Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 March 1880 — The Constitutional Amendments. [ARTICLE]

The Constitutional Amendments.

Seven important amendments to the Constitution of Indiana have been agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two Houses of the General Assemblies of 1877 and 1879, and by an act of the last General Assembly, approved March 10,1 these said amendments are to' bo submitted to the electors of the State of Indiana for ratification or rejection, at an election to be held on the first Monday in April, 1880. The law providing for the submission of these amenoments to the electors of j the State enacts that “the secretary of j State shall procure ballots of blue j paper, on each of which shall be print- j ed the proposed amendments, and be- I low each amendment shall bo printed i the word “Yes” in one line, and in an- j other line the word “No,” that any qualified elector may vote for or against any amendment by deposit-j ing one of said ballots in the ballot box. If he intends to vote for any i amendment he shall leave thereunder j the word ‘Yes,’ and erase the word ‘No’ by drawing a line across it, or otherwise. If he' intends to vote against any amendment, the word ‘Yes’ shall in like manner be stricken out and the word ‘No’left; and if both words are allowed to remain without either of them being so erased, the vote shall not be counted either way. These amendments are designated by numbers, and are numbered 1,2, 3,4, 5, 6 and 9, numbers 7 and 8 having failed to receive a majority of votes of both branches of the last General Assembly. AMENDMENT NO. 1. Amend section 2 of article 2 so as to read as follows: Section 2. In all elections not otherwise provided for by this constitution, every male citizen of the United States of the age of 21 years and upward, who shall have resided in the State during the six months, and in the township 60 days, and in the ward or precinct 30 days immediately preceding such election, and every male of foreign birth, of the age of 21 years and upward, who shall have resided in the United States one year, and shall have resided in the State during the six months, and in the township 60 days, and in the ward or precinct 30 days immediately preceding said election, and shall have declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization, shall be entitled to vote in the township ov precinct where lie may reside, if he shall have been duly registered according to law.

AMENDMENT NO 2 simply provides for striking out the words “No negro or mulatto shall have the right of suffrage,” contained in section 5 of the second article of the constitution. AMENDMENT NO. 3. Amend section 14 of the second article to read: Sectiou 14. All general elections shall be Held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but township elections may be held at such time as may be provided by law. Provided, that the General Assembly may provide by law for the election of all judges of courts of general and appellate jurisdiction Joy an election to be held for such officers only, at which time no other officers shall be voted for; ar.i shall also provide for the registration of all persons entitled to vote. AMENDMENT NO. 4 amends by striking the word “white” from sections 4 and 5 of article 4, conforming the same to the constitution of the United States. AMENDMENT NO. 5 amends the fourteenth clause of section 22 of article 4 to read as follows: In relation to fees or salaries, except the laws may be so made as to grade the compensation of officers in proportion to the population and the necessary services required. AMENDMENT NO. 6. The following amendment is proposed to wit: Amend section 1 of the seventh article to read: Section 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a supreme court, circuit courts, and such other courts as the General Assembly may establish.

The words “such other courts” are substituted for the words, “such inferior courts.” amendment no. 9. No political or municipal corporation in this State shall ever become indebted, in any manner, or for any purpose, to an amount in the aggregate exceeding 2 per centum on the value of the taxable property within said corporation, to be ascertained by the last assessment for State and county taxes, previous to the incurring of such indebtedness, and all bonds or obligations in excess of such amount given by such corporations shall be void; provided that in time of war, foreign invasion, or other great publie calamity, on petition of a majority of the property-owners, in number and value, within the limits of such corporation, the public authorities, in their discretion, may incur obligations necessary for public protection and defense, to such amount as may be reaueste-d in said petition.