SEC. 5. The governor may make a provisional appointment to fill a vacancy occasioned by the suspension of an officer, until he shall be acquitted or until after the election and qualification of a successor.

SEC. 6. For reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment, the governor shall remove any judge on a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the legislature; and the cause for which such removal is required shall be stated at length in such resolution.

SEC. 7. The governor shall have power and it shall be his duty, except at such time as the legislature may be in session, to examine into the condition and administration of any public office and the acts of any public officer, elective or appointive; to remove from office for gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in office, or any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein, any elective or appointive state officer, except legislative or judicial, and report the causes of such removal to the legislature at its next session.

SEC. S. Any officer elected by a county, city, village, township or school district may be removed from office in such manner and for such cause as shall be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE X.

FINANCE AND TAXATION.

SECTION 1. All subjects of taxation now contributing to the primary school interest fund under present laws shall continue to contribute to that fund, and all taxes from such subjects shall be first applied in paying the interest upon the primary school, university and other educational funds in the order herein named, after which the surplus of such moneys shall be added to and become a part of the primary school interest fund.

SEC. 2. The legislature shall provide by law for an annual tax sufficient with other resources to pay the estimated expenses of the state government, the interest on any state debt and such deficiency as may occur in the resources.

SEC. 3. The legislature shall provide by law a uniform rule of taxation, except on property paying specific taxes, and taxes shall be levied on such property as shall be prescribed by law: Provided, That the legislature shall provide by law a uniform rule of taxation for such property as shall be assessed by a state board of assessors, and the rate of taxation on such property shall be the rate which the state board of assessors shall ascertain and determine is the average rate levied upon other property upon which ad valorem taxes are assessed for state, county, township, school and municipal purposes.

SEC. 4. The legislature may by law impose specific taxes, which shall be uniform upon the classes upon which they operate.

SEC. 5. The legislature may provide by law for the assessment at its true cash value by a state board of assessors, of which the governor shall be ex-officio a member, of the property of corporations and the property, by whomsoever owned, operated or conducted, engaged in the business of transporting passengers and freight, transporting property by express, operating any union station or depot, transmitting messages

by telephone or telegraph, loaning cars, operating refrigerator cars, fast freight lines or other car lines and running or operating cars in any manner upon railroads, or engaged in any other public service business; and for the levy and collection of taxes thereon.

SEC. 6. Every law which imposes, continues or revives a tax shall distinctly state the tax, and the objects to which it is to be applied; and it shall not be sufficient to refer to any other law to fix such tax or object.

SEC. 7. All assessments hereafter authorized shall be on property at its cash value.

SEC. 8. In the year nineteen hundred eleven, every fifth year thereafter and at such other times as the legislature may direct, the legis lature shall provide by law for an equalization of assessments by a state board, on all taxable property, except that taxed under laws passed pursuant to sections four and five of this article.

SEC. 9. The power of taxation shall never be surrendered or suspended by any grant or contract to which the state or any municipal corporation shall be a party.

*SEC. 10. The state may contract debts to meet deficits in revenue, but such debts shall not in the aggregate at any time exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars. The state may also contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, defend the state or aid the United States in time of war. The money so raised shall be applied to the purposes for which it is raised or to the payment of the debts contracted.

SEC. 11. No scrip, certificate or other evidence of state indebtedness shall be issued, except for such debts as are expressly authorized in this constitution.

SEC. 12. The credit of the state shall not be granted to, nor in aid of any person, association or corporation, public or private.

SEC. 13. The state shall not subscribe to, nor be interested in the stock of any company, association or corporation.

SEC. 14. The state shall not be a party to, nor be interested in any work of internal improvement, nor engage in carrying on any such work, except in the improvement of, or aiding in the improvement of the public wagon roads, in the reforestation and protection of lands owned by the state and in the expenditure of grants to the state of land or other property.

SEC. 15. No state money shall be deposited in banks other than those organized under the national or state banking laws. No state money shall be deposited in any bank in excess of fifty per cent of the capital and surplus of such bank. Any bank receiving deposits of state money shall show the amount of state money so deposited as a separate item in all published statements.

SEC. 16. No money shall be paid out of the state treasury except in pursuance of appropriations made by law.

SEC. 17. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys shall be attached to and published with the laws passed at every regular session of the legislature.

SEC. 18. The legislature shall provide by law for the keeping of accounts by all state officials, boards and institutions, and by all county officials; and shall also provide for the supervision and audit thereof

*See page 36 of this compilation (C. R. No. 7) for text of proposed amendment to this section, which is to be submitted to the people at the general election in 1914.

by competent state authority and for uniform reports of all public accounts to such authority. Such systems of account shall provide for accurate records of all financial and other transactions and for checks upon all receipts and disbursements of all such officials, boards and institutions; and shall be uniform for all similar boards, institutions and county officials. All public accounts and the audit thereof shall be public records and open to inspection.

SEC. 19. No collector, holder or disburser of public moneys shall have a seat in the legislature, nor be eligible to any office of trust or profit under this state, until he shall have accounted for and paid over, as provided by law, all sums for which he may be liable.

ARTICLE XI.

EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

SEC. 2. A superintendent of public instruction shall be elected at the regular election to be held on the first Monday in April, nineteen hundred nine, and every second year thereafter. He shall hold office for a period of two years from the first day of July following his election and until his successor is elected and qualified. He shall have general supervision of public instruction in the state. He shall be a member and secretary of the state board of education. He shall be ex-officio a member of all other boards having control of public instruction in any state institution, with the right to speak but not to vote. His duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 3. There shall be a board of regents of the university, consisting of eight members, who shall hold the office for eight years. There shall be elected at each regular biennial spring election two members of such board. When a vacancy shall occur in the office of regent it shall be filled by appointment of the governor.

SEC. 4. The regents of the university and their successors in office shall continue to constitute the body corporate known as "The Regents of the University of Michigan."

SEC. 5. The regents of the university shall, as often as necessary, elect a president of the university. The president of the university and the superintendent of public instruction shall be ex-officio members of the board of regents, with the privilege of speaking but not of voting. The president shall preside at the meetings of the board and be the principal executive officer of the university. The board of regents shall have the general supervision of the university and the direction and control of all expenditures from the university funds.

SEC. 6. The state board of education shall consist of four members. On the first Monday in April, nineteen hundred nine, and at each succeeding biennial spring election, there shall be elected one member of such board who shall hold his office for six years from the first day of July following his election. The state board of education shall have general supervision of the state normal college and the state normal schools, and the duties of said board shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 7. There shall be elected on the first Monday in April, nineteen hundred nine, a state board of agriculture to consist of six members, two of whom shall hold the office for two years, two for four years and two for six years. At every regular biennial spring election thereafter, there shall be elected two members whose term of office shall be six years. The members thus elected and their successors in office shall be a body corporate to be known as "The State Board of Agriculture."

SEC. 8. The state board of agriculture shall, as often as necessary, elect a president of the agricultural college, who shall be ex-officio a member of the board with the privilege of speaking but not of voting. He shall preside at the meetings of the board and be the principal executive officer of the college. The board shall have the general supervision of the college, and the direction and control of all agricultural college funds; and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

(a) SEC. 9. The legislature shall continue a system of primary schools, whereby every school district in the state shall provide for the education of its pupils without charge for tuition; and all instruction in such schools shall be conducted in the English language. If any school district shall neglect to maintain a school within its borders as prescribed by law for at least five months in each year, or to provide for the education of its pupils in another district or districts for an equal period, it shall be deprived for the ensuing year of its proportion of the pri mary school interest fund. If any school district shall, on the second Monday in July of any year, have on hand a sufficient amount of money in the primary school interest fund to pay its teachers for the next ensuing two years as determined from the pay roll of said district for the last school year, and in case of a primary district, all tuition for the next ensuing two years, based upon the then enrollment in the seventh and eighth grades in said school district, the children in said district shall not be counted in making the next apportionment of primary school money by the superintendent of public instruction; nor shall such children be counted in making such apportionment until the amount of money in the primary school interest fund in said district shall be insufficient to pay teachers' wages or tuition as herein set forth for the next ensuing two years.

SEC. 10. The legislature shall maintain the university, the college of mines, the state agricultural college, the state normal college and such state normal schools and other educational institutions as may be established by law.

SEC. 11. The proceeds from the sales of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to the state for educational purposes and the proceeds of all lands or other property given by individuals or appropriated by the state for like purposes shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest and income of which, together with the rents of all such lands as may remain unsold, shall be inviolably appropriated and annually applied to the specific objects of the original gift, grant or appropriation.

SEC. 12. All lands, the titles to which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall escheat to the state, and the interest on the clear proceeds from the sales thereof shall be appropriated exclusively to the support of the primary schools.

(a) Amendment proposed by concurrent resolution No. 1, P. A. 1911, page 537; ratified April election, 1911.

SEC. 13. The legislature shall appropriate all salt spring lands now unappropriated, or the money arising from the sale of the same, where such lands have already been sold, and any funds or lands which may hereafter be granted or appropriated for such purpose, for the support and maintenance of the agricultural college.

SEC. 14. The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of at least one library in each township and city; and all fines assessed and collected in the several counties, cities and townships for any breach of the penal laws shall be exclusively applied to the support of such libraries.

SEC. 15. Institutions for the benefit of those inhabitants who are deaf, dumb, blind, feeble-minded or insane shall always be fostered and supported.

ARTICLE XII.

CORPORATIONS.

SECTION 1. Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created, nor shall any rights, privileges or franchises be conferred upon them, by special act of the legislature. All laws heretofore or hereafter passed by the legislature for the formation of, or conferring rights, privileges or franchises upon corporations and all rights, privileges or franchises conferred by such laws may be amended, altered, repealed or abrogated.

SEC. 2. The term "corporation" as used in this article shall be construed to include all associations and joint stock companies having any of the powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. All corporations shall have the right to sue and be subject to be sued in all courts in like cases as natural persons. SEC. 3. No corporation shall be created for a longer period than thirty years, except for municipal, railroad, insurance, canal or cemetery purposes, or corporations organized without any capital stock for religious, benevolent, social or fraternal purposes; but the legislature may provide by general laws, applicable to any corporations, for one or more extensions of the term of such corporations, while such term is running, not exceeding thirty years for each extension, on the consent of not less than two-thirds of the capital stock of the corporation; and by like general laws for the corporate reorganization for a further period, not exceeding thirty years, of such corporations whose terms have expired by limitation, on the consent of not less than four-fifths of the capital stock.

SEC. 4. The stockholders of every corporation and joint stock association shall be individually liable for all labor performed for such corporation or association.

SEC. 5. No corporation shall hold any real estate for a longer period than ten years, except such real estate as shall be actually occupied by such corporation in the exercise of its franchises.

SEC. 6. The legislature shall pass no law renewing or extending any special act of incorporation heretofore granted.

SEC. 7. The legislature may, from time to time, pass laws establishing reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transportation of passengers and freight on different railroads in this state, and may pass laws