USA > Tennessee > History of Tennessee, its people and its institutions > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
The counties of Lewis, Cheatham, and Sequatchie, as now established by legislative enactments, are hereby declared to be constitutional counties. No part of Bledsoe County shall be taken to form a new county, or a part thereof, or be attached to any adjoining county.
That portion of Marion County, included within the following boundaries: Beginning on the Grundy and Marion county line, at the Nick-a-jack Trace, and running about six hundred yards west of Ben Posey's, to where the Tennessee Coal Railroad crosses the line. running thence southeast, through the Pocket, near William Summer's, crossing the Battle Creek Gulf at the corner of Thomas Wooten's field; thence running across the Little Gizzard Gulf at Raven Point; thence in a direct line to the bridge crossing the Big Fiery Gizzard; thence in a direct line to the mouth of Holy Water Creek; thence up said creek to the Grundy County line, and thence with said line to the beginning, is hereby detached from Marion County, and attached to the County of Grundy.
No part of a county shall be taken off to form a new county, or a part thereof, without the consent of two-thirds of the qualified voters in such part taken off. And. where an o:d county is reduced for the purpose of forming a new one, the seat of justice in said cid county shall not be removed without the concurrence of two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature, nor shall the seat of justice of any county be removed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the qualified voters of the county. But the foregoing provision requiring a two-thirds majority of the voters of a county to remove its county seat, shall not apply to the counties of Obion and Cocke.
The fractions taken from old counties to form new counties, or taken from one county and added to another, shall continue liable for their pro rata of all debts contracted by their respective counties prior to the separation, and be entitled to their proportion of any stocks or credits belonging to such old counties.
[Note .- Const. of 1796, Art. IX, Sec. 4, prohibited the formation of new counties with less than 625 square miles, or the reduction of old counties to a less content. The Const. of 1834. Art. X. Sec. 4. allowed the formation of new counties of not less than 350 square miles, and 450 qualified voters, but prohibited the reduction of an old county to less than 625 square miles, or the approach of the line of a new county nearer than twelve miles of the court house of any old county.]
SEC. 5. The citizens who may be included in any new county shall vote with the county or counties, from which they may have been stricken off, for the members of Congress, for
331
CONSTITUTION.
governor, and for members of the General Assembly, until the next apportionment of members to the General Assembly after the establishment of such new county.
[Note .- Const. of 1834, Art. X, Sec. 5. On this subject the Const. of 1796, Art. I.X,
Sec. 4, provided that "All new counties, as to the right of suffrage and representa- tion, shall be considered as a part of the county or counties from which it was taken until entitled by numbers to the right of representation."]
ARTICLE XI .- MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
SECTION I. All laws and ordinances now in force and use in this State, not inconsistent with this Constitution. shall continue in force and use until they shall expire, or be alteren or repealed by the Legislature. BUT ORDINANCES CONTAINED IN ANY FORMER CONSTITU TION OR SCHEDULE THERETO, ARE HEREBY ABROGATED.
[Note .- Const. of 1796, Art. X, Sec. 2, and 1834, Art. XI, Sec. I, except the words in SMALL CAPITALS.]
SEC. 2. Nothing contained in this Constitution shall impair the validity of any debts or contracts, or affect any rights of property, or any suits, actions, rights of action, or other proceedings in courts of justice.
[Note .- Const. of 1834, Art. XI, Sec. 2.]
SEC. 3. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives: and, if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each of the two houscs, such proposed amendment or amendmer.ts shall be entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred to the General Assembly then next to be chosen; and shall be published six months previous to the time of making such choice; and if in the General Assembly then next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elccted to each house, then it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people, in such manner and at such times as the General Assembly shall prescribe. And if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments, by a majority of all the citizens of the State, voting for Representatives, voting in their favor, such amendment or amendments shall become a part
of this Constitution. When any amendment or amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed in pursuance of the foregoing provisions, the same shall, at each of said sessions. be read three times on three several days in each house. The Legislature shall not propose
amendments to the Constitution oftener than once in six years. THE LEGISLATURE SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT, AT ANY TIME, BY LAW, TO SUBMIT TO THE PEOPLE THE QUESTION OF CALLING A CONVENTION TO ALTER, REFORM, OR ABOLISH THIS CONSTITUTION, AND WHEN, UPON SUCH SUBMISSION, A MAJORITY OF ALL THE VOTES CAST SHALL BE IN FAVOR OF SAID PROPOSITION, THEN DELEGATES SHALL BE CHOSEN, AND THE CONVENTION SHALL ASSEMBLE IN SUCH MODE AND MANNER AS SHALL BE PRESCRIBED.
[Note .- Const. of IS34, Art. XI, Sec. 3, except the words in SMALL CAPITALS, which are new. See Const. of 1796, Art. X. Sec. 3.]
SEC. 4. The Legislature shall have no power to grant divorces, but may authorize the courts of justice to grant them for such causes as may be specified by law; but such laws shall be general and uniform in their operation throughout the State.
[Note .- Const. of 1834, Art. XI, Sec. 4.]
SEC. 5. The Legislature shall have no power to authorize lotteries for any purpose, and shall pass laws to prohibit the sale of lottery tickets in this State.
[Note .- Const. of 1834. Art. XI, Sec. 5.]
SEC. 6. The Legislature shall have no power to change the names of persons, or to pass acts adopting or legitimating persons, but shall, by general laws, confer this power on the courts.
SEC. 7. The Legislature shall fix the rate of interest, and the rate so established shall be equal and uniform throughout the State: BUT THE LEGISLATURE MAY PROVIDE FOR A CONVEN- TIONAL RATE OF INTEREST, NOT TO EXCEED TEN PER CENT PER ANNUM.
[Note .- Const. of 1834, Art. XI, Sec. 6, except the words in SMALL CAPITALS, which are new.]
SEC. 8. The Legislature shall have no power to suspend any general law for the benefit of any particular individual, nor to pass any law for the benefit of individuals, inconsistent with the general laws of the land: nor to pass any law granting to any individual or individ- uals, rights, privileges, immunities, or exemptions, other than such as may be. by the sarre law, extended to any member of the community who may be able to bring himself within the provisions of such law. NO CORPORATION SHALL BE CREATED, OR ITS POWERS INCREASED OR DIMINISHED BY SPECIAL LAWS: BUT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL PROVIDE. BY GENERAL LAWS, FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF ALL CORPORATIONS HEREAFTER CREATED, WHICH LAWS WAY. AT ANY TIME, RE ALTERED OR REPEALED: AND NO SUCH ALTERATION OR REPFAL SHALL INTERFERE WITH, OR DIVEST, RIGHTS WHICH HAVE BECOME VESTED.
[Note .- Const. of 1834. Art. XI. Sec. 7, except the words in SMALL CAPITALS, instead of which it has the following: "Provided, always. the Legislature shall have power to grant such charters of incorporation as they may deem. expedient for the public good."]
332
APPENDIX.
SEC. 9. The Legislature shall have the right to vest such powers in the courts of justice, with regard to private and local affairs, as may be deemed expedient.
[Note .-- Const. of 1834, Art. XI, Sec. 8.]
SEC. 10. A well regulated system of internal improvement is calculated to develop the resources of the State, and promote the happniess and prosperity of her citizens; therefore, it ought to be encouraged by the General Assembly.
[Note .- Const. of 1834, Art. XI, Sec. 9.]
SEC. 11. A homestead, in the possession of each head of a family, and the improvements thereon, to the value of, in all of one thousand dollars. shall be exempt from sale under legal process during the life of such head of a family, to inure to the benefit of the widow, and shali be exempt during the minority of their children occupying the same. Nor shall said property be alienated without the joint consent of husband and wife when that relation exists. This exemption shall not operate against public taxes, nor debts contracted for the purchase money of such homestead, or improvements thereon.
SEC. 12. Knowledge, learning, and virtue being essential to the preservation of republican institutions, and the diffusion of the opportunities and advantages of education throughout the different portions of the State being highly conducive to the promotion of this end. it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, in all future periods of this government, to cherish literature and science. And the fund called the common school fund, and all the lands and proceeds thereof, dividends, stocks, and other property of every description whatever, here- tofore by law appropriated by the General Assembly of this State for the use of common schools, and all such as shall hereafter be appropriated, shall remain a perpetual fund. the principal of which shall never be diminished by legislative appropriation; and the interest thereof shall be inviolably appropriated to the support and encouragement of common schools throughout the State, and for the equal benefit of all the people thereof; and no law shall be made authorizing said fund or any part thereof to be diverted to any other use than the
support and encouragement of common schools. THE STATE TAXES DERIVED HEREAFTER FROM POLLS SHALL BE APPROPRIATED TO EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES, IN SUCH MANNER AS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL, FROM TIME TO TIME, DIRECT BY LAW. NO SCHOOL ESTABLISHED OR AIDED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL ALLOW WHITE AND NEGRO CHILDREN TO BE RECEIVED AS SCHOLARS TOGETHER IN THE SAME SCHOOL. The above provision shall not prevent the Legislature from carrying into effect any laws that have been passed in favor of the colleges, universities, or academies, or from authorizing heirs or distributees to receive and enjoy escheated property under such laws as may be passed from time to time.
[Note .-- Const. of 1834, Art. XI, Secs. 10 and II, except the words in SMALL CAPITALS, instead of which it has the following: "And it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to appoint a Board of Commissioners, for such term of time as they may think proper, who shall have the general superintendence of said fund, and who shall make a report of the condition of the same from time to time, under such rules. regulations, and restrictions as may be required by law; provided, that if at any time hereafter a division of the public lands of the United States, or of the money arising from the sale of such lands, shall be made among the individual States, the part of such lands or money coming to this State shall be devoted to the purposes of education and internal improvement; and shall never be applied to any other purpose."]
SEC. 13. The General Assembly shall have power to enact laws for the protection and preservation of game and fish within the State, and such laws may be enacted for, and applied and enforced in particular counties or geographical districts designated by the General Assembly.
SEC. 14. The intermarriage of white persons with negroes, mulattoes, or persons of mixed blood, descended from a negro to the third generation, inclusive, or their living together as man and wife, in this State, is prohibited. The Legislature shall entorce this Section by appropriate legislation.
SEC. 15. No person shall. in time of peace, be required to perform any service to the public on any day set apart by his religion as a day of rest.
SEC. 16. The declaration of rights, hereto prefixed, is declared to be a part of the Constitution of this State, and shall never be violated on any pretense whatever. And to guard against transgression of the high powers we have delegated. we declare that everything in the Bill of Rights contained is excepted out of the general powers of the government, and shall forever remain inviolate.
[Note .- Const. of 1834, Art. XI, Sec. 12. The Const. of 1796, Art. X, Sec. 4, not only excepted everything in the Bill of Rights, but "every other right not hereby delegated," out of the general powers of the government. ]
SEC. 17. No county office created by the Legislature shall be filled otherwise than by the people or the County Court.
THE SCHEDULE.
SECTION I. That no inconvenience may arise from a change of the Constitution, it is declared that the Governor of the State, the members of the General Assembly, and all officers elected at or after the general election of March, IS70, shall hold their offices for the terms prescribed in this Constitution.
333
CONSTITUTION.
Officers appointed by the courts shall be filled by appointment, to be made and to take effect during the first term of the court held by Judges elected under this Constitution.
All other officers shall vacate their places thirty days after the day fixed for the election of their successors under this Constitution.
The Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer shall hold their offices until the first session of the present General Assembly occurring after the ratification of this Constitution, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
The officers then elected shall hold their offices until the fifteenth day of January, IS73.
SEC. 2. At the first election of Judges under this Constitution, there shall be elected six Judges of the Supreme Court, two from each grand division of the State, who shall hoid their offices for the term herein prescribed.
In the event any vacancy shall occur in the office of either of said Judges at any time after the first day of January, 1873, it shall remain unfilled, and the court shall from that time be constituted of five Judges.
While the court shall consist of six Judges they may sit in two sections, and may hear and determine causes in each at the same time, but not in different grand divisions at the same time.
When so sitting the concurrence of two Judges shall be necessary to a decision.
The Attorney General and Reporter for the State shall be appointed after the election and qualification of the Judges of the Supreme Court herein provided for.
SEC. 3. Every Judge and every officer of the Executive Department of the State, and every Sheriff holding over under this Constitution shall, within twenty days after the ratification of this Constitution is proclaimed, take an oath to support the same; and the failure of any officer to take such oath shall vacate his office.
SEC. 4. The time which has elapsed from the sixth day of May, 1861, until the first day of January, 1867, shall not be computed in any cases affected by the statutes of limitation, nor shall any writ of error be affected by such lapse of time.
Done in Convention, at Nashville, the twenty-third day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and of the independence of the United States, the ninety-fourth. In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our names.
JOHN C. BROWN, President.
JOHN ALLEN, JESSE ARLEDGE, HUMPHREY R. BATE,
SPL. HILL,
JNO. BAXTER,
SAM. S. HOUSE,
A. BLIZZARD, NATHAN BRANDON,
T. B. IVIE,
JAMES BRITTON,
THOMAS M. JONES,
R. P. BROOKS,
DAVID N. KENNEDY,
NEILL S. BROWN.
D. M. KEY,
JAMES S. BROWN,
SAM. J. KIRKPATRICK,
T. M. BURKETT,
A. A. KYLE,
JNO. W. BURTON,
Jos. A. MABRY,
WM. BYRNE, ALEX. W. CAMPBELL,
MALCOLM MCNABB,
WM. BLOUNT CARTER,
MATT MARTIN,
Z. R. CHOWNING,
JOHN H. MEEKS,
JAMES A. COFFIN,
THOS. C. MORRIS,
WARREN CUMMINGS,
J. NETHERLAND,
A. O. P. NICHOLSON,
GEO. C. PORTER,
JAS. D. PORTER, JR.,
GEO. E. SEAY,
SAMUEL G. SHEPARD,
J. E. DROMGOOLE,
JAMES FENTRESS,
A. T. FIELDER,
P. G. FULKERSON,
JOHN A. GARDNER,
JOHN E. GARNER, S. P. GAUT,
CHARLES N. GIBBS,
B. GORDON,
J. B. HEISKELL,
W. M. WRIGHT.
T. E. S. RUSSWURM,
Secretary.
Attest: Taos. W. JONES, Assistant Secretary. W. S. KYLE, 2d Assistant Secretary.
E. H. SHELTON, WM. H. STEPHENS, JOHN M. TAYLOR, J. C. THOMPSON, W. VANCE THOMPSON,
JAMES J. TURNER.
GEO. W. WATTERS, RICHARD WARNER, JR.,
W. H. WILLIAMSON,
THOS. D. DEAVENPORT,
W. V. DEADRICK, G. G. DIBRELL,
W. F. DOHERTY.
A. G. MCDOUGAL,
ROBERT P. CYPERT,
R. HENDERSON. H. L. W. HILL,
JNO. F. HOUSE,
334
APPENDIX.
ORDINANCE.
I. Be it ordained by the Convention, That it shall be the duty of the several officers of the State, authorized by law to hold elections for members of the General Assembly and other officers, to open and hold an election at the place of holding said elections in their respective counties, on the fourth Saturday in March, 1870, for the purpose of receiving the votes of such qualified voters as may desire to vote for the ratification or rejection of the Constitution recommended by this Convention. And the qualification of voters in said election be the same as that required in the election of delegates to this Convention.
2. It shall be the duty of said returning officers, in each county in this State, to enroll the name of each voter on the poll books prepared for said election, and shall deposit each ballot in the ballot boxes respectively. Each voter who wishes to ratify the new Constitution shall have written or printed on his ticket the words, "New Constitution," or words of like import; and each voter who wishes to vote against the ratification of the new Constitu- tion, shall have written or printed on his ticket the words, "Old Constitution," or words of like import.
3. The election shall be held, and the judges and clerks shall be appointed, as in the case of the election of the members of the General Assembly; and the returning officers, in . presence of the judges or inspectors, shall count the votes given for the "New Constitution," and of those given for the "Old Constitution," of which they shall keep a correct estimate in said poll-books. They shall deposit the original poll-books of said election with the Clerks of the County Courts in the respective counties, and shall, within five days after the election, make out accurate statements of the number of votes in their respective counties. for or against the "New Constitution," and immediately forward by mail, one copy of said certificates to the Governor, and one to the Speaker of the Senate. So soon as the poll-books are deposited with the County Court Clerks, they shall certify to the President of the Convention an accurate statement of the number of votes cast for or against the "New Constitution," as appears on said poll-books. And, if any of said returning officers shall fail to make the returns herein provided for within the time required, the Governor shall be authorized to send special messengers for the result of the vote in those counties whose officers have so failed to make returns.
4. Upon the receipt of said returns, it shall be the duty of the Governor, Speaker of the Senate, and the President of this Convention, or any two of them, to compare the votes cast in said election; and if it shall appear that a majority of all the votes cast for and against the new Constitution were for "New Constitution," it shall be the duty of the Governor, Speaker of the Senate, and President of this Convention, or any two of them, to append to this Constitution a certificate of the result of the votes, from which time the Constitution shall be established as the Constitution of Tennessee, and the Governor shall make proclama- tion of the result.
5. The Governor of the State is requested to issue his proclamation as to the election on the fourth Saturday in March, 1870, hereto provided for.
Attest: T. E. S. RUSSWURM, Secretary.
JOHN C. BROWN, President.
PROCLAMATION. STATE OF TENNESSEE, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
NASHVILLE, May 5, 18,5.
In pursuance of the fourth ordinance of the late Constitutional Convention, I have carefully examined the official returns of the election held on the twenty-sixth day of March last, for the ratification or rejection of the proposed Constitution ior the State of Tennessee (except the counties of Knox, Grainger, Roane, and Overton, which returns have not been received), and find the number of votes cast for the "New Constitution" to be (98,128) ninety-eight thousand one hundred and twenty-eight, and for the "Old Constitution" (33,872) thirty-three thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, being a majority of (64.256) sixty four thousand two hundred and fifty-six for the New Constitution.
Now, therefore. I. D. W. C. Senter, Governor of the State of Tennessee, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested, do hereby declare and proclaim that the New Consti- tution, as submitted to the people, was ratified by them at the ballot box on the twenty-sixth day of March last, by said majority of (64,236) sixty-four thousand two hundred and fifty-six votes.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my official signature, and ordered the Great Seal of the State to be affixed.
Done at the Department in the city of Nashville, this fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and of the American Independence the ninety-fourth.
D. W. C. SENTER.
By the Governor: A. j. FLETCHER, Secretary of State.
-
335
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TENNESSEE HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.
Adair, James. History of the American
Indians. London, 1775.
Allen, William B., Lite of. By W. P. Davidson County, History of. By W. W. Rowles. Columbia, 1853. Clayton. Philadelphia, 1880.
Allison, John. Dropped Stitches in Tennes- see History. Nashville, 1897.
American Historical Magazine, W. R. Garrett, Editor. January, 1896, to April,
1900. Nashville.
Annals of the Army of Tennessee and Early Western history, E. L. Drake, Editor. April to December, 1878. Nashville.
Baily, Francis. Journal of a Tour in Un. settled Part of North America in 1796 and 1797. London, 1856.
Beard, Richard. Biographical Sketches ( First Series). Nashville, 1867.
Beard, Richard. Biographical Sketches (Second Series). Nashville, 1874.
Bedford County, History of. By H. L. Davidson. Chattanooga, 1877. Bell, John, and Everett, Lives of. New
York, 1860.
Benton, Thomas H., Life of. By Theodore Roosevelt. Boston and New York, 1891. Benton, Thomas H. Thirty Years' View. Two Volumes. New York, 1854.
Bishop, Joseph, Life of. By Jno. W. Gray. Nashville.
Blake, T. C. The Old Log House. Nash- ville, 1993.
Blanton, J. O. Pre-historic Man in Ten- nessee. Tracy City, Tenn., 1896.
Blount, William, Life of. By Marcus J. Wright. Washington.
Borum, Joseph. Biographical Sketches of Tennessee Baptist Ministers. Memphis, 1880.
Breazeale, J. W. M. Life as it is. Knox- ville, 1842.
Brooks, John, Autobiography of. Nashville, 1848.
Brown, Aaron V. Speeches. Nashville, 1854. Brown, Joseph. An Indian Tale. Nashville. Brownlow, William G. Sketches of the Rise. Progress, and Decline of Secession. Philadelphia, IS62. Brownlow, William G. Political Register and Life of Henry Clay: Jonesboro, 1844. Caldwell, Joshua W. Constitutional History of Tennessee. Cincinnati, 1895.
Caldwell, Joshua W. Bench and Bar of Ten- nessee. Knoxville, 1898.
Carpenter, W. H. History of Tennessee. Philadelphia, 1854. Carr, John. Early Times in Middle Ten- nessee. Nashville, 1857.
Carrigan, Jo. G. Cheat Mountain Campaign. Nashville, 1883.
Cartwright, Peter. Autobiography of. New York, 1857.
Champlin, James, Autobiography of. Colum- bus. 1842.
Clarksville, History of. Clarksville. 1887. Crockett, David. Life of. By Himself. New York.
Crockett, David. Life of. By Edward S. Ellis. Philadelphia.
Crockett, David, Life of. By J. C. S. Abbott. New York.
Crockett, David, Sketches and Eccentricities of. New York, 1833.
Donnell, George, Life of. By T. C. Ander-
son. Nashville, 1858.
Donnell, Robert, Life of. Alton, 1867.
By David Lowry.
Donnell, Robert. Thoughts on Various Subjects. Nashville, 1880. Draper, Lyman C. King's Mountain and its Heroes. Cincinnati, ISSI.
East Tennessee. Historical and Biograph- ical. Chattanooga, 1893.
Elmwood Cemetery (Memphis). 1874.
Memphis,
Ewing, Finis, Life of. By F. R. Cossitt. Louisville.
Flint, Timothy. Geography and History of the Mississippi Valley. Two volumes. Cincinnati and Boston, 1833.
Foote, H. S. Bench and Bar of the South and Southwest. St. Louis, 1876. Forest, Mary. Distinguished Women of the South. New York, 1865.
Forrest, N. B., The Campaigns of. By Jordan and Pryor. Memphis, 1868. Forrest, N. B., Life of. By J. A. Wyeth. New York, 1899.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.