vantage from such works as have been heretofore aided by
the State; and provided that such aid, advances or appro-
priations shall not exceed in the aggregate the sum of five
hundred thousand dollars. And they shall not use or appro-
priate the proceeds of the internal improvement companies,
or of the State tax, now levied, or which may hereafter be
levied, to pay off the public debt [or] to any other purposes
until the interest and debt are fully paid or the sinking fund
shall be equal to the amount of the outstanding debt; but the
General Assembly may, without laying a tax, borrow an
amount never to exceed fifty thousand dollars to meet tem-
porary deficiencies in the Treasury, and may contract debts
to any amount that may be necessary for the defence of the
State. And provided further that nothing in this section
shall be construed to prohibit the raising of funds for the
purpose of aiding or compensating in such manner or way
as the General Assembly of the State shall deem proper,
those citizens of the State who have served, with honor, their
country and State in time of war; provided, however, that
such action of the General Assembly shall be effective only
when submitted to and approved by a vote of the people of
the State at the General Election next following the enact-
ment of such legislation.*

SEC. 35. No extra compensation shall be granted or
allowed by the General Assembly to any public officer, agent,
servant or contractor, after the service shall have been ren-
dered, or the contract entered into; nor shall the salary or
compensation of any public officer be increased or diminished
during his term of office.

SEC. 36. No lottery grant shall ever hereafter be author-
ized by the General Assembly.

SEC. 37. The General Assembly shall pass no law provid-
ing for payment by this State for slaves emancipated from
servitude in this State; but they shall adopt such measures
as they may deem expedient to obtain from the United States
compensation for such slaves, and to receive and distribute
the same equitably to the persons entitled.

SEC. 38. No person shall be imprisoned for debt.

SEC. 39. The books, papers and accounts of all banks
shall be open to inspection under such regulations as may
be prescribed by law. t

*Thus amended by Chapter 327, Acts of 1924, ratified by the people Novem-
ber 4, 1924.

tThus amended by Chapter 151 of the Acts of the Special Session of 1936
and ratified by the people November 3, 1936.