convene the Legislature he shall do so by public proclamation, in which he shall state the subjects and matters to be considered by the Legislature, when so convened; and the Legislature, when so convened as aforesaid, shall have no power to consider or act upon subjects or matters other than those designated in the proclamation of the Governor by which the session is called, except impeachments and examination into the accounts of State officers. The Legislature when so convened, may also act on and consider such other matters as the Governor may in writing submit to them while in session. The Governor may convene the Legislature at the seat of government, or at a different place if that shall become danger- ous from an enemy or from disease; and in case of a disagreement between
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the two houses with respect to time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next stated meeting of the Legislature.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 7; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 7; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 7.)
SEC. 122. The Governor shall, from time to time, give the Legislature information of the state of the government, and recommend for con- sideration such measures as may be deemed necessary and expedient.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 8; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 8; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 8.)
SEC. 123. The Governor shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. - (1817, Art. IV, Sec. 9; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 9; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 9.)
This section and Secs. 63, 64, 68, 69, 73 and 116 referred to, commented upon and applied. Colbert v. State, 86 Miss., 769 (39 So., 65).
SEC. 124. In all criminal and penal cases, excepting those of treason and impeachment, the Governor shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, to remit fines, and in cases of forfeiture, to stay the collection until the end of the next session of the Legislature, and by and with the consent of the Senate to remit forfeitures. In cases of treason he shall have power to grant reprieves, and by and with consent of the Senate, but may respite the sentence until the end of the next session of the Legislature; but no pardon shall be granted before conviction; and in cases of felony, after conviction no pardon shall be granted until the applicant therefor shall have published for thirty days, in some news- paper in the county where the crime was committed, and in case there be no newspaper published in said county, then in an adjoining county, his petition for pardon, setting forth therein the reasons why such pardon should be granted.
(1832, Art. V, Sec. 10; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 10.)
The Governor may pardon for contempt of court. Ex parte Hickey, 4 Smed. & M., 751.
A pardon restores the right to vote. Jones v. Registrars of Alcorn Co., 56 Miss., 766; see Sec. 253 hereof.
The Governor can respite the sentence of one convicted for a capital offense and fix a later day for execution. Ex parte Fleming, 60 Miss., 910.
SEC. 125. The Governor shall have the power, and it is hereby made his duty, to suspend alleged defaulting State and county treasurers, and defaulting tax collectors, pending the investigation of their respective accounts, and to make temporary appointments of proper persons to fill the offices while such investigations are being made; and the Legislature shall provide for the enforcement of this provision by appropriate legis- lation.
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FOURTH CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
SEC. 126. There shall be a seal of the State kept by the Governor, and used by him officially, and be called the great seal of the State of Missis- sippi.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 12; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 12; 1869, Art. V, Sec. II.)
SEC. 127. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Mississippi, be sealed with the great seal of State, and be signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 11; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 11; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 12.)
SEC. 128. There shall be a Lieutenant-Governor, who shall be elected at the same time, in the same manner, and for the same term, and who shall possess the same qualifications as required of the Governor.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 18; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 14.)
SEC. 129. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, by virtue of his office, be President of the Senate. In committee of the whole he may debate all questions, and when there is an equal division in the Senate, or on a joint vote of both houses, he shall give the casting vote.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 19; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 16.)
SEC. 130. The Lieutenant-Governor shall receive for his services the same compensation as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(1869, Art. V, Sec. 16.)
SEC. 131. When the office of Governor shall become vacant, by death or otherwise, the Lieutenant-Governor shall possess the powers and dis- charge the duties of said office. When the Governor shall be absent from the State, or unable, from protracted illness, to perform the duties of the office, the Lieutenant-Governor shall discharge the duties of said office until the Governor be able to resume his duties; but if, from disa- bility or otherwise, the Lieutenant-Governor shall be incapable of per- forming said duties, or if he be absent from the State, the President of the Senate pro tempore shall act in his stead; but if there be no such president, or if he be disqualified by like disability, or be absent from the State, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall assume the office of Governor and perform said duties; and in case of the inability of the foregoing officers to discharge the duties of Governor, the Secretary of State shall convene the Senate to elect a President pro tempore. The officer discharging the duties of Governor shall receive compensation as such. Should a doubt arise as to whether a vacancy has occurred in the office of Governor, or as to whether any one of the disabilities mentioned in this section exists or shall have ended, then the Secretary of State shall submit the question in doubt to the judges of the Supreme Court, who, or a majority of whom, shall investigate and determine said ques- tion, and shall furnish to said Secretary of State an opinion, in writing, determining the question submitted to them, which opinion, when rendered as aforesaid, shall be final and conclusive.
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(1817, Art. IV, Secs. 20, 21 and 22; 1832, Art. V, Secs. 17 and 18; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 17.)
SEC. 132. In case the election for Lieutenant-Governor shall be con- tested,-the contest shall be tried and determined in the same manner as a contest for the office of Governor.
(1869, Art. V, Sec. 18.)
SEC. 133. There shall be a Secretary of State, who shall be elected as herein provided. He shall be at least twenty-five years of age, a citizen of the state five years next preceding the day of his election, and he shall continue in office during the term of four years, and shall be keeper of the Capitol; he shall keep a correct register of all official acts and pro- ceedings of the Governor; and shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before the Legislature, and he shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law. He shall receive such compensation as shall be prescribed.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 14; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 14; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 19.)
SEC. 134. A State Treasurer and an Auditor of Public Accounts shall be elected as herein provided, who shall hold their office for the term of four years, and shall possess the same qualifications as required for the Secretary of State. They shall receive such compensation as may be provided by law. Said Treasurer and Auditor of Public Accounts shall be ineligible to immediately succeed themselves or each other in office.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 25; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 20; 1869, Art. V, Sec. 20.)
SEC. 135. There shall be a sheriff, coroner, treasurer, assessor, and surveyor for each county, to be selected as elsewhere provided herein, who shall hold their offices for four years. The sheriff and treasurer shall be ineligible to immediately succeed themselves or each other in office.
(1869, Art. V, Sec. 21.)
A statute (Laws 1888, p. 24) dividing the counties into classes and the lands therein into sub-classes, fixing, according to . quality, a maximum and minimum value for taxation on the lands in the several classes, and confining the assessor to the limits so fixed, violated Art. 5, Sec. 21, Constitution 1869, providing for an assessor in each county, and Art. 12, Sec. 20, same, requiring property to be taxed according to value. Hawkins v. Mangum, 78 Miss., 97 (28 So., 872).
Sections 3799 and 3804, Code of 1892 (4312 and 4320, Code 1906), the one authorizing the board of supervisors to increase assessments to cover improvements placed on land, and the other empowering the tax collector to make additional assess- ments, are constitutional. Tunica Co. v. Tate, 78 Miss., 295 (29 So., 74).
To the same effect as to:3804, Code of 1892 (4320, Code 1906). See Powell v. McKee, 81 Miss., 229 (32 So., 919).
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SEC. 136. All officers named in this article shall hold their offices during the term for which they were selected, unless removed, and until their successors shall be duly qualified to enter on the discharge of their respective duties.
(1869, Art. V, Sec. 22.)
The section applies only to officers elected under the pro- vision of the constitution. Andrews v. Covington, 69 Miss., 740 (13 So., 853).
SEC. 137. It shall be the duty of the State Treasurer, within ten days after the first day of January and July of each year, to publish a state- ment under oath, in some newspaper published at the seat of govern- ment, showing the condition of the treasury on said days, the balance on hand and in what funds, together with a certificate of the Governor that he has verified the count of the funds in the treasury, and found the bal- ance stated by the Treasurer, actually in the vaults of the treasury, or as the truth may be. And it shall be the duty of the Governor, at such other times as he may deem proper, to go to the treasury, without giving notice to the Treasurer, and verify the cash balance as shown by the books, and to publish the fact that he has done so, and whether the amount called for by the books be actually in the treasury, and stating whether the Treasurer had any notice whatever that the verification would be made.
SEC. 138. The sheriff, coroner, treasurer, assessor, surveyor, clerks of courts, and members of the board of supervisors of the several counties, and all other officers exercising local jurisdiction therein, shall be selected in the manner provided by law for each county.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 24; 1832, Art. V, Sec. 19.)
The term sheriff ex vi termini in this State implies "tax col- lector." Byrne v. State, 50 Miss., 688; French v. State, 52 Miss., 759.
The section, taken in connection with Sec. 112, contemplates that assessments shall be made by the assessor. State Revenue Agent v. Tonella, 70 Miss., 701 (14 So., 17).
The Legislature may authorize a tax collector to assess such persons and personal property as he may find unassessed, as was done by Sec. 3804 of the Code of 1892 (Code 1906, Sec. 4320). Powell v. McKee, 81 Miss., 229 (32 So., 919).
SEC. 139. The Legislature may empower the Governor to remove and appoint officers, in any county or counties or municipal corporations, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law.
SEC. 140. The Governor of the State shall be chosen in the following manner: On the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November of A. D. 1895, and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in every fourth year thereafter, until the day shall be changed by law, an election shall be held in the several counties and districts created for the election of members of the House of Representatives in this State,
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FOURTH CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
for Governor, and the person receiving in any county or such legislative district the highest number of votes cast therein, for said office, shall be holden to have received as many votes as such county or district is entitled to members in the House of Representatives, which last named votes are hereby designated "electoral votes." In all cases where a representative is apportioned to two or more counties or districts, the electoral vote, based on such representative, shall be equally divided - among such counties or districts. The returns of said election shall be certified by the Election Commissioners, or a majority of them, of the several counties and transmitted, sealed, to the seat of government, directed to the Secretary of State, and shall be by him safely kept and delivered to the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the next ensuing session of the Legislature within one day after he shall have been elected. The Speaker shall, on the next Tuesday after he shall have received said returns, open and publish them in the presence of the House of Representatives, and said house shall ascertain and count the vote of each county and legislative district and decide any contest that may be made concerning the same, and said decision shall be made by a majority of the whole number of members of the House of Representa- tives concurring therein, by a viva voce vote, which shall be recorded in its journal; Provided, In case the two highest candidates have an equal number of votes in any county or legislative district, the electoral vote of such county or legislative district shall be considered as equally divided between them. The person found to have received a majority of all the electoral votes, and also a majority of the popular vote, shall be declared elected.
(1817, Art. IV, Sec. 2.)
SEC. 141. If no person shall receive such majorities, then the House of Representatives shall proceed to choose a Governor from the two persons who shall have received the highest number of popular votes. The election shall be by viva voce vote, which shall be recorded in the journal, in such manner as to show for whom each member voted.
SEC. 142. In case of an election of Governor or any State officer by the House of Representatives, no member of that house shall be eligible to receive any appointment from the Governor or other State officer. so elected, during the term for which he shall be elected.
SEC. 143. All other State officers shall be elected at the same time, and in the same manner as provided for election of Governor.
ARTICLE VI.
JUDICIARY.
SEC. 144. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a Supreme Court and such other courts as are provided for in this Constitution.
(1817, Art. V, Sec. 1; 1832, Art. IV, Sec. 1; 1869, Art. VI, Sec. I.)
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FOURTH. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI.
It is not within the power of the Federal Congress to establish rules for the administration of justice in State courts. Lumber Co. v. Myers, So Miss., 435 (31 So., 787).
The act of Congress, January 13, 1898, providing that promis- sory notes shall not be admissible in evidence until the internal revenue stamp prescribed by it shall be affixed thereto, does not bind the State courts. Ib.
SEC. 145. The Supreme Court shall consist of three judges, any two of whom, when convened, shall form a quorum. The Legislature shall divide the State into three Supreme Court districts, and the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint one judge for and from each district; but the removal of a judge to the State Capital during his term of office shall not render him ineligible as his own successor for the district from which he has removed. The present incumbents shall be considered as holding their terms of office from the State at large.
(1817, Art. V, Sec. 2; 1832, Art. IV, Sec." 2; 1869, Art. VI, Sec. 2.)
SEC. 146. The Supreme Court shall have such jurisdiction as properly belongs to a court of appeals.
(1832, Art. IV, Sec. 4; 1869, Art. VI, Sec. 4.)
The Supreme Court has no original jurisdiction; it may, how- ever, hear and determine all motions and issues necessary to the exercise of its appellate powers and necessary to the enforcement of its orders. Planters Insurance Co. v. Cramer, 47 Miss., 200; Brown v. Carraway, 47 Miss., 668.
The Supreme Court has inherent power, upon reversal of a judgment, where the facts are shown of record, to award resti- tution to the party dispossessed under the judgment pending the appeal. Hall v. Wells, 54 Miss., 289, 306.
The Supreme Court may affirm a judgment, right in its result, though the affirmance be on grounds not passed on by the lower court. Y. & M. V. R. R. Co. v. Adams, 81 Miss., 90 (32 So., 937).
SEC. 147. No judgment or decree in any chancery or circuit court rendered in a civil cause shall be reversed or annuled on the ground of want of jurisdiction to render said judgment or decree, from any error or mistake as to whether the cause in which it was rendered was of equity or common law jurisdiction; but if the Supreme Court shall find error in. the proceedings other than as to jurisdiction, and it shall be necessary to remand the case, the Supreme Court may remand it to that court which, in its opinion, can best determine the controversy.
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