sacramental purposes, was introduced in the House on September 21, by Mr. Temple G.. Pierson, a Democrat. On September 26 a motion was agreed to by a vote of 59-38 "that the joint resolution be referred to a committee of two, to investigate with reference to the constitutionality of the joint resolution, there having been a similar resolution passed two years ago." The joint resolution then passed the House by a vote of 71-28. In order to prevent an adverse reconsideration of the vote at some future date, Mr. Pierson, the author of the resolution, moved to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution passed and that the motion be laid on the table, which was agreed to. The Senate referred the resolution to the Judiciary Committee "with instructions to investigate and report upon the constitutionality of said resolution." An unsuccessful attempt, lost by a vote of 26-11, was made "that the Attorney General of Indiana be requested to furnish this Senate his opinion whether or not under the Constitution of this State, engrossed House joint resolution No. 7 may be acted upon at this special session of the General Assembly." The report of the Judiciary Committee was submitted on September 28. The majority report recommended indefinite postponement, and was signed by Senator Rome C. Stephenson, the chairman of the committee.

MAJORITY REPORT OF COMMITTEE (SEPTEMBER 28, 1908).

[Senate Journal, Special Session, 1908, 117.]

Your Committee on Judiciary A, to whom was referred engrossed House joint resolution No. 7, has had the same under consideration and begs leave to report the same back to the Senate with the recommendation that the same be indefinitely postponed, for the following reasons:

That a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of Indiana has been introduced and is now pending upon the subject of the qualifications necessary to practice law in the Courts of the State, and until that proposed amendment is disposed of no other proposed amendment can be considered, under Section 2 of Article 16 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana, which reads as follows:

If two or more amendments shall be submitted at the same time, they shall be submitted in such manner that the electors shall vote for or against each of such amendments separately; and while an amendment or amendments which shall have been agreed upon by one General Assembly shall be awaiting the action of a succeeding General Assembly, or of the electors, no additional amendment or amendments shall be proposed.

MINORITY REPORT OF COMMITTEE (SEPTEMBER 28, 1908).

The minority report was signed by Senators L. Ertus Slack and Evan B. Stotsenburg and recommended that the opinion of the Attorney-General be obtained as to the constitutionality of the procedure.

[Senate Journal, Special Session, 1908, 118.]

The minority of your Committee on Judiciary A would respectfully report that they have had under consideration engrossed House joint resolution No. 7, and would report the same back to the Senate with the recommendation that the AttorneyGeneral of the State of Indiana be requested to give to this Senate an opinion whether or not said resolution can be acted upon at the present session of the General Assembly, and further action be deferred until the opinion is obtained by proper resolution of the Senate.

The minority report was rejected by a vote of 12-35, and the majority report was then concurred in. The resolution passed the House in the following form:

ORIGINAL RESOLUTION.

[House Journal, Special Session, 1908, 33.]

House joint resolution No. 7: A joint resolution, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Indiana, by inserting Article 17 forever prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or keeping for sale, in the State of Indiana, spirituous, vinous, malt, and any intoxicating liquors, except for scientific, medical, mechanical, and sacramental purposes, and providing for regulating sales for said purposes.

Section 1. Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the following amendment be and is hereby proposed to the Constitution of the State of Indiana, to be submitted to the vote of the electors of said State, viz.: Amend by adding thereto Article 17, so as to read as follows:

Sec. 2. The manufacture, sale, or keeping for sale, in said State, spirituous, vinous, malt liquors, or any intoxicating liquors, except for medical, scientific, mechanical, and sacramental purposes, shall be and is hereby forever prohibited in the State of Indiana.

Sec. 3. The General Assembly of the State of Indiana shall provide by law in what manner, by whom and at what places such liquors shall be manufactured or sold for medical, scientific, mechanical and sacramental purposes.

497. Approval of Prohibition Amendment (September 28, 1908).

On September 28, two days after the House had adopted the prohibition amendment, the following resolution of approval was presented in the Senate.

[Senate Journal, Special Session, 1908, 115.]

Senator Moore of Putnam offered a resolution adopted by the Methodist Ministerial Association, as follows:

WHEREAS, A resolution submitting to a vote of the people of Indiana an amendment to the State Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor, passed in the House of Representatives last Saturday by a vote of 72 to 28; and

WHEREAS, Said resolution is now pending in the Senate and may be brought up for action in that body this afternoon; therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Methodist Ministerial Association of Indianapolis earnestly petitions the Senate to take favorable action. on this measure if they shall find there is no constitutional hind

rance.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be placed in the hands of the presiding officer of the Senate this afternoon.

H. C. CLIPPINGER,

Secretary M. E. Preachers' Association

E. M. CHAMBERS, President.

THE SIXTY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY (1909).

At the general election of 1908, the Democrats gained the ascendency in the State. The House consisted of 60 Democrats and 40 Republicans; the Senate, however, which yielded more reluctantly to public sentiment, was composed of 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats. Comparatively few constitutional measures were considered. The lawyers amendment was pending from the preceding session of 1907. This amendment was adopted and submitted to the people at the general election of 1910. Resolutions were also proposed providing that householders whose property did not exceed $300 in value and the property of the widows and orphans of Civil War veterans not exceeding $1,000 in value should be exempt from taxation; that the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors should be forever prohibited; and that certain changes should be made in the Constitution relative to suffrage and elections. The pendency of the lawyer's amendment rendered the introduction, consideration and adoption of additional amendments useless. Two measures of quasi-constitutional importance were considered. House bill No. 463 was designed to provide for the referendum on franchises granted by municipal corporations. Senate bill No. 263 was intended to require all electors at general municipal elections to exhibit a poll tax receipt before voting. Neither of these measures was reported from committee.

498.

Governor Hanly Recommends Registration Law (January 8, 1909).

In his message to the General Assembly, delivered on January 8, Governor Hanly recommended the passage of a registration law and adverted indirectly to certain defects in the Constitution relative to alien voters.

[Senate Journal, Sitxy-sixth Session, 55.]

An unusual influx of persons of foreign birth during the last

five years has raised the question in the minds of thoughtful men of the propriety of extending the time of their residence within the State, before they shall be entitled to exercise the privilege of electors. I am doubtful as to the legality of any such legislation.

The Constitution of the State provides: "Every male of foreign birth, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who shall have resided in the United States one year, and shall have resided in this State during the six months and in the township sixty days, and in the ward or precinct thirty days, immediately preceding such 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 or precinct where he may reside, if he shall have been duly registered according to law."

The declaration required by the federal statute, and referred to in the section of the Constitution quoted, is as follows:

"He (an alien) shall declare on oath before the clerk of any court authorized by this act to naturalize aliens, or his authorized deputy, in the district in which such alien resides, two years at least prior to his admission, and after he has reached the age of eighteen years, that it is his bona fide intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of which the alien may be at the time a citizen or subject. And such declaration shall set forth the name, age, occupation, personal description, place of birth, last foreign residence and allegiance, the date of arrival, the name of the vessel, if any, in which he came to the United States and the present place of residence in the United States of said alien."

The federal law seems to require no length of residence in the United States before an alien may declare his intention to become a citizen, and the Constitution of the State seems to provide that any male of foreign birth who has made the declaration required by the Federal law and has lived in the State six months, in the township sixty days and in the ward or precinct thirty days immediately preceding an election, shall be qualified to vote.

I do not believe the General Assembly can add to or take from the qualifications of electors named in the Constitution.

A registration law prepared with care to meet the constitutional objection raised to such registration legislation as has heretofore

been enacted, would go far toward curbing the evil sought to be inhibited. I commend such measure to your consideration.

499. Qualifications to Practice Law (February 27, 1909).

The lawyers amendment was introduced in the Senate on January 14, by Mr. Evan B. Stotsenburg and adopted at once by a vote of 44-0. The resolution passed the House on January 21, by a vote of 74-16. See Appendix XI.

[Laws, 1909, 501.]

A Joint Resolution concerning the amendment of Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana.

WHEREAS, a joint resolution was adopted by the general assemblies of 1903 and 1905, as follows: A joint resolution to amend Section 21 of Article 7 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana:

Section 1. Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the following proposed amendment to the Constitution of said State be, and the same is now agreed to and referred to the electors of the State of Indiana at the next general election:

Sec. 21. The General Assembly shall, by law, prescribe what qualifications shall be necessary for admission to practice law in all courts of justice.

AND, WHEREAS, The amendment to the Constitution provided for by such joint resolution was submitted under said joint resolution to the voters of the State of Indiana at the general election in 1906, and although receiving more than three-fourths (3-4) of the vote cast upon it, failed for want of a constitutional majority; AND, WHEREAS, The joint resolution hereafter set out was adopted by the General Assembly of 1907, therefore,

Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the following proposed amendment to Article 7 of the Constitution of said State be, and the same is now agreed to and referred to the electors of the State of Indiana at the next general election:

Sec. 21. The General Assembly shall, by law, prescribe what qualifications shall be necessary for admission to practice law in all courts of justice.

And be it further resolved, That the State board of election commissioners be directed to print said amendment upon the official State ballots, to be voted upon at the next general election, as provided by law.

Approved February 27, 1909.