Organization Montgomery, Ala., Dec. 13, 1878. The undersigned members of the legal profession, believing that the formation of a Bar Association of Alabama is desirable, respectfully request the members of the Bar of each County to appoint one or more delegates to attend a Convention of the Bar of the State, to be held in the Hall of the House of Representatives, on the 15th day of January, next, at 7 P. M., and that E. W. Pettus and Wm. M. Brooks of Selma, and W. L. Bragg of Montgomery, are requested to prepare a plan of organization to be submitted to said Convention. D. S. Troy T. H. Watts, Sr. Jos. Wheeler T. H. Arrington M. L. Stansel W. S. Thorington Geo. P. Harrison, Jr. Pursuant to the foregoing call, a preliminary conference in reference to organizing a State Bar Association met in the Hall of the House of Representatives on the 15th of January, 1879. On motion of D. S. Troy, L. P. Walker of Huntsville, was unanimously elected chairman of the meeting and on motion of J. J. Robinson, of Chambers, Geo. W. Taylor, of Choctaw, was elected secretary pro tem., and the names of thirty members of the Bar, desirous of organizing a State Bar Association, were enrolled by the Secretary. Messrs. E. W. Pettus, Wm. M. Brooks and W. L. Bragg, the Committee designated and requested in the call to draft a plan of organization to be submitted to the conference through W. L. Bragg, reported a Constitution and By-Laws for The Alabama State Bar Association. The report of the Committee was received, and the Constitution and By-Laws, subject to amendment by the conference, were adopted. On motion of Joseph Wheeler, of Lawrence, Alex. Troy, of Montgomery, was elected Secretary and Treasurer of The Alabama State Bar Association as organized under said Constitution and By-Laws. On motion, the Conference adjourned to meet at the same place on Monday, 20th January. At the re-assembling of the meeting the Chairman, L. P. Walker, being absent, on motion of W. G. Little, Jr. of Sumter, Thos. H. Watts, of Montgomery, was called to the Chair. The proposed changes in the Constitution and By-Laws were agreed to unanimously. D. S. Troy then introduced the following resolutions which were adopted: Resolved, That this Convention elect a President and five Vice-Presidents of the Bar Association of this State, to serve under the Constitution and By-Laws reported by the Committee as amended by this Convention until the first annual meeting of said Association, which shall be held on the first Tuesday in December, 1879. Resolved, That the President of said Association, elected by this Convention, shall appoint the Executive Committee and Central Council, provided for in said Constitution and By-Laws and the persons thus appointed shall discharge the duties of the positions to which they may be appointed, until said first annual meeting and until their successors are elected or appointed, as provided in said Constitution and By-Laws. Resolved, That any member of the Bar of this State, who shall sign or authorize his signature to the roll of membership of said Bar Association, and pay to the Secretary and Treasurer the initiation fee within sixty days from this date, shall be a member of this Bar Association, and said Constitution and ByLaws shall become operative at the expiration of said period of sixty days on all who shall have subscribed the roll of membership, and paid the initiation fee. Resolved, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary, without delay, to send by mail a printed copy of said Constitution and By-Laws and of these resolutions to every member of the Bar of this State whose address can be ascertained, and also a circular stating briefly the action of this Convention, the names of the officers elected by it, and the names of the Executive Committee and Central Council appointed by the President. Resolved, That the Chairman appoint a committee of three to prepare an act of incorporation of the Association, conferring such powers as may be necessary to accomplish the objects declared in the Constitution, and, if practicable, to secure the enactment by the General Assembly. The Chair appointed W. L. Bragg, W. G. Little, Jr., and G. B. Clark, as the committee to prepare the act of incorporation. On motion, the Chair appointed a committee of three, consiting of D. S. Troy, J. Little Smith, and H. A. Woolf, to nominate a President and five Vice-Presidents for the ensuing year. The Committee, after deliberation, reported the following as the officers of the Association: President, W. L. Bragg, Montgomery; Vice-President, Peter Hamilton, Mobile; E. W. Pettus, Selma; L. P. Walker, Huntsville; H. M. Somerville, Tuscaloosa; Jas. L. Pugh, Eufaula. The report of the committee was unanimously adopted. W. G. Little, Jr., offered the following resolution, which was adopted: Resolved, That this Bar Association recommends the Alabama Law Journal, published at Tuscaloosa, to the profession of this State as worthy of their support and patronage. The meeting then adjourned. THOS. H. WATTS, Chairman. ALEX TROY, Secretary. Act of Incorporation AN ACT Incorporating the Alabama State Bar Association. Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Alabama, That Edmund W. Pettus, Leroy P. Walker, Peter Hamilton, James L. Pugh, H. M. Somerville, Thomas H. Watts, Sr., Daniel S. Troy, William M. Brooks, William G. Little, Jr., John Little Smith and Walter L. Bragg, and their associates and successors, be and they are hereby made a body corporate under the name of, "The Alabama State Bar Association," and with power under that name to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, in any of the courts of law or equity in this State, to have a common seal, and to break or alter the same at pleasure, to have, hold and enjoy real and personal estate of the value of not more than twenty thousand dollars, and in addition thereto a library or libraries of books of law or learning without limitation as to value, to buy, sell or dispose of, or acquire in any way property within the limits aforesaid, and for the purposes and objects of the Association as hereinafter set forth. Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the purpose and objects of the said incorporated Association are hereby declared to be: To advance the science of jurisprudence, promote the administration of justice throughout this State, uphold the honor of the profession of the law, and to establish cordial intercourse among the members of the Bar of Alabama. Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That said Association shall have power to make a constitution, by-laws, rules and regulations for the order and government of said Association, or of any officer or agent thereof, and to provide for the trial and expulsion of members, or removal of any officer or agent, and to elect a President, five Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Treasurer, and all other officers which in its discretion may be deemed |