tax sufficient, with other resources, to defray the estimated expenses of the State government for each fiscal year.

SEC. 3. All taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, and shall be levied and collected under general laws, which shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just yaluation for taxation of all property, real and personal; provided, that mines and mining claims. bearing gold, silver, and other precious metals, (except the net proceeds and surface improvements thereof,) shall be exempt from taxation for the period of ten years from the date of the adoption of this Constitution, and thereafter may be taxed as provided by law. Ditches, canals, and flumes owned and used by individuals or corporations for irrigating lands owned by such individuals or corporations, or the individual members thereof, shall not be separately taxed, so long as they shall be owned and used exclusively for such purpose.

SEC. 4. The property, real and personal, of the State, counties, cities, towns, and other municipal corporations, and public libraries, shall be exempt from taxation.

SEC. 5. Lots, with the buildings thereon, if said buildings are used solely and exclusively for religious worship, for schools, or for strictly charitable purposes, also cemeteries not used or held for private or corporate profit, shall be exempt from taxation, unless otherwise provided by general law.

SEC. 6. All laws exempting from taxation property other than that hereinbefore mentioned, shall be void.

SEC. 7. The general assembly shall not impose taxes for the purposes of any county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, but may, by law, vest in the corporate authorities thereof respectively the power to assess and collect taxes for all purposes of such corporation.

SEC. 8. No county, city, town, or other municipal corporation, the inhabitants thereof, nor the property therein, shall be released or discharged from their or its proportionate share of taxes to be levied for State purposes.

SEC. 9. The power to tax corporations and corporate property, real and personal, shall never be relinquished or suspended.

SEC. 10.

All corporations in this State, or doing business therein, shall be subject to taxation for State, county, school, municipal, and

other purposes, on the real and personal property owned or used by them within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax.

SEC. 11. The rate of taxation on property, for State purposes, shall never exceed six mills on each dollar of valuation; and whenever the taxable property within the State shall amount to one hundred million dollars, the rate shall not exceed four mills on each dollar of valuation; and whenever the taxable property within the State shall amount to three hundred million dollars, the rate shall never thereafter exceed two mills on each dollar of valuation, unless a proposition to increase such rate, specifying the rate proposed, and the time during which the same shall be levied, be first submitted to a vote of such of the qualified electors of the State as in the year next preceding such election, shall have paid a property tax assessed to them within the State, and a majority of those voting thereon shall vote in favor thereof, in such manner as may be provided by law,

SEC. 12. The treasurer shall keep a separate account of each fund in his hands; and shall, at the end of each quarter of the fiscal year, report to the governor, in writing, under oath, the amount of all moneys in his hands to the credit of every such fund, and the place where the same are kept or deposited, and the number and amount of every warrant received, and the number and amount of every warrant paid therefrom during the quarter. Swearing falsely to any such report shall be deemed perjury. The governor shall cause every such report to be immediately published in at least one newspaper printed at the seat of government, and otherwise as the general assembly may require. The general assembly may provide by law further regulations for the safe-keeping and management of the public funds in the hands of the treasurer, but, notwithstanding any such regulation, the treasurer and his sureties shall in all cases be held responsible therefor.

SEC. 13. The making of profit, directly or indirectly, out of State, county, city, town or school district money, or using the same for any purpose not authorized by law, by any public officer, shall be deemed a felony, and shall be punished as provided by law.

SEC. 14. Private property shall not be taken or sold for the payment of the corporate debt of municipal corporations.

SEC. 15. There shall be a State board of equalization, consisting of the governor, State auditor, State treasurer, secretary of State, and attorney general; also, in each county of this State, a county

board of equalization, consisting of the board of county commisioners of said county. The duty of the State board of equalization. shall be to adjust and equalize the valuation of real and personal property among the several counties of the State. The duty of the county board of equalization shall be to adjust and equalize the valuation of real and personal property within their respective counties. Each board shall also perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 16. No appropriation shall be made, nor any expenditure authorized by the general assembly, whereby the expenditure of the State, during any fiscal year, shall exceed the total tax then provided for by law and applicable, for such appropriation or expenditure, unless the general assembly making such appropriation shall provide for levying a sufficient tax, not exceeding the rates allowed in section eleven of this article, to pay such appropriation or expenditure within such fiscal year. This provision shall not apply to appropriations or expenditures to suppress insurrection, defend the State, or assist in defending the United States in time of war.

ARTICLE XI.

PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS.

SECTION I. Neither the State, nor any county, city, town, township or school district, shall lend or pledge the credit or faith thereof, directly or indirectly, in any manner to or in aid of any person, company or corporation, public or private, for any amount or for any purpose whatever, or become responsible for any debt, contract or liability of any person, company or corporation, public or private, in or out of the State.

SEC. 2. Neither the State nor any county, city, town, township or school district, shall make any donation or grant to, or in aid of, or become a subscriber to, or shareholder in, any corporation or company, or a joint owner with any person, company or corporation, public or private, in or out of the State, except as to such ownership as may accrue to the State by escheat, or by forfeiture, by operation or provision of law; and except as to such ownership as may accrue to the State, or to any county, city, town, township or school district, or to either or any of them, jointly with any person, company or cor

poration, by forfeiture or sale of real estate for non-payment of taxes, or by donation or devise for public use, or by purchase by or on behalf of any or either of them, jointly with any or either of them, under execution in cases of fines, penalties or forfeiture of recognizance, breach of condition of official bond, or of bond to secure public moneys, or the performance of any contract in which they or any of them may be jointly or severally interested.

SEC. 3. The State shall not contract any debt by loan, in any form, except to provide for casual deficiencies of revenue, erect public buidings for use of the State, suppress insurrection, defend the State, or, in time of war, assist in defending the United States; and the amount of the debt contracted in any one year to provide for deficiencies of revenue shall not exceed one-fourth of a mill on each dollar of valuation of taxable property within the State, and the aggregate amount of such debt shall not at any time exceed three-fourths of a mill on each dollar of said valuation until the valuation shall equal one hundred millions of dollars, and thereafter such debt shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars, and the debt incurred in any one year for erection of public buildings shall not exceed one-half mill on each dollar of said valuation, and the aggregate amount of such debt shall never at any time exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars (except as provided in section five of this article), and in all cases the valuation in this section mentioned shall be that of the assessment last preceeding the creation of said debt.

SEC. 4. In no case shall any debt above mentioned in this article be created except by a law which shall be irrepealable until the indebtedness therein provided for shall have been fully paid or discharged; such law shall specify the purposes to which the funds so raised shall be applied, and provide for the levy of a tax sufficient to pay the interest on, and extinguish the principal of, such debt, within the time limited by such law for the payment thereof, which in the case of debts contracted for the erection of public buildings and supplying deficiencies of revenue, shall not be less than ten nor more than fifteen years, and the funds arising from the collection of any such tax shall not be applied to any other purpose than that provided in the law levying the same; and when the debt thereby created shall be paid or discharged, such tax shall cease, and the balance if any, to the credit of the fund, shall immediately be placed to the credit of the general fund of the State.

SEC. 5. A debt for the purpose of erecting public buildings may be created by law, as provided for in section four of this article, not exceeding in the aggregate three mills on each dollar of said valuation; provided, that before going into effect, such law shall be ratified by the vote of a majority of such qualified electors of the State as shall vote thereon at a general election, under such regulations as the general assembly may prescribe.

SEC. 6. No county shall contract any debt by loan in any form, except for the purpose of erecting necessary public buildings, making or repairing public roads and bridges; and such indebtedness contracted in any one year shall not exceed the rates upon the taxable property in such county, following, to wit: Counties in which the assessed valuation of taxable property shall exceed five millions of dollars, one dollar and fifty cents on each thousand dollars thereof. Counties in which such valuation shall be less than five millions of dollars, three dollars on each thousand dollars thereof. And the aggregate amount of indebtedness of any county for all purposes, exclusive of debts contracted before the adoption of this Constitution, shall not at any time exceed twice the amount above herein limited, unless when in manner provided by law, the question of incurring such debt shall, at a general election, be submitted to such of the qualified electors of such county as in the year last preceding such election shall have paid a tax upon property assessed to them in such county, and a majority of those voting thereon shall vote in favor of incurring the debt; but the bonds, if any be issued therefor, shall not run less than ten years, and the aggregate amount of debt so contracted shall not at any time exceed twice the rate upon the valuation last herein mentioned; provided, that this section shall not apply to counties having a valuation of less than one million of dollars.

SEC. 7. No debt by loan in any form shall be contracted by any school district for the purpose of erecting and furnishing school buildings, or purchasing grounds, unless the proposition to create such debt shall first be submitted to such qualified electors of the district as shall have paid a school tax therein, in the year next preceding such election, and a majority of those voting thereon shall vote in favor of incurring such debt.

SEC. 8. No city or town shall contract any debt by loan in any form, except by means of an ordinance, which shall be irrepealable, until the indebtedness therein provided for shall have been fully paid