any officer or other person named in the Penal Code who may be subject to bribery, with intent to influence the action of such person; or that any such officer or other person accepted, or agreed to accept, a bribe given or promised, to influence his action, stating the particular thing or advantage given, promised, accepted, or agreed to be accepted, and the particular act to be influenced thereby.

SEC. 8. Under the laws relating to misapplication of public money, an indictment may charge that the defendant misapplied certain public moneys in his hands by virtue of his trust, stating the amount of such public moneys and the manner in which the same was misapplied.

SEC. 9. In indictments for theft or embezzlement of any coin or paper current as money, or of any checks, bills of exchange, or other such security, it shall be sufficient to describe the property in general terms, as "money," "checks," "bills of exchange," or other evidence of debt, of or about a certain amount.

SEC. 10. An indictment under the laws regulating the carrying of deadly weapons may charge that the defendant carried about his person a pistol, or other deadly weapon, without authority of law, without a further averment of a want of legal excuse or authority on his part.

SEC. 11. The following forms of indictments in cases in which they are applicable are sufficient, and analagous forms may be used in other

cases:

Form No. 1-general form: In the name and by the authority of the State of Texas, the grand jury of.

sent in the district court of said county that about the..

A. D.

in

county, pre

day of county, Texas, (name or description of defendant) did (description of offense), against the peace and dignity of the State. Foreman of the

grand jury.

Form No. 2: Murder. A. B. did with malice aforethought kill C. D. by shooting him with a gun, or, by striking him with an iron weight, or, by poisoning him, etc.

Form No. 3: Assault to commit felony. A. B. did assault C. D., with intent to murder, rob, maim, disfigure or castrate him; or, did assault C. D. in attempting to commit burglary; or, did assault E. F., a female, with intent to rape her, etc.

Form No. 4: Aggravated assault. A. B. did make an aggravated `assault on C. D.

Form No. 5: Simple assault. A. B. did assault C. D.

Form No. 6: Bribery. A. B. did bribe C. D., a sheriff, by paying him ten dollars in money, with intent that said C. D. should permit E. F., a prisoner in his custody, to escape.

Form No. 7: Gaming. A. B. and C. D. did play at a game with cards in a public place (or in a store house, etc.), or A. B. and C. D. did bet at a game with dice; or A. B. and C. D. did bet at a game with dominoes, crack-loo, and crack-or-loo; or A. B. and C. D. did bet at crack-loo or crack-or-loo. A. B. did keep a table, (bank or alley), for gaming; or A. B. did bet at a ten pin alley; or did permit gaming in his house (or house under his control); or did rent to C. D. a room to be used as a place for gaming; or did bet on the result of an election.

Form No. 8: Rape. A. B., an adult male, did rape C. D., a female. Form No. 9: Affray. A. B. and C. D. did fight together in a public place.

Form No. 10: Adultery and fornication. A. B., a man, and C. D., a

woman, did have habitual carnal intercourse with each other, the said A. B. being lawfully married to E. F.

Form No. 11: Unlawful marriage. A. B., having a wife then living, did unlawfully marry C. D.; or A. B., a white person, and C. D., a negro, did knowingly intermarry with each other; or, having intermarried did continue to live together as man and wife.

Form No. 12: Escape. A. B., a sheriff, having the legal custody of C. D., then accused of a murder in the first degree, did wilfully permit him to escape.

Form No. 13: Perjury. A. B. did deliberately and wilfully state under an oath required by law, and legally administered by C. D., a justice of the peace, that (giving the substance of the false statement), which statement was false, as the said A. B. well knew.

Form No. 14: Keeping disorderly house. A. B. did keep a disorderly house.

Form No. 15: Lotteries. A. B. did establish a lottery, or did dispose of certain property by lottery.

Form No. 16: Unlawful practice of medicine. A. B. did practice medicine without authority of law.

Form No. 17: False imprisonment. A. B. did wilfully and without lawful authority detain C. D. against his consent.

Form No. 18: Kidnapping. A. B. did falsely imprison C. D. for the purpose of removing him from the State.

Form No. 19: Arson. A. B. did wilfully burn a certain house, the property of C. D.

Form No. 20: Burglary. A. B. did break and enter the dwelling house of C. D. with intent to steal.

Form No. 21: Theft. A. B. did steal a horse from C. D., or did steal a watch of the value of fifty dollars from C. D.

Form No. 22: Swindling. A. B. did falsely represent to C. D. that he had ten bales of cotton packed and ready for delivery, and by means of such false representation did obtain from said C. D. one hundred dollars in money, with intent to appropriate it to his own use.

Form No. 23: Fraudulent disposition of mortgaged property. A. B. having given to C. D. a lien in writing, on his crop of cotton, did dispose of the same with intent to defraud said C. D.

1

Form No. 24: Counterfeiting coin. A. B. did counterfeit a silver coin of the Republic of Mexico, called a dollar, which was at the time current as money in the United States.

Form No. 25: Conspiracy. A. B. and C. D. did conspire together to murder E. F.

Form No. 26: Robberry. A. B. did rob C. D. of twenty dollars in money.

Form No. 27: Forgery. A. B. did forge a certain false instrument in writing, in substance as follows: (setting out the forged instrument.) Form No. 28: Misapplication of public money. A. B., a collector of taxes, did misapply one thousand dollars of public moneys in his hands, by virtue of his office, by converting said moneys to his own use.

SEC. 12. Nothing contained in the 11th section of this act shall be construed to dispense with the necessity for proof of all the facts constituting the offense charged in an indictment, as the same is defined by law. SEC. 13. In an indictment for libel, it is not necessary to set forth any intrinsic facts for the purpose of showing the application to the libeled party of the defamatory matter on which the indictment is founded; it

is sufficient to state generally that the same was published concerning him.

SEC. 14. When the offense may be committed by different means, or with different intents, such means or intents may be alleged in the same count, in the alternative.

SEC. 15. Words used in a statute to define an offense, need not be strictly pursued in the indictment; it is sufficient to use other words. conveying the same meaning, or which include the sense of the statutory words.

SEC. 16. Matters of which judicial notice is taken (among which are included the authority and duties of all officers elected or appointed under the general laws of this State), and presumptions of law need not be stated in an indictment.

SEC. 17. An indictment shall not be held insufficient, nor shall the trial, judgment or other proceedings thereon be affected by reason of any defect or imperfection of form in such indictment, which does not prejudice the substantial rights of the defendant.

SEC. 18. That all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the provisions of this act be and they are hereby repealed. Approved March 26, A. D. 1881.

Takes effect ninety days after adjournment.

CHAPTER LVIII.-An act to amend article 506, chapter 11, of title 17, and to create article 340a, chapter 1, of said title, of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas, relating to cities, towns and villages.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That article 506, of chapter 11, shall be amended so as to read as follows: "Article 506. When a town or village may contain more than two hundred, and less than ten thousand inhabitants, it may be incorporated as a town or village, in the manner prescribed in chapter 11, title 17, of the Revised Civil Statutes; and there is hereby created an article, which shall read as follows:

"Article 340a. When a city or town may contain one thousand inhab-` itants or over, it may be incorporated as a city or town, in the manner prescribed by chapter 11 of this title; provided, that an election shall be ordered on the application of fifty electors of such city or town; and, provided, further, that when an election is held according to the provisions of said chapter 11, to be incorporated as a city or town, the words 'towns and villages' shall be construed to read, and read 'cities and towns." "

Approved March 26, A. D. 1881.

Takes effect ninety days after adjournment.

CHAPTER LIX.-An act to amend chapters 5 and 11, of title 17, of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State, relating to charters of cities and towns, and towns and villages, so as to authorize the levy of a tax for the support of public free schools, under certain circumstances. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That chapter 5, title 17, of the Revised Civil Statutes of this State,

shall be amended by adding thereto another article, which shall read as follows:

"Article 425a. The city or town council, whether incorporated under the provisions of this title or by any act of the Congress of the Republic, or the Legislature of the State of Texas, shall have power, by ordinance, to annually levy and collect not exceeding one-half of one per cent ad valorem taxes, for the support and maintenance of public free schools in the city or town, where such city or town is a separate and independent school district; provided, that no such tax shall be levied. until an election shall have been held, at which none but property tax payers, as shown by the last assessment rolls, who are qualified voters of such city or town, shall vote, and two-thirds of those voting shall vote in favor thereof. The proposition submitted may be for a tax not exceeding one-half of one per cent, or it may be for a specific per cent; one election, and no more, shall be held hereafter in any one calendar year to ascertain whether a school tax shall be levied; if the proposition is carried the school tax shall continue to be annually levied and collected for at least two years; and thereafter, unless it is discontinued, at an election held to determine whether the tax shall be continued or discontinued, at the request of fifty property taxpayers of such city or town; when the tax is continued no election to discontinue it shall be held for two years; when the tax is discontinued no election to levy a tax shall be held during the same year."

SEC. 2. That chapter 11, of title 17, of the Revised Civil Statutes of this State, shall be amended by adding thereto another article, which shall read as follows:

"Article 522a. The board of aldermen shall have power, by ordinance, to levy and collect ad valorem taxes, for the support and maintenance of public free schools, under the rules, regulations and restrictions prescribed in article 425a, chapter 5, of this title."

SEC. 3. The prospect of an early adjournment, and the necessity for rendering the statutes unambiguous, and placing the support of free schools on a firm basis, creates a necessity and an emergency that the rule requiring this bill to be read on three several days be suspended; and it is suspended; and that this act take effect from and after its passage; and it is so enacted.

Approved March 26, A. D. 1881.

Takes effect from passage.

CHAPTER LX.-An act to diminish the civil jurisdiction of the county court of Bosque and San Patricio counties in this State, and conform the jurisdiction of the district court of said counties to such change.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the county court of the counties of Bosque and San Patricio shall have and exercise the general jurisdiction of a probate court; shall probate wills, appoint guardians of minors, idiots, lunatics, persons non compos mentis, and common drunkards; grant letters of administration, settle accounts of executors, administrators and guardians; transact all business appertaining to the estates of deceased persons, minors, idiots, lunatics, persons non compos mentis, and common drunkards, including the partition, settlement and distribution of estates of deceased persons,

and to apprentice minors as prescribed by law, and to issue all writs necessary to the enforcement of its jurisdiction, and to punish contempts under such provisions as are or may be provided by general law governing county courts throughout the State, and to have and exercise general jurisdiction over questions of eminent domain, as prescribed by law; but said county courts shall have no other civil jurisdiction.

SEC. 2. That the district courts of said counties of Bosque and San Patricio shall have and exercise jurisdiction in all matters and causes of a civil nature, over which by the general laws of the State the county courts of said counties would have jurisdiction, except as provided in section 1 of this act; and that in all cases other than probate matters, and such as are provided in section 1 of this act, be and the same are hereby transferred to the district courts of said counties, and all writs and process in civil causes heretofore issued by or out of said county courts, other than those pertaining to civil matters, over which by section 1 of this act jurisdiction is given to the county courts of said counties, be and the same are hereby made returnable to the next term of the district courts in and for said counties.

SEC. 3. That the clerks of the county court of the said counties respectively of Bosque and San Patricio, be and they are hereby required, within twenty days after the passage of this act, to make a fair and complete transcript of all the entries on their civil dockets heretofore made in causes which by section 2 of this act are transferred to the district courts of said counties respectively, and file the same, together with the original papers of all said causes and proceedings, with the clerks of the district court respectively of said Bosque and San Patricio counties, and all such causes shall be immediately docketed by the clerk of the district court respectively of said Bosque and San Patricio counties, and shall stand on the dockets of said courts, and for each of said transcripts the county clerks aforesaid shall receive twenty cents per one hundred words, and fifty cents for a certificate thereto, to be taxed as costs against the party cast in the suit.

SEC. 4. That all laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act be and the same are hereby repealed.

SEC. 5. The prospect of an early adjournment creates a necessity for the suspension of the rule requiring this bill to be read on three several days, and it is suspended; and the immediate public good to arise from its passage creates an emergency that this act take effect from its passage, and it is so enacted.

Approved March 26, A. D. 1881.

Takes effect from passage.

CHAPTER LXI.—An act to provide for designating and setting apart three hundred leagues of land out of the unappropriated public domain for the benefit of the unorganized counties of the State, and to provide for the survey and location of the same.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the governor, comptroller, treasurer of the state, attorney general, and commissioner of the general land office, are hereby constituted a board to contract with some suitable person or persons to survey and to return to the general land office the field notes and plats of three hundred