Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/349

 IOWA 337 The present constitution of Iowa was adopted in convention, March 5, 1857. It grants the right of voting to every male citizen of the United States who has resided in the state six months and in the county 60 days. The gen- eral election is held on the second Tuesday in October, except in the years of the presidential election, when it occurs on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November. The le- gislature consists of a senate of 50 members elected for four years, half biennially, and a house of 100 members elected biennially. Sen- ators must be 25 and representatives 21 years of age, and otherwise must have the qualifica- tions of voters. In all elections by the legisla- ture votes are given mna voce. The legislature meets on the second Monday of January bien- nially (even years). The governor and lieuten- ant governor are chosen by a plurality of votes, and hold office for two years. They must be at least 30 years of age, and have been citi- zens and residents for two years next preceding election. The salary of the governor is $3,000 per annum. The secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, register of state land office, and superintendent of public instruction are elected by the people for two years, and have each a salary of $2,200. The lieutenant governor and attorney general (salary $1,500) are elected for two years, and the supreme court clerk and reporter are elected for four years. The adjutant and inspector general (salary $2,000) and state librarian (salary $1,200) are appointed by the governor for two years. The judicial power is vested in a su- preme court, district courts, and such other courts, inferior to the supreme court, as the legislature may establish. The supreme court, with appellate jurisdiction only in chancery cases, consists of four judges elected by the people for six years, one every second year, and the one having the shortest time to serve is chief justice. Judges of the district court are elected in single districts (of which there are now 13) for four years. The salary of su- preme court judges is $4,000, and of district judges $2,200 per annum. A district attorney is elected in each judicial district for four years. There are also 13 circuit courts, each with one judge, the circuits having the same boundaries as the judicial districts. The county officers consist of a board of supervisors, auditor, clerk, treasurer, recorder, sheriff, superintendent of common schools, surveyor, and coroner. The counties are subdivided into townships, each of which elects three trustees, a clerk, justices of the peace, constables, and road supervisors. Among the general provisions of the constitu- tion are the following : The credit of the state shall not be given for any purpose ; deficits in the revenue may be made up by borrowing money, but the sum not to exceed $250,000 at any one time ; debt maybe contracted to repel invasion or suppress insurrection ; no corpora- tion shall be created by special law; stock- holders in banks shall be individually liable to double the amount of the stock, and billholders shall have preference over other creditors; suspension of specie payment shall not be per- mitted ; no new county shall be made of less than 432 sq. m., nor shall any existing county be reduced below that size ; no lease of agri- cultural lands shall be for more than 20 years ; aliens, residents of the state, may hold and transmit real estate ; imprisonment for debt is prohibited except in cases of fraud ; parties in suit may be witnesses ; duellists are disqualified from holding any office ; the legislature is pro- hibited from granting divorces, or authorizing lotteries ; in all prosecutions for libel the truth may be given in justification. The constitution requires a census to be taken in 1875 and every ten years thereafter ; but a state census has been taken at frequent intervals. In 1872 the death penalty as a punishment for crime was abolished by a vote of 29 to 17 in the senate and 66 to 22 in the house ; and it was provided that all crimes previously punishable with death should be punished by imprisonment for life, and that in these cases the governor shall not be empowered to grant a pardon except upon the recommendation of the general assembly. The executive council is required on the first Monday of March in each year to assess all the property of every railroad company in the state used in the operation of their roads ; and it is made the duty of the officers of the company to report under oath the necessary facts for such assessment. All railroad property is tax- able at the same rates and in the same manner as that of individuals. No distinction is made in law between the husband and the wife in regard to property. One third in value of all the real estate of either, upon the death of the other, goes to the survivor in fee simple. Nei- ther is liable for the separate debts of the other. The wife may make contracts and incur liabili- ties which may be enforced by or against her in the same manner as if she were unmarried ; and so a married woman may sue and be sued without the husband being joined in the action. Iowa is represented in congress by nine repre- sentatives and two senators, and has therefore 11 votes in the electoral college. The total bonded debt of the state in November, 1873, was $545,056. The receipts into the state treas- ury during the two years ending Nov. 1, 1873, amounted to $2,407,938, and the disbursements to $2,446,680. The income was from the fol- lowing sources : State tax levy. ....', $1,095,010 81 Interest on delinquent taxes 64,195 19 Insane dues from counties 226,250 12 Peddlers' licenses 8S2 66 Sale of laws and revisions 766 58 Railroad tares received in 1872 84,230 63 Taxes on Insurance companies 76,721 28 Auditor's fees from insurance companies 81,091 82 Secretary of state, fees 8,268 80 Register of the state land office, fees 215 25 United States war and defence fund 102,247 86 Sale of arms, <fec 6,218 06 Othersources 278,861 85 Total $2,407,988 86