hygiene, and medical jurisprudence. Upon satisfactory examination. under the rules of the board, applicants shall be granted licenses to practice medicine. All questions and answers, with grades attached, shall be preserved for one year. All applicants examined at the same time shall be given identical questions in each of the above branches. All certificates shall be attested by the seal and signed by all members of the board, or a quorum thereof.

SEC. 10. Nothing in this act shall be construed as to discriminate against any particular school or system of medical practice. This act shall not apply to dentists legally qualified and registered under the laws of this State who confine their practice strictly to dentistry; nor to nurses who practice only nursing; nor to masseurs, in their particular sphere of labor, who publicly represent themselves as such; nor to commissioned or contract surgeons of the United States Army, Navy or Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, in the performance of their duties, but such shall not engage in private practice without license from the Board of Medical Examiners; nor to legally qualified physicians of other States called in consultation, but who do not open offices or appoint places in this State where patients may be met or called to see. This act shall be so construed as to apply to persons other than licensed druggists of this State not pretending to be physicians, who offer for sale on the streets or other public places remedies which they recommend for the cure of disease.

SEC. 11. The State Board of Medical Examiners may refuse to admit persons to its examinations or to issue the certificate provided for in this act for any of the following causes:

First. The presentation to the board of any license, certificate or diploma which was illegally or fraudulently obtained, or when fraud or deception has been practiced in passing the examination.

Second. Conviction of a crime of the grade of a felony, or one which involves moral turpitude, or procuring, or aiding or abetting the procuring of a criminal abortion.

Third. Other grossly unprofessional or dishonorable conduct of a character likely to deceive or defraud the public; or for habits of intemperance or drug addiction calculated to endanger the lives of patients; provided, that any applicant who may be refused admittance to examination before said board shall have his right of action to have such issue tried in the district court of the county in which some member of the board shall reside.

SEC. 12. The right herein to practice medicine in this State may be revoked by any court of competent jurisdiction, upon proof of the violation of the law in any respect in regard thereto, or for any cause for which the State Board of Medical Examiners is authorized to refuse to admit persons to its examinations as provided in Section 11 of this act; and it shall be the duty of the several district and county attorneys of this State to file and prosecute appropriate judicial proceedings in the name of the State, on request of any member of said board. SEC. 13. Any person shall be regarded as practicing medicine within the meaning of this act (1) who shall publicly profess to be a physician or surgeon and shall treat, or offer to treat any disease or

disorder, mental or physical, or any physical deformity or injury, by any system or method, or to effect cures thereof.

(2) Or who shall treat or offer to treat any disease or disorder, mental or physical, or any physical deformity or injury by any system or method or to effect cures thereof and charge therefor, directly or indirectly, money or other compensation.

SEC. 14. Any person practicing medicine in this State in violation. of the provisions of this act shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sum not less than $50 nor more than $500, and by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six months, and each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense, and in no such case shall the violator be entitled to recover anything for the services rendered.

SEC. 15. All certificates heretofore issued by any Board of Medical Examiners in this State under any former law shall be and continue in full force and effect for one year after this act shall take effect, but not afterward, and any person who may, when this act shall take effect, be practicing medicine within this State under the provisions of existing laws or under any exception contained therein, but without license, may, for one year thereafter, but not longer, continue in such practice, without license; and all such certificates and all such rights to practice. medicine shall be in all respects subject to the provisions of this act as though issued or acquired under its provisions.

SEC. 16. The terms "physician" and "surgeon" as used in this act shall be construed as synonymous, and the terms "practitioners" and "practitioners of medicine" and "practice of medicine" as used in this act shall be construed to refer to and include physicians and surgeons. SEC. 17. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with the provisions of this act be and the same are hereby repealed.

SEC. 18. The fact that there is now no law properly regulating the practice of medicine in this State creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended, and the same is hereby suspended, and that this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

Approved April 17, 1907.

Takes effect ninety days after adjournment.

COURTS-REORGANIZING THE TWENTY-THIRD, TWENTYFOURTH, TWENTY-FIFTH, THIRTY-SIXTH AND FORTYNINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTS.

An Act to amend Section 2, Chapter 58, of the Acts of the Regular Session of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Texas, reorganizing the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, Thirty-sixth and Forty-ninth Judicial Districts of the State of Texas, and fixing the time for holding district court therein so as to change the time of holding the district court in the counties of Bee, Goliad, Jackson, Karnes, Refugio, Calhoun, Victoria and DeWitt, comprising the Twenty-fourth Judicial District of Texas.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. That the Twenty-fourth Judicial District of Texas shall hereafter be composed of the counties of Bee, Goliad, Jackson, Karnes, Refugio, Calhoun, Victoria and De Witt, and the district court shall be held therein as follows:

In the county of Bee, on the second Monday in February and the first Monday in September, and may continue in session three weeks.

In the county of Goliad on the third Monday after the second Monday in February and the third Monday after the first Monday in September, and may continue in session two weeks.

In the county of Jackson on the fifth Monday after the second Monday in February and the fifth Monady after the first Monday in September, and may continue in session two weeks.

In the county of Karnes, on the seventh Monday after the second Monday in February and the seventh Monday after the first Monday in September and may continue in session three weeks.

In the county of Refugio, on the tenth Monday after the second Monday in February and the tenth Monday after the first Monday in Septomber, and may continue in session one week.

In the county of Calhoun, on the eleventh Monday after the second Monday in February and the eleventh Monday after the first Monday in September and may continue in session one week.

In the county of Victoria on the twelfth Monday after the second Monday in February and the twelfth Monday after the first Monday in September, and may continue in session four weeks.

In the county of De Witt on the first Monday in January, such term to continue for five weeks, and on the sixteenth Monday after the second Monday in February, and may continue in session five weeks.

SEC. 2. The writs and other process heretofore issued out of the district courts of the several counties to constitute the Twenty-fourth Judicial District of Texas, shall be held valid to the first terms of said courts as provided for in this Act; provided said writs are otherwise valid in law, and the clerks of said courts shall, on the taking effect of this Act, make all writs returnable to said courts as they meet under this Act.

SEC. 3. The present judge and district attorney of the said Twentyfourth Judicial District of Texas shall act as judge and district attorney, respectively, as herein defined and composed for the term of

office for which they have been elected, and until their successors are duly qualified.

SEC. 4. That the terms of district court of the Twenty-fourth Judicial District of Texas as constituted by the provisions of this Act shall not be held under the terms of this Act until the first day of September, A. D. 1907.

SEC. 5. All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed.

Approved April 17, 1907.

Takes effect September 1, 1907.

DECEDENTS-DECLARING WHO ARE THE HEIRS OF.

H. B. No. 3.]

CHAPTER CXXV.

An Act providing for actions in the county court to determine and declare who are the heirs and only heirs of decedents and their respective shares and interests in the estate of such decedent; fixing the venue and providing for transfer of such cases, prescribing the parties to and the requisites of petitions in such actions and the manner of obtaining service and giving notice and the procedure in such cases; declaring the effect of judgments in such actions and providing for appeal therefrom, providing for the filing and recording of evidence in such cases and for the filing and recording of a certified copy of such judg ment and declaring the effect of such filing thereof, and declaring an emer

gency.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. Whenever any person has died or shall hereafter die intestate, owning or being entitled to any real or personal property in this State, or any share or interest therein, and there shall have been no administration in this State upon the estate of such decedent, and whenever there has been a will probated in this State or elsewhere, or an administration in this State upon the estate of such decedent, and any real or personal property in this State has been omitted from such will or from such administration, or no final disposition thereof has been made in such administration, the county court of the county of this State in which such proceedings were last pending, or, in the event no will of such decedent has been admitted to probate in this State, and no administration has been granted in this State upon the estate of such decedent, then the county court of the county in which any of the real property belonging to such estate is situated, or, if there be no such real property, then of the county in which any personal property belonging to such estate may be found, may determine and declare, in the manner hereinafter provided in this Act, who are the heirs and only heirs of such decedent, and their respective shares and interests, under the laws of this State, in the estate of such decedent, and actions therefor shall be known as actions to declare heirship.

SEC. 2. Such action may be instituted and maintained in any of the instances enumerated in Section 1 of this Act by any person or persons claiming to be the owner or owners of the estates of such décedent or of any share or interest therein. Such action shall be instituted by the filing in the proper court of a petition which shall give the name and

also the time and place of the death and the names and places of residence of the heirs of such decedent, if known to the petitioners or any of them, and if the time and place of the death or the names and places of residence of all the heirs of such decedent be not definitely known to such petitioners or any of them, then such petition shall set forth, in at least general terms, any and all of such material facts and circumstances within the knowledge or information of such petitioners or any of them as may reasonably tend to show the time and place of the death and the names and places of residence of the heirs of such decedent and the true share and interest of each such petitioner and of each such heir in the estate of such decedent. Such petition shall, so far as is known to any of the petitioners, also contain such a description of all the real property of such decedent as would be sufficient in a conveyance thereof, and also a description, in at least general terms of all the personal property belonging to the estate of such decedent. Such petition shall be supported by the written personal affidavit of each such petitioners to the effect that, in so far as is known to such petitioner, all the allegations of such petition are true in substance and in fact and that no such material fact or circumstance has, within such affiant's knowledge, been omitted from such petition.

The unknown heirs of such decedent, and, excepting only the plaintiffs, all persons who may be named in such petition as heirs of such decedent and all persons who may, at the date of the filing of such petition, be shown by the deed records of the county in which any of the real property described in such petition may be situated, to own any share or interest in any such real property, shall be made parties defendant in such action.

SEC. 3. Due notice of the filing of such petition shall be given in the manner and for the length of time and in accordance with the provisions of law now in force in this State concerning the issuance and service of citations upon resident defendants, and notice to non-resident defendants, and citation by publication for unknown heirs, respectively; and, in so far as they are applicable thereto, all provisions of laws now in force in this State, relative to or concerning suits wherein citation by publication is provided for by law shall apply to and govern in all suits provided for in this Act. In the event an administration upon the estate of any such decedent, shall be granted in any county in this State, after the institution of any such action and in the event the will of such decedent shall be admitted to probate in any county in this State after the institution of such action then and in either such event the court in which such action may then be pending, shall, by an order to be entered of record therein, transfer such cause to the county court of the county in which such administration shall have been granted or such will shall have been probated, and, thereupon, the clerk of the Court in which such action was originally filed, shall transmit to the Clerk of the Court named in such order a certified transcript of all docket entries and orders of the court in such cause. The Clerk of the court to which such cause shall be so transferred shall file such transcript, and record the same in the minutes of the court, and shall duly docket such cause, and same shall thereafter proceed as though originally filed in that court.

SEC. 4.

Upon the hearing of such cause, the trial court may re