arising out of or connected with the Wabash and Erie Canal, or matters pertaining thereto except as provided in an act entitled "An act to provide for the funded debt of the State of Indiana, and for the completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal to Evansville," approved January 19, 1846, and an act supplemental thereto, entitled "An act supplementary to an act to provide for the funded debt of the State of Indiana, and for the completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal to Evansville, approved January 19, 1846," approved January 27, 1847, and the said acts shall never be construed so as to in any manner create any moral or legal obligation on the part of said State to incur any liability or obligation on her part other than is expressly provided in said acts, and that the General Assembly of said State are hereby prohibited from ever incurring any liability on account of the said Wabash and Erie Canal, or any matter arising from or growing out of the same, except as herein provided.

On March 7, the select committee made its report. They approved of Mr. Cason's Wabash and Erie Canal amendment and recommended its adoption. However, they could "perceive no necessity for a change in the form of the resolution," and they therefore recommended the measure in the following form:

[Senate Journal, Forty-fifth Session, 835.]

Resolved by the Senate of the State of Indiana, the House of Representatives concurring, That the Constitution of the State of Indiana be amended so as to add the following provision:

"Incorporated cities, towns and townships, shall have the power by taxation, under regulations prescribed by the General Assembly, to raise revenue for the support of common schools, in addition to the revenue derived for that purpose from the State."

And that it also be amended to add the provision:

"The General Assembly of the State of Indiana shall never incur any debt or liability, or recognize any claim or demand whatever, arising out of or connected with the Wabash and Erie Canal, or matters pertaining thereto, except as provided in an act entitled an act to provide for the funded debt of the State of Indiana, and for the completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal to Evansville, approved January 19, 1846, and an act supplemental thereto, entitled an act supplementary to an act to provide for the funded debt of the State of Indiana, for the completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal, approved January 19,

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1846, approved January 27, 1847, and the said acts shall never be construed so as in any manner to create any moral or legal obligation on the part of said State to incur any liability or obligation on her part other than is expressly provided in said acts." And that Section 9, Article 4, which reads as follows:

The sessions of the General Assembly shall be held biennially at the capital of the State, commencing on the Thursday next after the first Monday of January in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and on the same day of every second year thereafter, unless a different day or place shall have been appointed by law. But if in the opinion of the Governor, the public welfare require it, he may, at any time, by proclamation, call a session; be amended to read as follows:

The sessions of the General Assembly shall be held annually at the capital of the State, commencing on the first Thursday in December after this amendment has been ratified as provided for in the Constitution; and on the same day of each year thereafter, unless a different day or place shall be appointed by law. But if in the opinion of the Governor the public welfare require it, he may, at any time, by proclamation, call a special session.

And that section twenty-nine, article four, which reads as follows:

The members of the General Assembly shall receive for their services, a compensation to be fixed by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the session at which such increase may be made.

No session of the General Assembly except the first under this Constitution, shall extend beyond the term of sixty-one days. nor any special session beyond the term of forty days. be amended to read as follows:

The members of the General Assembly shall receive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the session at which such increase may be made. No session of the General Assembly shall be limited by law, but the members thereof shall receive no compensation for their services after the first ninety days. of the annual session shall have expired; and the first forty days of the special session shall have expired.

Immediately after the reading of the proposed resolution, the Senate resolved itself into a committee of the whole and after some time spent in the consideration of the measure they recommended that the first section relative to additional revenue for the support of common schools be adopted,

that Section two relative to the Wabash and Erie Canal be amended to read as follows:

[Senate Journal, Forty-fifth Session, 838.]

The General Assembly of the State of Indiana shall never incur any debt or liability, or recognize any claim whatever growing out of or connected with the Wabash and Erie Canal, or matters pertaining thereto, except as provided in an act entitled "An act to provide for the funded debt of the State of Indiana, and for the completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal to Evansville," approved January 19th, 1846, and the act supplemental thereto, approved January 27th, 1847, and said acts shall never be construed so as in any manner to create any liability or legal obligation on the part of said State, but this section shall in no wise be construed as affecting the rights of persons holding the obligations of the State, and who were not parties to the adjustment of the debt of this State as made in the acts herein referred to.

That the third section relative to annual sessions of the General Assembly be adopted; that the fourth section relative to unlimited sessions and the compensation of members should be amended to read as follows:

The members of the General Assembly shall receive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the sessions at which such increase may be made. No session of the General Assembly shall be limited by law, but the members thereof shall receive no compensation for their services after the first sixty-one days of the annual session shall have expired; and the first forty days of the special session shall have expired.

The third section relative to annual sessions of the General Assembly was amended on the floor of the Senate to read as follows:

The sessions of the General Assembly shall be held annually at the capital of the State, commencing on the Thursday next after the first Monday of January after this amendment has been ratified as provided for in the Constitution; and on the same day of each year thereafter, unless a different day or place shall be appointed by law. But if in the opinion of the Governor the public welfare require it, he may at any time, by proclamation, call a special session.

An unsuccessful attempt was made to exclude townships from the provision relative to the raising of supplemental tax levies. An attempt to

lay the resolution on the table failed by a vote of 15-26. The report of the committee as amended was agreed to by a vote of 30-13, and the resolution was adopted by a vote of 26-15. The resolution was not taken up by the House until March 11. The proposition enabling towns and townships to levy additional taxes was adopted by a vote of 54-14. The second proposition relative to the Wabash and Erie Canal was lost for want of a constitutional majority, the vote being 47-21. The House then refused, without vote, to concur in the resolution.

249. Supplementary School Revenue (January 15, 1867).

Even before the foregoing Senate resolution was considered, on January 15, Mr. Smith of Lagrange, a Republican, introduced a resolution in the House relative to the creation of supplementary school revenue, which was referred to the Judiciary Committee. On January 25, the committee reported that it was inexpedient to pass the resolution as a similar resolution had passed the General Assembly on March 6, 1865, and the report was concurred in.

[House Journal, Forty-fifth Session, 76.]

Joint resolution No. 5. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Article 8 of the Constitution, so as to enable townships to levy taxes for the support of common schools.

250. Supplementary School Revenue (January 30, 1867).

On January 30, Mr. William E. McLean, a Republican, introduced the following resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Education. [House Journal, Forty-fifth Session, 265.]

WHEREAS, The legislature of Indiana, at its forty-third regular session, passed joint resolution No. 2, entitled "A joint resolution proposing an amendment to article eight of the constitution, so as to enable cities and towns to levy taxes for the support of common schools," approved March 6, 1865, which joint resolution provided as follows: "Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the following amendment be proposed to the Constitution of the State, and be agreed to and submitted to the electors for their adoption or rejection: Provided, The same is agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to the General Assembly, chosen at the next general election. That there be added to article eight of the Constitution the following section: 'Incorporated cities and towns shall have power, by taxation, under regulations prescribed by the General Assembly, to raise revenue for the support of common schools in addition to the revenue derived for that purpose from the State;" therefore,

Be it resolved, That the said joint resolution be agreed to by the members of this General Assembly, and that the same be sub

mitted to the electors at the State election to be held in October next, as an amendment to the State Constitution.

On February 2, the committee recommended the adoption of this resolution. On February 12, the resolution was recommitted to the Committee on Education with instructions to amend by providing that the Secretary of State be directed to give the proper notice of the proposed amendment and the manner of voting. An attempt was made to lay the resolution on the table, but was lost by a vote of 31-49. Apparently, there was no further action.

251. Defining a Legislative Quorum (January 10, 1867).

On January 10, Mr. Michael F. Shuey, a Republican, introduced a resolution in the House providing for a constitutional amendment defining a legislative quorum. On January 11, the resolution was submitted to a special committee of five. Subsequently, this resolution was submitted to the Judiciary Committee who reported adversely on January 25 for the reason "that an amendment approved March 6, 1865, is still pending." On January 29, the resolution was indefinitely postponed.

[House Journal, Forty-fifth Session, 15.]

Joint resolution No. 3. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the ninth section of the third article of the Constitution of the State.

252. Democratic Platform of 1868-Negro Suffrage (January 8, 1868).

The Democrats of Indiana, gathered in convention on January 8, 1868, adopted the following resolution relative to negro suffrage which the reconstruction policy of the Republicans was rendering inevitable.

[Indianapolis Journal, January 9, 1868.]

That we are opposed to conferring the right of suffrage on negroes. We deny the right of the general government to interfere with the question of suffrage in any of the States of the Union.

THE FORTY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY (1869).

The Forty-sixth General Assembly was predominantly Republican. Fewer constitutional measures were considered at this session than at any session since 1855. One of the reasons for the inactivity of the legislature on constitutional meazures was the fact that a solution of the school question had been arrived at. As has been shown above, an act was passed in 1852 enabling local school corporations to levy supplementary school taxes. This law was declared unconstitutional in 1854 and had produced a wide spread demand for a constitutional amendment to correct this difficulty. As none had been obtained, the General Assembly, on March 9, 1867, passed another measure which was substantially identical with the law of 1852, and which