Page:The Federal and state constitutions vol1.djvu/194

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152
Alabama—1867

Article XIV

exempted property

Section 1. The personal property of any resident of this State to the value of one thousand dollars, to be selected by such resident, shall be exempted from sale on execution, or other final process of any court, issued for the collection of any debt contracted after the adoption of this Constitution.

Sec. 2. Every homestead, not exceeding eighty acres of land, and the dwelling and appurtenances thereon, to be selected by the owner thereof, and not in any town, city, or village, or in lieu thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in the city, town, or village, with the dwelling and appurtenances thereon, owned and occupied by any resident of this State, and not exceeding the value of two thousand dollars, shall be exempted from sale, on execution, or any other final process from a court, from any debt contracted after the adoption of this Constitution. Such exemption, however, shall not extend to any mortgage lawfully obtained, but such mortgage or other alienation of such homestead, by the owner thereof, if a married man, shall not be valid without the voluntary signature and assent of the wife of the same.

Sec. 3. The homestead of a family, after the death of the owner thereof, shall be exempt from the payment of any debts contracted after the adoption of this Constitution, in all cases, during the minority of the children.

Sec. 4. The provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this article shall not be so construed as to prevent a laborers’ lien for work done and performed for the person claiming such exemption, or a mechanics’ lien for work done on the premises.

Sec. 5. If the owner of a homestead die, leaving a widow, but no children, the same shall be exempt, and the rents and profits thereof shall inure to her benefit.

Sec. 6. The real and personal property of any female in this State, acquired before marriage, and all property, real and personal, to which she may afterward be entitled by gift, grant, inheritance, or devise, shall be and remain the separate estate and property of such female, and shall not be liable for any debts, obligations, and engagements of her husband, and may be devised or bequeathed by her the same as if she were a femme sole.

Article XV

oath of office

Section 1. All civil officers of this State, legislative, executive, and judicial, before they enter upon the execution of the duties of their respective offices, shall take the following oath:

I, ——— ———, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am not disfranchised by the constitution of Alabama, or by the Constitution or laws of the United States; that I will honestly and faithfully support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States, the Union of the States, and the Constitution and laws of the State of Alabama, so long as I remain a citizen thereof; and that I will honestly and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter to the best of my ability. So help me God.