justice of the peace of the county in which the child lives, the parent, guardian or other person in charge of the child may be fined if he does not cause his child to attend school in a sum not less than five dollars nor more than twenty dollars for the first offense, nor less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars for the second and every subsequent offense, and costs of suit. This is a long step in the direction of compulsory education.

County surveyors are required to keep a record of plats and explanatory notes of all surveys made by them or their deputies.

No survey or resurvey of real estate made by any person, excepting the county surveyor or his deputy, shall be considered as legal testimony in any court of this state, unless such surveys are made by mutual consent, reduced to writing. and signed by the parties and recorded in the county surveyor's office, or made by order of the court.

No person is permitted to operate a motor vehicle on a public highway at a rate of speed greater than is reasonable and proper at the different places, having regard to the traffic and use of the highway and its condition, or so as to endanger the life or limb of any person, or in any event at a greater rate than fifteen miles an hour.

Upon approaching a crossing or intersecting public highways, or a bridge, or a sharp curve, or a steep descent, and also traversing such crossing, bridge, curve or descent, the person operating a motor vehicle shall have it under control, and operate it at a rate of speed no greater than six miles an hour, and in no event greater than is reasonable and proper, having regard to the traffic then on such highway and the safety of the public.

Motor vehicles are required to give warnings of their approach, by proper device, and to reduce their speed to prevent the frightening of horses or other animals. Upon a signal from a person riding or driving a restive horse or horses, motor vehicles are required to come to a stop, and to remain station

ary as long as may be reasonable, to allow such horses or animals to pass, and to prevent accidents and insure the safety of persons, vehicles and animals.

An amendment to the Kentucky constitution has been submitted, changing the present constitution by abolishing the secret ballot and providing that all elections by the people shall be viva voce and made matter of public record by the officers of election according to the direction of the voter.

MISSISSIPPI.

Among the important acts passed in Mississippi were the following:

An act requiring life insurance companies to deliver with the policy a copy of the application, and provides that in default of so doing the insurance company shall not be permitted in any court to deny the truth of the statements in the application; and the act further provides that a misstatement touching the age of the insured in the application shall not invalidate the policy, but that the beneficiary may recover such an amount of insurance as the premiums paid would have purchased for the insured at his actual age, reckoning according to the rate tables of the company.

An act creating a school text book commission and providing for use in public schools of a uniform system or series of text books.

An act amending Lord Campbell's act so that illegitimate children can sue for the wrongful death of their mother and the mother of a bastard may sue for the wrongful death of her illegitimate child.

The first Monday in September, Labor Day, is made a public holiday.

An act was passed making a warehouse receipt in the hands of a bona fide holder for value conclusive evidence that the goods were received as stated in the receipt.

Also a "Jim Crow" law applicable to street railways.

Another act requires railroads to settle all claims for lost or damaged freight, the claim being not less than fifty dollars, within sixty days, and where the freight is handled by two or more roads within ninety days from the filing of written notice by the claimant with the railroad agent at the point of destination, adding a penalty of twenty-five per cent. for failure to settle within the time specified.

An act requires manufacturers and dealers in commercial fertilizers offered for sale in this state to brand the fertilizers in such manner as to designate the constituent elements of available plant food contained therein.

An act abolishes the imparlance terms in the circuit courts and makes all suits triable at the first term after institution, provided summons was served on the defendant personally within thirty days before the meeting of the court.

An act provides for a commission to prepare a new code and report the same to the next session of the legislature. A stringent vagrancy law was passed, much like the Kentucky law and the Georgia law to be hereafter noticed.

Mississippi submitted an amendment to her constitution abolishing the requirement of the present constitution for taking the census of the state every ten years, and also confirmed by acts amendments which had been carried at the previous elections relating to the apportionment of senators and representatives and requiring the poll tax to be retained in the counties where the same is collected and not distributed among the several counties and school districts.

GEORGIA.

Some of the legislation of Georgia is especially interesting. A law was passed amending the definition of robbery as contained in the Georgia penal code. Prior to the amending act, robbery was defined to be "the wrongful, fraudulent and violent taking of money, goods or chattels from the person of another by force or intimidation without the consent of the owner." The amendment added the following to this defini

tion: "or the sudden snatching, taking or carrying away any money, goods, chattels or anything of value from the owner or person in possession or control thereof without the consent of the owner or person in possession or control thereof." This amendment was obviously made to meet the cases of pickpockets and street thieves and was brought about by a decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia, which held such cases not to come within the definition of robbery.

A very important law was passed with reference to vagrancy and its definition and punishment which deserves more than a passing glance. Under this law vagrants are defined as follows:

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"1. Persons wandering or strolling about in idleness who are able to work and have no property to support them. 2. Persons leading an idle, immoral or profligate life who have no property to support them and who are able to work and do not work. 3. All persons able to work having no property to support them and who have no visible, or known means of a fair, honest and reputable livelihood. The term visible and known means of a fair, honest and reputable livelihood,' as used in this section, shall be construed to mean reasonably continuous employment at some lawful occupation for reasonable compensation, or a fixed and regular income from property or other investment, which income is sufficient for the support and maintenance of such vagrant. 4. Persons having a fixed abode who have no visible property to support them and who live by stealing or by trading or bartering stolen property. 5. Professional gamblers living in idleness. 6. All able-bodied persons who are found begging for a living or who quit their houses and leave their wives and children without the means of subsistence. 7. All persons who are able to work and who do not work, but hire out their minor children and live upon their wages, shall be deemed and considered vagrants. 8. All persons over sixteen and under twenty-one years of age able to work and who do not work, and have no property to support them, and have not some known and visible means of a fair, honest and reputable livelihood, and whose parents are unable to support them, and who are not in attendance upon some educational institute."

The act then proceeds to provide the machinery for enforc ing the law and makes it the duty of sheriffs, constables, police and town marshals to give information under oath to any officer authorized to issue criminal warrants of all vagrants within their knowledge. The penalty upon conviction is that the vagrant shall be bound in sufficient security, in the discretion. of the court, for his future industry and good conduct for one year. Upon the vagrant's refusal or failure to give security, he shall be punished "as for a misdemeanor." The penalty for a misdemeanor in Georgia is a fine not exceeding $1000, confinement upon the chain gang or public works not exceeding twelve months or imprisonment in the common jail not exceeding six months, either or all in the discretion of the court. The act ends with a provision that it shall be a sufficient defense to the charge of vagrancy that the defendant has made a bona fide effort to obtain employment at reasonable prices for his labor and has failed to obtain the same.

I am informed that this law was demanded by the agricultural interests of the state, which have suffered for some years past from the dearth of labor, due in great part, as it is claimed, to the idleness of the negro population throughout the state. This act has served as the model for several similar laws passed by a number of the adjoining Southern states.

A law was passed creating a state school book commission and requiring the commission to provide in the public schools of the state a uniform series of text books and providing elaborately for the duties and powers of the commission.

An act was passed to protect the officers and employees of the Georgia penitentiary at the various convict camps throughout the state, which provides that no person shall be allowed to come inside of the guard lines at the various camps with a gun, pistol or any other weapon or any intoxicating liquors, and makes it unlawful for any person at such camps to trade or traffic with any convict or to buy from or sell to any convict any article without the consent of the warden in charge, and gives the wardens the right to establish guard lines, and it